25th August 2007 During this holiday, we’ve ventured further north and west than ever before. But as we near the end of our stay, we decided a few days ago to head south and do a bit of exploring in that direction. We made it as far as Ban Saphan, a remarkable place. The scenery… Continue Reading

I was up early this morning to send off the blog of our latest adventure. Yesterday we drove down to San Rioa National Park, south of where we are staying, where we managed to climb a mountain and explore a cave system. The humidity was intense, and through sheer exertion I must have sweated at… Continue Reading

8th August 2007  This week we’ve been much more active; we now have a car (a Toyota Saluna) complete with essential air conditioning. We’ve visited a few of our favourite beaches, and they’re still as lovely as ever. One beach up north, known for the statues in the sea and popular with locals at the… Continue Reading

7th August 2007Our flight from Heathrow departed on time at 9.45 pm, and the journey was excellent. EVA now operates brand-new 777s, equipped with the latest entertainment systems. We each had personal screens and could choose what to watch whenever we liked, so Sarah and Jamie were occupied for the entire flight. Even Sue and… Continue Reading

1st August 2007Our return flight to the UK was via Bahrain, mercifully only a short stopover this time, just long enough to visit the loo and endure a long march from Gate 2 to Gate 32 (about a mile away). Why such a huge terminal for a small desert kingdom? We landed just after midnight… Continue Reading

29th July 2007 We embarked on a trek into the island’s interior to explore the rainforest, a guided tour with about 20 fellow Brits and one rather optimistic bus. The vehicle, clearly on its last legs, creaked and groaned its way up the mountainside like a dying elephant. Fortunately, I managed to grab a kip… Continue Reading

26th July 2007Now that the computer realises I speak English… It’s amazing what a difference it makes when your computer finally acknowledges you aren’t fluent in Mandarin. I’m now inspired to add a bit more to our blog without having to decode every button like I’m in a Dan Brown novel. Today was a leisurely… Continue Reading

24th July 2007FRUSTRATION!!! We are now in China, and I’ve written this three times. Yes, three. My computer screen is mostly in Chinese, so I was blindly stabbing at buttons like a chimp with a smartphone. Then, as if by magic (or sheer cruelty), the site suddenly switched to English and promptly deleted everything. So… Continue Reading

14th July 2007 Having navigated our way through a rather hectic final school week, I think it’s safe to say we’re all ready for a well-earned break. Everyone seems utterly exhausted, and even Jamie has started going to bed at a vaguely civilised hour. On Tuesday, Sarah accompanied me to the Sea Life Centre in… Continue Reading

8th July 2007 The rain gradually petered out over the week, but we still didn’t manage to hold a Sports Day at school. I decided to empty the pool to get rid of the rather green water that replaced the crystal clear version just a week ago. It took two days to drain it into… Continue Reading