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Friday, November 10, 2006

Dressed to Kill in Munich


Munich is a wealthy place even for Germany as can be confirmed by strolling around in the area of the Maximilianstrasse on a Saturday. Here the shops are full of handbags, shoes and lots of other designer stuff at astronomical prices. The jewellers keep their doors locked but open them on request greeting their customers like long lost friends which is hardly surprising considering the price of some of the jewellery. Of course, the clientele of these shops and a couple of cafes in the area are something to behold as they parade around the streets flaunting their latest purchases. I have to say that I have never, ever seen so many fur coats in one place at one time. As for me, I went to C & A's and bought a pullover to help stave off the cold for 12 Euros. As my wife, Ann will tell anyone that cares to listen, I am a one of a dying breed of great spenders.

Prehistoric monster discovered in Bangkok!

 


Well not really, but this thing looks pretty scary. In truth there are several of these monitor lizards around in Lumpini Park, Bangkok. This one was licking his lips having just devoured a fish it had caught. We saw about three of these on the same day as we walked through the park. We have also seen then in Malaysia and on the Indonesian island of Bintam. Posted by Picasa

Friday, October 20, 2006

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay, Vietnam Halong Bay, Vietnam
Halong Bay tucked up on the north east coast of Vietnam and about 3 hours drive from Hanoi is recognised as a World Heritage site due to its landscape and geological features. We took a 3 day cruise on a junk through this wonderfully scenic area. The 17 people on board spanned quite a mix of nationalities - 2 English, 3 French, 1 Finn, 1 Portuguese, 1 South African, 2 Americans, 2 Irish, 2 Indian, 2 Spanish and 1 Peruvian of English descent so made for some interesting conversations. Food on board was superb and we had a surfeit of prawns, crab and fish. We had a very lazy 3 days cruising around some of the almost 2000 islands and outcrops, occasionally stopping for a swim or a bit of site seeing at a fishing village or cave. It was quite a contrast from the noise, hustle and bustle of Hanoi and we enjoyed it immensely. The scenery is quite wonderful and this is a trip we would recomend.
Halong Bay, Vietnam Halong Bay, Vietnam

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Hanoi - Markets

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam One of the things I find fascinating about Asia are the markets. Wherever I go, I find myself wandering around the markets taking lots of photographs. They are all so noisy, busy colourful and full of life. They are also frequented and inhabited by many characters. Hanoi has several markets selling all manner of exotic fruits, vegetables, spices, fish and meats - I say meats because in Hanoi apart from the usual meats including live chickens, pigs trotters and the like there is also dog. I guess it is the Vietnameses penchant for dog that keeps the srteets clear of strays. Ann commented on the fact that there are so few dogs running around in comparison to Bangkok. It is also true that most of the dogs you do see are of the smaller variety such as Pekinese I guess because they are not worth the bother of cathing and cooking, or maybe they just dont taste good! Mmmmm, food for thought but in my case not for the dinner table.
Hanoi Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam

Monday, October 16, 2006

Hanoi - Motorbike Madness

Hanoi, VietnamHave you ever tried crossing the street in Hanoi? It is truly an experience as there are thousands of cyclists and motor cyclists and they just keep on coming. There hardly ever seems to be a pause in their numbers so one has to quickly adapt to the local method of strolling across the road, letting the bikes avoid you. It is rather scary to say the least and requires a large degree of faith to venture across the road. Forget about traffic lights, Pelican crossings and one way streets as effectively there is no such thing in Hanoi. Sure they are there but hardly anyone on a bike takes any notice. The technique is to walk slowly and determinedly across the road watching closely for the subtle changes of direction that each bike makes to indicate that it is going to pass either in front of you (in which case you slow down slightly) or behind you (in which case you speed up slightly). It is not for the faint hearted especially on the busiest and widest of streets but at least I still live to tell the tale!
Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Feeding the Flock


Feeding the Flock
Originally uploaded by HellonEarth2006.
We wandered around Bangkok this weekend taking it easy. Ann wanted to buy some material so we went to Chinatown which is always an interesting experience. Sampeng Lane is a very narrow thoroughfare jam packed with shops and vendors of all descriptions. Shoes, jewellery, food, clothes, material etc all jostle for our attention as we picked our way through the mainly Thai hordes. This is in fact just a small part of Chinatown as there are different areas all specialising in the sale of various articles and each area has its own fascination. For me, Chinatown is a microcosm of Bangkok as, like Bangkok, it never ceases to amaze me that we keep finding different areas of interest. From Chinatown we walked up to Khao San Road which is backpacker territory. There is also a market selling mainly clothes and it is a good area to stop and have a beer or two, so not wanting to miss such a good opportunity we did just that. We passed these two monks on the way feeding their flock which made for an interesting photograph not to mention title!

Monday, October 02, 2006

Weekend in Phuket 23 - 26/9/06

2 days holiday enabled us to have a 4 day weekend at our villa in Phuket. We flew late Friday night and went directly to the Black Cat, a restaurant owned by a Frenchman which has already become a favourite. It serves food until midnight and so is very convenient as we arrived at 11:30pm. Being the rainy season, we didn't expect much in the way of weather but is was a mix of sunshine and downpours so not bad at all. We invited 3 of our new neighbours over for drinks Saturday and had a very interesting evening. Sandy is a Scot and a typical one at that while the other couple were an extremely fit octagenarian Dickie and his wife Mary. An absolutely fascinating couple who have been all over the world and have just decided to up sticks from Spain and move to Thailand. As an ex WW2 RAF fighter pilot, I guess the world holds no fears for Dickie (would you believe Richard Richards is his name!). We guess they had a good evening too as they arrived at 7pm and didnt leave until 1am when Mary (who reminded both Ann and I of the Queen), Dickie and Sandy swayed home. We flew home Tuesday evening to the spectacular new Suvarnabhumi (pronounced Suwanapoom) airport which didnt officially open until 2 days later.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Coup D'etat - Bangkok

Breaking news on the TV yesterday evening announced a Coup D'Etat was in progress in Bangkok. This seemed a little strange as we were sat in the heart of Bangkok totally unaware of these events. Next morning I prepared for work but my driver didnt turn up and after a quick phone call I heard that the company was closed. From our 28th floor apartment the view was the same and everything looked calm. There was something missing however - the traffic. It was unusally quiet on both the normally busy road close to our apartment and on the highway which we can see in the distance. Both CNN and BBC News have been blocked so we do not know what is exactly going on at this moment. We just hope that everything remains peaceful.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Beautiful Bodensee


A sunny weekend in prospect and a visit from the Pope to Munich (Who was who said that the sun shines on the righteous?) was all the incentive required to hire a car with the intention of visiting the Bodensee or Lake Konstanz as it is otherwise known. We had visited during the Winter on an absolutely freezing weekend but wanted to see the area in it's Summer glory. We were in Lindau, a lovely town built on an island in the lake and connected by a short causeway, by 10:30 a.m. Lindau, like many towns in the region has a stunningly painted Town Hall. After a pleasant couple of hours we moved on to Meersburg where we had intended to stay the night. It was the Wine Festival weekend however and we couldnt even find somewhere to park let alone a hotel room. We tried the town further down the lake but in the end took flight to Ravensburg some 25kms away where we easily found a comfortable room. We actually had a very pleasant evening there as we found a Mexican bar and retaurant serving very good Fajitas. Sunday and we drove back to Meersburg early before the crowds descended. Meersburg is a lovely place but it was a lttle busy and our visit was tinged with regret that we hadn't been aware of the Wine Festival so could have booked in advance. But, on the other hand, I didn't regret the hangover I didn't have! We vowed to return again at some time in the future and then headed north through the vineyards and orchards, for which the region is famous until we reached Ulm. Ulm is quite a large city with a huge cathedral currently undergoing renovation. Other than that, the beautifully painted Town Hall and a small area around by the river, there was not much to recommend Ulm which I suspect was a victime of the Allied bombing during the second World War. Two hours drive from Ulm and we were back in Munich having had a great weekend. I hope the Pope enjoyed his weekend as much! Posted by Picasa

Monday, September 04, 2006

Dachau for the day

 
2nd of September and alone in Munich I decided to go to Dachau on a guided tour. It proved to be very interesting, dispelling my previously held idea that Dachau was one of the death camps. It is true that many people died there - around 30,000 but it was not one of the mass extermination camps such as Auschwitz. Opened in 1933, it housed mnay of Hitler's political opponents at first and then others, such as the Jews from Krystalnacht, who didn't exactly fit into Hitler's scheme of things. I endedx the day in good spirits thanks to a 5-0 for England. Posted by Picasa

The Wedding Season

 
25th August and I was off to the UK for a wedding the following day at Knowsley Hall, a beautiful country house. It was the wedding of Ann's niece Laura and a black tie affair. My 2 daughters Katie and Natalie were bridesmaids and looked stunning (I don't care if I am biased as I was told the same thing by many other people too!). All went well and I returned to Munich late on Sunday evening. It must be the wedding season as we were invited to 3 weddings in August and the daughter of a good friend of ours also got married. Unfortunately this was the only one that we could make. Posted by Picasa

Friday, August 18, 2006

Bored doll


Bored doll
Originally uploaded by HellonEarth2006.
One Saturday we took the express boat up the Chao Phraya river from the pier at the end of the Skytrain and went up to Nonthaburi. From here we took another boat to Koh Kred which is actually an island in the river. This place is famous for its pottery which has been produced by the Mon people there, who originate from Burma, for over 2 centuries. The island is a pleasant place to wander around. Ann bought 2 of these pot dolls which are now installed in our villa. We intend to go back here next time we are in Bangkok with the intention of walking all around the island.

Balloons on legs


Balloons on legs
Originally uploaded by HellonEarth2006.
This blog has been inactive for quite some time but I intend to remedy that. So here is the first in a new series of entries.

We have been in Bangkok for the last 6 weeks and been busy buying and selling property. However, we have been out and about in Bangkok as well as making 2 visits to Phuket to look at our new villa.

This guy caught my eye as he floated along the road.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

World Cup Blues & Nymphenburg Blues

Being in Munich and located within walking distance of Olympiapark where the World Cup games are being shown live on large screens, I spent last Friday and Saturday evenings watching the penalty shoot out dramas unfolding. Joy for Germany and boy did they celebrate but woe for England and boy was I miserable! To say I was disappointed by England’s result is an understatement but the actions of some players faking fouls and clearly attempting to influence the referee’s decisions was also very disappointing – and I am not just talking about England’s opponents!
On Sunday with the temperature approaching 30 degrees, I visited the evocatively named Nymphenburg Schloss which is more of a palace than a castle. Nymphenburg has a group of fine buildings but also magnificent grounds that comprise of formal gardens lined with statues as well as dense forest, open meadows and lakes. The many paths make it a jogger’s paradise as well as an extremely pleasant walking area. It is surprisingly large and on a hot day I just explored one half of the parkland as well as the 92 year old botanical gardens which offer a wealth of plants in both an outdoor and indoor setting. In the hot houses, I recognised many plants I have seen in the rainforests of Malaysia, the nature reserves of Singapore and the countryside of Thailand.
It is possible to visit the palace itself but, personally, I prefer the outdoors and the majesty of the buildings themselves. After several hours of wandering, I retired to Marienplatz in the centre of Munich for a couple of beers and to watch the world go by before going home.
If you are in Munich and the weather is good, Nymphenburg is a good place to spend half a day. It is not far from the city centre and if you wander off to the right or left of the formal gardens you will soon feel that you are in open countryside or a dense forest. I will be back to explore the half I haven’t seen yet.

Posted by Picasa

Monday, June 26, 2006

Back t o Munich - 26-06-06

Well it's MOnday 26/6/06 and today it is back to Munich but thank God that England have just beaten Ecuador. With Germany still in the competition, it would have been just too much to bear to be in Germany. Germany v Argentina comes before England's next game so wih luck Germany will be out of it by then.

England continue to pay badly but still win - a good omen.

Back to Munich on my own this time as Ann sits in Bangkok eagerly awaiting the arrival of Katie. They are off to Phuket for a few days and my only consolation is the fact that the weather may well be better in Munich than Phukhet as it is the monsoon season there. We went to Chatuchak market Saturday before I left and were caught in an unbelievable storm - it sounded like we were under artillery fire. Ended up piggy backing Ann through the ankle deep waters to dry land.

World Cup fever is well uder way here and I intend to sample a beer garden tonight. I expect Brazil will go through (although my wishful thiking tells me ot to rule out a surprise) and I expect Spain to beat France.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Malaysia Truly Asia - Monkeys and Monitor Lizards 10/06/06 - 19/06/06

Monkey, Malaysia
Lakeside gardens, Taiping, MalaysiaCourtesy of cheap flights from Thai Air Asia, we spent 10 days in Malaysia, flying to Penang where we picked up a car and set off to tour the East coast. Our first stop was Taiping a small town known for its lakeside gardens. The gardens are lovely and the trees around are full of monkeys.

From here, it was on to the Cameron Highlands which are renowned for the cool air and tea plantations. There is also a large Indian community who were imported by the British to do the tea leaf plucking. There are now also a large quantity of strawberries grown in the area with many signs advertising "self plucking", that as intriguing though it sounded, we managed to resist!
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Next day, we first headed north through the mountains in order to pick up a road that ran south to Kuala Lipis. This took rather longer than anticipated as much of the road was tortuous and winding. The road south was a new road that was impressive for the amount of engineering that it obviously took and the fact that it snaked through what appeared to be virgin jungle. The road was very quiet with no sign of life for miles and miles until we eventually arrived in Kuala Lipis a small town, like most in Malaysian Indian making Naan bread in Kuala Lipis, MalaysiaMalaysia with the exception of Kula Lumpur, that features some British Colonial buildings, and a small Chinatown but not much else. It was here that we discovered that the standard of hotels on Malaysia away from the west coast leave much to be desired despite the fact that they are very cheap. We did however find Flash Jack's Bar 55 which is a fascinating place run by a very friendly and helpful Chinaman unsurprisingly called Jack Teh. The bar looks like to has been there forever but in fact it has only been there 3 years.

Kuantan the capital city of Pahang lying on the east coast was our next stop. We stayed in the sSea eagle, Kuantan, Malaysiatrangely named Mega View Hotel which actually lived up to its name as we had a top floor room overlooking the river and the sea beyond where we watched sea eagles circling and swooping for their dinner. This hotel had a riverfront terrace were 2 very large tv screens were showing the World Cup games. I wanted to stay another night but Ann vetoed that idea so we moved on to Cherating but not before we had visited the very pleasant beach at Teluk Chempedak where we watched monkeys looting the rubbish bins and performing their usual acrobatics in the jungle areas adjacent to the beach and had dinner at Tjantek Art Bistro, an excellent rstaurant which would be more at home serving the rich and famous of KL than languishing in the backwater of Kuantan. It is housed in a 1928 shophouse and sells various art works which are hanging on the wall.

Cherating Beach, MalaysiaCherating was very, very quiet and has the air of a resort in decline. There are a number of resort hotels with their own beaches but we stayed at the Tanjung Inn in the village. This has nice air conditioned bungalows set in gardens which we liked very much although you are left thinking that it is struggling to survive. Here, in the morning, we sat on the verandah and watched a monitor lizard amble round the garden. Cherating Beach is an enormously long wide curving bay which could be fantastic but unfortunately it is subjected to that Asian malaise of just dumping your rubbish anywhere. We were disappointed and curtailed our planned 2 night stay to just one.

Entrance to Chinatown, Kuala Terengganu, MalaysiaOn to Kuala Terengganu, capital city of Terengganu state where we once again stayed at a substandard Malaysian chain hotel overlooking the river which was however well located next to Chinatown where we found good food at some stalls.

Kota Bahru is in Kelantan and we Sunset overlooking the river in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysiahad the impression that this area was the most religious and traditional of all the places we visited especially as we even had great difficulty in finding a beer - even the so called "international standard" hotel we stayed in served no alcohol! It is not a pretty place with very few amenties to attract the tourist.

We were already one day ahead of schedule but decided that the next day we would take the East West highway back to Penang. Malaysian rain forests on the East West highway, MalaysiaAs it was to be a long drive, we set off at 7:30 and drove across Malaysia skirting the Thai border through some very impressive rain forest and mountain scenery arriving in Penang 5 hours later which is exactly how long Jack, the friendly landlord in Kuala Lipis had told us it would take.

We did enjoy staying in GeorgetownEastern & Oriental hotel, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia where the restaurants, bars and hotels provided a welcome change from the slightly depressing sobriety of the East coast. as far as hotels are concerned, we went from the ridiculous in terms of standard and cost to the sublime as we spent the last night at the Eastern and Oriental hotel. This place opened by the Sarkie brothers who, also ran Raffles in Little India, Georgetown, Penang, MalaysiaSingapore, in the late 19th century is simply wonderful having all the elegance and grace you would expect of a hotel that was a favourite amongst such people as Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward. Our suite was simply opulent with a fabulous view acrsoo the sea to the mainland.

We (or should I say I) have wanted to do this trip for a long time but in truth Malaysia away from the west coast is very disappointing and I would not particularly recommend it. We found it to be not very tourist friendly and quite frankly dirty with a very poor standard in hotels. However without exception all the people we met Restored Town Hall building, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysiawere very pleasant and friendly. On the other hand, since our last visit two and a half years ago, Georgetown has improved enormously. A lot of work has been done on the old buldings and many of the streets have been renewed. Little India has been formally established and there is a good variety of restaurants, bars nad hotels. Further improvements are also in progress and I would definitely recommend visiting and do spend a night in the Eastern and Oriental to experience what it would be like to be rich and famous. Chinese temple, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia Chinese painted figures on door, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
Art college and Buddhist monk, Georgetown, Penenag, Malaysia

Friday, June 09, 2006

A Special Day

Not only is today the start of the World Cup (and I have booked my armchair this evening) but the 9th of June is also the day that the King of Thailand came to the throne. This year marks the 60th anniversary of that event and there are lots of Kings and Queens knocking around Bangkok for the event which means lots of temporary unpredictable road closures as the King of Monrovia or the Queen of Anatartica decides to go shopping. There are lots of special events such as the Royal Barge procession but the one most interesting (because we have a grandstand view) is a firework display being held this evening on a platform which is on a lake in a park. Now it just so happens that we are on the 28th floor of an apartment block directly overlooking this lake. In other words we have the best possible view from our balcony of 8000 fireworks that are due to go off at 8:30pm this evening all accompanied by an orchestra. Should be spectacular!
Tomorrow, Ann and I are off to Malaysia for 10 days holiday. We have hired a car and plan to spend some time on the East coast away from the monsoons on the West coast (hopefully).

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

To buy or to sell? - well lets do both!

Our renters have left our property back in Beaconsfield so the inevitable question arose "Should we sell?". After a small amount of deliberation the property went on the market and so came the next question "Should we buy?". We had already considered this and had booked flights to Phuket for this weekend (3-4 June)to have a look around. However, before we got there we had put in an offer on an apartment in Wooburn Green (near Beaconsfield) after the girls had been to see it. We thnk this will be a place for the girls to live temporarily while Katie does her training and Natalie finds herself a job after finishing Unversity today! We know the apartments as they are on the site of Glory Mill and both Ann and I watched them being built as they are next to the gym we used to go to. And so to Phuket, where we spent the weekend looking at apartments and the odd villa. We both were enamoured by a rather nice villa not far from the Laguna area so at the moment we are in the process of selling one property and buying two. We returned on Sunday to receive an offer on our house which we accepted. Now as most people know buying and selling property can go disastrously wrong so we are not counting our chickens yet but we have hopes that very soon we will have exchanged our rather large 5 bedroom house for a 2 bedroon apartment in Wooburn Green and a 3 bedrooned villa in Phuket. Watch this space. For me personally this is the first step on the road to retirement!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Flight TG925 25/05/06

When you have spent thousands of hours flying like I have, You know when something is not quite right. Such was the case with flight TG925 from Munich to Bangkok on 25/5/06. Tke off was normal but it soon became apparent that the noise and vibration where above the level that you would normally expect. We later realised that we had not heard the, what I had always considered to be, disconcerting thump as the landing gear retracted. The pilot made an announcement which due to the noise, the poor sound quaity of the public address system and the thick accent of the pilot I doubt anyone understood. All I could discern where his last words about "being under control". We continued to climb and eventually the pilot made a second announcement whereupon we motioned to the stewardess who up to now had remained steadfastly in her seat to come to us. She informed us that there was a problem with the "gear" and that we were heading for Frankfurt where they had spare parts. "Don't worry" was the message but when you are at 40,000 feet knowing that there is something wrong with the landing gear that is hard to do. I now understand the notion of a "dry" mouth. We were apparently going to return to Munich originally but now the pilot had decided on Frankfurt and it will remain a mystery why it took over 2 hours to accomplish what by all accounts is normally a 40 minute flight. In any event, we landed at Frankfurt much to the surprise of many of the passengers, many of whom didn't realise that we were going to land. Most of them were German so had little chance of understanding the announcements and many were peering out of the aircraft trying to get a glimpse of the airport name. The Thai air crew receive no marks out of ten for the way they handled the situation as they must have realised that the communication was inadequate. The passengers including myself were however obviously happy to be on the ground as a silent plane suddenly became a hubub of conversation and laughter as soon as we touched down. It was by now midnight and we were put up in the Sheraton Airport hotel for the night with a promise of a flight the day after at midday. In any event, landing gear fixed we eventually took off at 2:55pm minus a few passengers who didn't show for an uneventful flght to Bangkok. I did however listen very carefully to landing gear being lowered!

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Wandering around the Tyrol 13 -14 May 2006


After having spent the previous week wandering around Southern Bavaria, this week Ann (who is back from the UK) and I set our sights a little higher and decided to visit the Austrian Tyrol. More lakes and more mountains but quite magnificent nonetheless and due to the less than ideal weather, the roads were quite empty and noticeably free from the bikers that seem to hit these roads in their thousands on a warm sunny day.After wandering around for a while, we found ourselves in Kitzbuehel, a place that we have visited before. We stayed at the Strasshofer Hotel which has very nice rooms, each one different and ishoused in a 1000 year old building. The hotel has been in the Strasshofer family for over 300 years.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Wandering around Southern Bavaria 6-7 May 2006

Lake at Kochel am See, Bavaria, Germany
Lake at Kochel am See
Alone, as Ann was visiting her parents in the UK, I decided at the last minute, that is Walchensee, Bavaria, Germanyimmediately I discovered that the weather forecast was for a warm and sunny weekend, to hire a car and head for the hills. Southern Bavaria is indeed beautiful with mountains and lakes, but slightly overshadowed both physically and metaphorically by the splendour of the Austrian Tyrol. By 9:30 Saturday morning, after blasting down the A95, I was sat outdoors sipping coffee in warm sunshine at the Gasthof zur Post in the village of Kochel am See. I was headed for Walchensee at the recommendation of my colleague Gunter who has acted as our unofficial tour guide during our visits to Munich. On reaching Walchensee, I took the cable car upWalchensee, Bavaria, Germany the mountain which revealed a fantastic view over the lake and surrounding mountains even though visibility was not at its best. The intention was to walk back down the mountain which first involved walking a little higher before you could descend. I walked to a point where I had a view across the other side of the mountain which revealed that there was still plenty of snow but also the looming dark clouds of a thunderstorm. Several flashes of lightning convinced me to abandon my plans of walki3 wheel biker, Bavaria, Germanyng down the mountain so I retraced my steps and took the cable car back down again. The thunderstorm erupted just as I got back to the car and for the rest of the day, I wandered around, some of the more picturesque parts of the area stopping once at a rest area on a rather long bend which was obviously a favourite with the motorbike fraternity as they hurtled round like it was a TT track.
The Sunday was spent doing pretty much the same thing stopping in various places such as Tegernsee, yet another lake, Garmisch Patenkirchen and Rosenheim where there was some sort of car exhibition with the likes of BMW, Volvo, VW and Fiat etc were displayig there latest models. More interestingly there were some vintage cars around which made for a few good pics.

Porsche
Austin Healey 3000
Riley Sports