Tik and I arrived back in Thailand last Friday afternoon. We’ve had a great time and have hit the ground running. We’ve been in Khon Kaen for the past 2 days but Tik begins her new job today in Bangkok and we are moving apartments on Wednesday.
I’ve got a lot to be doing in developing my export businesses but I’ll take some of my spare time to add my UK and Italy diaries and photos in the coming weeks.
Watch this space.
After a frustrating start to the day trying to use our on-suite bidet and spraying the bathroom with water we rose for a buffet breakfast about 9:30.
Tik and I both slept well. Our hotel room was clean and large with an efficient air-conditioning unit. We had a good bathroom with fast-heating water and a bath. All our rooms were positioned with a lake-view which is not an especially impressive feat when you consider just how large Lake Como actually is but was nice to have a bit of scenery greeting us should we open our curtains.
We are in a very remote part of the area. The hotel rests on a chaotic main road – not especially busy but spiked with dangerous curves and speeding kamikaze drivers which discourage relaxing walks down the road.
Without the privilege of a car this place seems a little lonely. We were lucky to have the foresight to have something available to us, and also that dad is a confident driver, happy to take us through treacherous routes into the mountains with little regard for his own health.
We met some rain and cold winds as we left the hotel and headed down the road to a tourist information office and to by some umbrellas. The office was a little disheartening and it looked like there really wasn’t much to keep us awake within cycling distance of the hotel.
Our next stop was to the picturesque town of Menaggio. This was perhaps 15 minutes down the road and followed the contours of the lake with a scenic promenade. The village itlsef was colourful with the kind of buildings and plaza as I’d imagined to find here. The tourist information here was much more comprehensive and we left with a book’s worth of leaflets of places to visit by foot and by car.
Unfortunately all the shops closed for siesta at the time we intended to go shopping but it didn’t prevent us enjoying a hearty lunch at a local restaurant. I had a braised beef steak and shared some sparking white wine with the rest of the family. By the end of the meal the sun had escaped the clouds and the village looked beautiful.
Despite not doing so much we were all keen to return to the hotel to relax. We’d imagined a large swimming pool as large and accommodating as we had in Tuscany in 2003 but the pool and outdoor area was small and, as we would discover over the course of the week, comprised of water which stubbornly refused to heat up regardless of the sun’s intense rays.
As we, napped, read and bitched about how damn cold the pool was Mark and Raquel arrived. We’d seen them a few months ago in Bangkok and had a great time in their company so it was a pleasure to catch up with them. They’d had a busy day cycling from Milan to the hotel so after a few drinks we all retired to our rooms for an hour or so.
The London-cell arrived just in time for our evening meal, about 8pm. Tik and I’d met everybody 12 months ago in London with the exception of Jason whom Tik had never met and I’d not seen since Tuscany in 2003. Of all the family members I was most excited to catch up with him again.
Mum, ever the pessimist, wasn’t expecting much from the hotel’s kitchen based on some negative comments on an online hotel review site but I think we were all pleasantly surprised. We began with a mixed salad, then I chose cream of chicken soup, lamb and a refreshing raspberry sorbet.
Despite a 2-hour delay on their flight and an ordeal getting from the airport to the hotel via public transport everybody was happy to go out to a nearby bar after dinner. Most of us enjoyed a rich hot chocolate - especially Grandma and we went to bed a little after midnight.
Today Tik, Lisa, Mum, Dad and I flew to Italy for our tri-yearly family get-together. Grandma has booked us rooms in a hotel in Lake Como, in the north of Italy (bordering with Switzerland) for a week. Our family was arriving on the Friday to meet on Saturday with Uncle Mark and Raquel (flying from Spain) and Grandma, Aunty Michelle, Peter and my three cousins Jason, Stuart & Rebecca – in total 13 people.
Before I add all my UK diaries I’ve been laboriously adding photos from my parent’s collection to the site.
We had a day in Southport today. It was great to catch up with Andy Hui who just happened to be back for the weekend. Although I like Southport there was very little to do that we didn’t do 12 months earlier so we met Lisa and hers friend Crista and Lee in the Carlton bar and after a few drinks had our annual game of mini-golf a few beers in the local bars before returning home for another BBQ meal.
Mum, Lisa, Tik and I took the dogs for a long walk around the Lydiate Loop today. We were still experiencing a heatwave so we had a good opportunity to enjoy a nice picnic. The dogs got to swim in the canal.
We had a lazy day today as we had little we really need to get done. Lisa drove us to visit grandpa whom I’ve not seen for 12 months. As ever her was delighted to see us and alive with conversation.
Tik, Lisa and I got quite excited today to discover a huge collection of childhood photographs, which I began trying to scan for my site. It’s a bit of a shame that each family has their own photos that are rarely shared with the rest of the family. By having our pictures online It’ll be nice for Grandma and my cousins to share the memories.
You can view these old photos hereÂ
Mum only had a limited time off work so today we visited Old Rufford Hall. Unfortunately as I arrived I realized that my camera battery had died so we had no opportunity to take any photos. We stopped there for lunch and returned home mid-afternoon.
That evening we walked the dogs on the beach. There seems to be no sea here any more! Southport has seen so little sea that much of the sand dunes have actually become covered in grass. A walk on the beach in some areas is nearly identical to a walk in a field. A little sad to see Southport suffer like this although dad is adamant that the sea does come to visit the grassy shores when we are all sleeping.
At the time when Mum was explaining to me that she was happy with the way Bonnie and Tilly behave and how puppies are too difficult to handle both dogs ran straight for an oil slick and got themselves covered in oil.
Our United Emirates flight was as comfortable as our Singapore Airlines flight last year. We’d arrived three hours early at the airport and were offered the chance to take a flight earlier by one hour. Logistically it gave us 1 hour less to wait in Bangkok and 1 hour more waiting in Dubai for our connecting flight.
Tik an I mainly slept, I watched the occasional episode of Friends, The Office and some reasonable documentaries.
In Dubai we experienced perhaps the most expensive coffees ever as we waited for our connection. We had twenty minutes to vent our frustration at how crappy the duty free offerings were and left for Manchester on time.
We arrived around three pm Dad was there to meet us and to take us both back to Southport – our home for three weeks.
The dogs and mum were still home and Lisa worked until the following day. The UK was experiencing a heatwave so for our first evening on UK soil we had salad and a much-missed BBQ dinner.
After a nice evening out with friends and a mad shopping spree to get gifts it’s about time I turn this computer off and get ready for our flight.
We’ll be back in a month when I’ll have a new telephone number.
Anybody needing to contact me in the UK can get in touch with me via SMS to Tik’s cellhone, via email, Skype or on my my parent’s house number.
See you soon.
Martin
