Here’s to your good health everyone. Cheers Big Ears and that’s the way it goes Big Nose. Down the Hatch. Chin Chin and Salute to name but a few sayings before we take a drink.
A few from over the years and around the world.
For Becky’s SquareUp. Have a great weekend everyone, don’t drink too much 🤣
Perth is certainly keeping up with Melbourne regarding street art, I snapped a few the other day while in town. I looked up some quotes to go with these images.
“As you climb your ladder of success, reach down and pull others along with you” – Frank Sonnenburg
“I have weathered the storm, I have beaten out my exile.” – Ezra Pound
Feathers appear when angels are near
“You don’t needs words to tell stories, just look into my eyes” – Madhusmita Behera
Make New Friends but keep the Old, one is Silver and the other is Gold
Posted for CMMC – November Colours – Silver and a Gold
Yufu and Yoshinocho are both located in the Kyushu Islands of Japan. Situated in the Southwest of Japan.
These are some of the photos I took on our trip to Japan a few years back. We visited Yufuin Onsen Village one afternoon, famous not only for its hot springs and holy shrine, but also art galleries and museums.
We had a fabulous afternoon here, a bit touristy, but a glimpse into village life.
On the same trip we spent a morning at Sengan-En Gardens, located in the Yoshinocho district, Kagoshima. Sengan-en is a traditional garden and stately home built by the 19th head of the Shimadzu family, Mitsuhisa, in 1658. We couldn’t visit the house as it was being used for filming. There are some lovely gift shops here selling local artwork and sweets. This is also where the famous Satsuma Kiriko glassware is sold, unique to Sengan-en and made at the glassworks next door.
The traditional red door, only affordable to the very rich
Water images from around the gardens
We had a wonderful morning here in these beautifully maintained gardens. It would be fun to watch scenes being filmed.
Thanks for reading, until next time!
This is one of the places we visited during our weekend away in Dunsborough. Below is the mediterranean style entrance to the restaurant. Lucky for us the weather was wonderfully sunny and warm.
I had only booked 15 minutes before we arrived due to a mixup with another place we thought we were going to! We had a choice of tables inside as outside was fully booked. We could see outside anyway, we were just happy to be able to get in somewhere.
There was so much choice on the menu that we decided to share a few dishes, always the best way to eat if you ask me. In our little group we had one GF, one pescatarian and one who doesn’t eat shellfish! We ordered something for everyone and the one who wasn’t fussy got to taste everything!
We started with Parmesan Crumbed Eggplant w/ Buffalo Mozzarella, local Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Sugo Entrée
To drink we ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Semillion to share which went down far too easily and quickly as there was quite a wait for our mains. Anyway we were in no rush and had no set agenda.
Finally our mains arrived and I think I speak for all of us that it was well worth the wait.
Added to this was also a Green Papaya & bean shoot salad w/ toasted cashews & peanut dressing which was deliciously blended.
I would say my favourite was the Balinese duck curry, but all the dishes were mouth-wateringly divine.
There were some stunning paintings displayed at Palmers, I took a few photos of the ones I liked best.
After lunch was over we had a wander over to the cellar door to have a quick tasting and for me to take a few photos of the beautiful surroundings.
The Courtyard
Everything about this winery was close to perfection. Food was amazing, lovely service from the staff and the grounds outstanding. If you’re ever in this region don’t miss the opportunity to visit.
My friends and I had a fantastic three days away for a girls’ long weekend down in Dunsborough, in the South West of WA. The drive from Perth takes approximately 3 hours. It was something we had been meaning to do for a long time, finding the right time for the four of us wasn’t easy.
We rented a beautiful four bedroom house very close to the beach. The most essential thing on our list was a bedroom each! The house was two story with a balcony overlooking the ocean. It had a wonderful deck to sit and have our happy hour each evening.
The Divas
We had a planned itinerary for every day visiting local restaurants and wineries, shopping of course and walking, basically eating and drinking for three days. Evenings were spent playing cards and board games.
It was our first time away together and we all got along famously and intend to do it again sometime soon.
One evening we drove over to Yallingup to catch the sunset which is not visible from Dunsborough.
Dunsborough is the perfect place for families with its sandy beaches and calm shallow water. All types of houses to rent and there are many resorts along the beach.
Reviews of the restaurants and wineries will follow soon
Heimaey is the main island of the Westman Islands, surrounded by 15 other islands. We visited here as part of our Icelandic tour a few years ago. Its population is approximately 4,300 people while all the other islands remain uninhabited. It can be reach by ferry from Vestmannaeyja or from Reykjavik.
It’s a beautiful little island, with abundant wildlife, but mostly famous for the puffins. It also has two volcanoes, Eldfel exploded in 1973 with all the inhabitants having to leave the island for almost six months! The island was left under lava and ash, but with the help of foreigners and other Icelanders, it was cleared to make it habitable again for the Westman Islanders.
Before checking into our hotel we did a tour of the island taking in the puffin sanctuary.
It was August when we visited, the time when the baby puffins are born. The puffin parents stop feeding their young early so this forces the babies out and into the town looking for food. The lights at night attract the young and they fly down in their hundreds. It is a pastime for the youngsters of Westman Island to rescue these young birds and the next day the children take them to a safe nesting place on the island.
After seeing the puffins we then went onto to walk the volcanic trail around Eldfell Volcano, Anthony decided he would walk to the top later on that afternoon. He mentioned it was tricky to descend because you tended to slide down!
We were staying one night at the wonderful Hotel Vestmannaeyjar, where we had a great room overlooking the harbour.
It’s a lovely little town to explore on foot and we had the afternoon and night free to ourselves. Anthony wanted to try the local delicacy of baby puffin, a bit sad after we had just seen them! So he did get his wish after we found a pub for lunch.
Photos from around the town
Before leaving the island the next day our tour driver picked us up to visit the black sand beach, Reynisfjara, very popular with locals during the summer.
I loved the setting of this tiny island and it’s well worth a visit if you ever get to Iceland, a beautiful hidden gem full of colour and history.
🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋
That’s it for W, next should be X but I’m stumped with this. So it will be straight onto Y!
Vientiane is the capital of Laos and the largest city, it is located on the banks of the Mekong River very close to the border with Thailand.
We visited here a few years ago for three nights before heading off to Luang Prabang. There is still a French influence around, especially the architecture. The Laotian cuisine is very delicate using herbs such as lemongrass, coriander and basil. Some of the dishes you might eat are sticky rice (Khao Niaw) sticky rice is a staple throughout the country. Minced Meat Salad (Larb) Green Papaya Salad (Tam Mak Hoong) Steamed Fish (Mok Pa) Baguette Paté (Khao Jii Paté) Wet Noodles (Khao Piak Sen) Lao Sausages (Sai Uah, Sai Gok) Noodle Soup (Phor).
The hotel we stayed at was called Green Park Hotel, a small boutique hotel set in beautiful gardens. After we had checked in we arranged with the concierge to hire a driver and car for the next two days. The next day after breakfast overlooking the gardens, our driver met us to start our first day. We were lucky with our driver, a happy chappy called Mr Vong and delighted to be our tour guide.
Green Park Hotel
Nam Ngum River
Our first stop today was the Nam Ngum River where we would be taking a river boat cruise including lunch. We had a couple of mini breaks on the way to take in the scenery.
We stopped off at a small concrete pontoon in the middle of the lake, and up some stairs there was a lady selling all types of woven goods, local dried fish and gooseberries. The baskets and pots were made by the inmates of a nearby prison. We couldn’t leave without purchasing something. I hoped somebody remembered to pick her up at the end of the day!
A relaxing few hours was spent aboard our boat, eating lunch and drinking beer just watching the world go by. Not too sure about the chicken’s feet, but a favourite of my hubby, there’s no accounting for taste.
Soon we were back in the car off to our next stop which was the COPE museum.
COPE Museum
Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise
During the Vietnam War American bombers dropped over two million tons of cluster bombs on Laos, even though this was a neutral country. To read more about this terrible event in history click on history.com.
I must say I was shocked to read about the horrific suffering that the Laotians had suffered, visiting this museum was a real eye opener.
Feeling very sombre, we drove into the centre to have a quick stop at the Nam Phou Fountain.
Day two was a drive to the Buddha Park, home to weird and wacky sculptures depicting different humans, animals, gods and demons.
There is one sculpture shaped like a pumpkin with the tree of life on the top. It has three stories representing hell, heaven and earth. Entrance is through an opening which is a mouth of a 3-metre-tall demon head and climb staircases to the top. Each story contains sculptures depicting the level.
It was quite claustrophobic climbing up a very narrow staircase from the inside. Coming down was even worse, with no handrail and a panic attack on the way, I froze to the spot. Mr Vong had to hold my arm and hubby my ankle I manoeuvred inch by inch towards the edge! There were six Japanese men in suits no less, waiting patiently under the midday sun to come down after me. I wondered at one point if I would have to be rescued by a helicopter – a drama queen to the last!
A very interesting morning!
Completely exhausted after this, we drove back to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon at the pool. All in all a very successful two days in Vientiane.
Extra info: To enter Laos from other countries you have to fly into Vientiane, Wattay International Airport so it’s worth a stop for a few nights. Visas can be obtained on arrival, a copy of your passport photo is okay to use. It takes around 20 minutes to drive into the city. We flew from Singapore to Vientiane using Lao Airlines and were very happy with the service and flight. The currency is the Kip but US dollars are widely accepted, so it’s useful to have both currencies.
Have a wonderful time if you ever do visit.
Thanks again for stopping by and reading!
The second part of our trip to Laos was to the incredibly beautiful Luang Prabang. This tiny town is encircled by mountains and sits on the banks of the Mekong and Nam Khan River. We flew Lao Airlines from Vientiane and had arranged for a driver to take us to our hotel. We stayed at…
Continuing with my A to Z challenge of places I have been, where else but the UK for U as it is where I was born and lived for 30 years!
My featured image is of Mepal, a very cold winter’s sunset.
Starting off with Liverpool which is in the North of England. We did only manage one night there, because as usual on our trips back to the UK it was all about catching up with friends and relatives.
Liverpool
Moving down to Mepal, which is very close to Ely
Travelling to Essex, my hometown
Maldon, Essex
The second oldest town in England and famous for its sea salt. Full of colourful barges and pubs along the estuary, it’s a great place to while away an afternoon.
Thailand is a country that I’ve visited many times over the last thirty years! As you would imagine I’ve seen countless changes from sleepy beaches dotted with small basic huts to ridiculously large resorts with five star hotels. Although Bangkok has never really changed that much, always busy 24 hours, just three days is plenty there! Thailand is a country where you can have almost any type of holiday, hiking, biking, swimming, diving, shopping, drinking, relaxing and of course eating the most delicious food. I can’t say I’ve done everything but the options are there! It’s such a welcoming country and I look forward to many more visits.
This post is just about two of the places I’ve loved the best, Koh Samui and Khao Lak.
Koh Samui is the second largest island in Thailand, Phuket being the largest. It lies off the East coast of Kra Isthmus. Before Koh Samui had an airport it was a fairly difficult place to travel to. I remember when I first visited in 1989 we travelled on a bus from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then a ferry. It was around 11 to 12 hours! I’m not sure I would ever do that again.
My daughter and I went a few years ago for her 25th and we stayed at a fabulous “adults only” resort near Fisherman’s Village, Bophut. We spent our days shopping, drinking and relaxing on the beach on beanbags instead of sunbeds.
We loved this resort with it’s swim up bar, so easy to walk from the pool to the beach in just a few steps.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Hubby and I have also been to Koh Samui and stayed at Mae Nam beach, at the very top of the island. It wasn’t a fancy place but just right for us. The larger resorts tend to be set quite far back from the beach and it’s the less expensive ones that actually have the best location.
🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖
We first visited Khao Lak in 2000 and when we mentioned it hardly anyone had heard of it. It was recommended by a travel agent when we lived in Hong Kong. Back in the days before internet travel and online booking so we were really taking a chance. Flying into Phuket and then driving back onto the mainland with a driver sent by the hotel, the journey was around 2 to 3 hours. Nowadays it it much quicker with a new bridge and highways being built over the last decade or so. We stayed in one of the only resorts on this very long stretch of the coast and loved every minute.
Sadly as everyone knows the 2004 Tsunami swept many of the small resorts away along with thousands of tourists and locals alike.
We ventured back quite a few years later with some trepidation but just took the chance like many others. I’m so glad we did as this is still one of the most amazing stretches of coastline in the world.
One thing you can be sure of in Khao Lak is turquoise seas and stunning sunsets.
We will definitely be back again to visit Thailand, hopefully sooner rather than later
Thanks for stopping by 😎
