Ania & Jason's Adventures

Final Days in Kuala Lumpur

jasonmarshall22 — Tue, 3 Oct 2017 21:02:00 GMT

Yesterday was the last full day of our holiday and so our plan was to go and see some of the sights around and about Kuala Lumpur.

As we'd been up early the last few days we had a bit of a lie in and went to a cafe for some proper breakfast before getting the train to the Batu Caves which lie just North of Kuala Lumpur. To get into the main cave involves climbing almost 300 steps which would be a lot at home but even worse in the heat and humidity here. There were also a lot of monkeys hoping to get some food from the tourists! The main cave itself is massive and is the site of a Hindu Shrine. There seemed to be a lot of construction going on though which meant it felt slightly less natural than it could. From a geology point of view the caves were amazing but it was all very touristy which kinda ruined it a bit.

On the way back down the steps we could have stopped off to visit the "dark cave" which is home to the worlds rarest spider- the trapdoor spider. A dark cave full of spiders is probably both our worst nightmares rolled into one!

Once we made it back into town we decided to try another escape game we'd seen in one of the malls and this one was much better than the first one we'd tried on Thursday. Unfortunately we again didn't manage to escape so we have a 0% escape record in Malaysia.

We stopped back at the hotel for a shower before going out for dinner and then we made a visit to the KL Tower which is the 7th highest tower in the world. We were wanting to get a nighttime view of the skyline and a better view of the Petronas Towers. Unfortunately the view was slightly side on so we couldn't get a good photo of the two Petronas Towers but the overall view was still great. I (Jason) somehow managed to walk out onto the overhanging platform with a glass floor- although I didn't look down once as I think I might've passed out if I had!

To end the night and to end the last evening of our holiday we went up to a bar on the 57th floor of one of the buildings beside the Petronas Towers where we could get a good view of the towers whilst having a few drinks. It was a nice way to end our last evening.

This morning we got up, packed and checked out of the hotel which meant that we had around half a day left in Kuala Lumpur. The plan was to go up the Petronas Towers but unfortunately when we got there all the tickets for today had sold out. It was our own fault as we knew we should've booked them in advance! We weren't too sad though as at least we'd seen the skyline last night. Instead we went to the Science Centre which is located at the bottom of the towers so technically we can still say we've been in the towers (even if not at the top). Actually it worked out quite well as the science centre was really good and interactive- we were also happy to be inside away from the outside heat!

Afterwards we made our way back to the hotel to collect our luggage before taking the monorail and train onto the airport where we're currently waiting for our flight.

Sadly this means the end of our holiday but I think both of us are looking forward to feeling some chilled Scottish air when we get back.

Our flight this evening is at 8:25pm (1:25pm UK time). We get into Doha at around 9pm UK time and then depart again at 11:40 UK time before getting into Edinburgh around 7 o'clock in the morning so we have a fun night ahead of us!

Scotland here we come!

Race day

jasonmarshall22 — Mon, 2 Oct 2017 21:09:00 GMT

On Saturday evening after qualifying we went back out again to meet up with one of Ania's friends from University called Imran. He picked us up from the hotel and took us on a bit of a tour around Kuala Lumpur. We parked in yet another shopping mall then then took a walk around the Petronas Towers. Firstly we passed the fountains outside which were impressive as they were lit up in multi colours. We then went to the area in front of the towers and it was only then that we could really appreciate their size. We've seen them from afar whilst travelling to and from the F1 but up close they are absolutely massive! After another drive around town Imran dropped us off back at the hotel and we got prepared for our early start the next morning.

When we woke up yesterday morning we were excited to get up and get going as it was race day and there were clouds in the air which meant there was a possibility of rain for the race!

We set off on our usual journey to the circuit and when we got there our first port of call was to assess the queues for the driver autograph session which was happening at 11am. We were there around 9:30am and by that point the queues were huge so we decided we'd give it a miss as we didn't fancy standing in a queue for 2 hours in the heat! So instead we had a wander around the village again and then we took a seat and got some refreshments next to the stage were the autographs were taking place. When 11am came they announced that the first drivers that would be appearing would be the two Sauber drivers. As most people were there to get either Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull autographs there wasn't much interest in the Sauber drivers so they announced that anybody who wanted Sauber autographs could go into a separate queue and go up first. At that point I (Jason) thought well a Sauber autograph is better than nothing so I joined the Sauber queue and got close to the front. Just as our queue started going up on stage all the other drivers started appearing- Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams, McLaren etc. They then realised that they couldn't just let the "Sauber" fans up first so they started rotating 5 people from each of 3 queues at a time- one of which was the Sauber queue and I was about 10th in line. Somehow I managed to get on stage and get the Sauber, Williams, McLaren and Toro Rosso drivers (the Red Bulls and Mercedes had just left) ahead of people who had been waiting for hours in the heat- in fact some were probably queuing before we even got out of bed! The whole thing was a complete shambles so I felt a little guilty- I don't think we'd have been happy if we'd waited for hours in a queue for nothing. I would say about 1% of those waiting made it up. Ferrari in typical fashion didn't bother to turn up at all!

Afterwards we went up to secure our seats in our stand so that we had a good view of the start of the race and the first corner. We managed to get a couple of good seats as we could see the start as well as various other bit of the track in the distance. At around 12 o'clock (3 hours before the race) the rain clouds appears and it started pouring it down- just before the Porsche race was due to start. This was when we discovered there was a hole in the roof not far from where we were sat and the people underneath were getting absolutely drenched. We escaped relatively unscathed- although we still put the ponchos on to protect us from the spray.

The Porsche race eventually got under way behind the safety car and the rain clouds cleared. Unfortunately the shower came just slightly to early as by the time the race started at 3pm the track was dry. The race itself was actually pretty eventful and we seen quite a few overtakes at our corner- including Verstappen overtaking Hamilton for the race lead! There were also a couple of collisions in front of us- Palmer not disappointing us! Ania was obviously very distressed as Raikkonen didn't even start the race and was wheeled off from the starting grid! It was good to see someone other than a Mercedes win though!

After the race we made it onto the track and tried to make our way up the start-finish straight in time for the podium but a combination of heat and excessive sweating (mainly by Jason) meant we just missed the podium. We did manage to see into the pits though and seen all the teams packing up their kit ready for the race next weekend in Japan. We were wanting to walk around the track a bit but they weren't letting us so we sat up in the stand opposite the pits and watched what was happening- including seeing the Red Bull team celebrating their win. By this point we were so sweaty and exhausted we didn't take many photos of ourselves!

So that's the Formula 1 (and initially our main reason for travelling) over. We now have a couple of days to explore some more of Kuala Lumpur as we haven't really been able to see too much of it since we arrived on Thursday.

A bad day for Ferrari

jasonmarshall22 — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 22:36:00 GMT

***Caution may contain F1 spoilers***

After yesterday's disastrous journey back from the track we decided to get to the track a bit earlier than planned. Of course we then ended up being too early so had another walk around the fan village- I (Jason) had a go at racing the track in the game zone- Eddie Irvine would be proud!

At 12 o'clock they had a fan forum session with some of the drivers who arrived on stage to answer some questions. First up were Verstappen and Ricciardo followed by Hamilton and Bottas. As usual Hamilton proclaimed about how great the fans were and how much he loves them (he obviously ignored the boos)! After this came the Williams drivers Massa and Stroll and Ocon from Force India. By this point we were getting scorched in the sun and the sweat was dripping off us but we were assured 2 more drivers in red would be arriving soon. In typical style, the Ferrari's kept us waiting but eventually Vettel and Raikkonen arrived- much to Ania's delight- she even managed to get her second photo of the weekend with Kimi!

We then got some lunch before making our way to the stand for 3rd Practice. Today we had to sit in our designated stand but within it we can sit wherever we want. So we tested a few positions to get an idea of where we think the best view of the race would be. 3rd practice was pretty uneventful but it was nice sitting under the roof in the shade- the weather was much brighter today than yesterday so we were boiling!

Ania took advantage of the break between 3rd Practice and Qualifying to have a sneaky snooze in the stands whilst I (Jason) went in search of some merchandise. The queues were huge though so I settled on some cold drinks- no slushies this time unfortunately!

Eventually it was time for qualifying and by the time it started the stands were packed- although we still had loads of space around us to spread out and enjoy the action. Sadly for Ania Vettel didn't even manage to complete a lap and Kimi wasn't quite able to do enough so we had to settle for a Hamilton pole! We're hoping for rain tomorrow though so hopefully Verstappen can do the Ferrari's a favour and bump into Hamilton this time whilst Vettel makes his way from the back!

We're just on the train back from the circuit now and this evening we're meeting up with Ania's friend Imran from University who currently lives just outside Kuala Lumpur.

Let the Racing Commence!

jasonmarshall22 — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 01:37:00 GMT

Yesterday evening after the thunderstorm we took a walk around the areas close to the hotel. We went in through the big shopping centre adjoining the hotel to have a look around- there are around 13 floors so I don't think we even covered a 10th of it! We did find the theme park though- it's weird seeing a roller coaster inside a shopping centre. We also found an escape room so we thought we'd try a game. 45 minutes later we were regretting that decision as we hadn't managed to escape- I don't think either of us were too upset though as it's probably one of the worst escape rooms we've ever done! We might try and find a better one to redeem ourselves in before we leave Kuala Lumpur.

We then went out onto the streets nearby for a wander and we passed shopping centre after shopping centre- I don't think we've ever seen so many in one place! We treated ourself to evening desert in one before heading back to the hotel to get an early night before the Formula 1 the next day.

This morning we got up early to make our way to the circuit at Sepang. After a monorail, train and two bus journeys we eventually made it to the circuit just in time for the 1st Practice session. When we arrived it was pouring with rain so we quickly made our way inside to get shelter in the stands. Today was open seating everywhere so we initially sat on the pit straight so that we could see the activity in the garages. The rain meant that there was no running for the first 30 minutes of Practice 1 but eventually the rain eased off and the cars started running. We then went to the other side of the stand where we had good views over quite a bit of the circuit so we watched the remainder of Practice 1 from there.

After the practice session we took a walk around the F1 village area where all the promotional activities and stalls were located. These included a podium jump area where we were able to get photos of us each jumping on the podium- Jason is clearly a more natural winner than Ania!

After a couple of purchases from the Ferrari and McLaren stalls we got some lunch before heading back to the main grandstand in time for 2nd Practice. This time we sat closer to the iconic stand situation at the end of the main grandstand which meant we had good views over most of the circuit. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Grosjean's accident which resulted in 2nd Practice being stopped 10 minutes early. We did get to see the aftermath though where the race officials were inspecting the loose drain cover which caused Grosjean's tyre to explode.

After another wander around we made our way back to the shuttle bus area were we connected to another area where we were to get another bus to the train. Our journey back into town took a grand total of 3 hours thanks to traffic so that put a bit of a dampener onto the end of the day!

Tomorrow it's qualifying and more rain is forecast so hopefully it'll be an exciting session!

Photos: Kuala Lumpur

jasonmarshall22 — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 19:38:00 GMT

Langkawi Mangroves and onwards to KL

jasonmarshall22 — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 19:27:00 GMT

We didn't get round to putting a story up last night as we didn't get to bed until almost midnight and we conked out as soon as our heads hit the pillow!

We had a busy day yesterday. After our Mangrove talk on Tuesday evening we thought we just didn't have enough Mangroves in our life and so we signed up to a half day boat tour around the Mangroves.

The tour started with a trip out into the Andaman sea where we got to see some of the outlying islands up close and got to see and feed some of the fish in the water. The boat then travelled back to the river and through the Mangroves themselves where we got to see some more monkeys in the wild- it turns out monkeys can swim which we didn't realise until they all started making their way towards the boat!

Next stop was onto a lake area where we were suddenly circled by dozens of eagles all diving down onto the water to get food- definitely an impressive sight! We could also see some of them perched up in the trees as well.

Further along the river we then seen a massive lizard sunbathing on the rocks (slightly bigger than our resident bathroom friend Lizzie) before making a stop at the local fish farm so see some of the seafood caught by the locals- we didn't stay for too long as we would be coming back later for lunch (something we were both really looking forward to...).

Next up was the bat cave where we got off the boat and into a cave where there were apparently somewhere between 500-1000 bats hanging from the ceiling. They look fine from a distance but the close up photos taken from the camera made us not want to hang around for too long.

After a brief wildlife lesson from the tour guide we got back on the boat and went back to the fish farm for lunch. We feared the worst and rightly so as a plate of fish was sat down in front of us. As neither of us eat fish we didn't know how to attempt to even cut it so we gave it a miss- we went for the bowl of rice and Ania had some of the vegetables instead!

The final stop of the tour was to a beach on the North coast of the island- apparently one of the nicest beaches on the island. We had around half an hour to dip our feet into the water and take in the pretty amazing views from the coast. The sunshine came out for us too so it was a nice way to end the tour.

If Ania could pick a combination of things to make up the tour of her nightmares it would probably include speedboats, bats, caves and a fish farm for lunch! But she survived them all which was impressive!

Once we made it back to the hotel we made a stop-off at the hotel pool to relax after our morning adventures. A dip in the pool and a couple of drinks in the pool bar helped with the relaxation!

For our final evening in Langkawi we'd booked a table at the Thai restaurant in the hotel. It was located on its own out on a pier and so we were able to watch the sunset as we ate. We then finished the night back at the hotel bar where the house and 'Wave' were performing again. We even got a shout out for their friends from Scotland!

This morning we boarded our final internal flight and made our way to Kuala Lumpur which is the final stop of our holiday.

Currently we're in our hotel room which is on the 35th floor and there's a thunderstorm outside so we're not sure how much we'll be able to do this evening! The good news is that it started around 4pm so if the same happens on Sunday then it'll hit during the race (and make Hamilton spin off).

Tomorrow we head out to Sepang for the start of the F1- let the racing commence!

Monkeys and Lizards

jasonmarshall22 — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 03:24:00 GMT

Today we got our first real glimpse of Malaysia as it was dark when we arrived last night. We took a trip to the main town on Langkawi this morning called Kuah where we got some photos of the Eagle statue and took a walk around the local "theme park" which was more park than theme park- we did spot a big lizard though- the first of our many wildlife encounters during the day!!

After a visit to the local shopping centre (for the air conditioning obviously) we travelled to the cable car station close to the hotel which is the boarding point for the steepest cable car in the world! It's fair to say Ania wasn't the most keen and I (Jason) didn't really blame her so I went alone in the cable car while Ania waited down below. About 10 seconds into the journey I remembered my fear of heights and so spent the next 10 minutes trying to pretend that I wasn't actually travelling 2000 feet into the air! When I reached the top I was able to walk across the Langkawi Sky Bridge which extends between two of the mountain peaks. After a swift walk across the bridge and then back (again thanks to my fear of heights) and an encounter with a few monkeys along the way I made my way back down to Ania who was waiting below.

We made our way back to the hotel and stopped off at the shop for some snacks. We then got the shuttle buggy back to the cabin only to find a few monkeys waiting for us outside who were particularly interested in our bag of snacks! The buggy driver shooed the monkeys away while we ran to our door and once inside we made sure the door was properly locked!

After a short rest back in our cabin (and some monkey watching from our window) we then went along to the beach where we met a tour guide for free hour long mangrove forest tour provided by the hotel. The mangrove trees grow in the wetlands just behind the beach and it was interesting to find out a bit more about the local habitat. We even had a visit from a few more monkeys (shy leaf macaques to be exact).

After another wash and shower in our cabin we discovered that we now had a lizard residing in our bathroom and as it stands we think 'Lizzie' is currently living behind our bathroom mirror!

To finish the day we went to the Chinese/Japanese restaurant in the hotel for tea and had probably the best meal we've had all trip! We then sat down in the bar to listen to a rather dodgy pianist before making our way back to the cabin for the night (and another appearance from Lizzie)!

Hello Malaysia

jasonmarshall22 — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 02:08:00 GMT

Not too much to report from today as we've spent most of the day travelling.

We got up this morning again to sunshine and so took another walk along Naithon Beach before breakfast. After breakfast we had a wander around the hotel before making our way to the airport for our flight to Kuala Lumpur. The plan was to get a flight to Kuala Lumpur and then get another flight onto Langkawi. However when we got to the airport we found out that our flight was delayed and it was an hour and a half past the scheduled departure time before we made it into the air. This meant that we would have a very tight connection time in Kuala Lumpur for our connecting flight onto Langkawi. After a lot of running in Kuala Lumpur airport we eventually got our bags checked in and made it to the gate only to find out onward flight was delayed by half an hour so we actually had time to spare in the end. Unfortunately the sweating had already got out of control by that stage!

When we arrived in Langkawi we got a taxi to our hotel and we got checked in. We're staying in a rainforest chalet which is kinda cool as we have our own wee hut- as Ania said, this is possibly the closest she will ever get to going camping! There's a sign in our room telling us to keep the doors and windows closed in case the monkeys get in- I don't know how we'll cope with monkeys considering we freaked out over a couple of tiny lizards on our balcony in Phuket!

We went for a scout around before having a couple of drinks in the bar to celebrate our first night in Malaysia. The house band 'Wave' were preforming which was an experience to say the least- we have them to look forward to again on Wednesday evening!

Tomorrow we are planning to maybe go into the town and explore some of what Langkawi has to offer. We've put some Langkawi photos up but hopefully we'll have a lot more to put up tomorrow.

Photos: Langkawi

jasonmarshall22 — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 02:02:00 GMT

Phuket Relaxation

jasonmarshall22 — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 01:25:00 GMT

We haven't posted an update for a couple of days as we've been spending our time relaxing at our hotel in Phuket and so we don't have too much to report.

On Friday morning we left our hotel in Chiang Mai to get our flight to Phuket. We arrived at our Phuket hotel at around 2 o'clock and it wasn't long before we encountered our first rain of the trip! It's definitely cooler here than in Bangkok and Chiang Mai and Friday and Saturday were generally overcast with heavy downpours every now and again. We didn't really mind though as it was nice to be somewhere slightly cooler and not worry about the bright sun all of the time.

The hotel itself is really nice- it's kind of set up in the hills just above the beach and has great views out over the sea. We're staying in a block slightly up the hillside and so it's a steep climb back up to the room from the main areas. There are buggy's that shuttle people around but we've tried to avoid them so far as it's not too far of a walk for us.

On Friday evening we had a scout around the place and took a walk along the nearby beach called Naithon beach. It's quite a small beach but it feels relatively untouched and natural which is nice as apparently many of the beaches in Phuket are touristy and overcrowded. We were literally the only people on the beach at one point so it almost felt like we were on our own wee private beach. After our walk we freshened up and then took advantage of the happy hour 2 for 1 drinks between 5 and 7 before going for dinner at the Italian restaurant in the hotel- ok so still no Thai food but pasta works for us!

Even though we had an early night on Friday we still managed to lie in until 10 on Saturday before going down for our buffet breakfast which has pretty much everything you could imagine a breakfast buffet to have- they even had vodka for people to make their own bloody Mary's! (We gave it a miss on this occasion!)

Even though it was overcast we still went down to the pool on Saturday afternoon. Although we're saying it's cooler it's still mid 20's so more than hot enough for us! In fact mid-20's with no direct sun is pretty much perfect conditions for sitting out and relaxing!

On Saturday evening we decided to try some of the Thai tapas food in the bar area for tea- that might be as adventurous as it gets for us on the food front! They then had a guy playing guitar and singing in the bar which was a nice and relaxing way to end the evening.

This morning we got up early to the sound of no rain and when we looked outside the sky was blue and the sun was shining so we decided to take an early morning walk up the beach- slightly different to the usual early Sunday morning walk to Lidl in Dalry! Again it was relatively quiet with only a few more people arriving on our way back to the hotel.

After breakfast (again we refused the Bloody Mary's), we went straight down to the pool as the sunshine meant it was going to be busier than yesterday! It's nice to say we had at least one day to enjoy the pool in the sunshine.

At lunchtime Ania treated herself to a massage! Meanwhile I (Jason) thought I'd enjoy the peace and quiet (joking obviously) and chill by the pool but literally 5 minutes after Ania left the clouds appeared from nowhere and it started chucking it down so I had to retreat to the room. It's almost as if Ania knew the storm was coming!

We went back down to the pool again in the afternoon and Ania enjoyed some coconut milk before yet another storm approached. Although it meant we had to leave our poolside position, it was quite exciting seeing a proper storm coming in. This one lasted much longer than the earlier one and so we decided to give up on any further pool lounging and went back to our room get get ready for our final dinner and drinks in Thailand.

Tomorrow we depart Thailand for Langkawi which is an island off the Western coast of Malaysia so we're looking forward to seeing what Malaysia has to offer!

Photos: Phuket

jasonmarshall22 — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 17:44:00 GMT

Bus Journey to the Golden Triangle

jasonmarshall22 — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 02:42:00 GMT

This morning we were collected at our hotel just after 7:00am and we boarded a minibus for our tour to the Golden Triangle which is the point at which the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) meet.

After a couple of hours on the bus our first main stop was Wat Rong Khun which is located just outside Chiang Rai in North-Eastern Thailand. It's more commonly known as the 'White Temple' and it was instantly obvious why- its all white and totally different to any other Temples we've seen so far. As Temples go it's pretty young as it was only built 20 years ago and apparently it'll not be completely finished for another 10. The whiteness makes it look more impressive than the others we've seen! The toilets were also probably the most impressive toilets we've ever seen- it's not often we feel we have to take photos of the toilet block! The weather has been more overcast today which was a shame as the pictures probably do it justice against the white sky. Still no rain though so we can't complain.

The next stop on the tour was a visit to the Karen Long Neck village where the Karen Long Neck tribe were based. Their distinctive feature is that the women wear a metal coil around their necks (5kg apparently!) Essentially the village was a series of stalls where the women were making and selling scarves etc. It was difficult to determine how real the whole setup was- it looked like it was genuine and the women themselves seemed happy enough. Although some of the others on the tour were going around photographing them like they were objects which made us feel a bit uncomfortable. We bought a few things from them and asked if we could have a photo so hopefully we came across a bit more respectful than some of the others!

After this we stopped for lunch at a buffet place before making our way to the so-called 'Golden Triangle' area itself. Not only is this the area where the countries of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet but it also used to be one of the largest opium (heroine) producing areas in the world! The three countries are separated by the Mekong River and so the tour included a boat tour along the River followed by a stop-off in Laos. The tour description made it all sound above board but we were starting to worry as the legality of the whole process felt more doubtful...we went with it though as there were hundreds of other tourists doing the same so we boarded the boat. It was quite a cool moment when we were sitting in the middle of the river and to the left of us was Thailand, to the right of us was Laos and straight ahead was Myanmar. There's actually a small island in the middle of the 3 which is apparently classed as no-man's land.

When the boat stopped off at the Laos side we had half a hour to walk around and explore. We were feeling excited at the prospect of seeing a tiny glimpse into life in another country- but in truth it was essentially an area with loads of market stalls selling fake branded goods for tiny prices. I was tempted to replace my newly bought Riy-Dons with some "genuine" Ray-Bans for £2.50 and Ania was eyeing up the designer handbags but the whole place felt kinda wrong so we decided against it. It was a bit weird seeing everyone boarding the boat again carrying their newly purchased "Louis Vuitton" suitcases!

It was fun to say we did it and visited another country but I'm not sure if this visit really merits scratching Laos of the scratch map- or if we do- we'll have to make a vow to go back again sometime and see it properly (and legally!!)

After a surreal boat journey back across the River (which included the guide dragging people up to the front of the boat to sing and then asking the rest of us to decide whether they should be awarded either "money or banana") we boarded the bus again and made our way to our final stop of the tour. This was a visit to the 'Blue Temple' which again was unique in comparison to any other temples we've visited in that it was predominantly blue- no less impressive though!

I think we can now say we are officially templed out so it's probably a good thing we are moving on from Chiang Mai tomorrow morning.

Next stop for us is Phuket via a flight and we're looking forward to a long lazy weekend by the beach (and probably a few more temples...)

We've updated the Chiang Mai photo album with the photos from today.

Exploring Chiang Mai and visit to Doi Suthep

jasonmarshall22 — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 01:54:00 GMT

Today, after breakfast in the hotel, we went to visit a few temples in Chiang Mai.

The first was the largest in the city called Wat Chedi Luang and was only a few minutes walk away from the hotel. When we entered we both headed for what we both agree is the best part of the temple- the air conditioning unit. After about 10 minutes standing in the one place taking in the cool breeze, we had a look around and then went for a walk around the grounds.

After much deliberation Ania then decided to buy a hat before we went next door to Wat Phan Tao temple. We then went for a walk around some of the shops in the town before heading back to the hotel to refresh before setting off again.

In the afternoon we took a trip to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep which is a temple located in the mountains outside Chiang Mai. After a taxi ride up a very bendy road up into the hills, we reached the village from which we then took a funicular up to the temple itself. When we reached the top there were great views out over Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas.

The temple itself was bright gold and was pretty impressive. There were also a lot more monks walking around than in many of the previous temples we've visited and as a whole it felt a lot more real than the others.

In the evening, after we'd once again freshened up at the hotel (we're currently averaging 3-4 showers a day each!) we got some food and then went for a walk to the night bazaar which is a big market area slightly further away from the city centre.

I'd (Jason) left my sunglasses at the hotel in Bangkok so I was in search of some more. Luckily I managed to get a quality designer pair of Ray-Bans (well technically they're Riy-Don's) at the grand price of 100baht (£2.50).

Tomorrow we're up early (7:00am) as we're doing a tour outside of Chiang Mai. Details to follow tomorrow (cue the Eastenders theme....)

From Bangkok to Chiang Mai

jasonmarshall22 — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 02:22:00 GMT

Not too much to report from today as we spent the morning in Bangkok before getting a flight onto Chiang Mai in the afternoon.

Weather again is hot and sunny- the weather forecast keeps telling us it should be raining but we haven't seen any of it yet! I think for once we're actually hoping it would rain!

This morning we had time to walk along to one of the parks in Bangkok called Dusit Park where the Royal Family live. After alot more sweating (we clearly still haven't yet acclimatised to the heat) we made our way back to the hotel before getting the train back to Bangkok airport.

Our flight was at 5:20pm and we arrived into Chiang Mai just after 6:30pm and got a taxi to our hotel (at the Grand cost of £4).

The hotel itself is very cool even though it's small with only 19 rooms and doesn't have a front door or a roof (well except for the rooms)! Definitely different to anywhere we've stayed before!

We went out for a walk to get our bearings and it's fair to say the city is the opposite of Bangkok- it's much more calm and peaceful!

We stopped at a bar on the way back and got some drink and desert (flaming banana fritters)!

We'be added some photos to both the Bangkok and Chiang Mai albums.

Tomorrow the plan is to explore Chiang Mai and to visit some more temples (no we're not sick of seeing them yet)!

Photos: Chiang Mai

jasonmarshall22 — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 02:11:00 GMT

Visiting the Temples

jasonmarshall22 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 05:08:00 GMT

So today we went to the main touristy bits of Bangkok including visits to see the 3 main Buddhist temples.

The weather was pretty hot today with mostly blue skies (and therefore most red shoulders and foreheads)!

The day started with a visit to one of the smaller temples where we seen the golden Buddha.

We then definitely didn't get lost trying to find the massive river (Chao Phraya) running through the city- turns out we were walking parallel to it all the time! When we eventually found it we boarded a boat (after persuading Ania it would be ok!) which would drop us off at the main temples.

The first and biggest of these was Wat Phra Kaeo which contains the Grand Palace. Everywhere we looked there was gold and bright colours- it's difficult to describe how impressive it was- the photos probably don't even do it justice.

We then took another boat across the River to Wat Arun which was a completely different style to Wat Phra Kaeo but equally as impressive.

Another boat back across the river again (Ania was loving the boats by this stage) took us to Wat Pho which was probably the most colourful of all the temples we'd seen. It also includes the Reclining Buddha which was absolutely massive- again the photos don't do it justice!

After finishing here we took a walk back around the town to see a few more temples and sights before heading back to the hotel. The plan was to walk but we were both pretty knackered from the heat and from being on our feet all day. So we hailed down a tuk-tuk (even though I was initially apprehensive) and took a ride back to the hotel. I guess it's something you have to tick off the Bangkok to-do list.

After a rest in the hotel (nap in Ania's case) we headed back out again in the evening to get some food and drinks. Obviously we wanted to really experience Bangkok life and to sample all the street food, but instead we went to the Hard Rock- what can we say- food experimentation isn't our thing! It was quite good though as a live band started just as we got our food and we had front row seats!

We ended the day with a visit to a sky bar so we could get a night-time view of the city! We didn't have enough change for the train back to the hotel so we missed the last train which meant we got to experience another tuk-tuk- I think two dangerous journeys is one day is more than enough!

Bed time now though! Tomorrow we're going to explore a bit more of Bangkok in the morning before heading out to the airport to board our flight to Chiang Mai.

More photos have been added to the Bangkok folder.

Arrival in Bangkok

jasonmarshall22 — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 04:36:00 GMT

Today we arrived in Bangkok. Our flight arrived at around 7:30am so we were very happy when the hotel let us check in at 9am as we were able to catch up on some of the sleep we missed whilst on the plane.

After our morning nap we went out to explore Bangkok. The weather here is also pretty warm but compared to Qatar it's a lot more bearable. There were a few spits of rain when we first went out but that passed and although it was overcast it was dry the rest of the day- pretty perfect actually!

We didn't really have much of a plan or schedule for today as we didn't expect we'd get to check in so early so we just did some wandering through the streets to get an idea of what life in Bangkok is like.

It's fair to say the roads were pretty busy and a bit crazy- we've seen one accident already! We are definitely being cautious even when the man is green!

We walked through Siam Square where a lot of the shops are located (and again enjoyed the air-conditioning) and then walked along the skywalk that follows the railway line.

While on the skywalk we were able to watch down at the Hindu Erawan Shrine where people were laying flowers on the rails and tables around the shrine. There were also some traditional Thai dancers and traditional music being played. It was pretty fascinating to watch- that was until they came round with some green wheely bins and scooped all the flowers into them- it kinda ruined the moment a bit!

We then walked along the street in search of somewhere to watch the F1 and to grab some food. We found a sports bar that was showing it so we were happy! That was until the Ferraris ran into each other! It's fair to say that ruined Ania's day. Let's hope for a better result in Malaysia!

To finish the night we decided to go see one of the all night markets- after a bit of a trek we found them- although let's just say we found more than the markets so we didn't hang around! Bangkok lives up to its reputation it seems!

Again we've added some more photos- not too many from today though.

Tomorrow we're planning to get up early (well in 5 and a half hours time!) to go see some temples so we'll hopefully have more photos then.

Photos: Bangkok

jasonmarshall22 — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 04:31:00 GMT

Qatar Heat

jasonmarshall22 — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 10:49:00 GMT

We're currently waiting for our baggage at Bangkok airport after our overnight flight. We planned to post another update yesterday but the website was down.

Got into Doha yesterday evening and I think we slowly melted as we got off the plane. We knew it was gonna be hot but we still weren't prepared enough- don't think either of us have been anywhere as hot as this before.

On Friday evening we didn't venture out of the hotel so we grabbed some food at the hotel and got an early night to prepare us for today!

Yesterday morning we got up early and got a taxi into town. The plan was to walk along the Corniche (promenade) to the Museum of Islamic Arts but literally 5mins after walking outside I realised that my shirt wasn't going to cope with the gallons of sweat I was producing so a change was needed. Unfortunately, when the trousers started to give up about 10mins later I didn't have any spares to turn to and Ania enjoyed continually pointing out that it looked like I'd wet myself!

We finally made it to the Museum of Islamic Arts and got some pictures outside- the building was pretty impressive! Although we're clearly big fans of Islamic Art, we decided not to see inside so instead headed back along to the promenade to visit the Souq (market).

After wandering past shop after shop selling pashminas and a few selling budgies we boarded the Doha Hop-on-Hop-off bus. Not the most cultured way to see a city but our only option as they're still constructing the metro and it was too far to walk in the heat!

The tour took us to 'The Pearl' which is a luxury man-made island where the rich and famous of Qatar live and store their yachts and where Ania did some Ferrari shopping!

After a stop and some food at the air conditioned shopping mall, we made our way back to the hotel to collect our bags and to await our transfer to the airport.

See our photo galleries for some photos from Doha.

Now to explore Bangkok...

Photos: Qatar

jasonmarshall22 — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 06:39:00 GMT

And it's GO GO GO!

jasonmarshall22 — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 06:37:00 GMT

So we thought we'd try an online blog/journal to keep you up to date with our travels!

The plan is to update it once a day but we'll see how it goes!

We're currently on the bus to the airport so we might be a bit over-enthusiastic about it at the minute!

Hence all the exclamation marks!!!!

Next stop Qatar! (Well technically it's Drum Brae Roundabout...)