Arrival

We arrived in Sydney yesterday morning and it smelt like autumn. It felt strange to travel from London Spring via a 3 week hot and humid tropical summer to a Sydney autumn. Not that 3 weeks is a short time for a summer in London but still.

Sydney is cold, really cold. Particularly since I've not packed anything suitable for cold weather, I've got 2 pairs of trousers and that is it. No winter jacket. No long sleeved sweaters, no suits, no shoes that covers my toes or anything resembling gloves or socks. I'm well prepared as per always.

We went up to North Queensland today, and it's much warmer and nicer here. It's % humidity and probably about 23 degrees and a bright shining sun. A:s parents live in a beautiful old queenslander house with original vent ducts in the ceiling and a huge mango tree in the back yard.

Today we are taking it easy, not doing much, catching up with A: sister and her children. Tommorow i'm going to my first garage sale, so that will be exiting; and looking at this house and it's interior you seem to be able to get some really good stuff. A:s mother is wonder with a paint brush and has really made this house something special with the combination of new and old furniture and fittings. You get that homely summer cottage feeling from this house. For all swedes I can only liken it to a loved archipelago summer house, bright and airy, height ceilings and old school charms.

Anyway, I'm missing out my favourite TV-channel, the how to channel. So better go back and reclaim my seat at the sofa watching people redo-remake-and create stuff on tv. I love it.

Leaving on jet plane

We are leaving thailand today, to go to Australia, to start our life in a new country. Scary. YOU THINK....i'm shitting myself.

In the last couple of days it's kind of struck me that i'm not going back to London. That I don't have a job, or a flat...and that is starting to feel a little uncomfortable, especially since i've had no interest in getting either so far. Maybe it will change when I get to Sydney. Either that, or S and R will have us staying with them in their guestroom for a very very long time.

Anyway, we start by going up to North Queensland for a week or so to see A:s family. That will be good, and then we go back and arrive in Sydney on the 4 of june. That is when i shall get cracking on the job/flat situation.

I've got a little tanned on this holiday, which is good as it's winter in Sydney and I hope everyone else is really really pale (Hey, I can dream can't I).

I've also realised I packed really bad. I have no jacket, I have 1 pair of trousers, I have 2 longsleved sweaters, that does not match the one pair of trousers. The rest of my clothes will take another 7-8 week to arrive. So I will look like a hobo for a very long time...Great...Maybe that is a good thing. I don't know.
Anyway, of to the airport, to fly to Oz

The Star Price

we are staying in Bo Phut in Koh Samui. It's one of the more quiet and middle age- family oriented areas of the Island. Since it's low seasons it's not that busy. But you could see it be crazy filled with people around X-mas.

Me and A have realised that we are not really resort people. After a few days we get very tired by being asked whether we want a cheap custom made suit, every 15 meters by every guys standing outside every tailor shop that seems to cover the island.

Today it's rainy, and hot. But not tropical heavy rains more drizzle, a whole day of drizzle. No that is not fair. It was sunny this morning, but now it's drizzly and has been since 11 am. Since it was drizzly we went to look in the shops in the fishing village. To see if our tastes had changed and we felt a need for giant wooden carved benevolent Buddha figurine. But NO, no buddhas for us this time.

As we where walking down the road we got stopped by these two guys with scratch cards, and wouldn't you know it I WON THE STAR PRICE....I never win anything, BUT I WON IT...They thought it was a bit strange that I was not more exited by the STAR PRICE, that I would get if I went to their office and only needed to sit through a 60-90 minute presentation about their companies travel offers/apartments/ time share whatever they where selling. Then I would get my STAR PRICE that would be a 42 inch plasma screen tv. Now, even if I was so silly as to go and to the presentation of the whatever they where selling. How would I get a 42 Inch Plasma Screen TV safely to Australia, and the TV would have a Thai plug...so I would have to get an adapter, what would be great thing in that price.

I did not say this to the young very exited for STAR PRICE men, I simply kind of hid behind A and he politely told them that No, the Star price was not for us, but thank you for the offer. And the guys got real huffy and stormed off with a “Well, Enjoy the Rain then”.

So we both have agreed that resort areas are not for us, we do not like the selling, and the Thrower inners at the restaurants. We went to Chaweng the other night, and that was an awful place, awful. So I think, next time we go to Thailand, we'll stay away from the big tourist areas, maybe go down to Chanteburie that was the original plan; and don't go to the islands.

One funny thing about one of the Tailors here, everytime he goes past he tries out a new language on you. He starts with, Very Cheap Suit Sir, Great Suit, and then progresses throught German, Dutch, Norwegian, I think Russian....and the other night as we walked past he cried out.
Javla Billigt Har...
Which in swedish means, f*cking cheap here...

so now you know, Koh Samui – Javla Billigt Har

Ham

I've burned my face so bad it looks like ham...

Somehow the leather bottom germans, with mahogany coloured skin has got one over me. They don't go pink they getting darker...I'm hot pink and i'm wearing spf 50..

Honeymoon Suit

This resort is full of beautiful flowers. Everywhere there is trees, frangiapanis, bougavillia and orchids. They are also very fond of using flowers as decoration. This is what our suit was decked out in when we arrived on Thursday.

Tonight we are going to the black moon party in Chaweng with another couple that we met in Chiang Mai. The black moon party is the Koh Samui version of the full moon party at one of the other islands around here. I hope it wont be the same type of party cause the battle stories I've head of it is not nice. But then again, if it's to chavvy and nasty we can always go home to our fancy resort with the Germans with the small pants.

What is it with Germans, why do they all need to wear such small pants. Men and women, young and unfortunately also the very old. Really, do people think that it is something I really want to see. Old handbag bottoms in 5 square centimetres hit pink lycra.

I however are wearing my swimming shorts, whos only fault is that swimming in them makes them kind of slide off. So no diving for me. However they work real well for poosing my the pool side.

My other swimming, the exercise swimming is coming along real well. Yesterday I swam 35 lenghts. 25 in 5 lenght pyramid and then another 10 lengths so that I could say I swam more then 1 km.

Koh Samui

Crazy hot and humid. I have burnt my arm and the back of my leg, or course. Eventhought I used SPf 20. So today it's SPF 50 and sitting in the shade.
The resort is beatifull if a bit impersonal, I think we should have probably started with Koh Samui and then done Chiang Mai, cause now we are comparing everything to Chiang Mai. Ohh the guesthouse where more personal, the food much much much cheaper, it was easier to get around etc etc....we are whining :-)

So I've decided no more whigning, no more burning. Just sitting in the shade reading the type of books you are embarrased to pick up on the buss.

our resort has a lot of germans on it...they are very funny.

And when we arrived they had put out all flowers and cake and wine in our room as it was our honeymooon. So that was nice. I've taken photos. will take more of the beatifull blooms of the resort.

Anyway...better get outside

The Rains

Beatifull Gate of the Terracotta factory next to us
It is hot here, the type of heat I have rarely experienced before. The humidity mixed with the heat takes takes a lot of energy away from you. At least from A, who has a snooze every afternoon. I myself relish in the heat. Once I got over the fact that that I'm sweating and that my hair will look terrible at all times I loved it.

The heat builds up during the day and by afternoon the humidity and heat forces you to slow down, sit in the shade, drinks something cooling while reading a book while you wait for the rain storms to come; and boy do they come. The rain moves in fast, it starts with an almost physically painful oppressiveness in the air that punches all energy out of the body. The breeze takes up and slowly cools the air and a few small rain drops falls as a warning. Within minutes the rain falls so hard it looks like the town is aimed at by a giant power shower. If you stand in it, as I do it's like someone up above is throwing buckets of water at your head. You soak through in seconds. And then the rain stops; as quickly as it started. Like a tap turned off.
Lychees – My Favourite Fruit
So we are waiting for the rain before we go out to look at the temple festival that starts today. It's just down the street from our guest house. The street is covered by street vendors selling foods and flowers. Apparently people come from 8 different provinces to put flowers and food in front of the alters at this particular temple. Just on our street there are 4 big temples, but this one is the biggest. I have eaten loads of street hawker food here, and so far except the food that I've eaten at the guest house it has been the best. If I compare it to the star rated restaurant we ate at in Hong Kong these street hawkers really have going on. I love it.

We are leaving Chian Mai tommorow and move on to Koh Samui. I hope I will enjoy it there as well. It's on the Gulf Coast of Thailand and not on the Andaman sea side. Which is good as the Andaman sea side has had hurricanes in the last few weeks.

Other random things I've bought so far.

60 meter of satin ribbons

4 5 cm long spoons that look like soup ladles and a papaya grater.

And I had a pedicure for 100 bath, and that ends up being aprox 2 pounds. And my toes looks pink and shiny. All good.
After pedicure we went for food
Lunch Today

Cooking school

We went to a Thai cooking school today as that is what one does when one is in Chian Mai. Our school as out on on an organic farm. It was beautiful, the cooking should have been tasty if I would have been able to listen to instructions. We cooked 6 dishes, starting with a curry paste. I choose Red Curry, it's my favourite food in the whole world.

Unfortunately during the cooking process I managed to take 100 ml of fish sauce in the curry instead of the teaspoon required. That was a massive mistake, and the Curry tasted of little else then fish sauce. Even thought I had hand pounded the red curry paste myself. That took a long time I might add. So I was quite disappointed.

However, I did make Chicken in Coconut soup, Papaya Salad, Spring Rolls and Mango and Sticky rice.

But before the actual cooking took place we all went to the largest food market in Chiang Mai, and bought the ingredients. And there I saw a lot of interesting foods and slaughter methods. They kill the frogs by beating them on the head. One of the girls in the class she almost fainted when she saw that.

Anyway, I didn't bring my good camera, so here are some photos from my mobile camera.

More interesting Insects, you cant really see but these are giant flying ants. Eaten fried as a snack, like crisps.

And another pre-dinner snack. Grilled Frogs on a stick.

More types of rice then you could ever imagine needing.


And last but not least,MSG or Monosodium Glutamate. As many of you know I go a bit strange in head of MSG, I get hyper and get itchy and my throat hurts. Well here you can buy MSG by the bag and I have seen places that have MSG as a table spice. Nice.....


Tommorow I have promised A that we are not going to do anything. I'm not so good at that, but I will be doing my best. Hear you laters

Chaing Mai

Today I bought some more gemstones.One strand of Tourmaline briolettes and one of swizz coloured Topaz for a good price. Not great, but ok. I think I will make a couple of different neclaces with these. Thought in the shop they where trying to sell me something they claimed where chaldcedony briollettes but they where glass...hrmm cheeky people. Anyway, the glass would only have costed me £1.50 so nothing to be afraid off as such. But still, it's bad practice. So I double and tripple checked these strands and they are fine.



After all that walking we both had a foot massage in the massage area at our beatifull guesthouse.

With this fantastic green view.

Our guesthouse is a green little haven next to one of the main roads. As soon as you are inside it's gates you feel very far away from the trafic and heat of Chiang Mai. They also have a restuarant that cranks out fantastic oat pancakes for breakfast and really good Red Curry (my favourite)


The day we arrived we went walking around Chiang Mai and happened upon the flower market. We saw some beatifull flowers and some that I've never seen before. Like these, the leaves are almost cabbage like. But still they are very beatifull.


We also saw these flower garlands that people have hanging in the windows of their houses. Then they move in the wind they perfume the air quite beatifully.


All over Chiang Mai there are frangiapani trees in full bloom. I love frangiapani.

Tonight we are going to the sunday walking market, to get some food and maybe buy me a scarf. It's been really sunny today and I've sat in the sun, using spf 20 and subsequently burned. As I do. But you know, I'm getting better at the not burning. Tommorow spf 50.

Chiang Mai

We spent the last 2 days in Chiang Mai, and it has been lovely. It's really warm and alternates between sun and tropical rain. The rain is warm and heavy and it makes A homesick and me surprised. But it's fast, it goes for like 10 minutes, and then it's over.

We have done a few things, we have walked a lot, eaten some fantastic food, been to the flower market and seen the jasmine garlands. We have been to the Saturday Night walk market and I have bought a pair of those Gap Year Thai trousers that you would never wear at home. I bought them as we are planning to go to one of the Temples and I have no trousers that covers the knees. But now I do. They are teal. Funny that.

We went swimming in a hotel pool close to us, where the water had the same texture as coca cola and made your teeth all weird. So I'm not going back there.

Today we are suppose to make plans to go and do stuff, but we are both still really tired, and neither of us is good at planning. So these are the plans, Cooking School- Tomorrow at a farm in the country side. A wants to go to an orchid farm cause he really likes orchids so we might try that on Tuesday.
And I want a foot massage.

I want to go to the street where the gemstone shops are and buy some cheap most likely synthetic rubies, so I can take them home and investigate them and declare them being synthetic. I've already seen some really funny glass pieces with pieces of grass glued to the bottom sold as Included Quartz.
Examples of Included Quartz

Tonight there is a Sunday night market, I like them cause of all the food. they all sell the same type of knick knacks and I'm not really in to ethnic interior design. So I buy nothing, but I eat all the food.

Later I will put some pictures up from our walk around Chiang Mai.
All good here, gaining weight from my extreme consumption of thai curries. It's so nice to be able to eat with wild abandon after all the stuff I couldn't even stand the smell of in Hong Kong.

A look a lizard ran over my foot...Funny, hear you later

Strange Signage

I must say my favourite thing about Hong Kong was the very strange signage for restaurants and shops.

How would you like to eat at the above resturant called Modern Toilet.I'm not kidding this resturant was oposite our hotel and served all their food out of amenities shaped crockery. It's a Taiwaniese toilet themed restuarant. I especially like the vanilla-chocolate ice cream poo shape in the bide.

Impressions of Hong Kong

As we have left Hong Kong and moved on to Thailand I've been thinking of my impressions of Hong Kong. If you like big brand shopping Hong Kong is your city. Really, every brand has at least 4 or 5 shops in the main part of Kowloon and Hong Kong island.

It's a interesting place to visit as it has so many different sides to it. We stayed on Kowloon in the Mong Kok area, which is an older more residential area. On our last day we went to the oldest most traditional food market in Mong Kok and look what we found..
Dragon Fruit



And a large cage of....ohh what is that.

Ohhh yes a large cage of Toads.

Apparently Toads are very good to eat when you are a bit weak and often given to women after child birth. Myself, I would squeeze my knees together to keep that baby from coming out so I wouldn't have to eat the toads. But hey that is just me, and I'm a bit fussy with food.

We also killed some time on the hotels roof top swimming pool, which was lovely, I am now able to swim a 4 length pyramid in front crawl. So I'm slowly improving.


View from roof top pool


Then we went for the afternoon tea...with the tiniest scones in the whole wide world.
Tiny Tea

Now in accounts for my very bad research and planning, Thailand has just entered rain season, so that is good at least I wont spend my holiday getting a tan. I can't believe myself. I really need to start checking out places before I got to them, it's been the same thing in every single place I visit :-).

Anyway, it's nice and hot and humid, so that is a plus, and the hotel/guesthouse is amazing looking, Pak Chiang Mai and I can't wait to go and get some food cause I love Thai food. As it's raining i'm going to go to a Cooking school, and maybe have a whole day spa thing.......

Bankok-Chiang Mai

We are no in Bankok on our way to chiang mai. On our flight to bankok Ii sat next to a middle eastern man who sang a long with the Koran verses out loud the whole flight. And also hd relly stinky feat, and arm pits. I know im delicate about smells, but even A agreed that he was stinky..

Oon our last day in Hong kong we went to the Mong kok food market. I have some fab photos of the different type of food that was available, dragon fruit, durian and toads all good stuff.

I have also found out what the stinky food stall next to the ladies market was. its stinky tofu. Aand not any normal Stinky Tofu, but she makes it special stinky using an array of stinky stuff such as prawn shells. so now you know, extra stinky tofu wanted, left at the ladies market. They are threathned with having to close down, as their premises are in the same building as the health and environment office. and they have gotten may complaints about the smell.

Thailand - crazy humid,i'ts like a continious light rain and hot. next time I go on hoiliday, i'm gonna read up on the places i'm oing to. I'm continiously suprised about where we end up. who knew chaing mai had no beach. well I guess eveyone that read the book.

hr you later

New Shorts

I finaly found a pair of swimming shorts, and i'm really happy. I've been really upset as I would have had to go on my first beach holidays in a long time wearing a swiming costume that is less then flattering. The bottoms make me look like a sausage and the top is to big...

So enter my new roxy shorts with a big pink flower...I'm quite exited...


Today we are leaving Hong Kong and move on to Thailand. First Chang Mai and then Koh Samui. Our fligths are not untill late tonight, so I will try to take pictures of the roof top pool and the worlds smallest scones in the complementary afternoon tea.

Other than that, I'm quite finished with this place, i'm looking forward to go somewhere where make up is not required, so a beach location will fit real good now..
I thinking my sister is right with her summer house in the country side where you can fart about wearing ugly shorts and no make up.

More news from Thailand Coming up

Roxy

I've been trying to find a pair of Board Shorts to wear for swimming. So I wont scare people on the beach with my 25 cm long bright red scar and that I wont get sun on it. I have found the ones that I want. But lo and behold. Roxy shops in HK don't do sizes larger then a UK 8 (EUR 36). Which is so unfair, cause they do the white ones in UK Size 10 (My size)...

Now one would think, that if you are in country with rather small people, why would the people that are a bit larger then your normal largest size in that country want to wear white see throught shorts...shouldn't we want to wear the black one...
Come on...Bring on some black boardies for Maria today, I've alreayd visited 8 Roxy shops.....and been looked at scornfully by little tiny teenage girls..

Anyway, a picture of a 2 storey tram to cheer us up for the day. Now i'm going for pre-dinner drinks, and then the final Roxy shop visit is coming up. Shops don't close here untill 10 pm...Great

First Joke in Swedish

In our hotel lounge, there is a massage chair. It's mental. It hurts more then it helps, everyone that steps out of it is almost crying.


tonight there is an Aussie lady sitting in it, and I told A he should try it out. He said it was busy, so I said you should tell her to finish up soon, sh has been there for a while.

So he said in Swedish -
Jag kan saga, branna bort.
I didn't really understand.
So he said
-Det blir fel el i stolen, hon kan branna bort.

And that way he would get the chair...I think it's a good solution myself

Shopping Loot

So this is my loot, as you probably can tell i'm not the most exiting shopper, with the teal and the black. But on every holiday I even been at I end up buying som bright yellow top, or orange with flowers or something with patterns that I never wear again.

And I'm sure that you can tell that it's all H&M. I'm sorry to say that is true, for those who don't know. H&M is about the only place in Hong Kong where the sizes fit me. The clothes here are small, since the people here are quite small. So this is the only place where I don't need an X-large. And i'm not that big. I'm an average european medium (UK size 10 ish).

I most exited about my pearls as you can see, i've bought 3 strands, one large barouqe pearls in an array in pink shades, and then some smaller perfectly round pink pearls. And the earings, very sweet.

Anyway, tonight we are going to Victoria Harbor for dinner and to watch the light display. But first Afternoon Tea at the Club Lounge at our hotel. they have the smallest little scones you ever seen. I might bring the camera and take a photpo.

Star Ferry

We spent the day seightseeing today, and we saw all of Kowloon and Hong Kong island, by the help of one of those open top buss companies. Lazy I know, but I can't walk that much with my hip so beeing able to see a lot while sitting really helps me.

Now someone told me many a times that the Star Ferry did no longer run, and I dissagreed as I have heard that it did. So I can confirm that it is still running as you can see in this picture, as I am travelling on it. What a lovely way to travell, the only place that got some breeze today. It has been hot and crazy humid.



We also went up to the Victoria Peak with the Peak Tram. And my lord is it high up, and I keep forgetting that A is really afraid of heights, so I keep forcing him up all the heights I can find. He did good today, but decided to stay on the peak ground and get a coffe when I went up and got some photos from the peak viewing terrazz that is an extra 5 floor up. I just wish I could take photos that would make this view justice.



After all that seightseeing we went to the hotels roof top pool for some swimming. My front crawl is improving, but it's still more an attempt of moving forward while not drowning then a form of swimming. But I'm sure that in a month or something I'll be able to swim a lane or two without swallowing most of the pool.
Tonight I'm forcing A to go to the Temple Street Night Market after dinner, so I'm buying some random chinese crap.

So far I've been to the jade market and bought some decent quality pearls for an OK price. And some craft paper punches, and then for once I was really good at hagling. I'm rubish at it normaly, makes me feel uncomfortable. But this time, the lady got angry and then just gave up and took the price I offered which I take as a sign of getting a good price. The puches added up to about 40 pence each, so real cheap...

anyway...that is it. I'm starving, and I hate chinese food so finding something to eat here is complicated. Anyway, I will write about the awfull smelling food stall next to the Ladies Market. It smells like my brothers feet.

Anyway, Over and Out

Blade Runner City

Blade Runner City

We arrived in Hong Kong late last night, and this is the view from our 35 th floor hotel bedroom. Sorry about the shakiness I blame it on not having slept for 24 hours and the fact that the Shutter time was so long. I think the shakiness it lends the city it's blade runner quality.

There is something exiting with Hong Kong, something dark and mysterious is how I feel it. I think the extremesness of the city also comes from the fact that I can't read the signs...I do not speak cantoneese or mandarin. But I do know the sign for fish...:-)I loved it last time I was here, and I think I might like it this time as well.


This is the view from what is under our window. After I took these photos I went to bed had a fantastic sleep. Our hotel room is lovely, we have a glass window into the bath room. I will take pictures later. But Now i'm going to check out the city.

During The Day

This is the view from our hotel this morgning, slightly grey and crazy humid. We are staying at Langham Place in Kowloon. Now we are to do some research on what we might actually want to do when we are here, as we are not good travel planers...:-). Anyway, we are alive, we are here..it's sunday so bring on the Dim Sums

Hong Kong

We are going today to Hong Kong leaving the house in 1 hour. I've packed and repacked so that my bag is not to heavy. Still to heavy, but better then before. Bought a new bag for my camera so I can take proper photos...

so i'll see you guys...when you come to oz next time :-)

The bags are packed, the flat is empty and we are staying our last days in London at a friends house. Today I spent my days instructing the packers to where everything is going (australia, storage, garbage) and getting my hair butchered into a simmilar style of Princess Diana ala 1989...Mighty fine hair.

We had a fantastic leaving party on saturday, funnily enought we had planned it at Centrebar down at south bank at the same time as the Gay Voices fetival was on. The place was chockers with gay choiers. And they all sang very beatifully, the sun was out, the wine was flowing. Good times had by all..well at least by me.

On sunday we went to a friends BBQ, and they had a australian themed event, they cooked kangaroo steaks, crocodile and a number of other more exotic meats. We even got an acustic rendition of Walzing Matilda by Dom and Ruth. Amazing work.

So we are now kind of on our way, we are leaving the country on Friday night, and spending 5 days in Hong Kong, then another 2 weeks in Thailand, and then one week in North Queensland, before we settle in Sydney. To try to find a new job, house and a whole new batch of life experiances. I will be blogging and taking my good camera with me, so I hope I will be able to load up some pictures.

And this is A making sure we are not vasting any of the left over Ice Cream.