Catch some rays
While reeling in the summer
Of a good time
By the lake,
Waiting for a bite
To eat for supper.

By the time I left my life in Scotland behind to emigrate to New Zealand back in early 2012, I’d spent more time than I would have liked transiting through American airports. They’re not the friendliest of places and with a real dislike for Los Angeles airport (LAX) I was keen for an alternative transit point between my new home and old home. My original booking that took me to New Zealand had been a return ticket, so I’d used the return leg with its LAX transit to go home and visit my family for Christmas at the end of 2012, but I was keen to avoid the same route back, and booked a ticket home via Singapore. I had a few hours layover at Singapore’s Changi airport and was blown away by the country’s national carrier that took me there and also the airport itself. I transited Changi twice…

As the sun continued to lower, I walked in the slightly cooler air from my hotel to Marina Bay. This was my first sighting of the city’s famous hotel, the tri-towered Marina Bay Sands and it was just as impressive to see for myself as it had been in photographs. The next few days were to be taken up by the conference that I had come to the city for, and the conference centre was within the mega complex that includes a multi-level shopping mall. I needed to sign-in ahead of it starting so I made my way round the marina edge and into the air-conditioned mall. Thankfully there were signs telling me where to go because it was massive, and as I continued through the labyrinthine mall, I was shocked to discover a Venice-inspired canal in the middle of it, complete with boats to go punting on. This was…

I’d read about a restaurant in Chinatown that took my fancy. After 4 days of hanging around Marina Bay, I was ready to see a bit more of what Singapore had to offer. The city was bustling at night when the temperature was much more pleasant and being a Friday, there were a multitude of bars spilling out onto the street as I headed from my hotel through the backstreets towards Chinatown. Unfortunately, the place I’d planned on grabbing dinner in was small and full so I headed into the nearby hawker food centre for what was a great meal anyway. These hawker centres are dotted about the city. Effectively a multitude of food stalls under one roof, they are a great way to try different foods and often a cheap way to eat out too. Feeling satiated, I headed to central Chinatown where there was a street full…

Now thinking back on this adventure I can say it’s one of the most amazing things I have ever done.  As I told you in my previous post, I crashed my scooter the day before I left Chiang Mai to do a Mae Hong Song loop. Needless to say I was extremely nervous about doing 650km on Thai roads which actually turned out to be 860km and are saved in my memory as some of the happiest days of my Thailand trip.

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Don Inthanon – Mae Chaem – 140km

We decided to do the loop anticlockwise and to head towards Doi Inthanon, the highest peak in Thailand (2565m). The start was slow and I remember going 40km/hour, being terrified of traffic, but it all improved as soon as we left Chiang Mai. The roads got quieter and I started enjoying the ride.

It also got…

After freezing in Northern Thailand for nearly two weeks, it was amazing to land in Phuket Island and finally drop all the warm layers.

It was quite a big shock coming there after spending so much time in rural Thailand and I don’t think I will be rushing back to the island anytime soon. However, we were there for the New Years party and it turned out to be an incredible experience.

We decided to stay near Kata beach, which was a nice spot for relaxing away from the crowds (especially compared to the madness in Patong). During the four days there we became regulars at Kwong Shop Seafood restaurant which did amazing fresh seafood and we watched some incredible sunsets on Kata beach.

Kata was a short tuk tuk ride away from Patong, the main NY party spot, but on the night the drivers were charging some crazy cash…

This island was such a treat! I always imagined the South of Thailand to be relaxed, with loads of beautiful beaches and nice atmosphere. Obviously Phuket was far from that image and when I finally got to Koh Lanta it made me appreciate the island even more.

Two things I learned there – I am terrified of scuba diving and I get sea sick! The latter shouldn’t have been such a huge surprise since I didn’t grow up near water. However, it was a very new and unpleasant sensation so to some extent it was nice to be surprised by my own body.

Anyway, I will start from the beginning. Craig wanted to do some scuba diving for his birthday, so I thought I would give it a go as well. Didn’t get any further than the swimming pool since I was totally freaking out about being unable to move…