Transport
The mode of transport you use on long distance travelling can really enhance your experience. Train travel in particular has its own excitement – pulling out of a city feels so auspicious, as does arrival by train in a new place. Locally, using the services of local buses, trams and metros will help you get the feel of a place. And so you learn to live like a local, and if you’re lucky, you get to meet people too. Systems can be difficult but people are so often helpful – if it’s confusing, someone will help you out. On longer journeys, the use of public transport gives you the opportunity to study the terrain at leisure, you can watch the world pass by as you move through the different areas. Busy towns give way to open fields; mountains and lakes. Stations too are stimulating places. The manic activity of bus and rail stations is great to be part of. What at first seems chaos soon becomes clear. Just sit back and enjoy.
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COVID: Living In The Heart Of The Beast
Kent, England, December 22nd, 2020, and a COVID drama is unfolding right on our doorstep. In the last 48 hours over 40 countries have suspended all flights to and from the UK and our nearer neighbours in Europe have closed all other UK transport routes, following discovery of a new variant of COVID here in England. The source of this new variant, which evidently spreads considerably more rapidly than the parent version, is the county of Kent, which is precisely where we live. Not so long ago, the UK Government decreed that any country with an infection rate of over 20 per 100,000 population was a “dangerous” country: now, districts…
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Living In Side Turkey
As we approach the end of our sixth week in Turkey we also begin our second week in Side, with a few things moving on. October 29th is Republic Day here, Turkey’s biggest public holiday, commemorating the day in 1923 when Ataturk united this huge nation by declaring the existence of the Republic, although in reality the republic was effectively almost 3 years old by that date. In normal times, Republic Day is a nationwide festival with much celebration, but the Government has this year implemented COVID restrictions so the festivities are mostly restricted to draping of the Turkish flag over buildings and buses. Speaking of COVID, matters have changed…
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Croatia: The Adventure Begins
The city of Split is said to have first become a major settlement when the Roman emperor Diocletian stood down from his role and retired here in 304AD, the magnificent palace built for him in this stunning bay was therefore effectively his retirement home. We don’t suppose our arrival here on the second trip of our own retirement will create quite such a stir however; in fact, we couldn’t even get into our room. Back home in the UK we are all still being encouraged to avoid unnecessary use of public transport so it’s a cab rather than the customary train which takes us to Gatwick. It costs £80. The…
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Our Place In The World As The World Collapses
And so we pick up our story from our eviction from Tuan Chau…. For 4 hours we sit at the offices of Halong Tours, at first outside and later, as it chills, inside with the lovely Nhur Minh (aka Julian), who is incredibly sweet and helpful and looks after us for those four hours, from providing water to reassuring chat to organising our driver. Nothing is too much trouble for her. We will never forget these four hours. As we sit here, scared and bewildered, news is changing at an incredible rate as nation after nation take extreme measures to combat the pandemic. Everything is collapsing across the globe and…
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Hanoi: Back Into City Mode
Island paradise, tribal villages, wonderful scenery, small towns and villages, now in the blink of an eye we are transported to a crazily busy capital city and our whole mentality has to change. This regular shift is a part of travel which we are finding particularly stimulating, there’s not much chance things will go stale. We’ve read a lot on line about difficulties in entering Vietnam with onerous visa checking, so what with that and the Coronavirus threat we arrive expecting delays: in reality there is no such issue and after some health checks we are quickly through. And so we leave Laos where it was around 11,540 kip to…
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Out Of Thailand Into Laos
Leaving the amazing experience of Nongtao behind us, our last port of call in Thailand is Chiang Rai, towards the north east corner of the country, our stepping stone to Laos. We make two stops en route to Chiang Rai, firstly at the hot springs at Wiang Pa Pao, the water not just hot but boiling as it shoots out through the geysers. What the hell is happening underground to create that amount of heat??! The second stop is at the famous White Temple which sits around 20 minutes from Chiang Rai, a slightly bizarre creation which can’t make its mind up whether it’s a temple, a tourist trap, or…
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A-Z of Travel Preparation: Part 5
Continuing our summary of all the things to remember, and put in place, before we set off on our epic journeys in January. Q is for Quitting The Job. In our circumstances this has not been straightforward and far from just a matter of handing in a resignation, especially for me, Phil. Having launched a business back in 1995, I then partially sold the company into a larger Group in 2007 but stayed on as Managing Director right through to current times. So, such issues as a notice period in excess of 12 months, co-Directors, investors, shareholding etc all had to be sorted. It’s been a long road but we’re…
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A-Z of Travel Preparation (continued)
Continuing our summary of all that there is to do when planning a major trip and a long spell away from home. Our retirement is imminent and our lifetime adventure starts at the end of January. Amid the growing excitement, there is much to do, so many things to think of. Like. E is for entry conditions. In some parts of the world, it’s not possible to just travel with an open ended stay and with complete freedom. We’re heading to South East Asia first, where 30-day visas are compulsory (although some can be extended), so it’s necessary to plan your departure as well as your arrival. In some instances,…
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A-Z OF TRAVEL PREPARATION
We are now right in the throes of preparation for our major adventure – retiring later this year then embarking on pretty much full time travel from early 2020. As we work through these preparations, it strikes us just how much there is to organise and to get into place before you can go. It’s not just a matter of upping sticks and catching a plane – there’s so much to think of, and put into place. So over the next few days, here’s our A-Z of how to be organised enough to take this on. A is for accommodation, and Airbnb; it’s also for apartments. We’re going to leave a…
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Greek History
It’s almost time for our next adventure, with our next trip to Greece just a few days away as we eagerly anticipate our next trip. We leave these shores on Friday and after this disappointing English summer, the sunshine which awaits us will be very welcome. This is our last holiday before retirement: we finish work later this year, after which we are just going to travel, then we’ll travel, and after that we’ll travel some more. To look at it another way, this is the very last time we will ever be paid our salaries whilst on holiday. Ah well. We’re ready. On Friday then, we will be heading…
