A good night’s sleep and we were all ready for a busy day. Hotel Gullfoss is just five minutes drive from the waterfall after which it is named so that was our first stop. What a sight! Having decided not to buy snacks for lunch we headed straight off to see the Geysirs. Not aContinue reading “Our ‘bonus’ day”
Category Archives: Places
A full day game drive in the Masai Mara
Basecamp Mara is a short distance from the entrance to the Mara but Chris decided we must be up and away by 6.30 taking a packed breakfast and a packed lunch. Last night’s heavy rain had made quite a difference to the road which was pretty churned up with some heavy vehicles and then weContinue reading “A full day game drive in the Masai Mara”
Another overnight trip: we’re off to Chiang Rai
A couple of days back in Lampang doing some very enjoyable catching-up and making new discoveries and we were off in the trusty Vios I had hired again, heading north east to Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai Province borders the Mekong and it’s a short longtail ferry ride across the river to Laos. There is alsoContinue reading “Another overnight trip: we’re off to Chiang Rai”
Sukhothai: an overnight trip from Lampang
Lampang is a railway town in northern Thailand. It was where I first discovered Thai culture and was welcomed into a family home in 1997. Here I met the boy who was to make me understand Thai and who would become the bridegroom in that very modern Thai wedding I attended in Nakhon Si ThammaratContinue reading “Sukhothai: an overnight trip from Lampang”
A Very Modern Thai Wedding
And so the day dawned when we would attend the wedding. The celebration was not until 6p.m. so we had all day to prepare – or be lazy! Or both!! We had found a hairdresser the day before and I confess I had expected a simple wash and blow-dry when we arrived at the salonContinue reading “A Very Modern Thai Wedding”
A Southern interlude
Within 48 hrs of arriving in Chiangmai, I was at the airport again, this time flying. To Nakhon Si Thammarat for the wedding that brought about this whole visit. The bridegroom’s mother, her sister and niece met me at the airport and her brother and two nephews will meet us in the south having drivenContinue reading “A Southern interlude”
Another day in the maze of Jerusalem’s Old City
I remember my mother, having read the diary I wrote during my first visit to Jerusalem in 1978, saying, ‘It feels as if you’ve been somewhere special’. She was a gifted singer one of whose favourite sacred songs was “Holy City” and this visit has reminded me of the scenarios it presents. You can findContinue reading “Another day in the maze of Jerusalem’s Old City”
Walking the Old City
One of the things I love about the Old City of Jerusalem is its size: it’s easy to get everywhere and the longer you walk the more shortcuts you find. Apparently Thursday and Monday are the busiest days at the Western Wall as they are the favoured Bar Mitzvah days – that very important ceremonyContinue reading “Walking the Old City”
Back in Jerusalem (so soon!!)
Had you asked me in May whether I expected to return to Israel after my June visit, I would probably have said ‘No’, but then I found a project to work on and decided that, to get the bee out of my bonnet, I needed to return sooner rather than later. Fares were reasonably pricedContinue reading “Back in Jerusalem (so soon!!)”
A short trip to Petra and Wadi Rum
When I heard that friends who have lived in Israel for three years hadn’t been to Petra, just across in Jordan, I was keen to have them visit before returning to the US in July, so agreed that during my visit before they left we would do a short trip. We left Even Yehuda whereContinue reading “A short trip to Petra and Wadi Rum”
Living the Journey 