azazil.net » Travel

First Thai Christmas

Gaz — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:56:33 +0000

Having spent Christmas in the capital of the (predominantly Catholic) Philippines for the last two years, we weren’t entirely sure of what to expect for our first Christmas in the (predominantly Buddhist) capital of Thailand… we needn’t have worried, since the expat community is large enough to ensure that Christmas is celebrated to some extent, despite it being 30ºC in the sun.

Better still, the rooftop bar and restaurant on the grounds of our apartment complex is owned by a fellow Brit expat, who laid on a lavish five-course traditional Christmas lunch. It was so lavish, in fact, that not one person finished, and most of us were defeated by the main course… and it took us most of the afternoon to eat our fill. Nonetheless, with a little extra help from two bottles of Jameson’s single malt, a few bottles of red-wine, and several crates of Singha beer, a wonderful time was enjoyed by all!

(In case you’re wondering what happened to the final course… it was mince pies and fruit with ice cream, but I could barely lift my fork by the time it arrived, let alone operate my camera!)

Respite in Bangkok

Gaz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:17:27 +0000

I had the brainwave of making our long flight between Birmingham and Bangkok a little easier by breaking it into two 6-hour stages with an overnight stop in Dubai for 10 hours. The plan was to buy access to a business or first class lounge, take a shower, use the wifi access and maybe catch 6 or 7 hours of sleep in a comfortable recliner. As it turns out, the class divide in Dubai airport is very much alive and well – and the common riff-raff are not allowed to upgrade to a better lounge; as matter of fact they have special areas to keep us in, where sleeping is not allowed and access costs US$30 per 4 hours; there are free showers with no towels, or a 15 minute walk to the luxury showers in the airport hotel at US$32 each!!

In the end, we found reasonably comfy recliners in the waiting room near our departure gate, and used the close-by free showers, drying off with the clothes we changed out of. The 10 hour layover crawled by, but we eventually arrived in Bangkok’s giant airport with our nerves mostly intact last night. Better still, we have the same condo we stayed in for our last visit at the beginning of the year, with this view from our window. It’s great to be back!!

Oktoberfest 2009

Gaz — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:11:44 +0000

Here are a selection of photographs from our first full day at Daytona Beach. Nursing Wild Turkey induced hangovers, we all missed breakfast and started the day late with a ride around Daytona Beach in convoy. Then across the road from our hotel around the Nascar International Speedway, we spent the an afternoon admiring the choppers and bars at the swapmeet in the Speedway grounds, before heading back to Main Street.

Final Roadtrip USA

Gaz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:51:20 +0000

So, we’ve passed the 3 year point of owning the Harleys we bought for Route 66, and probably won’t be back to the US for an extended stay for another 3 or 4 years. Sniff.

Our buddy, Stoney, came over a couple of weeks ago to help us enjoy our farewell, final roadtrip before we sell the bikes and head back to SE Asia. We have had the time of our lives, and crammed so much into our 2500 mile ride across 5 states, that I’ll be posting the pictures gradually over the next week or two… So check back often for updates!!

The pictures below span the first 24 hours after our setting out from St. Petersburg to Daytona Beach for Oktoberfest 2009, via Orlando airport to collect Stoney…

Apologies for the quality of some of the photos. I was using my iPhone, and/or the lighting was bad, and/or I was a little unsteady. More to follow…

Bahama Shores

Gaz — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:37:43 +0000

On the spur of the moment, to break up the 12 hour days I’ve been working back to back for the last couple of weeks, Octavia took me for a nice bike ride just past Bahama Shores a few miles to the south of our house in SE St Petersburg. We found a nice park with some cool jettys looking out over Tampa Bay as the sun started to set.

Are you bored of seeing my pictures of Florida yet? Oktoberfest next week…

Florida Pekiti Tirsia

Gaz — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:49:13 +0000

Having been practically chained to my computer for the past week, I’d been looking forward to getting outside to soak up some of that glorious Florida sunshine this morning. Doubly so, because I’d booked the first of my private training sessions in Pekiti Tirsia of the year with my buddy Dino Martinez for first thing. I’ll save a proper write-up of my training with Dino for a future post.

Suffice it to say that the weather was fabulous, no — perfect! I took the pictures below from the volleyball beach as we took a stroll along the shore after Octavia had been for a swim, and I had spent a couple of hours whirling sticks around my head… finally pausing for lunch and a pint of Guinness at the nearest Irish pub on the way home.

Back Yard Lizard

Gaz — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:19:01 +0000

Glamorous though it sounds, being an internationalist can be just as ordinary as working 9-5! I’ve spent the entire week trying to make some headway against the backlog of work I didn’t get done while we were preparing to relocate to Florida, and while we were chasing back and forth between Orando and Saint Pete’s to get our Harley’s back on the road.

Nevertheless, anything different is refreshing. I’d started to get used to the thousands of tiny lizards that scurried across my path in Orlando whenever I went anywhere on foot… but this afternoon I had a real treat when I spotted this little guy in our back yard after parking my bike. Any idea what he is?

Update from @dssstrkl on Twitter:

@gvvaughan Its an anole. A male anole displaying his dewlap. I guess your camera is sexy. :)

The Joys of Being an Internationalist…

Gaz — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:51:06 +0000

With our Harley’s back from being serviced in Orlando, and the gorgeous Mustang reluctantly returned to the airport, we spent yesterday settling into our new little home set just back from the beach in Saint Petersburg.

This morning, I managed to stay in bed until 8am, so I think I’ve finally shaken the jetlag. After breakfast, Tave and I went for a short walk along the beach, and I took some pictures so that you can see what life as an Internationalist is like.

What’s an Internationalist, you say? Essentially the same thing that other people refer to as being Location Independent, or a Permanent Tourist/Perpetual Traveler. We have portable occupations that allow us to earn a living independently of our physical location, so we live wherever in the world we please, and own few enough possessions that we can pack them all into a suitcase and move to a new country whenever our tourist visas are about to expire…

Last Few Days in Blighty

Gaz — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:53:09 +0000

I’ve been back in England for almost 3 months now, and with only 2 sleeps left until we jet off again I’m going to take up my virtual pen (and actual camera) and document the next few years of our travels.

This is a just a test post to see how well I can post from my phone, in preparation for the good stuff to follow. And a couple of blurry pictures to remind me of the gorgeous Summer days and beautiful country roads of our green and pleasant land, for when I tire of drinking margharitas on the beach under the shade of a palm tree…

Day 2: Georgia

Gaz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:00:00 +0000

After sitting up way too late last night, it was only the promise of missing breakfast that got me out of bed before 9am today. After breakfast, shower and packing we didn’t hit the road until after 11am :-(

With a short stop at IHOP (couldn’t resist!) for a very late lunch, we had a very tedious 300 mile freeway ride covering half the remaining distance back to Orlando. The scenery from I-75 is flat and very much the same right the way through Georgia, except riding through the maze of exits among the skyscrapers in Atlanta.

I’ve never seen so many people pulled by the cops, we saw at least half a dozen cars on the hard shoulder with a red and blue interrogating the driver. Just south of Atlanta drove through the first speed trap I’ve seen in the States, with a cop pulled onto the central reservation pointing a radar gun into the oncoming traffic. It’s almost like being back in England! Having said that, the speed limit is 75 along most of the I-75, and the country isn’t awash with Gatso cameras every few miles to fine you £40 if you’re a touch over the limit…

We reached headed right for another Howard Johnson hotel in Ashburn, arriving just before 6pm. It was sunny throughout the whole day, and neither of us needed any of the cold weather gear we bought on the outbound journey 2 weeks ago (timewarp post forthcoming ~Al). Even so, 5 hours of squaring off the tyres at 70mph we were pretty tired by the time we stopped.

Day 1: Cherohala Skyway