St Michael’s Mount Friday brought another solo day trip by train and also the achievement of another item ticked off on my personal ‘bucket list’. I visited Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy
Author: RandR.scot
July 2022: First Time in Cornwall: Part 2
Falmouth (Town) As is clear from its name, Falmouth is situated at the mouth of the River Fal. It is the second-largest town in Cornwall, both it and larger St
July 2022: First Time in Cornwall: Part 1
Introduction & Arrival Until summer 2022, Cornwall was perhaps the single most spectacular ‘oversight’ in my personal travel history within the UK. (Others still remaining include SW Wales, the Moray
July 2022: Two-Centre Sweden: 2. Stockholm
Journey and Arrival Our rail transfer between Sweden’s second city and its capital took just over three hours. City Hall – Gamla Stan The following day, having arrived at City
July 2022: Two-Centre Sweden: 1. Gothenburg
Journey and Arrival Our journey from London to Gothenburg had originally been booked as a short hop in British Airways’ Club Europe cabin. When the airline subsequently cancelled our flight,
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Days 18-19: Modern Art & Homeward Bound
Bangkok’s MOCA Our final day in Thailand began with the familiar routine of hotel breakfast and showers, followed by the last packing of the trip. The main sightseeing objective today
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 17: One Night in Bangkok
Although largely dedicated to relocation, today still managed to be reasonably interesting and enjoyable. Breakfast was a little different and considerably more colourful than usual as the hotel was hosting
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 16: Exploring Chiang Rai
Into the City We only had one full day in Chiang Rai and we were determined to make the most of it. Sizing up our new destination compared to the
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 15: To Another Northern City
Relocation After the customary (and rather nice) hotel breakfast at the earlier hour of 0715 and having then attended to showers and packing, we checked out of Le Méridien Chiang
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 14: Chang Moi
Introduction Today’s plan, intentionally a little less ambitious than Tuesday’s, concentrated on the district of Chiang Mai in which our hotel stood: Chang Moi. Even so, we weren’t intent on
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 13: Temples of Chiang Mai Old Town
Morning Today’s hefty programme – and indeed the next couple of days as well – got off to a good start with an inclusive breakfast at the hotel. This was
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 12: Onwards to Chiang Mai
The journey north Today began when Bruce’s phone alarm went off at 0444 and mine followed at 0445. (He has a penchant for using non-standard times!) We both knew that
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Days 8-11: At Leisure on Phuket
Our room Our Phuket hotel, where Bruce had arrived on schedule on the first day of the new month, was the Hilton Arcadia Resort & Spa, situated at Karon Beach.
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Days 6-7: An interlude in Leiden, then onwards to Phuket
Leiden Yes, Day 6 and I was still in the Netherlands – but on track to travel this evening! I had my usual Hampton breakfast before showering, packing and checking
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Days 3-5: Last few hours in Amsterdam … or so I thought!
The reason why I’m treating this as a block of three days will become clear soon enough. Today started out well enough and initially ran as planned. After checking out
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 2: A full day in Amsterdam
Breakfast, which was included in my hotel deal, consisted of typical continental fare, with the occasional nod to UK tastes that I largely avoided! After eating and showering, I caught
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Day 1: Getting started with a North Sea hop
It was the most unassuming of starts to an intercontinental trip: a short hop to Amsterdam in Economy. Regular readers will know that this is not necessarily unusual for me.
Thailand Contrasts (2022): Introduction
Although the Covid-19 pandemic certainly wasn’t over, 2022 finally brought a significant recovery in long-haul travel. Bruce and I envisaged one joint-venture extended trip this year, based on Thailand. The