Read the blog: The one where we see a rare Star Tortoise Thursday 19 and Friday 20th March 2026 Although we could not travel on all the trains as originally envisaged, Robert wanted to visit the Nine Arch Bridge. Rail enthusiasts are advised to plan their visit to coincide with a train so obviously, we timed our visit accordingly. On the basis that a viaduct links two higher points across a valley or gorge, Matilda had not expected the walk down to the site to be so long. As we walked down Dilanka told us about a wasp attack at the bridge on a tourist the previous day: apparently a lot of wasp nests have been built under the arches although it was not clear what had provoked the attack. He also told us about another client he had brought here who seemed to start bleeding spontaneously. Having administered first aid, he discovered a very thin, small leech [so therefore still hungry rather than being swollen and engorged with blood] had attached itself between two of her toes. He advised us against walking off the path and in the grass. He also told us of a local treatment to stem […]
19
Read this blog: The one where we watch an International fireworks competition Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th March 2025 Robert wanted to tick off his 53rd Hard Rock Café so we ordered a Grab to take us to the Mall of Asia, a large shopping mall built on reclaimed land. Momo the happy Corgi welcomes visitors to the Mall of Asia. The Grab dropped us at the Conrad Hotel and, while Robert was paying the fare, a charming hotel attendant opened the car door for Matilda and asked her if she had come for the fireworks. He explained that there was a competition going on and that there would be fireworks over the bay that night. A quick google search revealed that the 12th Philippine International Pyromusical Competition [PIPC] was taking place on Seaside Boulevard and that on 8th March our home team the UK, represented by Pyrotex Fireworx, would be up against South Korea’s Faseecom. The restaurants in and around the Mall of Asia were gearing up for the crowds and whilst we did not want to stay and become embroiled with the masses, we felt we might be able to see something from the Sky Bar at our […]
Read this blog: The one where Robert is groomed by a rat Sunday 31st March 2024 The hotel receptionist had very helpfully phoned and made a booking for us and we had arranged with our tuk tuk driver from the day before to collect us in time to get to APOPO for the 10:00 tour. Unfortunately, he failed to appear. Showing him more loyalty than he had shown us, we waited for a few minutes in case he appeared. Apparently he was on another job. Fortunately there was, as usual, another tuk tuk waiting outside the hotel in the hope of picking up a fare. Although we arrived about 10 minutes late, luckily the tour had not yet started. Joining a group tour costs $10 per person and this is money very well-spent. APOPO was co-founded by a Belgian and the name is an acronym standing for “Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling” which translates to Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development in English. The acronym really is much easier. The tour starts with an explanation of how Cambodia became one of the countries most severely affected by landmines. There is still unexploded ordinance from American bombing in the 1970s referred to as […]
Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th May 2022 Our hotel is opposite the famous Peabody Hotel which opened there in 1925. Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Confederacy had lived in the original 1869 building. By far the most famous residents now are the Peabody Ducks who march through the lobby daily at 11:00 to swim in the fountain – more of them later. We walked across the road to see if there were any restrictions on the number of people who could come to see the waddling procession and Matilda was pleased to find out that all are welcome. As an added bonus the ducks were still swimming in the fountain as they remain there until 17:00. We planned to return for the 11:00 duck parade the next day. We then set off to see some of the sights of Memphis, one of the most famous of which is Beale Street [see Selfie of the day] which is known as the Home of the Blues. Metal quavers on the pavement here celebrate famous musicians and Matilda obviously chose this one to photograph. Robert would have you believe that he took this photo to show the typical style of architecture […]
Monday 11th to Wednesday 13th April 2022 Leaving Brewood we came to Autherley Junction where there is a former canal toll office. The stop lock here marks where Telford’s Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal [now part of the Shropshire Union Canal] joined Brindley’s older Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The fall is only about six inches and to Robert’s amusement both the people on the boat going through in front of us and Matilda struggled to work out which way the paddles needed to be opened to level the water. It is much easier when there is an obvious difference in the levels. From here we turned left onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and passed the Wolverhampton Boat Club, with an attractive bridge where a lock once was – the gates could still be seen in the open position at both sides of the canal. We also passed a man skilfully towing another narrowboat. After a short distance we joined the Birmingham Canal Navigations [BCN] at Aldersley Junction and Robert smiled quietly as knew he had returned to his homeland. Lock 21 is right at the junction and is the start of the flight taking you up into Wolverhampton. After the […]
Wednesday 27th March 2019 As mentioned previously our hotel, in Jaisalmer, looks old but is actually very new. There is a huge amount of building work going on in India, Jaisalmer included. What sets Jaisalmer apart is the wonderful and fantastic sculptured sandstone buildings created by the skilled local craftsmen. Whilst trying to find the best spot in the hotel for WiFi, Robert started chatting to the owner and better WiFi speeds swiftly ensued. As the owner is also an architect, a discussion of hand drawn versus 3D computer drawn building designs followed. The owner’s brother and business partner is starting to create all the new designs in Google 3D Sketch-up. Robert is familiar with this software, obviously, and was able to give them a few hints, and further discussion about 3D printing sandstone was unavoidable. As it turns out heavy machinery is now used extensively to cut the sandstone into slabs of the specific required thickness. These are then either ‘distressed’ by hand or with a ball-bearing gun, or are intricately carved by chisel. This led to our next day’s adventure. The hotel owner arranged a trip for us to see the skilled craftsmen at work at the stonemasons […]
Saturday, 25th August 2018 We awoke in Belgrade for breakfast and left the boat at 08:00 as it needed to leave the dock to refuel. The majority of passengers went on a guided tour whilst we went on our own to look around this capital city. First we had to cross the border controls [we have a stamp in our passports to prove it]. The boat was moored very close to the old town on the River Sava. Matilda wondered why the tour needed a coach for such a short distance but having climbed six flights up to the town she felt she would have appreciated a lift just that far. Our walk led us past a statue . . . through the old square . . . . . . .past the Serbian National Parliament . . . . . . and the St Sava Cathedral. This is the largest orthodox cathedral in the Balkans. Designed in the 19th century, work started in 1935 but had to be suspended during WWII. Construction of the dome was completed in 1989 and the cathedral was consecrated in 2004. This is the Serbian equivalent of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familias as work is still underway. […]