Ready To Go Home

We have managed to avoid any 'massages' or having anything tailor made for us, despite insistent offers. Also, we have not ventured into any of the 'bars' that only have young ladies in them, fearing that drinks weren't the only thing for sale. The dirty underbelly of tourist Thailand is never far away but the positives far outweigh these negatives. The sea is warm, the climate and welcome too. After more than three months travelling, it's time to go home. We hope to avoid the civil unrest and get through Bangkok airport tonight to finish the journey.

Fishing Port

Like many holiday places, Hua Hin grew out of a fishing village (the name means 'stone head' from the smooth boulders studding the beach). Siam's Southern railroad connected it to Bangkok in 1903 and it then grew as first a destination for Thais, then later foreigners. A wedding yesterday on the waterfront, with a reception in the hotel grounds underlined the draw of the place internationally.

Eating Out

We scoffed our way through multiple courses in our bid to try the entire Nigella Flirts With Thailand recipe book. Our favourite passing trader was the girl on the mobile flower scooter shop, which took up the whole street. She rode texting her pals without looking up - or hitting anything. We did more quality shopping at 'Thaimark' after.

Hua Hin

Hua Him is Thailand's oldest beach resort and the royal family stay here during the hot season (March to May) in their Klaikangwon Palace nearby. The former Royal Garden Resort, our hotel has tropical lagoons and gardens, providing a somewhat more authentic experience than the other nearby high rise hotels in town.

Tropics

Last night all the power went off for several hours during a downpour. This made the whole evening much more interesting as we searched the dark streets for a restaurant with generator backup, while diners elsewhere enjoyed a romantic candlelit supper. We preferred to be able to see what we were eating. The streets are lined with electric cable hung from poles; the overall impression is of one huge mess of copper wires and power cuts seem more of a certainty than an occasional hazard. The rain continued over night and then reached monsoon proportions in the morning, washing the air clean of the grubby haze that clings to The Gulf of Thailand.

In, Out And About

The routine is established: Read by the sea, swim in the pool, cocktail o'clock, go to town in the evening. It could be a busy week. Last night the temple was closed due to a cremation while everywhere else was a throbbing vibrant  exciting experience. The food is superb, especially if you like chillies and lime. We wandered the night market, crossing streets assisted by traffic controllers with glowing red sticks, dodging tuk tuks and ubiquitous scooters.

Thailand

After a final week on The Central Coast, our time in Oz finally ran out and we headed North and 4 timezones West, to Thailand. Arriving into Bangkok (seeing no evidence of the unrest that's been a feature here since early January), we were taken to Anantara Resort in Hua Hin. Although on a busy road, it is set so far back on the beach that it is an oasis of tranquility. The gentle, friendly Thais are a pleasure, as is their terrific food.

The Hawkesbury

We went to Wiseman's Ferry which is both a place and a ferry, crossing The Hawkesbury River and then following various roads and more river crossings until we were relatively lost. After directions and more meandering around river loops, over mountains on gravel roads, hairpin bends and more ferries, we found our way back to the hotel (pub) at Wisemans for late lunch.

Forresters Beach

Biking

I met Simon at a dinner party and next day we went off to Ourimbah for an early mountain bike ride in the state forest. The track through the bush was awesome, with banked turns, wooden bridges, drops and climbs galore. A brush turkey ran across our path. We chatted to other groups on our way around and stopped for milkshakes on the way home.

Canberra

We enjoyed a lively tour of The Royal Australian Mint, where we saw their coinage being made (robots do the work, humans check it). We resisted the deal of 1 new dollar for the price of 3 and headed to Capital Hill and Parliament House. At security, the penknife on my keyring was seized but we avoided incarceration by smiling sweetly. The building is a true 20th Century icon, quite grand and everything relating back to this distinct and unique land, from the wood used, symbolic carvings and artwork. As neither the MPs or Senators were sitting, we saw both chambers and then took in panoramic views of the Capital from the roof. We had lunch there just so we could say we had. We picked up our weaponry again on the way out. Next was The National Museum of Australia which was excellent, especially the Aboriginal art and artefacts. We popped into The High Court of Australia which was also mighty impressive, with massive spaces and superb furnishings in native wood. This court, being the 'highest' in the land concerns itself with constitutional matters and interpreting the law of Australia. Next was The National Portrait Gallery, one painting stood out, being done on jute cloth but having beautiful detail of the subject while the edge of the painting was basically old farm sacks.  Amazing. Finally we went to The National War Memorial, a stunning place, again capturing solemnity and respect while being grand and imposing in a 20th Century way. We stayed for a moving last post ceremony with wreaths laid outside the memorial to the unknown soldier. Canberra is like nowhere else we've been, it only exists because it is the capital but despite only being 101 years old as such (and nothing much happened here for the first 20 or so years of those), it nevertheless holds its own in terms of things of state and perhaps in another few centuries, some of the buildings we've been in today will still seem grand and of their own time in a good way.

Evert Ploeg's painting

http://www.portrait.gov.au/gallery/portmnth/may/hirez.htm

North To The Capital

The road North hugged the lake before climbing up into boulder country, with small homesteads looking lost in the huge dry brown expanse. Everywhere were piles of car/house sized boulders strewn across the landscape, with a few animals scratching a living on the parched grass. The Dividing Range was off to the West as we approached Canberra, the purpose made capital, effectively in the middle of nowhere. First stop the National Museum Of Australia: A futuristic building on the site of Lake Burley Griffin. Our introduction was in the revolving cinema which spun us 360 degrees while clueing us up on all things Oz. The museum is really high quality, with excellent displays. We looked out over the city from Black Mountain Reserve and then dropped down to walk the foreshore at Central Basin. Then we drove to the Old Parliament building and had a look around the rose garden before heading to the Griffith Vietnamese Restaurant in one of the suburbs enroute back to our accommodation at Queanbeyan.

Alpine Australia

We revised our plan to scale Mount Kosciuszko (2228m), as we approached Thredbo Alpine Village because all of the peaks were shrouded in cloud. Instead we trekked up the Thredbo River, which is like a Dartmoor stream, with peaty water and granite boulders, but flanked by snow gums. The valley slopes contained many bleached white dead trees, which added to a sort of 'Middle Earth' effect. We lunched on rocks in mid-stream and after coffee at the cable car station, set off on another trail. This rose up beside the 'bobsled' run and criss crossed the ski slopes, offering views across and down the valley. Claire did not enjoy the up close and personal snake encounters, the first sliding over the path between us. We also saw parrots and emus. We might not have got to the very top of the continent but we did manage the bottom of the top, which is close enough.

Jindabyne

Turning inland, the rolling dairy hills gradually got less green until we reached the South East Forests NP which obviously generates it's own climate through air rising steeply up it's Eastern slopes, creating a thin rainforest band full of tree ferns. As quickly as it appears, it disappears again, giving way to treeless plains stretching inland to The Snowy Mountains. Gravel roads past boulders left by some ancient ice age, took us to the Snowy range. Up and over, down to Lake Jindabyne which simmered on a sweltering day. Too hot to do much until evening, we swam in the resort pool, checked out the Info Centre and bought ice cream.

An evening walk revealed a beautiful sunset over the lake. The original village of Jindabine is safely preserved under the water, damned when the valleys were dammed.