Zambia

Some Zambinians

"People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege."

David Livingstone

Mozambique

My private island in Mozambique

So Mozambique is the only country that we really want to go to that needs me to have a pre-arranged visa to get into. This seemed like a pain in the arse, but it's actually not that difficult and we can get it from Cape Town.

Camping in Africa

It seems to be quite normal to camp as you tour Africa.  I guess this makes sense as it is pretty rural out there and there just aren't that many buildings to stay in.  So you camp... in the wild.

Phutawan Raft House

Raft Houses

I've been thinking about Thailand again, and I've been getting excited about Koh Sok National Park and particularly the lovely raft houses that are there.

How to stay alive in Africa

This is an important bit, so concentrate...

Firstly... Don't get Malaria!

Malaria Bear

Saul's back... to explain Tanzania

Yes, you can all calm down and listen up. Saul Goodman is back to help answer some of the Big Africa questions.

Don't worry, I'm back!

Safari

A colonialist being carried about

To be honest, I was not too sure what a safari actually was, but I think I've got it now.

It's what posh white people do in Africa!  They wear white linen and get carried about by the locals.
Then they shoot a bunch of animals and put their heads on the walls when they get home.

4x4 Driving

I am not the worlds best driver (as I've mentioned before) but we're not going to worry about this now.  We're just going to focus on how cool it will be for us to buy a 4x4 and drive it around Southern Africa!

Woo.. go Africa!

We've changed our minds... We're going to tour Africa!

Africa... we're coming for you!

We've been having a bit of a problem recently.  We wanted to be in 2 places at once (India and South Africa) in order to hit the best weather.

How great is retirement? My opinion so far...

I've now been retired for 6 whole days and so far I'm loving it.

I've mastered the art of making amazing porridge, and am on my way to figuring out roast potatoes.  I have been on several walks on the common near my flat and have done some preparatory cleaning.

Cleaning!

So now I've retired I'm getting busy with getting the flat ready to be rented out to some lovely people (hopefully) for as much money as possible.

Thai Food

"In Thailand, there is no such thing as a starter; 

neither is there any dish that belongs only to one person."

"Throwing food away enrages the Thai god of rice"

Pokhara, Nepal

I think I have found one of the places in Nepal that I want to go to.  It's called Pokhara!

Pokhara

It's been recommended by Nic's brother and it's listed on this shockingly bad looking website.  The site looks like shit, but it's just a load of 'top ten' lists.  I love top ten lists.  Actually, I quite like most lists.
 Yay lists!

Thai Island Wishlist

These are the Thai islands we DO want to visit...

Ko Phra Thong

Here's some info on Ko Phra Thong, the 'Golden Buddha'

Here's some stuff about where to stay.

While we're still in England

Although we're very excited about going away and seeing all these different places in the world, there's still a lot of awesome left in England.

We're going to see some of this before we go.

As it's not too far away and Nic's not been, I thought we'd go to Windsor and check out the castle.  It's a pretty place and very English.

Windsor Castle

Winter is coming

Yes, just as I have left work and am free to frolic around Tooting Bec common and pass my time cycling along the embankment and other lovely things that you need a bit of sunshine for, the weather has changed.

I have a bag now, so I'm ready to go

Yesterday was my last day at work (ever).  It doesn't quite feel like I've finished work yet as today is Saturday, but I expect it will start to sink in on Monday.

What will I miss while I'm off travelling?

I'm sure that I will miss things like my bed and a working shower and not being covered in biting insects.

I might even miss the weather and the fact that there are already Christmas things in the shops here.

To Burma or not to Burma?

We would like to go to Burma.  It looks fricking amazing.

Burma - fricking amazing

The Telegraph has some good advice about getting the Visa for Burma.  The problem is that you have to arrange it before you leave the UK and then it's only valid for 3 months from the date of issue.  So it's quite a restriction on our travel.

Pai, near Chang Mai

Nic's brother just recommended Pai to us.  He did the Asia thing a couple of years ago so he's a very useful person for us.

I found some info on Pai here, but this is the best bit:

Is it 'Ko' or 'Koh'? Saul Goodman explains

The question of how to spell Ko / Koh is one that has confused first time travellers for years now.

People have literally lost sleep over this question and up until this moment no one had a definitive answer.

Until now, that is.

Maps - Useful when you're lost, and fun when you're not!

I love maps, I think they're awesome.

An awesome map

Hair

I recently got my hair cut short.  This was partly so it would be a bit easier to deal with in the heat and stuff whilst we're travelling, but also because I wanted to have short hair again.

Useful Stuff To Know

Some more useful stuff from Phuket.com

Carry small change

Do the Bhat Man (laugh, I nearly did)

Ko Lipe

The Lonely Planet says that we shouldn't go straight to Phuket when we get to Thailand.  Instead, it suggests going to Ko Lipe.  This seems to be that Phuket is very touristy and 'a bit much' but Ko Lipe is the opposite.