21 March 2018

I was lucky enough to win a trip to Thailand through Travel Counsellors and what an amazing experience it was. I flew with Emirates to Bangkok via Dubai. I would recommend the airline; their entertainment system was brilliant and although I was in economy the was plenty of legroom. Changing planes in Dubai was easy too although there is a bit of walking between terminals to be done. We arrived in Bangkok and the first hotel I stayed in was the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, for two nights. A lovely hotel with good facilities – a bar, restaurant, spa and outdoor swimming pool. Our first trip in Bangkok was a trip along the Chao Phraya River on a long-tail boat, turning into the canal area. This was a lovely experience seeing the diversity of buildings along the way. We stopped off at the Royal Barge Museum where we saw the boats used by the Thai Royal family to mark special occasions. Our second stop was Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn which is a 79-metre-high beautiful Pagoda. In the sunshine the pagoda was stunning. In the evening I visited the Asiatique Night Bazaar. This area was full of local shops, restaurants and bars. It’s a good area to visit of an evening. In this complex was the Muay Thai Live show which showed the legend and history of Thai Boxing. After the Bangkok visit our next stop was Hua Hin – it’s about a three-hour transfer to get to here and the accommodation for two nights was at the Centrara Grand Beach Resort and Villas – a beautiful hotel set on the beach and close to Hua Hin centre. Whilst there I took part in a Thai cooking course which included a visit round the local market to see all the local produce. I really enjoyed this experience; the cookery school was modern and the cooks very informative and were very good with anyone that had dietary requirements. After Hua Hin the next destination was Kanchanaburi where the Death Railway and the Bridge over the River Kwai are situated. Before visiting these landmarks, we took a long tail boat to the next hotel which was the River Kwai resotel. Here we stayed in lodges for two, which were lovely considering we were in the jungle. Whilst here we visited the Mon Village, a village populated with people who were originally from Mynamar and made their home in Thailand. We were shown their way of life and their temples before going back to our hotel on manmade bamboo rafts. A few of us decided to float down the river in lifejackets, I found this a lovely relaxing experience. In the evening we were shown a cultural Mon dance show, which was very entertaining and different! The next day we headed back to Bangkok and on the way visited the Death Museum and Hellfire Pass. This was an emotional part of the trip seeing what the Prisoners of War endured building the railway for their Japanese captors. Next stop was the bridge over the River Kwai, now a very busy tourist trap. Our last night was spent back in Bangkok at the Centara Grand at Central World - an amazing hotel with fabulous views of the city amid the shopping areas of Bangkok. One of the highlights was the tuk tuk ride through the centre of Bangkok at night- totally mad but brilliant. We had a meal in a local Chinese restaurant then made our way to Patpong market where we picked up some cheap souvenirs (with a bit of haggling). All in all, I had a fantastic time in Thailand and can't wait to go back!

26 June 2017

Myself and my husband decided to go to Prague for the weekend. We left Friday afternoon from Newcastle and returned on the Monday. We stayed at a hotel near to Wenceslas Square and found the location to be perfect. We were given a free walking tour by our transfer company which we did on the Saturday morning. Our guide was amazing and took us to all the main sights in the city ending up at the Castle on the hill. It was a 4 hour tour but we got so much out of it and therefore knew where we needed to go to sightsee in depth in the afternoon and the following 2 days we were there. The sightseeing included: Old Town Square Astronomical Clock tower Powder Tower Charles Bridge Jewish Quarter Various churches and statues Prague Castle Prague itself was busy and especially so of a weekend when there tends to be a few stag parties about but this didn't stop our enjoyment of this beautiful city. Cost of living was cheap and even if you had a beer or glass of wine in a prime location this didn't break the bank. In some areas away from the tourist sites to eat and drink was very good value for money. We found the best way to get around was by foot, however there are trams available to get round the city if required. We enjoyed it so much we have decided to return in the winter months when the nights are darker and I should imagine the city will be even more magical when it's lit up.

25 May 2011

After the snowy weather in January we decided to seek a bit of sun & picked to go to Los Cristianos in Tenerife. We wanted to stay somewhere central & booked the Reveron Plaza in the Town Square, this was on Bed & Breakfast basis & we were very pleased with our choice. The location, the staff, the room, the breakfast & the pool were great & would recommend this Hotel to couples as there are no grounds but it does have a rooftop pool. We spent out days wandering and found we could walk for miles along the promenade towards Playa de las Americas and beyond, these areas were mainly flat & easy to walk along. The beaches in the Los Cristianos area were sandy & very clean, further along the beaches weren't so great but most Hotels in this area had good grounds with decent size polls to compensate Of a night time we visited local cafes/restaurants where we found the food to be good & inexpensive which was surprising due to the currency being the Euro. As I'd never been to Tenerife before I had a good week with hot weather (no rain) and a nice breeze to make it even more pleasurable.

25 May 2011

To celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary my Husband & I decided to travel to Canada & Alaska. The Canadian part of the holiday was done as part of a coach group. We arrived in Calgary and transferred to Banff for a 3 nights stay. Banff is a lovely small town in the Rocky Mountains & we found it very safe to walk around whether at night or during the day - the only thing to watch out for is bears, luckily we never saw any close up! However we did come across deer one morning before we went for breakfast. We had a wander round Banff and surrounding areas – we managed to walk up to the Fairmont Banff Spring Hotel for a look around & then up to the Hot Springs for a relaxing half hour in the warm waters. Whilst in Banff we visited Lake Louise which is a stunning area with a fantastic Chateau Hotel on the lakeside, the Lake is the most beautiful bluey/green I've ever seen. The whole Rocky Mountain area we visited was very scenic & dramatic. From Banff we travelled to Vancouver via Kamloops (with a 1 night stay), this was a long journey but again lovely scenery on the way with many stops of interest. Arriving into Vancouver was a bit of a shock as we had just encountered lovely towns & villages on the way & arrived into a city with high sky scrapers, our hotel was called the 4*Marriott Pinnacle Hotel. The Hotel was very well positioned for walking to different parts of the city. We enjoyed walking along the seafront to Stanley Park which was about an hours walk away but once there you felt as though you were in the country rather than a big city. We really liked Vancouver & would class it as 1 of our favourite cities in the world. From our base in Vancouver we visited various other places including Grouse Mountain & the Capilano Suspension Bridge (which is a place to avoid if you don’t like heights!). Whilst in the area we went to Vancouver Island this was a ferry journey from the mainland which in itself was enjoyable. On our way to Victoria (the capital) we visited Butchart Gardens & even though I’m not a gardener I really loved this place. It was beautiful & the colours of the flowers were amazing. We then proceeded to Victoria which again is another beautiful city and is very safe to walk around. It has lovely buildings and a gorgeous harbour where we wandered and saw many street entertainers. All in all Canada was brilliant & can’t wait to go back!

25 May 2011

Myself & my husband visited the Algarve in October a few years ago and we stayed in the lovely Cerro Mar self catering apartments, The apartments were great, very spacious with everything you would need for a 1 or 2 week holiday, they are high up in the resort so the sea views were magnificent from the balcony. The pool area was great and very well kept. The nearest resort to the accommodation is Albufeira Old Town which was lovely, this is accessed by about 100 steps down into the town square which has cobbled stones with many bars & restaurants that were all reasonable in price. There are street entertainers during the day & of an evening we would find many professional singers in various bars we went to.Once you pass through the square you can go under an arch and find the golden sandy beach of the resort where we spent many a day really relaxing. We found the area totally relaxing & wouldn't hesitate to go back again.