SINGAPORE (capitals intended)

There couldn’t have been a better time to come to Singapore; the weekend of the first ever F1 Night Race!

The city is alive 24 hours a day with anxious F1 fans, all sporting their team’s logo on T-Shirts and caps. Every bus, shop and billboard is covered in promotional material for the event. Ticket sales sold out within hours of the telephone lines opening, however I will still head down to the track for the race. The opportunity to see Hamilton, Massa, Kovalainen and all of the other great F1 drivers on the track is just too good an opportunity to miss out on.

 

So, upon landing in the fantastic Changi airport (this airport has a cinema in it!) I headed to immigration, where my passport crashed the computer systems for 10 minutes, a rather nerve racking 10 minutes I might add as I was given no reassurance that there wasn’t a problem with my entering the country. I was however granted my tourist visa and I headed to the information desk to book myself a hotel and a taxi. Yup, no more hostels for Brad, I have decided to spend my time here in Singapore enjoying some luxury.

 

A minivan arrived outside of the arrivals lounge and I jumped on board with my ‘suitcase’. That’s right, I’m no longer a ‘backpacker’, I’ve got myself a suitcase with wheels and a handle. Very posh. I’m staying in ‘Quality Hotel Singapore’, and it’s just that. A great room with Sky TV, air-conditioning, room service, free wi-fi etc. Not bad for £80 a night.

 

Tomorrow I’m going to head out for a wander around. I’ll let you know what I find.

Koh Samui Airport

Is beautiful.

An airport, complete with Check-in, Immigration and a departures lounge, all outdoors!

I have no reason to doubt that this may be THE best airport in the world.

I'm just sitting in the Singha Sports Bar, in the outdoor shopping complex here, enjoying an ice cold...coke! That's right, I seem to have stopped drinking alcohol, but for how long...

During my whole time in Thailand I've had 1 beer and that was because it was bought for me. However i can imagine this alcohol free Brad will expire once i meet up with Danny in Australia.

I'll let you know how Singapore goes!

Leaving Thailand

Well I'm leaving...again.

This time however, not back to England. I'm heading to Singapore!

And I couldn't have chosen a better time to head to Singapore, the weekend of the first ever Formula 1 Night Race. My flight leaves from Koh Samui this afternoon so I'm off to say my goodbyes and get packed ready for the trip.

I also have the pleasure of flying from Koh Samui airport, which the Thai Ministry of Tourism have dubbed 'The Most Beautiful Airport in The World'. I'll let you know if it lives up to the suggestion...

No Deviations

That's right! I'm not deviating from my itinerary!

I have my flight booked from Koh Samui, Thailand to Singapore on the 25th September and my onward flight to Brisbane Australia is also in place. So this time there will be no return trip to England.

I've spent most of my time here in Thailand in Koh Phangan again. A day in Bangkok when i landed saw me check into hotel, make some new Thai friends who i then went to see a movie with and book my gruelling trip from Bangkok to Surat Thani in the south. An 18 hour trip via Bus and Boat which sees me back, in what has become 'home' this year, Phangan.

Whilst here I've done absolutely...nothing...

Relaxing on beaches, eating good food and catching up with friends has been a great break. However, I'm really looking forward to heading down to Singapore to continue my original plans and then onto Oz, where I'll meet up with Dan.

My plan is as follows, but I wouldn't rely on my abiding by it in anyway, as when i meet up with Dan, only god knows what will happen:

25th Sep - Fly to Singapore

28th Sep - Fly to Brisbane, Australia

29th Sep - Land, meet Danny and ...?

Sometime around Christmas/New Year - Head back to Thailand (probabaly Koh Phangan)

After that - I don't know

I have been looking into the idea of attending a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foregin Language) course in Australia and then trying to get a job in Bangkok when I return to Thailand. However a friend of mine may also be able to assist with me acquiring a job in Thailand, as his brother is the manager of a Travel Agents in Bangkok and he has informed me there's a good chance he can get me a job there.

If so, I may spend some time in Bangkok working and such, before deciding where to go next. If not, then I guess it will be back to Australia, where I have the required visa to work and earn without having to return to England.

It's a tough life eh?

Well I'll update you with my Singapore adventures in a couple of days.

Back on track

Back on track
So, again I'm off on my travels to Eastern Asia (and this time the
Pacific, I promise). After a rather uneventful coach ride from
Birmingham to London, I found my first spot of adventure onbaord my
flight to Bangkok.
After waiting in the departures lounge for several hours, I boarded my
Boeing 747. Just as the pilot charged the engines and prepared to take
off, he disengaged the engines and informed us that a fuel pump had
failed. We had to head back to the Terminal to take onboard another 10
tonnes of fuel. We were additionally informed however, that this isn't
a major problem, as this aeroplane has 20 fuel pumps in total and the
extra fuel was just precautionary.
So the time is 00:30 in England and the storm clouds that have been
hovering above our country for the last few days have given our plane
a very, very good shake.
We seem to have weathered the storm however and are now cruising, en
route to Bangkok.
The flight is expected to arrive at 17:30 Bangkok time (11:30 GMT),
so I'll be staying the night in Thailand's great capital again.
Here's a brief summary of my proposed itinerary, which will no doubt
be altered sooner than later:
6/9/08 - Flight to Bangkok
7/9/08 - Arrive in BKK and stay the night
8/9/09 - Head to the south on the Songserm coach and boat service (a
grueling 17 hour trip)
9/9/08 - Arrive in Koh Phangan
23/9/08 - Head to Kuala Lumpur, Malsysia, on some (yet to be booked)
form of transport
24/9/08 - Arrive in KL and stay the night
25/9/08 - Head to Singapore; again, on some (yet to be booked) form of
transport
26/9/08 - Arrive in Singapore and stay the night
27/9/08 - Board an aeroplane to Brisbane, Australia
28/9/08 - Arrive in Brisbane, find Danny and then...
Some time near X-Mas - Head back to KP, Thailand for celebrations
Some time after X-Mas - Head back to Australia

Expect some serious deviations from this, especially surrounding the
Christmas plans, as they are subject to ample financial backing from
working in Brisbane, Australia.

A good start so far. Our national football team won 2-0, I'm back on
track with my trip and dinner is about to be served.

Sent from my iPod Touch

Heathrow

Heathrow

I've just landed. I have no idea how to get to anywhere from here and
this is MY country haha.
Should be an entertaining afternoon trying to get back to Birmingham!

Brad

Bangkok - Round 2

Bangkok - Round 2

Well I'm back here and this time I've discovered a whole other side to
Thailand. The non-tourist, Thai version of Bangkok.
I'm staying in an apartment block that's maticulously clean, there's a
cleaner sweeping the tiled floors, wiping banisters and walls and
ensuring there is no litter all day, everyday. For this I'd pay ...
140 baht (£2.30) a day, which includes air conditioning and a spotless
apartment big enough for a couple to live comfortably.
I've learnt that 100 baht for a taxi (which I previously had believed
was a good deal for a 5 minute journey) is a complete ripoff! 35baht
(50p) will get you 2KM on a taxi meter. I guess you live and learn.
I've been eating at roadside noodle bars, which at first some may find
visually unapealling (a glass booth with a stove and plastic garden
furniture to eat off), but if ever you get the chance, eat at one of
these! The food is incredible. And there's an added bonus, the most
I've paid for one of these great meals is ... 75baht (£1.25).
I've also experienced every form of public transport Bangkok has to
offer! Bus, Underground (London could learn a LOT from the Thai tube
system), BTS Skytrain which is basically a citywide monorail, very
fast and the maximum fare is 50p and finally van buses, which are
basically open back vans that you flag down, jump in and pay 15baht to
the driver once you reach your destination.
Staying in the non tourist region of Bangkok was at first a little
intimidating. For the 15 days I stayed on Soi 77 of Ram Intra, I
didn't see another foreigner. A refreshing change after I aclimatised
to being the minority.
Thai people, from my experience here, are the friendliest people I
have ever met. The lady who owns our apartment block brought me a
basket full of treats to my apartment for my Birthday, people always
have time to assist with directions or help finding a place and the
general attitude Thai's adopt is one of 'mai-bpen-rai. No problem'.
Lets say you go to McDonalds and your food takes more than a couple of
minutes, in England there'd be an almighty fuss (I witnessed this only
the other day when an English woman got all stressed that the guy
behind her got his food first). Here people refrain from getting
annoyed over petty things such as this, after all your not starving
and when your food's ready, you'll get it. 'Mai-bpen-rai'!
After enjoying Bangkok it was time for me to head home.
I'll definately be coming back here, Thailand is a great place.
Whether you want a chilled out holiday on the beach, a part packed
break or a city vacation, Thailand really is the place to go.

London here I come... Great...

Brad