Bangkok stopover - Nov 2017

Wat Pho Temple

We decided on a four day stop over on the way to New Zealand this time.  Not only is it easier on the jetlag and we were looking forward to soaking up some tropical warmth .  Great flights with Thai Air although the food was some of the worst we have experienced in the air!

When we landed in Bangkok the line for the taxi was so long we wondered what we were in for.  The wait for a taxi proved to be the least of our problems.  We had printed out the directions to our accommodation in both English and Thai which was helpfully supplied by our hotel's website.  This proved to be of no use to the taxi driver and from his reaction, we can only assume that he was unable to read!  Even the map seemed not to help much. Friday night traffic didn't help either and 2.5 hours later he suggested we had arrived close enough to our destination.  Ummmm, no!  Our cell phone had no service but we were able to track our progress by the blue dot moving around the  (very rudimentary) map .... not very helpful except to confirm that we were variably moving away from or closer to our destination.  After some insistance he finally agreed to call the hotel and voila! here we are.    The whole journey still only cost NZ$24 ... including a tip.

Great digs out of the way of the hustle and bustle of city traffic and noise but within walking distance to markets.  Taxis are cheap and cheerful and we opted to walk through Chinatown to Wat Pho and taxi back.

Ordered chaos

We also enjoyed cooling off by the lake close by.  We bought some fish food from a lady on the side of the road and fed the fish.

Someone's happy place

It was also great to see a few monitor lizards frollicking in the heat of the day.

Of course, we had to take a train across town to the ...

We enjoyed roaming through the market areas at night looking for food.  Some of the signage certainly leaves nothing to the imagination.

Lost in translation ... actually a beauty therapy clinic

Not lost in translation

We especially enjoyed the food both at the local restaurants and on the street.

A month in sunny Suffolk - Oct 2017

The Leaping Hare

We returned to Suffolk to one of our regular sits at Coney Weston.   We love everything about this sit .... the owners,  the house, the area and especially the furries. It was autumn and the trees were looking especially splendiferous.

Our buddy Sammy at Knettishall Heath

Maximillian

Clementine , unusually a female ginger 

Apart from our walks on Knettishall,  we also like to walk Sammy on the estate on which the house is situated. There is always lots of wildlife to spot.

Muntjac 

Red deer

Dartmoor wild ponies at the heath, surprisingly friendly

Being autumn there were lots of wild mushrooms around, especially parasols, so we were able to make and enjoy some wonderful soups.

Parasols picked from the garden 

James and Sammy found our first Beefsteak
... long past picking unfortunately

Shaggy inkcap

Next we were off to hang out with two gorgeous boys, labs Barney and Milo, at a sit not too far away.  It was just a short sit but we enjoyed the boy's company so much that we really wished we could have stayed longer.

Milo

Barney

We ingratiated ourselves quite quickly, enjoying lots of cuddles and playtime.  With the number of houses we get to live in we do often come across some great features  in either design or product.  This house had the most comfortable bed we have ever slept in along with a really well designed modern kitchen

We even had time, in between sits, to celebrate James''s Mum's birthday at another local estate, The Leaping Hare at Wyken Vineyards which produces a lot of it's own ingredients.  The food, wine and service were outstanding.

Next we moved on to another rural sit in Hepworth hanging out with two cute Cockerpoo's,  Mia and Tula, and a really hardcase British Blue, Olive.

Tula left; Mia right

The lovely Olive

Someone's artist impression of Olive on the kitchen wall

Rug or dog!?!?!

Walking these two bundles of energy was tons of fun.

A huge field mushroom we found

Tres amigos

Cockerpoo cuddles

We were delighted to have a couple of rows of raspberries on the property which made a scrumptious crumble.

Then there was always our favourite fall backs .... wine and mushies!

The last of this rash of sits was just around the corner in

Market Weston. Here we were to be looked after by Zeta, the flat coated black retriever and Maisey,  the short haired border collie. Two more different characters you could not pick but they had a lovely way of complementing each other.  Maisy was intense and extremely active, as only a border can be.  Zeta just wanted to be loved and cuddled ... oh, and to ruin Maisy''s ball games! We walked the girls round Knettishall Heath twice a day which was fun for all of us. 

Cuddle rug 

Choccy and Nelson

Nelson really does only have one eye 

 All of a sudden it was time to get ready to head to New Zealand for the summer ....