Swynford Paddocks Hotel Newmarket

... s hard to explain - there was obviously so much more to explore and take in...... like unfinished business. Then...

The taxi driver asked us if we would be coming back again. When we replied "no", he knowingly said "You will be back! See you next year!"

What could we say??!

Maybe he knows something we don't....

So...

I've finished work and moved out of London, all in the same 24 hours. Feeling slightly emotional, leaving work was harder than I anticipated, I wonder how they will get on on Monday morning without me...OK I hope. Moving out the flat came and went in a bit of a hungover blur- probably a good thing I think! Can't believe I no longer had a place down there to call my own, from now on my ...

We arrive at Stansted at about 8pm and proceed to have a, probably, day old burger somewhere in the airport. Yum. Turns out that all the shops, in the departure lounge and outside, close at about 9pm so we have to sit around for 4 hours before our flight boards with nada to do.

Finally we get on the flight with a load of other backpacker types and head to Malaysia!

Yes folks,
If you have received this message its because you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to be included in the group email I am writing about my time in South America, starting with Brazil.
This is just a test.... check 1,2,3...... just to make sure that this site and format is all working correctly. The travelblog 'proper' will will begin on the 22nd October.
Cya ....
T.xx

In the days before my departure I saw the harrowing TV pictures of the havoc caused by the storms in the Far East and I wondered what lay ahead as I boarded the plane at Stansted Airport. Daughter Julia drove me there with Rose (wife) and it was a nice change to get to the airport in 30 minutes rather than the long trek to Heathrow Airport in London. As we walked to the checkin I was bowled over to see Nadia ( other daughter) coming towards me. She ...

... good for Magnolia Carts to finally expand overseas.

A taxi then took us all to our bed and breakfast (no more hostels), where we checked in and then trekked to the college to see Shelby's room. (She and Grandma had checked her in while we were meeting the AHT guy.)

Shelby's dorm room has to be the nicest dorm room we have ever seen for a first-year (the term is "Fresher" over here) college student. Bed, sofa, sink ...

... br>to the fact that I am excited, yet not bouncing around like a little
school child that is going to Devon on a school trip. And again I am
worried as I haven't booked a place to stay in Bangkok, yet I feel
quietly confident that I will be OK. Just looking forward to the
smells of Bangkok and the emotions that I will be feeling while I am
out there, not including the ...

... the locals being the most friendliest people I've met since Australia; the fantastic University buildings; the Weeping Willows drinking from the river; the diversity of it's market (Caribbean cakes for dinner!) and just a nice ambiance about the place. Can't rate it enough...and a 100% better than it's rival, Oxford, which we visited soon after for work reasons ...

... pasty, a portable pie-crust filled with a choice of beef, ham, cheese and vegetables. Delicious! So today is our last day, and I need to get packing, literally! As usual, I'll be going home with more than what I arrived with, including an extra suitcase. It's amazing how those little things add up. Luckily our airline still allows 2 bags per person, but a limit of 50 lbs per bag mean I need to be careful how to distribute everything ...

Hello, today was a great day - we visited Stone Henge and Bath. Stone Henge was awesome, we are able to see this circle of 25-40 ton stones that have been standing since around 2500 BC. For lunch the bus took us to a really old pub that served really good food. After lunch,we visited Bath, which is a city about an hour and a half outside of London ...