Cannes

After catching a tender boat to the shore, we had a quick look around the beach area of Cannes.  It was a beautiful place.

We did not get to spend a lot of time here as we were on a coach trip to Monaco

Barcelona

Barcelona

We were off the boat first thing in the morning and headed straight for the hop on hop off tourist bus.  As it was another scorcher of a day we sat on the open top deck.  There were many attractions on route.  One of the main ones was the Sagrada Famila, a church designed by Gaudi and is still under construction.

We had intended to jump off at the Gaudi national park, however progress in the tourist bus was slow. This was for two reason, huge congestion and traffic lights every 100 metres.

we also passed Barcelona FC, the shirt sales and merchandise was booming.  No wonder they have a ton of money.

After a couple of hours on the bus we were feeling the heat and had to  move inside for the last but of the journey.  We then headed down La Rambla, this is the main shopping street in Barcelona.  You have to keep your eyes peeled for pick pockets, though.

We had to be back on Azura by late afternoon as it was my mums 60th birthday.  She had ordered some canapes to her cabin.  In the evening we headed to a Indian restaurant on board called Sindu, you have to pay a extra £15 pp though.

After the meal we went to a 80s, 90s, 00s pool party.  To say it was bad would be a understatement. It was just childrens entertainment mixed with some butlins cabaret!  There are many good aspects to cruising however the eveining entertainment is not one of them.

Alicante

Alicante

Another glorious day around the med, which set us up nicely for a stroll around the Spanish town of Alicante.

We had been off the boat no more than 2 minutes and Claire was off shopping.  Before, I complain to much she was buying a hat to protect her from the sun.

First up some random pirate boat, as a tourist you end up taking pictures of random shit.

We then headed into the old quarter, which was filled with narrow streets and small coffee shops.

After some nice lunch  and a massive ice cream we headed to the main area of town and I was hoping to sponge some free WiFi from somewhere.  However, it is really difficult to find not even the Mcdonalds or Burger King were offering much of a service.  The sooner roaming charges are scrapped the better ( yes another WiFi moan)

We paid a visit to the beach, which was absolutely packed.

A view of the castle in the background.

My overall impression of Alicante is its just a average Spanish tourist town. I personally would not go back, if you are looking for somewhere a bit quieter than Benidorm it might just be for you!

Vigo

Vigo

After a day at sea the Azura  docked at the Spanish port of Vigo and it was a glorious day. Vigo is made up of tight cobbled streets, that wind up some steep hills.

After a long walk we arrived at the Ayuntamiento.  This is basically a small fort that looks over the harbour.

Then we began the ascent up to the El castro restos de la Fortaleza.  This is the main fort that over looks the city.  We were pretty tired at this point and the sun was getting hotter, so we took some obligatory photos and headed off downhill.

A nice fountain at the top of the walk.

After a bit of shopping we headed back to the ship.  However there had been a chlorine spillage onboard the Azura so nobody was allowed back on.  We were told it could take up to two hours before we could board.   So we headed back into town for a ice cold beer and Claire did some shopping. Yes she bought some stuff!!

Bangkok

Day 85

Last day!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure what happened but 5 days have gone amiss somewhere?  It was our last day of a long trip,  Boy how we have enjoyed it, time has literally flown by.  We are ready for going back though, we have seen everything we had wanted and met some amazing people on route.

Today however we just took it it easy and relaxed by the pool most of the day before heading out for some street food in the evening.  Bangkok really is amazing and is still my favourite city, its got everything!

View from our room at the fabulous Pathumwan Princess

A random interactive fish tank we found in Bangkok airport!

On the way back I took some cool shots of the mountains as we flew overhead, somewhere near Afghanistan.

We will be on our travels again soon, next time we will be cruising round the Mediterranean in July, Cannes, Rome, Gibraltar here we come!!!

Bangkok

Day 84

Claire had booked a cooking class with Baipai Cooking School, so we were up bright and early.  When I get back I am going to look forward to a nice lie in.


Before we started the class we were taken to a local market and where shown what type of products were needed for the class.

The cooking school was based in a really nice house,  I was expecting a more of a class room type place.

We were soon underway, there was a total of three dishes that needed to be made.

Here are the three dishes I cooked

Chicken and Cashew Nuts

Spicey (way way too hot, I did not finish it) Beef Salad

Pad Thai

All of the dishes took less than 10 minutes to cook.  However it was the preparation time and amount of ingredients that surprised me.  We both definitely learned a few thing though.

Not long left now.  Where has the time gone, it has literally flown by.

Bangkok

Day 83

After another hard days shopping, yes there are clothes left in bangkok.  This is despite claire's efforts to buy them all!  We decided to have a leg and shoulder massage.

It was £8 each for the hour massage.  Dont get me wrong it was relaxing however, the neck massage was quite rough at times.

Bangkok

Day 82

The day of shopping has arrived!!!! Claire has her purse primed and ready for the busy day ahead. We were heading to to Platinum Plaza, a 6 story fashion outlet.  First we had to negotiate with tuc tuc driver, after quickly agreeing a price we were off.

Claire was soon in her element!

After god knows how long we spent shopping, we headed back to the via motorbike taxi.  This is definitely the quickest way to get about and definitely the most thrilling!! It is not for the faint hearted.

I would also like to point out that Claire bought half of Bangkok today, the amount of bags we have in the room is crazy!!!!  This is only day 1 of Claire's shopping spree.

Bangkok

Day 81

Back to Bangkok, my favourite place.  However, this is the last stop on the trip, time has flown by.  We will soon be heading back home.   We were staying back in our favourite hotel The Pathumwan Princess, right next to the MBK centre.

Not much shopping was done today, that is being saved for tomorrow.  Claire loves her shopping to say the least.

Bought some cheap food at Sumo Restaurant.

Phuket

Day 80

For the most part of the day it was chilling out, yeah  I know again.  When the pool was a little bit empty  I could not resist and do a bomb!!!  That rock is too well placed, plus the pool is about 4 metres deep (the top end).

We then headed for a stroll around Chalong and had some cheap  Pad Thai.

View from the pier.

Phuket

Day 79

A lazy lazy day!  We literally chilled out by the pool all day.  Having looked back on our time travelling I think there have been very few days where we have bummed about.  There were a couple of days in Bali and the odd one in Koh Samui.  We are kind of using these next few days to recharge because when we hit Bangkok for the second time it is going to be really busy and then we fly home.

We did buy a bit of cat food at the shop as there are tons of strays, could not help but feed them.

Phi Phi

Day 78

We set off from Chalong Pier on another speedboat trip.  This time we were visiting the islands off Phuket.  First up was Maya Bay, which is part of Phi Phi Ley.  This particular area is famous because the majority of the film 'The Beach'  was set here.

As we were approaching the island I thought, it can not be that busy.  We had paid extra to come here at a quiet time.

Quiet, whatever!!!!!!!!!!!  This was the busiest beach I have ever been to.  It was absolutely rammed not fun at all.  The water was absolutely crystal clear though, which is very impressive seen as the amount of boats that come here. 

This is how it should look, well it did in the movie!

We were advised by our guides to go to a look out point round the corner.  The queue to get to this place was big.  When we got to the view point there was not much there.

We were pretty glad to be getting back on the boat and moving on to the next attraction. This was a ride through Pileh Cove.

After the cove we headed to Monkey Beach.  This turned out to be more of a rock face, but there were monkeys, a lot of them.   All of the boats including ours threw bananas to them, so much for not feeding the animals.

After here we went snorkeling at Ton Sai Bay. The amount of fish here was unbelievable, hey would swim right up to your hands (especially with bread in them).  You would be surrounded by a hundred or so all pecking at you hand.  However, what they did not tell us was the place was full of little jelly fish.  Nothing deadly, but I got stung about 8 times, each one felt like someone had just burnt your skin. Claire and many others did not last long.

We then sailed to the Viking Cave. Tourists are not allowed in anymore unfortunately.  In the caves the locals  (government ) collect swallows nests.  The japanese like to put them in soup.  1 kilo of nests cost £300,000 so it is a pretty lucrative business.

Next we moved on to Phi Phi Don.  This is small island that is popular with backpackers and honeymooners.  Now there is no surprise that this place was so so busy as well.  I could have easily been in Lamai or Chaweng.  Maybe in the night when all the day trippers have left it might be  a  fair quieter. 

Phi Phi Don beach

Next up was Bamboo Island.  This place was still busy, however we did find a quiet spot here. We just relaxed, and snorkelled.

 Thanks for the photo bomb! Would have been a good pic of  Bamboo Island.

Overall I can not help but feel disappointed with Phi Phi, I had much higher expectations.  I think we arrived 10 years too late, I imagine back then it was a tropical paradise. Sadly not anymore they have cashed in on the tourist dollar.  I mean I can hardly blame them, it is a poor country.