Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Amanda Mandaman
Well, for those of you who wondered whatever happened to Amanda Mandaman,
here's the answer.
here's the answer.
Suffice to say I didn't give her a go ( I thought it might be a little
incestuous) but I checked in with her... she's still in black & white,
but is quite happy in her new life in Ao Nang.
Preeeeviously on Lost.
Our tour group, on Bamboo Island (a.k.a. IntraIsland)
By the way, I've posted a load more photos on the photos website:
http://mikegledhill.spaces.live.com/
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
A week later...
Well, the 17-day tour is over, and it's been fab. Our group was really
cool (I have to say this, I've given them my blog web address) and
the tour leader was brilliant. It really did feel like the last day of
the school term yesterday, really sad to see everyone go.
Oh, and tour group: I gave you the wrong web address for the photos
I've posted so far. The photos are actually at:
http://mikegledhill.spaces.live.com/
.. although I haven't posted any new ones for a while. I'll get there!
Anyway, I'm now in Bangkok. All but two of the group have spread
their Thai wings and are either off home, off back to work, being
grouchy in a Bangkok hotel somewhere, or off exploring the rest of
Thailand.
Bangkok is... errr... dirty. Yeah, the word "dirty" would certainly
come to mind. Great for shopping, terrible for commuting
anywhere (thank god the taxis charge by distance, rather than
time), brilliant for pirated software (you can pick up 100-license
copies of mBusiness for about 50p.. which I still reckon is
overpriced, arf arf..)
I haven't found any pirate copies of my software yet though !
Mind you, I did see Season 5 of 24 being flogged on DVD
for 7 quid, but I don't believe in piracy, so I won't be watching
all of these from time to time over the coming four weeks,
do not disturb. No sirree.
I've been to the tailors, and am having a custom-made suit
delivered to my hostel tonight. Yup, Mike in a suit. Doesn't
quite sound right, does it ? Mind you, it'll impress Keith when
he's re-interviewing me in February.
Yesterday we went to see Casino Royal at the VIP cinema
(3 quid per seat, massive 1st class airplane style seating, with
a table, and a blanket !!)
The day before we went to see the bridge over the River Kwai
(pronounced "Kway"). Did you know Kwai means river ? So,
it's the River River. My my. Well well.
Also went for a typically touristy boatride on the floating market.
It was hot as hell, but made some cool photos. And apparently,
je suis chou. Very proud of that.
So, today's Tuesday, I have to decide if I still want to fly out
to Sydney on Sunday, or shall I stay a few extra days (if poss)
and go to Ko Samet...? It looks beautiful, but I know I'd
just find the cheapest luxury hotel on the beach and cabbage
out for a few days with my iPod. Which isn't all bad, I guess..
Right people, stop reading my rambling thoughts, and go
and do some work. Don't you have jobs to go to ?
cool (I have to say this, I've given them my blog web address) and
the tour leader was brilliant. It really did feel like the last day of
the school term yesterday, really sad to see everyone go.
Oh, and tour group: I gave you the wrong web address for the photos
I've posted so far. The photos are actually at:
http://mikegledhill.spaces.live.com/
.. although I haven't posted any new ones for a while. I'll get there!
Anyway, I'm now in Bangkok. All but two of the group have spread
their Thai wings and are either off home, off back to work, being
grouchy in a Bangkok hotel somewhere, or off exploring the rest of
Thailand.
Bangkok is... errr... dirty. Yeah, the word "dirty" would certainly
come to mind. Great for shopping, terrible for commuting
anywhere (thank god the taxis charge by distance, rather than
time), brilliant for pirated software (you can pick up 100-license
copies of mBusiness for about 50p.. which I still reckon is
overpriced, arf arf..)
I haven't found any pirate copies of my software yet though !
Mind you, I did see Season 5 of 24 being flogged on DVD
for 7 quid, but I don't believe in piracy, so I won't be watching
all of these from time to time over the coming four weeks,
do not disturb. No sirree.
I've been to the tailors, and am having a custom-made suit
delivered to my hostel tonight. Yup, Mike in a suit. Doesn't
quite sound right, does it ? Mind you, it'll impress Keith when
he's re-interviewing me in February.
Yesterday we went to see Casino Royal at the VIP cinema
(3 quid per seat, massive 1st class airplane style seating, with
a table, and a blanket !!)
The day before we went to see the bridge over the River Kwai
(pronounced "Kway"). Did you know Kwai means river ? So,
it's the River River. My my. Well well.
Also went for a typically touristy boatride on the floating market.
It was hot as hell, but made some cool photos. And apparently,
je suis chou. Very proud of that.
So, today's Tuesday, I have to decide if I still want to fly out
to Sydney on Sunday, or shall I stay a few extra days (if poss)
and go to Ko Samet...? It looks beautiful, but I know I'd
just find the cheapest luxury hotel on the beach and cabbage
out for a few days with my iPod. Which isn't all bad, I guess..
Right people, stop reading my rambling thoughts, and go
and do some work. Don't you have jobs to go to ?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Photos !!!!
I've finally gotten round to putting some of my Singapore photos on my blog site.
Well, my other blogsite.
http://mikegledhill.spaces.live.com/
Apologies that they're not on this page, along with fascinating descriptions and
stories about each one, but frankly, blogger.com is so unreliable, I couldn't be
arsed.
Quick note: Most (all?) of these photos are from my first few days of travelling
before I joined the Singapore-Bangkok tour. This is what I saw and got upto
before the good stuff had even started.
And no, absolutely none of these women are, errr, ladyboys or prostitutes.
Just a few travellers, and drop-dead-gorgeous locals, happy to talk to tourists.
Fan-tast-ic.
Well, my other blogsite.
http://mikegledhill.spaces.live.com/
Apologies that they're not on this page, along with fascinating descriptions and
stories about each one, but frankly, blogger.com is so unreliable, I couldn't be
arsed.
Quick note: Most (all?) of these photos are from my first few days of travelling
before I joined the Singapore-Bangkok tour. This is what I saw and got upto
before the good stuff had even started.
And no, absolutely none of these women are, errr, ladyboys or prostitutes.
Just a few travellers, and drop-dead-gorgeous locals, happy to talk to tourists.
Fan-tast-ic.
Oh shit ! (part 2)
Well, prepare yourself for an anti-climax.
(Deep voice:) Preeeeeeviously on Lost Bag.
"You wanna taxi ?"
"Me ? Yes. I wanna taxi."
"I take you to bus station. Come, come wid me."
"Okay, I come wid u."
(several minutes later)
"Thankyoo velly much. Here is your change. I go now, no? Byyyye."
"Fine, err, No!! Wait !! Aggghhh ! My bag has gone without me.
Hey, is that a hatch...?"
Errrr, after 30 gruelling minutes, during which time our tour guide was
frantically ringing around, telling our hotel (where the taxi picked me
up from) to look out for it coming back.. then ringing around to find
that I'd need to stay in Kuala Lumpur for a few extra days to get a
replacement passport...
...the taxi came back. The driver apologised profusely for the mistake,
and gave me back my bag. Nothing had been touched. Or tickled.
My holiday was back again, and I was ready to fall to my knees and
thank God.
I didn't,of course. I just went and had a celebratory beer. Even my
new crown enjoyed it.
Un-be-liev-able.
As the tour guide blokey said, I was one lucky (naughty-word)er.
Btw, today's Sunday, two days after the new Bond movie was released.
Errrr, and it's already become available to buy for 50p in the shopping
mall shops. Genius. Love this place. Wish someone would turn down
the temperature though.
(Deep voice:) Preeeeeeviously on Lost Bag.
"You wanna taxi ?"
"Me ? Yes. I wanna taxi."
"I take you to bus station. Come, come wid me."
"Okay, I come wid u."
(several minutes later)
"Thankyoo velly much. Here is your change. I go now, no? Byyyye."
"Fine, err, No!! Wait !! Aggghhh ! My bag has gone without me.
Hey, is that a hatch...?"
Errrr, after 30 gruelling minutes, during which time our tour guide was
frantically ringing around, telling our hotel (where the taxi picked me
up from) to look out for it coming back.. then ringing around to find
that I'd need to stay in Kuala Lumpur for a few extra days to get a
replacement passport...
...the taxi came back. The driver apologised profusely for the mistake,
and gave me back my bag. Nothing had been touched. Or tickled.
My holiday was back again, and I was ready to fall to my knees and
thank God.
I didn't,of course. I just went and had a celebratory beer. Even my
new crown enjoyed it.
Un-be-liev-able.
As the tour guide blokey said, I was one lucky (naughty-word)er.
Btw, today's Sunday, two days after the new Bond movie was released.
Errrr, and it's already become available to buy for 50p in the shopping
mall shops. Genius. Love this place. Wish someone would turn down
the temperature though.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Email me !
Hmm, for some reason, the "Email me" link that I put on my blog page
isn't appearing on some computers.
If you want to drop me an email, my address is :
mike@iSomewhere.com
(This'll get redirected to my Googlemail account.)
Mike
isn't appearing on some computers.
If you want to drop me an email, my address is :
mike@iSomewhere.com
(This'll get redirected to my Googlemail account.)
Mike
Oh shit ! (Part 1)
Yesterday morning, the unthinkable happened. I was getting out of a taxi in Kuala Lumpur, and the driver drove offwith my small bag, containing my passport, iPod, flight tickets, money,etc..
My heart stopped beating.
This was a taxi which we'd flagged down off the street, there was no way to track it down or anything, and had no details about which firm it was part of.
Un-be-liev-able.
The tour guide bloke (who, for my ex-work colleagues' benefit, is aKitt-lookalike) got on the phone and started making phonecalls.
In a nutshell, my tour was over. I wouldn't be able to leave Kuala Lumpur with the rest of the group.And I needed to calm down and start writing down a list of everything in my bag.
Stay tuned for the next installment.
(By the way, I already know the outcome to this story, and amazingly, it's not as frightening as it sounds.)
My heart stopped beating.
This was a taxi which we'd flagged down off the street, there was no way to track it down or anything, and had no details about which firm it was part of.
Un-be-liev-able.
The tour guide bloke (who, for my ex-work colleagues' benefit, is aKitt-lookalike) got on the phone and started making phonecalls.
In a nutshell, my tour was over. I wouldn't be able to leave Kuala Lumpur with the rest of the group.And I needed to calm down and start writing down a list of everything in my bag.
Stay tuned for the next installment.
(By the way, I already know the outcome to this story, and amazingly, it's not as frightening as it sounds.)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Trapped in the Petrona Towers
It's p...ing down at there, so I'm trapped in the incredible Petrona Towers
in Kuala Lumpur.
My liver has now officially stopped talking to me. No sooner has it recovered
from one night's drinking than it's being taken out for some more pints of
Tiger beer.
We got to a club last night, and immediately, so local girls were there winking
at me. My God, either I'm drop-dead gorgeous, they were chick-boys,
or they were prostitutes.
I'm gonna go for Option 1 on that one.
Anyway, another great night, with a live band doing loads of 90s classic
songs. Our hotel is a bit grotty. The toilet is at the end of a long-ish shower
cubicle. You can sit on the loo and have a shower in other words. Just don't
flush the paper.
Ah, it's all part of the experience.
Right, time to go and get drenched.
Later, dudes.
in Kuala Lumpur.
My liver has now officially stopped talking to me. No sooner has it recovered
from one night's drinking than it's being taken out for some more pints of
Tiger beer.
We got to a club last night, and immediately, so local girls were there winking
at me. My God, either I'm drop-dead gorgeous, they were chick-boys,
or they were prostitutes.
I'm gonna go for Option 1 on that one.
Anyway, another great night, with a live band doing loads of 90s classic
songs. Our hotel is a bit grotty. The toilet is at the end of a long-ish shower
cubicle. You can sit on the loo and have a shower in other words. Just don't
flush the paper.
Ah, it's all part of the experience.
Right, time to go and get drenched.
Later, dudes.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Days 2-6.. Singapore & Malaysia
Blimey.
To everyone who said "You'll have the time of your life, it'll be great.."
yup, you were right. This past week has been fab.
I'm keeping a journal (thanks Karen), and bloody need to.. so much
has happened in everyday, but there's still plenty of time to explore,
go shopping and relax.
So, highlights so far:
I got hopelessly drunk in Singapore with a couple of travllers (a couple
of days before joining the tour group that I'm travelling with). There's
something liberating about being in Singapore, at 4.30am in the morning,
where no one knows where you are, and you're trying to remember the
name of your hotel. Or even your own name..
The tour group is fab. 10 women, 3 guys, plus the guide himself.
Lots of really nice people, my room-mate is fab.
On Day 2 of the tour, I had a milk chewy sweet, and the crown on one of
my teeth came straight out. Oh, shit... The following day, Mon 13th,
I spent an hour 40 minutes in the dentist's chair. All better now, and the
dentist was fab. Oh, and it cost 12 quid. Bargain.
Last night, four of us were out til 3.30am clubbing. No one was dancing,
so I was, errr, podeum dancing and trying to get the rest of the club to join
in. Fantastic music, and a brilliant night.
Caught the bus to Kuala Lumpar today, and have been on the world's largest
indoor rollercoaster.
Another day, another thunderstorm and rain like I've never seen.. it's
great !!
Right, gotta go and de-sweat myself after a busy day of exploring !
To everyone who said "You'll have the time of your life, it'll be great.."
yup, you were right. This past week has been fab.
I'm keeping a journal (thanks Karen), and bloody need to.. so much
has happened in everyday, but there's still plenty of time to explore,
go shopping and relax.
So, highlights so far:
I got hopelessly drunk in Singapore with a couple of travllers (a couple
of days before joining the tour group that I'm travelling with). There's
something liberating about being in Singapore, at 4.30am in the morning,
where no one knows where you are, and you're trying to remember the
name of your hotel. Or even your own name..
The tour group is fab. 10 women, 3 guys, plus the guide himself.
Lots of really nice people, my room-mate is fab.
On Day 2 of the tour, I had a milk chewy sweet, and the crown on one of
my teeth came straight out. Oh, shit... The following day, Mon 13th,
I spent an hour 40 minutes in the dentist's chair. All better now, and the
dentist was fab. Oh, and it cost 12 quid. Bargain.
Last night, four of us were out til 3.30am clubbing. No one was dancing,
so I was, errr, podeum dancing and trying to get the rest of the club to join
in. Fantastic music, and a brilliant night.
Caught the bus to Kuala Lumpar today, and have been on the world's largest
indoor rollercoaster.
Another day, another thunderstorm and rain like I've never seen.. it's
great !!
Right, gotta go and de-sweat myself after a busy day of exploring !
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Singapore.. I didn't die.
Well, the flight made it.
Bit weird.. BA made us keep the shutters close throughout the flight, so we arrived
at 6pm, but had thought it'd be very-early (i.e. London time) throughout.
In Singapore time, we had BA's breakfast at 4pm, then the plane landed.
Had the freindliest guy to pick me up from the airport ever (had so much really
useful tourist information, it wasn't true !) and the hotel is fab.
Lookup Hangout Hotel in Sinagpore. It's cheap, but very very cheerful. They
put on a couple of films (for free) on their plasma each night, have a swimming
pool shower thing on the roof (please, just don't ask..) and it's in the centre
of town. Near lots of pubs, the main shopping place and so on. It's fab fab fab.
It's currently 12.40am (4.40pm Bristol time, but given as I didn't sleep last
night, what does that matter...?) I'm on their free broadband internet, and
haven't worked out how to transfer photos yet. It'll come.
So.. Day 1... no planes crashed, my rucksack only came to 12Kg (applause)
and when the plane started going through turbulance, I didn't do my normal
deep-voiced "Preeeeeeeviously on Lost." gag.
Bit weird.. BA made us keep the shutters close throughout the flight, so we arrived
at 6pm, but had thought it'd be very-early (i.e. London time) throughout.
In Singapore time, we had BA's breakfast at 4pm, then the plane landed.
Had the freindliest guy to pick me up from the airport ever (had so much really
useful tourist information, it wasn't true !) and the hotel is fab.
Lookup Hangout Hotel in Sinagpore. It's cheap, but very very cheerful. They
put on a couple of films (for free) on their plasma each night, have a swimming
pool shower thing on the roof (please, just don't ask..) and it's in the centre
of town. Near lots of pubs, the main shopping place and so on. It's fab fab fab.
It's currently 12.40am (4.40pm Bristol time, but given as I didn't sleep last
night, what does that matter...?) I'm on their free broadband internet, and
haven't worked out how to transfer photos yet. It'll come.
So.. Day 1... no planes crashed, my rucksack only came to 12Kg (applause)
and when the plane started going through turbulance, I didn't do my normal
deep-voiced "Preeeeeeeviously on Lost." gag.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The end is nigh.
So, the day has come.
The rucksack is packed (kinda), it's only slightly back-breakingly heavy (kinda), the trip is planned (kinda), the iPod is loaded with decent music (kinda), and I've prepared myself a hearty Tupperware meal of "Charles' prison food brown-stuff" to eat on the plane.
Oooo, I went to Flight Centre in Bristol on Monday to ask whether there was anything I needed to do during these last couple of days, and there was a guy outside with a cardboard sign, quietly protesting about the environment effects of aeroplanes. I was quite affected by this, and walked in and asked how much it'd be to change my mode of transport to a horse drawn carriage. Ahhh, it made them smile.
So, friends, neighbours and people who've stumbled onto this site out of accident or boredom, welcome to Mike's new method of communication. Welcome to Blogville, population: me.
Keep the comments and emails coming in. Obviously, once I'm out there and have found the beach from The Beach, I won't be reading any of them, but, hey it'll make me look popular. A bit like that time I came back from my lunchbreak with a can of air freshener. God, I miss Pinsker.
See y'all on the other side.
(God, if my plane crashes, that'll be the last sentence you guys ever read from me. Intense, man...)
The rucksack is packed (kinda), it's only slightly back-breakingly heavy (kinda), the trip is planned (kinda), the iPod is loaded with decent music (kinda), and I've prepared myself a hearty Tupperware meal of "Charles' prison food brown-stuff" to eat on the plane.
Oooo, I went to Flight Centre in Bristol on Monday to ask whether there was anything I needed to do during these last couple of days, and there was a guy outside with a cardboard sign, quietly protesting about the environment effects of aeroplanes. I was quite affected by this, and walked in and asked how much it'd be to change my mode of transport to a horse drawn carriage. Ahhh, it made them smile.
So, friends, neighbours and people who've stumbled onto this site out of accident or boredom, welcome to Mike's new method of communication. Welcome to Blogville, population: me.
Keep the comments and emails coming in. Obviously, once I'm out there and have found the beach from The Beach, I won't be reading any of them, but, hey it'll make me look popular. A bit like that time I came back from my lunchbreak with a can of air freshener. God, I miss Pinsker.
See y'all on the other side.
(God, if my plane crashes, that'll be the last sentence you guys ever read from me. Intense, man...)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Thai Bride cheque book
Just in case you're interested, or are planning a trip to Thailand, attached is a scan of the cheque book I was given as a leaving present from work.
(I think you can see why I had to leave now...)
Incidentally, it took about 20 minutes of repeatedly failing to get this bloody image into Blogger.com. This really is the most unreliable website I've ever used.
Anyway, just six days until I'll be arriving at Heathrow, ready to jet off all over the place... and am I ready ? Am I packed ? Has anything made it into my oversized rucksack yet ? Errr, no. I work well under pressure... I'll be packing on Wednesday morning probably.
