And the kitchen porters, the housekeeping staff, the gardeners, front of house, maintenance and everyone else working to make your Christmas special. They are all amazing. They all have to work over Christmas and all have a smile and a “Merry Christmas!” for even the grumpiest customer. My husband is a chef, Executive Chef … Read more
The Ayutthaya Floating Market This floating market just outside Ayuthaya, Thailand, was so remarkable, so odd, so strange yet delicious, that it needs its own little post, to keep it separate from the real world. This place was crazy, annoyingly, I can’t remember the name, but if you’re in Ayuthaya, Thailand, you’ll probably come across … Read more
Ayuthaya (also spelt Ayutthaya or Ayudhya) was the second capital of old Siam (1360-1767) after Sukhothai. This ancient city to the north of Bangkok has history on its side, but is it worth a visit during your trip to Thailand? What about those all-important “things to do?” We think it’s well worth visiting Ayutthaya and … Read more
I’m no expert on gardening in the tropics, I’ve lived here for 5 years, in tropical Queensland, I’m a British expat in Australia, I’ve made plenty of gardening mistakes, but I’m starting to see some good results in the tropical food garden. Check out our tomato crop. Until a few years ago I lived in … Read more
Many people will regret not travelling. But does anyone actually regret travel? A group of travel bloggers look at their biggest travel regrets. “I regret travelling around the world; I wish I’d stayed home instead,” said no-one ever. Man Vs World I love that quote. I was first asked to write this post way back … Read more
Honestly, I’m confused, my head is a mess. I spent forty-two years experiencing Christmas in winter. December, in my mind, will always be cold, now, suddenly, our tropical Christmas is in summer, it’s too weird! I find myself living in Port Douglas, Australia, in an alternate hemisphere, am I supposed to adjust to the idea … Read more
Yesterday was the first day of summer in Australia. It brought wind and rain to Port Douglas, looks a bit stormy doesn’t it? Our wet season has started, so there is plenty more rain to come . Don’t be fooled into thinking it was cold, the temperatures were up in the thirties and the humidity … Read more
Why do I love India? I fell in love with India a long time ago. I think it had something to do with visiting a neighbour’s house as a child, seeing her Ganesh shrine set up in the front room and hearing sitar music as she wafted about the house barefoot, jingling and dazzling in ankle bracelets … Read more
The scary scuba diving story is the scariest of my travel horror stories. If you’re learning to scuba dive, read this first and avoid my mistake! Is scuba diving scary? Well, yes, it can be, depending on the person, but this experience would scare the whatsit out of most people. Despite this newbie diver story, … Read more
We live in the tropics, Far North Queensland, we get horrible tropical diseases, more so, because we have children, adorable little germ factories that they are. Today’s disease is impetigo or school sores. It’s so bad I’m going to add it to my list of travel horror stories, I didn’t even have to leave home for this one! … Read more
We’ve just got back from observing the total solar eclipse at Four Mile Beach Port Douglas, the whole experience was stunning! Dragging the kids out of bed at 4am didn’t go down too well, but a few ice creams and some celestial spectacularness soon perked them up. This last total solar eclipse in Australia was … Read more
Is snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef on the top of your bucket list? It’s an experience like no other, a marine adventure that people travel the whole world to experience, an unforgettable day during your time in Australia. In this post we talk about snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, what it’s like, what … Read more
Kopi Luwak or Luwak Coffee is often described as the most expensive coffee in the world, prized for it’s mellow taste. The first stage of coffee luwak coffee production is growing the coffee beans of course, but after this, the ripe coffee beans must be eaten and partially digested by a small mammal, a civet … Read more
Small group adventure holidays usually involve travel to an adventure holiday destination, domestic or international, and touring or taking part in an activity with a group of strangers, plus a guide or group leader. These holidays can be of any duration from a few days to many months. For some individuals they are a great … Read more
I’d love to get a long-term volunteer position while we are traveling, but, it’s hard to get into. it’s often a voluntourism scam and it is expensive for the volunteer. For me, I don’t think it’s ever going to happen. Somebody else, with fewer family commitments and more cash will have the privilege of taking … Read more
Well, who knows? We’d like to see a few new places and, of course, we have favourite countries from our previous trips that we’d love to share with the children, to explore further, or just revisit. This RTW, With Children, Will Be Different. We’ll have to travel slowly, build in some quieter times to kick … Read more
My husband laughs at my packing. He laughed even harder when I mentioned that I was going to blog about packing for, you see, in the last 4 years of full time travel, of constantly moving on to pastures new, packing anxiety has been my constant companion. I hate packing! I really, really can’t stand … Read more
A chef’s widow is a term used to refer to a person who is married to a chef. Chefs spend so many hours in work, at antisocial hours, that their wives and partners barely see them. I am married to a chef, a blog post about life, work, travel, and kids as a chef wife. … Read more
It’s not unusual to attract wildlife when you’re camping in Australia. Living in the tropics involves plenty of up-close wildlife interaction. We’ve had wallabies and possums visit our tent more than once. But did you know kookaburras like to snatch your food too? I’ve seen them snatch chicken legs directly from somebody’s hand down south, … Read more
A weekend camping on Lake Tinaroo. A great chance to catch Lake Tinaroo redclaw yabbies and mess around on Tinaroo dam. There’s loads to do up on the Tablelands, from playpus spotting to chocolate tasting, but first catch your yabbie. The Tablelands lie to the west of Cairns and Port Douglas in Far North Queensland. … Read more
There are plenty of things to do in Ubud Bali, for families or with kids, or for me today, as an over 50 female traveller. But should you visit Ubud? Will it be right for you or is it spoilt forever? Ubud is our favourite place to stay on the island, still, and we recommend … Read more
We just had a couple of days camping in Cooktown. It’s about 3 hours north of Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, Australia. That’s along the beautiful coast road, only suitable for four-wheel drives for most of the way. There is a sealed road further inland, but it takes slightly longer and, arguably, isn’t nearly as … Read more
12 Reasons to take a round the world trip (RTW). Only 12? There are far more, but I’ve tried to condense them into an even dozen. Our primary reason for travelling is education, learning, and understanding. I’ve always been driven by my thirst for knowledge in the areas that interest me, this is why I’ve … Read more
We were able to travel full-time for almost 7 years, without a full-time traditional job between us. we were loving our new non-conventional life. Raising the money to travel was hard work initially, we weren’t rich, didn’t win the lottery, and for the preceding 5 years we only had 1 income, my husband’s chef’s salary. … Read more
Travel is amazing, but it’s time to ‘fess up. I have a few travel horror stories to tell. Sometimes travel sucks. It can be hard, exhausting, dangerous, boring or just plain icky. If you are squeamish or don’t like reading about matters lavatorial, maybe this isn’t the post for you. Here are some of my … Read more
There are quite a few options in Port Douglas if you are interested in helicopter rides and charters. We live in Port Douglas, but tourists are just as likely to take a helicopter ride here in Queensland too. Taking helicopter rides is one of the more expensive things to do in Port Douglas, but there … Read more
Most people worry about flying with children. I used to, but now I don’t know why I ever did. We’ve done it many, many times including flying the seriously long-haul UK to Australia routes with kids. It holds no horrors for me and hasn’t for years. No, my children are not angels, far from it, … Read more
Some people just don’t understand homeschooling at all. That’s OK, its not something that most people have ever come across or researched. It’s not “normal”, school is the best thing for kids in the conventional mindset. Surely it’s compulsory? It’s not compulsory, it’s a choice, parents have a legal obligation to provide their children with an education. … Read more
Stinger season Cairns, Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef area and the whole of Far North Queensland is something you need to be aware of. Insider knowledge on how to be safe, for you and your kids is essential. We live up here and work on the Great Barrier Reef, we can tell you about … Read more
People often don’t associate South Africa with taking a safari or visiting a game reserve. I always think of Kenya and Tanzania, but there are plenty of wildlife parks in South Africa, the mighty Kruger and dozens of smaller game parks. We took our then very young children to a few of South Africa’s game … Read more
This post was written and titled “Living in Port Douglas” when we were planning to escape Port Douglas over a decade ago. We have lived in Port Douglas on and off since we emigrated here from the UK. We owned a beautiful house there, but we left to travel the world for several years in … Read more
We saw an Australian animal that less than 10% of all Australians have ever seen near Cairns, the fantastic, and surprisingly tiny, platypus. That’s wild platypus, not in a zoo. If you’d like to share in this incredible experience, check out the Atherton Platypus Park near Cairns at Tarzali Lakes. You can visit for the … Read more
Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, was closed a while ago by a 4-meter saltwater crocodile. He didn’t do much, just swam along the beach about 20m from shore. A crowd gathered and watched, that’s about as exciting as the day got. It made me think though, not many people have the experience of sharing their home with … Read more
Koh Samet (also known as Ko Samet or Ko Samed), is maybe the easiest of the Thai Islands to access if you are visiting Bangkok. It is just 220 Km from the capital and 7km off the mainland. The island is very popular as a weekend destination with locals and is full of backpackers, independent … Read more
