So this is the end
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- Category: Blog Friday - Steve
This time next week I’ll be back at work! Back to wearing socks and long trousers. To be frank I’m just happy to still have a job to go back to. Anyway a short list of practical stuff I’ve learnt.
Really useful stuff
The iPods – invaluable, have got us through countless tedious journeys.
Teva sandals – ugly, but I’ve had only one pair of shoes for the last nine months and except for a patch up job in Chiang Rai still going strong, if a bit smelly.
Lego – the most played with toy, hours of fun.
Not so useful stuff we have been carting around
Ned’s rucksack is just for bed-time teddies; we should have been stricter about numbers (we are now up to 11 cuddly toys, plus a blanky).
Fleeces: after New Zealand frankly we could have dumped the fleeces, but kept them “just in case”.
Travel tips
Airplanes and airports are really not that scary. After overnight Bangkok to Tokyo, with a 3 hour stopover in Singapore we can face anything. Why were we so stressed about all this stuff at the start of the trip?
Do not believe Thai train timetables or New Zealand car travel times. Both works of fiction, always takes much longer. We’ve heard the same is true for Lao buses, but were never foolhardy enough to try them.
Food and sleep
Vital to get enough sleep or people get grumpy, especially the grown-ups.
Kids happy to sleep in just about any bedroom, but totally refuse to nod off on trains, planes and buses.
You can drink the ice in South East Asia.
In nine months the only places we found it hard to find a decent meal were a remote village in Northern
Thailand and Disneyland. Otherwise we have all eaten rather well.
Hope this is helpful, happy to answer any questions
