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Hello from sunshineblog.net. The musings of Sunshinebob and others from our base in Barbados , London , Spain and the United States. We hope to put the fun back into travel with tips ideas and information for many sources. plan to have daily articles , photos and video from all round the world.

Sunshinebob goes to Barbados… Part I

As the alarm went off for the second time I peeped out from under my Duvet. I remember thinking that it cant be time to get up but as I looked through bloodshot eyes at the alarm I realised that the holiday adventure I had been looking forward to for the last eight months was about to start.. I felt like death.. This was not the ideal start I had planned.. It was not the eight hours relaxing pre-holiday sleep that myself and Mrs sunshinebob had intended and the taxi would be here within the hour..

As I shaved the face of the grey looking man in the mirror I made a solemn promise to myself never to drink that much the night before I fly.. It’s a promise I broke less than 24 hours later….

So , taxi to the airport.. I live in southern Spain so the airport in question was Malaga.. It was mobbed , loads of sombrero wearing eurochavs with a wicker donkey tucked under their sunburnt arms and 2000 fags and a bottle of cheap whiskey in a yellow plastic bag at their feet.. Snotty kids in fake Burberry caps were running riot and the headache pills I took only 90 minutes before were already wearing off. BA flight number whatever to Gatwick was on time and I had managed to bag two wing exit extra legroom seats in row 11.. On the plane I looked around and noticed that there were no kids.. In fact I think that mrs SB and I were the youngest passengers by some way bar the odd so-and-so. I guess that the internet aware younger type were on the cheaper “no frills” airlines and all the “greyer” saga-louts who bought their tickets from the travel agent travel on the worlds favourite airline.. Not that they are our favourites (especially mrs SB ) as the buggers lost our bags on route to JFK in December.. But I digress… Good flight, horrid wobbly sandwiches, and got in on time.. The bags appeared (yippee!!) and we wandered the 400 meters to The Gatwick Sofitel located slap bang in the North Terminal.. We were staying there overnight as our connecting BA flight to Bridgetown was not until the next morning at 11am.. I had booked the hotel online through holidayextras.com and saved a pretty penny. I tried (and failed) to get a free upgrade and settled for some small, slightly smelly room on the third floor with a wonderful view overlooking the car park.. We dumped the bags and headed back to get a train into London. The Gatwick Express sped us into Victoria in no time. I bought the tickets online and got a 50% discount with some special code I managed to google. Then onto the underground and into Covent Garden. I wanted a lightweight jacket from one of my favourite shops, Rohan.. They sell some great travelling clothes and I have been buying them for years.. It’s the kind of stuff that wont stain or crease is easy to wash and dry and wears really well.. I had seen a couple of options I liked online ( rohan.co.uk ) and was looking forward to my new purchase. BUT , as with most things in life , events did not go as planned. They were closed for stocktaking.. It was a Saturday afternoon and Covent Gagden was buzzing. The whole of London was mobbed but they were closed.. When I spoke to the spotty assistant having a fag at the door he said “ its coz na-one wantz to cumm in Monday morning and doo it den “… This is a perfect example of why this great country of ours is going to the dogs and why I moved to Spain in the first place. Mrs SB and I uttered a few choice words and we left them to their paperwork.. Three hours later and laden down with a new jacket for me from a open shop , M&S knickers , some junk jewellery and two new dresses for mrs SB we re-entered our hotel and sat down at the bar for a quick drink before retiring to our small , smelly broom cupboard. You can guess what happened next…Well we had (more than ) a few cocktails and some very nice tapas and a few short hours later woke up a 7.30 with what can only be described as the worse hangover I have ever had..Long island iced teas must be made with Napam. All those promises I made not 24 hours before were in tatters on the floor.. I wanted to shoot myself and put and end to it all there and then.. As I had no gun (over zealous hand luggage restrictions) I reluctantly settled on a cup of tea , a bar of very expensive chocolate from the mini bar , a litre of (tap) water and four headache tablets..

Nine-ish we wandered back into the airport and looked to check in.. The club line snaked back and forth like a Disney ride queue and the fast (slow) bag drop system was groaning under the shear weight of traffic. .Lucky a very nice young BA assistant directed us to the virtually empty economy queue round the corner. Through security via the empty fast track queue and airside within moments.. Mrs SB and I were travelling with another couple and rang their mobile to arrange a meet and a big of breakfast.. The other couple are buddies of ours from our previous lives living in Essex. He is a mid forty ex-British gymnast and she is a super looking blondish lady half his age.. As a side note I would like to mention Mrs SB and I are more “terry and june” than our friends “posh and becks”. The wife and I had already made a promise to each other to sit as far away from their perfectly shaped bodies on each and every beach we all visited.. It makes you sick , all they did was eat cake and biscuits the whole time we were away , if I even look at a cake I gain weight , but I digress again. For the purpose of this story and to save them any blushes I will refer to them as Ken and Barbie. We met them in one of the many restaurants and ordered some breakfast.. Coffee and extra strength Panadol for me and mrs SB and a full English and double cake for Ken and Barbie..

Our flight got called and off we trudged off looking for our gate. Mrs SB and I were seated in seats 12 E and F in business whilst Ken and Barbie (who booked after us) had to make do with World Traveller plus as club was full. We sat in the middle two rear facing seats and quickly availed ourselves of the champagne. It’s quite weird facing the other way but the two seats were very comfortable and quite private. We could see Ken and Barbie back in WT+ and waved to them at every opportunity until the magic curtain was slammed in their faces. One glass of poo followed another and we settled down with our new books.. I had the new John Grisham (The Innocent Man – very readable ) and Mrs SB had some chick book or another. Lunch was nice with the usual chicken or beef. Its nice to have proper cutlery to eat with and real glass glasses to drink the rather good wine out off.. The lady next to us spilt her châteaux neuf de pap all down herself and had to get changed which cheered us both up immensely. I followed it all with the excellent cheese board and a couple of glasses of aged port. The lady next to us then spilled her wine again , had to change again and made us giggle like naughty school kids for hours.. I dozed to chill out Ibiza 2 and awoke as the twenty minutes from landing announcement was made. I was going to watch the telly but never found the time. It was a lovely flight and the time passed with effortless ease.

Touchdown….

To be continued……….

4-Feb-2007

Sunshinebob goes to Barbados… Part II

Touchdown…. Welcome to Barbados..

I looked out the window of the plane as the ground sped by and it looked hot.. Hot and wet.. We deplaned and joined a queue for immigration. I stretched back out of the air-conditioned concourse back onto the tarmac area. Apparently three planes had landed within minutes and the airport had gone into overload.. We inched forward like a sloth on mogadon for the best part of 40 minutes. Ken and Barbie, who had had their passports stamped before us stood and waited and the inspector examined our passports from cover to cover for what seem like an eternity. Ken remarked that as they were on a (2 hour) later flight home at the end of our trip and they had cleared immigration first that “ their holiday was to be substantially longer than ours”.. This was something we were to hear on a regular basis every day until the holiday was over..

The bags appeared again and we exited the airport to find our “meet and greet” driver supplied by the Hotel.. The man with the sign was Michael..He and his brother (Andrew) are the two tame taxi drivers who appear to look after most of the guests in the hotel. He and his trusty Lexus fetched and carried the four of us many times during our 11 nights in Barbados. He cannot be recommended highly enough. He was always happy to oblige no matter the time or situation. He has a wealth of local knowledge and contacts.. He somehow managed to fit the four of us and luggage into his car and delivered us promptly to our hotel Little Arches. Little Arches is a small family run 10 room hotel situated 15 mins for the Airport on the south coast of Barbados near Oistens. We checked in to room 10 with Ken & Barbie in room 8. Both rooms were situated at the rear of the property and had views over the garden areas. The rooms were large and well finished, comprising of a seating area , a big bathroom ( with no bath ), hall with plenty of storage and a rather comfortable four poster style bed. Both rooms were air-conditioned , had a TV, fridge ,safe and hairdryer for the ladies. Ours also had a small kitchen area. The rooms both shared a large raised wooden patio to the rear. It was here we sat to chill out from time to time and drink the odd beer of three during our stay.. I think these are the best two rooms the hotel has to offer..Sean ( reception ) then gave us a brief orientation tour and a bottle of rum and some rum cake as a welcome gift. I swapped the cake for the booze with ken and Barbie whose eyes popped out of the sockets with the thought of more cake.. We all unpacked and wandered over to the restaurant upstairs for a beer and bite to eatbefore bed.. We were on euro time and things were getting late. I don’t remember too much of the meal except I had pasta , it was tasty and we all retired to out respective rooms and well tucked in bed by 9.30 local time.

The next morning I awoke bright and early at about 6am and it was still dark. It was the first time in three days that my head was not pounding and my tongue did not taste like the floor of a taxi cab. I felt great.. Mrs SB and I took the opportunity to wander around and to get some local bearings. We exited the hotel and turned left.. The sun had risen and so had the temperature.. We walked for about forty minutes quietly taking in the sights and sounds around us. Every body we passed said good morning.. It was kind of surreal like a moment from “it’s a wonderful life”.. Everybody was so darn nice. We turned on our heels and started to walk back to the hotel. The sun on our backs felt nice and we strolled. We waked straight pass the hotel and carried on to see what we could see the other way. The hotel itself is not on the beach. Some posters on this forum have noted that.. Its near the beach of course.. In fact the road is about 4 meters wide , it’s a no though road and used very little. It’s not a problem I can assure you. The Beach is one minute away. Again some posters have said this is a problem, its not. Don’t forget if you stay in a bigger beach front resort on the west coast you will be further away from the beach purely because the resort is bigger. The beach itself is beautiful. Its on the south coast so don’t expect flat water , there are waves and at times the sea is not suitable for weak swimmers or kids. The beach is called Enterprise Beach although the locals know it as Miami Beach. Its 400 metres of sand with lots of shade from the many trees slightly set back from the sea. The sand by the way is not red hot like the beaches near me in Spain but soft , cool and white. Towards one end there is a little cove, a shower block and the “world famous” Mr Delicious restaurant. Well not a restaurant in the true nature of things more an old bus parked on the beach under the trees. I made a mental note to visit here a couple of times to try out the local cuisine purely for research purposes. As mrs SB and I looked into the water by the cove we could not help but notice the water. It was full of locals.. I glanced down at my watch and it was before eight.. But there they were.. The average age was in the upper sixties I guess and there must have been at least a hundred of them. They sang and chatted with each other and the laughter in air was infectious.. I defy anyone on this earth to go there and not have a great time.. People were milling about , getting in , getting out , showering , chatting , dancing. It was a fantastic way to begin to try to understand what make the Bajan people tick. They are simply the happiest bunch I have ever met.

It was almost 9 by the time we walked back into the hotel and the sun was already high in the sky and the mercury had risen to the late twenties.. We wandered up to Café Luna (the in-house restaurant) and found ourselves a seat for breakfast.. Café Luna is owned jointly by the Hotel and the resident Chef ( and part time surf dude ) Moo.. The staff there are undoubtedly the best bunch of lads and ladies I have ever met. They along with the other 10 members of Hotel staff made our holiday. More about that later. The restaurant is one of the best places to eat on the island.. We then met out waiter for the first time.. Gregory immediately reminded me of a cross between “bill and ted” and some stoned hippy from the sixties.. He was sooooo laid back he was almost laying down. We later found out the staff refer to him as Johnny Bravo and enjoyed some great tales about his short by immensely interesting life thus far. He is both forgetful and unforgettable. He might ask how you want your egg but it don’t matter as ninety percent of the time he gets it wrong…. He epitomises relaxed and casual and it like the old folks in the sea gets under your skin so quick you don’t care whether the eggs are scrambled or poached anyway.

Breakfast at the hotel was a bit disappointing if I am honest.. I have been lucky enough to have travelled very extensively in the last twenty years and I have had better.. Don’t get me wrong its not bad but a little indifferent and slightly odd.. The portion sizes differ greatly over the dozen or some offerings. The biggest (although not enough if you are a big eater) thing was the burrito and smallest was the (two bite) BLT. There was the traditional full English , a veggie option as well as French toast and pancakes for the ladies.. Also the fare differs day to day depending on who cooked it.. Breakfast came with coffee or tea and choice of fruit juice.. As we were all there for more than seven days the breakfasts were complementary.

More later folks , some of us have got work to do!!!!

Sunshinebob goes to Barbados…. Part III

This is where it gets a little fuzzy.. The old grey matter has gone a bit soft over the last few years so the actual order of things following is about right although not perfect.

We went to the beach. If you ask reception they will arrange for Trevor or Sly to carry two sun beds down onto the beach for. Its so civilised. Mrs SB and I took our usual positions in the shadier area and sat back to continue with John and Chicky (our books). After an hour or so Ken and Barbie appeared and plonked themselves in the sun not too far away.. I tried to give Trevor $10 to move them further down the beach as they are too darn good looking to be within fifty feet of me but he could not be bought. Ken and Barbie also have that good kind of skin that don’t burn either. They went home with a deep conker colour whilst me and the mrs went slightly pinker.. I digress again.. Then the strangest thing happened.. I stood up and wandered over to Ken and Barbie for no apparent reason, just being friendly like I suppose… I was half way there when all of a sudden I stopped for no apparent reason. I looked up to the sky through the dappled shade of the trees and saw a coconut plummeting towards me.. I don’t know if it was my razor sharp brain calculating the exact trajectory on the incoming missile or my slow reflexes but I watched it fall all the way past the end on my nose and into the sand by my feet. It missed me by an inch. Now 2kg coconut falling at 10m/s from 15 metres up is coming in a fair lick and would have smarted a tad if it had hit me on the head. I instantly made a mental note not to sit or walk under coconut trees again. I glanced back up to see the leaves part high above me and two eyes and a flash of white and gold teeth amongst the foliage. Within seconds a man slide down the tree at a vast rate of knots. So quick in fact he caught his undercarriage on the way down and proceeded to hop around rubbing his wedding tackle in some pain.. After he checked if he had left any of “himself” up the tree he bounded over full of apologies and offered me the coconut at my feet for free… I declined his kind offer and carried on with the day none the worse from the experiance. I still don’t know why I stopped walking and looked up.. I told Mrs SB that’s its to do with by superman like powers and my highly trained ninja skills.. She it was just that I was always a lucky git and stuck her nose back into her book without even looking up.. Either way , I wont sit under a coconut tree again and suggest you don’t too.

Mrs SB and I had a wander later and popped into the local fish market.. Its like every other fish market.. It stinks of fish , but we did buy some flying fish at great expense ( about three quid ) which mrs SB fried up on the small kitchen in our room and we ate them with local salad. They were very tasty. Ken , Barbie and two of us enjoyed them immensely washed down with the rum , some cola , a six pack of Banks and of course some extra cake for our oh so slim friends. Later after a short and very needed snooze we wandered back to the beach and watched the local fishing boats unloading their daily catch. As the fishermen gathered round off loading, buying and selling many of the off cuts were simply thrown back into the sea.. In the water there were 10 or so turtles feasting on the unusable or un-sellable bits left over after the fish had been gutted.. It was like a scene for the discovery channel. Some were the size of dinner plates and others at least a metre long. We stood watching like childred untill the sun dipped down below the horizon. One of the fishermen slipped and dropped his catch. Most of the fish fell onto the bank but one big ( 20 pounds or so ) fish fell back into the sea. It did not make a beak for freedom as it was a dead as a dodo and sank towards the bottom like a coconut falling from a tree. The largest turtle decided he would investigate and swam over to have a look.. Much mayhem ensured with plenty of p1ss taking amongst the fishermen and onlookers alike. One brave local kicked off his shoes and shirt and dived in to claim the fish from the very clutch of the turtle. It was like a man verses turtle tug of war and through the bubbles we clearly saw the fish snatched from the very mouth of the creature. The local returned to the surface much to the delight and cheers of the crowd with his prize.. He told us he would be able to eat for a week for free and his wife would be happy with him at least for a day or two.

With a spring in our step we headed back the hotel for a shower and a trip into St Lawrence Gap.. Refreshed and no longer stinking of turtle food we jumped in Michael’s cab and in less than 15 minutes were sitting in a bar with alcohol in our hands . Jumbies is the first bar and was as good as anywhere to start.. We had out usual round Vodka and Cranberry for me, Rum and coke for Ken and two Gin and Tonics for the ladies. We had 2 or 3 quick rounds and wandered off to find something to eat.. Like all good boys and girls we had made plans and had reserved a table at Café Sol less than thirty seconds away. We ordered our food and studied the cocktail list.. They were buy one get one free. We ordered eight straight away and that was perfect. Not too much alcohol and a bit sweet for my liking but nice enough none the less. It’s a tex-mex restaurant and I ordered the chilli. The waitress asked if I wanted it mild or wild and I said somewhere between wicked and spiteful.. God it was hot , but being the brave (stupid) soul that I am I finished it all up. I tried to big it up to the waitress that I have had hotter but the fact that I was red and covered in sweat gave the game away.. We all enjoyed the food and would recommend café sol as a great casual restaurant. We were still a bit jet lagged and so headed back to the hotel by 11.30..The air-conditioning in the room helped cool me down after the chilli but I put the toilet rolls in the fridge just in case.

Much more of the same to follow…

Bangkok Songkran Festival

Although Songkran takes place in April, one of Thailand’s hottest months of the year, this does not deter people from annual house cleanings, family re-unions, and the many visits to temples that take place during this celebratory period. Most banks, family-run businesses, office buildings, and restaurants shut down during this festival. The second day of the festival is National Family Day, which begins with families giving alms (a religious rite of giving materially to another) to monks, followed by spending quality time with the family throughout the rest of the day.

Chinese New Year

Yaowaraj is the Chinatown of the city, and home to the exhilarating celebration of the Chinese New Year. We were amazed at how the entire street turned into a crowded party featuring dragon dancers, exploding firecrackers, and Chinese families gathering to participate in the fanfare and dining at a myriad of Chinese banquets. The event is typically held annually in either January or February, depending on when it falls on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Loy Krathong in Bangkok

If you want to experience some truly magical moments along the canals and rivers of the region, this is a festival you definitely won’t want to miss. Loy Krathong is usually held in November, during the night of full moon in the 12^th lunar month. During this time, the full moon illuminates the night sky, and the rivers are at their deepest, filled with lit “krathongs” (small rafts) to thank the Goddess of Water for her blessings and to seek her forgiveness for misdeeds of the past.

Christmas in Bangkok

Christmas is the merriest time of the year, and this is no exception in the city of Bangkok. As with many other nations in the world, Christmas is big business in Thailand’s capital city – but it’s also the start of a week-long party that culminates with the numerous New Year celebrations that take place. The real focus of Christmas in Bangkok are the impressive displays of lights, so be sure to take advantage of one of the numerous Christmas light walking tours that take place during the festival.

New Year’s Eve in Bangkok

For many locals, this is the highlight of the Lunar Year, and most try to take advantage of the last guilty pleasures available to them in this hedonistic holiday celebration. The streets are packed-full with locals trying to squeeze in one final party before carrying out their New Year’s resolutions. Celebrating this event in Bangkok is nothing short of spectacular – people indulge in culinary delights and participate in a citywide celebration – certainly a party to behold!

Loy Krathong, Bankok by Robert Polloai

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