Lovely Friday today, busy but went well!
Happy days and now odd to re airport and off up to Scotland to Linlithgow and Mum and Dads new gaff!
Then to Alford tomorrow to see Granny!
Friday, November 28, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Add all your tweets to Timehop!
Go to twitter.timehop.com from a desktop computer to add all your tweets to Timehop.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
I know they've had a bad year
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
First Day
So an exciting day in Neil Robertson's life today, first day at new job in Lloyds Banking Group!
On the whole I'm pretty excited but I'm sure it will be a bit of a strange one and exciting all the same!
Wish me luck!
On the whole I'm pretty excited but I'm sure it will be a bit of a strange one and exciting all the same!
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Saturday, August 09, 2014
Another good night
Mostly just at the pub before heading back to the caravan for done card games!
Won first game of Uno but that's as good as it got!
Won first game of Uno but that's as good as it got!
Off to Clacton
Sunny day so should try and enjoy it!
Swimming was fun this morning with little Louie! He pure loves the water!
Swimming was fun this morning with little Louie! He pure loves the water!
Friday, August 08, 2014
Holibobs - Staycation
May it safely to the Haven caravan site in Clacton!
Looks like it should be fun!
Looks like it should be fun!
Thursday, July 03, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Monday, June 09, 2014
Gili T - Day 3
Probably the best day of the holiday so far, as finally the stars seemed to align with everything we did. A very early start saw us bike round to the other side of the island for the final time to get the 9am dive trip with Blue Marlin, again as a DSD couple, but no need for theory and only the two of us in a group.
We headed to the dive site and once in, hardly had to swim for the first little bit as the current swept us past bountiful coral, fish and turtles!!!! Upon realising how strong it was the current, our instructor had us needing to kick quite a bit to elongate the dive and stop us sliding off the reef. This was hard work but by keeping low less energy was required, so at points we were practically hiding behind the turtles, so close we could touch, but didn't as we are good ecotourists!
After this fabulous experience, we have decided to look into holidays where we can do our PADI open water course in the future. We then headed to a beach bar to chill out and get liquids and lunch on board before renting our own boat with a skipper to take us snorkelling around the sister island Gili Meno (Gili Air will have to wait for another time!) in all we had three stops at varying different sites with different levels and variety of coral, fish and turtles which was brilliant. Amanda's confidence has really grown although she did decide to keep the life vest on! What was also great was watching the skipper go fishing for his dinner using a gun like instrument that basically stunned the fish. An excellent afternoon.
Back on the bikes home for sunset, including a go on the swings then it was to the next door resort (the bikes having been handed back) for dinner, delicious King Prawns at Aston restaurant for me and Amanda had a Mhai-Mhai fish. A few beers on the sofa/bean bags and the Gili Island experience was sadly all over. A wonderfully chilled out place and somewhere I would consider coming back to!
We headed to the dive site and once in, hardly had to swim for the first little bit as the current swept us past bountiful coral, fish and turtles!!!! Upon realising how strong it was the current, our instructor had us needing to kick quite a bit to elongate the dive and stop us sliding off the reef. This was hard work but by keeping low less energy was required, so at points we were practically hiding behind the turtles, so close we could touch, but didn't as we are good ecotourists!
After this fabulous experience, we have decided to look into holidays where we can do our PADI open water course in the future. We then headed to a beach bar to chill out and get liquids and lunch on board before renting our own boat with a skipper to take us snorkelling around the sister island Gili Meno (Gili Air will have to wait for another time!) in all we had three stops at varying different sites with different levels and variety of coral, fish and turtles which was brilliant. Amanda's confidence has really grown although she did decide to keep the life vest on! What was also great was watching the skipper go fishing for his dinner using a gun like instrument that basically stunned the fish. An excellent afternoon.
Back on the bikes home for sunset, including a go on the swings then it was to the next door resort (the bikes having been handed back) for dinner, delicious King Prawns at Aston restaurant for me and Amanda had a Mhai-Mhai fish. A few beers on the sofa/bean bags and the Gili Island experience was sadly all over. A wonderfully chilled out place and somewhere I would consider coming back to!
Gili T - Day 2
So today was brilliant in some respects and also a bit of a waste in others! Today was diving day, so we headed on our bikes to the East Coast / main side for 10.30 to have our diving course, which was good in terms of learning in a pool and having all the things we needed, however we were waiting around a lot with another girl and a Malaysian lad on our course, who were probably not as good as either Amanda or I.
As such when we finally got to go out at 2.30pm we hadn't had time for a proper lunch and were a bit rushed. He dive itself was good, although only saw one turtle in the distance and plenty of fish, but again we were hindered a bit by the other two members of our group which was disappointing. However given the fun we both had we decided that it was worth doing another one tomorrow at 9am as we wouldn't need to do the theory!
After the dive we rode to the northern end of the island to watch the sunset and have a few beers on the huts on stilts over the sea, very cool way to watch and enjoy and get a few photos. We then headed back to the hotel for a wash before once again grabbing the bikes to hit the main side of the island to eat at scallywags. Whilst the meal a BBQ again was only ok, the waterside location was excellent as we could watch the turtles coming up for air in the bay next to us, really great! Back once again on the bikes before early to bed!
As such when we finally got to go out at 2.30pm we hadn't had time for a proper lunch and were a bit rushed. He dive itself was good, although only saw one turtle in the distance and plenty of fish, but again we were hindered a bit by the other two members of our group which was disappointing. However given the fun we both had we decided that it was worth doing another one tomorrow at 9am as we wouldn't need to do the theory!
After the dive we rode to the northern end of the island to watch the sunset and have a few beers on the huts on stilts over the sea, very cool way to watch and enjoy and get a few photos. We then headed back to the hotel for a wash before once again grabbing the bikes to hit the main side of the island to eat at scallywags. Whilst the meal a BBQ again was only ok, the waterside location was excellent as we could watch the turtles coming up for air in the bay next to us, really great! Back once again on the bikes before early to bed!
Gili T - Day 1
So finally we are at the beach so we thought best to spend this morning at the swimming pool (beach is a bit too coral-ly) to soak up some sun, although carefully as the sun deck on the ferry had done its thing on us! The morning was spent at the hotel pool, before we hired some bikes in the afternoon, to give us a bit more freedom on the island...the walk back the night before was quite strenuous but had highlighted that moonlight would suffice in getting us home after dark!
We headed back to the main part of the island for some late, late lunch and also to look into Scuba. We ate a nice meal, salads all round, then actually picked the Blue Marlin, where we had eaten the night before. We booked in for the 'Discover Scuba Diving' course the next day.
We then headed back to the ranch in time for sunset this time taking the northern route. This highlighted a number of nice places to spend time but the road was far sandier so plenty of time spent walking the bikes! Sunset was phenomenal tonight!
We then washed and changed and headed to town once more for dinner, this time at The Beach House where we had BBQ on a table overlooking the sea. Not bad fare and very cheap but definitely could have been better. We stopped off on the way back for a wee cocktail and headed to bed in anticipation of our scuba course tomorrow!
We headed back to the main part of the island for some late, late lunch and also to look into Scuba. We ate a nice meal, salads all round, then actually picked the Blue Marlin, where we had eaten the night before. We booked in for the 'Discover Scuba Diving' course the next day.
We then headed back to the ranch in time for sunset this time taking the northern route. This highlighted a number of nice places to spend time but the road was far sandier so plenty of time spent walking the bikes! Sunset was phenomenal tonight!
We then washed and changed and headed to town once more for dinner, this time at The Beach House where we had BBQ on a table overlooking the sea. Not bad fare and very cheap but definitely could have been better. We stopped off on the way back for a wee cocktail and headed to bed in anticipation of our scuba course tomorrow!
Transfer Ubud to Gilis
So following our brief stop in Ubud it was time to travel today (Wednesday) to the Gili Islands for stage 3 of our trip. We were up early, actually very early as the palatial surroundings of our villa actually didn't help Amanda and I sleeping, and following the normal lovely breakfast, we were picked up once again by the local carriage company and headed to Pedang Bai (Bay) an hours drive away where we were to pick up the fast boat ferry service to Gili.
Once there we had a wee wait for the boat but boarded on time at 11am aboard Blue Water Express III for the hour and a half trip to Gili Trawangen. The fast boat was great fun, very fast and powerful and with a sun deck so we could sit outside and enjoy the scenery. This was immense with the volcanic shores of Bali as the backdrop, and the mood was enhanced even more when we saw Dolphins briefly and some flying fish. The journey dropped us on the beach of Gili T and we then took the horse drawn cart for the 15 trip to the other side of the island, known as Sunset to our hotel Hotel Ombuk Sunset. The hotel was very nice with great welcome juice and we spent the afternoon at the pool where we had lunch.
We then headed to the beach for a beautiful sunset with free cocktails and following showers took a walk in near the total darkness to the main drag on the main beach/harbour side of the island. Here we walked the main drag, took dinner at Blue Marlin and then walked on the coastal route home back for some sleep!
Once there we had a wee wait for the boat but boarded on time at 11am aboard Blue Water Express III for the hour and a half trip to Gili Trawangen. The fast boat was great fun, very fast and powerful and with a sun deck so we could sit outside and enjoy the scenery. This was immense with the volcanic shores of Bali as the backdrop, and the mood was enhanced even more when we saw Dolphins briefly and some flying fish. The journey dropped us on the beach of Gili T and we then took the horse drawn cart for the 15 trip to the other side of the island, known as Sunset to our hotel Hotel Ombuk Sunset. The hotel was very nice with great welcome juice and we spent the afternoon at the pool where we had lunch.
We then headed to the beach for a beautiful sunset with free cocktails and following showers took a walk in near the total darkness to the main drag on the main beach/harbour side of the island. Here we walked the main drag, took dinner at Blue Marlin and then walked on the coastal route home back for some sleep!
Sunday, June 08, 2014
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Unreal...
Meal, few drinks, amazing location and good service...all for under £20 for two!
Gili Islands and Indonesia...just visit!
Gili Islands and Indonesia...just visit!
Friday, June 06, 2014
Ubud - Day 2
Whilst day 1 in Ubud was pretty manic, day 2 was definitely less so and far more relaxed. That's because after a bit of a lie in and some tasty breakfast we headed to Ubud again, this time to the Shangraila spa for a 4.5 hour spa treatment.
It was so good, I managed to fall asleep about 10 times so that's a definite plus point! We then headed back to the hotel for a quick bike ride in amongst the rice paddies before taking dinner at Bridges. Words cannot describe how good dinner was, 5 stars and extra bonus for a honeymoon cake!
Back to the hotel then to enjoy the villa upgrade with cheeky bath, before closing our eyes on the first stage of our Indonesian adventure!
It was so good, I managed to fall asleep about 10 times so that's a definite plus point! We then headed back to the hotel for a quick bike ride in amongst the rice paddies before taking dinner at Bridges. Words cannot describe how good dinner was, 5 stars and extra bonus for a honeymoon cake!
Back to the hotel then to enjoy the villa upgrade with cheeky bath, before closing our eyes on the first stage of our Indonesian adventure!
Thursday, June 05, 2014
Ubud Bali - Day 1
We woke early unfamiliar with the early sunrise and number of strange jungle noises, so from 5 am to 7am we generally chilled and enjoyed a catch up on wifi etc. after that we headed to breakfast a sumptuous a la carte affair with mostly local dishes and some western ones too.
As we had time due to our early start we both went to a Yoga class, me for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised how hard work it was and enjoyable too. It was a bit sore and too hard in places though! After this we caught the shuttle into Ubud and started exploring this famous setting high in the hills of Bali. Our first stop was the Enchanted Monkey Forest, a strip of jungle that is home not only to a number of temples but also a large group of monkeys, which of course draw the tourists in. The Monkeys were very cute but were very animated in trying to get any food, which some tourists had bought bananas off the locals to get better photos. Their anger was also seen when an Aussie lady inadvertently stood on ones tail when taking a photo. Said monkey went berserk and went at her. Luckily she was wearing a flowing dress and all he did was bit this for a while! We enjoyed the walk although at one stage there was a commotion and around 20 Monkeys were running at me, a bit of a brown shorts moment if truth be told!
We then had lunch in the Three Monkeys a nice wee coffee shop restaurant with views over the rice paddies. Food was a bit pricey for the area although tasty and big. We finished our walk through Ubud and then headed up with a driver to Gunang Kawi a famous temple with aspects carved out of the rocks. It was a walk down 300 steps with a number of hawkers including those renting sarongs (one was very rough with Amanda) but it didn't ruin the experience. The walk up was a bit tougher though!
We then retuned home for a wash and a rest but managed to experience a wonderful sight when about 20 Monkeys enjoyed the last of the evening sun in front of our room, just magical!
We then headed into Ubud to Naughty Niri's for dinner, succulent BBQ ribs which were finished nicely with some Bintang. Naughty Niri's is famous in these parts and it was lovely (a bit strangely is built like a shack!) although my ribs had a large piece of cartilage that ruined it somewhat!
Spa day tomorrow!
As we had time due to our early start we both went to a Yoga class, me for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised how hard work it was and enjoyable too. It was a bit sore and too hard in places though! After this we caught the shuttle into Ubud and started exploring this famous setting high in the hills of Bali. Our first stop was the Enchanted Monkey Forest, a strip of jungle that is home not only to a number of temples but also a large group of monkeys, which of course draw the tourists in. The Monkeys were very cute but were very animated in trying to get any food, which some tourists had bought bananas off the locals to get better photos. Their anger was also seen when an Aussie lady inadvertently stood on ones tail when taking a photo. Said monkey went berserk and went at her. Luckily she was wearing a flowing dress and all he did was bit this for a while! We enjoyed the walk although at one stage there was a commotion and around 20 Monkeys were running at me, a bit of a brown shorts moment if truth be told!
We then had lunch in the Three Monkeys a nice wee coffee shop restaurant with views over the rice paddies. Food was a bit pricey for the area although tasty and big. We finished our walk through Ubud and then headed up with a driver to Gunang Kawi a famous temple with aspects carved out of the rocks. It was a walk down 300 steps with a number of hawkers including those renting sarongs (one was very rough with Amanda) but it didn't ruin the experience. The walk up was a bit tougher though!
We then retuned home for a wash and a rest but managed to experience a wonderful sight when about 20 Monkeys enjoyed the last of the evening sun in front of our room, just magical!
We then headed into Ubud to Naughty Niri's for dinner, succulent BBQ ribs which were finished nicely with some Bintang. Naughty Niri's is famous in these parts and it was lovely (a bit strangely is built like a shack!) although my ribs had a large piece of cartilage that ruined it somewhat!
Spa day tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
Transfer Day - Hong Kong to Bali
Sadly, I have to report this was an actual day too, a really quit long and painful trip if truth be told.
The day started early, with final packing and check out in The Park Lane, before a final trip on the Metro (MTR) to Central and the walk to Hong Kong Station to board the airport express. We made it safely to the airport and went through immigration and grabbed a Starbucks.
We then boarded an all economy B777 to Denpasar in Bali and the flight was very good and on time with arrival in Bali, however it was then that all he'll broke loose with a close to two hour wait at immigration. Hopeless and despairing. We met our agent who then informed us our journey would be about 1hr to 1hr 20, which was great to see the Balinese countryside, especially the awesome rice field terraces, but not so good regarding getting to hotel before sundown.
As such when we arrived we couldn't see too much, but found our way to the restaurant where we got a free tasting meal at the hotels restaurant - pavilion. Very nice it was too, and a Bintang to boot. Fairly early to bed with Bali and Ubud in particular to see tomorrow.
UPDATE - Dreamt of waiting in line at Denpasar!
The day started early, with final packing and check out in The Park Lane, before a final trip on the Metro (MTR) to Central and the walk to Hong Kong Station to board the airport express. We made it safely to the airport and went through immigration and grabbed a Starbucks.
We then boarded an all economy B777 to Denpasar in Bali and the flight was very good and on time with arrival in Bali, however it was then that all he'll broke loose with a close to two hour wait at immigration. Hopeless and despairing. We met our agent who then informed us our journey would be about 1hr to 1hr 20, which was great to see the Balinese countryside, especially the awesome rice field terraces, but not so good regarding getting to hotel before sundown.
As such when we arrived we couldn't see too much, but found our way to the restaurant where we got a free tasting meal at the hotels restaurant - pavilion. Very nice it was too, and a Bintang to boot. Fairly early to bed with Bali and Ubud in particular to see tomorrow.
UPDATE - Dreamt of waiting in line at Denpasar!
Monday, June 02, 2014
Sunday, June 01, 2014
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