WOW! We’re finally going to Florida!!!After 2 long years of wishing and waiting and counting sleeps the big day is finally here. 

Day 1

Very excited  Children collected from school and off we go. M25 to  Gatwich South drop the bags off, on the mono rail to The Premiere Inn at Gatwick North..  Five very excited but extremely well behaved children. Rooms huge with three beds, I king size and two singles. Magic for jumping from bed to bed playing ‘five little monkeys jumping on the bed’ off to dinner then bed ready for the big flight tomorrow.

Day 2

Everyone is sooo excited all up early wearing t shirts Auntie Viki got printed which say ‘Disney 2015’ and mickey ears on the front and their names in glitter on the back. All off to have big breakfast then check in. It was surprisingly easy and quick at security and passport control and our seats on the plane were all extra leg room and in 3 rows of 3 and an extra 2 in front at the exit row so nice and comfortable.  Kids were brilliant on the flight. Flight very good and went very quickly. Staff really looked after us. Landed some 10 hours later but it only seemed like 2 hours. Again very quick and easy security and passport control and bags ready at baggage collection. Hertz were not as efficient however!! But finally got 2 mini busses and child seats then off to our lovely house. The house was 10 minutes to 2 hours depending if we got lost which we have done lots of times. Good thing about getting lost is that we have seen a lot of  Florida ha ha.

The house is gorgeous with lots of oriental influences and really posh but of course the best bit is the lovely and warm pool which was jumped into on arrival followed by takeaway huge pizzas beers, cokes and bed ready for a hectic day at Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

Day 3 Magic Kingdom 

All up before 6 am !! So excited and ready to go and investigate.  Arrived at Magic Kingdom at 10 am and watching the little ones faces was pure joy. They were wide eyed and open mouthed and gasping at everything they saw, a priceless experience. The infamous ‘It’s a small World’ was a big hit although the song is permenantly imprinted on my brain on a loop and plays on and on. It’s getting a bit like ‘ I know a song that gets on your nerves’ ha ha 

Day 4 Ella’s birthday Magic Kingdom 

Viki did happy birthday song on iPod. Balloons banners pressies and cards. She was so excited to see all her cards and presents which she didn’t expect whilst on holiday. Disney gave her a ‘happy birthday’ badge and everyone stopped to wish her a happy birthday she was delighted. What we didn’t realise was that this time is also a major spring break holiday for Americans and everywhere was buzzing with thousands of people. Luckily everyone was happy and jolly and I didn’t see or hear one upset the whole time.  The queues were long sothank goodness for fast passes and preparation. It was frustrating for Susan

Buzz ariel ride parade  complex club house steak dinner

Play park

Yellow umberellas ducks

Met characters at breakfast fireworks lighting parade tinker bell flight soak zone

Goofy rioller coaster  barnstormer 

Aerial ride

Splash mountain

Space mountain

Big thunder mountain 

Day 5

Complex pool hat man holo hoops water balloons limbo birds eating chips diving spashing swimming  night rides

Day 6. Epcot

Jessica’s b day

Free birthday parking

Princess castle breakfast parades 

Met loads of characters

Soaring

 Nemo  ride

Park

Mission space

Turtle time with crush

Circle of life

Captain EO 

Test track

Imagination works

Day 7. Universal and Island of adventure

Hulk roller coaster

Duelling dragons

Barney show

Et

Minion’s

Day 8. Typhoon lagoon and Olive Garden dinner

River Rapids sharon got drenched

Day 9 Hollywood studios

Muppets

Stunt show

Day 10 Discovery Cove. Sophie’s birthday

Up at 6 leave house silently at 7

Beautiful just like a tropical island with white powdery sand and crystal clear water

Snorkelling with sting ray sharks and many tropical fish

Ella and max very brave and snorkelled the deep areas and even touched the Rays 

Grandad and Viki were scared of the fish!

Marmazettes otters

Birds one landed on Sophie’s head. A little yellow parrot landed On Sharon’s arm to feed

Lazy river ..noodles. Max and Ella swam under Nancy’s legs. 

Dolphin swim

Olive Garden

Day 11.         Universal and shops

Day 12

Islands of adventure/ Disney 

Day  13

Universal/ Disney 

More princesses 

River boat 

Ferry

Flying carpets / carousel 

Rip ride rocket twice. Duelling dragon challenge twice. Minions shrek four disaster Simpsons Harry Potter train 

Rip shore and Popeyes rafts water rides

Pasta carry out for dinner

Day 14

Magic Kingdom

Splash mountain goofy roller coaster splash mountain

Disney pirates and pals criuse

Shopping   Pool am

Day 15

Blizzard beach

Day 16

Sea world

Day 18

Universal

Day 19

Islands of adventure

Day 20

Pool and home 

You would not belive what has just happened to me. I was readong on the bed in bra and knickers by the fan to cool off when a huge humungous black beetle dropped from£ the roof right next to my face because I was in a state of shock I ran into the bathroom which is outside. After a minut I needed a wee when I was having a wee a great big frog jumped at me. Viki would just love it here.  I bet the children laugh but it was a big shock ha ha

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Going to halon bay for a crouse on a beautiful old boat called a junk. On the way we will visit dome villages and padding fields to see rice planting and harvesting with water buffalo and some other things. Had an authentic Vietnameseeal on a lovely old traditional restaurant tonight which was very tasty. Still having a ball. Hope you are too xxxx

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Been out around old town CRAZY! Ten million scooters all driving all over they place. Totally unorganised. If you want to cross the road you just have to hold your breath and walk and hope they all stop….no guarantee!, we also succumbed to a rickshaw  man. He was not big and was fascinated by Dave’s size we had a ricks haw each because we didn’t want the man to die of a heart attach. He rode us all around the town calling out to people that he had such a big man in his ricks haw everyone was clapping and cheering. My man didn’t dare!,, along the road there are chairs where you can sit and have a shave or haircut randomly along the pavement. It’s really mad! Oh bye the way we are millionaires ha ha there are 30,000 Vietnamese dong to the British pound so we changed up enough to get 1 million dong. Everything is very cheap and there are loads of imitation bags etc but I don’t know enough about what the real thing looks like to choose well.  Out tomorrow on a tour xxxxx

We had the most fantastic and beautiful dinner this holiday (with the exception of mango bay) at square 24 . The restaurant was so modern and posh with a little river, silver palm trees with glitter coconuts and little lights. It was open air and had breezy fans . TheFood was so beautifully presented and tasted gorgeous . After dinner the took took driver took us to some downtown places that were lively and interesting. Got to get up at 4.45 for sunrise again so early night at 11 pm. We will never get up!!!! y

Up before dawn to visit Angkor watt as the sun rises. We stood on the edge of the moat and watched as the darkness turned slowly to light and mysterious temple arose. As the sun came up it shrouded the temple with a pink hue which was quite breathtaking but sadly did not transpose very well with my iPhone We then went bayon temple which has 231 faces of Buddha cArved in the turrets they are very big carvings and are very serene and beautiful. I will blog the history of the temples later. On the way back through the jungle I saw a group of elephants who take people on short rides. I didn’t have time to wait for a ride but took photos instead there are many monesteries
and Buddhist monks in the jungle on there orange robes so it is very peaceful and colourful. Then back for a well deserved breakfast after climbing millions of stairs! After breakfast the pink lady temple and land mine museum then a quick look around town followed by sunbathing and swimming. Lovely!!!!

The north of Vietnam has mist shrouded mountains with a patchwork of brilliant green rice paddies ( fields) and beautiful dramatic coastlines and beaches, historic towns and sleepy villages. The people Re exceptionally hospitable. The weather is diverse, with several micro climates and conflicting monsoon patterns affecting levels of sunshine, heat and rain. The north, central regions and the south all have different weather patterns. The north and south are are mostly wet and hot and humid in our summertime. And the central regions being hot and dry then. During our winter the central regions are monsoonall with typhoons on occaision whilst the north will be cold and rainy, the south will be warm and dry. Generally speaking the north is generally colder which in cities such as Hanoi is due to the effects of pollution.

Hanoi

In the north the city of Hanoi with its facade of faded French villas, grandiose lakes such as Hoam Kiem Lake and tree lined roads it also has a rabbit warren of streets with street vendors selling everything from fruit to shoes to ironmongery, in fact I doubt there is anything you cannot buy in Hanoi. The streets in the old town each sell specific items and are thus called ‘ shoe street’ ‘ flower street’ etc

In the midst of street vendors , age old temples and traditional medicine there are a multitude of motor bikes, cyclos and motor scooters who do not seem to recognise the need of use of traffic lights, roundabouts, which side of the road to drive or intact even to keep to one side for more than a few seconds. Pedestrians appear. To close their eyes and slowly walk across the road hoping vehicles will drive around them and in my experience this is exactly what happens but it all adds to the charm of this delightful city.

Ho Chi Minh’s imposing mausoleum stands close to The Presidential Palace a former residence of French governors which is now used to receive foreign dignitaries . In order to be as one of the people Ho Chi Minh refused to live in this palatial property preceding a small modest house. The mausoleum contains the remains of Ho Chi Minh in a glass coffin for public viewing. In order to keep the body from further decay it is taken to Russia every year for chemical maintenance. The body is only available for viewing in the mornings after which it is lowered into the vaults where it is kept in conditions appropriate to maintaining its condition. The mausoleum is set in beautiful gardens in which the modest home of Ho Chi Minh sits as well as the stilt house he occupied overlooking the lake.

Other places of interest are The Temple of Literature – Vietnams first university, The Army Museum, The Fine Arts Museum and Hoa Lo prison and museum otherwise known as the Hanoi Hilton or one of the water puppetry exhibitions

It is again blusteringly hot and wonderful too hot to sunbath so I am as usual under my umbrella for short spurts so am not very brown. The humidity is colossal so everyone feels sweaty all the time but I don’t mind it’s just so lovely to be here.

Last night we went into town on a took took for a drive around and dinner. We had red curry and jasmine rice which was nice but not as nice as the fab meal last night in the posh restaurant with the river running through and sparkly lights. Then we’ve went for a walk around. There is a. Huge market and a street called pub street with a big neon sign saying pub street and a zillion little lights strung across the street. There was music coming from every bar and it was really buzzing

Today I received handmade chocs, red wine and a lovely card from my gorgeous children who are always so very thoughtful. Thank you it’s nice to be remembered especially when you feel homesick for everyone. Oh bye the way I ate two when talking to Richard and all the cocoa powder dropped onto to the sparklingly white sheets and now it looks like we have had diarrhea !! Lucky I was on Dave’s side of the bed ha ha!!

Today before dawn at 5 o’clock we went to the jungle to see some temple ruins which were awesome. How they managed to get all those stones all the way there from hundreds if miles away then to build the temples and carve them so intricately I can’t imagine and without tools, the wheel or anything mechanical !!! We also saw lots of monkeys in the jungle which are so tame and sweet.

Our guide has been telling us all about Cambodias history which is really interesting. Until 1991 it was a closed communist Khmer Rouge run country so had no dealings with the outside world. Because they thought that if people were not educated they would not be influenced or have opinions that questioned the government so would be easy to keep in their place. If anyone wanted to be more than a peasant or to make money or be educated they were taken away and tortured and killed. He saw his first European in 1996 and thought we looked very funny and when the person spoke to him he was amazed that anyone could speak a different language or have a different alphabet. Because at that time people weren’t allowed to study he used to get up at 4 in the morning for a scholar to teach him English because he thought it would change his life. It did he became the leading tour guide for a big tour company and earns quite a lot of money and tips for a Cambodia n so he can afford to live in a house with his wife and not his Inlaws which is usually the case here, our last guide in Phnom Penh was a teacher before he was a guide and earned 45 US dollars per month!!! Which he couldn’t live on so he too became a guide.

We arrived back at the hotel at lunchtime and I haven’t moved from my us bed except to go for a dip. It’s glorious

Tonight we are going for a posh meal for Mother’s Day for dave to thank me for giving him two most wonderful children. Lucky me!!! Then I expect to the market and pub street for some fun and then up again at 4.45 for another sunrise tour it is early but worth it because it’s cooler, less busy and soooo pretty then

Take care have a lovely day and don’t forget the clocks go forward!!

Hello everyone

Hope you are all well and having fun

Yesterday we went to the river where everyone goes at night to socialise dance play music Nd have fun. We went to the foreign correspondents club for drinks the got a took took which is a motor bike with a carriage on the back. It has a little roof and two double seats. It’s very comfortable and I think they should have them in England. In the morning we went on some trips to the Imperial Palace which was gorgeous we saw lots of gold and silver. And diamonds as big as grapes or even bigger. ! We saw some Buddhist temples. The Cambodians worship Buddha and the man told me about Buddhas birth. Princess Miya ( same name as Ruby’s sister) sat under the banyan tree and prayed that the birth of her baby would come quick and easy, people were very surprised that just the her baby came and it was Buddha! So Miya was Buddhas mother. Buddhas is a very kind and gentle person and many people become monks for Buddha and dress in orange shawls ( I will send photo) and live in temples. They do not work and collect arms ( food) from people that they take back to the temple to share can’t see me becoming a Buddhist monk any time soon!!! In the afternoon we sat around the pool cooling off. It is soooo hot here – about 38 degrees and soooo humid, it makes you really tired and lazy. In the evening we went to a fantastic restaurant called malise in Phnom Penh . It served Khmer food which is Cambodian and really delicious after that we took a took took ride for an hour to an island called diamond island where there are fun fairs and parties and dancing and lots and lots and lots of pretty lights and even the rides were all lit up like Christmas trees. Today’s flight was really good and quick and this hotel is like some thing from the movies, it is sooo beautiful. I have taken some photos for you to see. Our room was all decorated for us as you can see in the photo with flowers and petals and candles even in the bath and sink!!! We have had the hotel to ourselves today because everyone has been out on trips but are now returning, they all seem nice and friendly and are from South Africa and Singapore .. At 7 o’clock I am having a massage – it has to be after 5 because happy hour is 5-7 and happy Buddha is very happy then. Tonight we are going for a meal and to the night market to have a look around.

Hi there

Hope you are all well. It seems like light years since we were at home. We miss you all loads. Today we left our little paradise island and flew to saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and are now awaiting our flight to phnom penn in Cambodia.

Hello

Today we flew to saigon/ H Chi Minh City then to phnom penh and then drove around the city while our guide told us all about the buildings, the money, the language, customs etc. but all I remember was a scruffy dirty little girl about Ella’s age crying in the middle of a really busy road and knocking on car windows begging for money. We were very upset but the driver said that she will have been trained to do that and that she was not crying but putting on an act to get money. He said her parents would be sitting watching and she would give any money to them. The government are trying hard to get such children off the streets with housing and education projects but their parents won’t allow it because they earn them money. The parents can also join projects to teach them jobs etc but they are lazy and don’t won’t to work. It’s all very sad and makes you so glad that you have the life you have..

Our hotel is lovely and very tropical. We went out on a new form of transport tonight – a three wheeled taxi!! It is a motorbike with a little cab on the back, bigger than a took took and decorated or carrying advertising material such as a great big tube of Colgate toothpaste. It was very comfortable and the first one took us to the Foreign Correspondents Club which is historical as well as a fashionable place to go. We ate in the roof bar which overlooks the river and city. We could see all the people eating, drinking , chatting  etc and all the traffic driving all over the place, on both sides of the road – even doing a u turn in thick traffic – it’s crazy but there are no accidents or road rage and people just slowly walk across the road in front of all the traffic going in all directions and they don’t even look – it’s like a game of dare, but no one gets run over either – mad!!! After dinner we got another motorbike taxi for a ride around town. There are streets with only restaurants and There is even a beer street with only bars, it’s mad.

We are off on some trips tomorrow and I will tell you all about them in tomorrow’s blog

I hope you are all ok and having fun. I wish it was as hot for you as it is for us but I don’t think it is .

Have fun xxxxxxx