Haast & Wanaka - June 2008

We travelled to Haast & Lake Wanaka through the West Coast. This trip is similar to the one I took in December 2007, except we stopped at slightly different places. The scenery is slightly different as well, given the different seasons. West Coast is cloudy (luckily not rainy this time). We spent 10-15 minutes killing sandflies everytime we stop to take pictures - in the end, we were contented just driving past and admiring the scenery from the car.

	Hokitika (approx 255km from Christchurch) - We decided to stop by at Cafe de Paris for brunch (food was very nice there) and drive around Hokitika afterwards. Stumbled upon this concrete boat structure...
	Lake Ianthe (approx 55km from Hokitika) - quiet and amazing reflections...
	View of Fox Glacier from the the lookout - I still think a walk to the terminal of the glacier (one hour return) is more worthwhile, that's if you have plenty of time.
	Bruce Bay (approx 220km from Hokitika)
	View from Knights Point (approx 270kms from Hokitika)
	Haast township - The town is very remote and small. We stopped to grab a bite before trucking on to Hawea and Wanaka. The drive from Wanaka to Haast is scenic, but it was getting a bit dark to take pictures.
	By the time we reached Wanaka, the meter tells us we have driven 707kms! View from Apartment 166 Beacon Point, Wanaka (where we stayed)
	Another view of Lake Wanaka... we saw the lake from at least three different sides during the entire weekend.
	View from Cadrona range (between Wanaka & Queenstown)

Lake Tekapo - April 2008

We had some relatives visiting from overseas in April and what better place to take them than Lake Tekapo! :) Instead of posting more pictures of the lakes, I thought I'll post pictures of some of the other places we managed to fit in on our trip.

	The Tin Shed - a shop selling woolen goods and other souvenirs on the way to Lake Tekapo. From memory, the shed is located after the turn-off from State Highway 1, on the way to Geraldine. There is a farm at the back with alpacas, ponies, kunekune pigs etc.
	The holiday home we rented in Lake Tekapo (the Arosa Lodge) - it was very homely.
	Our trip to Lake Tekapo usually involves a drive to this salmon farm, where we get our salmon and sashimi from.
	Meridian Energy Power Station

Bangkok - December 2007 / January 2008

We spent about 5 days in Bangkok. Overall, I was impressed by the culture, the achitecture and design of certain buildings, the river/canals as well as the Thais' reverence for their royal family. By the way, I found out that Bangkok's actual name in Thai is Krungthepmahanakorn Amornrattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Mahadilokpob Noparat Rajataniburirom Udomrajanivej Mahasatharn Amornpimarn Awatarnsatis Sakatadtiya Wisanukamprasit.
Day 1
Checked into Trinity Silom hotel and took a ferry and tuk-tuk to dinner.

	View while waiting for the ferry to take us across the Chao Phraya river...
	The other tuk-tuk...
	View from the restaurant courtyard...

Day 2
We chartered a boat (pic below) near the Saphan Taksin sky train station for approx 2000 bahts to take us on a cruise for 2 hours. It was simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Some sights along the way: We stopped by an orchid farm along the way... ...and a small floating market (Taling Chan Floating Market)- I have always wanted to visit one since I was ten. We had to wait for one of the canals to open up (can't quite remember why) so we decided to tuck into our food. At the end, the boat landed at one of the stalls by the river (had to pay a small landing fee) and we ventured off to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo). Interestingly, I found that that the 24-inch image of Buddha is not really made of emerald but of a single piece of jasper. There are three different sets of gold clothing, which are changed by the King of Thailand in a ceremony at the changing of the seasons - hot season, rainy season, and cool season.
Day 3
Shopping and Thai foot massage - my feet were so relaxed I thought they have gone to sleep.
Day 4
Chartered a "taxi" for approx 200 bahts to take us to the Ancient City (Muang Boran). The park is roughly in the shape of Thailand and reproduces (on a smaller scale) important buildings from around Thailand. The entrance fee is reasonable and I thought the trip was worthwhile.
Day 5
Visited the Dusit Palace complex which houses the Vivanmek Mansion (largest golden teakwood mansion in the world) and the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall (impressive Italian architecture masterpiece). Would definitely like to revisit Bangkok another time.