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Nit Noi
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Nit Noi

A little bit of Singapore and a little bit of Thailand: Including the offspring in the Festival of Fifty. Read more
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  • Trip start
    January 7, 2026
    Nit Noi
    A bowl full of peeled rambutans. Asian love language.
    10 bucks we lose this before the end of the cruiseHunan cuisine for dinner was crazy hot!Opa literally filled his hat with the "complimentary" snacks on the way out. A waiter brought a bag!

    Stress Relief

    January 7 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The obligatory Sydney Airport photo to start the penguin...
    Everyone was allowed their own suitcase today. The boys were 6 and 8kg. Lara weighed in at 20kg! Essential items like bringing a stress ball to a cruise and resort may explain why. It does feel nice and squishy though.Read more

  • Nit Noi
    Our pre-embarkation breakfast at the local coffee and pastry shop was supplemented just in case
    1Most of us remembered our uniformWe left the paddles at home so that our sharking would be more effectiveDespite the headstart Elliot would ring the bell firstPencils sharpened ready to win those cheap key chains

    Where's Mickey?

    January 8 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    So this was supposed to be the new Disney ship's maiden voyage... but construction took longer than advertised so we subbed onto the Ovation of the Seas instead. This may trigger Kiwi nausea for some of you but we are hoping for second-time lucky. On the plus side we will now be stopping in Penang and Phuket.Read more

  • Nit Noi
    First on the court
    No lobsters. Must be an Asian cruise.Calm enough to do the North StarGetting Intel from my informantSardine Laksa was amazing! I would never have ordered thatEach Clan had a "keep" that new arrivals of that surname could find respite inThe bigger the clan the more ornate.This was a trap door to escape from clan enemiesClan members that "made it" r proudly displayed. Someone attending Armidale sold it well to the famShould've brought a cattle dogJetty number 2Streetside CKTA story, a photo, click.. Move on. Love itToo much durianHappy on the insideThere it is!Back on boardAnd ready to flyChubby bunny

    Off piste Penang

    January 9 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Bel found a local tour company and asked them (more or less) to give us a private food tour with cultural and street art highlights for those who are culturally curious but attention span limited. The result was a tour organised by an ex-pharmacist that he invented just for us and it couldn't have been better. Timothy resisted Oma's pushing to insist that we only order certain signature items from certain places so that our stomach space was optimised. The culture stops were even interesting to the in-laws with many funny stories and connections to their heritage.Read more

  • Nit Noi
    Carefree uni student on the parents' purse. Those were the days!
    A very civilised tender process to Phuket. Luckily the sea gods are happy today.A private transfer to the marinaFollowed by a more traditional vehicle for the last legWhich wasn't private. I forgot and was just as shocked as the photobomber.Some of us were looking forward to a fun day of adventureSome of us were hoping that the boat was one of the nice ones - and had a toiletFortunately all boxes were ticked including food and drinksAll safety regulations were observedUntil we left the port security zone then everything went out the windowThere was plenty of shadeCourage was summonedAnd rewardedThe sea gods had their revenge. This was their only offering which we returned.The floating jetty at Coral Island seemed like a fantastic ideaA hearty lunch wasn't the best preparation for SCUBAWhite sand, blue water, golden sunshineAnd happy facesUntil disaster struck in the form of a sea urchin. Poor Elliot!The jetty turned into Rainbow Road with the new swell. A tourist fell in with clothes and SLROma with plenty of kit and advice.Compounded Betadine and magnesium drawing paste 😂 (after a phone consult with a plastic surgeon!)1Did I mention this? Don't worry. You'll hear about it again and again.

    Golden

    January 11 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    A private Catamaran for snorkelling, fishing, lunch, parasailing and SCUBA followed by the cruise Pickleball tournament! Lucky there's a sea day tomorrow.

  • Nit Noi
    3Flags of the World turned into a playoff against Asian tuition kids. They found out who's daddy.
    A hens party made the bar lively on the last night. These became dominos.The Amex lounge in Singapore leaves Sydney for dead. Laksa anyone?Our hotel in Chiang Mai is dated but roomy and functional. Right up in-law alley.Plenty of alleys nearby to find all sorts of delights. It'll be fun to go exploringNot sold on Okonomiyaki kebabs tho

    Thailand Two Ways

    January 12 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Our cruise to Thailand was amazing. The ship returned to Singapore so that we could then go back to Thailand by plane! This time we went to the other end of Thailand: Chiang Mai, which is a long way from the sea.

    I'll merge the last sea day and transit day into one then pick up daily again when the action really starts in Chiang Mai.    Read more

  • Nit Noi
    Phillip, our guide, was sad that we didn't want to slow mo with the flying rats at the city gate
    So on to some temples. This one was strictly men onlyWe told the girls it was amazing inside. It was just ok with some nice muralsThe backdrop and music reminded me of animal kingdom. Maybe that should be the other way around.Wishes based on starsign and weekday of birthStick the gold leaf on the feature you want enhanced in the next life.This temple survived everything except female rule then the gods smited (smote?) itOma was much happier giving her coins to the fruit sellers than the monksLunch was a buffet in a funky building of glass stone and metalIt was a buffet with some incredible dishes and fresh fried banana. We'd had training on the cruise.At least we would have to move a little in the afternoon as adventure awaitedLara discovering that Jonah would be her ride partnerElliot flew solo because he has the longest legsBrakes? We don't need no stinking brakes!Then to the zip line course. Honestly, the best one ever.Although some of it was a little oddThe quick jump was like a mini bungee in a 5 pt harness. Self hypnosis here we comeI don't know why this is called "The buterfly" (sic).Maybe that's where I should've stuck the gold leafOur package included cakes, drinks and lunch! We took it home for dinner

    Jungle Swinging

    January 13 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today was a bit excessive all round. Too much gold leaf at the temples, too much food at the buffet lunch and too much adrenaline at the Jungle Adventure park. I guess they do say that you can never have too much of a good thing.Read more

  • Nit Noi
    Thai brew. Surely they could've put some sort of pun into the name.
    1The owner was comfortable until coffee snobs wanted more. He's now stressed seeking judge's approvalHe's ticking their boxes but to me this just ain't Colombian quality.Luckily Thailand has plenty of other reasons to visitLike this ex-communist village in the hillsWe lunched with a beautiful view overlooking it allTime for some contemplationBefore hitting the street to look for food... again!Nothing seems to have changed hereWhich made for fun exploringBingoWe finished up with a cooking classParents realising that the kids can now cover Thursday nightsA chopping block and a cleaver makes cooking funThey soon took pride in their workAnd moved beyond parental suggestionsAt least the proof was in the pudding

    Colombia Has Nothing to Fear

    January 14 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today was coffee, a communist village and a cooking class. Let's just say that two out of three ain't bad.

  • Nit Noi
    Elephant sanctuary. We were assured that it was to rescue & re-populate elephants. White guilt free.
    It's nice to be popularPreparing the elephant scrubberThat wood didn't stand a chance. Scrubber prepared!And put to good useElephant candyIt was all very civilised until this little fella came along (on the left)He was a 90kg excitable, stumbling busy-bodyThe grown ups were much more sereneThen it was proper bath time in the riverWhich meant using a bit of elbow grease to get in the wrinklesThe water was clean when we arrivedNot sure if I want to go in after seeing thatRolled in the mud straight after a bath!Next stop: sticky waterfall (Farang name)Happy that they stayed Oma down the steps to take on the "sticky" rocksThe bottom was beautiful and the water was warmBrave Oma!It was step enough to warrant a ropeBut the tackiness of the rocks meant that you didn't really need it except where the water gushed

    Making a Splash

    January 15 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We were advised to wear swimmers and sandals today which always gets everyone's attention. In the end I'm not sure whether we were soaked more by the waterfall or the elephants but we screamed a lot at both of them.Read more

  • Nit Noi
    A road stop at a roadside mall complete with hot springs
    Local women were cooking eggsWhich they tried to sell to our driverDestination number one: the shiniest temple in Chiang RaiIt was all white and mirrorsAlong with all sorts of kitsch to add ?tourist impact?The cave of art was like a Luna Park haunted mansion walkBefore reaching the enlightened cave of Buddha we encountered TMNTAlien...The dude from pirates...I think that's Groot amongst the tortured soulsDefinitely ThanosElliot managed to surviveThe white wasn't bling enough so they just added a gold temple next to itSpeaking of gold...Bad lighting and we are blocking the triangle but we were there!It was much nicer on the waterGlad to see a happy familyBelt & Road in action. Chinese casino in Laos.I was the only one interested in the opium museum but this was a good 2nd optionWhich was needed because this was our first really hot dayOur final dinner together and probably the most authentic Chiang Mai style food

    Two Bonus Countries?

    January 16 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Find Penguin keeps a tally of the countries that you've been to. We went to the golden triangle today so I'm not sure if the photos of our river tour of the border will add Laos and Myanmar to the list. I'll let fate decideRead more

  • Nit Noi
    Free massages at the priority pass lounge in Chiang Mai
    Kind of a weird space capsule theme at YotelTiny but clean and closeA bean bag, air con and a charging point.It's a pity we were still full because there are so many good food options at the airportUnpacked and washing running. Who am I?

    The Boys are Back in Town

    January 17 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Work, work and (ahem?) study meant that the boys were unable to enjoy more Opa-style Singaporean hospitality.

    To avoid an economy night flight, the 4 new wrinkles and 67 days that they shave off my life we opted to stay at Yotel Changi Airport. We slept like babies she took the more civilised 0720 flight home.Read more

    Trip end
    January 18, 2026
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