Perhaps it's time to tell a story.
In many peoples minds, a story implies fantasy, but this is entirely true.
In 2003 (2546 in the Thai calendar) I travelled to Thailand to meet a woman for the fist time. She was a surgical nurse at a well renowned hospital in Bangkok. (Yanhee) She was the principal caregiver as the oldest child and put her younger siblings through university.
Now meeting a Thai woman means of course meeting the family, and she and her 2 sisters picked me up at the airport. Thankfully her younger sister was somewhat conversant in English and she would prove to be a valuable asset with translation.
After settling in, the first order was for Chomsuk and I to go to a Thai restaurant on the bank of the Chao Phraya River for lunch. Totally bogged down with jet lag and adjusting to the remarkable heat and humidity proved to be a challenge; the language barrier between the two of us alone added to the experience.
As I pointed to several items on the menu that looked good (which thankfully included pics for visitors) Chomsuk thought that I actually wanted to order all of them. She also had in mind some dishes that I might enjoy, and ordered them as well, after which claiming that she did not want anything to eat herself.
So there I was in 100 degree heat, totally in a different jet lag space and time, doing my best to wade through 2 tables full of food. I must admit it was astonishingly delicious, and I felt I had done some justice until they then brought out a complete fish dinner. Had to surrender.
The next day, off to a temple and totally embroiled in the remarkable Buddhist culture. A great experience which as a westerner is difficult to explain.
The following day, a total surprise meeting with her parents for lunch. I was a bit prepared and offered in Thai: (yin dee tee roo jak) ' I am pleased to meet you' They looked at me as if I told them their penguin was on fire. Nonetheless, it was all good, and everyone smiled...
The next day I was more comfortable with the family, and the idea was to travel to Ayuthaya, an ancient city of great cultural importance.
It was not far away, 45 minutes by train, but I really wanted to travel by third class ( 2 1/2 hours) and get more of a sense of the real Thai world. Chomsuk and her brother and sister reluctancy agreed, and that morning at 6 am we were at the station. I knew shortly after we departed why they were reluctant to go third class; at exactly 7am the first bead of sweat dropped from my nose to my chest. The heat was amazing!
But I was not the least bit regretful. The microscosm of Thai society enlightened me and awakened me to no end. The hard luck group were already into the Songsam (cheap Thai whiskey) at 7 am.
The villages at the track side bespoke the poverty that so many suffered, but once those inhabitants entered the train, they were shown enormous respect. The elderly had hardly sat down, when someone came to them with a dish of rice, or a cup of water.
This to me made the whole trip worthwhile, and reminded me that while they had so little to give, they did give, and expected nothing in return. Respect for others and the willingness to share was not learned but ingrained.
I did travel back to Thailand that same year, but things did not go so well that time between Chomsuk and I.
She did not want to leave her parents, stating that :'' they looked after me when I was young; and I will look after them when they are old' , and I was not in a position to move there; so we parted company.
Two years later, I was saddened to learn that Chomsuk passed away from heart failure, overworked from caring and giving to others the same examples I witnessed on the train to Ayuthaya.
I never lost site of the fact that there are many Chomsuk's in this world, and that kindness will prevail. Chomsuk was 38.

Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated. If you think I should stay longer or shorter in a certain place please tell me. Also If I've missed out on a really popular or beautiful place please let me know.

Overview:

Singapore (2-3 nights)

Phuket with phi phi day trip (4 nights)

Bangkok with day trip to Pattaya (3 nights)

Siem Reap (5 nights)

Chiang Mai (7 nights)

Chiang Rai (3 nights)

Hong Kong (not decided)

Singapore 3 days

Meeting Friend local resident - Planning activities with him

Phuket 4 days Stay on Patang Beech

Thai Tourist Police number: 1155

Metered tax from Airport – 420 baht. Get phone number for return journey

Try and rent a taxi for a half day and visit some sites.

• Big Buddha –Taxi?

• Patang Beach

• 2 sea Tour – 18000 yen

• Phang-nga National Park

• James bond Island

• Nai Harn Beach taxi?

• Wat Chalong? – Taxi?

• Bangla Road – heroes bar, aussie bar, dolphin bar

• Phi Phi Island day trip?

• Phromthep Cape – Sunsets Rent scooter?

• Flying Hanuman – zip line 2300 baht one hour

• Sweet Lemon grass massage

Bangkok 3 days

Try to stay near BTS "Skytrain" and the MRT "Metro/subway"

• The Grand Palace 8:30 am avoid crowds

• Wat Phra Kaew

• Wat Pho – The Reclining Buddha

• China Town

• 63rd Floor sky bar – cocktails and sunset views

• Massages

Pattaya Day Trip

• Wat Phra Yai - Big Gold Buddha Early morning

• Sanctuary of Truth - Taxi return trip

• Khao Chi Chan – Buddha Mountain

Siem Reap 5days (Still planning activities)

• Ankor wat

Chiang Mai 7 days

Book accommodation near old town.

BARS: Rooftop bars – 6th floor Maya shopping mall called MYST – good sunset

Pornping Tower Hotel

FOOD: Melt away bakery, Meeting room art café, boarder run burritos

Lady in the cowboy hat – Chang Phuak Gate

Aroon Rai – Pork Ginger Curry

Day 1 – Old town

• The moat + old city area Start at Chiang Mai gate

• Also south of the moat

• Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan (good sunset view)

Evening

• Dinner east of the river, several good restaurants

• cocktails?

Day 2

• Elephant caretaker village

Evening

• Night bizaar

Day 3

• Doi Inthanon National Park Day Trip

Day 4

• Warorot Market

• Cooking classes

• Massage

• Cocktails

Day 5

• Wat Phra That Doi Suthep – Sunrise Early start

• Stickey falls

Day 6 & 7 TBD

Chiang Rai 3 Days

Take Green VIP bus 300baht, 3 hours.

Book ticket at Trek and travel agent (saved on map) 3 days before.

• Wat Rong Khun

• Wat Phra Kaeo

• Myanmar Golden temple

• Singha Park

Hong Kong TBD

First time visiting this part of the world and I'll be alone so all comments and advice welcome.

Many thanks

Sean.

I want to share what happened to me and my sister on our departure from Antalya Airport. A passport control officer named Bilal who occupied the desk#14 of the Departure zone of Antalya Airport on the 11th of August at 10.00 a.m. local time discriminated against mine and my sister's nationality (Russian). Besides, he bullied us in public.
Now, what happened in detail..
Having passed the luggage control, we noticed that we had left the hand watch on the band. We rushed back and - without overstepping the pass control line - we called for a security officer, who stood in 5 meters away, to come and help us. In turn, she waved to us to come to her. We handed our passports over to two different police officers and approached the security lady from whom we got our lost watch. This is the prehistory. What began afterwards, I cant characterise other then the act of HORRIFIC HUMILIATION and EXTREMISM..
My sister received her passport back without a problem. I wasn't that lucky. When I -courteously! - asked for my passport, the mentioned officer rudely barked at me "wait!". I meekly waited for about 7 minutes. The officer pretended he was not noticing me. Finally I had to approach him politely to please give me my passport back or to inform me what went wrong. The officer kept on ignoring me. I was posed with a risk to be late for boarding. My sister got nervous and insisted loudly that he returns me my passport or explains the reason of his keeping it. The man nastily snapped at my sister "go away!" while making aggressive sweeping motions of his arm at her. Never in my life I felt so helpless. I repeated in English in a slow and articulate manner: "Give me my passport back or explain to me what am I to do to get it back. Should I queue again?". He yelled at me in Turkish and pointed at the end of the queue. I interpreted his gesture as an order for me to queue again, so there I stood. He continued yelling and waving at me intensely. I had no idea what was going on, so I asked him repeatedly and loudly "Explain to me the redeem procedure or give me my passport back!". I received no clear answer from whoever around, including other airport personnel who witnessed the whole scene and did literally NOTHING. Highly unprofessional! I demanded that nasty officer introduces himself and guides me towards his chief. He did nothing of what I'd asked of him. Instead he said (this time in a clear English): "you Russian so you wait". And then I understood that I fell prey to a Nazi extremist. Extremist who simply bullied me in public with impunity.
Absolutely desperate, I approached other staff representatives. I loudly cried out for help and none was there to help me. Both my sister and I repeatedly approached other officers asking them to direct us towards the police station. None reacted. So unprofessional! This madness continued for at least 30 minutes.
At last my sister cried and knelt down to the nasty officer begging him for my passport. Tourists and personnel witnessed it and none intervened. It appears that our tears was exactly what the sadist was targeting at. He threw my passport at me in a bigoted manner.
My sister could not stop crying, so we kept looking for a police station. Having found it, we entered a room full of idling guys sipping tea and giggling. None spoke any decent English or German there. We nevertheless reported what happened. In a broken and very poor English we were threatened with penalty as high as 2'000.00 Tl for "numerously crossing the pass control line". We tried to explain the situation but the chief of police literally told us to shut up. We had no choice but leave since we were risking to be late for boarding.
What I am concluding:
- Antalya Airport police officers are CORRUPT, UNEDUCATED and NASTY EXTREMISTS who are useless when one needs help, as they keep themselves busy with a mutual cover-up and bulling people.
- We - Russian women unaccompanied by our husbands - pose an easy target for humiliation by governmental officers in Turkey. Our human rights were outrageously overridden in public and none in that airport bothered to stop this ugly scene. I repeat, this is highly unprofessional behavior!
- Neither me, nor my sister nor our family members will ever come to Turkey again. WE WILL NEVER COME AGAIN. Besides we will dissuade our relatives and friends from making holiday in Turkey. The majority of my colleagues at my workplace in Switzerland will NEVER CONSIDER COMING TO TURKEY.
- I am 100% sure, that officer Bilal will get away with that disgusting act he committed towards me and my sister. All is left for us is to hope that Lord hits him hard.

I recently visited Dzanga Sangha National Park in Central African Republic. This must be one of the top wildlife destinations in the world. You may know it from BBC wildlife documentaries or National Geographic magazine.

Despite travel advisories, this small corner of Central African Republic appears safe and stable. I stayed at the wonderful Sangha Lodge, run by Rod and Tamar, a South African couple, who extended excellent hospitality. After five nights camping in Lobeke National Park in Cameroon, the cabins at Sangha Lodge, with hot and cold water and flush toilets seemed the height of luxury, and the food was delicious and well presented. Rod and Tamar are very interesting people, and the conversation is part of the experience.

As well as knowing all there is to know about this part of the world, they have the knowledge and contacts to help make a trip go smoothly, for example they send a chainsaw and operator with you in your Toyota Hilux in case of tree fall that cannot be cleared with a machete.

At Dzanga Bai, a mineral rich forest clearing, I added Forest Elephant, Forest Bufalo Giant Forest Hog, Agile Mangabey, Colobus Monkey and a Genet to my list of mammals.

I also visited two separate groups of habituated Western Lowland Gorillas for a close encounter. Habituated Gorilla visits can be hit or miss - in dense forest it can be difficult to observe them, unlike when they emerged into the clearings. The timing of the visit is important so that it does not coincide with a time the gorillas will be resting, or all you will see is motionless black mounds on the forest floor. My three visits allowed me some excellent viewing, including of twin babys (very rare!), although one of my viewings was of mainly sleeping adults. You can ask the Ranger who will accompany you for extra time if you arrive when the gorillas are resting, or delay your departure - the Rangers will know when the gorillas are expected to be asleep.

I also paid for a 'Mangabey Follow' where you walk through the forest surrounded by a troop of Agile Mangabeys, watching them melt in and out of the dense undergrowth as they walk along the ground or climb the trees. I spent a total of six full days in the park, and could have spent longer.

The elusive Bongo managed to escaped my sight, but no wildlife is guaranteed - the uncertainty is part of the thrill, isn't it? - but this just gives me a reason to plan my return trip.

Walking in the forest in Dzanga Sangha, you need to be prepared to take off your boots and wade through, or along, rivers. On forest trails you need to be aware that animals use them too. I encountered elephants twice on the trails - a little too close to such large animals!

I combined my trip to Dzanga Sanga with a visit to the lesser known Lobeke National Park in Cameroon.

Lobeke National Park is about as remote as can be - two long days drive from Yaoundé in the dry season. In the wet season roads might be impassable, and the journey would certainly take longer.

It is, however, much closer to Dzanga Sangha, making it tempting to combine the two.

I hired a car and driver through Central African Tours. The journey from Yaounde would be possible by public transport. Old and basic Alliance Voyages busses trundle through the jungle from Yaoundé - but you would have to add a day to your travel time.

I broke the journey at Yokadouma where the Hotel Elephant is basic, but the staff friendly and helpful, which always makes a difference!

Wildlife viewing in Lobeke centres around forest clearings, similar to Dzanga Bai, where mineral deposits prevent trees from growing. The forest animals and birds all visit the clearings to lick or eat the mineral rich soil, and so all you need is patience and luck - they will come to you!

I visited Petite Saline and Grand Saline, both of which have viewing platforms from which to watch the clearings.

Petite Saline is a three hour walk through the forest, and Grand Saline another 3-4 hours further. Both have basic rough campsites, but you need some tolerance to washing in streams, and using pit toilets. And to insects!

However, the rewards are immense. Both days at Petite Saline I saw Western Lowland Gorilla families emerge out of the forest, and stay in the clearing for 45 minutes to an hour. I also saw Sitatunga - male, female and young - and Forest Buffalo, as well as numerous bird species.

At Grand Saline I saw Forest Buffalo, Sitatunga and Red River Hog. I also saw the most amazing spectacle of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of African Green Pigeons and African Grey Parrots performing the 'bird dance'. Each morning and evening, vast flocks take off from the trees with the crash of thousands of wings, and wheel through the sky, swooping and turning, flocks merging, or passing through each other. The display in the morning was even more spectacular, as the sun was behind me, and hitting the birds, showing of the bright green of the pigeons. I'm really not sure why this sight is not better known.

As the flocks landed, I watched a mongoose break cover to try to catch a bird on the ground.....

Walking through the forest between the trailhead and the clearings, we heard or saw gorillas on nearly every occasion - seeing them is hard as the forest is so dense, but you are in no doubt that they are there - you can hear them crashing through the undergrowth, vocalising as they go. On one occasion the tracker told me Chimpanzee were close, but to be honest I didn't see or hear anything.

We saw plenty of elephant droppings and footprints, but I did not see a Forest Elephant in Lobeke. The Bongo also eluded me, although I was told there were other clearings where they were common.

I spent five nights camping, as well as two nights at Camp Combo, in a small cabin, from where you can visit the local Ba'aka tribe, and observe their way of life, as well as looking out for monkeys (Putty Nosed, Colobus) and Hornbills.

My visit contributed to local employment, as you cannot just walk into the forest yourself. You would soon get lost, and you need the security of people who know where they are going and what they are doing. My 'entourage' consisted of a Ba'aka tracker, my Cameroonian guide Emanuel, an armed 'eco-guard', two porters to carry tents, and all the food and water we would need, and a cook!

There are dangers in the forest. Apart from Forest Elephant and Forest Buffalo, there are poachers - sadly just before my visit four elephants had been killed, but the eco-guards managed to capture those responsible.

If you have visited some of the better known countries of Africa, and want to try something different, why not give Central African Republic and Cameroon a go? There are species here you will not find together anywhere else in the continent, and the wildlife viewing experience, of standing on platforms in the forest clearings waiting for the animals and birds to come to you, is different, and very, very relaxing.

You need patience, the ability to remain still, and the ability to remain quiet - I was told that most groups who visit see very little in Lobeke as they chat and move about too much. The gorillas in particular were very sensitive to human presence.

I would recommend Sangha Lodge unreservedly, as a base for a unique and unforgettable wildlife experience.

Thanks to Jules at Travel with Jules, Emanuel and my driver Mousa from Central African Tours, , and Rod and Tamar at Sangha Lodge, for help and advice in making this a wonderful trip.