Jen's Wee Softies

Erwin enters Malaysia and visits Singapore

After leaving Khao Sok, Erwin and his friends headed south over the border and in to Malaysia. They visited Penang, the Cameron Highlands and the Perhentian Islands but unfortunately there have been problems with the photos so I can't show you any. Erwin especially enjoyed his time in the Cameron Highlands as he got to enjoy lots of strawberry treats as there was a strawberry farm nearby.

Then it was off to Taman Negara, Malasysia's national park with 130 million years old tropical rainforest. Here Erwin enjoyed the canopy walk, which is said to be the world's longest treetop walk at 450m.

Next stop for Erwin and his friends was the city-state of Singapore. While he was visiting the city, Erwin stopped by the world famous Raffles Hotel.

He also had time to go to the zoo which he really enjoyed, as he got to see the orangutans and the white tiger among other animals.

Erwin's Island Getaway

So after leaving Bangkok, Erwin and his friends headed south for the small Island of Koh Tao on the east of Thailand. It is a great place to go diving but being a Wee Softie, Erwin decided that he was happier just admiring the sea from afar and enjoying the island.

While his friends were out diving, Erwin was catching a few rays on the sun lounger,

and admiring the beautiful island from his beach hut by the pool. He decided to stay in the shade thought!

It does sound like he enjoyed his time on the island though. Here is what he wrote on the postcard:

"It's a bit hot for me so I've mostly been hanging out under the fan! And diving is not my thing - far too wet! But I do like the beaches and the sunsets. Also not sure about this swimming with sharks thing?! Lots of love Erwin"

Erwin's mishap in Bangkok

Sorry this is a bit later than planned, but here are some of Erwin's latest pictures from his Round the World trip.
After leaving Nepal, Erwin and his friends flew in to a very hot and humid Bangkok. Unfortunately after a full day sightseeing including the Royal Palace and a couple of temples including the one with the Emerald Buddha and the one with the reclining buddha, their camera got lost and all the lovely pictures they had just taken with it.

Don't worry though, we will still get updates on Erwin as they had a second camera with their luggage and were able to get a few snaps of Erwin around Bangkok the next day.

Can you spot Erwin in this Picture? He is visiting the temple 'Wat Arun'.(The Temple of Dawn.)

Here he is enjoying the view at 'Wat Arun'.

Here he is on the ferry seeing a different view of Bangkok from the river.

Next stop on the trip for Erwin and his friends was the Island of Koh Tao and I know he enjoyed his time there! I will share the pictures of that next time.

Just a quick note and a Postcard

Time just seems to have disappeared and it seems my blog has been a bit neglected. We have had a few visitors with us over the last few days so I have been a bit distracted, going out and about in London.

I promise to be back next week with lots more posts. I have been working on some new brooch designs and making some more birdies but they are not quite ready for me to share with you yet.

I just wanted to show you the postcard I received on Friday from Erwin and his friends. I have already told you all about his adventures in Nepal but don't you just love getting postcards? I certainly do. I like to see the stamps from different countries and you sometimes learn something new about a country. I never knew Rhododendrons were the national flower of Nepal.

No wonder Erwin had to have his photo taken with them.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I will be back next week with some new work and news from Erwin's travels in Thailand!

Erwin's Pictures from Nepal

As promised, here are some pictures from Erwin's travels in Nepal.

After a very long bus trip from India, Erwin and his companions finally arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. After a much needed rest after over 22 hours on busses there was time for some sight-seeing. Here is Erwin at Boudhnath Temple.

Boudhnath is one of the largest Buddhist shires in Nepal and is acknowledged to be the most important Tibetan Buddhist monument outside Tibet. Constructed in the 6th century, the base of the temple is built in a mandala form. Erwin observed many locals coming to the temple for their daily prayers and maybe even a gossip as they walked round the giant stupa.

After a few days of visiting Kathmandu it was time to head towards the Himalayas and the start of the Annapurna trek. Erwin and his friends spent three weeks doing the trek and even managed the Throng La Pass 5416m. I think Erwin was safely tucked up in a rucksack for most of the treking part though!

Here he is in one of the cabins on the route and enjoying the rhododendron bushes towards the end of the trek at Poon Hill.

I had hoped to show you some more photos but internet connections have got bad again and all attempts to send more photos have failed. So that is it for now. Hopefully I will have more news from Erwin soon, but for now I hope he is enjoying Thailand!

Erwin's Pictures from India

Uploading issues have been tackled and I have received some news and pictures of Erwin from his time in India. It looks like he had a great time visiting lots of sights.

He arrived in Delhi after a long flight from the U.K. and spent some time relaxing at his hotel studying his well read guide book and planning some of the places he wanted to visit.

His first stop was Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi. Built by Haji Begum, the wife of E. Humayum, it is an early example of Moughal architecture in India.

He then went off to explore the state of Rajasthan. On his way to Jaipur he stopped at the Amber Fort.

While he was in Jaipur he visited Jantar Mantar. A collection of architectural astronomical instruments built between 1727 and 1733, it is the biggest stone observatory in the world. Here he is in front of Samrat Yantra, the giant sundial.

From Jaipur, Erwin headed to Agra and was very excited to see the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately he wasn't allowed inside but here he is seeing it from afar.

Erwin and his friends L and B then started their long journey to Kathmandu in Nepal. I have also been given some news from their adventures in Nepal but I will keep those for another day. It is lovely to see how Erwin's trip is progressing and I hope you enjoyed seeing his travel snaps.

Erwin's Postcard from India

Well it has been a while since I updated you on Erwin's progress round the world. Unfortunately I have been unable to get any snaps of him visiting the many sights he has been to due to problems with uploading images encountered by his traveling companions. I can only imagine how fustrating it must be to only have limited internet access and then your photos don't load. (Keep trying Lou, hopefully it will work soon. Fingers crossed!)

Anyway, in the absence of any snaps i have received some email news and look what came in the mail yesterday - a postcard from the travellers!

Erwin made it safely to India and found himself in Delhi. Apparentely he has been behaving himself though he is not sure about the heat. It is quite a change from the cooler climate of the U.K. in winter. He then headed off to tour round the state of Rajesthan before going to Agra and seeing the Taj Mahal. Although he didn't get to see it inside he viewed it from afar and was very impressed. He also spoke to some other tourists who were interested in him.

He has now left India and arrived in Nepal about ten days ago, where he visited the capital Kathmandu. So far he seems to be very happy on his trip even though he has to put up with cramped traveling conditions. He is currently treking in the Himalayas so I hope it is clear so that he, L and B can have good views.

Hopefully it won't be too long before I get another update. Until then I wish L, B and Erwin all the best with their trek!

Erwin Lends a Helping Paw

Erwin has now jetted off to India but before he left Louise sent me some images of how he has been getting on. It looks like Erwin has been a very helpful Wee Softie. He helped Louise pack her bag and reminded her to take the suncream. Then he helped Barry drive the van up to Scotland. (Doesn't he look proud of himself!).

The adventure really starts now. Wishing Louise, Barry and Erwin safe and happy travels and looking forward to all their tales!

Erwin's Big Adventure

Erwin is a very lucky Wee Softie. He has been adopted by two very special friends: Louise and Barry. They are about to go on a Round the World trip and Erwin is going with them. They have promised to keep me updated on how Erwin is getting on, so I should have lots of news about all the lovely places he is going to see along the way.

Here is Erwin having one last look at the sights before he left London to start his trip. He is currently on a whistle stop tour of the UK while Louise and Barry visit all their friends and family. I do hope he is behaving himself!