Sticks and stones…

… and pavement, apparently. Four weeks ago now, I fell in the street and broke my right arm (humerus) quite badly. Here’s how it looked when I went to the emergency room that night.

As you might be able to see, the shaft of the bone snapped right through, and also part of the joint head separated, too. It was extremely painful. I had to wait a week for an operation at the University of Washington Medical Centre. Here’s an X-ray they shot while I was on the operating table.

I’m not sure what that metal thing at the bottom is, but certainly nothing good. It turned out to be a more complicated fracture than they had thought, and the operation took around 4.5 hours. I’m now recovering slowly at home, trying to balance my pain with my pain medications, trying to get some sleep (I have to sit upright) and trying not to annoy Karen too much.

Last week, I went in for a post-operative X-ray and some advice.

So there’s the plate they put in, complete with nine (I think) screws. This will stay inside forever. The wound itself has healed up quite nicely already but I have around six months to one year of recovery and physical therapy ahead of me.

I will find out in about four to eight weeks from now whether the surgery was a complete success. If not, I may have to have another operation or something more serious. Until then, fingers crossed!

Cycling Thailand in a day

Well, not the whole country obviously, but at least the whole of ‘Ancient Siam’ history theme park in Bangkok’s distant suburbs. It sounds cheesy but was actually loads of fun – genuine buildings, scale reproductions and some brand new architecture too.

Plenty to gawp at, and lots to make Karen look good…

Who’s that crazy statue on the hill?

Here’s one of our favourite structures – fishy!

Monty did the honours on the temptingly empty Buddha plinth.

But check out this elegant silhouette too.

After lunch, we jumped in a cab back to Chang Erawan – the 30m tall bronze three-headed elephant that Mum, Jess, Paul and I visited back in 2004. Then, it was in a dusty backwater – now it has a six-lane motorway roaring past its tusks. Still insane, though.

That was our big day out. On our last day in town, we did some light shopping, found a great Tom Yam salad joint and loved the Bangkok Art Mall (BAM, I think?), home to the coolest ice cream bar in the world, and a wonderfully air-conditioned film café.

Monsoons, temples and palaces

The next day, we braved some amazing monsoon weather to explore the Grand Palace complex and temples.

Saw the biggest, laziest Buddha in the world at Wat Pho, where Karen slunk off for an ultra-traditional massage at the school that basically invented it!

Chedis, temples and buddhas galore.

And some very cool wall paintings!

We stopped to relax at the museum café, where I bravely opted for the durian ice lolly. Upside? Seeing Karen crinkle her nose in disgust. Downside? Suffering ghastly durian burps for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, we headed back into the klong to uncover the Royal Barges Museum, where we got to watch artisans restoring the King’s very own barge. Interesting.

Monty magic in Bangkok

Our next excursion was to seamy Bangkok. Seamy because it was 38C and 95% humidity rather than any particularly risqué nightlife. Karen and I stayed at a wonderful new B&B (the Asadang) in the Old Quarter.

And then Monty showed up! Wahey! Great to see Monty looking so tanned and light and healthy, then it was straight out to tour the city’s unbelievably scenic klongs (canals).

There were temples, shanty houses, teak mansions, banana trees and huge swimming lizards. Ace!

Karen even had to fend off at one point when the propeller of our long-tailed boat got all snarled up.

We had a great seafood dinner and neighbourhood tour with Monty’s friend Sue, topped off with a lovely riverside drink (she also facilitates passports).

Trekking in Sa Pa – day two

The second day walking was even hotter, but less of a descent. Again, we were crossing paddy fields and villages.

For a while, we were shadowed by this group of kids walking the same trail as us – on stilts!

Then we plunged into thick bamboo forests. Great fun, moving through swirls of green, avoiding muddy sinkholes by swinging on bendy bamboo poles. Poor Cindy got quite bogged down!

Watch out for that buffalo!

After the bamboo, we came across a glorious cascade of water. Clothes off and straight under for the most refreshing shower we could imagine – and with an unbeatable view. Then it was down the final trail, over the last bridge and a gentle walk along the river to our pick-up. Here’s Karen back in Sa Pa, ready for the train back!

Trekking in Sa Pa – overnight at Ta Van

Just when we thought we couldn’t get any hotter or any more tired, we arrived at our homestay hut in Ta Van village. Time to drop the packs, change into flip-flops and head down to the river to cool off!

The girls look a little classier than us blokes.

At least, until you get a beer in them.

We had a great time at the hut – the locals laid out on a huge spread of seafood, veggies, meat and rice which we washed down with numerous toasts of powerful rice wine. We had the whole upper floor to ourselves to sleep – not a problem after the long day!

Here’s us with the family.

Trekking in Sa Pa – day one

Scott arranged a trekking weekend for us in Sa Pa – a hilly region near the Chinese border of Vietnam. Our adventure started on Friday night, with a sleeper train from Hanoi to the town of Lao Cai.

The train was actually remarkably comfortable, with big bunks, air conditioning and no hooting! We arrived at 5am in jumped straight into minicabs for the 30km ride through morning mists up to Sa Pa.

It was market day – and also Communist stand around and drill day – so we soaked up some atmosphere while we prepared for our hike. Here’s Mr Hai, our energetic and very capable (despite his gormless expression here!) guide, deciding on a route.

It was downhill all the way (luckily), and one of our first stops was a primary school expecting some important officials that day.

Incredibly, it seems the local tribes do dress in those exquisite costumes every day, even for farm work.

Here’s a photo of us before we got too sweaty!

Here’s where we stopped for lunch. Karen bravely took the very rickety wooden bridge.

Intrepid explorers. Walking through the villages was extremely interesting, seeing how water was piped through bamboo to supply drinking and cleaning water and irrigate hundreds of terraced fields.

Sailing Ha Long Bay

Mid-week, Karen and I took ourselves out of town to the famous (read: rather touristy) Ha Long Bay. We had berths aboard the Emeraude, a classy replica Colonial paddle steamer. All brass, teak and Death on the Nile.

Accompanied by perhaps a dozen other tourist boats, we sailed into Ha Long Bay, home to thousands of dramatic limestone karsts, hundreds of fishing boats and even a few floating villages.

The weather was misty – extremely atmospheric and rather charming.

We stopped at a cheesy cavern then motored further out to a wonderful kayaking spot – launching from the back of the boat.

After getting hot on the water, we cooled off in the water.

After drying off, more cruising, past a series of gorgeous coves, beaches and headlands, with eagles flying overhead. Very pretty!

In the evening, we dined on fresh shrimp bought from the nearest floating village and watched ‘Indochine’, a French epic set in 1950s Vietnam (and Ha Long Bay), starring Catherine Deneuve. Classy.

The next day, more sailing, then back to Hanoi.

Hanoi – Food

Not that I want to go on about it or anything but the nosh in Nam is truly superb. The markets look fantastic – as refrigeration is still fairly uncommon, everything is eaten completely fresh.

Lots of cool old French cafés to enjoy ultra-sweetened iced coffee and tea drinks.

But Hanoi is all about the street food – here’s a stall just over the road from Scott’s office.

My favourite meal of the holiday – muc tien – squid grilled with chilli and garlic, dipped in a lime/salt/wasabi sauce. Heaven!

Even museum café found was exceptional – here’s a dish at the Museum of Ethnology.

But we had some fancy meals too, including a sumptuous repast at the famous Green Tangerine.

And what better way to round off a huge meal than with a trip to the T Bar (the disco that kept Scott awake every night). Great people-watching!