AARON & GEORGIE HAPPYTIME!

AARON AND GEORGIE HAVE MOVED!!!!!

Hello there if you have come here looking for Aaron and Georgie HAPPYTIME your in the wrong place! We have moved and have an all new blog... HAPPYTIMEBLOG is now at WWW.HAPPYTIMEBLOG.CO.UK come see us and we will love you forever!

Our favourite travel blogs

Over the last few months Georgie and I have been super busy with renovating a house, catching up with friends and of course keeping up with other blogs to satisfy our wanderlust... So I’ve put together a short list for you of our favourite blogs so you too can enjoy them and be inspired.

• Nomadic Matt’s travel site: 

    A great resource for pre-trip planning, on the the road info and inspiration.

• Andy’s Blog-Gone further: 

    A top quality travel blog about travels in southeast Asia.

• Manilla and Terry: 

    A superb travel blog about a couple of newlyweds traveling the world, great insight and unique     perspective.

• Hipcompass.com:

    A hub for travel bloggers and a great source of info from those that know.

All of the blogs listed here can be found on our links page and more... 

The Long Way Laos feature length video...

The Long Way Laos...A Motorbike adventure with Aaron and Georgie happytime from aaron bradford on Vimeo.

Watch The Long Way Laos now - Our motorbike adventure 550km from Vang Vieng to Luang Probang. The ups and downs through one of the most stunning countries in southeast Asia... As featured in the online travel magazine - Hip Compass Escapes and on our number 1 blog www.happytimeblog.co.uk

"Adventure in Laos" article now up for grabs in Hip Compass Escapes

Hot off the presses is the new Hip Compass Escapes fall edition with our featured article about Adventure travel in Laos... Get it while it's hot, heres a taster to wet your whistles:

    "We passed through rice fields and small villages, along winding roads and alongside rivers - all idyllic and stunningly beautiful. We made our way over the hills that surround Vang Vieng and back down the other side, the road was smooth enough and any serious pot holes were scoffed up by our trusty steeds with ease. We found a small cafe down by the river as it meandered between the last of the hills and pulled over for coffee and a refreshing dip - it was stunning! The limestone peaks stretched high into the sky and scratched the bellies of the low lying clouds, completely rural and silent at that moment I realised that was what I left home for. Mixed with the excitement of the journey ahead a sense of sadness washed over me, a sense that all my travels before that had been done the wrong way - if I were on a bus I would’ve breezed past and the river and its beautiful setting would’ve  been nothing more that a fleeting glimpse, all the places I may have missed started racing through my head and all I could do was hope that this time I would make up for it."

Enjoy.

August desktop wallpaper now yours...

August Wallpaper Loas motorbike adventure Vang Vieng to Luang Probang, we rode 

530km on our Honda 250 Baja'sfrom Vang Vieng through the mountains and back down

again to Luang Probang... And then did it all again the 

next day, seriously one of the best things I have EVER done!!! enjoy

Travel Inspiration

A little quote to inspire you all to go and see...

    "Any man can spend his time making money... But there is not a man in the world with enough money to buy more time"... Big A

"It Takes Two" our article featured in Hip Compass Escapades

Back in August 2008 my fiance and I (Georgina) were traveling through northern Vietnam and stopped in the beautiful mountain town of Sapa. Our $7 room had the feel of an old alpine cottage and unparalleled views of the infinite mountain scenery. We knew instantly we had stumbled over something special, surely one of the most romantic places we’d been on our travels to date.

Whilst drinking in morning coffees and that million dollar view (or seven as the case may be) the chat turned to how we should fill our time in such a beautiful place, that’s when the cracks started to show.

Georgina wanted to make a brutal seven hour bus trip to a remote and rural weekend market in a town called Bac Ha, filled with visions of Flower H’mong hill-tribe people selling everything from dried shrimps to dogs - the “real” Vietnam maybe, she was keen as mustard. I however was not.

Having been dragged around every market we’d passed since we left home, all I could focus on were the practicalities of getting there, the poor roads and sweaty busses for seven long hours.

Things between us came to a head and at that point, in our idyllic mountain cabin, we realised the underlying issue had nothing to do with the market, infact it was a problem which had been simmering beneath the surface for weeks or maybe even months. Somehow we had managed to grow apart as lovers, regularly finding ourselves in intense situations and constantly being around each other, we had become better friends than we could have ever hoped but with all the highs and lows that come with traveling foreign, unfamiliar countries we had forgotten to set aside time for just us.

It’s not as if we forgot or were too busy to love each other, rather that we didn’t adapt our relationship the same way we had to adapt every other aspect of our lives. Strolling hand in hand down perfect beaches with breathtaking sunsets as a backdrop, going out for candle lit dinners and lazy Sunday’s (well everyday) soon became the norm. More than that, they became part of our daily routine. I suppose it was naive to think a whole new way of life wasn’t going to change our relationship, that everything would take care of itself while we took care of having the time of our lives. 

The problem we found with traveling as a couple is that there are three agendas, not two. Mine, Georgina’s and our relationship’s. The solution: We needed to treat it like a third person that has a third set of needs, not get an extra bed put in the room or carry a third backpack but actually make time for it during the day. The very environment conspires to come between any relationship while traveling - grubby rooms, diarrhea, tropical heat, single beds, intense situations, cultural taboos and the often unavailability of personal hygiene all redefine a relationship but it’s ignorance to all this which causes friction. 

All was not lost though, once emotions had settled and feelings were out in the open we swiftly realised that it wasn’t a problem we had intentionally created, neither of us had meant any harm or lost any love, it was just something we simply hadn’t prepared for that got carried away. We’d managed to fit everything we might need for our trip into our backpacks and assumed our relationship would slot neatly in there too.

For the record I gave in, we went to Bac Ha market and I loved it. That’s how we do things now,  if one of us wants to go somewhere or do something then we do it, no questions, no compromises, no moaning we just get on with it. Everyone needs a little push to do something they wouldn’t normally do sometimes, after all aren’t new places, new people and new experiences what traveling is all about. 

We have been traveling southeast Asia for over a year now, we’ve seen things that neither of us will ever forget and done things that would make people back home green with envy. We have lived our dream! It’s been a constant learning curve but traveling as a couple has only enriched both our experiences. It means we don’t just have pictures of beaches and temples, but of each other - in these amazing places, we have the luxury of being able to talk our way to a solution rather than worry about a problem and look after each other if one of us gets sick. We’ve seen each others true colours shine through the amplified situations and shared everything... Nothing gives meaning to a moment or a place like being able to share it with someone you love.

Picture of the day... Ubud, Bali

This picture was taken in Bali's cultural centre - Ubud. We decided to get out of the hot midday sun and the hustle and bustle of the market and ducked into a small shady stairwell where we met this lady. She had the same idea as us and got in the shade to make offerings for the following morning and if you've ever been to Indonesia then you will have definitely stood on one of the many many offerings that lay outside every house, shop and even on some mopeds by accident at some point. The lady had such a warm and happy look and I'd love to know what caught her eye but I really don't.

Picture of the day... Chinatown Kuala Lumpur

By the early evening the streets of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown have turned from a politely busy scene of Chinese restaurants and coffee stalls into a full sensory assault of neon lights, market stalls and street hawkers. Constant calls from sellers to grab your attention... “Hey boss, looking. Very cheap price for you” and the overwhelming amount of smells drifting across your path can make it all seem a little confusing at times, but solace is never too far away. Behind the busy stalls dripping with fake designer goods sits many quiet, cheap and authentic Chinese restaurants, most tourists don’t venture in and instead choose to sit out amongst the throngs of passing people at the more “tourist friendly” places where waiters double as touts that get you in, get you fed and get you out as quickly as possible.

While eating out one night watching the world pass by and enjoying some of the amazing food on offer in KL I noticed a hawker making his way along the street side restaurants filled with tourists, he was selling small furry puppets and every person that showed the slightest interest got a small puppet show right at their table.

15/07/09 The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round.

It’s been almost a week now since our teary goodbyes in Sihanokville, the morning after we scraped ourselves together and got the stupidly early bus to Bangkok bus as is always the case when taking a long distance bus that crosses a border... Things don’t always go to plan. Yet again one VIP ticket + Border crossing = cramped minivan the other side. Not that it bothers us much because we are used to it but it kind of set the tone for the long journey back to Kuala Lumpur.

We arrived in Bangkok not quite an hour after we were supposed to and quickly found a room down the Khao San road, from the very second we arrived Georgie’s agenda was taking over and that agenda was shopping. Faced with an imminent return to the UK she was dead set on spending what money we had left and some we didn’t on pretty things and who am I to deny a pretty lady of her trinkets.

We had a little stroll up the KSR before the journey caught up with me and I retired to the room leaving Georgie to shop until she dropped... Which wasn’t long.

The same happened the following two days except that Toby met up with us before he flew back home for one last Bangkok blow out... Only thing was there was no blow out, I think we have all been bang on it a little too long and short of a few social beers we did nothing but relax and enjoy the last moments of our time in Asia together. Bangkok took it out of us, Georgie has the stamina of an army where shopping is concerned and it was as much as Toby and I could do to keep up with her and by the time he left us it was clear we all needed a rest. 

We didn’t have the luxury of leaving from Bangkok airport our tickets out are for Kuala Lumpur which meant whatever way we looked at it, the cheapest option was a bus and a bus meant 24 hours, not all in one go but still a bit much even for us hardened travelers. The problem is that when you travel long distances on a bus it’s similar to a plane, you do everything in your power to pass the time as quickly as possible and it turns into a battle between you and the journey. Comfort becomes the primary concern and as the scenery passes it’s nothing more than a distraction from your book, every bump is an annoyance and every delay is infuriating... Don’t know if you can tell but what I’m getting at is that if we had our own transport (for instance a Honda 250 Baja) the journey becomes part of the trip, something to enjoy and experience instead of hassle and agro.

We hadn’t left ourselves enough time for a break so when we finally got on the bus we had to get some sleep... Thats where the trip to the Cambodian pharmacy comes in and we are out like lights... Well until that is a man a few seats away starts snoring with such ferocity that it sounds as if someone is actually sawing wood with a chainsaw on the bus, even a good dose of Vallium couldn’t block that out so drastic action was required. When we got aboard the VIP bus we were given a small pack lunch containing a few cakes, drinks and a couple of boiled sweets and seeing as we had eaten the cakes already the sweets became the tools of silence... We tried subtle measures to snap the man out of his chainsaw like slumber but that didn’t work so the sweets were hurled and several direct hits later the snoring was over, but as I’m sure anyone who has to deal with snoring knows - it will come again and soon... Ear plugs in and the Vallium did the rest.

We woke up this morning in Hat Yai once again and with a few hours to kill until our connection to KL we set off in search of strong coffee and breakfast, we found a lovely little family run Chinese cafe decorated with picture frames filled with old money from around the world, in one was an old note with Saddam Houssein on it!

Our bus to KL was as good as we could have wanted, luxurious and comfortable... And no snorers but it was long and there is nothing like one long bus journey to highlight how long the next on is. 

Finally we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, 27 hours after leaving Bangkok and to top it off Georgie had come over feeling rough... Really rough.

We had one final bus to catch from the centre of KL out to the airport where we had planned to sleep, but on the way to the airport bus Georgie started throwing up all over the shop. We had no time to hang about, although our flight wasn’t due to leave until the next morning it was an early one and we knew we would miss it if we stayed in the centre, so I took the two backpacks (now stuffed with goodies and weighing in close to 25kg each) and Georgie took the small ones. We made it to the airport and attempted to get a room at the only affordable hotel nearby - Tune, only to be turned away... A few other backpackers were also turned away, apparently they had no rooms but it really seemed like they just didn’t want a bunch of smelly hippies dirtying the place up. I humped the bags on once again and we hiked back to the airport (got to be close to a kilometre both ways) luckily Georgie had started to feel a bit better despite the blow that we couldn’t have a bed so as I type she is asleep on the softest seats we could find and I am WIRED on a few too many coffee’s... We have five more hours until the next monster journey twelve hour flight back to the UK and to be honest I cant wait... 

Don’t get me wrong I’m not moaning or ranting, I am merely relaying the events of the last few days and despite it all, the busses, the back ache, the sick, no sleep, no beds... It’s what it’s all about and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! 

"It Takes Two" Aaron & Georgie featured in Hip Compass Escapades

Hello everybody, just a quick update to let you know that our super duper article featured in the online travel magazine HipCompass Escapades - “It takes two” is now available for your viewing pleasure. It’s a feature packed travel magazine with lots of useful info and interesting articles (especially mine!!!) so click the cover below to take a look-see... Thanks you beautiful people.

                        

        

"Things between us came to a head and at that point, in our idyllic mountain cabin, we realised the underlying issue had nothing to do with the market, infact it was a problem which had been simmering beneath the surface for weeks or maybe even months. Somehow we had managed to grow apart as lovers, regularly finding ourselves in intense situations and constantly being around each other, we had become better friends than we could have ever hoped but with all the highs and lows that come with traveling foreign, unfamiliar countries we had forgotten to set aside time for just us."