There's no place like home

We arrived home yesterday from a lovely two-week holiday in Thailand. We saw some amazing sights, ate fabulous food and spent almost half of our time there lazing around in the paradise on earth that is Krabi.

Ao Phra Nang, Krabi - a photographer's paradise, just a short walk from our hotel

In spite of having had a wonderful time, I'm happy to be home, and feeling grateful for many things, such as:

- The absence of smelly drains
- The relative peace and quiet of my neighbourhood (apart from that damn dog barking from over the back fence!)
- The lack of humidity. I truly love Melbourne's mostly dry summer...
- The order and tidiness of the streetscape around here. No rubbish, no piles of sandbags, no broken-up footpaths or drain covers, no mould covering buildings, no cars, motorbikes and street vendors parked all over pedestrian thoroughfares.

I think I even missed the noisy clamour of the cockatoos and corellas squawking every morning and evening.

We're not holiday shopaholics, and were on a reasonably tight budget, but we did pick up a few pretty things to decorate the house, including:

Silk fabric, Chiang Mai

Hand-painted silk cushion covers, Chiang Mai

Block prints on rice paper, Bangkok

Hill Tribe silver necklace, Chiang Mai

I won't be wearing the necklace - although it's beautiful, my preferred style in jewellery is far more delicate. Instead, I plan to mount it on black fabric, frame it and hang it on the wall. I've seen similar framed pieces for sale here, priced at around $700. I paid 250 baht (less than $8) for this, and if I DIY the framing, total cost should be under $50.

I also picked up a few ideas for furniture and decorative accents. Unfortunately, carting home heavy teak furniture was a no-no. The shipping costs were a bit high, and the fumigation process to satisfy our quarantine laws cost as much again. But I'll be keeping an eye out on eBay and cheap import shops for things with the right "feel".

It might take me a while to get our souvenirs sorted, but I'll post some updates along the way.