Amanta Ratchada

Staying in posh hotels is usually my sister Laura's bag, but as the boyfriend came to visit for two weeks, he treated us to the most amazing suite for our three nights in Bangkok. Honestly, this place was incredible. I could just see the two of us living there so happily. It was probably made better by the fact that I'd been staying in crappy hostels for the previous two months; but two plasma TV's, a walk-in-wardrobe, kitchen and BATH - heaven. The staff were extremely friendly too and the free breakfast was even better. The price was so reasonable as well, nowhere in England would you be able to stay in such luxury for 80 quid a night, I think I've paid more to stay at the Premier Inn in Reading...

Lilac Nails

So I recently met up with my best friend in Singapore who was stopping on her way back from a holiday in Oz. I took full advantage of her being there and pampered myself with perfume, make up and the mini bar in her 5-star hotel. One of the pieces I fell in love with was a lilac shade of nail varnish by Barry M. I've always been a fan of cute feminine shades of polish for summer but this one stands out as being particularly good. The lilac was deep enough to show up from a distance but also light enough to remain summery. I now have to look after my nails with great care to ensure they remain painted for the rest of my travels (6 weeks, pushing it a little I think). But one of the first things I'm gonna buy when I'm back is this beauty!

Pai

After our weeks spent on the beaches down south, we headed up north to Chiang Mai. Whilst in Chiang Mai we went over to a small town called Pai for a day and night. Pai isn't like anywhere else I've been in Thailand. It has a authentic hippie vibe about it, with loads of vegetarian cafes and yoga classes dotted about the town centre. Actually, it kind of reminds me of Brighton at home. That's it! A Thai-version of Brighton. We rented push bikes and cycled to the national park and bathed in the hot springs. This was such an experience. We met a Thai lady there who put mud from the banks on our faces, which we spread all over our bodies, and had the same mud bath you would spend a fortune on in London. The next morning we did a yoga class with Mama, a crazy 60-something Thai lady, who had us doing headstands on our first beginners class. I felt so refreshed coming back from Pai, like going to some sort of retreat!

Koh Phi Phi

Oh my, Phi Phi has got to be one of my favourite places ever! It's an actual paradise I'm sure (or 'para' as we liked to call it. Never before have I seen such crystal clear waters and soft white sand. When I first stepped into the water I really thought "yes, this is it. This is why I've left home for 5 months." Phi Phi is still pretty touristy (no doubt from the fact that its the same set of islands Danny Boyle's 'The Beach' was set), but it doesn't have that same touristy/ brits-abroad feel to it like say Koh Samui or Phangan. There are still a load of bars to enjoy in the main town on Phi Phi Don, and a couple of the beach, which set out huge beanbags on the sand at night to go and chill out on. On the day there's plenty to do too, but all we really did was soak up the sun on the sands of the island. If you are ever lucky enough to visit Phi Phi I would strongly recommend taking a taxi boat over to Long Beach as this is where you will find the best waters. (Having said that, it's possible to stay on Long Beach and therefore no need for a taxi boat). Our best day, however was the snorkling trip we did around Phi Phi Ley including Maya Bay, the famous deserted beach where Boyle's movie was filmed. This is without a doubt somewhere you have got to visit if on the island.

Koh Phangan

Okay so the three posts I promised a while back never happened did they. Where was I? So after Koh Tao we moved on to Koh Phangan to do essentially what everyone does when they go to Thailand and enjoy the full moon party! Since leaving Uni I've actually become a little boring some might think in that I don't actually enjoy a good piss up as much as I used to. But that said, I was on full form for full moon and managed to stay up til 9am- impressive for my new self. Anyway it is pretty much as mental as everyone makes out, thousands of people on this one beach called Haadrin drinking from buckets containing a mixture of varying spirits and energy drinks. I had the most fun in the morning actually; me and Paula met a couple of Aussie guys and spent two hours crying with laughter over anything and everything we saw. It's hard to explain on here, but I can only compare it to the same laughter I experienced with my friend Callum at summer solstice a few years back. (another reference that has no meaning unless you were there). Most people say only go to Phangan for full moon, but if you stay a little further out of Haadrin you will probably find a secluded beach with white sands and clear water, much like the rest of Thailand.

Koh Tao

I'm sat in a French cafe in Vientiane, Laos and I'm going to attempt to put up at least three overdue blog posts from Thailand. So here goes...

After meeting Paula in Bangkok we headed down to Koh Tao to get our PADI Open Water certificate. I'd never actually intending on doing this course but once Paula explained it to me I thought why not?! Anyway I'm really glad I did, it was an amazing experience. I was pretty scared at times though being 18 metres underwater but I loved seeing all the tropical fish down there! That was truly amazing. Felt like I was in a fish tank. The course was pretty tough though, we had homework each night and daily tests and then after our four dives we had out final exam. Well I passed! With 98% as well ;) and this now means I can go diving without an instructor up to a depth of 12 metres I think. I really should do at least one dive while I'm in the great barrier reef but I'm not sure I'm ready to go solo just yet, maybe I'll do a free dive.

Anyway asides from the diving, Koh Tao was a lot of fun. We made a good group of friends staying in the same resort as us so had a brilliant celebratory night after our last diving day. I really think I'd like to go back to the island cause there are so many beautiful restaurants and bars on the sand that I didn't really get opportunity to try out as we had a lot of early nights due to diving the next day. Well I definitely don't think this is going to be the last time I visit Thailand so plenty more chances to see the beautiful Turtle Island. (That's what Koh Tao stands for in Thai)

Delhi & Agra

Okay so it's been absolutely ages since I last blogged, purely for the envious fact that I've been having too much fun in Thailand to even think about using an internet cafe, but I think it's about time that I did as I haven't even finished India yet. Also, I have hours to wait for my bus to Chiang Mai. So let's start with Delhi...

Can I just say, I actually quite liked the place. Prior to our visit, we had the city described to us as 'hell on earth'- a bit extreme to say the least. Yeah it's busy, yeah it smells, but doesn't the rest of India?! Granted there's a lot more poverty in Delhi, and a lot more scams, but if you keep your wits about you, you'll be just fine. Our stop to Delhi was just a flying visit as we spent pretty much the only full day we had there in Agra at the Taj Mahal.

What can I say about the Taj? It's incredible. This sounds obvious but it's so huge, much bigger than I'd imagined and with beautiful hand painted marble walls. I'll admit, when my alarm went of at 4am for the 5am train, I really wondered whether a visit to the Taj was really worth such an early rise. But of course it was. Infact I'd advise anyone going to visit early as its a good 4 hours by train from Delhi, and plus when we were leaving at about 11am it was really busy. Definitely more opportunities for tourist photos earlier on.

Bangkok

I've been on my own in Bangkok for a week now as Phoebehas gone home for a month, but to be honest it's been pretty sweet. I treated myself to a posh hotel on Khaosan Road and have just spent most days chilling by the pool. So haven't really seen much of the city but my friend Paula gets out tomorrow and I cannot wait! Plan is to spend a couple more nights in Bangkok and then head down south to the islands!

Camel Riding in Pushkar

On our second to last day in Pushkar we did a camel ride in the desert- it was so much fun! The day started off a little off as the excursion guy picked us up on his motorbike, rode with the two of us on the back into town where we met out camels. We then rode them through the streets, dodging cars and cows (there are hundreds all over India's streets), and finally made it into the desert. We had a really cool guide take us, he speaks fluent English, French and Spanish but is completely illiterate. He never went to school but is teaching himself to read and write at home in the evenings. He learnt to speak English, French and Spanish solely from speaking to tourists which is just incredible. The other guide was a 14 year old boy who may have got a little drunk on the beer we gave him- not our best idea considering he was steering the camel home. We made it back though and watched the sunset in the desert on the way - utterly beautiful.

Pushkar

One of my favourite places we visited during our time in India was the Holy town of Pushkar. This may have been because of the serious amount of shopping I did- honestly they have THE best silver shops- but also because of the chilled out vibe and friendliness of everyone we met. One of these particular friendly people happens to be our good jeweller Vikras. He is a God with silver. Made me the most beautiful silver double ring with a small chain and turquoise stone, right there and then (picture to come soon). If anyone visits Pushkar I would really recommend staying at Chacha's Garden Guesthouse. There are only a few rooms but they are super cheap and clean and the place is run by an English lady and her Indian husband. Oh and they have two adorable babies, and two even cuter tortoises. 

A little more from Jodphur

A few more photos from Jodphur including Phoebe's beautiful ali babas (that remind me of that willow tree pattern), and two adorable kids that took a liking to us. Oh and if you are ever in Jodphur, a cool place to eat is Rocktails, the food's amazing and the waiters look like they're in military uniform. What more do you need?!