Langkawi

We ended up having a day full of bad luck on our way to langkawi we had two flights and the first was delayed so we missed our second and ended up jade and Matty breaking up that day as well. So we stayed in quite a cute hostel unfortunately we lost out on our flight money though which was a bit annoying as I am running very low.
We came to our hostel boxpackers which was pouring with rain so we did the easiest thing and took a nap. That day we met a lot of people in our hostel so we all went for dinner and drinks which was fun until jade got a little too drunk and was quite mean. I let it slide because she was obviously upset about her boyfriend but it made me think about how much I enjoyed the stress free life of travelling alone. In the following days we spent with a Chinese friend and Patrick a hilarious guy who's at Liverpool uni that we went on a tour of the mangrove with. We met some fire dancers one night who worked on a little beach bar and ended up spending another night going to their house. Its cool to see how they live so simply but the guy a leaf was a bit too keen and kept taking me to the beach to try and get me alone. So we ended up going back it was a funny night though! Oh we also went to an aquarium and got a henna tattoo.

Vietnam

Following phi phi I headed back to bangkok on the longest overnight bus ever arriving at half five in the morning the the most disgusting hostel thank d I was only there one day as the following morning I headed to Vietnam to visit jade and matty. I arrived in Vietnam and jade had already booked a hotel for us at £15 a night?! Then we went for a drink in a bar she reccomended which was £10 a drink! I don't think she understands that I am travelling cheaply but it was nice to have a good nights sleep. Ho chi mihn is a crazy city and my first impression wasn't too positive it is very hard to cross the roads and it is far too hectic. The following day we took a bus to jades house in Vung tau which is a much calmer place we went for a drink and I met her friends , then they showed me the sights and took me up the hill where the monks live and we fed the monkeys! So cute! We then went to a nice pool before I left back to ho chi Minh where I would choose somewhere to go for the next week or so. During my couple of days in ho chi Minh I was stopped by a man who 'wanted to practice his englksh' so took me to a coffee shop and after a few hours of him trying to convince me to sponsor him and find him a lawyer so he can move to the turk and coicois islands I ended up having to pay for the four coffees he ordered. It was an interesting encounter though he told me I could marry tony Blair's son and prayed for me because in said I wasn't religious.
I decided to head to da lat and had a great time in the loveliest hostel, they were so welcoming and everyone was really funny they went to kareoke and provided dinner and breakfast! Met some really lovely people there. The days before jade arrived I went to the crazy house which is a collection of buildings by a Vietnamese architect which were really wirrd and reminded me of a Dr suess film. I walked around the big lake and craig lent me his book so I sat in the flower garden and had a good read and chill. When jade arrived it was so rainy so we stayed up playing cards and having a drink with everyone from the hostel which was really fun. We went on a tour as well I can't actually remember everything we saw but a waterfall with elephants. ☺

Vietnam

Following phi phi I headed back to bangkok on the longest overnight bus ever arriving at half five in the morning the the most disgusting hostel thank d I was only there one day as the following morning I headed to Vietnam to visit jade and matty. I arrived in Vietnam and jade had already booked a hotel for us at £15 a night?! Then we went for a drink in a bar she reccomended which was £10 a drink! I don't think she understands that I am travelling cheaply but it was nice to have a good nights sleep. Ho chi mihn is a crazy city and my first impression wasn't too positive it is very hard to cross the roads and it is far too hectic. The following day we took a bus to jades house in Vung tau which is a much calmer place we went for a drink and I met her friends , then they showed me the sights and took me up the hill where the monks live and we fed the monkeys! So cute! We then went to a nice pool before I left back to ho chi Minh where I would choose somewhere to go for the next week or so. During my couple of days in ho chi Minh I was stopped by a man who 'wanted to practice his englksh' so took me to a coffee shop and after a few hours of him trying to convince me to sponsor him and find him a lawyer so he can move to the turk and coicois islands I ended up having to pay for the four coffees he ordered. It was an interesting encounter though he told me I could marry tony Blair's son and prayed for me because in said I wasn't religious.
I decided to head to da lat and had a great time in the loveliest hostel, they were so welcoming and everyone was really funny they went to kareoke and provided dinner and breakfast! Met some really lovely people there. The days before jade arrived I went to the crazy house which is a collection of buildings by a Vietnamese architect which were really wirrd and reminded me of a Dr suess film. I walked around the big lake and craig lent me his book so I sat in the flower garden and had a good read and chill. When jade arrived it was so rainy so we stayed up playing cards and having a drink with everyone from the hostel which was really fun. We went on a tour as well I can't actually remember everything we saw but a waterfall with elephants. ☺

Phi phi

Luckily I met Leanne on the boat to phi phi who was the first English person I've met. I booked into the dingiest hostel which I had seen online before viewing the actual room. Oops it was so gross and there wasn't really any light. Went for dinner and drinks on the beach with adrian and explore with Leanne and ended up spending the next few days with her we found a hostel together. Went on a snorkelling boat trip which was loads of fun and went to meet Adrian at the sunset viewpoint up about a million stairs. Went to phi phis version of the full moon which was funny lots of fire shows but I managed to leave my bag. A slightly hungover day on the beach with Leanne we were asked so many times for pictures with Chinese and Pakistani men!? Very weird and by the end we were exhausted.
Phi phi is really fun and such a lively place but Adrien and Leanne have now left and there is a storm so I am sat in my hostel alone. The first time I've felt like I'm by myself as I am trying to make plans what to do next and can't quite decide.

Lanta

Me and Bella the following day hired a motorbike and drove along the west coast of the island down to the national park. It was so fun but a bit too hot beinin the sun all day. We saw monkeys an we got to the very bottom and the beach was beautiful! After the drive back we all went for dinner. And I decided to stay another day. Me and Adrien made our way to a beach party that night after dinner at a nice restaurant watching the sunset. We had a few beers but it started pouring with rain and we had to wait for it to go off a little so we could actually get back!
I stayed an extra day and went to the beach and went for dinner with a Canadian girl from my hostel. But the following day left to meet everyone in phi phi ...

Back

Deciding to go to my work away after warnings from ogher hotel staff i figured it cant be that bad. But i arrived to two bored looking girls and the hostel owner nowhere to be seen. The girls seemed bored and said there wasnt much to do there, and the wifi didnt connect well. I was shwon my hut which didnt actuallt have a door and was just a mattress and mosquito net with ants everywhere. The hostel owner apparenly just got high and watched youtube all day according to the girls, i decided to leave as i didnt quite feel that desperate yet. I am happy i didnt feel obliged to stay because i am here and have saved to enjoy myself and their pace of life is a little to slow for me. After leaving my Workaway I came back to my hostel to see a Chinese girl Bella in my room who is very chatty and we headed straight to the beach. It looked so pretty with the sun and I went for a bit of a paddle only to get knocked over my a massive wave! Meanwhile bella spent the time rolling around the sand taking pictures of herself! I did see some volunteers cleaning the beach which was good and got chatting to one of them. They said it all washes up from phi phi and they do the clean up every Sunday at 4 so if I am still around I would like to join them next week and help clean.

We came back to the hostel and bumped into everyone I had met over the last couple of days so we all joined together and went for dinner. Two Italian girls, two French boys and a guy from Denmark and me and bella. It was really tasty and I had a watermelon smoothie and paprika chicken with rice mmmm! After that we came back with some beers and played some card games, it was really funny and made me glad about the decision I have made! I am here to enjoy myself and would like to meet people and see some great places.

Koh lanta

I had three nights inbangkok the travelled to koh lanta it was nighttime when I got here so I stayed in the hostel as it started tonthuner and lightening. I travelled with three French people who were really nice and the guy Adrian decided to come to my hostel as he hadn't actually booked one yet. My first day I woke up to this view on my balcony then I went to the beach and it is gorgeous white sand clear waters.
I did notice quite a lot of waste washed up on the shore though of plastic cups and bottles obviously from the full moon parties. Its a shame that tourism will affect such a beautiful place. I wonder how long the surroundings will be able to endure the damage from tourists.
Caught the sun a bit on my shoulders but and met another two French guys who were really nice. They invited me for tea with them so we all hopped on the back of his bike and went for some phad Thai and a beer at a little guitar bar where the guys and a local had a go at playing a few songs. We then stayed up playing games of cards with two Italian girls who joined us, I think its so much easier to meet people once you get into the habit of just talking to any strangers and everyone is in t same boat so everyone is very friendly.
I have been in M hostel two nights now and will be going to the clayzy house for my work away today. I'm a little bit worried as the French guys said they were going to go there but as they approached it they were offered mosquito nets over beds rather than rooms.

Bangkok

I have spent my first day exploring the area, I found two nice parks and an art gallery. I suppose these are places I like to visit wherever I am, maybe they aren't specific to bangkok but I have walked to find them which gave me the opportunity to see the area. There are so many temples which I have walked past and read about but not yet been in as I wasn't wearing the right clothing.
It was nice to be in a park which was relaxing and peaceful compared to the bustling streets. There was surprisingly barely any tourists there as well which was kind of nice.

I think the Temple's must get packs with tourists as that's where everyone plans to go. I'm sure they are beautiful places to see but I don't think anything compares to chilling amongst the locals in a green park.

By the night time three american guys were in the room with me and invited me along to khao San road for drinks. It was really fun and we met up with their friends and some Swedish girls on their last night who were pretty wild. Tried eating scorpion which was quite crunchy and drank very cheap beer! Khao San road is good for partying not the best music but there's lots of dancing in the street and all kinds of people. Lacking in aircon though. So much sweat on one street.

I've already given up on trying to do anything to tame my hair its hopeless and any makeup comes straight off. Being alone has its advantages that I don't actually care what I look like and its quite liberating for someone that usually doesn't leave the house without makeup.

Adventure time

After spending almost a year trying to save as much as possible, working a mundane office job to get a bit of money together I have finally entered the light at the end of the tunnel. Its pretty bright and very hot! My southeast Asia trip which I am going alone. My first destination is bangkok for three nights then a flight to krabi where I will do a 'workaway' in koh lanta in a hostel by the beach. Followed by visiting a friend in Vietnam and then another workaday in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully I can plan a bit more the further I get on... And hopefully make some friends!

I packed my backpack the night before and was dropped off at the airport ready for a very long journey and regrettably not armed with very much to keep me entertained as I had packed my tablet into my backpack. Probably the biggest mistake ever as a six hour wait in Germany followed by an 11 hour flight with no free films OR FOOD?! Thank god I had a few snacks in the airport and was seated next to a lovely girl that had lived in Chiang Mai for 10 years. She had come to teach English and I guess just loved it so much she didn't want to leave. That's a good sign! She also gave me lots of handy tips like dont flush the toilet paper and dont trust the tuk tuk drivers and left me with her email address to meet up if I go to chiang mai.

We parted ways and I got my taxi to khao San road for 350 baht. I've honestly never sweated so much as when I arrived carrying my backpack and struggling to avoid hassling tuk tuk drivers in 38 degree heat. After a few lemonades in cafes to use their WiFi I finally found my hostel and was greeted by two smiling, friendly faces. I was then taken to my room and just my luck I'm the only one there. It was the afternoon here and I had set off about 24 hours prior to getting here so I'm kind of glad I was alone at this point because I was pretty sweaty and gross by now in desperate need of a shower. So the less people that saw and smelt me the better.

My hostel is called 'once again hostel and I would reccomend it to anyone. The staff are really helpful and the rooms are clean with a locker and privacy curtain. And more importantly air con! 👏

I spent the rest of my day exploring khao San road area and the surroundings. Its such a bizzare place to arrive after living in a small English seaside town. It's very overwhelming to wander around the streets there is so much to take in and so many interesting things to see which aren't even supposed to touristic features. Just simply the people, the architecture of amazing regal palaces directly next to run down shacks and makeshift stalls. Its also crazily busy, crossing the road is a serious challenge.

Thankfully I came back to my room with another girl the had arrived. Sam was English and lovely to chat to for the night she had been go the islands to two weeks but was heading to Vietnam in the morning.

Hopefully I will be able to keep this blog updated as I will probably spend a lot of time alone. It'll be a great look back on different places, I'm sure there will be lots of ups and downs and getting lost but it all makes for great memories and is part of the adventure.