Snap back to reality

Saturday 29^th August 2015

This morning I left Vietnam! I woke up early and checked out. Annoyingly the breakfast wasn’t ready even though it was supposed to start at 6.30am so all I got was bananas.

I shared a taxi to the airport with another girl and checked in straight in and walked about the airport where I bumped into a guy I met in Cambodia we caught up for a while then I went and boarded my plane.

I slept most of the three hour flight but woke up to a swollen throbbing arm I had to wait for everyone to get off the plane as everyone was in a rush to get moving.

I got out of the airport and got on the bus into kl Sentral along the way we stopped a few times to watch the Bersih protest at the station I got the LRT (train) to Pasar Seni and came out in the midst of the protest and had to navigate my way to the hostel.

I checked in and was upset to find I had been allocated a top bunk and also that there was 6% GST on the cost as well making it more expensive. So I had to go out for more cash.

I found some food and chilled in the common area for a bit before going to bed to watch a movie.

Sunday 30^th August 2015

Today was a really lazy day I woke up and waited for ages hoping someone else would wake up so that I could get down from the top bunk without smashing my face. Unfortunately no one got up so I had to brave it and successfully landed on my feet.

I got ready for the day and then went down for breakfast and ended up chatting to a girl for several hours. Eventually I had to go back upstairs to move beds and ended up having a nap for a while when I came down I went out to get some food but it was a struggle to find anything vegetarian.

On the way back to the hostel I picked up some cookies and sat drinking tea and munching all evening whilst watching big hero six.

At about 10.30pm I went out and got some food and watched the end of the Bersih protest and the countdown to Merdeka which was an amazing experience it was like a carnival atmosphere which was really interesting. We spent some time talking to a really lovely family who explained everything and translated things the crowd was chanting etc.

By the time we got back I was exhausted and fell into bed tired.

Monday 31^st August 2015

This morning I woke up needing the bathroom and thinking it was the middle of the night so was surprised when I came out and it was really light and it was actually 8am so I got up.

I had a shower and had some breakfast and then around 10am went to the Merdeka (Independence Day) parade but it was mostly over which was a shame but we saw some huge balloons and lots of people cheering.

I walked through the central market to the train station and got a train to KLCC where I walked around and killed a few hours having a picnic for one in the park.

Back at the hostel I sorted the last of my Vietnam photos and chilled out for a while in the evening I went for dinner in Chinatown then watched a movie in the hostel.

Tuesday 1^st September 2015

I had a last lazy morning sitting around watching CNN news but began to feel a little depressed by all of the stupidity and doom and gloom of the media so headed out.

I got the train to KL Sentral with another girl and we had amazing pancakes at a place in the mall before walking to little India.

We spent the late afternoon strolling along looking in the many shops and chatting to people who stopped me to comment on my tattoo (and take loads of photos)

We weren’t really hungry but a really nice woman recommended a vegetarian Indian restaurant so we had an early dinner before continuing on our way. While we were eating it started to rain heavily and was still drizzling as we walked back to the train station.

Back at the hostel we sat about for a bit then walked to Chinatown to get some fruit then chilled out till it was time to seep.

Wednesday 2^nd September 2015

For some unknown reason I booked a haircut for 11am so had to actually get up and moving. I had a shower and some breakfast then got the train to KL Sentral and found the salon. The result wasn’t exactly what I had in mind but hopefully after a wash I can fix it how I want as currently it’s very sleek.

After the cut I walked around the mall a bit and then went back to the hostel to watch a movie. I sat in the common area and streamed a couple of movies interspersed with occasional conversation with other people hanging about.

In the evening a friend and I went to the mall at KL Sentral to get some food we ended up at a burger bar right next to Celebrity Fitness and stuffed our faces whilst watching spin and Zumba. I’m not sure I’d be happy to exercise while people stared through the windows some people were even filming the Zumba class on their phones…

We felt pretty stuffed so when we got back we took a walk around Chinatown arriving back at the hostel just in time to farewell another friend. I watched a bit of a movie on the TV in the common room and then retreated to bed.

Thursday 3^rd September 2015

So today was my last full day travelling and I spent it doing nothing so spectacular. This girl in my room woke up around 5am and spent an age rummaging around her bag and going in and out of the room only to finally take a shower and go back to bed! It was hugely annoying and I couldn’t really get back to sleep.

Eventually I got up and had a long breakfast before sorting through and packing my bags. Once that was done I sat about waiting for things to charge so I would have movies and books for the plane.

Around 2pm I went for a walk just to get some fresh air and ended up walking to Bukit Bintang which is s huge shopping area. The pavilion mall there is huge and I got lost in there searching for something to eat. I ate and then had to search for my way back out and walk back to the hostel. Along the way I encountered (yet another) literal wanker calming jerking himself off on a bench.

I got back to the hostel and chilled out in the cool ac before getting an early dinner the food was pretty good but overpriced and the place lacked atmosphere so we didn’t stick around long.

We walked through Chinatown and picked up some sacks as we were still a bit hungry and then went back to the hostel and spent the evening watching movies.

Friday 4^th September 2015

Last night it was a bit hard to sleep as I knew that today I would be getting on a plane back to the UK. I got up and dressed and went to meet my old KL flatties for breakfast. We were supposed to meet at 9am but due to traffic there was a bit of a hold up.

Emily and I had breakfast and then walked about ten minutes to the bookshop where she works (as she had to be back at work) and we met the others there. Mic arrived with a friend who is staying with her and a bit later Sidney arrived as well.

We walked to another café close by and I had tea while the others ate and we caught up on the last two years! Around 11.30am I had to leave to get back to the hostel in time to pack and check out. I checked out and then had a shower and got all my things together ready to go.

I spent my last few hours willing time to move a bit quicker and drinking endless cups of tea in preparation for England.

Now I have less than an hour before I leave or the airport! The last 291 days (yip that’s how long I’ve been on the road!) have been amazing! Huge thanks to everyone who has been a part of the journey I hope that our paths will cross again somewhere someday! See you all on the other side (of the world!!!) Peace and Love xxxx

The day before Vipasana

Sunday 18^th January 2015

Today was pretty much our last day together we said goodbye to the Canadians and had some breakfast on the roof then moved rooms to a big four person sharesy number. Then headed to the travel agent for Blake Zach and Maezee to get bus tickets to Agra and Delhi once that was done we wanted to head to a market for the guys to pick up gifts but it proved harder than imagined since the rickshaw drivers just wanted to take us to government shops.

A bit later we picked up samosas and then headed to meet Verity we met at the Galta gate and visited the monkey temple which was a massive animal farm there were cows goats dogs cats and of course monkeys all roaming about. I patted a six legged cow for luck which was a tad creepy.

In one of the temples we had a blessing and got good luck bracelets before carrying on. On the far side we stopped for chai and wanted to get a rickshaw but they were all rip off merchants so we had to walk back over the hill and pick one up on the other side.

We got a shaw to the Ganesh temple which is right on the top of the hill and provides views of the entire city which was awesome. We sat in a secluded spot and watched the sun go down, all the kites and the fireworks that are left over from the kit festival last week.

We walked down in the darkening light and got to the bottom to pitch darkness. We jumped in a rickshaw and headed to dinner only we never made it where we were going as the rickshaw couldn’t find it so we got out to walk and we couldn’t find it and no one we asked had ever heard of it. We ended up in this greasy local instead where the food was amazing and we chatted to this old dude who loved that we were travelling in India and kept feeding us naan.

We then waddled into autos and went our separate ways verity home and us back to the hotel. The boys had gone out for drinks with another team just around the corner so we went out to find them which didn’t prove difficult at all. They all drank and I ate a family sized block of caramello then we went back home to bed.

Tears, Tantrums, Signs, lists, leaving

Its 10:32pm on Tuesday 18th November and II leave for my latest adventure tomorrow i'm currently writing this, watching a movie (Winters tale in case you are wandering. So far i'm finding it a little slow and am a bit patchy on whats going on but that might have more to do with me not giving it my full attention than anything else) and eating a bowl of cocoa pops. 

After months of working and saving my penny's, weeks of planning, and days of running around like a headless chicken to get everything ready before I go, I finally think i'm set, all I need to do now is pack but everything is ready to go into my bag so i'm not to concerned about leaving that until the morning. and so i'll tell you my story about the title. 

Tears-lately so many things have been going wrong there have been a lot of tears which leads into 

Tantrums- There have also been quite a few of those today I downloaded iTunes onto my new laptop
(i'm writing this on my new laptop its the first time I have ever traveled with a laptop and i'm thinking it should be quite useful but also means I have something else to worry about. its a beautiful little machine small and light and does everything I need it to, now that I have it going of course.) but then when I plugged in my iPod and synced it (without reading the little pop up box ) I somehow managed to wipe my iPod and ended up with only 52 songs, several hours later (and several rather explicit tantrums later) I finally figured out how to get my old library onto my new laptop (FYI if it ever happens to you just ask me I wasted so much time that I will never get back following needless instructions from the apple website!) and so I segway seemlessly into 

Signs- I have always been a great believer in everything happens for a reason, sometimes the reasons aren't clear, sometimes the lessons learnt are hard, but there is always a reason why things don't go to plan. When I first got back to NZ last year the plan was to only stick around for a month or two but it soon became clear that financially that wasn't going to happen, in some ways i'm grateful that it didn't work out as I have enjoyed spending time with friends and family I hadn't seen in years and I know now without a doubt that NZ isn't the country for me. I can safely say I tried, that I gave it a go but that I don't belong here. So back to what I was saying about signs, there have been so many roadblocks constantly halting my plans and holding me up, it took months to get insurance, took me an age to figure out time frames and flights,  I had battles about pay, accidentally deleted about 600 photos while trying to back them up, and lets not forget the debacle with iTunes from earlier. I feel like all these things have happened for a reason, maybe its to test me, maybe its a sign of things to come or maybe the universe has thrown so many obstacles in my way to make me appreciate the good things that are coming. Because good things are coming. 

Lists-I have lists of things to do, things to get, things to pack, things to remember things to do. Lately every day has started and ended with a list and I think its helped me to get everything done but my lists tend to be longer than they need to be since I write things like shower, eat breakfast, shower etc on them it makes me feel like I have achieved more and keeps the tears and tantrums at bay.

And so the last thing to mention is Leaving- which is what ill be doing tomorrow I have a vague idea of what the next few months have in store and that's the way I like it for as Paulo Coelho once said 

“The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort”

Only six more sleeps

So it seems the time has once again come to say goodbye to New Zealand. I cant say that i'm particularly sad to be leaving although there will certainly be people who will be greatly missed. I arrived back in NZ last November convinced I would only be here for a month or two maybe three at the most but unfortunately for me nine months of travel had left me rather strapped for cash and so I was forced to get a job. This past year has been all about working (sometimes hard most times not) and saving almost every penny made and so it comes time to once again hit the road and resume the life I love most one full of mystery and adventure, one where each day is full of wonderment and intrigue the life of a traveler. 

Next Wednesday I head to Sydney to catch up with one of my best friends and favorite travel companions before heading back to Asia alone.

I have a vague idea of what ill be up to until mid January and from there what I will be doing and where ill be going is anyone's guess. The plan is Sydney 19-26th November, Singapore 26th Nov- 2nd Dec, Myanmar 2nd-11th Dec then INDIA!!!  

For those of you who know my love of India you will know it stemmed from my first visit there last year taking part in the Rickshaw Run before spending three of the best months of my life immersing myself in the culture, the food and the hectic chaos that is India. In January i will be taking part in the Rickshaw Run again because once is never enough you can follow that adventure here from the 28th Jan 2015 (as well as all the other shit I get up to before that!) and if you feel inclined to do so please take a look at our fundraising page and share it and donate as the crazy adventure is all to raise money for two spectacular charities.

http://www.justgiving.com/teams/theplaneteers

Now off to the shops I go for some Planeteer costumes! (our theme for the Rickshaw Run is Captain Planet!) THE POWER IS YOURS!

Peace and Love xx

301 Muay Thai Camp

Monday 11^th November 2013

I woke up on the bus in Bangkok to bright sunshine and the sounds of people getting off the bus the driving had been going slow and so we had arrived a few hours later than expected at 7am I got my bag said goodbye to the girls and go a rickshaw to the victory monument with a surly driver who seemed pissed off to have me a passenger he wouldn’t drop me off where I wanted to be instead just shunting me out onto the footpath in the general area. I walked about trying to find the booth I wanted and was soon in a minibus on the way to the middle of nowhere. 301 gym is located in Sam Roi Yot which is on the east coast of Thailand about four hours south of Bangkok. Everything was going peachy until the driver tried to turf me out in the middle of nowhere after speaking perfect English up until then he suddenly lost the ability to communicate from what I gathered he forgot to drop me off and then wanted rid of me I wouldn’t get out of his mini bus on the side of the road so he was forced to continue with me he got to the police station where he again tried to turf me out and continued with his charade of no English in the end he threw my bags out and drove off. The policeman was now left with the responsibility of driving me to camp, the turn off for which was about an hour back along the road. Eventually I arrived thankfully not that many people were about as it was more than a tad embarrassing. I was given a brief tour and then showered and fell into bed for a few hours. When my roomie Lene returned that afternoon she explained the drill for training at 4pm we headed out on a run just an easy 3km to get warmed up followed by 15mins on the ropes 3x 5min rounds of shadow boxing (which was the start of every afternoon session the mornings were the same but the run was 6km) the rest of training was a bit of pads, bag work and some sprint drills. Considering I had been on buses for about 24 hours, hadn’t eaten and had barely slept I think I did pretty well. After training we ate but I was feeling dizzy so headed to the room where I showered and had an early night.

Tuesday 12^th November 2013

Today was my first full day of training. I was up and ready to go for our 7am start. This morning’s session was heaps of cardio the highlight (note that’s sarcastic) was 15mins of high knees on the ropes. After breakfast I spent most of the day working on my tan and swimming when it got too hot by the pool. At 4pm we had another 3 hours of training. After dinner we sat watching hangover two.

Wednesday 13^th November 2013

Early morning again starting the day with a 6km run along the beach really gets you going! After training and breakfast we chilled by the pool a while before getting showered and heading in Tesco about 5km away in the closest town I picked up some snacks to supplement the food as I’m vegetarian there is no protein on offer for me. Afternoon training was tough today especially the sparring where I got smacked in the face more than once. Sat around chatting this evening then had the room to myself after we all fare welled Lene earlier today.

Thursday 14^th November 2013

I woke up feeling really tired and sore I only managed to run 3km this morning I had to turn back early as I couldn’t get my body to do what I wanted it to. We had an intense bag session this morning doing power rounds 3x rounds of 6mins 30 seconds on 30secs of, felt like as soon as I stopped hitting the bag I had to start again it was so exhausting.  We finished off in the pool doing technique training. We had breakfast and then chilled until the ice for the ice-bath arrived. We all took turns squeezing up in the tiny pool it was so cold but when you jumped in the pool afterwards it felt like you were swimming in a bath. I sat out by the pool reading for most of the day which seemed to recharge me. I had a really good run and made an awesome time so thought training was going to be good but we did sparring again and I was getting pissed off with being punched in the face constantly so I sacked it in an went and did yoga and meditated instead after which I felt so much better. During the night the weather was crazy there was so much wind and rain but by morning it seemed to have calmed down.

Friday 15^th November 2013

Woke up still feeling a bit shitty with life ran and trained but it felt half arsed. I was super hangry this morning so ate as soon as training was done then Emma and I headed to Dolphin bay for a massage and some lunch. The massage was just what I needed as she went in deep it was more painful than anything but I did feel looser afterwards. We ate at the posh hotel and then walked slowly back to camp. Wreaked all the good work at training getting super tight again. Chilled out all evening.

Saturday 16^th November 2013

Today we only trained in the morning as it’s just the way it goes it was a struggle but I pushed out a good session. In the afternoon the weather was shit so we couldn’t even chill by the pool. As there was nothing else on I took a nap and then got up in time to get myself organised for Hua Hin. About 7pm we got picked up in a mini bus which dropped us off in town. Hua Hin is about an hour from camp and seems to be a somewhat seedy town full of retired western folk (read sleazy old me on the hunt for Thai brides) supposedly it’s turning into a resort town but I didn’t see the beach so couldn’t comment on that. We had dinner complete with desert to really blow out and then headed to a bar I wasn’t drinking but had a good time anyway. We started in one bar and played pool and people watched before moving onto Karaoke which I always a laugh. We ended the night in one more bar which had some quite good tunes so we got our dance on and then found a taxi to take us back to camp.

Sunday 17^th November 2013

Thank goodness for rest days. I slept till about 8am which considering our late night wasn’t much sleep but stayed in bed and checked my emails not willing to let the world in yet. Eventually I got hungry so got ready for the day and went in search of food. Emma and I sat about chatting and since the weather still wasn’t great we went to her room and chilled there. We did manage to get moving a little bit and go for a walk and when we got back the sun was out a bit so we ;lounged by the pool. Late afternoon a new girl arrived and so I had a roomie once again. After dinner we went out to watch Mee (one of the Thai trainers) fight. The fight was on the same day as Loi Krathong which is the festival of lights. The fight was at a festival to celebrate we started off by getting “wishes” little woven baskets with flowers, a candle and incense which looked a bit like the Hindu offerings in India and Bali. We took the offering lit the incense  and candle then added some money and some of our hair made a wish or a prayer and set the basket on the water in a lake. There were hundreds of them floating out on the lake and as well as us many locals were waiting to set their wishes free. After that we walked into what can only be described as a fairground there was street food and stalls some games and a few rides. We saw the boxing ring and watched a few matches between children which at first was cute but quickly weirded us out as we were watched small children hit each other. We wandered about the fair and got way to much food and watched some more fights the wait just went on and on and as we were all tired from last night it was even worse there was nowhere to sit and the ground was muddy from all the rain. Eventually about 2am Mee's fight began his was the title fight and as soon as it was over everyone left. It was a good fight and Mee was the clear winner afterwards we took a few photos and then got in the taxi back to camp.

Monday 18^th November 2013

It was only the girl’s hat made it to training this morning which was quite cool as it was more individual. We did an intense technique session which was really helpful. By breakfast we were still the only ones up and some of the guys didn’t surface until after midday. We spent the day sunning by the pool and I was having a great sleep right on the edge until I got tsunami in my face by one of the boys. By afternoon training lack of sleep had caught up but I struggled through.

Tuesday 19^th November 2013

This morning I was feeling really down about only having such a short time in Asia left so found I couldn’t concentrate at all. After breakfast I went and sat on the beach for a few hours just watching the sea and making sandcastles. Afternoon training was better I smashed it on the pads which is my favourite so that got me in a better mood. Not feeling like camp food I went to a local place for eats and then watched fireworks form the dolphin bay staff party on the beach.

Wednesday 20^th November 2013

Today I thought it was my last day but actually I can’t count and I don’t leave until tomorrow which is good. After morning training us girls headed to Dolphin bay they got massages while I chilled on the beach and then we all went and got a drink at the hotel. Most people sacked off afternoon training which worked out well for me as we did more pads after dinner we sat about and watched Elysium possibly the worst movie I have ever watched and I felt sad to have wasted a portion of my life doing so.

Thursday 21^st November 2013

Woke up ready to give my last session everything I had. After an intense workout I rode bitch with Helio on the scooter into town so I could get a bus ticket to Phuket it wasn’t until late so I had the day to chill at camp. When afternoon training started I headed to the beach got some food. Back at camp I chilled with everyone until it was time to say goodbye. I got a taxi into Pranburi where I had an hour to wait for my bus which was late I felt really sad about leaving everyone. I turned on my music and slept my way to Phuket.

The first few weeks in Thailand. Bangkok and the north

Tuesday 29^th October 2013

I slept in this morning and then chilled out at the hostel for a bit getting some personal admin done before wondering about and exploring the neighbourhood. Back at the hostel I got chatting with a Dutch girl and in the afternoon we went on a sightseeing adventure of Bangkok. We took a rickshaw around enjoying the drive before stopping by the river and taking a cruise on a longboat. After that we went to the golden mount which is a Buddhist temple atop a hill the view from there is quite cool unfortunately y camera battery was dead so I didn’t get any photos. That evening we got dinner at a local restaurant which was pretty tasty before getting in an early night.

Wednesday 30^th October 2013

I mucked about this morning feeling pretty unmotivated to do much. Late morning I hired a rickshaw for the day and did some more sightseeing first stop was the golden Buddha then I went to the amulet market where I lost the rickshaw driver for ages and was considering leaving and walking back to the hostel when he appeared out of nowhere. We drove about some more and went past the palace etc. so I could see them from the outside. Back at the hostel I got my bags from the luggage room and waited for my bus to Chaing Mai after a while it appeared it wasn’t coming there were a group of us who had been left behind as the mini bus driver that was to take us to the bus station didn’t take everyone just the people for the south which was weird. We got a taxi to the mini bus station which was stressful as we left an age after everyone else and there was so much traffic. Eventually we stopped at a petrol station ad were ushered into the minibus along with a bunch of locals we got to the main  bus station and turns out we had over an hour to kill before the bus left! Eventually we boarded the double decker we had great seats right at the front with a ton of leg room and they provided us with neck pillows and blankets it was by far the most comfortable night bus I have been on. We reclined and went to sleep stopping once for a food break and to stretch our legs at about 1am and then we were on the road again.

Thursday 31^st October 2013

The night bus last night was so comfortable that I was still fast asleep when it pulled into Chaing Mai. I didn’t have a place to stay so went with the two girls Olivia and Katie who were on my bus to the place they had booked when we got there it was closed but had a cell phone taped to a bit of string tied to the door and a note that said to call a number from that phone if you were locked out. We called and the woman kept asking “do you see the pig?” there was about 10 pig statues about so yes we did she kept saying the key was under one but there was no key. After a while someone came and let us in but we couldn’t check in yet when someone eventually arrived we went upstairs the hostel itself was not the worst I’ve stayed in and I would have been happy there but the girls wanted to move and the location was a bit far out so we all jumped on the local bus/taxi thing and went to a hostel in the old town which was much better. The place lacked a real atmosphere but there were loads of travellers staying there so it was easy to meet people. We checked in and showered and then I went and got food with Brian a guy I met In Bangkok. That afternoon I joined him and his friends at tiger kingdom I was somewhat reluctant to go as I have heard really bad things about the place but the tigers were all happy and healthy and had a really good bond with their trainers. I went in with the babies which was cool they were the size of a smallish dog but had so much character it was just like playing with a big kitten.  That night we made a half arsed attempt to dress up for Halloween and went out for dinner and drinks ending up at some weird lock in at a lady boy bar.

Friday 1^st November 2013

Today I visited all the temples in town it was a real spiritual day out I stopped for a juice late afternoon and after one more temple got a massage from an inmate at the Chaing Mai woman’s prison it’s all part of their rehab into society I had reflexology on my feet and it was by far the best I have had I walked out feeling like I was walking on air. That night after we had some dinner we hit up the night Bazar and I got a t-shirt with a panda on it to wear to the zoo in a few days’ time.

Saturday 2^nd November 2013

This morning I got picked up around 10am to head off trekking in the jungle for two days. Compared with the trek up Rinjani this one was a walk in the park we drove for about 30mins then stopped at a market to pick up all the food and supplies for our trek before getting back in the truck and driving  a few hours to stop for lunch by some rice fields we ate and then got back in the car and drove some more we didn’t actually start walking until quite late in the day. Our guide knew everything about the bush and kept stopping to show us different plants and explain their uses. We stopped by a waterfall and had the option to swim but by this stage it was late in the day and feeling a bit cool so no one was up for it. We continued on to camp where we were staying in a hut on stilts the camp was just a few building our hut another one that seemed to have no purpose (but there was a dog with tiny puppies underneath) and the kitchen which was where the guide slept. We put our bags in and changed into warmer clothes and sat round the fire chatting while dinner was cooked. The food was amazing and there was so much of it no one went hungry. After food we hung about for a while before heading to bed. I was the only one without a mozcito net which I wasn’t too pleased with but there didn’t seem to be many mozzies and the only interruption to my sleep was when I woke up with a huge spider on my face!

Sunday 3^rd November 2013

We woke up this morning and had breakfast before heading to the waterfall for a swim he water was freezing so we didn’t stay in long and headed back to camp where we packed up our things and continued on.  We stopped at a village and met the locals who showed us their homes before moving onto another waterfall with a natural water slide we swam again but the water was icy so only a few of us went in and it was only briefly.  From the waterfall we trekked down to the lunch spot where food was waiting for us. From there we walked along the road for a while learning about and tasting all the fruits that grew beside the road then we veered off and walked through the rice paddies to the end of our trip at and elephant farm we met one elephant and got to feed her before getting on the truck and driving back to Chaing Mai. I checked back into the same hostel and got my stuff out of the luggage room showered and put things away. Later on I went to the Sunday night market and had a good walk around I bought and ate a lot of street food but mostly just looked at the handicrafts my favourite stall was one where you could get your name written on rice as a pendant or get a crack pipe! By the time I made it back to the hostel I was pretty exhausted and fell into bed.

Monday 4^th November 2013

I woke up early this morning full of excitement as I was going to the zoo to see pandas! I got some munch and then flagged down a share taxi to the zoo I had to pay extra to see the pandas which was a bit shit as you can only go in once and also there are normally three pandas but two are on load somewhere so there is only one. Nonetheless I had a great time there chilling out with my panda buddy. The rest of the zoo was a bit hit and miss some of it was really cool and modern other parts the animals looked neglected and their living conditions were less than ideal. After the zoo the plane was to get a share taxi the rest of the way up the hill to the temple but the drivers were being dicks and wanted to wait until the taxi was full so I had to sit about for a while waiting for others I met a girl who had been volunteering at a school and was on her way home so we chatted while we waited eventually we were on the move we went in and checked it out it was beautiful but super load and busy with obnoxious tourists. The ride down was super windy and rough and the guy dropped us on the edge of town we decided to walk the rest of the way in which turned out to be further than we thought but was good exercise. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a vegetarian place and had a curry before finishing the walk. Back in the room Andy and Anna were back from their trek and in the same room as me which was cool. I spent the evening uploading photos off my camera and organising my bus to Pai tomorrow.

Tuesday 5^th November 2013

I got up and packed up this morning then went for breakfast with friends before waiting for the bus to Pai it was late and got later and later until It was clear it wasn’t coming at all no one seemed to take responsibility for it and it all just seemed to be a joke eventually we got to the travel office and over two hours late got on the road. It’s supposed to be a rough journey but I found it fine and slept most of the way. The driver was completely normal until we stopped for a toilet break where I think he smoked a crack pipe because suddenly he was mental driving with no hands and yelling at nothing, pointing out elephants (cows), tigers (dogs) and pandas (small dogs) he also declared his love for everyone and called Andy handsome stressing he wasn’t gay and that he had many girlfriends. As we drove into Pai he pulled over and aske a girl for directions to Pai she was so confused. It was a bizarre journey. When we eventually arrived we waited or our hotel transfer which turned out to be a motorbike with a cage on wheels attached we all piled on with me and Anna in the cage with the bags and Andy on the back of the bike. It was a hair raising but fun journey to the Pai circus school where we were booked in for two nights. We hung about for a bit before walking into town (in the near pitch darkness) we had dinner in a disappointing Falafel shop and then had a few drinks in a bar on the river which had a fire competition happening which was cool to watch. We were almost taken out by a fire poi which came flying in our direction! Back at the hostel I got into bed and promptly froze all night.

Wednesday 6^th November 2013

Today we hired scooters from the place we are staying first stop was town for breakfast before heading back ad picking up swim stuff ready for a day out. We started by driving up to the big white Buddha that you can see from town we had to park and walk up about 200m it was quite steep but easy going up there the Buddha looked huge and we took a bunch of photos unfortunately you don’t get much of a view from up there as the tree line blocks it. We didn’t stay long as there was no shelter and up there the sun was blazing. We got back on our bikes and rode and rode we missed the turn off for the water fall but didn’t really mind as we had a cool drive through some really awesome scenery eventually we turned back and got back on track. We arrived at the waterfall and took a bunch of photos but didn’t swim in the afternoon shade it was pretty cold there. Back on our bikes we headed back into town. We got back to the hostel and left the bikes there walking into town for some street food and a few drinks at the jazz bar and the reggae bar.

Thursday 7^th November 2013

We checked out of Pai circus school today and into a place called riverside which was on the riverside for not much more money it was much better than freezing on the other side of the river. After breakfast we rented scooters again and drove to the hot springs we were the only ones there which was cool we relaxed in the heat for an hour or two before heading to Pai Canyon we walked on the edge of the canyon and took heaps of photos before heading back to town via Strawberry world which was this weird roadside shop thing that sold juice and sweets and had a weird fun park out the back. We took the scooters back to the hotel and then got some street food before meeting Becky and Abbie in the Jazz bar for some drinks.

Friday 8^th November 2013

This morning we all had breakfast together and then Anna Andy and I drove up to the Chinese view point it was a steep ride and I was shitting myself a bit at the top they charged us to come in which was a complete swiz but it was only 20Bhat the view was stunning especially with clear blue skies above us. When it came time to leave I was too scared to dive the first part of the hill which was the steepest so Andy had to walk back up and drive down for me, the rest of the descent I dragged one foot along the ground as extra brake! We returned our scooters and were just in time to meet Laura checking into riverside with some girls she met on the bus up. We dumped our things and then all headed into town as we were going tubing. It was such a laugh in places the river was too shallow and so our arses dragged along or smashed into rocks, we frequently crashed into the side or got stuck in the middle with fallen branches and other debris it was a good way to spend several hours and the best part was when Andy flipped in his tube the sad part about that was we lost many of the drinks as he was attached to the cooler. I would have had a perfect graceful dismount but got dragged further along by rouge tubers and almost missed the finish. We clambered out ungracefully and pulled clothes on we had to walk our tubes back to town. That night we grabbed some food and then had drinks on our balcony before hitting up the late night bars.

Saturday 9^th November 2013

This morning there were so many of us at breakfast we had to have two different tables after eating we all went our separate ways Anna Andy and I once again hired scooters an drove back to the waterfall but went during the morning when the sun was out. The water was still freezing so I was reluctant to swim I soon remedied that by accidently falling in much to everyone’s amusement!  We climbed out and lay on the hot rocks to dry off and warm up before driving back to town for a munch we met Laura and all had lunch together then she jumped on the back of my bike and we got some errands done. That evening we walked about the night market eating street food and looking at all the crafts. Later on we all met up on the balcony for drinks.

Sunday 10^th November 2013

Sadly today we had to leave Pai Abbie, Becky and I had the long journey all the way from Pai to Bangkok and then I was getting another bus south! We went to get breakfast and on the way saw Laura who was out and about looking for her camera which she lost last night (she did eventually find it yay) she was really upset as she hadn’t had much luck and so wanted to be alone. The rest of us got food. After eating I helped Laura search her room for the camera we didn’t have any luck but I did find her missing iPod. I then took her out on the scooter to all the places they had been last night but most of them were closed and we didn’t have any joy. Eventually we had to say goodbye and head to the bus stop we all went together as far as Chaing Mai this time the drive made us all card sick I was really struggling not to throw up. Back in Chaing Mai we said goodbye to Andy and Anna who were staying there we had a short break to get food before getting a share taxi to the bus when we got there most of the seats were gone and it seemed to be a first come first serve basis so we ended up right at the back the only bonus was I was in the middle so had leg room there. We chatted a while and then went to sleep.