England: To the end of the earth, Beachyhead

Now this was a new idea but I can't say I was thrilled at the idea of  waking up at 7 on a Saturday morning just to explore the English countryside. Somehow my friend Mireille had convinced me it would be worth it but as I really love to hate on England, if I hadn't of brought my train tickets the day before I think I would of gone back to sleep...

I'm glad I did make the effort as it turned out to be a really pleasant day, the scenery was beautiful and the weather was so nice I actually ended up removing layers of clothing, something totally unexpected for
December here in the UK. It was great catching up with Mireille to as I hadn't seen her in about a year.

We spent the morning walking, talking and snapping photos of fields, sheep and cottages before finally reaching the cliffs about 1.30 pm. Then decided to check out some of the scenery at the foot of the cliffs, stopping to look at some of the rock memorials left along the way, which if Mireille hadn't pointed out to me would of been just the kind of thing I'd trample on, fall over or bang into! I wondered about the people who they were left for, what kind of life they had or how sad they must of been to want to do something like that? It's hard to imagine but it made me feel a little sad. 

Before heading up to the top we decided to stop for a rest and a bite to eat, well Mireille did anyway, she's so slim but she sure knows how to eat lol! I'd brought my tripod along but forgotten the bit that screws into the camera so it became a pointless thing we took turns dragging around all day and it felt soooo good to put it down for a little while. There's always something going wrong, I've forgotten, or some small detail left out going on with me! The cafe we stopped at was kind of expensive so I settled for a boring Kit Kat, while Mireille had a piece of cake and an egg and bacon bap and didn't gain a single lb of course lol.

                       It wasn't long after we headed up the cliffs, the weather got colder and the wind began to pick up to the point I thought I might lose my camera and my life lol. I kept telling Mireille to pose like she was going to fall over the edge but for some 'strange' reason she wouldn't play along haha! Then the sun began to set and the sky began to turn a magical array of purples, blues, oranges and pinks. I'd never seen anything like it here and it was simply beautiful! After an hour or 2 we decided to head back down, we were tired after 5 hours of walking, we'd soon be missing our bus and and we didn't fancy walking along the edge in the pitch black neither.


Now remember earlier I mentioned something always going wrong with me? Well on the bus Mireille mentioned going to check out the pier lit up in Eastbourne, I was a little concerned because we only had about half an hour before my train came but she promised it wasn't far away so I decided to tag along. BAD MOVE, the pier was pretty lame and not worth it, just a few lit up bulbs on strings illuminated the pier and Mireille didn't know the way back to the station but I assumed she did and she assumed I could catch any train so she didn't say anything and I just kept following her. Luckily in the end I did manage to catch the train but I was covered in sweat after power walking and stressing out about having to shell out £15 on another ticket. I was a little mad but I can't stay mad at sweet little Mireille for too long haha!

All in all the day turned out to be a really good one and I'd highly recommend it. To get to Beachyhead first it might be best to go to Eastbourne (For information on how to get to Eastbourne from London and other parts of the country click here). Then you can either walk (will take hours) or take bus numbers 12 or 13x from the town center. You can keep extortionate travel costs down in the UK by buying bus and train tickets in advance from an early booking service like thetrainline.com or redspottedhanky.com.

Muang Thong Thani: Why I Could Live here

If you're anywhere longer than a few days sharing a room is less than perfect and hotels can start to get expensive, so you'll really need an apartment. I'm staying in a place called Muang Thong Thani, which is about a 20 minute drive from central Bangkok and although it can get pretty boring as it's a place to live in not tourist in, I really like it and felt it deserved its own post. MTT is one of the biggest community projects attempted in the world but is often considered a failure by the people who count in real estate because it went bust during a collapse in the property market in 1992. Therefore, many of the buildings were built, never used and remain empty. It's a real shame to see some of the luxury apartment buildings here falling apart when this place has so much potential! 

Impact, the largest exhibition center in SEA

I've never seen a place have so much you need to hand, I can grab a midnight snack at 7Eleven (seen 3 so far) and anything they don't sell in 7Eleven I can probably find in Big C, Watson's or Tescos. There's a bunch of mid-range department stores, I can surf the net in internet cafes, there's cake shops, fruit stalls, ice-cream shops, bubble tea shops, coffee shops and a steak house as well as loads of cheap restaurants. I can stock up on my jewellery, DVDs, and magazines. I can get photos developed, buy a new or second-hand phone or laptop, a fake iPad, send a fax, visit the doctor and then the pharmacy. I can get my clothes fixed (and I did for about 3$) and washed, my hair and nails done, my eyes tested and grab a massage and a beer in a bar afterwards and all within a 5 minute walk! It has the biggest exhibition and convention center in South East Asia and just in my apartment block alone I have 2 shops, a laundry service and numerous washing machines and dryers if I'd rather do it myself and it's easy as most of the apartments come attached with a little box outside for drying your clothes in so you don't even need the dryers anyway. It's almost as if you could seriously never leave Muang Thong Thani and have almost everything you need to hand. Ahhhh If only it was like that back home, we don't even have an ATM there lol!

MTT is market mad to and has one every day! It's good during the day but really comes alive after dark and the food court in the middle of the market here is pretty famous, with a wide array of cheap (as little as 25 baht sometimes), healthy (they do great salads, which is a real joy after all the fried rice and noodles) and just awesome food. The portions are small though but I noticed most people get 2 or 3 meals and if you only want one, you might be lucky and get some extra added on your plate like I did :) It's quite common to see people come from outside MTT just to eat here! As well as the everyday market they have here there's also a massive weekly market, selling everything from belts to headphones but the best part is the food! There's just so much choice and so much of it is so beautifully presented, it looks like food art to me!

The cost of living here is so cheap to; you can own an apartment here for as little as $10,000 and I've got Wi-Fi, hot water and a large sitting room all for around 150 USD a month. I never feel unsafe; it's secure where I'm staying as there are security guards and cameras. If you do need to get to central Bangkok it's easy; you can take a taxi but it costs anywhere from 130-210 baht, take a mini-van 30 baht direct to Victory Monument or take a bus, which costs around 18 baht.

There is however, always a little rough with the smooth and here's a little list of my MTT peeves;

• Most people do not speak English in Muang Thong Thani and ordering food can be a nightmare as there are no non-Thai Menus or pictures to point to but learning a language never did anybody any harm and you will learn in a place like this, you have to.
• My apartment is not the cleanest.
• Getting a taxi in the evening can be near impossible after everyone finishes work.
• Access to my apartment building is by key card only but you're not given one for the first month so you're basically stuck in or out until someone turns up who does have one or one of the guards decides to actually do their job and open the door for you but so far only one seems happy to do so without bitching or looking moody. I'm sometimes stuck in or out for up to 20 minutes! I can't get my head around why you have to wait a month before you get a card; it's surely a massive fire risk?
• I'm unable to easily cook in my room, no kitchen and not allowed gas but it's nothing a couple of rice cookers or portable cooking equipment wouldn't fix but with the amount of cheap eateries around (plate of fried rice goes for about 35 baht here) there really is no reason to cook anyway.
• It’s a small community here, I am one of about 4 foreigners in the immediate area so you start to recognise people, they do you and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I quite like being anonymous. 

Vietnam: bikes, rip-offs and how I made it to Ha long but failed to see the bay

@ Chau Doc

I have to admit it and say I'm getting a little bored with South East Asia, It's my 3rd year coming here and I'm like totally templed out! I've been finding myself getting far more annoyed and snappy with people and things over here than I should be. Invitations for a "tuk tuk miss" makes me want to tear my hair out and I'm no longer feeling guilty for waving away begging children in a huff of annoyance. However, never having been to Vietnam before, it felt like a breath of fresh air! Yes, there were children begging and the noodle soup here was the worst I have ever tasted but I had my best meal of the trip so far here (rice with some awesome chicken, simple but just perfect) and the children do go away if you ignore them long enough. 

Even the tiniest streets are busy!

What they say about the traffic is true, it's bad and there are bikes everywhere but it is just so exciting taking a Xe-om (moto taxi) here and every moment feels like life or death! Who would have thought traffic could be so exhilarating! I've since found myself missing the craziness of Vietnam roads and wishing my drivers would go just that little faster believe it or not! The trains and buses in Vietnam weren't the cheapest but they were the best and cleanest I've been on in South East Asia.

                       Yay for sleeper buses!

I didn't get the chance to do everything that I wanted to due to being completely unprepared for the costs in Vietnam. It can be EXPENSIVE when compared with neighboring countries like Thailand. I went through about $250 dollars in just 5 days, which about $180 was spent on bikes, being over charged and my stupidity! I was charged $5 for a 2 minute Xe-om ride after getting off the bus from Chau doc to Saigon, I knew I was getting ripped off but I was just too tired and my bags were too heavy to bargain too much (note to myself to pack a lot lighter)

Might look sweet but far from it!

It seems being over charged is a fact of life when you travel and no one minds being over charged a little but in Vietnam it's like 5x more than it should be. People can be extremely rude and unfriendly here and I felt like people were always out to get me or short change me somehow. I was offered a photo op by an elderly lady selling bananas; smiling sweetly her and her friend insisted she didn't want money. I was suspicious but thought OK what the hell. I was then told I needed to buy some bananas for a steal at only $4.50! I politely told her she must be crazy, and then they said OK you buy 2 for 8000 dong (38 cents) instead. I was angry and paid up but to my disgust I saw one of the bananas was rotten! I wanted to punch her but I ended up throwing the banana back at her and they responded by giggling which made me even angrier but I had to walk away with a lesson learnt nothing comes for free.

A common sight in Vietnam.

After visiting the museum of women and seeing how hard it is for some of the merchants here, I decided to help out a woman and buy some of her bread. She said it was 3000 dong, I planned to give her 4500. She claims she has enough change so I handed over 100,000 dong but she didn't really have enough so I ended up paying 30,000 dong...that was the end of my attempted charity work. 

Everyone knows it doesn't pay to get angry over here but how can you smile and keep your cool when people do this kind of stuff everyday? Some people need a slap not a smile! However, I did meet some real genuine people in Vietnam; it was my birthday while I was here and oh the joy I got to spend the day on a train. However, I brought a hard seat ticket but ended up in 2nd class bed after some friendly banter with the staff so I ended up having a really pleasant journey. A lot of the problems could of been avoided if I had bothered to read about these kind of scams before I got here (note to self-do your research, you usually do so why you didn't do it this time I will never know)!

So how did I end up going to Ha Long and not seeing the bay? Well, being the hard core independent traveler I am, I decided I was too cool for a tour. I'd read all the advice claiming that this was the one time everyone should take a tour but I knew better of course. My options were take a train at the crack of dawn or catch a bus, I decided I was going to take the train but being the lazy girl that I am I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to catch a bus and that was a bad decision. 

I woke up early (around 6 am), ate some tasty BBQ and then grabbed a Xe-om to Kim Ma Bus Station, which ended up being wrong one but the driver took me to the right one, happily letting me know after we arrived I now needed to pay double ($5).

The Interwebs had told me I needed to take a bus to Haiphong, which would only take around 2 hours and then I would need to catch a bus to Ha Long city from there, it all sounded so simple and the helpful drivers even put me on a direct bus to Ha Long. I waited and waited for the bus to leave (I got on the bus at 9am but we didn't leave until 9.30) but I was so pleased with how easy this would be and how awesome me would avoid the cost and annoyance of a tour that I was in a great mood.

Then comes the bomb shell, after the bus had left the conductor gives me the price 500,000 dong. 500,000 dong! That's all the cash I had on me and I had no idea if there would be an ATM in Ha Long but as I hadn't done my research, I was unsure of the actual price of the bus and not wanting to argue with him I explained I only had 400,000 dong, which he takes no problem. then I sit back, I calculate how much 400,000 dong actually is ($20), I watch the other passengers handing over their cash and it isn't 500,000 dong and it dawns on me, if that had been the price, he wouldn't have accepted 400,000! I hit the roof and start demanding to be let off the bus and that I want my money back. I'm ignored until I threaten the guy with the police then he gives me back 200,000 dong and we leave it at that but I should of paid only 100,000! At this point I'm in a foul mood and pissed that I'd been so stupid so when after about 2 hours on the bus we have a toilet break, I'm thankful to get off the bus, have a little walk and calm down but in the back of my mind I'm confused why we need to stop when it's only a 3 or 4 hour journey and aware I need to get there before 2. We get back on the bus and the minutes are ticking by, we must be there yet? Why haven't we arrived? I check my phone and see its 1pm! What in the world is going on?

Well the bus ended up taking 7 hours! But I was still kind of hopeful I'd be able to catch a boat out to the bay. I catch another Xe-om into town who again charges me $5 for a $2 journey. I was taken to a travel agency (I'd wanted to be taken to the bay to see if I could find a local boat to take me around) and they did try but there were no boats willing to take me, what a waste of time! My options were then pay another $5 to be taken to the bay to look for a boat myself, stay till tomorrow and take a tour for $22 or catch a 4 hour tour bus back to Hanoi in a couple of hours for $7. I went away and thought about it over some food, which was bloody expensive, $5 for fried rice! I've found street and cheaper local food is quite hard to find in Vietnam unless you want to eat noodle soup, which just tastes like noodles in water here.

In the end I depressingly decided just to get the bus back, I was tired, had no change of clothes and was short on cash. I cannot believe I spent about $27 to basically ride a bus! If you are considering doing this on your own, take the train or just take a tour. I missed out on something I really wanted to see just because I had to do it independently. I will have to do it next time and I will return to Vietnam, despite all the problems I dealt with here I'm looking forward to coming back again, hopefully a little wiser next time.


Average daily cost: $25-$45

Pics from pointy hatvile, Vietnam

Malaysia: Fireflies and food in Kuala Lumpur, Kamper and Ipoh!

It wasn't part of my plans but I'd heard some of the best food around could be found in Kamper, a small town about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and wherever the food is good, I'll be good to. So me and Kevin took a detour into Kamper and Ipoh on the way to KL. Funnily enough I may have prayed to a romance God, had a dip in a pretty waterfall and checked out some temple caves that would have given Batu Caves a run for it's money but Kamper and Ipoh really did end up being all about food for me. 

Making noodles for 25 years!

Me and Kev were either eating or talking about it. We ate noodles by a guy who has been doing it for 25 years! This guy is so good there's a reason it takes so long there's probably a queue of 10 or 15 tables in front of you!  We tried Mister Donut for the first time and I can't say I was impressed as it tasted under cooked and sickly. Somehow some favorite Japanese dish I'd eaten a lot while I was in Tokyo ended up being on the menu of a fancy restaurant we ate in with Kevin's mum and dad. It wasn't as nice as I remember, just rice with cheese on the top and rather sickly to but the portions sizes are obviously too small to get sickly in Japan.

Romance themed temple

I tend to think I'm templed out but that's not exactly true, I still really enjoy the bright and colourful ones just like The Temple of Supreme Bliss, which I may have forgotten to mention in my post about my time in Penang. It's the largest buddist temple in South East Asia, fantastic and a must see. I'm glad Kevin came with me as the walk up to the temple didn't look very fun in the hot sun. We stopped to get laksa on the way to, which was a first for me and really yummy mixture of everything from lobster to lemongrass paste!

Temple in a cave

I really enjoyed seeing the temples in Ipoh and Kamper. A couple were like the one at Batu Caves but the artwork was far more fascinating and interesting. It was more spooky to as the power kept cutting out every 5 seconds! There was a wacky romance temple that even featured characters from the TV series Monkey Hero! I'm not sure how quickly offerings are supposed to work but I guess I must of done something wrong as I'm still waiting for my 'love' wishes to be granted. I also got to 'let it all out' at the childrens' traffic park running around whilst making car noises...

Me and Kevin (red shirt) getting drunk for free

The food theme continued in KL as me and Kevin went to a wine tasting event. I felt a little out of place in my faded t-shirt and baggy fisherman trousers but people were friendly and welcoming. I met some really funny and charming characters and It was so interesting listening to their how they had all ended up in Kuala Lumpur stories. Some had come to study, some to find themselves and others had simple been travelling and loved it so much they'd never left! It's just  a shame I got so drunk I couldn't remember peoples' names afterwards haha!

Can you spot any fireflies?

Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful, ultra modern city, with towering skyscrapers and awesome food, In fact some of my favorite meals have been eaten right here in KL. There's a lot to do here but it's my 3rd visit and my time was short, which is why I didn't do much this time round but there was something I've been wanting to see. Go see the fireflies at Kuala Selangor (kelip-kelip in Malay)! It had been raining on and off the day we went so we were a little concerned we wouldn't get to see any as they don't like the rain but much to my excitement I got my first glimpse of  a green blimp as we driving up to the swamp, then another and another. We got our tickets and somehow Kevin managed to persuade the staff to let us queue jump in front of the long line of tour groups. We stepped in our little rocking boat, which was swinging all over the place and we spent the next few minutes chatting with the Russian couple sat in the boat behind us and looking at what we thought were just flashing LED lights in the bushes but as we neared the bushes to my excitement I realised they were the flies! Me and Kevin began snapping our cams aimlessly but with no luck at getting a decent photo and I had no luck at getting any to sit on my hand either, they just died when I tried! Seeing the kelip-kelip was an interesting experience but it was a little disappointing as they looked no different from green christmas lights. However, I'm sure in the right weather it must be a magical and romantic experience.

After we got back me and Kevin drove around the city taking more photos and had dinner at a gorgeous open air restaurant opposite the twin towers called NZ. The portions here are so HUGE even I struggled to eat it all but it in the end it was so tasty I managed it. On the way back to my hotel Kevin tried to convince me to come out with him and some friends to a nightclub but I was tired and I had to leave in a few hours. It was time to say a sad goodbye to Kevin and KL and an exciting hello to my one of my best friend's Lina, her boyfriend Raf and my next destination the PHILIPPINES!

But it's not just a holiday! My how I started travelling story

Wow!  I can hardly believe it all started with a movie rental. Yes...the Asian horror movie Ringu would ultimately change my life forever!

After that, I started watching more and more of these films, I loved the slow pacing, the psychological rather than gory aspects and they really scared me to. Now you may be wondering what in the world scary movies have to do with travel but bare with all this boring stuff for just a moment and I'll tell you.

My interest in Asia began to grow; I started researching about the countries and cultures I saw in the movies, loved what I found and dreamed about visiting those places some day. So when in the winter of 2008 I decided I needed a vacation, I knew it had to be Asia but where?

There was a time I'd had ambition; I wanted fast cars and big houses, I wanted all the things people I can't understand anymore want. The old me wanted to play it safe, somewhere developed and where I assumed they spoke enough English. So I decided on a 2 week trip to Hong Kong complete with rain shower and luxury spa. I never did end up taking that trip; instead a friend asked why don't I visit him in China?  Which I did do and Japan got a look in to complete with an army of cockroaches and door less toilets

Now If I had a penny for every time someone said "but it's just a holiday" in response to my reasons for backpacking I'm sure I'd be rich by now and booking a flight tomorrow. I experienced so much on that first trip, have so many wonderful memories and I know it's cliché to say so but you really do learn so much about yourself. When you finally take a step out of your usual surroundings, get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life you can finally think about who you are and where you're going. I learnt how to love who I am and appreciate what I had back home, even small things like just being able to take a warm shower and being able to machine wash my clothes. It wasn't all big lessons either, for example, I had no idea how much of a picky eater I am until I backpacked or that I’m a magnet for mosquitoes either. 

Travel is life without paying bills, without restrictions and escaping the mundane; this is how life should be. You’re free to do whatever you want, go wherever you want, be whoever you want. This is what I see and hear time and time again from backpackers, so then how, if backpacking is life changing for so many people, how could it be just a holiday? Sure, I did those things on holidays to; got away from the bills, relaxed and so forth but I never really took myself off the tourist trail, there's just no time to on a holiday. What comes to mind when I think about travel is freedom, education, growth, therapy and for the first time in my life I truly felt alive...not just a holiday.

And while I work on a different post...getting snappy in Cambodia