I didn’t take many videos in Cambodia, probably because it was so hot that my phone was over heating! Cambodia was all about the temples and devastating history for us. After the plethora of temples in the mid-day sun (Angkor Wat), we went out in Siem Reap which Ian and I weren’t too keen on Read More …
Author: laura
Koh Yao Noi | 6 day yoga retreat | Day 3
I managed get up at 05:30 to watch the sunrise which was a tranquil experience. Even though it was overcast, the view was beautiful. annoyingly, I can’t post my photo of it- explained later. My 2 roommates left today which I’m quite happy about since I won’t have to tip toe around if one is asleep Read More …
Koh Yao Noi | 6 day Yoga Retreat | Day 1-2
After Ian left and I became a solo traveller, I got quite apprehensive about being alone and not enjoying myself. I booked myself on to a 6 day yoga retreat on Koh Yao Noi to have some structured relaxation. So far, it’s easing my apprehension. Getting to the island (Koh Yao Noi) was a little Read More …
Vietnam | Da Lat
After our incredible trip to the Mekong, we caught a flight to Da Lat which, of course, was delayed by about half an hour. You could liken Da Lat to an alpine town, it’s a very nice place to visit with its own microclimate- which, for us meant cold rain. We stayed in Da Lat Read More …
Vietnam | Da Lat | Video
You could liken Da Lat to an alpine town, it’s a very nice place to visit with its own microclimate- which, for us meant cold rain. The rain didn’t stop us, we packed lots in: Canyoning and cliff jumping, downhill tobogganing, cable cars, crazy museums and much more that I didn’t record. For a more detailed Read More …
Thailand | Travelling Solo
Ian and I spent our last few days together in Bangkok in luxury with our own apartment, a beautiful pool on the 8th story, a gym, a spa and library room. He left this morning and I flew to Krabi, checked in to my single, bunk-bed mixed dorm room and already I feel very alone. I Read More …
Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City
Overall opinion of HCMC: Enormous, great food, friendly people, taxi drivers are dicks (use Uber), French architecture and a pretty fun city all round. We arrived in Saigon after an 8 hour bus journey a bit disorientated, aching and hot. An opportunistic taxi driver jumped straight at the opportunity to take us weary eyed travellers Read More …
Thailand | Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai was our absolute favourite place in Thailand, we planned 2-3 days but ended up staying for 9! We did so much, I’ve split it into sections: good food, things to do and nightlife. This blog is more for myself if I ever return as a reference of what to do in Chaing Mai Read More …
Vietnam | Mekong Delta | Video
We stayed at the Happy Family Guesthouse near Vinh Long on the Mekong Delta who took us on a boat ride to Cai Ba to see the markets and rice factories. On the day we were meant to leave the, we were invited to have breakfast with the owner’s family (since we were the only Read More …
Vietnam | Mekong Delta | Local Experience
On the third day on the Mekong Delta, we had planned to go back to Saigon but our host invited us to meet his family to have breakfast. A 5 minute walk down a dirt track brought us to his family home which was quite large with lots of land and free roaming chickens and Read More …
Thailand | Chiang Mai | Video
Chiang Mai was our absolute favourite place in Thailand. We planned to visit for 2-3 days and ended up staying for 9! Situated in the mountains in North Thailand, the climate is relatively cool which was a refreshing change. There’s so much to do here from street foods to fine dining to rock climbing to posh swimming Read More …
Thailand | Rock Climbing
If you’re coming to Thailand for a 100% climbing holiday, obviously bring all your gear as you’re looking at between £20-£40/ day/ 2 people for full rental. If, however, you’re like me – travelling South East Asia and climbing for a few days here and there- I’d recommend just bringing your shoes and renting the Read More …
Thailand | Krabi & Railay Beach
Krabi Krabi is about 6 hours from Koh Phangan, and the organised transport is very easy to navigate. I felt that Krabi had very little to offer, it’s run down and the shops are geared up for tourists. We only stayed there one night and that was enough- it was only a stop-over to Railay Read More …
Thailand | Video 2 | Bangkok| Koh Tao | Koh Phangan | Railay Beach
Annoyingly, my last video was removed by YouTube as I used a song from SME which I didn’t have permission for- here’s the video again with a different backing track! Ian joined me in Bangkok where I forced him to see lots of temples but we also did some pretty cool things like eat bugs Read More …
Thailand | Video | Bangkok | Koh Tao | Koh Phangan | Krabi
Ian joined me in Bangkok where I forced him to see lots of temples but we also did some pretty cool things like eat bugs (scorpions) and take the water taxis. Next, we went to Koh Tao which was our favourite island by far. It’s not too touristy, fairly small and very scenic. Of course, Read More …
Thailand | Koh Phangan
We didn’t stay on Koh Phangan for very long but the impression we had was that it was very touristy and you’ll struggle to find anything that resembles ‘authentic’ Thai living. It’s a very large island though, so you could probably spend a long time there and not discover all of the view points and nice Read More …
Thailand | Koh Tao
We booked an overnight train for ~£20 each to Chumphon from Bangkok, arriving at 4am to transfer to a bus then ferry to Koh Tao- exhausting! Koh Tao is just the right size with a mixture of touristy shops and café’s along with street food and side stalls. One thing that surprised me was the Read More …
China | Fujian | Full Version
Day 22 We arrived in Fujian Province at around 6pm and went straight to our accommodation: a round house! They weren’t as I imagined. Kind of like the castles of china, these enormous circular buildings are 3-4 stories tall housing hundreds of people in tiny simplistic bedrooms around the edge. The centre of the circle Read More …
China | Shanghai | Full Version
Of all the places I’ve been to in China so far, Shanghai is the city I could see myself living in. It’s like a less busy Hong Kong- cosmopolitan, fun, great night life and good public transport. We didn’t see as many cultural sites but explored the city and had time to unwind. Day 18.5 Read More …
China | Beijing | Video
We spent four days in Beijing and started with a hike to an untouched part of the Great Wall of China. We also camped there in sub-zero temperatures with summer camping gear and I “slept” the whole night cross-legged with my feet up my bum (just to keep my extremities warm). We also saw the amazing Read More …
China | Moganshan | Full Version
Moganshan is a picturesque bamboo nature reserve (I thought they’d have enough already), two hours north of Hangzhou. Our ‘hostel’, Howoolife Hostel, was like a four star hotel retreat with wooden furnishings and mud packed walls. I couldn’t venture too far from a toilet (not for the reason you’d immediately think) ( for our stay Read More …
China | Beijing | Full Version
Day 13 Freezing to death on the Great Wall, The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. We met our tour guide, Luna in Beijing. Initially, she came across as a young shy guide with big glasses and a bob but we soon learnt that she’s a badass! She wrote her thesis on the Beijing Read More …
China | X’ian | Video
X’ian is a beautiful historic city and I wish we could have stayed longer. However, we managed to pack a lot into our two days there: we cycled the perimeter of the city walls, saw the Terracotta Army, visited a school for underprivileged boys in-training to become Shaolin Monks (and got a Kung Fu lesson) Read More …
China | X’ian | Full Version
Day 10 We stayed within the city walls of X’ian, where no buildings are allowed to be taller than the wall. This has created a beautiful contrast in architecture from one side of the wall to the other. Somehow, we managed to take 2 hours to cycle the city wall’s perimeter (13.7km), probably because of Read More …
China | HYGIENE
I’d like to take the time to talk about hygiene in China. It’s a new level of disgusting- I’ll go in order of how gag inducing each item is (ending in my favourite). 1) Soap: You know you’re in a classy establishment when the toilets have soap. Antibacterial hand gel is VITAL. 2) Spit: People Read More …
China | Chengdu | Video
Coined “The Capital of the West”, Chengdu is an awesome city with loads to offer. We were only there for three days and managed to fit in seeing the pandas, the Face Changing Opera, The Leshan Grand Buddha, The Tibetan Quarter and Jinli Pedestrian Street. I wish we could have stayed longer but, alas that’s part Read More …
China | Chengdu | Full Version
Coined “The Capital of the West”, Chengdu is an awesome city with loads to offer. We were only there for three days and managed to fit in pandas, Jinli Pedestrian Street. I wish we could have stayed longer but, alas that’s part of the deal with using a tour. Day 5 Sleeper Train 08:30 start Read More …
China | Yangshuo | Video
We’ve seen some weird and wonderful (and sometimes disturbing) things in Yangshuo from snake blood shots to the tranquil Li River. It’s been great fun- now on to Chengdu!
China | Yangshou | Full Version
WARNING: THERE ARE SOME GORY IMAGES COMING UP! Day 2 Dog meat, cooking and snake blood shots. Eight of us went on the morning cooking course with “Cloud 9” beginning in the food market to get the ingredients. There were loads of interesting ‘foods’ like frogs, cats and dogs. They even hung the dead animals Read More …
China | Hong Kong
Central Hong Kong is exactly how you’d imagine- sky scrapers, lights and people everywhere. A real concrete jungle. I was, however, staying just outside a different city in Hong Kong called Sai Kung which is quaint with water-side restaurants with their live buffets swimming around in overcrowded, tiny tanks (although a sad sight, it was Read More …
Airport Antics | Gatwick | How Not to Begin Your Big Trip
Before even leaving the UK, I already have some solid tips for anyone who’s about to embark on their big trip: 1. Get the date right 2. Don’t use London public transport to get to Gatwick 1. Get the date right When my mother and I began planning the airport logistics a few Read More …
North America | Lake Tahoe
Shortly after Christmas, we packed up and embarked on our four hour journey from Sebastopol to North Lake Tahoe. Dad had brought six walkie-talkies with us so there was constant chattrt on the way between our carpool along with playing music to each other to guess the songs (which didn’t get old at all…). We Read More …
North America | Sebastopol | Christmas
My family treated Ian and me to a trip to Alcatraz on our last say in San Francisco before setting off on our two hour drive to Sebastopol to re-unite with the American side of our family- The Leonards. Read More
North America | Los Angeles
In true Howe style, when I arrived in Los Angeles, I was held up in Passport Control as I didn’t Claire’s address. I also didn’t have Claire’s number… or phone signal… Read More
North America | San Francisco
So having moved on from Los Angeles, I flew to San Francisco. I was originally going to San Francisco to do a week’s work experience at an Investment Firm but due to miscommunications, my week-long internship was reduced to one day!