Sheppo89
29 year old guy from Liverpool, England who finally give up the rat race to travel. Sold my home, my car and most of my possessions to do so. This is just a list of places I’ve been, so the dates are correct but not the amount of time! Les mer🇬🇧Liverpool
    • Asia Tour - Bangkok/Chiang Mai -

      30. januar 2019, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Off to Chiang Mai today, I was hoping to get the overnight train there but it had all sold out and I didn’t fancy taking a coach even though it would be half the price of a plane but 8 hours longer. I settled on flying, cost me about 25quid for a ticket from Bangkok to Chiang maineith VietJet.

      Before heading off to the airport though I had a little walk around my hostel for one last time and found a cool little cafe so I grabbed a drink and something to eat then headed off to the airport. My taxi driver was a huge Liverpool fan, his English wasn’t great but it was always ‘Liverpool TOP TOP Champions’ then a thumbs up. He asked for a photo with me so he could show his kids so i obliged and he seemed happy.

      The plane to Chiang Mai was delayed by an hour but it wasn’t too bad, the airport is big enough to entertain yourself although getting WiFi is near impossible in some places. The flight in was uneventful, I watched the new episode of the grand tour which was OK at best, it seems a bit wooden at the minute, kinda forced.

      I go collect my bag, hop a taxi into Chiang Mai, the driver had. I idea where to go as my hostel is brand new so I had to give her my phone for the GPS. My hostel is sound, my type, modern, industrial looking and most importantly it’s quiet. The beds aren’t the comfiest but it’ll do. I head out to get something to eat and came across a place called goodkitchen. The food is so good I ate 2 main meals and 2 starters, had 2 smoothies and spent about 300 baht. Winner

      I retire to bed as tomorrow I am going to try and visit every temple in Chiang Mai - it’s a challenge I can’t wait for!
      Les mer

    • Asia Tour - Bangkok - Thailand

      29. januar 2019, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Cool day today. I finally made it to the Grand Palace. It’s breathtaking. It’s about an hour walk from my hostel and I was going to just take a tuk tuk but it was a nice day, so I decided to walk it, plus I’m hoping to lose some weight in Asia, I think with the combination of healthier food, sweating and lots of walking should help.

      Ran into the standard scam as I approached the palace, locals telling you it’s closed or a higher price, instead of going there they will take you elsewhere, normally a jewellery shop or a tailors as they get a kick back.

      Anyway, I arrive at the palace. It’s huge. Proper awe inspiring.

      I pay the entrance fee of about 100baht I think it was, and made my way in. You walk in through quite narrow gates considering the size of the place, but as soon as you walk in it opens up massively, and there it is. The Main Palace building right in front of you. But there’s also 76352516 Chinese and Korean tourists who are just the worst hahahha. They will block an entire path for their photos, highly annoying.

      I can’t really describe the palace, I don’t think I have the vocabulary for it. I was there for hours and I could spend hours longer. You need to come see it. It’ll give you goosebumps.

      I also went to visit the giant leaning Buddha, which was quite cool, I didn’t think it was as big as it was but it’s massive and I spent about 30 minutes there.

      After visiting the palace and the Buddha, I was thirsty and hungry. Just off the palace is a local market which has been there for hundreds of years, so i had a walk through there and came across a lovely little restaurant sitting on the banks of the chao phraya river right opposite wat Arun (not visited yet but it looks awesome)

      I sat by the riverside, watching the sun set, fresh Thai food and a ice cold beer or two for hours. Perfect way to end the day.
      Les mer

    • Asia Tour - Bangkok - Thailand

      28. januar 2019, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      I woke up today at 3pm! I was exhausted after having such a long day the day before. I needed it as I think I was still a bit jet lagged. It worked out quite well for me though as I was planning on having a quiet day anyway.

      I got up got a shower, and decided I would head down to Khao SAN road for a quick beer, and something to eat before I went to the Rajadamnern Stadium to go watch the Thai boxing. I had read up before hand all about it, and all the scams that go along with it. If you get a tuk tuk there, they may tell you it’s closed or it’s been moved to another stadium or they will offer you tickets. Politely decline and just tell them to take you there, or just get another tuk tuk. You can buy tickets directly outside the stadium and you can barter on the price. I got a club class ticket which is just behind ringside for 1300, which is 500 less than advertised. However if you’re Thai, the price is only 400.... sneaky.

      Anyway, it’s brilliant, ringside seats for 9 fights, seat service for beer and snacks - it’s expensive by Thai standards but still cheap. A beer at home in a stadium is probably close to £10, I paid 3 so it’s not too bad. Saw some good fights, the smaller weight classes where by far the best, they’re so quick it’s scary.

      The atmosphere in there is awesome, they have a ringed off section up at the top which is the cheap zone but that’s where all the action happens, you can bet on the fights and there’s a guy who comes round and sorts it all out and depending on what corner you’re for is what noise you make. So if you’re supporting the red corner you make like a oooooo noise and if you’re supporting blue its more of a kneeeee noise. It’s awesome. Even managed to see a knock out which was cool.

      After the fights I went back to Khao san Road. It was the busiest I’d seen it since being here. Bit tacky but I loved it. Got a few beers, ate some more street food, had a little chat with some fellow backpackers then called it a night.
      Les mer

    • Asia Tour - Bangkok - Thailand

      27. januar 2019, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      I knew what I was doing today. I had been looking forward to today for a while. On the weekend in Bangkok they have this huge outdoor market called ‘Jatujak Weekend Market’ the place is huge. Luckily for me where I am staying is right on the BTS line, so it was just a quick 6 stops costing 40baht to get there.

      It was manic, so busy it was like a swarm. It was so lively, tuk tucks, scooters, Taxi’s flying by and beeping. Locals shouting about their restaurant or stall. Tourists looking all lost and bewildered and backpackers like me just trying to absorb it all in.

      I should of got a map, the place is gigantic but I decided to just walk around and see what I stumbled upon.

      I was not disappointed. Everything you can think of is here in this market. They have the usual souvenir crap aimed at tourists, but they had huge homeware sections, a gigantic pet section where you could literally buy anything. They had so many puppies, even bulldog puppies. Snakes, birds, dogs, cats, insects and even mini pigs.

      They had a large fabric section where you could buy Thai silk for pence. Crazy cheap. There was also a huge clothing section ranging from cheap to the expensive. 100’s of different food stalls, all smelling better than the last.

      I walked 10km around this market all day, I managed to eat some good grub, drink some weird drinks and just enjoy the day. Thai people love to barter however they’re not as pushy as other countries which is nice. They do however have a limit, I saw a couple of times where tourists where negotiating over 20baht.. around 50p. Which was rather annoying as tourists can afford it, what’s 50p to an European, Australian, American? It’s nothing, these Thai people need it more than we do. If you ever do come here, haggle, they love it but be mindful. You have more money in your wallet/purse than these people earn.

      After exhausting myself walking around in the intense heat, I got the train to Siam Square as it’s only 1 extra stop on the SkyTrain from my hostel. It’s nice but it’s very western, I didn’t see the point in sticking around so I went to bed.
      Les mer

    • Asia Tour - Bangkok - Thailand

      26. januar 2019, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      So after a quick sleep I got up early due to jet lag, and I was WIIIIIIDE awake! So I decided to make the most of the day and go exploring. The hostel I’m staying in is about an hours walk into the backpacker bit (booked this hostel by accident but it’s actually really nice) I had no idea where I was going really, I just walked west as that’s where Khao SAN road was from me. After getting temporarily lost in what I would assume is the Thai version of a favella which was quite sobering. They didn’t even have front doors and outside their homes was a stagnant water river. Smelled awful. Walking through there I thought I could give these people a couple of thousand baht and it would change their week certainly, maybe even longer. I didn’t mind you, didn’t fancy being swarmed in a favella.

      I somehow made it back to the main road and followed that towards the grand palace. The roads here are insane, really counter intuitive to cross a road. You basically just walk out into the road and pray a car doesn’t hit you. The key is just to commit to it, if you slow down or stop then that’s what will cause an accident.

      I get about 2/3 way in and the weather is roasting hot and I’m in all black, not my best idea to be fair. I saw some lovely temples and monuments on my way in and lots of homage to their king. They love that guy here.

      I eventually make it to Khao SAN road. It’s mental. Busiest road I’ve ever seen in my life. So vibrant.

      I find a bar, can’t remember the name but it was a cool bar, got my self 2 pints of Chang and a whole load of pad thai. Tastes better here. After enjoying my ice cold beers and food, I walk up and down Khao San road for a bit, looking at all the shops and bars. I walk around the area with no particular end goal. Came across a few cool places. I couldn’t enter any of the temples as I had shorts on, you must cover your ankles so pants it will have to be so I put that on my shopping list.

      After pretty walking around the whole day I made my way back my hostel with the sun setting. Wow. I came across a temple and it looked amazing at night.

      I also stumbled upon a night market by pure chance. It was awesome. I don’t think it’s a popular one with tourists as I think I was the only non Thai person there. It was cool though, ended up paying 4 times as much for a pair of flip flops. When I asked how much they where the woman told me 100 baht. I pulled out my money and I only had 1000 baht notes.... 24 of them. She hadn’t seen that type of money before and called her friend over so they could both see me count it. I felt so guilty I just gave her 400 baht and walked away.

      First impressions of Bangkok

      8/10
      Les mer

    • USA/China/Thailand

      24. januar 2019, Kina ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

      I left California today to fly to shanghai before moving onto Bangkok. The flight to shanghai wasn’t too bad, lasted about 14 hours, I got talking to a girl called dennisse who’s from 🇨🇱 turns out she’s off to Bangkok to. I watched the entire first season of the ranch, plus a few films to help pass the time. The plane was the biggest I’ve ever been on. Huge. Quite comfy too.

      We landed in Shanghai after a fairly uneventful trip but I did get some cool views of Siberia!!!

      We had a wait of 4 hours in Shanghai before the flight to Bangkok which isn’t too bad in an airport as big as shanghai.

      Sitting next to me on the way to Bangkok was a called called Aaron from Oakland who’s a Muay Thai fighter. He’s over for a month to train.

      Land in Bangkok, fly through customs. Taxi to hostel. Pass out after travelling for 20 odd hours
      Les mer

    • USA Tour - San Francsico - California

      23. januar 2019, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

      Last full day in USA today. I’m going to miss it but I’ll be honest, I preferred Europe. There’s just not much here in terms of cultural or historical interest. I do forget how young of a country it is but bragging about a church that’s 150 years old isn’t amazing.

      But, I’ve had a great time here, the food is awesome, the people are polite and it is kinda like visiting different countries visiting state to state.

      I’d still say Boston is my favourite city, the place is awesome. Hands down my favourite. I would say second would have to be Vegas then NOLA. So if I was to rank them I would say:

      1) Boston
      2) Las Vegas
      3) NOLA
      4) Portland, Maine
      5) Austin
      6) Nashville
      7) New York City
      8) San Francisco
      9) Houston
      10) Washington DC
      11) Philadelphia
      12) Los Angeles
      13) Dallas
      14) Atlantic City
      15) Memphis

      Although I had some amazing experiences in places such as Dallas and LA, overall they just didn’t inspire me like the others did. I don’t think I could rank my experiences in order, how could I chose between watching the cowboys win against doing the freedom trial in Boston. They’re too different and left different emotions on me.

      I’ll look back fondly on my time in the US. I have many memories, stories and experiences to share and talk about. My waist line is a little larger, my skin a little browner, my brain a little more educated and my crazy decision to sell everything and leave everything I loved and knew behind to set off on my own even more justified.

      I’ve managed to narrow down my top moments in 6 photos. Hopefully I’ll look back on this one day with fondness and pride. I met some cool new people, I met up with old friends. I’ve done things I only dreamed about, I’ve seen things I’ve always wanted to see and experienced things I’ve always wanted.

      This isn’t a goodbye USA, just a see you later.

      I’m sure I will.
      Les mer

    • USA Tour - San Francisco - California

      22. januar 2019, Forente stater ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

      Boss day today. I walked from my hotel through the tenderloin district all the way up to the famous Lombard street and then into fisherman’s wharf. It’s a cool area with lots of bars and restaurants and a boss view of the bay.

      I walked up and down the Bay Area before deciding to go on a little ferry boat out onto the bay.

      It was awesome, clear blue skies, nice hot sun. Couldn’t ask for better conditions. The boat took us out from the pier to the bridge, back to Alcatraz then back into the bay. Lasted about an hour in total but for $15 it was worth it.

      After the boat trip I needed a pint and something to eat, so I found a bar called players got some nachos and a pint of corona... or two. I had a little explore around the district then moved onto pier 39 before calling a Uber back to the Hotel.

      Great day, SAN Francisco is a cool city
      Les mer

    • USA Tour - Los Angeles/San Francisco

      21. januar 2019, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      Travelled from LA to SAN Francisco today via FlixBus. Got to say it wasn’t a bad 7 hour coach journey and I’m quite glad I didn’t get the car. Arrived in downtown SAN Francisco around 6pm and I was about 40 minute walk from the hotel, so I got an Uber... I’m now a gold member hahahahah.

      I booked a hotel instead of a hostel as I got the hotel for 3 nights for only an extra $30 in total, so I thought I’d treat myself before enduring a 21 hour journey to Thailand.

      The Uber driver picked me up and checked where we were going and warned me to stay inside of a night as the tenderloin area in which my hotel is situated is really rough.

      He wasn’t lying. I could see what he meant instantly when I got out the cab, so I quickly ran in got checked in and retreated to my room for an early night.

      The only photo I have is when we stopped on the coach and the guy next to us had a bbq in his bed of his truck
      Les mer

    • USA Tour - Los Angeles - California

      20. januar 2019, Forente stater ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

      But quieter today, I decided I wanted to walk up and down Hollywood Boulevard and sunset strip. Some people would come to LA to see bel air/rodeo drive or even Venice beach. I’m not too interested in that, they’ll still be there in a few years time if I come back.

      However the Los Angeles rams are playing today against the New Orleans saints - the final match to get into the Super Bowl, so I just had to watch it even though I’m much of a NFL fan and I’m a cowboys fan by anything but it was a big deal here so I found a bar to watch it.

      It was such a close and intense game I even found myself getting into it. Rams win in overtime with a field goal attempt from like 57 yards.... a long way away. The bar erupts.... kind of. For such a big game I expected more reaction but again that’s the difference between Europeans and Americans... Europeans are more passionate. Hands down.

      After the game I walk up the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see the Chinese theatre, capitol records and a few weirdos, the plan was to go see whisky a go go but it’s closed at the moment so there was literally no point going to see it which was a shame. Maybe another time.

      I went into the hard rock.... I had to in Hollywood! Watched the patriots v the chiefs in the other nfl playoff game. Pats win in OT, first time ever both playoff games have gone into OT, so I kinda witnessed history.

      Off to San Francisco tomorrow, I was going to drive it but the weather Isn’t looking too great, it would be a waste of money. Plus I’d like to spend more time doing it I think. I’d be rushing it otherwise.

      Also a sad day too - my cap which has been everywhere with me has ended its life by falling apart

      RIP cap
      Les mer

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