Hey! So me and my gorgeous fiancé Tammy, have just embarked on a budget back packing trip, first stop Philippines...
I'm making this blog for when we are old and grey but also for anyone who wants to know where we are and what we are up to.
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  • Day 147

    The Blue City, Jodhpur

    March 29, 2017 in India ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    We continued on our Rajasthan loop adventure and got on what only can be described as the hottest bus know to man. We traveled six hours through the sparse landscape (horizontal, only sleeper spaces were available!!!) and we arrived to the the crazy, hectic but beautiful Jodhpur.

    The heat was increasing daily, so we got up early and head to the Merghanh fort. It was truly a sight to behold. A fortress of history standing high above the city, hold century's of history and relics. We loved our day exploring, admiring the architecture and learning about the Raj empire. The only problem was the stares we got, every corner we turned we were gawped at and asked for photos and selfies. Selfies are a big thing here!! The men try to get you in for one, I was having none of it. You know the use of it is not for a pleasant reason.

    I've started to miss home comforts recently, so I took to the Internet to find a a good pizza place. And... I found one! So I took the gorgeous Tammy out for an evening of pizza and beer. It was the BEST treat!

    Thanks Jodhpur... Xx
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  • Day 147

    Udaipur, The city of Lakes

    March 29, 2017 in India ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    We were exhausted when we arrived to Udaipur, owing to the standard Indian night bus experience, that lasted 22 hours.

    So our first afternoon in the Lake City was mainly spent snoozing and eating biscuits. I was struggling with the worst jet lag I've ever had, not only was the heat having an affect on me, but I had no idea what planet I was on. Tam took charge of the planning and organised and heritage walking tour, art class and a cooking class.

    The walking tour was okay, it mainly helped orientate us. Our guide Chimnay, was hilarious in a cringe way. He appeared to be the big man in town and insisted we review him on trip advisor as soon as we got back to our room. He even followed up with a text later the next day asking if we had done the review. Joker!

    We really loved the art class. When we had been to other countries before, one of our things that we like to do is a local art or crafts class. This one was really enjoyable and our resulting efforts, weren't too bad. Tammy's camel is AWESOME. Our massive smiles, faded when our teacher asked for 1250 rupees!! I responded saying we were told by your brother yesterday, that it would be 250 rupees per person, our teacher replied... Thats per hour! I hit the roof... I'm not sure if it was the heat, the constant feeling like you're being ripped off or the jet lag but it was the straw that broke the camels back. And we ended up leaving awkwardly, paying 700, with our art and them having a stern telling off. Ha!

    And finally the cooking class with Shashi.
    Easily one of the best days we've had in Indian. She was an absolute delight and taught us so much. We now know how to brew a cup of masala chai, bake a mean chapati and whip up a tasty sag aloo. Loved spending time with her and her son, and looking forward to trying out our new recipes when we get to the house we have rented in the Himalayas.
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  • Day 142

    Calling planet earth !!!

    March 24, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We awoke from our night bus with young men jumping threw our windows and pushing leaflets o our faces and shouting TUK TUK. I responded in the only way I could, "don't mess with me face" and we defiantly walked off in the hot humid morning to find our guest-house . With all the hullabaloo you would forgive me for not noticing that Tammy and I had been transported to another planet. For every way I looked I could see boulders on another scale peppered with Temples. We had arrived in Hampi.

    We found our guesthouse which was situated in the bazar, a rabbit warren of home stays, antique shops and sit on the floor restaurants. We relaxed and washed off the night bus scum and set off for our first explore of this unknown land. Now it was HOT like bloody HOT like the HOTTEST I've ever been HOT so we didn't get far in the middle of the day. But we managed to see Virupaksha temple that was basically in our back garden. The overwhelming heat and smell of sewage did not dampen my enthusiasm at awe inspiring structure that was built in the 11th century in homage to the gods.

    As the heat was intense and we realised were not made for 39degrees. We decided to split our days in two. Morning and evening, with a well earned siesta from 1 until 5. We explored the landscape and visited the ancient Hindu empire ruins. You could definitely see why they decided to build an empire there, as the boulders that had been there for billions of years acted as a natural fortress.

    One of my favourite moments in Hampi, was watching the poker red sun, setting over the Mars like land, whilst me and tam lay on one of the impressive boulders.
    An incredible place.
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  • Day 132

    Arambol

    March 14, 2017 in India ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    Here is where we let our hair down. It was lovely to revel in the travelling community, all night beach parties and the German bakery! An amazing 10 days.

  • Day 123

    Beach hopping up the west coast

    March 5, 2017, Laccadive Sea ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    After our two became a three, we decided to take in the beach life and make our way up the west coast of India. Tammy and I hadn't been on a beach since Cambodia at Christmas and it was time. With the intense heat of India constantly on my skin, I yearned for air to lift away the pollution, grime and sweat of the days before.

    Varkala cliffs was our first stop on the beach mission, a cluster of eateries, shops and yoga retreats perched above the blustery Arabian sea crashing into the rocks below.

    We celebrated young Flick's birthday here and endured the hangover. Me and Tam thought we would try out a traditional Indian massage... One word. PAINFUL. But hilarious looking over at Tam, with her polite impassive smile as the masseuse dragged her hands through her 'fro.

    We left Varkala after five days, and embarked on a 28 hour journey to Gorkana, a temple town surrounded by hidden coves. We had a slight hiccup when my elbow was sliced open at the beginning of our epic journey. Looking back now... It was hilarious. You would never had known we were three health care professionals!!! I was screaming, claret everywhere, skin flapping and the other two handed me paper stitches and a antiseptic wipe. Hahaha! And old t shirt came in handy to stop the bleeding. The mortified rickshaw (more like RIPshaw!) driver took me to the nearest hospital, and I was stitched up within the hour. It was painful and a little scary but overall the service was amazing.

    With my three stitches in place we headed for our afternoon/night bus that would take us to a train that connected us Gorkana. It is true that travelling is a mixture of ups and downs, this night bus was definitely a down! The driving was SO atrocious that Tam evacuated from both ends and I re-opened my freshly stitched wound. Not fun. However, the next leg of journey completely made for it when we met a wonderful Indian family. We chatted about the U.K., the daughter's job prospects, Indian weddings, and all the things we could fit in, over steaming chai and spicy samosas. It was a highlight of our week. Tam gave the daughter a shiny one pound coin, and Flick magically made a necklace out of it using her macramé kit. A small crowd gathered around to watch as she plaited and knotted away, clapping and cheering as the finished item was produced. We hugged and kissed all the family before waving farewell and embarking on the final leg.

    Om beach greeted us with a sweltering heat but beautiful sunset. We found a lovely cottage for three just off the beach in a tropical garden. We spent our days hiking over cliffs to the neighbouring Kudle and Half Moon beaches, exploring coves, and breaking bread with some newly found friends.

    For the second birthday of the month, we headed to Palolem to celebrate Tam's 35th. A beautifully expansive beach with refreshing waves and a hint of luxury. The birthday morning was lovely; we took a boat out at sunrise hoping to spot dolphins. We were not disappointed! There were so many, gracefully breaking through the waves and frolicking in the morning light. Truly magical.
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  • Day 105

    Hello India. Hello Flick

    February 15, 2017 in India ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We flew just 4 hours to Kochi from Bangkok. We landed at silly o'clock in the middle of the night, so we headed to a hotel for some kip before travelling onto Fort Kochi to meet Flick.

    So lovely to see a familiar face and we seem to fit straight into being a team, which is lovely.

    Fort Cochin is a bustling port with seafood a plenty with scent and spice shops everywhere.

    We spent two days exploring the international art festival and the evenings were spent eating scrummy vegetarian curry and paratha breads, washed down with my new favourite lime soda with syrup.

    During our exploring, we met a British couple who were in India for a year. Collette has been doing Anusara yoga for years and invited us to one of her classes at a arty cafe the next morning. It was amazing. I have done yoga before, but this was different. I felt revitalised afterwards and emotional. Like something good, positive had happened. She recommended a course for me to do when we return to London. I am absolutely chomping at the bit to make this yoga practice part of my life. It made me feel so good.

    Another person we met was Aaru. A rickshaw/tuk tuk driver who helped us find our basic digs for £2 a night. He also organised a backwater trip for us and helped us on our way to Varkala.

    First impressions of India so far is INCREDIBLE . Anything is possible and the people are so friendly and inviting.
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  • Day 105

    Guilty (not) pleasure week

    February 15, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Before on embarking on our Indian adventure, We booked 6 nights at a hotel with a pool.

    Pattaya is AWFUL ha! Loads of awful people getting wasted. We did have a night out... Enough said on that.

    India was waiting and we were soooo ready for her. Eeeeek!
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  • Day 100

    Kerala backwaters

    February 10, 2017 in India ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We set aboard a house boat that was probably going no faster than 1 mile an hour. I have never experienced motion sickness before, until today. I was green ha! But the view was lush and the tour explained how the backwaters exist due to sea water levels and ground levels.
    The day was broken up with a veg tali lunch and then we got into canoes. My stomach much preferred the canoe.

    A beautiful day, marred only slightly by nausea .
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  • Day 91

    Vientiane

    February 1, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Food. Food and more food.

    It felt really good to be back in a city.

    We stayed a pretty poor hostel but we had air con, so it was okay as it was bloody boiling outside.

    We strolled around the calm city streets, ate french, Lebanese and Vietnamese cuisine and did an amazing course in the countryside.

    The course was a women's NGO, that wanted to invest in keeping the Laotian art of silk weaving and natural tie dying.

    A really lovely city break before heading to Thailand and then India.
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