The Ultimate Jet Setter

After Shanghai I decided to come back to Thailand for a few weeks before I head to Buenos Aires. Today in Bangkok me and CJ a girl I met in my hostel who also has a blog (whereiscj.blogspot.com) check it out. We headed to the Chatuchak Weekend Market which is the biggest market in Thailand. It's easiest to get there via the Skytrain and get off at Mo Chit which is the last stop on the Sukhumvit Line. There are signs leading you to the market and crowds of people so you will be able to find it easily. This market is the biggest and best market I have been to in Asia. There is a pheltora of items on sale including clothing, jewellery, shoes, accessories, food, samurai swords, books, mannequins, furniture and antiques. The market is huge and like a labyrinth, I don't think I would be able to see it all even if I was there for a week. We were at the market for a few hours and had lunch while we were there. Although neither of us didn't really need anything we both managed to ...

Ningbo is a pretty boring town and I wouldn't recommend going at all but if you do find yourself there there are some cool sights. There are quite a few shopping centres and eateries offering Western dishes in addition to Chinese. One night we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant, I had never been before but it is definitely an experience I will never forget. About 15 of us arrived at the restaurant, a mix of white and Chinese people and myself. The two hostesses were clearly mesmerised and approached me as soon as I entered the restaurant and begun speaking to me Chinese. After a few confused glances I realised they wanted a photo with me, although quite strange I obliged them. Which then opened a can of worms, as they wanted more photos with them and other members of staff, I then refused them and made it to my seat whilst laughing uncontrollably with my friends over what had just occurred. So at a Korean BBQ there is a burner in the middle of the table and you choose what raw mea...

Day 1 I arrived in Shanghai on a horrible day, 10 degrees and raining, a vast difference from the 30 degree weather in Thailand I had become accustomed to. Although to be honest the coolness was quite refreshing. I met my friend Claire at a Shanghai subway station with her two friends and we went to Xintiandi to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant called 1930. There are some restaurants and several high street and high end stores at Xintiandi. She ordered for us and we had a combination of rice, pork, chicken and mince. After lunch we had tea at a Chinese tea room, there are several of them located around the city. There was a selection of different teas to choose from and after we picked the waiter came with our teas in different teapots and glasses. There was a pheltora of colours and flowers in some of the teas. I got a honey and lemon tea which was sweet and fruity which I liked. Everyone else wasn't so lucky in their tea choices but its all part of the Chinese experience. ...

Day 2 After a bit of a lie in, we headed off at about 12pm, got some fast food on the way and made our way to the Pearl Tower. A tower where amazing views of the city can be seen in addition to a glass floor on one of the levels. It costs 160 yuan/£17/$25. Luckily when we went at 12:30 there wasn't much of a queue but when we left there was so the earlier the better really. We took the lift up to one of the viewing floors and was able to see Shanghai far and wide. It was a pretty amazing view I would recommend to all. The pearl is circular so you can see Shanghai from several different viewpoints. We then walked down a bit to the viewing platform where there is a glass floor. This is pretty scary actually to say the least, if you are afraid of heights I wouldn't recommend this floor. But several people were not phased by the glass floor and naturally photos galore were being taken. Next we took the subway to Yuyuan Garden which I was quite disappointed by as it's not ...

Day 3 For my final day in Chiang Mai I decided to complete a Thai cooking course. At 900 baht/£20/$30 you get picked up from your accommodation, taken to a local market, shown the herbs and spices that will be used in your cooking and to choose from 6 different dishes to cook including a curry paste for the curry of your choice, starter, dessert, soup and stir fry dish. There are usually 2-8 people in the class but there was only 1 other girl in this class which was nice. You can choose from a morning or afternoon class, the morning class is from 9am-2pm and includes 6 dishes. The afternoon class is a little shorter at 4:30pm-8:30pm and consists of 4 dishes chosen by the group majority due to time constrains and a bit cheaper at 700 baht/£15/$23. The morning class is usually more popular and there are several companies that offer this same service,it simply depends on their availability on who you choose as prices are usually similar or the same also. At 8:40 a car came and picked ...

Day 2 I was up bright and early for my bike tour at 8am and surprisingly my tour guide was early as from previous experience, namely the day before the Thai's haven't been great when it comes to punctuality. My tour guides name was Noom who was very enthusiastic and friendly. We drove to a temple so Noom could park the car, then got the bikes out and we started riding. We stopped at several monuments and temples along the way, Noom giving me information on the places we saw and Thailand in general. We went to the largest food market in Chiang Mai that sold produce ranging from rice, fruit, eels, spices, peppers, meat, fish and pumpkins. We then cycled about 2 miles out of the city to more rural areas where came across more temples and places of interest. At about 11am we cycled back to the temple we had started at. The bike tour is usually a group tour but it was a bit quiet that week so I had a 1:1 tour. Although a random random thing to do in Chiang Mai as activities usua...

Day 1 To get to Chiang Mai which is in the North of Thailand from Koh Tao is a long process, made even longer by the fact I'm in Thailand where 'Thai time' not GMT prevails. To get to Chiang Mai from Koh Tao usually consists of a boat, coach then train. I am getting a boat and a bus to Bangkok then flying to Chaing Mai due to time constraints and general convenience. I purchased a boat and coach to take me to Bangkok for 850 baht/£19/$28, this is the slow version. You can get a faster boat for 1000 baht/£22/$33. My boat is scheduled to leave at 2:30pm and arrive in Bangkok at 5am the following day. From then I will get a taxi to the airport and catch my 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai. From my understanding I would be getting a boat from Koh Tao to somewhere on the mainland then get a bus directly to Bangkok. Apparently I was being optimistic, this is what actually happened. My taxi dropped me to the pier and I showed my ticket to the ticket attendant who told me I was ...

Day 4 So my last day in Koh Tao has come upon us. I'm leaving to go to Chiang Mai although I could happily stay in Koh Tao longer, but time unfortunately there are time schedules one has to adhere to. Not only am I leaving this beautiful island but my travelling buddy for the past week Etta although it feels like we have been travelling together for longer. My trip to Chiang Mai is a bit of a long process but we will get onto that later. Check out is at 12pm so we wake up at 10am and get showered and changed. I check out at 11am and leave my bag in the luggage room. We head out to get some food and decide upon the restaurant next to our hostel, The White Elephant. Etta got beef Massman curry which is a coconut flavour curry with potatoes and I got my Thai guilty pleasure of spring rolls and pork fried noodles which was quite a big portion and delicious. After brunch we ventured up a street we had yet to walk up which had been a mistake on our part as it offered several restau...

Day 3 Today we decided we were going to visit the beautiful and nearby island of Nang Yuang. After arising at 10am we got dressed and headed to a nearby breakfast bar for some food. Consisting of passion fruit and coconut shakes, jam bagel and eggs Benedict. BBC World News was on in the background and reporting on the current financial plight in Cyprus, again adding to my list of reasons why I'm happy I'm not in the country or continent where that I information affects me. After breakfast we headed to Sairee beach where you can easily get water taxis/long tail boats to Nang Yuang. The price is 200 baht/£4.59/$6.77 per person return and you have to tell the driver what time you want picking up from the island. After a 15 minute ride on the long tail we made it to the private island which is so private there's an admission fee of 100 baht/£2.24$3.40 per person. There's a restaurant, bar and gift shop on the island in addition to 3 beaches however small. The island i...

Day 2 After a mediocre night sleep in our fan bungalow we woke up at 7:30am to make it for the free buffet breakfast and use of the swimming pool before check out at 11am. We got dressed and headed to the restaurant across the street where breakfast was served. It included scrambled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, omelette, fried rice, yogurt, coffee, tea, juice, cereal, pineapple, watermelon, French toast and normal toast. I had a little of everything and was the heartiest breakfast I'd had so far in Thailand but let's face it not very Thai. If you wanted to pay for breakfast but where not a guest at the resort it would be 200 baht/£4.50/$6.77 for the privilege. We ate breakfast with the lovely view of the beach and long tail boats. Then proceeded to the Seashell Resort pool which was actually 4 pools. A scuba pool and jacuzzi then 2 other adjoining pools, one with an infinity pool. The water was cool and we had about 45 minutes of uninterrupted time until other guests joined us....

Day 1 Today Etta and I broke away from the group and travelled to Koh Tao while the girls decided to stay on Koh Lanta. We had bought our tickets from the tour operator at the resort for 1200 baht/£26/$40 for the transportation that gets you to Koh Tao on the same day, it's slightly cheaper if you choose the option where you get there the next day. Koh Tao is located on the other side of the country by Koh Samui and Koh Phanghan and we had left the side closer to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. A mini van picked us up at 9:30 and was about a 3 hour journey to Krabi town where we had to get a coach to take us across country. We the were dropped off at a tourist office where we were given luggage tags and stickers. We were told the next coach would be arriving in 30 minutes. In that time I got some food and waited for the coach. We were on the next coach for about 3 more hours. We then arrived at a port where we then got on a catamaran for a further 2 hours when we were told to leave the...

Day 4 Today was a pretty relaxed day. Etta and I woke up at 12 and had lunch then decided to get a massage. I got a one hour Swedish massage for 300 baht/£6.78/$10 and Etta a body scrub for 400 baht/£9/$13.50. Mine was very relaxing I didn't want it to end, Etta's wasn't as relaxing but her skin felt much softer and sleeker after. After our massages we headed straight to the pool as my body was covered in oil :( After the pool we had a nap, showered and walked a few minutes down the road to a restaurant. I had green curry and rice and Etta chicken soup. We then met up with Christina, Pernille, Ryan and Ryan and had drinks once again until the morning. Day 5 Today we woke up early for us at 10am and actually made it to breakfast which wasn't very Thai and consisted of an omelette each and French toast. Filling nonetheless. We decided to get a tuk tuk to Saladan which is an area of Lanta where there are several shops, tour operators, restaurants, diveshops and ma...

Day 3 Today we decided to move to another resort as we found one that was better value for money. At Hutyee we were paying 600 baht/£13/$20 a night for a fan bungalow with wifi solely available in the reception area. We found the Blue Andaman Lanta Resort where there were air conditioned rooms, with wifi accessible everywhere, a swimming pool, a restaurant and a bar overlooking the beach. We checked in at 11am and were shown to our rooms which were much more modern than the previous bungalows and were more like standard hotel rooms. After check in we went straight to the pool for a bit then had lunch at the hotel restaurant. There was a waterfall on the island that was recommended to us so we went to check it out with these 2 other Canadian guys Ryan and Ryan the other girls had met previously on another island. We decided to rent scooters as its a great way to see the island and much more economical than any other type of transportation. At the resort it costs 200 baht/£4.50/$...

Day 2 After a well rested night I awoke quite late at 12. Proceeded to the reception as it is the only place to get wifi at the Hutyee to check emails, Facebook and blog naturally. After I'd got my fix I went to Etta's bungalow to check if she Christina and Pernille were awake yet. Christina and Pernille were still sleeping while Etta was coming round so we went to have lunch and left the girls in the land of nod. Just down the road Etta bought some Thai fruit then we had lunch at an authentic Thai restaurant. I had a delicious prawn fried rice for 60 baht/£1.30/$2 and Etta her favourite chicken noodle soup which did look good I have to admit. We then walked through one of the many resorts to get to the beach and went into the sea for a couple of hours. The water was the hottest I have ever felt in the sea, it honestly felt like a hot spring. The sand was beautifully white and the water clear. After our hands were positively wrinkly we got out and laid in the Sun for about ...

Day 1 Today I decided to take a minivan and a boat to Ko Lanta, a pretty chilled island near Krabi province. The minivan picked me up from Ao Nang at 1pm and takes 3 hours and costs 300 baht/£6/$10. After I got on the minivan without air conditioning we were taken to a tour office for some reason. I asked why we were here and when the ferry to Ko Lanta was. She said they were waiting for more transport as the minivan we got into before wasn't good enough apparently. I waited for about 30 minutes before a truck came and took us to another unknown destination of a port. There were several other travellers there which made me feel a bit better. I once again spoke to the tour guide there and he gave me a sticker with Lanta on it and told me to wait for another minivan, time frame unknown. It's about 2pm at this point and I'm about a 15 minute drive away from Ao Nang so I come to the realisation that I will not be in Ko Lanta at 4pm. A few minutes later another minivan arriv...

In search for an even nicer beach with an even better atmosphere we ventured across the pond to Railay beach. Still part of the Krabi province but only accessible by boat. There are several long tail boats going to Railay on a daily basis. Tickets are 100 baht/£2.25$3.36 each way and is about 5 minutes. After arriving its pretty easy to realise that there isn't much on there with regards to restaurants, bars or accommodation which is a big change from Ao Nang but honestly I preferred the simpleness. There are handful of bars, restaurants, smoothie places and bungalows. Railay beach is very beautiful with clear water and white sand. It's much less populated than Ao Nang which I liked more as it felt more relaxed and exclusive. After a couple hours of sunbathing we had lunch which was slightly more expensive than Ao Nang as there is no road access to Railay so everything is transported by boat. After lunch we decided to sit in the shade as my friend had suffered from the ag...

Day 2 After a bit of a lie in I ventured out for food before starting my beach day. I got to the beach around 2pm, the sand was fine and the Sun hot which is all that really mattered to me at that day. It's not one of the nicest beaches I've been to or anything special but it served its purpose. I laid my towel on the sand and tried to sunbath but found I was WAY too hot so jumped in the sea immediately. It was cool and no heavy waves of any kind, just what the doctor ordered. So between the sea, sun bathing and listening to my iPod 3 hours seemed to fly by and I headed back to the guesthouse which turned out to be the perfect timing as as soon as I was inside it started raining heavily. I must say I would not have been happy to have been caught in the rain in my bikini :( After a well needed shower and copious amounts of catching up with friends, family members and the infamous Facebook we decided to get some food. Don't get me wrong I love Thai food but change is g...

Day 1 After spending 4 days in Bangkok which was 2 days too many I decided to venture down to Southern Thailand and the islands. We went to one of the many travel agents in the Khao San Road area and were told we had 3 options with regards to getting to Krabi (which is a good starting point to getting to the other islands). We could take a 64 person tourist bus taking 14 hours for 700 baht/£15/$23. A regular 24 person bus for 1100 baht/£24/$37 or a 32 person bus for 900 baht/£20/$30 both taking 12 hours. We decided to take the 900 baht bus as it was quicker and had more leg room than the 64 person bus. After we purchased our tickets we got a taxi to the bus station and waited to board our coach. It left at 8pm and we were scheduled to arrive in Krabi at 8am the following morning. To my surprise and delight and seats were incredibly comfy, lots of legroom and fully reclinable. I must say this journey was more comfortable than my flight from London to Bangkok. Just when I thought it...