The Ultimate Jet Setter

One night Corrie and I decided to have dinner at a place she had heard of that boasts amazing steaks which is pretty easy to find here. Las Cabras in Palermo Hollywood was quite nice and we sat outside while drinking Malbec red wine. I'm not usually a fan of red wine but I have become accustomed to this type of red. Along with that we ordered a Argentine feast of a massive juicy steak, I have no idea how many ounces or grams but you can guess from the pictures, grilled cheese, pumpkin purée, rice, fries, fried egg and grilled peppers. I couldn't finish the meal as hard as I tried but it was delicious and worth every peso which was 73ARS/£9/$15. A total bargain and impossible to find at home for that price and quality. After dinner we enjoyed the walk home and I sleep thoroughly well that night. At the weekend it was Corrie's birthday so we celebrated by having a BBQ. We bought meat, vegetables, bread, beer, wine and charcoal in the day. We started the grill at about 7pm, ...

Today I attended my first Spanish class. I was supposed to have group classes but there is nobody else at my beginner level so I am having 1:1 classes at the moment. I currently have 2 hours of lessons per day and if I change to a group classes I will have four hours a day. It was a bit weird at the beginning, kind of like my first day of school. I was introduced to my professor Bruno and was given a textbook and a tour of the school which took no time at all. There are a few computers, wifi throughout and several leaflets with information about Buenos Aires and things to do. The first class was good and I was given homework for the next day so it really felt like I was 14 again. I continued classes for the rest of the week in addition to my own form of studying from reading Spanish books, magazines, watching telenovelas and talking to as many Argentines as possible. One night this week me and Corrie had heard of the round the world party at a bar in Soho. Basically you are given...

Day 3 Today Corrie and I got the bus for the first time together. After we found the bus stop, we had to tell the bus driver where we were going and he charged us on our Subte cards accordingly. We were heading to another barrio called San Telmo which is infamous for its Sunday market which has been going since the 1800s. The bus journey was about 20 minutes and we came across the market which is ridiculously huge, I will need to come here for several weeks to see it all. The market specialises in antiques but there are also several other items including jewellery, scarfs, souvenirs, bags, food, drinks, trinkets etc. in addition to several restaurants, bars and ice cream parlours on either side of the streets. The market is vast and goes on for about 15 blocks or about as long as Portobello Market. We didn't manage to see all of it this time but we have 9 more weeks to go so I'm sure we will be pros by then. About half way up the market we stopped for empanadas which are th...

Day 2 Today Corrie and I ventured to El Centro (downtown) Buenos Aires. It was about a 20 minute walk to Avenue de Mayo where there is a tall monument much like the one in Washington D.C. Surrounding the monument there are several big screens and advertisements. It's like the Times Square of Buenos Aires. There was also a small square with vendors selling several celebrity photographs and other memorabilia. We then wandered down Florida street, which is a main shopping street in El Centro. We went in a few of the shops and a large department store Galerias Pacificos. After windowing shopping for a while we got the subway back home. The subway is pretty cheap at ARS1.70/£0.20/$0.33 one way. After we got home we relaxed, ate and napped before going out in the evening. Bars don't get busy until around 12/1am in Buenos Aires and clubs open at around 1am at the earliest. We attempted to walk to Plaza Serrano which is known for its great nightlife but got lost on our walk so en...

Travelling from Bangkok to Buenos Aires is such a trek to say the least. I left Bangkok at 9.20pm and flew to Dubai where I had a 5 hour layover. It was a 6 hour flight to Dubai. Luckily the airport is quite big with lots of shops and eateries so I wasn't that bored. I then boarded my next plane at 6:30am and took off at 7am for my 14 hour flight to Rio De Janeiro. This was the longest flight I have ever been on but I managed to pass the time with naps and Mad Men season 4. By the time we got to Rio I was ridiculously jaded. We waited at Rio for about an hour while they cleaned the plane and changed cabin crew. When I reentered the plane for the 3rd time I just wanted to be in Buenos Aires already. The last leg of journey was 3 hours and by this point I couldn't wait to get off the plane. After I got through customs and baggage claim I got my airport pick up to my shared house. It was about a 30 minute drive to the house. At the house I was greeted by the housekeeper who show...

Day 2 Today I woke up pretty early at 9am, so I got showered and dressed and went to reception to use the wifi. At about 11am I headed into town and got some lunch then decided to get a oil massage for 200 baht/£4.50/$7 which was actually quite good. Because that simply wasn't enough for me I decided to get a well needed pedicure too for a thrifty 150 baht/£3.36/$5. It was the peak of heat at 3pm with 37.5 degree heat to be exact and I had already had my daily 1.5 litre bottle of water. I decided to take refuge at a nearby restaurant and get a pineapple smoothie which certainly hit the spot. While I was at the restaurant a girl sat on my table and we began to talk, I learnt she was from Ascot and was travelling for about 3 months but wanted to stay travelling longer, as we all do. So we conversed about home, bad travelling stories, friends, university, travelling alone and what we planned to do in Pai. After she had her meal she left and I went around the corner to get some food....

Day 1 After a couple days in Chiang Mai I decided to go further up north to a cool hippie town I had been hearing a lot about called Pai. Pai is a 3 hour journey from Chiang Mai, a minibus picked me up at 10:30, picked up 5 more people then we headed up to Pai. Once we had left central Chiang Mai we got onto several winding roads, for about 2 1/2 hours it was all winding road uphill and I started to feel carsick which wasn't pleasurable in the least. We stopped for a break about half way through the journey and I couldn't get out of the minivan quick enough. After about 20 minutes we continued with the turning hell. I was so happy to arrive in Pai at 2pm and proceeded to a restaurant straight away to sit down. Funnily enough I felt as if I needed food, so after some water I ordered some fresh pineapple and pork fried rice. After I lunch I proceeded to find accommodation. My friend had told me directions to where several bungalows are but I somehow got lost and couldn't ...

I decided to head up to Chiang Mai again for a change of scenery and to see a bit more of the city this time. It's much hotter up north once again. I didn't want to do any activities this time but simply wanted to chill, perhaps some yoga, shopping and massages. I got up, had breakfast and ventured to Thapae Gate, a main tourist area in Chiang Mai. There was a market that day selling bags, jewellery, wristlets, street food, drinks, soap etc. I had a wander and realised I needed to get some gifts for those back home. I bartered and made a few purchases. In one case I must have bartered too low, I was purchasing 2 items and gave the salesperson a price and she simply accepted it and didn't try to get a lower price. This has never happened to me to me in Thailand before, so I knew I could have got a lower price but never mind. I headed back to my hostel and came across a restaurant so decided to get some food. I got kao soi which is a very traditional northern Thai dish. I...

Today I moved hostels and it was the best decision I've ever made as this hostel is the best hostel I've ever stayed in. As I walked into Saphai Pae Hostel the air conditioning wafted over me. As I looked around I was surprised and impressed with what I saw. A very modern colourful interior, a huge communal area with tables, sofas, chairs, pool table and computers with the use of Internet for free. A plasma showing films in English in addition to a restaurant and cafe on site. After I checked in I made my way to my room via my key card. The 8 bed dorm was huge, clean and had big lockers to store your things. Linen is included although towels are rentable for 50 baht/£1/$1.70, a light and plug sockets are by your bed so easily accessible. There is a laundry room and tv room on each floor if you wanted to watch a film. The bathroom is also huge and there are at least 10 individual showers. There is also a tour desk and an ATM on site. Rates start at 300 baht/£7/$10 night. The l...