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 ...