Thailand 18th August - 7th September 2015

Hello folks, sorry for the very delayed post about Thailand! We have been busy and sometimes when you have the time to sit down you just want to relax and do nothing!

Bangkok:

Now where do I start? OH yes.. we missed our original flight to Thailand as it was rearranged and we looked at the wrong email so we turned up at the airport completely oblivious to what lay ahead. Due to not wanting to spend much money we had to sleep in the airport over night as it was too expensive to go back into the city of Hanoi and that was an experience I can now laugh about. In the time that we were stuck in the airport a bomb went off in the centre of Bangkok next to the Erawan shrine. Twenty people were killed and a hundred and twenty were injured, we found missing our flight to be a blessing in disguise and felt very fortunate to not be caught up in this horrific incident. When we did eventually arrive there, we were told to avoid the centre for the next few days due to the events and also told to avoid big tourist places within the city. We didn't listen. I have found that after a major event like this security is at an all time high and the culprits wouldn't be dumb enough to strike the same place twice (saying this an explosion happened not to far from the shrine as soon as we arrived but it hit water so no one was injured).

When we did go into the city, we did decide to go and pay a visit to the shrine, we felt very safe around there as security was very high especially going in and out of the shopping malls close by. At the shrine, there was a lot of press and clearly some relatives/friends of the victims this bomb had claimed, it was hurtful to see and it made you feel incredibly thankful that you still had your life. I bought some flowers and incense to pay my respects and pray for those lives lost. I hope this event does not damage Bangkok's tourism industry as it is such a wonderful city filled with friendly people and a great vibe.

Koh Phangan: 

Koh Phangan is the island known best for its half moon and full moon parties, we stayed in a place called Lime N Soda Resort which was okay but it was very noisy in the morning and at night due to a festival based not far from the resort. That festival kept us up for the next few nights which wasn't ideal as we would start the day feeling groggy and lazy due to not having enough sleep so it slightly ruined our time on the island but we moved past it. The island was relaxing for the most part and there was a small stretch of land in the middle of the sea due to it being so shallow up until a drop, it was something that Daniel and I had never encountered so we found it fascinating. 

As I said before Koh Phangan is known for its Half and Full Moon parties, we were fortunate enough to be around for the Half moon as many people had said it was much better than the Full Moon. The difference between is that the Full Moon is not an organised event and is held on a beach with random places of music but the Half Moon is an organised "festival" type party which is held in an arena style place in Ban Tai Jungle. We had a lot of fun as we met really cool people and experienced something like no other! Other than this party we chilled around the island and relaxed until we set off for Chiang Mai.   

Chiang Mai:

Chiang Mai was very different from the south of Thailand, it was very green with lush jungle forests and very humid air. We really enjoyed ourselves here as it had a lot to offer, its quite a diverse place and it had a more developed vibes than the islands we had visited. Most days we spend wondering around visiting temples and coffee shops it offered a lot of different cuisines but we stuck to the same restaurants some nights due to being there for so long. 

For two of the days we did recommended activities, we opted for Trekking and Zip lining which at first was very hard work as walking 7km in the humid heat was not the easiest but it was worth it for the views and the accomplishment of feeling fit. After lunch we went round a zip lining course and that was pretty scary for me due to having a fear of heights and you do go very fast but it was a great experience and we were rewarded with a certificate at the end to say that we had done it. 

On the Wednesday we traveled to the Elephant Retirement Park, this park is for elephants that were rescued from the tourism industry and the circus. It was important to me to go to a place where they were treated right and where the place contributes to the conservation of elephants in the wild. Being close to these amazing giants really makes you appreciate how large they actually are, having only seen them from afar in a zoo it was amazing to interact with them so full on. Throughout the day we bathed them, fed them and learnt about where they had come from and how important it is to boycott anywhere that rides them. This place has only been running for a year and they are trying to expand so if you are ever in Chiang Mai and you want a genuine experience with elephants please go here! I did not stop smiling all day!

I really enjoyed Thailand and I recommend it 100% for any traveler, the people are friendly and the place has a really great vibe.

Lots of love
Tam xox

Hoi an 8th-11th August, Hué 11th-13th, Da Nang 13th-14th, Halong Bay 14th-16th and Hanoi 16th-17th August:

We arrived in hoi an in good time from nha trang, as we flew to da nang airport so we could skip the 12 hour bus ride. Hoi an was not a great place for me, the first day we had there I was ill for most of it due to eating dodgy fruit but I only seemed to enjoy the city at night. It was beautiful, we put candles on the water and wondered around the city decorated with beautiful lanterns, Daniel explored some of the temples without me in the day and thought they were beautiful also. On the last day in Hoi an we booked an Eco tour, this included going to the markets and learning how to haggle down a price for food and seeing how the locals produce their products. It was interesting to see how the locals handled their produce and what was on sale, after the market we were taken on a small boat that took us to a river leading down to the restaurant that was going to teach us how to cook. However to get there we had to take a small coconut boat, it was a great experience paddling through the mangrove forests to the cafe, an experience I won't forget! The cooking was educational for us Brits because as the culture is so different, it's amazing to see how the food was produced and we got to experiment with so many new foods, it was wonderful!   Hoi an was soon spoilt by our hostel, they tried to charge daniel 32,000 dollars on his card and they weren't very co operative with other guests on important matters so when asked by others if they should stay here, we told them no and to make matters worse we had to get on a bus with no air conditioning for four hours. We were not happy. 

However when we got to Hué, we settled down and became happy again after a shower and some chill time, we didn't explore much of Hué that night due to being exhausted from the journey. We only had one day in Hué, so we decided to travel on a boat to a famous tower where they trained monks in a chapel, there was not much to see in Hué besides that and the imperial city which wasn't particularly thrilling due to much of it being re done so it lost its authenticity. Luckily for us we found a lovely coffee shop that made smoothies for around 32,000 dong which is less than a pound in Britain! The atmosphere was calming and the air conditioning was welcoming. 

We travelled back to Da Nang to catch a flight to Hanoi on the 14th, we only stayed a night in Da Nang and it's just a very busy city ! We didn't get to see much of it but we could tell it would be a bit much for us. 

Halong bay on the 14th of August was a complete mare to get too, we arrived at Hanoi airport and a taxi driver claimed to know where he was going when we told him to go to the bus station but instead he took us to the train station and so we had to get another taxi to the actual bus station where we got a local bus to halong bay. The local buses are interesting but the locals were surprisingly welcome towards us and bought us some guava, our hotel was a three star which we only found out until we got there and it was a lovely break from the hostels we had had before. We booked a boat trip to halong bay for the next day, the situation we have noticed most in vietnam is that they never tell you what's going on, you are left waiting around for ages not knowing what's happening and you never know who to ask as no one seems to be in charge. We waited an hour and a half to finally get on a boat, the hosts weren't very nice but it didn't matter as the experience of halong bay was just out of this world. We were able to kayak through some of the islands and we have never been somewhere so silent and peaceful, we also visited a cave which was also breathtaking due to the size and scale of the rocks. The whole experience was a great way to end Vietnam for us, we would recommend it to anyone. For dinner, we tried out a bbq place recommended on trip advisor, you order a platter of meat and it is cooked right in front of you and we got to try new things also. Even though we stayed in a very nice hotel, we were never able to get much sleep due to a rooster making noises from about 4am each day, it was hilarious but horrible. 

We arrived in Hanoi after a nice four hour bus ride the next day, chilled out and went to a nice swanky restaurant where we had the best food! 

So now we are leaving vietnam and we are off to thailand! Cannot wait! 

Peace out! 

❤️❤️

Hong Kong Day 1

Today was our first day in Hong Kong, after we both decided to finally get up at 1pm HK time we were greeted with torrential rain and thunder. Not being dragged down by this unexpected weather we decided to look for somewhere to eat as both of us hadn't eaten since the flight the night before. 

On our way around the central part of HK, we came across a few parks and the harbour, it wasn't very busy due to the poor weather but the parks created the atmosphere of a rainforest and it was quite beautiful. The harbour was pretty but it mimicked many other harbours around the world so we didn't spend much time getting to know it. 

For dinner, we decided to treat ourselves to some dim sum, it was something both of us hadn't really done before and typically we ordered too much but and for someone who is trying to become vegetarian it didn't give us many options. However, we ordered food we have never tried and all in all it was a success, the restaurant was called Din Tai Fung and we strongly recommend it to anyone staying in HK. 

After dinner we explored around the centre a bit more to get our bearings of the place, this ice cream parlour caught our eyes as we were walking home. We were curious on how nitrogen was involved in making the ice cream so we ordered some and watched, it was a very strange process and looked rather like a science experiment but the results were delicious! We had the Hokkaido milk flavour and we discovered that the parlour changes the flavours every two weeks to make it stand out from the crowd and we only saw a very short menu of four flavours when we first entered. 

Do you have any recommendations or good experiences of HK?

Love Tam xox 

Turning Twenty Two in Whitby, North Yorkshire. 30/06/2015

 

Hello all I am SO sorry about my lack of posts this year, I just needed a break to concentrate on my studies but now I'm back! AND I'm 22! I turned this golden age last friday and quite honestly I didn't know how to feel about it, this year I decided to have a chilled event as I felt like the most important birthdays were behind me and being 22 made me feel old! (I know its silly). 

I went off to Whitby: a seaside town situated on the coast of North Eastern Yorkshire, this place was perfect as for all of you who know me well I am a lover of the ocean and all things in it! The small seaside town was charming in it's own way and it was nice to just look out and be at one with the sea. 

Another milestone that I have hit recently is graduating from university, I am no longer a student and I'm not sure I will get used to grown up life but I'll give it a go! Growing up and going into the real world will be a challenge but I have ambition and a great support system that will help me get to where I need to be in life! I am truly thankful.

Tam xox

Check out my review of George Ezra's new and upcoming single "Listen to the Man" :)

http://www.ttthreads.com/2014/10/george-ezra-listen-man-new-album/

Check out the guest blog post I did for Express Trainers :)

http://www.expresstrainers.com/blog/lets-work/

Love Tam xox

19/10/14

Millie Mackintosh wears a Sandro Fur Gilet - price unknown.

Top left : American Eagle Outfitters Gilet 

Middle left: Topshop Gilet

Bottom left: Topshop Gilet

Main feature: Missguided Gilet

This Autumn season I am OBSESSED with gilets. Especially faux fur ones! I don't even know how this obsession started but it has and it has me hooked! These are a few of my favourites at the moment, my favourite one has to be Millies as I love the colour grey!  It seems to me that you can pair a gilet with pretty much anything and it will look so chic! I am definitely investing in one next pay day!

Love tam xox 

Amsterdam 16th-18th September 2014

So this summer I got to travel to two beautiful european cities with two

of my best friends by my side. This montage of photos are from our (short) time 

in Amsterdam, "the city that doesn't give a fuck and are very polite". Amsterdam

is definitely a wake up call compared to our small city here, it has a very chilled

vibe where everyone feels comfortable talking about anything and they are just

delightful! As we said we didn't have very long but we managed to squeeze in the sex museum, 

the Amsterdam sign, a coffee shop, a boat tour and of course a bar crawl!

I always enjoy bar crawls in european cities as everyone has a story to tell and usually

everyones from somewhere different! Its just eye opening and fun quite honestly! I would

recommend it to anyone!

Love Tam xox

Ps My fedora hat is from Topshop as is my choker!