A Magical Day at Harry Potter Studios

I am currently on the way home from a truly magical day at the Harry Potter Studios, what a way to get in the Christmas Spirit! (I say currently as I was writing this in my journal on the car journey home.)

November Blues

November, November where to begin?! November is always an intimidating month for me. (who knew a month could be intimidating?!) Mainly because as we slowly creep towards Christmas, retail hours slowly start to extend. university starts to pile on the pressure and with a whopping 6 assignments due in 4 weeks, time for my little blog has run through my fingers. 

October Antics

It's almost the end of October and I can't believe how fast this year is going!! October has been a hectic but good month for me and I have kept my Instagram up to date with what I've been doing. Instagram is easily my favourite form of social media, I love having a place to document the small things that happen in my life! Here is what has happened in October in an Instagram timeline.

The Struggles of Second Year University

It's a little over a month since I returned from Thailand and I have been plunged into the depths of my second year of university. Right now, I'm finding it incredibly overwhelming. The gap between first and second year is a massive leap and I was completely unprepared.

The Highlights of Thailand

I don't even know where to begin. With a 3 hour boat, 3 hours waiting, 9 hours on a bus, 24 hours in Bangkok, a 4 hour flight followed by a 9 hour flight, it's safe to say the journey home wasn't for the faint hearted and I had a lot of time to reflect about my adventure in Thailand. The past 6 weeks has been one hell of a rollercoaster. Overwhelming, hectic, crazy, mind boggling, the list goes on and on. From being at peace with the elephants in Chiang Mai to being drowned in Bali to weaving manically through the roads of Bangkok in a tuk tuk. I learnt a lot about myself this trip and whilst for some of it I wanted nothing more than my own bed and an English breakfast, I wouldn't change one thing about my experience. For any of you going to Thailand or planning to go to Thailand, here are my best bits. Trust me, all of these are a must!

Ko Tao

Ko Tao is everything I love about islands. Beautiful beaches, stunning sunsets and crystal clear water. The only problem with Ko Tao is it is by far the most expensive place I've been. 

Koh Phangan

So... I guess you can tell that the home sickness really got to me in Koh Phangan as I did not take one single photo on my camera there!! But I had some amazing nights out, most of which I remember and I'm looking forward to seeing how my disposable photos come out...

Missing Home

There are so so so many advantages to travelling, you get to see the world and you learn what you are really capable of. During travelling I have been pushed past limits I didn’t think I could possibly go past but now thanks to travelling I know myself that much better. But with so many pros to travelling, of course there are cons, I am now on the last leg of my current adventure and the itch to get home is stronger than ever.­Travelling is hard. No one tells you how hard it is. But it’s because as soon as you are home all those bad memories completely fade away and you wish more than anything you were travelling again.

Ko Samui

Yesterday evening we arrived in the beautiful Ko Samui. I was pretty dubious as to whether I would actually like it here as I've heard a lot of mixed reviews. But it has exceeded expectations by a long way. 

We had a quiet evening last night, only going out to buy food and then coming back to our hostel to take advantage of it's amazing wifi. BLISS!!! But today has been oh so hectic. For a mere £7 we were being shown nearly all the sights of Ko Samui... We started off with the Ko Samui view point. There was so much blue it was breathtaking! We were so lucky with the weather... I would almost go as far to say that the weather today is one of the best day's we've had this whole trip... 

Ao Nang, Krabi

I can't believe we have less than two weeks of our trip left! It's gone so quick and slow all at the same time. What a whirlwind... Whilst dreading the end of another adventure, I am so excited to go home. 

Ko Phi Phi

I have just spent the last two days in Koh Phi Phi... and I think this maybe one of the most beautiful islands I have seen yet. 

The Highlights of Bali

Yes.... I'm still in the airport... and I'm still bored... But I've cleverly figured out I can write a post now but not actually publish it... Ingenious right (did I use the 'in' correctly that time Dad?)

So whilst being sat in the airport, I've been given time to reminisce the wonderful 10 days I have just experienced and to pick out my favourite parts of Bali.

Dolphin Watching

For me, it's must. It's a long way to go for only an hour and a half watching but it really is an incredible experience. But then I also think we were really lucky with our boat driver, as a lot of the boats would spot a dolphin and chase after them straight away, but ours told us the dolphins would eventually come to us. He was right. I wouldn't have got half the shots I did if it wasn't for him, I'm lucky not all my photos were completely ruined by loads of other boats, which I'm sure lots of other people's photos are.

Seminyak and Kuta

Second post of the day! Curaaaazy times... but I am stuck in an airport for 8 hours with nothing to do... SO! Seminyak and Kuta... I can already tell that this is going to be a relatively short post as these were probably my least favourite places in Bali.

Surfing and Sunsets, Uluwatu

Well, I've fallen in love with Uluwatu. This place is incredible. Good surf, good people, good atmosphere.

The Gili Islands

The Gili Islands are insane, we only went to Gili T but it was absolutely packed with people, bars and restaurants.

The Monkey Forest, Ubud

After an exciting morning watching the Dolphins, we headed back to the south of Bali to Ubud. 

Dolphin Watching

This morning we had the earliest of all mornings, 5am to be precise. And why, oh why would we wake up at this torturous hour? Well, we were dragging ourselves out of bed to go see dolphins at sunrise.

Lovina and the Air Panas Hot Springs, Bali

After a fleeting visit to Malaysia where we encountered a not so Irish bar (the only thing Irish was Guiness) and a trip to the Pentaling markets, we have finally arrived in Bali!

Elephant Nature Reserve Park

Once again T and I were up at 7am for another day of adventures. We had paid B2500 (around 50 pounds) to go the Elephant Nature Reserve Park, one of the things I had been most excited about before leaving for Thailand.

Da's Cooking Class

After a day of doing completely nothing and a rather chilled morning today, Tierney and I headed to a traditional Thai cooking class taught by a kind man called Da.

Chiang Mai

After a 9 hour luxurious bus journey, Tierney and I arrived in Chiang Mai.

Our hostel was called Eco Resort which is absolutely amazing! (We have just moved hostels but Eco Resort is much much better!, I'll do a post on all my accommodation at the end of the trip.) After quickly dropping off our stuff we took our and first Tuk-Tuk ride and headed to the Walking Market, which is a Night Bazaar that only happens on weekends.

Lebua State Tower Sky Bar

When I asked various friends for their advice and opinions of Bangkok, most responses were "Bangkok isn't that great, it's just really overcrowded and dirty. You really won't need much time there." But for me, Bangkok has exceeded expectations and last night I was blown away by Bangkok's beauty.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets

After an hour and a half bumping around in a minibus, we arrived in Ratchaburi for our day of exploring the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets. This day trip was one of the best things I have done in Bangkok, most definitely worth getting up at 6am for. (For those that know me you will understand that getting up at 6am is a big deal for me.)

Night Markets and Temples

After getting up at 2pm on Wednesday morning and discovering Tierney had been ill for most of the night, we decided to have a relaxed day but to explore the night markets that evening. We discovered our hostel is in a pretty ideal location as the night markets were only a 10 minute walk away.

The Start of Thailand

After 2 planes, 16 hours and a 2 hour airport transfer we have finally arrived in our hostel in Bangkok. So far it's been a day of nerves and excitement. When I started writing this we had just boarded our second flight and were already exhausted. I managed to sleep relatively well on our 9 hour flight but poor T and her mile long legs struggled to get any sleep at all.

The Glassboat

photo credit: www.glassboat.co.uk

As my sister leaves for university before I get back from Thailand, we decided to have a family outing before I got my coach to London (I know, I can't believe how fast it has come around!). I took this lunch outing as an opportunity to go to a restaurant I have had my eye on for a long time, The Glassboat in Bristol. 

Summer Moments Part 2

I figured I would get another one of these posts in before I set off to Thailand (which is a week on Monday AAAHHHHHH, I still can't believe how quickly it's come around!)

London Madness

At 8.30 on Tuesday morning, I woke up bright and early to visit one of my favourite friends in one of my favourite cities. I was on the way to be reunited with my American partner in crime; Sophie.

Travel Tips: What's in my Backpack

I guess normally this kind of post would be what isn't in my suitcase; before every trip I pack up the majority of my belongings including clothes I never wear and things I never touch. The kind of things you never throw away because, well, you never know! It might come in useful... I mean why wouldn't I bring a glass photo frame that was clearly going to smash in my suitcase... Yes. That did actually happen... 

Travel Plans

Hello kids, I'm back again sat at my kitchen table on a quiet Saturday evening with not much else planned (I know my life is so exciting and exhilarating), so obviously the obvious thing to do is continue planning my trip to Thailand.

Birthday Celebrations

For me, June is filled with Birthdays (as you could probably tell from my last post), but it also happens to be mine today!

Summer Moments Part 1

With the weather being so spectacular, I have had some glorious summer moments already, which only makes me even more excited for the rest of summer!

The Teenage Years

As my 20th birthday rapidly approaches, I start to think about the past 7 years. The lessons I have learnt, the adventures I have experienced and the memories I have made. It's safe to say I have had some unforgettable ones... 6 countries, 2 schools, 2 boyfriends, 1 festival and countless friends. Here are some of my favourite memories...

A Goodbye Surfing Trip.

With this fella hopefully going off to America this Saturday (all depending on the arrival of his CRB check), I took a couple of days out of my soon-to-be hectic schedule to have a few days surfing in Woolacombe with Charlie.

The Finale of First Year

In September 2013, I embarked on my second adventure of the year. I was heading to Bath to start University. 3 house mates down, 20 books read, 8 essays written, 2 exams taken and 0 real meals cooked, my first year of university has flown by and Summer is finally here.

Los Angeles, USA

The last leg of my All American Roadtrip and the most anticipated. LA.

Life Lately.

With a never ending pile of books to read, an infinite amount of numbers to write and exams rapidly approaching, I'm starting to feel like a rabbit stuck in headlights and time for this blog is evaporating away but here is a little bit of what I have been getting up to lately.

Notting Hill, London.

A few months ago I got a lovely message from one of my favourite campers. She sent me an excited e-mail saying her family were coming to visit London and if I had time she would love for me to visit. On Wednesday 16th I was up at 6am to catch the 6.45 megabus to London Victoria.

The Grand Canyon

With difficulty we moaned and groaned as we woke up at 5am and shuffled round our hostel room trying not to wake up our French room mates. We were heading to the Grand Canyon. 

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

After being on the coach for 6 hours, I was falling asleep on Sophie's shoulder as the bus slowly rolled on through the endless amount of desert when BAM! A huge cluster of lights appeared in the middle of the blackness, we had arrived in Vegas.

The Liebster Award

Thank you to the lovely Melissa (wanderlustandmemoirs.blogspot.ca) for nominating me! Sorry it's taken me so long to do this but it's so hard finding people with under 200 followers! (Hence why I only found 7... my bad!) But here is my post :)

San Francisco. USA

After 2 months discovering the East Coast and an 8 hour flight; it was time to discover the West Coast.

Beautiful Bristol

It is no secret that Bristol is one of my favourite places in the World... My workplace is within the super modern Cabot Circus (also known as The Glass House) meaning that a lot of my time is spent in the city, yet despite the amount of time spent here, Bristol always manages to surprise me somehow...

The Start of Spring Break...

After what seems to have been the longest term on earth; it's finally Spring Break!!

New York

The city that never sleeps, the beyond famous skyline, the home of yellow taxis and millions of films. The next part of my adventure; New York.

Sunday Evening Antics

For four years Hollister has played a huge part in my life and it is evenings like tonight that make me realise how lucky I am to have co-workers that are like family to me. Yes, I do indeed work for THAT company, but the people that work there are some of the most intelligent, genuine, kind and level headed people I have ever had the fortune to meet and I don't know what I would do without them.

Washington DC, USA

After 20 emotional goodbyes, 6000 photos and 100 children; it was time to embark on the first leg of our road trip. We were on our way to Washington DC.

Camp America

When I started the long application for Camp America, I had no idea the impact it would have on my life and it all down to the fantastic team working for Camp America... here's why you should choose Camp America to start off your travels in North America.

Pennsylvania, USA

How to sum up Camp America; tiring, memorable, exhilarating, educating, ridiculous, hysterical, have you ever seen a penguin come to tea? Some days are good, some days are bad, some days you just want to give up and go home but it was the best experience of my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Boracay and Metro Manila, The Philippines

After a long 15 years away from my Mother's home town. I finally returned with my Mother and sister to be reunited with my family.