All posts tagged: travel

Sustainable Fashion – What Does It Mean & How Can You Help?

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  Main photo: A clothes factory in Burma Ph. Steve McCurry  The older I get, the more my conscience niggles me about things that would have never crossed my mind in my early twenties. Our generation is the first that grew up with fast fashion; we were, and are,able to get our mitts on designer-influenced duds at rock-bottom prices. And if you’re anything like me, you took advantage of this. I used to definitely subscribe to the quantity over quality mode of buying, treating myself to new clothes on a weekly basis. The bulk of which would be worn once, never to be seen again – sound familiar? Now I’d rather buy less, maybe spend a bit more, but certainly I think about clothing that will have longevity. Now I’m not saying we all become eco-warriors, start boycotting Topshop and only wear hemp BUT I think we could all be more considered when buying and caring for our clothes. No person needs 50 dresses, why not buy fewer that you really, really like? We’ve lost the …

What To Do in Bangkok

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Let me start by saying I wasn’t immediately sold on Bangkok, and I’m still a little unsure – it’s busy, hot and sprawling and did I mention relentlessly hot? Seriously, it’s the only place I’ve visited that somehow manages to get hotter at night. Anyway, I gave it a fair crack and here’s what I suggest you do with 2 or 3 days in BKK. Don’t stay any longer or you’ll go cray. STAY AT NAPPARK If you’re backpacking in Thailand you’ll probably start off in BKK and you’ll most probably wanna stay around the backpacking mecca that is Koh San Road, however it is very mental there. So stay just round the corner at Nappark Hostel which is a luxe alternative to really scuzzy traveller digs. It has great bathroom and shower facilities, which you’ll need and is under £10 a night. Nappark Hostel, 5 Tani, Talat Yot, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10110 JJ GREEN VINTAGE NIGHT MARKET This was far and away my favourite thing in BKK, a huge, sprawling night market much like Streetfeast …

Backpacker Fashion: The Crochet Crop Top

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There are certain items of clothing that you just can’t get away with wearing in ‘real life’, one of those is crochet anything. It’s just not aprops if it’s not on the beach. However when backpacking, anything goes, so make sure you’re not left out and nab yourself a crochet crop top. You can get them for as little as £3 and they’re so cute. Be sure to do a few abdominal crunches before you rock one! She Made Me do amazing crochet clothing  

The Dreaded Delhi Belly and How it Nearly Broke Me…

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Call it hubris, cockiness or just plain stupidity but I *honestly* thought I would avoid Delhi belly while travelling. I’ve never been ill because of food, I’m the person who eats with a group who all get food poisoning and remain unscathed, my stomach is legendarily strong.   That’s not to say I wasn’t careful, I didn’t eat meat for a month while in India, avoided tap water and religiously sanitised my hands – seriously, what more can you do? And I thought I was safe, I lasted one month feeling fantastic, so on the second to last night (in an expensive western restaurant, it’s never the street food) I indulged in some chicken. On the afternoon before my flight to Bangkok I began to feel *really* sick, I was sweating, nauseous and confused and just had to go to bed. Then the vomiting started. Now, before that, the last time I vomited was 2 years ago after the Hotbox London launch party where I drank 435 free cocktails and ate a whole cow, and …

En Route To… Thailand

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I am currently at New Delhi Airport, ready to fly to Bangkok. I’m super excited to get to some beaches, meet my old housemate Sinead (who will be flying from the UK to Bangkok in a few days) and go to the Full Moon Party! India was amazing, read all my India travel posts here and I’ll see you in Thailand.

Art Class in Udaipur, India

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Udaipur in Rajasthan is such a lovely, peaceful town – set around a dazzling lake (featuring a swanky 5* hotel that I was sadly not staying at) – this creative place is famed for its miniature artists. You can find intricate paintings adorning pretty much every surface and wall plus you can buy yourself a piece of art or two to take home. Being a little bit of an artist myself *toots own horn* I decided to take in an art class with one of Udaipur’s many miniature art schools. I painted a camel because one nearly killed me in the Indian desert and I thought it might work as a kind of ‘face your fears’ therapy. It didn’t. While I wasn’t cured of my camel aversion I did come to appreciate the immense skill of the miniature artists, their brushes are soooo fine and they grind their own paints out of all natural colours – needless to say, my camel didn’t turn out quite like the instructors, but I had a great time painting …

Cooking and Eating at The Sikh Temple

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There are many religions practiced in India, it’s a very spiritual place, Hinduism is probably the most common faith, but there are Muslim, Christian and Sikh people too. In Delhi I was lucky enough to attend a Sikh temple, and what an experience! I absolutely loved it. On entering the temple you must cover your head, I donned a lovely orange bandana (ever stylish even in India), remove your shoes and wash your hands and feet – then you enter into the temple to the sound of rhythmic drumming, chanting and singing – it’s quite a meditative experience just silently sitting cross-legged in thought, listening to the prayers beings called. After a quick prayer (I’m an atheist but it doesn’t hurt to put out some positive vibes into the universe) we went to the temple’s kitchen. Sikh temples (depending on the size) can feed hundreds or even thousands of people for free each day. Sikhs volunteer their time to cook chapattis, dahl and vegetable curries for anyone who wished to eat. Sikhs also see all …

Pushkar – India’s Hippie Oasis

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In the mountains of Rajasthan there lies a small but very holy town by the name of Pushkar. In Hindi ‘push’ means ‘flower’ and ‘kar’ means ‘hand’. The town is home to India’s most holy lake where each year thousands of hindus make a pilgrimage to the sacred waters. Legend has it that the lake was formed by the tears of Lord Shiva who was distraught after the death of his wife Sati. When Sati died Shiva cried so long and so hard that his tears created two holy lakes (in Pushkar and Ketasha – which means ‘raining eyes in Sanskrit). While visiting Pushkar it is possible to take part in a ceremony at one of the 52 ghats surrounding the lake. I obviously took part in such a ceremony at sunset (when in India…) where a holy man leads you in a series of chants and offerings, sugar, rice, pigments and flowers symbolising health, love, prosperity, for good karma. The experience was awesome, especially in such a picturesque setting – I honestly found myself …

5 Items You Must Take in Your Carry On

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Not the only five of course (hello Passport and money) but important nonetheless… A Diary You might use your phone, laptop or tablet you child of the 21st century you, but you tell me when the last time a good old-fashioned diary suddenly stopped working? Technology isn’t infallible, dead batteries, weak signals and general ‘WTF?!!!’ bugs can prevent you accessing important info. So get a mini diary to write down all your important dates and information. You’ll thank me. Your Smart Phone Like a mini computer your iPhone (other brands are available) can let you surf the web, but you can also use it as a camera, video camera, voice recorder, alarm clock… the list goes on. Download some useful apps and this piece of kit is indispensable. I cancelled my phone contract but use Skype and Whatsapp to talk to friends. My favourite apps >>> A Good Book Take a Kindle of course – the Kindle for books is what the iPod is for music – the best thing ever. But technology can fail, …