Alice's Adventures in Thailand

Thailand has always been a dream destination for me, and before I went, I could only imagine what it might be like through postcards with photos of beaches and paradise. I've blogged quite a bit about my travels through Asia recently, but I've not yet shared my thoughts on Thailand, where we spent 2 and a half weeks of our holiday. Now here's the practical bit, price wise, we discovered that if you book through agoda.com on a Friday you get huge discounts, so we did that and stayed in 4 star hotels for a fraction of the price. They seemed even better than my usual go to site whilst travelling which is almost always airbnb.com. You really can live like a King on next to nothing if you do it right! For internal flights, go with Thai Airways  or Airasia, they seem to do the best deals.

How did I feel about Thailand? Well we can't say we didn't cover some ground, having spent time in the east, west and north and finally landing ourselves in Bangkok, the capital. We did have some wonderful times there, the most magical thing about it being that we had crossed paths with one of my oldest best friends in Kuala Lumper (there's a post about this here) and subsequently, she and her brother changed their plans to travel on with us. But in all honestly, Thailand didn't quite live up to the utopia it was in my mind, and whilst we had some good times, we actually had some really awful experiences there as well. Here is the breakdown of the different areas.

Ko Samui / Koh Phangnan

We started off exploring the little islands on the east side of Thailand. After a very long journey, and a mix up at our hotel (whoever it was staying there before us had decided to extend their stay and not tell people) so we decided to give up the ghost on exploring for that evening and instead stop at a little restaurant nearby called 'Orgasmic'. It sounded cheesy, but needless to say, we ended up with champagne overlooking the beach and some really amazing seafood. It was one of those moments where you realise you are exactly where you're meant to be at that precise moment.

Exploring Ko Samui was great fun. We rented a scooter for the first time, and after a wobbly start, drove almost right round the island. We nicknamed the little bike 'Ron' - and Ron really did do us a great service. In all honestly, with the local standard of driving I did fear for my life a few times, but Trig was surprisingly good at controlling the bike, even though neither of us drive at home. After our expedition we explored some of the local stalls and shops and spoke to the locals. I can't fault Ko Samui for it's beauty.

We chose to stop at Koh Phangnan next to experience the Full Moon Party. Koh Phangnan is a bigger island than we ever realised, and we were staying at nice little beach hut on the other side of the island. Not to worry though, they loaded us up with rum buckets and we sat on a 'song thaew', a converted pick up truck, that they filled to them brim with people, the unlucky ones standing up and hanging off the back of the car. We were going pretty much downhill the whole way at a crazy speed, but we all survived the journey!

We then met up with our friends from England. A few more rum buckets later, and all the advice we had been given about staying safe, and about how tourists are targets just became a distant memory, I am ashamed to say. The last thing I remember is dancing on a stage, and then suddenly I was in a taxi home without Trig. Piecing the bits together the next day, I had wandered to try and find my taxi ride home (which we'd already paid for) and ended up being taken to a cash machine in a taxi, paying two men and a taxi driver way over the odds, who told me the rest of my journey was paid for. It sounds completely irresponsible to get into a cab with strangers, but it seemed commonplace for taxi drivers take an address from each person and put strangers in the back of their cars together. I was then put into his friends taxi, who demanded more money and tried to scare me. Trig on the other hand, woke up on the beach being kicked by strangers. It could have been so much worse.  If anyone warns you about a Full Moon Party as a tourist, from what we've learnt, its not an exaggeration. It is a vipers nest, we heard stories of people being drugged and having all their belongings stolen, or seriously hurt, or worse. Obviously we had just had too much to drink and a few opportunists decided to fleece me for a bit of money, but we were fine. We just kicked ourselves afterwards for losing each other.

We spent the next few days chilling out and trying to lose our hangovers, before heading to the West coast islands.



Phuket

Our journey to Phuket on a private transfer was supposed to take 6 hours by bus and boat, BUT in actual fact took 14. We were taken onto a bus after leaving the boat, which stopped again shortly after picking us up by a roadside cafe, where we had to wait for four hours for a transfer. During this time, they tried to convince us to pay significantly more money before they took us on our way. When we refused, they took us to a public bus, which confirmed that we'd been well and truly duped. We were with two Australians who needed to catch a flight from Phuket, and we felt so sorry for them! Phuket itself was OK, though my card got cloned, so my memories there aren't necessarily the best. We felt threatened by some of the local lady workers who were quite aggressive with us, and decided to stick to a safe looking bar. A woman approached Trig and asked him to play a board game with her. Trig being the big kid he is played along, as he always sees the best in people, but I knew something was up, and asked him to stop. Turns out the same woman did that afterwards to an Irish man we met, who then was threatened with a hammer when he didn't hand over his cash to a man working with her. So far Thailand was teaching me to be very, very on guard.

Koh Phi Phi

We took a day tour out to Koh Phi Phi and this was truly the most stunning part of our whole time in Thailand. Koh Phi Phi is famously where they filmed 'The Beach', starring Leonardo Di'Caprio. We chilled out in the sun, did a bit of snorkelling and had some lunch, before a storm decided to hit. Getting on and off one of the little boats to the main ship was the biggest challenge!

Chiang Mai

On our first night in Chiang Mai, we rocked up to our hostel, and met a really friendly lady-boy who ran the establishment. She gave us some great tips on where to go out, and after a frustrating amount of time on the phone trying to resolve my card cloning issues, we headed out for some food and to one of the bars she recommended.

The bar we went to was called 'Zoe in Yellow', a really cute little establishment all lit up by tiki lights. The night started to pick up, when we bumped into the hotel manager again. She bought myself and Jon (my friends brother) a drink, and we returned the favour. Julia wasn't feeling the night, so Trig offered to walk her home. What happened next was indescribable really. I went into a complete blackout, and I was alone in a city in Thailand, 20 minutes walk from home, with no comprehension of how to even function. Now I am never the type of girl to get drunk and not accept responsibility. I am convinced I was spiked, because I've never ever experienced such a thing before in my life, and I hadn't really been drinking that evening. I was completely lost, and completely vulnerable. Trig spent the rest of the night being propositioned by the manager of the hotel who wouldn't leave him alone. Luckily, I was alright in the end. I may not have been though, and the whole experience shook me to my core.

For the next few days, I was incredibly ill. We had booked a trek to see the elephants, but I really shouldn't have attempted it! I pulled myself together and convinced myself I could go, despite still being quite ill 3 days later.

If you ever visit Chiang Mai and go to see the elephants, please visit a humane place, like the Elephant Sanctuary. You have to book in advance of your visit but the majority of the tourist targeted places are cruel to their elephants. If I had understood this beforehand, I wouldn't have gone. The Mahoot who was 'driving' our elephant kept hitting the elephant with his hook, and even drew blood at one point. The elephant seemed to spend the rest of his time tied to something. Afterwards I researched it, and it turns out the procedure for training an elephant literally translates to 'breaking his spirit'. They are taken away from their mothers at a young age mistreated, beaten, and starved so that they as wild animals learn how to respect and listen to their trainers. For more information on this, PETA explains it well here. I don't think I've ever felt so guilty in my life.

After this, we visited a local village tribe, where everyone embarked on a trek to a jungle waterfall. I unfortunately was still very ill, so I stayed behind with the villagers. We obviously couldn't communicate with each other verbally, but I actually felt really at peace lying on one of the surfaces of what seemed like the local meeting point / wooden hut. One of the local men shook some lychee down from a tree and opened them up to give his children some fruit, which they all shared with me. They all sat around talking for hours, and it made me think about how far removed we can be in the western world from simple pleasures like this. I don't think I can remember the last time I sat around and just talked to my neighbours for hours.

Bangkok

Our last and final stop was the big city itself. I was probably the most excited about Bangkok because I had heard so much about the crazy lifestyle. As a group, we did some sightseeing, but the explorers in us quite frankly were a bit knackered by this point, so we instead decided to spend our last few days checking out the night time activity, as that does seem to be what Bangkok is known for. We got lost in chinatown, and invited into more than enough dodgy back alley bars (no thanks!)



Highlights were seeing a thai boxing match, visiting the poshest cinema ever, where we got to lie on beds, and were given a gourmet buffet, and silly tuktuk rides complete with 80's dance classics. All in all, Thailand was a good mixture of good and bad adventures, none of which I will be forgetting any time soon!

Have you ever been to Thailand? What did you think? x

Alice's Adventures in Istanbul

Hello,

I have been very much enjoying a month away - which means I have so much blogging to do now! My plan was to blog on the move but unfortunately my tablet helpfully self destructed, which means I now have a LOT of catching up to do.

Our first stop on our travels was Istanbul. I had heard so much about Turkey and the capital before I went, including that it was listed as one of the most beautiful places in the world. What started out as a brief stop off on our way to Singapore, actually ended up being a highlight of our trip away.

We stayed for three nights in the little district of Taxsim, which just so happened to also be the modern end of the city and its party central to boot. We opted for an Airbnb, and stayed with a lovely man called Melik and his girlfriend, who made us feel really welcome and included unlimited free tea! There are lots of cafes and bars around Taxsim square, and the area really comes alive at night. We found  solace in a little Irish bar called U2 (we didn't judge based on the name) whilst lost looking for our Airbnb, and ended up subsequently spending most of our evenings there. The bar owner was a lovely friendly Turkish man called Leo, who bought us stuffed mussels, local street food, and kept us stocked up with bar snacks. Leo generally gave us a great insight into what it was like to live in the city, and by the end of the three days we were all good friends, he even invited us back to stay with him whenever we wanted to! We also met lots of friendly Irish people, almost all of which seemed to have somehow originated from Tipperary (the same place as my Grandparents). It really is a small world.

Central Istanbul has so much to offer, including the Grand Bazaar in Sultanahmet, the Blue Mosque and the Spice Bazaar to name a few. I was really in awe of the buildings and architecture. You can do some serious shopping there too, which tons of knock off brands if that's your kind of thing, particularly around the Grand Bazaar area. Trig hated the Grand Bazaar as he said it was just full of bags and jewellery, which is conversely my idea of heaven, so we had to agree to disagree. It is absolutely huge, and to step into a side alley can easily mean hours of being lost. This reminded me a bit of the souks in Marrakech to me with the bartering and trading,  although it did seem slightly more structured. Although the drinks prices were similar to the UK, everything else seemed to be a lot cheaper and quite flexible, we found that with the exception of bars and restaurants, there often wasn't a fixed price for anything.

We really wanted to catch a Turkish show on one of our evenings but couldn't manage it. I was also very disappointed that we didn't make it to the Turkish baths! However if there's one thing I won't miss out on, that is sampling the local cuisine, and I have to admit doing so turned the whole concept of kebabs (pronounced 'kebabs' there) on its head for me. If you buy a kebab in the UK, it's usually because its 3am and you've had a heavy night drinking, followed by waking up by a greasy wrapper and a feeling of deep regret in the pit of your stomach. Not so in Istanbul. We had some amazing grilled food with incredible seasoning, which I think may have been some of the best food of the whole holiday for me!

Istanbul was just intended to be a short stop over for a few nights, that we took because it was on the way to Asia, and not necessarily to visit in its own right. However after spending the few days there, I did fall for the charm of the city and would now quite happily go back and visit Leo, do some budget shopping and eat some amazing 'kebaps' again in a heartbeat!

Alice x

HOW TO: Book a Thrifty Holiday!

I like to think I've built a bit of a reputation as someone who can plan a very thrifty holiday. Subsequently, as a result of my talents, I get roped into the role of 'travel agent' for my friends on a regular basis. But I don't mind, because I weirdly love the thrill of finding a good holiday bargain.  My personal bests so far have have included finding a flight from London to Poland for £4 (tax included) or some return flights from London to Morocco for just £40. Last summer, myself and Trig took off on a month long tour of the East Coast of America, starting in Oslo, moving through New York and Miami and the Bahamas, ending up in Mexico (and unexpectedly, Frankfurt, Germany) which we did, accommodation, flights and all, for under £1300 each. You can read more about that here, which in fact was my first ever blog post.

At the beginning of this year, I resolved to try and go somewhere exciting every month, which has been a hard task to live up to, but I am just about managing it. May was a bit lack lustre on the old adventure front, aside from a few work related trips to the capital, but June will more than make up for it with not just one, but two thrifty holidays. Next weekend, I'm going on a girly trip to Romania with three of my favourite girls, which we've done for a bargain £60 each, which is exciting as we haven't had an adventure since we all explored the beautiful city of Venice several years ago. The week after I'll also be jetting off for 5 days to Portugal with my friend Penny for around £100 for the week. Bring on the cocktails!

Like everyone, money is an issue for me, but my desire to travel and somehow balance all my responsibilities outweighs any need to hoard my cash. However, given the choice, I'd rather find a way to do both, so I've over time I've devised clever ways to stretch my pennies and still have some thrifty adventures.

Here are the best tips that I've picked up over the years;

FLIGHTS:

1. Gone are the days when 'all inclusive' meant 'exclusive' for those with loads of dosh. If you don't want to do all the searching for flights and accomodation yourself, there are a few sites that offer amazing deals. I found an all inclusive in Portugal during the winter months for £100, in a four star hotel for a week, including flights, on the Holiday Discount Centre, whose deals are ATOL protected (don't get stuck in Mexico like we did!) Most of the time though, it is cheaper to book things individually, and though its time consuming, its kind of fun when you get into it and start uncovering the bargains! Discount sites are gold dust for holidays too. Groupon, who are worldwide, regularly list lots of package deals with huge discounts, as well as sites like KGBdeals and Wowcher.

2. Use price comparison sites. This is obvious but there is no one trick to finding a cheap flight, it involves your time and lots of searching. Skyscanner is great because it allows you to type the general country you are leaving from rather than specify an airport, which is worth doing, because sometimes the difference is worth the extra train fare. It also allows you to type 'everywhere' as a destination, and choose an entire month to travel in, so if you're not picky about your exact destination or exact dates this can instantly identify the cheapest places to travel to.

You should also check out;

- Edreams (UK)
- TravelSupermarket
- Easyjet (for europe)


Another tip, if you are flying more than once, is to check for airline sites in the Country you'll be traveling from and try to use their websites. It's worth remembering that flight comparison sites charge you extra to make a commission, plus, there are often airlines that aren't featured on price comparison sites. I once searched on a Spanish airline site to fly from Barcelona to Portugal and found a flight for £14, even though the english price comparison sites were quoting hundreds. Just make sure it is ATOL protected!

2. Be aware that flights fluctuate depending on the time of year. It's much cheaper to fly between Oct - March compared to the summer months, because demand is higher for holidaymakers at that point in the year. So you can grab a bargain if you're willing to fly in winter, which lets face it, is when you're desperate to get away from the bad weather anyway!

3. Round the World trips with STA Travel - This summer, in late Sept, myself and Trig are flying from London to Istanbul, then onto Singapore, and up to Bangkok and then back to London, for £500 each. This is an absolute bargain and the only way we could do it was through booking through a round the world giant like STA, who get such great deals on these kind of flights. Round the world trips are amazing, as you get to see more and save on your flying, but be aware that you need to usually spend a minimum of 3 weeks away.

Accommodation:

1. My top tip of all time is most definitely Airbnb. We stayed in New York for five nights for around £100 for both of us in Upper Manhattan, in the most amazing apartment with amazing company, when hotels were quoting us 6 times that amount. There are other sites similar to this but I believe Airbnb is the most prolific. You essentially get the privacy of a hotel and a lock on your door, but in a real persons house or apartment (or sometimes you can opt to take the place for yourself). I always liked the idea of couch surfing without actually having to stay on someones couch, and this is it. You get to meet local people, and honestly, I don't think I would have stumbled on half the locally best kept secrets without this trick up my sleeve.

2. Price comparison sites are good for accommodation too, Alpharooms has proven to be one of the best for me, but also check out Travelsupermarket, and Booking.com.

3. You can sign up to be a house sitter and take on assignments across the world and get free accomodation in the process, in return for taking care of beloved pets, or just minding the property. This is equally great if you have pets yourself, we might be trying this if we ever need a sitter for our kitten, Jives! Check out TrustedHouseSitters where you can research assignments without signing up with the site.

4. Voucher and deals sites like Groupon often have cheap accomodation and hotel deals listed. Search for the relevant Groupon site in your area. If you're in the UK, Dealzippy is great because it lists most of the deals on other voucher sites (there are now so many!) in one place.

Another tip is to check out the Groupon site of the country you are traveling to, for tour or restaurant deals. We've eaten out in style by planning in advance and buying a few Groupons!

So there is a handful of my thrifty travelling tips! Enjoy - and happy travelling :)

Do you have any travelling tips? I'd love to hear them!

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