Thailand: Koh Lanta

We got on an 11.30am ferry from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta which took around 2 hours and cost around 400Baht, (£9 per person). The ferry this time wasn't too much of a problem for anyone, the sea was very calm and there were outside seating areas for fresh air. Arriving into Koh Lanta we again had no accommodation booked as all the options we had found online were a little out of our budget. Getting off the ferry we found a tuk-tuk driver who said he knew of a few cheaper places so we hopped in expecting to view a few rooms before finding one that suited us. 

We were pleasantly surprised when we pulled up to our first location The Leaf House Bungalow. It was a small garden area with a few two storey beach shacks surrounding it, with a larger hut used as a social area and numerous smaller undercover seating areas, all within a stones throw of the beach. We all jumped out of the tuk-tuk thinking that this place was going to be well over our budget. The lady said that the only room she had available was a 5 bed dorm room above the social area, and upon showing us we completely fell in love. We negotiated a good price for the room and even got ourselves a free breakfast thrown in. 

We were all feeling pretty excited about having the beach so close, so we got into our swimwear and headed straight there. Rebecca and Sophie being the most excited of us all, literally dumped their stuff and ran into the sea. After about 20 seconds there were a lot screams coming from Rebecca and we all started panicking thinking she had got into some sort of trouble. As fast as she ran into the sea was as fast as she ran out of it again! She comes over to us claiming that she is covered in this horrible slimy stuff, which we later found out to be jellyfish babies! Luckily enough they were too young to sting yet, but from then on nobody wanted to enter the water. Because of this we found that lying on the beach was complete torture as we couldn't enter the sea to cool down. After only an hour or so Bethan and Sarah gave up and walked back to the Bungalow. That night we were delighted to find so many cats living at the hostel. The cutest one was this white and grey one who took a special liking to us and even followed us up the stairs to bed.

The next day we were all feeling like we had had enough of the sunbathing so we headed out to a coffee shop for some food and a few cups of coffee. After an amazing feed we wandered up and down the main road going in and out of a few shops. But, the area in which we were staying didn't really have too much to see so it wasn't long before we found ourselves at the bungalow again. Missing our scuba diving we thought watching Finding Nemo would be a good idea - of which we all enjoyed (even Rebecca)! That evening we headed out for a walk on the beach to check out some of the food places. We settled into one of the restaurants, ordered the same amazing pasta dish and Sarah ordered a pizza which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

After a short 2 night stay we decided that there wasn't really enough to see here, so we decided to move on to Krabi. Sorry for the lack of pictures but we really didn't do too much. 

Beach Time!

Seating Area at the Bungalow

Yummmmyyy!

Our cat friend for a couple of days

The Happy Wanderers

♥

Cambodia: Sihanoukville

We got the bus from Phnom Penh down to the beaches of Sihanoukville for some well deserved beach time after all the history lessons of Cambodia. We decided to stay in Led Zephur Hostel on Serendipity Beach. We had heard that this was the more lively section of Sihanoukville and was advised to seek accommodation on a more chilled area, however we felt that a more busy location would be suitable for some party time, and we could always do a day to another more quiet area for some relaxing. On arrival at the hostel we were amazed to find a Sunday roast on the menu and quickly jumped at the chance - we were not disappointed! After months and months of seeing pictures every Sunday on Facebook and getting suuuuuuuper jealous, we finally had our own roast dinner to devour, oh god the gravy!

After stuffing ourselves silly we took a wander down the road to the beach front. We were soon ambushed by a group of small children trying to sell us string bracelets/anklets. We politely refused their offer but they proceeded to follow us anyway and it wasn't long before we had a group of them join us at our table while we ate. We didn't mind though, we had lots of fun chatting with them and taking selfies. Bethan was sporting a 'double bun' hairstyle that day which was quite the hit with the children. They kept asking why she had a hairstyle that looked like a cat - "meeeowwww" haha! It was cute to make these little friends because for the remainder of our stay they would spot us on the beach and come over for a while to sit with us. They even made us all friendship bracelets of our favourite colours for no charge whatsoever.

With everyone in high spirits we spotted a fire show going on at JJ's Playground just a few bars down, so we headed over for a closer look. We were happy to find an amazing drinks offer - buy one get three free, for a tiny 40p! We settled onto a table and were mesmerised by the skills of the fire show. It wasn't long before one of the guys, Danny, decided to join us and even convinced Rebecca to have a go herself. As you can imagine this didn't end well, Rebecca attempted to twirl the fire stick around a few times and decided it was too hot so dropped it on the floor. The table next door seemed very impressed with Rebecca's efforts and decided to leave us 2 beer towers as they were heading back home and we proceeded to dance the night away - thanks Mr Hong Kong!

After that heavy night we decided to check out the more chilled area of Sihanoukville, so asked a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Otres Beach. We were met with just a few beach shacks along the beach front but decided to take refuge on a deserted section of the beach under a palm tree. We had a wonderful day dipping in an out of the sea and sipping fresh coconut water. Soon enough the sun was setting so we went into one of the restaurants for dinner, where we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets we've seen to date!

So that's our Cambodian Trip all over with - now for a 20 hour bus ride back to Bangkok to apply for our Myanmar Visas!

Dinnerrrrrr!

Serendipity Beach

Drinks with Danny

Courtesy of 'Mr Hong Kong'

Otres Beach

Otres Beach

Sunset at Otres Beach

The Happy Wanderers

♥

India: Varanasi

Next stop on our journey around India was Varanasi, probably one of the most chaotic places we've visited yet. We've been pretty excited to see Varanasi for a loooong time, mainly because of its sanctity within the Hindu religion, something which we've been trying our hardest to embrace and educate ourselves in as we've been going along. Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India and is often referred to as "the holy city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city of Shiva", and "the city of learning" so you can imagine how important it was for us to visit. Many Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation - if you are cremated in the city and your ashes thrown into the Ganges, you will attain nirvana. This ends the life/death cycle which is preferable to the majority of Hindus because it means all their sins are forgiven and they can finally rest in peace rather than being reborn as something less preferable than a human, or even a human of a lower cast (if possible) in another life. We'll discuss this in more detail in a while.

We stayed at Stops Hostel during our time in the city. We absolutely loved the hostel and felt so at home there we ended up staying an extra two days! When we arrived we were greeted by bright displays of colour, painted walls, chalk boards, random furniture and a general chilled out vibe. The manager explained to us that a number of tours and activities were planned for each day of the week and that we could do a cooking class, a sunrise river boat tour along the Ganges, an evening boat tour to the burning ghats, a market tour, a temple tour, yoga classes, and much more. They even offered massages for a small donation which was very tempting. We stayed in a 16 bed dorm but we also found out that there was the opportunity to sleep in tents on the roof (the cheapest option available) which you would initially think is a bit silly considering there are beds available in dorm rooms with actual mattresses but it was surprising how many people were checking out of the dorm and into the tents at the earliest opportunity - they were fully booked for the entire duration of our stay! The tents were located on the roof and had a really nice area where you could chill out and socialise. Maybe worth a try if you ever visit! Also on the roof were the communal toilet and shower cubicles, each of which were painted in the theme of a particular film, some of which included Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It certainly made for some interesting toilet/shower breaks! The hostel also provided free breakfast - the first hostel we've come across that does so which we obviously loved. Every morning there were endless supplies of cornflakes, boiled eggs, toast with butter and jam, coffee, and chai which allowed us to fill our bellies up for the day.

As we arrived pretty late in the day, and weren't yet sure of our whereabouts we asked for some advice on where to eat and were told that Kerala Cafe, about a two minute walk away had some pretty good food. We decided to visit and found the cheapest food yet (around 50p for a huge portion!) VERY spicy but delicious all the same. After our great feed we decided an early night was in order as we had booked a sunrise boat tour of the ghats for the next morning - we were not looking forward to our 4.30am alarms!

Before we knew it we were awoken to the dreaded sound of our alarm. Still pitch black outside, freezing cold and still half asleep we followed our guide on a 5 minute walk from the hostel to the Ganges river. Here we were met by the most friendly young man - Babu, who would be our boat rower for the tour. This boat ride was very chilled, taking a slow pace up the river where we admired the local laundrettes hand-washing bags of laundry from the surrounding houses and hotels. We also got to see many local people having their morning bath in the river (even though it was freezing cold outside!), they do this as they believe it washes away their sins. When the sun rose around 6.30am, we could finally see just how many people were at the ghats waiting to wash in the Ganges and start a new day afresh. On our way back towards the hostel Babu kindly stopped at a small stall selling chai - a bargain at only 5p a cup! We were feeling pretty exhausted after our early start, so after taking full advantage of our all you can eat inclusive breakfast at the hostel we decided that some down time was in order so set up in the chill out space in our dorm room to begin planning our next leg of the adventure. This proved to be a very frustrating task indeed, as every route we planned to take brought us more and more dead ends. After hours upon hours of planning, our hard work had worked up our appetites, which was only going to be fulfilled by McDonalds - thank god for google maps pointing us in the right direction!

The next morning we thought we would have a wander around the streets of the city - what a maze this turned out to be! The streets were so windy and narrow it was impossible to navigate our way around. After aimlessly wandering for a few hours and feeling ourselves getting a little overwhelmed we took refuge in Brown Bread Bakery. We had been warned about the many fake copies of this restaurant but a kind local man reassured us this was the original. We were delighted with our amazing pasta dishes and the bread basket that accompanied it was to die for! After months and months of Asian bread (you'll know what we mean if you've been) it was like a dream come true to taste the freshly baked goods.

That evening we were feeling inspired by the city and eager to learn more about the ghats and the significance of Varanasi city within the Hindu religion so we booked another river boat tour through the hostel, however this time we would have a guide, Anil, to explain everything in a lot more detail. As we travelled up the river Anil first explained about the 'burning ghats'. Manikarnika Ghat is the most well known place for Hindu cremation, carrying out around 200 cremations per day, as they believe that cremation here will bring moksha (emancipation, liberation, release). The price of a cremation here is very expensive and the type of cremation depends on a persons caste. The body burns best using sandalwood, which is the most expensive and so can only be afforded by the richest families. If a cheaper wood is used then the body will burn more slowly, or not completely which is undesirable. The ashes are then collected and thrown into the river. Women are completely banned from attending any cremation at the ghats, as it is believed that women bring too much sorrow to the event. Burning of the body is not to be looked at as a sad event; but rather a new beginning.

Next on the tour we stopped at Dashashwamedh Ghat where every evening five priests perform Ganga Aarti (Agni Pooja) which is a dedication made to Lord Shiva, the Ganga River, the Sun, Fire and whole universe. This is a spiritual ritual which takes place along the entire length of the Ganga river. There were hundreds of boats filled with both tourists and pilgrims who come here daily to worship Lord Shiva. We watched as the priests began the ceremony with large flaming lamps and the chanting of mantra and songs. The crowds in the boats followed this by lighting their own lamps on placing them into the water lighting up the whole river. Our heads almost exploding with new information we decided a good dinner was necessary so we left the boat and went on a mission to find something delicious.

Varanasi really was one of the most inspiring places we've visited so far, we hope the pictures capture the beautiful chaos better than our words... 

Planning our next move

Stops Hostel Wall Art

Babu on the Sunrise Boat Tour

And they say India is third world.. :P

5p Chai 

Cheers! 

Evening Aarti Ceremony

Happy Wanderers

♥

India: Chhotaram Prajapat's Homestay, Salawas, Jodhpur

Following our time in Jodhpur city, we decided to visit a homestay in Salawas (a small village just outside Jodhpur) called Chhotaram Prajapat's Homestay, definitely our most authentic Indian experience yet! This involved us spending two days and one night at the home of a local family within the Bishnoi Village, staying in traditional Rajhastani mud huts, and eating delicious home-made food made by the women of the family, as well as gaining invaluable insights into how the Bishnois live their everyday lives.

We were picked up from Jodhpur city by Chhotaram and his father in massive jeeps, and they drove us out of the hustle and bustle of the city into the rural village. Upon arrival, we were greeted with lots of chai, cucumber, and watermelon, as well as cuddles with THE cutest baby to ever exist (see pictures below). It was very difficult not to steal him away when we left! We were also given kavala, a red string bracelet which represents unity (a way of welcoming us to the family) and protection against everything from enemies to natural disasters; and a bindi which is supposedly worn to retain energy and strengthen concentration. Immediately we felt like part of the family - the kindness and generosity of the family was apparent as soon as we sat down on their cute woven benches. The family are traditionally weavers, so it was nice to see the type of things that they create as part of their working lives.

We spent one day doing a village safari which was a great experience. We were taken around the village and told the history of the Bishnoi sect, a social group founded in the Western Thar Desert of India. Historically, Guru Jambheshwar prophesised 29 principles which he provided to the Bishnois warning about the importance of protecting the environment, and consequently banning the killing of animals and trees. The villagers are therefore staunch worshippers of nature in all its forms, especially the sanctity of plants and animal life. They even pray to the green trees and animals that inhabit their land. We were told that in 1730, 363 Bishnois died trying to protect trees from being cut down by the King's men by hugging them and refusing to let go.

During the safari, we were shown how different people within the various villages perform different tasks/jobs and then sell the products of their work as part of a co-operative to the other villages. We first visited the Gudha village where we saw an old man making opium (a banned substance in Rajhastan) - he also showed us how to tie a turban which unfortunately was of no help to the boys later on when trying to tie theirs - a very skilled art apparently. Next we visited the Potters' village where we were shown how to make pots and ornaments before being allowed to have a go ourselves which also wasn't entirely successful (Bethan managed to end up throwing her 'pot' across the room when trying to remove it from the spinning table). Next was the Kankani village which is home to block printers. We were shown how various designs are printed by hand onto fabrics to make bed linen, table cloths, pillow covers etc. It really was amazing how symmetrical and perfectly aligned the designs were considering they weren't made by machine. We also stopped at a nearby village to befriend the children. They must be used to these kinds of visits as within a matter of seconds they were lining up in an orderly queue awaiting crayons and biscuits. They were so inquisitive about us, asking Bethan and Sam about their blonde hair, and Sarah about herebunny tattoo. The older lady of the village didn't seem impressed and told Chhotaram that if we were part of her family she would banish us for altering the way we look. They girls there are taught to honour their ancestors and keep up with traditional dress. We were then taken back to our 'home' village to see how the Weavers prepare materials such as rugs using particularly intricate string weaving on a handmade wooden stand.

We finished off the day by climbing up to a higher point in the village in time to catch the sunset which was a really nice end to the day. We spent ages relaxing on the top of a rock mountain as the evening approached. After Sam had complained for most of the day that there was a sharp pain jutting into the bottom of her foot, Chhotaram took a look at Sam's foot to find that there was a small thorn sticking into it but not in the area she had been complaining about. It turned out that the thorn was sticking through the bottom of her flip flop and digging into her foot as she walked - such an obvious thing to miss. It was interesting to see Chhotaram using two more small thorns in order to create a tweezers to get the initial thorn out of Sam's foot - just showing yet again how effective their simplistic lifestyle is; they're still able to achieve almost anything with the most minimal of materials.

When we got back, we were taken aside by Chhotaram's mother who dressed us up in traditional Indian clothing - saris, head scarves, bindis, and jewels for the girls, and turbans alongside what looked like a huge rug for the boys. It was such fun and we got plenty of snaps of how funny we looked! The girls also got some lovely henna which really finished off the Indian look! We completed the evening with a traditional Indian dinner made by the wives of the family. It was one of the most delicious meals we'd had in India so far - we couldn't get enough of the millet bread which was basically devoured before it even hit the plate.

Just as we thought the night was over we were surprised with what can only be described as the most crazy firework 'display' we've ever experienced! The family, including the children, some of which were as young as 5, all grouped together and started throwing fireworks in each and every direction. Things got a little out of hand when mermaid Sinead got her own box of fireworks out and joined in the group - she was the most dangerous one of all, almost throwing a firework into Jacks face, naughty! 

One of the best things about the homestay was just the general chatter with the family. Chhotaram was so knowledgeable about absolutely everything we asked him. Nothing was too much bother for him; he couldn't do enough to ensure we were as happy as we could be. We certainly learnt a lot from him in respect of his attitude towards life, family, and especially work. It's crazy just how hard the family works yet we didn't hear one complaint from them. All you can see is love between them - especially Chhotaram's dad with his grandchildren which is one of the cutest things ever! He was constantly playing with them and showing them affection, although at times he was too quick to pass them over to us to snuggle with for a while! :) The family were kind enough to provide a gift for each of us as a lasting memory - a small Ganesha figurine, which is the God of wisdom, knowledge and new beginnings within Hinduism. We couldn't rate this experience any higher. Nothing was missing that could have made it any better for us. The memories, particularly of the hospitality and love we were shown by the family will stay with us for a very long time, that's for sure.

Little Charmer

Our Cute Huts

Sarah and Sam happy with their home for the night

Safari Time!

Potters Shop

Elephants represent luck

Man showing off his skills

Sam was a natural...

...Bethan wasn't so good

Bishnoi man preparing his opium

Children lining up for their biscuits

Making friends with the baby goats

They literally wanted to munch on everything!

Now time to spot some wildlife

Hello there little Blackbuck

Heeeyyy herd of camels! 

Our climb to watch the sunset

Diwali candle

Dress up time!

Happy Wanderers 

♥