We are in Thailand! Woohooo!

Saturday 28th January


Today we arrived early morning around 3am in Bangkok. We got a taxi to the hostel and went straight to bed. We stayed in Nap Park, which was a pretty cool place and everyone seemed to be social there but i didnt like how packed the dorms were and the dividers in between made it seem more unsocialable than it should be! We got up, went to leave and found our hostel was flooded and so was pretty much the whole of Bangkok with Kho San Road full of water gushing down the middle! We waited for the hostel to sort out the floor so we could go out and found a place for lunch, we then walked around Kho San Road which was amazing and went for a few drinks! We tried to book train tickets for the next day to go to Koh Tao but it was all fully booked! We managed to get two seats on the night train that evening though so we cut our bangkok trip short, checked out of the hostel and went to bar to kill some time before leaving! I also got my hair done which was pretty cool - full head of highlights for only around £30! So we sat in the bar and em had a Banana Split (i think this is going to be a regular thing for her) and we had a few drinks. Some Irish boys started talking to us as they had a bet on whether we were Irish or Not. Haha! They were shocked when they found out we were Welsh!
We then left to get our train for 10:50pm and slept overnight on it, getting a ferry to Koh Tao early hours Sunday morning!

Sunday 29th January


We arrived in Koh Tao at around 9am and walked around for a few hours trying to find accomodation, it was all fully booked but we eventually found a little hut close to the beach! We had a walk around and then spent the afternoon on the beach sunbathing - its such a hard life on this island! 
We went out in the evening and met two lovely boys - Vito from San Francisco and Justin from Canada! We partied on the beach and had a really good night and i woke up with possibly my worst hangover ever on the Monday Morning.

Monday 30th January 


I spent the whole day being sick and sleeping. Quite a good day for mans worst hangover as it POURED down all day!  I eventually started to feel better around 7pm so we went out for some food but didnt go out as it was raining and i think i would have thrown up straight away by the smell of any alcohol!

Tuesday 31st January


Yay! The sun is back! We spent the day at the beach sunbathing! I think i could get used to living on this island! We then went out in the evening with Saba and her lovely Cousins (who were on our boat over to the island). We raved it up and ended the night with the islands legendary Banana Nutella Pancakes! 
I know my blogs arent really as descriptive and not at all funny anymore (because this place is actually nice) but all we are doing is sunbathing and drinking so theres not much to write about!


 All i can say is I LOVE KOH TAO! :-)

Carlys guide to India - The Golden Triangle

Our week in India was very interesting. Now that i am no longer there, i can say i am very glad that i included it in my travels but when i was there i could not wait to leave.
When we arrived in Delhi, we were both expecting a culture shock but could not believe just how much of one we got. From the man pissing up against a hostel, to being locked in a taxi until we gave them money, and to tuk tuk drivers ignoring you and taking you to random jewellery shops where they get commission, its safe to say we did not fall in love with Delhi. The only good thing about Delhi was that we met our driver Ravi there! I would not advise anyone to spend more than a night here.
Our trip then started to improve when we were in Ravis car driving (very quickly) away from the place and towards Agra - known most for being home to the Taj Mahal. This was an amazing experience and it was stunning to see and hear the story of the Taj. The weather was much better here too which made us even more happy! Apart from the Taj, theres not really much else to do in Agra so after one night we were off and headed towards Jaipur.
This was our favourite part of India - the people were nicer (slightly), it was cleaner and there was lots more to see. From the Amber Fort, Monkey Temple to drinking vodka in our hotel room we had a much better time here and the sights were very pretty! We spent three nights here and loved our hotel - Who knew we would love somewhere called Hotel Glitz? Haha! It was very nice, especially compared to what we were used to by now in India!
All in all im so glad i went to India as it was an amazing experience but i just couldnt handle being around such poor conditions, seeing people live in the slums and people with no arms begging for money was horrible. The poverty in India is unbelievable.
I dont think i could have managed the week without our lovely driver Ravi! He protected us and took us everywhere we wanted to, coming around with us even though he didnt have to. He made us feel much safer as for two young girls, it was quite scary. We have told him he needs to come to the UK so we can show him around everywhere and drive him around so hopefully we will see him again soon!

Finally, i will give a few handy tips for anyone thinking about going to India.
1. Expect to use over half of a bottle of anti bacterial gel in a week.
2. Stay as little as possible in Delhi.
3. Go to Jaipur and see the sights! Its much prettier.
4. Hire a driver, it is very cheap and the safest way to get around.
5. Watch where you walk, people piss anywhere and spit everywhere, even the women!

And that is my handy guide - i do apoligise if i offend anyone who loves India but im going to be honest about my stay! Some people may love it and want to stay months, but for me one week was enough!

All Temple'd Out!

Tuesday 24th January


We started our day with the Monkey Temple - lots and lots of monkeys everywhere! The baby ones were so cute! We fed them nuts and one grabbed one out of my hand - he was abit greedy!

We then went for lunch and emily was very hungry and had 2 cheese toasties - they bought it out to her on two seperate plates too and looked at her so funny when she put them both in front of her! 

We had really seen everything in Jaipur by now so Emily went back to the hotel to read her kindle and i went out with Ravi to check out the theatre for the evening! He also showed me 4 of the gates of the Pink City which was pretty cool! 


At 5pm we left and climbed to sunset point which was absolutely stunning and had views all over Jaipur! We got harrassed by little kids on the way too who seemed cute but in the end just started shouting "GIVE ME RUPEE!"...spoilt brats. 

Ravi has been going on about us going to see a movie so off we went in the evening...the movie theatre was amazing! We treated Ravi to a night out and got the popcorn and drinks in (about 40p each amazing!) We went to see the movie Don 2, the only movie actually being played there...its pretty much indias version of James Bond but hilarious and cheesy! It was probably one of the funniest movies i have ever seen and could not stop laughing because it was so stupid! It was all in Hindi too and me and Em managed to understand the whole thing! One thing that we found hilarious was that at the cinema they even had an intermission half way through (This was when the locals just stopped and stared at us - dont think two white girls is a common thing for them there) A kid fell over coming back to his seat and Emily and Ravi could not stop laughing - no wonder the locals dont like tourists!

This was our last day in Jaipur and it has definitely been our highlight of our trip - we love jaipur! Its so much more peaceful than Delhi and Agra and not everyone is after your money, apart from the kids! We have probably seen enough temples to last us a lifetime though! Tomorrow we have a full day drive back to Delhi to spend our last two nights in India. Ravi is determined to make us like Delhi so watch this space! 
xxxx

We Love Jaipur!

Monday 23rd January.

Today we woke up happy after a good nights sleep and happy to actually be clean and have a nice shower. After breakfast, Ravi took us to the Amber Fort and Palace which was beautiful. Me and Em explored our way up and saw lots of goats and elephants! At the top aswell, we bumped into our friend Lucie - what a coincidence! Huan also very much enjoyed this trip and loved the sunshine. 

We then went into the Pink City to see the City Palace and to have a walk around. We also went up to see some temple which some crazy man on the street was praising...we got there to find it was just an empty rooftop...interesting! Nevertheless it was fun to walk around and actually see the sights! We also met a lovely indian man who gave us advice on what to see in Jaipur for the next few days!  Ravi stayed in the car and when we finished we found him fast asleep with his chair put right back haha! Em tapped on the window until he woke up, dont think he liked this as he was a little bit moody for the next half an hour - MEN! 
I think he is getting abit frustrated having to talk to two girls all day and is missing male company! He says its because he has to protect us and would get in trouble if anything happened to us, what a cutie! We went for something to eat and let him walk off his mood for abit, we found somewhere that did cheese toasties! In india everywhere you go, little children come up to your car window or window by where you are eating and pull puppy dog faces and pretend to eat to make you feel bad - so Em gave her some crisps! Dont think she appreciated it though and 5 minutes later she was asking for more... We also met a little boy who did a magic show for us, he was actually pretty good and took it very serious finishing the show with "3,2,1...The Magic Show is over". He was very cute! 


Ravi then took us to a shop as we wanted some trousers, he told us not to go to the market stall but to go to this one particular shop - hes obviously not on commission! Anyway they did have very nice stuff but we did not buy it as it was waaaay too expensive and saw it much cheaper! But we did stay for about an hour and learnt the owners life story - he was very interesting and spoke english really well. It was nice to actually learn about culture here and about his family who he is very proud of and wants to send to London. We even got given a souvenir from the shop with a print of an elephant on it! 


Later we went out to a indian folk dance restaurant with Ravi and actually had a nice curry - our first of the week! There was also a lady who danced around with big bowls on her head, she was pretty impressive actually and made me and Em dance with her. So in front of a restaurant the lady, me, Emily and some other Man danced around in a circle. I obviously shocked everyone with my moves, its like i was born an indian dancer really. Ravi was annoyed as he missed it and wanted to take pictures and laugh at us, he had been to get some vodka and snacks and we went back to our room to get drunk. Emily and Ravi drank the majority of the bottle, i wimped out for once, dont know whats wrong with me! Instead i entertained them with my singing and dance moves. 

We are loving India now and although we are still excited to go to Thailand we are now enjoying ourselves and enjoy seeing the different cultures here. Tomorrow we are going to the monkey temple, some other sights (couldnt understand what Ravi called them but they are probably temples) and maybe going to see an bollywood movie in the evening! It will be our last full day in Jaipur before we head back to Smelly Delhi - ergh. Hopefully we will be spending one night at Ravi's home and will get to meet all his family and see the way they live so that should be really good.
For now that is all, i will make sure i get lots of pictures of Emilys face tomorrow when she is disgusted with all the monkeys!
xoxo

2 Idiots Abroad...

An eventful first few days...


Friday


So we arrived in Delhi safe and sound...to sum Delhi up - its dirty, everyone drives like absolute maniacs and everyone wants your money! 
The journey here was fine, my mum survived the whole car journey without crying but then made up for it by weeping like a baby at Heathrow! Mine and Ems spirits were high - especially when we saw the previous winner of BNTM in front of us in the queue to go through to the departures! Mischa i think her name was but cant remember! Soon after we boarded the flight, and enjoyed 8 hours of sleeping, movies and getting annoyed at the american behind who snored like a bear.
When we arrived in Delhi, we were happy to have the man standing with my name on card waiting for us. Turned out this man wasnt so nice and wouldnt let us out of the car until we gave him money (even though we had already booked for him to come and get us and he nearly killed us several times in the journey). We were abit scared so i gave him a £2 coin and emily gave him 10p haha. We were then taken to our room - Smyle Inn (up an alleyway with a man pissing up against the wall) - given the wrong room and ended up in an argument with the owner as it was disgusting and the lock didnt even work on the door! We were then  given a different room which wasnt much better so decided to leave and find somewhere else to stay. After a further argument we had to pay for him to let us leave, what a prick! Anyway we were out of that place asap and soon found ourselves in some government of india place where a man with an Indian/London/Australian accent took us in and guided us. We were still a little wary but it seems to have worked out for the best and were given Mano and his friend Ravi as our drivers. They drove us round to see some sights in Delhi before taking us to our hotel for the night. An important note to make about India is that everyone here drives like maniacs and beep constantly - i think its way of saying hello there, either that or everyone is extremely moody. Who knows!
We were taken to the hotel and at first were happy with the room as it did not look like some man had rubbed his arse up against the wall all day. However when we were going to bed we realised it wasnt so great when we were both shivering all night but never mind!


Saturday


On saturday we travelled to Agra with Ravi (our lovely driver who protects us and takes us everywhere we want to go), and our trip in India has finally started to look up. We saw some very funny things on our journey here, especially a man hanging out the back of some sort of truck and all we could see was his butt and legs hanging down, he could very well have been dead but who knows. Another funny moment was when Ravi had to stop the car to go pay tax and we were left in the car by ourselves with strange people coming up to windows asking for money, my favourite was a man with a monkey on a chain making him jump and put his face against the window. Safe to say he didnt get any money from us! Our room for tonight is clean and actually has a shower (instead of using a bucket like we had to use in Delhi) and the people here seem alot nicer. 
We spent the afternoon at the Taj Mahal which was incredible and a real turning point for us here. We had a lovely guide who told us everything and took lots of photos of us! Here are some pics...

We got taken around to do some errands and then dropped back to the hotel. We decided to go for a curry at the restaurant downstairs and had some rice and naan to share. We ordered a curry but it was pretty much red/pink chicken covered in cream - not nice! 


Sunday


 Today we have spent the day travelling to Jaipur, the pink city!  We have just arrived and our hotel was a pleasant suprise - an actual shower, a kettle and clean pillows! We are here for the next 3 nights so it will be nice to relax abit more and see the city more. We have heard lots of good things about this place so  excited to see it! Hopefully our week here will continue to improve! India is such a culture shock and it is incredible seeing the differences in the way we live! But it is safe to say we are VERY excited to get to Thailand and party and sunbathe on the beaches! 
Will update soon!
xoxo

Bon Voyage!

This is my first ever attempt at writing a blog, and i dont think i have written something longer than a text message since i left uni so please excuse any errors! (Matt that was especially for you as i know you'll be waiting to criticise my grammar)


So after several attempts at packing, my backpack is finally zipped up and ready to leave! Me, Emily and Huan my penis mascot will soon be at Heathrow waiting for our first of many flights, the first stop being Delhi India. I am so excited to get out of this cold weather and land in the sunshine! Although im pretty sure arriving at midday in Delhi is going to be a very hectic experience, we have been informed by our hostel that a lovely gentleman will be waiting with my name on a card in arrivals. I am actually very excited for this as it will make me feel very important and i can pretend to be a princess for a few minutes. I'll make sure i get a photo of this lovely gentleman! 


I will miss all my lovely friends and family so much when im away, and will be thinking of you when im sipping on cocktails on the beach and partying all night long! Im going to use this instead of sending postcards as 1. i cant be bothered, 2. im on holiday and 3. im not wasting money on the stamps :-) But i have promised a selected few a cheeky postcard here and there. 


Anyway before i can do that i need to actually leave so im off to endure a drive to the airport and a lovely 8 hour flight to India. Thankfully we are flying with Virgin and get free Booze (Ems hoping for champagne but i dont think they will stretch that far.) My mum has only nearly cried about 12 times today...and she hasnt even got to the airport yet...as you can guess i am very excited to spend the next few hours in the car listening to my parents lecture me about talking to strangers, taking drugs and pissing on the street. 


So this is it. Hopefully i will blog again and not get attacked by a rabid goat on my first day.In the meantime,  i will leave you with a picture of my ERNORMOUS backpack and Huan ready and waiting with his suitcase!

See ya suckers!
Lots of Love
xoxo