I like tattoos and being in Thailand and hearing all the stories about bamboo tats I promised myself that I wouldn’t be going home without them!

Last night we went out to our favourite restaurant and decided to head onto Khao San road to check out some of the tattoo shops, just for a look –  Can you guess what happened?

I didn’t just dive straight in and pick something from a book but chose something I had been thinking about for a while that I had saved on my Iphone.  The reason for going with this (other than liking it obviously) was that I wanted something small and simple, I’ve got lots of other big ideas I need to save skin space for you see.

So to get my tattoo fix for the year and experience a bamboo tattoo…

The first time my leg has ever been shaved.... sexy?

Design placement and laughing at shaving so much of my leg...

The first few 'stabs'

Carrying on with the work

Then he started show boating...

Faking pain (honest)

Nearly done.

The finished product.

The whole thing took about 40 minutes from start to finish and didn’t hurt nearly as much as I had expected.  The best thing however was how clean it was, no blood at all during of after and not nearly as sore as machine tattoo’s in the following hours/days. Very happy.

If anyone is interested in getting a Tattoo on Khao San Road I can recommend Up 2 U Tatoo on the second floor oposite Rikka Inn Hotel.  I spent a long time going through their work and the quality was very good, it was very hygienic and everyone was very helpful.

If you want to see a short clip of what it looks like being done check out our facebook page Or maybe you’ve already had one?

Getting a Bamboo Tattoo in Thailand -

I’ve been planning to go diving ever since we left home, in fact I even started an open water course before we left in preparation.  Unfortunately after the first pool session a woman knocked me off my bike (bitch) and I couldn’t continue, who wants to dive in England when we were about to set off to the tropics anyway?

Since setting off we’ve been doing so much that I never really got round to it, I know excuses, excuses! That is until that lovely girl I hang around with, Kirsty, decided my Christmas present would be a chance to ditch all my duties, boyfriend, blog guy, cleaner and general ‘looker afterer’ and finally get in the water.

Anyone in Thailand knows Koh Tao is the place to be for diving and despite having a few dive school recommendations; Davy Jones Locker just kept coming up.  Including, a friend on twitter the other side and a random bloke I met on a tuk tuk in Laos both suggesting them… What better way to choose your dive school?

After a pretty horrendous journey between Bangkok and Koh Tao my friend and I arrived on the island about 6 hours later than expected.  Luckily the first session of the PADI open water course was only a couple of videos and we were soon in bed recovering – yes together.

The Love Shack

The next day we spent the morning going through some theory before jumping in the Davy Jones pool to go through some basic skills.  We had one instructor teaching four of us and everyone breezed through the afternoon without any problems. I’m sure Kirsty would have done something about that had she been there…

Day 3 began with another theory session before taking the multiple-choice final exam just before lunch.  After a short break it was time for what we had all been looking forward to, getting on the boat and in the salt water.

SCUBA-POI

Dives 1 & 2 took us down to a max depth of just 10 meters.  Both started with practicing some basic skills in the shallow water before swimming off to explore the dive site.  My main highlight  was probably the large jellyfish we passed and seeing my friend take a rather wide birth while gesturing “fuck that” or more accurately ‘out of air’ but I knew what he meant.  Remind me not to just assume like that in the future…

The 7am start on day four took us to Hin Pee Wee dive site, home to a ship wreck but it was not for me to touch. 18m was as deep as we would be going on our open water course and unfortunately that was a few meters off what was needed to take a seat on the gun at the front of the ship.  Still, not a bad sight at all for my third dive ever.

Dive four at White Rock was to be our last dive and despite the ‘good chance’ of seeing a turtle it was not to be.  However even going that little bit deeper enabled us to see a lot more underwater life compared to the shallower dives of the day before.

And that was that, our open water course was complete.  Dives done, exams passed and we were open water certified.

I enjoyed diving just as much as I had expected to and maybe even more.  Koh Tao is a gorgeous island and I’m sure that helped a lot.

Koh Tao - Not bad eh?

Everyone we dealt with at Davy Jones Locker was incredibly friendly and a very good laugh, from the shop staff to the instructors and even the guy who took us in the side car of his moped to our bungalow on the first day, apologising after every speed bump.

Now I just need to get back there and get the advanced open water course under my belt.  But which dives to choose?

An open water course with Davy Jones Locker costs 9,500 baht ($300) booked online which includes all course materials, equipment, 4 nights accommodation and certification. A big thanks to the Davy Jones Locker for inviting us.  As always all opinions are our own. 

Diving on Koh Tao with Davy Jones Locker -

Yup, I think the title gives most of it away… it’s all coming to an end.  However, it’s not for the usual reasons, we haven’t run out of money, we’re not splitting up and we’re most definitely not bored of travelling or living abroad.

What’s Happening?

Can you remember back in October Kirsty left me and jetted off back to England for a month? Well the purpose of her trip was to gain the experience she needed to apply for various teaching courses.  But during that time she also managed to slip in the interview and test stages for her preferred choice – Teach First.

Teach first places highly attaining graduates in deprived schools where they work full time whilst learning on the job. It is a very popular course in England, mainly because it eliminates the need for spending thousands of pounds of tuition fees, unfortunately this also means places are in high demand and it’s a notoriously tough course to get on.  

Despite there being other teaching courses available Kirsty decided this was the only one for her and put all her energy into making it work. The thing is she was so unsure whether she would be accepted, supposedly it’s 1 in 30, we immediately started making other plans. We decided after finishing work in Bangkok we would apply for our Australian working holiday visa’s and head over that way for a year and then maybe the same in New Zealand.

The adventure begins: Departure- 25th August 2010

10 days later whilst we were visiting a friend in Phuket Kirsty received a call from England…

We’re not going to Australia.

Kirsty was as surprised as anyone, especially as they told her they would get back to her within a week, but it was simply a case of they couldn’t get hold of her.  She was half way round the world after all…

Kirsty has been accepted to the Teach First program for 2012! The bombshell, instead of working with younger children like she expected, she will be working in secondary school teaching business (she has a business degree by the way) to GCSE and A-Level students for two years – a far cry for kindergarten here in Bangkok.

So where in England? Can you be more specific?

Well, We have no idea…  Part of the teach first program is agreeing to be placed anywhere in the country, anywhere.  We should find out the region in the next few weeks and then the specific location a couple of months later – scary stuff.

Our first day travelling in Beijing, China. Since then I have aged a lot (thats a good thing) and Kirsty has lost a lot of weight.

What about between now and then?

Once Kirsty has finished teaching in March we will be doing a bit of travelling around here, checking out a couple of places we’ve missed so far, most notably heading to Bali for three weeks of beach time right before we fly home. Of course we’ll be back in Bangkok for Songkran as well!

Then we’ll head back to England and enjoy catching up with friends and family for a while before the next chapter starts.

Does this mean the end of travelling?

Nope, the whole reason for doing this is to allow for more travel.  After two years Kirsty will be a fully qualified teacher and be in a far better position to find (better paid) jobs abroad. As for me, I’ll do whatever to make money for a couple of years and try and figure out what I want to do with myself once we set off again but I’m thinking something along the lines of sky diving/scuba/windsurfing/canyoning instructor…

Our first stop will be Australia and New Zealand again to make sure we qualify for our working holiday visa’s before we hit 30 but after that who knows.  I cant plan two weeks ahead let alone a few years, right now I’m just looking forward to proper fish ‘n’ chips…

We’re Going Home! -

When visiting anywhere new you want to get a good feel for the place and what better way than to see the whole place?

Singapore is one of those places with so much for your excited eyes to feed on that viewpoints are a must.  Whether it be night or day think about hitting these great viewpoints for some amazing views across clean (yes the rumours are true – it’s very clean) Singapore!

Singapore Flyer
We wrote last week about the Singapore flyer and the various ways of experiencing it.  As the largest observation wheel in the world it’s definitely worth a visit and even going VIP if you have the cash.  The wheel is perfectly positioned to give you great views of our next recommendation…

Marina Bay Sands
Arguably the most famous landmark in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands is famous for it’s sky park which can hold over 3,000 guests.  Most of the park is reserved for guests of the hotel (bit too pricey for us dirty backpackers) but can be viewed on guided tours. The main viewing area and bar however are available to everyone and offer incredible views. This would be an amazing place to watch the annual Formula 1 race from but good luck getting up there during that…

Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Cable Car
Since it’s re-launch in June last year Singapore’s Cable Car has already received two awards in the Asian Attraction Awards.  The ride begins at the Jewel Box on Mount Faber (an attraction in itself) and takes you across to Sentosa via Keppel Harbour. The views throughout the journey are fantastic and there are a number of ways to travel including a brand new VIP car as well as dining options. On arrival you can take a look at the museum which shows the development of the cable car and how it used to look and how it was built – health and safety wasn’t so good back in those days!

Inside the cable car

Tiger Sky Tower Sentosa 
After stepping off the cable car you’ll find it hard not to notice the Tiger Sky Tower, formerly the Carlsberg Sky Tower and I’d recommend a beer for those of you not so fond of heights.  The cabin on the tower rises you up and rotates you at 131 meters.  As the cable car obviously has to come down for you to depart at Sentosa this tower is the best way to get a good view of the island and the surrounding area.

1-Altitude  – Raffles Place
Although we didn’t get round to visiting 1-Altitude it looks worth a visit. Not only because it’s on the roof of Raffles Place, the apparent birth place of the Singapore Sling cocktail but the 63^rd floor bar and Gallery offers great views over many of Singapore’s main attractions including those listed above. Of course mainly I just wanted the cocktail…

There you have it, take a bit of time out from all the endless shopping available and get yourself up there with the birds taking a birds-eye view over Singapore.

Viewpoints in Singapore -

The next stop on our whirlwind tour of Singapore was Sentosa Island. I’ll admit I knew nothing about this place before arriving in Singapore, other than the fact it was home to Universal Studios Singapore, which is of course why Kirsty was so desperate to go.

The only problem, it was raining… Unfortunately when you’re only in a country for four days (that sounds like a terribly short time but I did go into Spain for five minutes once…) you don’t have a lot of time to spare.  That means if you plan something and the weather is shit, you still have to go!

She can't help herself...

I really wanted to give the street luge they have on the island a go but the rain just wasn’t stopping, so I was dragged away towards Universal Studios and hopefully some dry entertainment.

There’s a lot going on in Universal Studio’s and obviously a lot of it’s aimed at kids, however there are plenty of things to keep the big kids entertained as well, so here’s my highlights for the grown ups (I’m by no means putting myself in that category)

Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN
This ride along with it’s partner, cyclone, are the real rollercoasters of the park. We ended up on this one first and enjoyed it a lot.  Straight after exiting we ran round the other side to jump on it’s partner and compare the two…

Battlestar Galactica: CYCLONE
Well, this one is the better of the two by far, in an upright position with your feet dangling below you set off in tandem with the ‘Human’ but the ride is much more thrilling. Big dips and loops seem a lot more fun when your not sitting normally!

Transformers: The Ride

Transformers: The Ride
We were lucky enough to visit the park the day before this ride opened, I say lucky because they were giving a short test run and of course we jumped at the chance.  It’s hard to describe this ride other than saying it’s awesome and like nothing I have been on before.  The 3D animation is insane and put together with the movement of the car it’s hard to remember you’re on a ride. You genuinely feel as though you’re flying round the streets and at one point as we fell from the roof of a building I honestly felt I was going to smash into the ground. I can’t do it justice at all in writing so make sure if you get the chance you check it out for yourself. Amazing.

Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride
I fully expected this ride to be complete pants but I was pleasantly surprised.  High speed loops through the darkness, sudden stops and unexpected backwards sections make this probably my second favourite ride in the park.

Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg
At the time of visiting this was the only real attraction in the New York section of the park other than having your picture taken with a ‘celebrity’ or as a remember just some women in a sexy outfit – just as good. Basically you’re in a warehouse and shown how, what looks like a real life dramatic scene, can be created using special effects. It’s interesting to see how it’s done but after the transformers ride it just doesn’t quite meet the standard anymore.

Waterworld
To be honest this is really cheesy and pretty outdated but like all these shows the staff are really (do I mean overly?) enthusiastic and there are plenty of stunts and explosions to keep you entertained without wasting half your day. Worth a watch.

Waterworld Show

Our trip to Universal Studios Singapore fell midweek when the weather was pretty terrible – the bonus? The park wasn’t very busy and judging by the snaking lengths of some of the barriers it wouldn’t surprise me to be waiting an hour on a peak day for many of the attractions. The worst we experienced was half an hour for a ride that was literally open for the first time ever – not bad eh?

The whole park is set out well. It has different themes for different area’s that form a natural circle for you to follow.  The park isn’t too big either which means unlike a lot of these parks you don’t spend half the day walking between attractions.

Our verdict?  Well worth a visit providing you’re not one of those freaks that hates fun? I mean rides…

Also did I mention how good Transformers: The Ride is??

Universal Studios Singapore -

One of our must visit locations before we set off on our trip back in 2010 was Singapore! Following our original plans we should have been there about the same time we settled down in Bangkok last March… Since then we’ve had a couple of chances to go but being told over and over again just how expensive it is, we were a bit apprehensive.

Back in November Kirsty had over 5 weeks off work due to the flooding in Bangkok – so we had plenty of time to get out of the city and explore some new places.  We discussed a few different options but Singapore just kept popping up…. no more excuses – it was time to tick Singapore off the list.

Obviously Singapore is expensive and for that reason we chose to only stay for four nights, which meant making the most of every second. Beginning shortly after arriving with –  The Singapore flyer.

The Singapore Flyer

It’s the largest observation wheel in the world and you can learn all about it while waiting to board  - but we weren’t there for that. We weren’t only there just for the views either. We had been invited on a special “flight”  the VIP Singapore Sling flight to be exact.

What makes the VIP ride different?

Instead of piling into a capsule with a group of strangers we were led from the VIP waiting room past the queue into our own one. The  car was nicely decorated to give a more luxurious feel compared to the normal ones. And best of all, We were each handed a Singapore sling to sip on the ride round!

The views are pretty spectacular from the top of the wheel, especially on the second half of the trip as you are treated to views across the most famous area of Singapore including Marina Bay Sands.

We’re not usually the type to take the luxury option but having the freedom to move around the car and take pictures without getting in anyone’s way was well worth it, we also got to act like little kids pretending to be posh which is always fun.

Singapore Sling Flight

The flyer was a great way to start our trip – and I would recommend it to anyone coming here. We had great fun taking in all the sights while sipping away on our cocktails and snapping photos.

A normal ride on the Singapore Flyer costs S$29.50 for adults or you can have a more private experience with the Singapore Sling Flight for S$69. You can find out more about the flyer and other flight options here: Singapore Flyer

A big thanks to the Singapore Flyer for organising this for us.  As always all opinions are our own. 

Ain’t no Party like a VIP Party -

Today is our 500th day away from home!  We have loved every minute of it and over this time we’ve written a few round up posts that detail some of our adventures:

• 100 days of travel and 100 reasons to love it!
• 1 year of travel in pictures
• The stupid things we miss from home
• The most memorable moments from a year on the road 
• What’s it like being a teacher in Thailand  

So instead of another I will just leave you with an awesome picture taken whilst we were recently in Singapore!

Us at Universal Studios Singapore

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope it is even better than our 2011!

Happy 500 days of travelling to us! -

Can you guess where this post is going? We don’t like Malaysia… Chances are you have and you’ve come here to shout as us and tell us how wrong we are but the fact is we won’t be going back again on this trip other than to fly home.

But Why?

The place has never really inspired us, when we first visited in March we were very excited to start exploring but our first impression of Kuala Lumpur wasn’t the best and we left without really ever falling in love or even really enjoying it despite hearing good thing from loads of people.  I guess first impressions are everything!

Kirsty at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

I returned in October after being invited to stay in a very nice hostel in Penang, and again I was bored within a couple of days.  I saw the hotspots of Georgetown in an afternoon, spent half a day in the national park and even tried out the main beach but nothing was doing it for me.  Had I not met some awesome people I think I would have considered leaving early and returning home, yes Penang has great food but what are you meant to do between meals?

Finally, during the floods in Bangkok, we spent four nights on Langkawi – a place we were both looking forward to exploring after hearing great things about, and again we left feeling disappointed.  We hired a car and explored most of the island, went on boat trips and tried to enjoy the nightlife but all of it just in no way compared to places we had been in the past.  If  anyone ever asked me where to go in South East Asia I would always tell them to explore Laos and Cambodia over the places I have seen in Malaysia.

Yes the beaches are lovely, but there are nicer ones in Thailand, the scenery is gorgeous but we’ve seen better in Laos.  For me, Langkawi resembled an English seaside town which hadn’t been touched since the 80’s, everything was a little sh*t. For example, we headed to the view point, which apparently has stunning views across the rice fields and out to the sea – although we couldn’t tell you as it looked like no one had been there in years and all the trees had grown to block out the view.

I reckon we have been spoilt in our time in Asia, if this was our first country then I think we would love it, unfortunately other places have captured our hearts and this just pails into comparison!

Kirsty and I during sunset on Langkawi

My advice: if you want to go to Malaysia, go there first!

So you’ve read this and now you’re thinking:

“But you’ve only been to three places and you’re writing off the whole country!”

Well yeah, but that’s the beauty of travelling, we don’t have anyone else to please and if we’re not enjoying a place why would we stay there or go back. This is our journey.

Have you been anywhere you’ve wanted to love but just can’t?

Malaysia Again? Ner. -

Want to learn more about us? Of course you do!

Well here are our ABC’s of travel, A big old shout out must be Given to Will of My Spanish Adventure and Ali from Ali’s Adventures for nominating us!

A: Age you went on your first international trip:
Erm, about 13 I think. I went to Turkey on a family holiday that nearly didn’t happen because my mum was terrified of flying. She loved it and we went back to the same place (Fethiye) a few years running.

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where:
I’ve not spent much time in Europe since being of drinking age so it’s hard to remember, the part of the world I’m in now it would have to be Beer Lao but I miss all my real ale’s from back home in England.

C: Cuisine (favorite):
Thai of course, it gets better and better the more you try.

Nice 'n' Spicy

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why:
Favourite: I loved everything about Laos, everything and so far it remains my favourite place

Least Favourite:  Unfortunately I’ve not had the best experiences in Malaysia and so it’s currently sitting in last place.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:
Songkran festival in Thailand. It’s just amazing how everyone gets involved, I’ve never seen anything like it, young and old, locals and tourists all together just having a really good time. I can’t imagine it ever happening at home without people killing each other and it would probably be banned after a year anyway.

F: Favorite mode of transportation:
Tuk tuk, it’s just a shame they charge so much so it’s rare I take one.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling:
Finding a clean public toilet, everyone needs to have a sit down in Singapore airport, 5* Luxury in there!

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to:
Not the hottest place I’ve been but Beijing, China felt the hottest. Wandering around the forbidden city in the sun I thought I was going to melt, everyone was running for shade.

Crowds hiding in the shade, Beijing

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:
First example that pops into my head was in Chiang Mai. The owner of our building was a doctor and despite being a very busy man came to see us when Kirsty was really ill one day and even sent one of his family to collect medicine for us and he expected nothing in return.

J: Journey that took the longest:
Although it’s not that huge of a distance I recently travelled from Vang Vieng, Laos to Koh Phi Phi, Thailand and it took well over a day thanks to slow buses and boats with big delays. Not a lot of fun especially with my visiting non-traveller friends along for the ride.

K: Keepsake from your travels:
I don’t really pick up a lot of stuff on the road. Maybe a few cheap shitty t-shirts that last about two weeks?

Loved that 600cc beast

L: Let-down sight, why and where:
Every ‘sight’ I went to on Langkawi, Malaysia. Driving the car around the island was probably the best bit, that place just didn’t do it for me.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel:
About 5 seconds after getting off the tube and hitting the streets of Beijing for my first time in Asia back in August 2010.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:
We splurged on a nice place near Bangkok airport during the floods before an early flight which was like heaven compared to many places we’ve stayed, massive bathroom, a bed you sink straight into and a balcony over hanging the pool – Kirsty keeps begging me to go back!

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?:
Strangers being strange.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?
Anywhere between 1 & 1000, I don’t know.  I’ve been going round in circles through SE Asia for the last year and I’ve never been bored enough to count.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:
Probably the ‘Crazy House’ Dalat, Vietnam. The name says it all really, an artist who made a crazy house that also operates as a small hotel. I’m sure it would be one freaky place to wake up depending on which room you got.  They we’re expanding at the time so I imagine it’s even better now.

Crazy House, Dalat, Vietnam

R: Recommended sight, event or experience:
Come to a rock show in Bangkok, we get some decent bands come through and the Thai kids go crazy for them. We’re talking inflatable animals, fire and lots of crowd surfing, all in a tiny venue.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling:
Beer, what’s the point of life without it?

T: Touristy thing you’ve done:
Uh everything? We’ve been travelling around Asia checking out stuff, we’re tourists no?

U: Unforgettable travel memory:
Abseiling down a waterfall in Vietnam was pretty special, looking back at it afterwards with shaking, bleeding legs made me feel very proud. And the best bit Kirsty slid the whole way down!

V: Visas, how many and for where?
Lots for Thailand and the surrounding countries.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?
I drank some wine in France years ago but I was very drunk so who knows if it was any good, I’m guessing it was better than the roughly 2 glasses I’ve had since I’ve been in Asia.

X: eXcellent view and from where?:
Our apartment here in Bangkok, come and stay and see for yourself!

Y: Years spent traveling?:
1 year 4 months

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?:
England, it’s strange seeing big hard blokes crying in the high street after we get knocked out of the world cup!

I would love to see the Travel ABC’s of:

The Mindful Pilgrim

We look forward to reading your answers.

My ABC’s of Travel -

It’s Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, Children singing, Christian rhyme. With logs on the fire and gifts… nope hold on, none of this is true. We’re in Bangkok for Christmas this year, there’s no kids singing Christian rhymes and there sure as hell isn’t any logs on the fire, the air-con is on full though…

This weekend will be our second Christmas away from home but our first real attempt at celebrating it in a foreign land.  Can it really compete with home?

Christmas in Chiang Mai

What makes this Christmas different to last years?

Well, last year we were living as backpackers, counting all the pennies, living in a single room in Chiang Mai and only a few months into our trip. A few small decorations sent over by Kirsty’s parents hung over a curtain rail but there wasn’t really room for anything else.

Christmas didn’t seem like that big of a deal – the fact that we were travelling was enough.

What did we do?

We had a Christmas meal of course, in an Irish pub of all places. The food did get us a little more in the mood (until we found celery in the stuffing – ruined!) followed by the usual excess of Christmas alcohol but that was it. None of the usual build up or recovery period of Christmas that we’re used to at home.

We didn’t even exchange any presents, not such a big deal for me but Kirsty is all about occasions, Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, National Skipping Day (it was on the 1st of April this year for those interested) she loves them all. So having nothing to open on Christmas day wasn’t particularly enjoyable for her.

But this year…..IT’S CHRISTMAAAAS! (Imagine Noddy from Slade shouting it like he does so well)

Christmas 2011

Picking names for secret Santa.

Now we have a real home, somewhere we’ve lived for a while, somewhere with more than one room, somewhere that actually feels like it’s ours.

We’ve even splurged on presents for each other, as well as for a few other people we know. The plan is to celebrate Christmas together, cook a big meal between us and create a homely sort of Christmas feeling for all of us living in Bangkok away from our families.

Maybe we’ll be able to recreate that Christmas spirit we have at home or perhaps just create a whole new Christmas feel, The Tropical Christmas Party?

Let’s hope so because next year we’ll be back in freezing England and chances are we’ll be spending Christmas apart at our homes with our parents enjoying what we’re used to over the Christmas period. For me, that’s lots and lots of decent ale and a huge boxing day buffet feast which keeps me full for days. I’ve got a whole year to look forward to before that though… Merry Christmas!

Christmas Past, Present & Future -