Friday 17th May, 13:18, Khao Lak by Mamie

Where are we, what are we doing?

We're in Khao Lak because a nice lady told us this is where we stay if we want to kayak in the Phang Nga Bay. Turns out we passed that 65km back and now it's raining heavily so we're stuck in this little, and expensive, town. Lets go to the beach! we said last night...

Urgh. Missing our Power Storm Crew back in Phuket.

In more positive news, we actually spent five pounds EACH last night on a meal. It was the most amazing luxurious meal and we felt like royalty.

Thursday 16th May, 11:33am, Phuket, by Mamie

We've been in Phuket, a hub of trashy tourism and revolting ping pong shows, but we've had a really brilliant time here. Our first night led us to some street performers breakdancing. Putting that aside for now, we then began roaming Bangla; the road of nightclubs, bars and the part of Thailand which Amy and I really hate; the culture for Thai girls to be strippers and performers and literally sell themselves for cheap, all for the shitty tourists who encouraged this business. Anyway thats a whole chapter to itself and not something I'm going to go into. Instead, we made some friends and went clubbing at 'Seduction' which became our go-to every night following. It was here that I recognised the dancers, and perhaps a little alcohol fuelled (sorry parents!), said hello and told them about how I used to breakdance. Of course, standard, the next day we end up in a breakdancing lesson with Rain and Mikey. As embarrassing as that was, we remained friends.

That night we watched their dance show in Seduction like groupies from the side and later were shown a cool local club. The third day was one of our favourites on this trip. They took us wake boarding and we got to properly meet the entire crew. These are their nicknames by the way, their real names are much more difficult: King, Mikey and Hsk (brothers), Rain, Porn, Extra and Twister. To put it simply, they're just really really cool. They're also through to the next round of Thailand's version of Britain's Got Talent. They're all really close and it's so cute it's almost as if it's from a movie. That night at the club there was some fierce competition. A weird (maybe French?) man attempted to impress us with some weird body rippling and locking stuff while some other men were also trying some odd moves. Our boys looked on for a while but eventually it got too much and they decided to shut them up. One second Amy and I are laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation and the next minute we're cheering on Rain who's spinning in the middle of the dance floor with some really impressive breakdancing. Boom. We felt like groupies at first but that night, went home feeling proud of 'our boys'.

What's kind of interesting is that we can parallel the group to the Nepali boys; Sagar, Santosh, Prashant and Smiley. The Rapidrunners team is a large group of boys who have worked together for years and formed a strong bond. While we only met a couple of them, we still felt the impression of that bond and now we can compare it to that of the Thai boys. It's been really fun here, and though they invited us to watch them in the big competition in Bangkok, unfortunately we have to stay down South. We're going to miss them but good luck for their competition and maybe we'll come back to Thailand one day.

As for the wake boarding, Amy struggled to stand up while I managed that part but got really pissed off at the corner of the cable ski. Fuck you corner. It was definitely something I'd like to try again but my body is now whacked after both that and the breakdancing. I might go find Amy now and beg for yet another massage...

Today we planned to get up at 7:30 on only a couple hours of sleep. Of course, it's now 11:30 and we're still lying in bed. We're now heading to the Ko Phi Phi island today for more beautiful beaches and sun. Wooo!

Friday 10th May 10:23am, Kanchanaburi by Mamie

I don't have much to say today, but I feel that this needs to be posted.

Amy fell out of bed this morning.

I found my eyes opening to the sight of Amy lurching off the edge of her bed. I can't forget her face of bewilderment, panic and surprise before she climbed back into bed and dozed back to sleep. Maybe it was more of a moment thing, but it was hilarious and has to be shared.

In more cultural news, we've finally begun exploring Thailand and its beauty. We've explored the town of Kanchanaburi where I have finally begun to enjoy the local food and appreciate my love of Pad Thai. Yesterday we headed out to the Erawan Waterfalls which involved a rocky but fun trek up to the seventh tier. We swam in this seventh tier which was small but beautiful, and we also decided to bathe in the fifth level for the sole reason that it had a natural slide. Later we experienced the Death Railway and the bridge over the River Kwai, famous from some film that Amy and I have yet to watch. The railway was cool but I particularly loved the small little jewellery market which I found hidden round the back. Just behind the market was a beautiful and colourful Chinese building. I think it was a temple or chapel but I wasn't sure and didn't have much time. I have found that one of the best bits when travelling is spontaneously finding these random, hidden and non-touristic areas.

That's pretty much it for today. We're now heading to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital, and then soon after that we go down South for the beaches. Exciting!

Tuesday 7th May, 7:39, by Amy

I am pleased to announce that Mamie is now out of the 'Hippo room' in the pediatrics ward at Mission Hospital, Bangkok. This means, of course, that we can now get on with our trip and see all the incredible sites this country has to offer!

Whilst Mamie was recovering in hospital, I managed to do some sight seeing by myself which, I have to admit, I am rather proud of! On an everyday basis, Mamie is on-the-whole the 'super-organised, speedy, spacially aware, always in control' leader of our two-man pack and so getting us settled in Bangkok was slightly daunting! I managed to drag a delirious and sick Mamie to a cheap part of town- anyone who has been to Bangkok will probably have heard of the infamous Khao San Road... It is the most touristy street I have ever witnessed in my life. Walking down it in the evening is a matter of weaving around stalls selling Pad Thai (egg noodles, nuts, veggies, chilli and chicken), an array of clothes, trays of scorpions - yes, I have now eaten a scorpion which I have to say, I quite enjoyed - coconut ice cream and creepy men advertising ping pong shows... with sound effects. It's an assault on the senses, almost up there with India. The road next to it is a more civilised, quieter experience; it is described online as 'Khao San's well-behaved brother' which I think is an apt description. It is a horse-shoe shaped street lined with nice bars, candlelit restaurants and trees.

Of course, I managed to find the hostel situated right next to the loudest club on the street, which meant for an interesting night's sleep. However, I redeemed myself the next day by finding my way to the well-reviewed, peaceful and clean Donna Guesthouse at the end of the road which has AC rooms. It is run by a stern, but quite amusing and nice, Thai man. We found his night 'workout' particularly amusing. I also happened upon another guesthouse on my quest which is the oldest in Bangkok - a wooden Chinese style house. When we return, I would definitely like to stay a night there.

Now back to my lone sight seeing! In Kolkata, I visited the striking Howrah Bridge, an incredible network of steel, especially when against an Indian sunset. I also went to the fascinating Kalighat temple, the city's oldest pilgramage site where Hindus come to pray to Shiva's daughter, Kali. As I queued in the crowded temple, a lovely 18 year old  girl with excellent English in front of me explained that in Hinduism, the goddess Kali destroys evil. Some women even offer their saris to the goddess. When I was with Mamie, (before the illness set in), the highlight for me was definitely Nakhoda Mosque where we were able to put a face to the voice that woke us up at 5 am with the call to prayer! Once we plucked up the courage to enter the very male dominated place, with our scarves around our heads, we were shown up to the very top where minarets rise to 46 metres. The view over the city was stunning. I was in awe. All I could think was 'if only my dad was here!!'; hundreds of hawks were hovering metres from us. It was a shame when the man put pressure on us to donate as we felt this should be completely voluntary but for me this couldn't tinge the magical experience. Don't worry Dad: we both took plenty of shots but sadly not using my phone camera! So although we were unable to visit the majority of Kolkata or volunteer at the Mother Teresa House, at least we were able to see a few memorable places.

In Bangkok, I spent my afternoon in Siam, a built up commercialised part of Bangkok. It began embarrassingly; apparently the Museum of Siam (National Discovery Museum) is not in the Siam Discovery shopping complex, but in the other side of town. Despite this, I went on to enjoy reading over some tea, having a shop around the area and I had a look in the 'Guggenheim-esque' Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre. I went to an interesting exhibition where artists portray Buddhist philosophy and belief through their art. Only knowing the basic values of Buddhism, I had to think carefully about a few of the interpretations but I really liked many of them. For example, there was one which represented the uncertainty of life - the artist painted an elderly man with a contemplative expression on to layers of a silk material. The translucent layers surrounding him created a mystical aura of 'unknown'. Another that stood out to me depicted a nude old lady holding a skeleton in her arms- I took from this that we should accept death. Another was a sculpture of 8 mini Buddhas on a boat, with the back half of the boat upturned with 4 of the Buddhas clinging on and the other 4 at the front sitting in lotus position perhaps having reached enlightenment. This represents the Buddhist philosophy that every lucky part in life is followed by an unlucky part and we should take the ups with the downs. It seems I like my contempory art! I loved the gallery in Venice, Delhi and now, Bangkok.

When Mamie came out of hospital we went to see China Town. We found the most amazing seafood restaurant and I had mind-blowingly spicy lime, chilli and garlic squid. It was so insane, I cried a little and there was no curd or lassi to help me through. It was delicious, fresh and great value. I think we will have to go back to try out the renowned oysters! We loved the Grand Palace for the Emerald Buddha and the beautiful royal gowns of the Textiles Museum which taught us a little about Thai history and the Queen. Mamie, with her interest in fashion, was able to compare the gowns to great designers; I just looked excitedly at the beautiful and incredibly intricate outfits. Wat Traimit with the Golden Buddha was definitely worth the visit as well as the stop off at the revolving Grand China Princess Revolving restaurant with a great view of the city. I love the unique combination of temples dotted in and around sky-scrapers with the city's multi-coloured taxis and sky-train. Awesome! The cocktail we had, served in a pottery tuk tuk, wasn't bad either :).

The photos are not my best but show a  nice range of places. Note the cockroach from our Kolkata hotel - not a nice wake-up...

Saturday 27th April, 08:22 by Mamie

We haven't posted in a while because East India offered us little in the way of wi-fi. However, I'm currently on the best train yet and though I haven't had much sleep, we actually get free chai and breakfast so I've decided to write a post.

We're approaching Kolkata, our final destination before Thailand. We have four days so we plan to explore the Sunderbans and, crossed fingers, we hope to see a Tiger. Third time lucky!

Let me talk about our white water rafting trip down the Karnali briefly. To sum up this ten day expedition, we made some amazing friends who I think we'll still be reminiscing about for months. Amy has already discussed these guys with you but I love them so much I want to mention them too. First we have Santosh. I will never forget the mental storm we experienced and the slightly drunk Santosh holding down our tent in the extreme wind while we sat inside the tent needing to pee like there's no tomorrow. "Lona santosh!!! Are you okay? Come inside!!" "It's okay, I'm dancing!" (Please read that with a Nepali accent). Next we have Sagar, the 'Bludman', nicknamed so for being the hunter that caught and prepared our next meaty meal and just for being so damn cool ('blud', get it?). Prashant Next. The 'la' man. 'La' is a Nepali term with no exact English definition. It vaguely means, 'your go/ okay/ let's move on/ cool/ finished' and everyday you could hear Prashant, always calm and content, la-ing as he went about the campsite. He tried to teach me to Eskimo roll in a kayak but I think he was helping me more than I realised. They were essentially the three boys; our guides on the trip but ultimately our good friends who we miss so much. We loved everybody on the trip however, and I think that we were really lucky to land such great people for a long ten days.

Moving on with India.

We have now officially been to India three times. The first on the 16th March, the second on the 22nd April and the third, ten minutes after that because we forgot to get a departure stamp at the Nepal border and had to return. We headed straight to Varanasi after stopping in Gorakpur only briefly to visit the local temple before our train journey. It was a sweet temple, interesting to explore, but Amy and I became a source of entertainment on the pedal boats which were available to hire. They didn't understand that we'd been white water rafting for ten days and were perfectly capable of peddling a boat round a tiny lake!

Varanasi was lovely, although it's surprising to find myself using that term to describe the city where bodies come from all over the world to burn and rest in the dirtiest river there is. But it was very interesting. I learnt a lot, particularly from a friendly Japanese man whom we befriended named Kuni. Varanasi was also a hub of food. With four days left now we are intent on eating, eating, and then when we have finished that, eating a little more. I love Indian food. I love Indian sweets, Indian pudding, Indian chai, Indian thali, Indian curries, Indian chapati and everything else Indian. Thai has always been my favourite food cuisine but I think that the transition in four days will be a difficult one.

One of my favourite places was Rajgir. I feel like I need to return there one day and I feel like I actually will. It's strange, but although we spent only half a day there, I felt a real pull to the place. I loved it. I loved the area, the surrounding mountains, spontaneous temples and shrines, various dotting monuments and ruins and I particularly loved the Japanese Santi Stupa and the caves where Buddha used to meditate. Don't laugh, but I can see myself coming back to Rajgir for maybe a month and meditating by the stupa or in those very caves. It was peaceful, beautiful, and yes, you heard right; I have started trying meditation. My first meditation was in Nepal and I loved it. It's difficult to explain but I felt, in a super cheesy and clichéd way, more spiritual and full of potential. I'll see how difficult this is to continue in the hustle and bustle of my house or university halls (I've accepted Leeds by the way!), but I hope to continue. I even bought some Japa mala beads. These are traditional beads used in meditation to count in time with the mantra. Each set has 108 beads: an ideal number because of its ties with the perfect number 3- a number associated with balance.

Before Rajgir we visited the oldest Buddhist university in Nalanda (Nalam means lotus flower, a symbol of knowledge, and Da means to give) and afterwards we headed to Gaya and Bodh Gaya. Gaya was pretty simple but Bodh Gaya offered dozens of Buddhist temples built by nations around the world and it was here that I had my first encounter with a monk. We actually laughed together. As in, a monk, laughed with me. We shared a moment and I laughed with a monk. I feel like my soul is spiritually blessed just from this moment and okay, you can laugh at my meditation but do not piss on my Monk experience okay? Amy later had her own encounter with two in a phone shop, although that was more like 'what are you doing here? Lona! You're monks why do you need a phone! This is so wrong!' (in her head of course). Anyway, I'm getting drawn closer and closer to the idea of Buddhism. I love the values, the teachings, the concept of Buddha and not a figurative deity, and I feel that Bodh Gaya has intensified my interest even more. We made friends with two locals who proceeded to show us around everywhere and take us to the wonderful non- touristic sites. We tried sky juice, met another in a long line of crazy but great old men, drank chai after chai, and climbed an impressive tree. Interestingly, Naranjan was a Buddhist who converted from Hinduism which I thought was cool.

Saturday 4th May 13:34
I write this final paragraph in retrospect, a week later. So... the mass eating of Indian food didn't really happen as Kolkata hit me with a horrible illness that has continued for several days. I'm now in hospital, waiting for my strength to return so that we can continue our amazing travels.

PS. We're in Bangkok now.

Small snippet of a post since I accidentally deleted the rest of it, by Mamie

Mummy, this is where you stop reading because I know you'll freak out. Life really flashed before our eyes when we jumped off a bridge, 160m high, with only a bit of rope tied to our feet. Yep; we bungy jumped. As I waited on the bridge, I felt confident. The second I stepped onto the ledge and looked down however, I was completely positive for about two seconds that there was no freaking way I was jumping off that. Although I was truly prepared to turn round and walk away, in one split- second I made the decision to jump and without even waiting for the countdown, I took the leap. I think I screamed (wailed) louder than almost everyone else that day but it was awesomely amazing and exhilarating. We also decided to do the canyon swing but I think I shocked even myself by jumping so quickly (I knew I had to jump immediately or I wouldn't jump at all) so one moment I was walking up to the platform and the next I was free falling 160m, kicking and waving my legs in the air like a massive retard. Still brilliant though! My respect that day goes to Eli, an Israeli guy who hesitated on the edge for four and a half minutes yet still managed to jump. So much respect.

As you can see, Nepal has been huge for us. So many mental things in such a short space of time! Who knows what next?


PS. This elusive 'thing' we did which we've mentioned but haven't named, I can now announce. We kind of got our noses pierced in Udaipur... I couldn't say this before because I had to tell my poor Mum first hand first. Her reaction? Oops...