Philippines

The Philippines was definitely one of the less developed and less touristy places that I visited, but this just meant it was a much more authentic experience.

The plan was to visit two places in Palawan and then head up to Coron which is a separate island. However once we arrived in the Philippines the terrible weather made us rethink our plans as it seemed a bit risky to try to change islands. There was severe flooding in the north and boats had been cancelled so we decided to just spend the whole time in Palawan.

El Nido 

El Nido is one of the most common tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is easy to see why. It is a coast town at the very north of the island surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches and clear blue water. The town itself is very small so there isn’t loads to do other than island hopping tours. We were undecided whether to pay for an island hopping tour due to the weather but we just thought it going to rain anyway so we might aswell.

The island hopping tour was really cool however the weather was very wet so you ended up just being absolutely freezing the entire time. But the stops on the tour were really picturesque. We visited two lagoons, beaches and snorkelled.

There were so many stray dogs on the beaches who were so friendly, one day me and Caroline ended up with a big posse of dogs coming on our walk which was so nice.

Randomly in this little place off the beaten track we found a tiny shack which sold exclusively vegan and veggie burgers and oh my were they good.

Port Barton

This stop was probably my favourite. There was no wifi anywhere in the town so it was very back to basics. The town was very rural and it was rare to see another tourist. The only issue was that due to it being off-season not many restaurants were open so finding food was difficult the first night. But the second night we came across a restaurant which we then went to for every meal the reminder of our time there. It was amazing food for ridiculously cheap prices and was always packed full of people.

We did an island hopping tour here aswell as the weather was better and it was the most wonderful day. It was sunny the whole day and the stops were out of this world. We swam with turtles, visited two beautiful private islands, went to an island with starfish on it, had an absolute feast of a lunch and the sun was shining the entire time.

Puerto Princessa

We were really only here for a very short period of time to wait for our flight. So apart from wandering around we didn’t actually see much. Our guesthouse was a little out of town so it was really nice to walk around seeing all the children playing outside on the street in the evenings and families sitting outside on plastic stools talking to each other whilst preparing the dinner. It really reminded me of the strong close knit community that I experience when in Africa.

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The Philippines was amazing. I’ve never been in a place where the water is so clear. It was literally like being in paradise. It is definitely one of the places I want to revisit and there are so many islands in the Philippines still on my bucket list. The highlight was definitely swimming with turtles in their natural environment and having the chance to observe their behaviour without disturbing them. A moment I will cherish forever.

Tips for travellers

I’ve been on the road for almost three and a half months now so I thought it would be a good time to share some of my top travelling tips.

1. Make sure you have music or podcasts downloaded on your phone to make those long journeys more manageable.

2. When packing have separate plastic bags for each genre of clothing I.e. tops in one small bag, underwear in another etc. It means that you know where everything is.

3. Nick the blanket off the plane on your way to your first destination because it is a lifesaver on buses and even in some hostels which don’t provide blankets.

4. Budget more than what you are going to spend because inevitably plans change and sometimes this involves cost.

5. Always barter. You can always get the prices of pretty much anything down whether it’s taxis, tours or street markets. Never settle for the price you are told.

6. Sometimes you just need time to chill. Travelling can get really tiring because you move from place to place a lot. Make sure you give yourself time to relax and do nothing.

7. Bring a home comfort with you whether that’s a face mask, crossword puzzle or anything which makes you feel more like you. I lived for those little home comforts if I was having a down day.

8. It won’t always be sunny and hot. Bring a waterproof and a jumper. You’ll need it.

9. Unless you can sleep through anything, an eye mask and ear plugs are essential. Dorms can get really noisy at any time of the day or night.

10. Eat street food. Some people worry that street food is unhygienic but it is tastes amazing and is super cheap. I never got ill once after eating street food.

All in all I never had any real issues whilst travelling, there was a few slight mishaps but that was to be expected. I hope if any of you are thinking of going travelling my advice will be useful to you!

Best of Bali food

If you ever come to Bali be prepared for an overwhelming choice of food in the most aesthetically pleasing venues. You will eat like a queen.

Canggu

Eco Garden

This was literally the first place we came across after arriving because we were just so hungry. It looked nice and the menu was dirt cheap.

I got a big bowl of veg with a sort of cheese sauce and it was just perfect. I have been feeling a bit fatigued recently, probably because of the lack of vegetables and this sorted me out.

We liked this place so much that we decided to come back for dinner on another night. There was a range of Italian and Mexican food and so I opted for Tacos. It didn’t disappoint.

Good for: if you are wanting something substantial on a cheaper budget.

Two trees

The design in this place was so minimalist but so pleasing to the eye – white painted brickwork with yellow pops of colour in the decor.

The food was so good. I got the vegan pancakes which looked quite small but were particularly filling. The pancakes were topped with sweet potato ice cream, which was surprisingly delicious. It is on the pricey side though.

Good for: a really chilled out Sunday morning breakfast whilst watching the world go by.

Ruko

It was here that I had my first smoothie bowl of Bali. It was HUGE and I was struggling to finish it. The granola especially was delicious.

I felt so healthy after eating this although it didn’t keep me full for that long. That could have been due to having done an exhausting surfing lesson the day before and needing those calories.

Good for: a health kick.

Ubud

Black Beach Italian Restaurant

After all the healthy food all I wanted was a pizza. So the day I arrived in Ubud I went searching and found a very reasonably priced Italian restaurant. Ordering pizza always gives me the fear in case it is tiny but this one was massive.

I actually forgot to take a photo because I was that hungry but mark my words it was delicious. I got the mozzarella and chilli oil one and it was so yummy. Wish I could eat it all over again.

Both me and Caroline ended up getting really sick for a couple of days in Ubud so unfortunately we didn’t experience any other restaurants.

Good for: cheap, delicious food.

Seminyak

Rumours

Post illness we came here for something comforting that wasn’t too much food and wasn’t too out there with flavours. They don’t have much veggie food but they did have nachos which is what I needed at that exact moment in time.

They had really good drinks offers on but that was taking it a step too far so I stuck to the nachos. They were really good and just the perfect thing for my stomach.

Good for: meat and fish eaters.

KYND community

We went here for my birthday breakfast and it was so good. It was the first proper meal I’d been able to eat since being ill. I ordered the beetroot latte and the waffles. I would recommend going early as it fills up very early and the wait for a table can be long.

It’s not too expensive but definitely on the pricer side but it is worth it. They even wrote happy birthday on my plate.

Good for: something special.

La plancha

This is beach bar/restaurant and it’s so good. We went here four times. Inside the restaurant is really cute and has treehouse vibes whereas at 4pm they open the outdoor seating which is basically loads of beanbags on the sand with umbrellas. The outside area is so good to watch the sunset, listen to the good music and eat and drink the night away.

The drinks were so delicious and not badly priced at all, same with the food. They have the most delicious veggie burger I’ve had since coming away and I’ve had it three days in a row.

Good for: watching the sunset and listening to good tunes.

Gelato factory

For the best ice cream in Seminyak look no further. I went everyday I was in Seminyak. The ice cream is so nice and the flavours change daily.

Good for: a delicious treat.

Motel Mexicola

If you choose one place to splash out in Bali it has to be here. The food is unreal, like hands down best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten. It turns into a bar in the evening and it’s such a good night. The music is amazing, people dance on the tables, tequila gets free poured and it’s all round brilliant. The cocktails are so delicious aswell.

Good for: a fantastic all round eating and drinking experience.

Uma Kopi

I went for a small snack here but ended up finding such a bargain deal. A coffee and either a bagel or pancakes for 50,000 which is insanely cheap. The bagel was so good, so nice to eat fresh veg. Pretty sure I almost had an entire avocado in that bagel.

Good for: a cheap snack.

Cafe Bali

This is such a good breakfast place. I went numerous times for the ‘Super Bowl’ which was granola with chia seeds and açai berries, milk, yogurt, fruit and honey.

The decor in the place is really cute with loads of fresh flowers around the restaurant. It’s really cheap and the breakfast kept me going all night.

Good for: a healthy, filling breakfast.

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There are hundreds of eating places which look amazing in Bali. You spend all day every day eating on instagram worthy places. However this will cost you an arm and a leg. But it is nice to treat yourself, particularly when you’ve been living on rice and veg for the last couple of months.

48 hours in Singapore

I was in Singapore for such a short period of time but managed to cover so much! I stayed at The Inncrowd Backpackers which was good and in a perfect location right next to the tube.

The hostel ran 5 hour long scooter tours of the city. They only run them on certain days and they are really popular so make sure and sign up early if you want to join. It is literally like a microscooter and you get taken around all the main attractions and stop to see both the Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay light shows in the evening. It’s really good if you have limited time.

Another thing of note is the botanical gardens. These are free to get in and you could wander around all day. We came specifically for the Orchid Garden which was $5 to get it but so worth it. Such beautiful, beautiful plant arrangements. I love orchids so it was heaven for me.

And of course no visit to Singapore would be complete without visiting the Friends cafe! This was so cool. Because we had walked so much that day we needed to sit down so when we saw that the cafe played friends episodes back to back on repeat we were sold.

Apart from those main things we basically spent the rest of the time eating (classic) and wandering. Our two fav things to do.

The noticeable things about Singapore are firstly how efficient everything is from immigration at the airport to the tube system it all works well. Secondly how clean everything is! A welcome change from most other cities that we have visited this trip!

Singapore is such a cool place. Everyone warned me about the humidity before I went but I didn’t find it humid at all. Maybe it’s cause we had it so bad in Hong Kong. Definitely one to visit in the future.

Cameron Highlands

Malaysia just never disappoints. Cameron highlands was the last place in Malaysia we visited which I was incredibly sad about because I just wanted to stay travelling around Malaysia forever.

Cameron Highlands is more of a nature, hilly, hiking area than the other places we have visited. The temperature was much colder (by colder I mean 22 degrees Celsius) but it was so refreshing. I loved being able to wander around without being sweaty and downing litres of water. I loved being able to wear a fleece and not wake up in the middle of the night so hot that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I loved watching TV in the evenings under my blanket.

The hostel we stayed at called CH travellers inn was brilliant. The owner was the nicest man who would go out of his way to cater to your every need. His little boy Sam was so cute aswell.

We only really had two full days but we made the most of it. The main two things we did was strawberry picking and visiting a tea plantation. Oh and plenty of walking.

The Big Red Strawberry farm

We chose this particular farm because the reviews online looked decent and we had rented a scooter so were free to go where we pleased.

On arrival it looked super busy but actually although the garden centre and cafe were busy the strawberry picking was dead. Lucky for us that meant we had our pick of the bunch.

The garden centre area was dead cute. It was huge and had so many cacti, I was in heaven. If I didn’t have to leave I would have picked up at least half a dozen cacti for my room.

The strawberry picking itself was fairly expensive although it was on par or cheaper than the other farms in the area. We both really wanted to do it though and it was well worth the money as for half a kg you got a lot of strawberries. There is something so nice about wandering around hunting for the shiniest, reddish, biggest strawberries and the satisfaction once you find it.

After we finished the picking we went to the cafe where we ordered two rather large waffles. And actually the cafe was really cheap which was a nice surprise.

Bharat tea plantation

It was really hard to choose which tea plantation to go to because like with the strawberry farms there are so many. We decided on Bharat and I’m so glad we did because the tea and the views were outstanding.

There was a path you could wander down into the first section of the tea plants but for us the view was substantially better at the window seats of the cafe. We got a pot of tea to share which was expensive but it was a one off.

The tea plantation went for miles, as far as the eye could see. You could see the workers picking the leaves all over the plantation.

The tea was so good that I had to go to the gift shop afterwards to pick up two boxes of the loose leaf tea to take home with me.

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The Cameron Highlands was brill. We ate great food at a really cheap price, ate our much deserved strawberries and I even found scones at a cafe round the corner from our hostel.

One word to describe that place: fantastic!

Penang

The minute I stepped off the boat into Penang I knew it would be incredible. I stayed in Georgetown the entire time rather than exploring the rest of the island due to time restraints.

The streets are so brightly coloured, it looks like a movie set. But the thing which puts this place in a league of its own is the celebration of creativity and freedom of expression seen everywhere. There were open spaces for artists to come and paint or draw whenever and whatever they wanted which I thought was a cracking idea.

There was so much incredible street art. I grabbed a map and hunted down a lot of the art which took forever but was such a good way of seeing all around the city.

I also really loved all of the cute independent shops and eating places. Little India was incredible for food, I ate veggie meals until I was full to bursting every single day.

One of the things I did was to write a postcard to myself which will be sent on whatever day you choose within the next five years. I wrote down all the goals and wishes I had for the coming year. Mine should arrive on my 26th birthday which is a scary thought.

The buildings in Penang all were painted gorgeous colours and had the most beautiful tiles on the floors and walls. Some of the building had paint flaking off them which added to the atmosphere of the place, instead of looking tired it seemed to look deliberate.

I can’t finish this blog post without mentioning China House cafe. No visit to Penang would be complete without paying this cafe a visit. It is pricy but oh my god the cakes are just insane. I’ve never seen so many cakes before. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures because clearly I was too involved in the cake situation but trust me on this one. You won’t regret it.

Penang will always hold a special place in my heart because it was so memorable. I definitely want to return with the intention of touring around the whole island and discovering whether it is all as amazing as Georgetown.

Langkawi

Langkawi has some of the most beautiful beaches that I have come across in my travels so far. It was so zen, I could have stay forever.

Meters and meters of white sand reach blue clear oceans. Very few people grace these beaches. Lying down you could hear the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. Islands covered with jungle surrounded the beach resulting in beautiful views. The clouds were perfect – so fluffy and so white.

Where we were staying there were hundreds of coconut trees lining the roadside with foliage stretching for miles. In the evenings the skies were pink, hinting at a Shepard’s delight in the morning and crickets chirped loudly. Fluffy cats and chickens lived in harmony, happily meandering around looking for any spare food.

In the evenings after cooking for ourselves (hallelujah) we watched a film. The first time in two months I have been able to watch one. Night one was the BFG, night two was Inside Out. Having the chance to relax and unwind whilst watching a film is a luxury than I didn’t even know I missed.

Once the film was over we would walk to the ice cream stand and get ourselves a big big ice cream and sit on the bench outside watching the world go by.

Langkawi was the perfect place to come and unwind from the hectic travelling life. Having the facilities to cook for ourselves was so nice because sometimes all you want is a big bowl of pasta with plain tomato sauce and unfortunately that can be hard to come by in Asia. I feel so rejuvenated by these couple of days it’s quite unbelievable. Beach days, film nights, ice cream evenings… pure lush!

Kuala Lumpur

I may have found one of my favourite cities to add to the list.

KL is infinitely more chill than all of the other big cities I have visited on this trip. I had two full days here and mainly I just wandered (as per). There is plenty to do though if you are here for longer such as the classic museums etc.

I always use Culture Trip to look up potential things to do in all of the places that I go as they tend to have a few articles listing different things depending on what you are into.

DAY ONE

It was Rachael’s last day with us (cryyyy) before she headed home for graduation. We got food at a little Indian restaurant around the corner from our hostel which was RIDICULOUSLY cheap. It was such a confusing menu and we made no sense of it so just order two chapattis with vegetable curry and it was delicious.

After fuelling up we walked to the patronis twin towers. It was a bit drizzly but we still managed to get an ample number of photographs.

We went into the big shopping centre in the towers and it was like stepping into another world. Caroline and I haven’t been in a proper shop for months so we were VERY overexcited especially when we spotted Topshop!

Because it was Rachael’s last night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal out. We decided on a Tapas restaurant called Pinchos. We made a reservation which was wise as when we arrived it was packed and stayed packed for the two hours we were there. We went a bit overboard on the food ordering. We got seven between us but these tapas were huge and obviously we couldn’t go for a nice dinner without a bottle of red wine. I couldn’t recommend this place enough. Food was unreal, service was impeccable and the atmosphere was really good.

DAY TWO

Caroline and I weren’t too sure what we wanted to do on our second day except revisit the shopping centre.

We started wandering up that way and decided to walk through the eco garden which is a sort of park but it is part of the jungle which has been preserved. There is a walkway along the treetops. It was nice, felt surreal having such greenery within a city.

We did get a bit lost as some of the paths were blocked by fallen down trees or the paths had been destroyed by storms so it took a lot longer than intended but we met some really nice Malaysian people who were up for a chat.

Once we got to the shopping centre we wandered around looking in shops and lusting over various food items. There was even a Marks and Spencer’s in which I treated myself to a packet of Jaffa cakes.

After the shopping centre we walked back to the hostel for a hour of so of chill time. We actually then went to one of mosques in the city which you were allowed to walk around. I have only been inside a mosque when I was really young so I was intrigued. It was very beautiful, located between two canals.

After wandering around the mosque we walked to independence square which looked like a cricket ground almost. The building facing the square was incredible, so pretty and intricate.

That evening we walked back to the patronis twin towers to watch the light show. It lasted about 15-20 mins and was impressive. The fountains and lights were in time to various music compositions.

There is always mixed opinions of KL floating about but for me it was definitely a very positive experience. Good vibes all round.

Ko Lanta

Being on the move all the time is very tiring so spending 3 full days in the one place was a well needed respite.

DAY ONE

It was very very wet the entire day so whilst waiting for the rain to calm down I did some French on Duolingo and read. Cabin fever kicked in and we had to get out of the hostel for a walk and some food. I did quite enjoy a quiet day of sitting hearing the rain patter on the roof, cool temperatures and chilling out.

DAY TWO

This was suuuuch a nice day. We went for a big long walk along the beach. Because it is low season here the beaches were dead so we found a little secluded beach to relax for a couple of hours. I loved watching the crustaceans migrating along the shore as the tide went out, crab watching in the rock pools and making friends with a dog that was roaming around on the sand.

Caroline taught me how to do a proper cartwheel and hand stand as I am incapable of doing either so I practiced on the beach. I’m counting that as a fair amount of exercise considering the severe lack in the last couple months.

DAY THREE

We booked onto an island hopping tour which visited four islands for our last full day. It was 1000 baht and included transfer from the hostel to the pier, lunch and snorkelling.

Unfortunately the water wasn’t very clear for snorkelling so it was difficult to see anything which was a bit disappointing but I did see a couple of fish amongst the rocks so can’t complain. The lunch was a proper feast of rice and veg followed by fruit for us vegetarians and a big buffet for the carnivores.

It was such a great day and I loved being driven around in the speed boat with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face…albeit a bit too much sun considering the sunburn levels later on that evening!

Krabi

Krabi was jam packed full of activities for me which was good as I like to be busy. We had got the night bus down from Bangkok and so we all slept on the day we arrived which left us with one full day essentially.

We decided to hire scooters and climb one of the surrounding hills in the Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park (I think). The drive was around 40 minutes followed by a 2 hour hike. We set off very early to avoid the midday heat which was sensible as by the time we approached the top it was getting very hot.

The climb itself was steep and not the best underfoot but it was manageable. It was so nice to be doing some exercise surrounded by nature. The views at the top were beautiful, you could see the amazing landscape for miles.

On the way back we stopped off at a beach to cool off and go for a swim before heading back to our hostel. My scooter almost ran out of petrol which was a bit scary but I made it back in one piece.

I liked Krabi although because it was the low season it was pretty quiet which had both positives and negatives. Positives being that the beaches were so quiet which was lovely, negatives being that the bars and restaurants were all very quiet. All in all though I liked Krabi, it was the perfect little beach town.