Another 2 hour bus brought me to Noosa, which was my favourite place so far!
I stayed in ‘Nomads’ hostel, a popular hostel chain for the East Coast Backpackers. All communal areas were outside, along with hammocks to relax in and a big kitchen for cooking.
I cook most meals now in the hostels for cost reasons but also because eating out 60 days and counting, is a recipe for disaster!! 🙂 I spent one night here before heading on my Fraser Island Trip.
Fraser Island is 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres in width making it the largest sand island in the world. It is one of the most popular things to do along the east coast.
The Fraser Island trip consisted of 2 nights camping on the island while driving around in a 4 wheel drive to explore all the island has to offer.
We were split into groups of 8 with a mix of drivers and non drivers. I opted not to drive, although most others drove. The constant swirving while driving a loaded car was a bit too much for me! However, I thoroughly enjoyed being a passenger!
We had a great car, a mix of Dutch, German, English and Irish people. There were 4 cars in total on our trip so we all spent the time on the island together.
Someone brought a drone and made some videos of where we were. What a beautiful island!
The two days consisted of visiting a number of ‘must see’ spots on the island.
Lake Mackenzie
Lake McKenzie is known for being Fraser’s best attraction, with it’s crystal clear waters made completely of rainwater.
Champagne Pools
These naturally formed rock pools almost feel like you are in a jacuzzi when the waves come crashing in on top of you!
Eli Creek
This is the largest creek on the eastern side of the island which forms a river of freshwater through the rainforest and sand dunes. Here, we were given inflatable rings to blow up and float down the creek in. Talk about bringing out eveyone’s inner kid!!
The Maheno Shipwreck
This ship has been lodged on the shore of 75 mile beach since 1935!
Lake Wabby
One of the last stops was at ‘Lake Wabby’, another freshwater lake on Fraser Island. We trekked to this lake through a trail of sand and rainforest. This lake featured some fish, something we hadn’t seen before now on the island. The water was also an unusual emerald green colour.
75 Mile Beach
‘The sand highway’ of Fraser Island. It functions as a road, despite having no lines or markings. You had to watch out for the waves and avoid them at all costs (which didn’t always happen).
We also spotted a dingo, a type of dog that can only be found in Australia. You don’t always spot them, so we were delighted!
The campsite exceeded my expectations. I somehow managed to bag a tent for myself also which was like gold dust!
There was no signal on the island which probably enhanced an already great weekend. This definitely has been the best part of my Australian adventure so far.
After the trip, I returned back to Noosa for 2 nights before moving on again. Noosa is a really lovely base. Very picturesque with a gorgeous beach and some lovely walking trails. Most people who went on the Fraser Trip were staying in Noosa.
Some of us walked the trail from Noosa to Sunshine beach, passing some fairy pools along the way.
Here are the few snaps of my time in Noosa.
Next stop, a 16 hour bus to Airlie Beach (or at least that was the plan!)
Another short bus brought me to Brisbane, where I spent 2 nights in Brisbane Quarters.
I loved this hostel! It was so clean, and the beds had their own curtains, charging points, lamps and storage! At this point, these perks are HUGE luxuries!
The weather is getting noticeably hotter with each destination and Brisbane being a city, was almost unbearably warm! The time zone is also different once you hit Brisbane, now one hour behind Sydney.
I met up with my new English friends shortly after arriving, and we headed for Brisbanes famous ‘Eat Street’
Eat Street is a permanent food market with over 70 venders selling foods from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Each stall is built using recycled shipping containers, of which there are 180! There are also 5 different bars and stages with live entertainment.
After much difficulty, we made our food choices! I went for a slider, and a raclette.
Followed by a shared dessert of donuts and icecream.
With full bellies, it was time to soak up the cheesy entertainment..
We had a great night all in all! I would highly recommend Eat Market for anyone who finds themselves in Brisbane!
The next morning we hiked to the viewpoint at Mt Coot-Tha, about 2 hours walking from the city. We left early to escape the heat – which didn’t happen. 😂 Thankfully the view (and the lunch) at the top made it worth the while!
On the way back down, we stopped at the Botanical Gardens to have a look. We passed a very cool Bonsai house with some trees that were almost 70 years old!
I was quite impressed by Brisbane overall. I spent the rest of my time there wandering around the streets to get a feel for the place. It definitely feels like an up and coming city! Like always, I scoped out my favourite coffee shops! The coffee in Australia is a reason to move here in itself 😍
A short one hour bus took me to my next destination. As I mentioned in my last post, I booked this trip quite late. I naively thought I would have been able to plan as I go, but a sharp lesson was learned!
As a result, I used a travel agency, who were incredibly helpful in getting me sorted. I didn’t leave myself much time to put thought into my route however, and had I done that, I wouldn’t have stopped in Surfers Paradise. That being said, there were lovely parts to my few days here!
Surfers Paradise is a seaside resort on the Gold Coast. It’s a popular Australian tourist destination, well catered for families but also particularly known for its nightlife. For me it resembled a Spanish town popular for 6th year holidays, so not the most picturesque place I have seen. I did take a stroll along its 3 kilometre beach though.
I stayed in ‘Backpackers in Paradise Hostel’ which was also an experience! I was placed in a 14 bed mixed dorm with one toilet and one shower (not ideal!) There were also no curtains on the floor to ceiling windows next to my bed! One German traveller slept outside the room each night as he was too tall for the bed. 😂
On a more positive note, it was in this hostel that I met four English girls who I travelled with for the next while -Sophie, Amelia, Beth and Sam. We decided to ditch the town on the second day and headed for Burleigh Heads, about a 30 minute drive south of the city.
This coastal town was immediately more up our street! As we approached the beach, we discovered that the first of the yearly Surf Competitions was taking place. So we were in for a true Aussie experience here!
Huge crowds perched up with enough supplies to enjoy the competition for the day. We didn’t have a clue about surfing so thankfully locals were willing to explain the rules to us!
Before sitting down to watch the competition, we decided to take a short walk to Tallebudgera Creek.
It was a real scorcher that day, so after the walk we perched ourselves on a free spot of grass and spent most of the day there.
There isn’t much else to say about Surfers Paradise really. 2 nights was definitely enough! That being said, on my last evening, this sunset caught me by surprise!
Byron Bay is a coastal town, eight hours north of Sydney, famously known for its beaches and surfing. A picturesque place, teeming with beautiful restaurants, boutiques and cafes.
I decided to fly to Byron over the 11 hour bus which shortened my journey by almost 10 hours!
My first stop in Byron was to ‘BayGer’. I had heard good things and it didn’t disappoint! One thing I noticed was the choice of veggie burgers available – 12 options! A big difference from home. (Don’t worry Dad, I still eat meat!!)
Despite Byron’s beauty, my hostel ‘YHA Cape Byron’ was subpar (or maybe my standards have risen having lived in luxury for the first few weeks of my Australian trip!) However, a combination of booking late and choosing the busiest time of the year to take this trip, meant beggars can’t be choosers! It did have a pool though!
There was a lovely coffee shop next door to the hostel which opened early! So I got my fix there each morning.
Byron is an expensive place , a far cry from Asian prices! I stayed for 3 nights, and despite a few pre-booked activities, I mainly chilled out (which was welcomed after a few weeks of heavy socialising).
The main beach was just a few minutes walk from my hostel.
I took a surf lesson with Mojo Surf Australia one morning. The lesson took place on Seven Mile Beach, a 20 minute drive from the town. There were about 20 people taking the lesson, but I managed to perch myself beside another Westmeath native, who was just as skilled at surfing as myself!! (Not very!!)
I had great fun and I did even manage to surf a few times! Everything was going rather too smoothly in fact, until the last wave took me (and my earrings) completely by surprise!! It was a lucky escape by all accounts!
I went kayaking with dolphins another morning. We started at 7am, before any locals and tourists had gathered on the beach. Apart from a group of surfers, we were the only people in the water at that time, which made the experience even more magical.
We kayaked out for 30 minutes before stopping in the middle of the water to wait for the dolphins to do their thing! Mothers and babies swam around us for quite some time, peeking out of the water delicately every now and then! It was absolutely gorgeous.
I took a walk up to Byron Bay lighthouse for sunset, passing the easternmost point of land on the Australian continent.
Along the route, there were many incredible viewpoints.
I also walked passed Watego’s Beach, a hidden gem in Byron.
And finally, the lighthouse itself.
While in Byron, a heavy storm came. Although this was not ideal weather, it was the perfect excuse to stay in the hostel and plan for the weeks and months ahead.
After my three nights, all that was left to do in Byron was to grab a bowl of fro-yo, and take a bus to my next destination.
It’s been a while since I have written a blogpost but at this point I have left Sydney and am back travelling solo again up the East Coast of Australia. It’s a rainy afternoon in Byron Bay, so no better time to revisit the last few weeks!
Sydney was amazing. I can absolutely see how people get hooked here! The beaches are out of this world and the lifestyle in general is just so good!
To top it off, I saw many familiar faces which made this Christmas one to remember.
When I arrived to Sydney first, I stayed in Surrey Hills with Helen, my Louis pal, and her boyfriend Liam. Despite only living here for a few months, they have decked out their apartment beautifully and had a lovely couch bed for me to stay on! Not only that, but they had a Christmas present under the tree for me! How cute!
Helen is known for being a top host, and not even a move across the world has changed that! I landed late in the evening to a 3 course meal which really set the standard for my Sydney trip! A bottle of wine and a natter later, and I was ready to crash in my festive bedroom!
The next day we explored the city which was a short walk from Helens apartment. We walked to the 25 metre Christmas tree for a festive snap before catching my first glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A busy few hours led to an iconic drink next to the Sydney Opera House in the sunshine to really tick of the tourist bucket list.
From here we went home to get ready for a dinner at ‘Don’t Tell Aunty’ with Hannah and David, my second set of Sydney parents! We had a delicious Indian dinner and would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone thinking of venturing this way!
The night continued with a trad session at ‘The Doss House’ where Hannah and David’s Meath clan had congregated. Some of which I had met before and the rest I had heard lots about, so it was great to put a face to the names! Everyone was incredibly welcoming and a great night was had!
Hannah and David kindly housed me for the next few nights, so we took a memorable ferry taxi home together is maacross the harbour to Manly, a beautiful suburb north of Sydney. David kindly took over backpack carrying duties, although it definitely did not blend in as much as it did in previous countries 😂.
A bit of beg, borrow and stealing was needed to keep up with the glam life of Sydney!
Morning views at Manly
Again, I was living in the laps of luxury for my time here. They live in a beautiful apartment close to Manly beach.
Christmas Eve morning began with my first Australian swim, and a coffee at Shelly Beach.
Hannah and David, another pair of incredible hosts, put on a stellar barbecue for some friends (and their adopted daughter) later that day. What a spread! Uncle Gerard will be happy to see the Weber in the background 🙂 No slumming it here!
Despite this not being the most traditional Christmas, Hannah managed to make it feel a little more like home with some festive deserts!
With full bellies, we took the ferry back to Sydney to another Irish bar for some more festive drinks and….. a Christmas dinner!! Reserve the judgement please- this socialising is hungry work! 🤫
Christmas Day like no other! It started off with a coffee and chocolate breakfast with these two, while they exchanged gifts. Of course they had a gift for me. I can confidently say that I got the best gift of the morning – a Manly T-shirt!!
From here we went for a Christmas Day swim at Manly Beach.
We continued the festivities at Bronte Beach, which was about as wholesome as you can expect when this many Irish and English come together with a few drinks! It was very cool to experience it though!
After many swims to escape from the glorious heat, we heading for Christmas Day dinner to a friend of Hannah and David’s who (with the help of David on the BBQ) hosted us for the rest of the night! Hannah and Helen woo’d everyone with their stellar deserts – banoffee pie and baileys cheesecake 😍
After a lot of food and a singalong, we fell in the door at around 4:30am after a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas Day! That didn’t stop Hannah though, who was up bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning to get some breakfast ready. Is it any wonder why I don’t want to leave?
We needed another pick me up though, so a short walk to ‘Rollers’ for some coffee and croissants hit the spot nicely!
Helen and Liam took the trip to Manly that afternoon and we all went on a walk together. It was pretty hot, but the scenery was beautiful and I think we were all glad to move after all the Christmas indulging!
We finished the day out with ‘Pocket Pizza’, and had an essential early night 😴.
Another visit to Bronte Beach was had before I returned to my other parents (Helen and Liam), just in time for dinner once again! I was truly spoiled here in Sydney!
The next day, I tackled the ‘Bondi to Coogee’ walk, a very popular Sydney activity which is about 6km along the coast, passing many stunning cliffs and beaches.
At the end of the walk, we refuelled with a ‘Fishbowl’ lunch, one of Helen’s favourites. It did not disappoint!
Full of ambition the next morning, myself and Helen took the bus to Coogee at 4:45am for a sunrise swim! It didn’t quite work out as we had hoped, so we ditched the swim and grabbed a coffee instead!
Later that morning we went for breakfast in ‘Four ate Five’ where I got the best French toast I have ever had!
I said goodbye to Helen for a few days and headed for South Coogee, to my 3rd Sydney home thanks to Eamon Fleming! Unfortunately Eamon was away on holidays but I hope to catch him before I leave Australia for good. I did have the next best thing though, as Eimear also arrived to Sydney to spend New Years with some college friends. So we both took advantage of Eamons free room, and made ourselves at home for the next few days!
New Year’s Eve at Luna park was another memorable experience! Luna Park is an iconic amusement park next to Sydney Harbour, so it was the perfect to place to pass the last few hours of 2022! Witnessing the fireworks first hand was definitely more remarkable than I expected it to be!
After a few calls home to ring in the Irish New Year, it was finally time time to say goodbye to Eimear as she made the return to Melbourne 💔.
I started the year off in another gorgeous part of Sydney, Watsons Bay, where I had the chance to say hello to Hannah’s parents, Louis and Shiela, who I hadn’t seen for years! We had a gorgeous evening catching up and finished the day with a fish and chips as we watched the sunset!
One more sleep in Coogee, and one more sleep in Surrey hills, brought me to the end of my Sydney leg. It’s time to pack the bags again, and travel again up they East Coast for the month of January.
I absolutely love Melbourne! I spent 5 nights with Eimear in her gorgeous apartment and it was like we have never been apart! She had activities planned for every day and the sun was splitting the stones for my entire visit!
Eimear lives in Toorak, a lovely suburb of Melbourne with a string of boutiques, shops and cafes right outside her door. It’s a really lovely place to live.
Day 1:
We walked from Eimear’s place to Chapel Street, and had some lunch in Prahan Market, a gorgeous market with the most delicious food and cakes. Melbourne has some of the best cakes I have seen and there are coffee shops literally everywhere!
From here we strolled along Chapel Street, window shopping. We stopped along the way for a coffee of course, and spent many hours catching up before taking the scenic route to our next destination!
Milk the Cow!
We spent hours tasting cheese and wine, so we were really in our element here!
We continued the evening in an Irish Bar would you believe, called ‘The Fifth’. It was the closest I have felt to home since leaving for travelling, and the first time I heard Christmas music this year!
Day 2:
It was a perk to be able to cook my own breakfast this morning!
Fully fuelled, we headed off to visit some local beaches, starting with Brighton beach.
From here we went to Jimmy O Neill’s to have a turkey and ham dinner to mark the Christmas together. We both agreed that Mary Fleming would have been satisfied with the portion sizes here!
Full to the brim, we strolled along St Kilda’s beach then and perched ourselves up in ‘Republica’ for sunset. After that feed, this was all we were able to manage for the rest of the day!
We headed for home then and when we got back to the apartment, this was the view from the balcony!
Day 3:
Day 3 started with a walk to ‘Lune’ to get some croissants.
From here we went to ‘The Botanic Gardens’ for a walk around.
Obviously we had to reward ourselves with a drink after our strenuous efforts! So we headed into the city, to Southbank and perched ourselves up in ‘Arbory Afloat’ for a cocktail. As you can see, it was a real chore being in Melbourne!
That evening, we ordered pizza from ‘Small Print’, which was delivered to us in Victoria Gardens park across the road. We brought some beers and the restaurant gave us a blanket. We were once again in our element soaking up what was left of the sun as we waited for two very delicious pizza’s!
Day 4:
A city day. We started off with the South Melbourne Markets where we got the best cookies of all time. In our excitement, we didn’t take a picture, but I did get some snaps of the market itself.
From here, Eimear and her housemate Steph, took me around to see the Street art in Melbourne before stopping on Degrave Street, a quaint alley packed with cafe’s and restaurants.
We decided on an Italian, washed down by a glass of wine obviously!
We finished out the day at ‘The Breslin’ on Southbank, where I got my new favourite cockatil of all time – Lemon Meringue.
My time in Melbourne was quickly coming to an end. However, Eimear insisted my visit would be incomplete without a visit to ‘Yo-Chi’. We stuffed our faces with some frozen yogurt, packed with as many toppings as could fit in the tubs (at least that what I did!)
We shared a ‘bye for now’ as we will meet again in Sydney, and I headed for the Airport.
What a start to my Australian adventure. Thanks Eimear x
I am living my best life here in Chiang Mai! I nailed another great hostel called ‘Green Sleep Hostel’. Great location and the people working here couldn’t be more helpful.
On my first night I went to a Muay Thai boxing match with Grace, a girl I shared a room with in Bangkok.
Myself and Grace also went to a jazz bar one evening called ‘The North Gate’. The music was incredible and we had a great night here!
I also did a Thai cooking course which I absolutely LOVED! For starters, look how amazing the cooking school was!
The day started by being picked up from the hostel and brought to a local market where the ingredients were explained and purchased.
From there we drove to the cooking school, about 30 minutes from the city. Each person cooked 4 dishes each. To start, I chose to make spring rolls. Someone else chose to make these uncooked spring rolls which were actually so delicious! Definitely hope to recreate these when I get home 🤞🏻
Next up I made Pad Thai and traditional soup. Some ingredients I hadn’t heard of so may need to go hunting when I get home, but both were also very tasty!
Finally, I made a massaman curry and we watched local desert being made, traditional ‘Mango and sticky rice’. It’s not for everyone, but I loved it! But find me a desert I don’t love 🤷♀️
Overall, it was a great day and we went home with a cookbook to recreate the goodness!
With Thai food on the brain I have a new local -‘It’s Good Kitchen’. I have visited a few times now and each dish below cost under €2! For whatever reason, the rice is always in the shape of a teddy bear (or else I look really young 😂)
Markets are a huge feature in Asia in general, but Chiang Mai took markets to a whole new level! I spent time at the Sunday Street Market which is roughly a kilometre long, selling anything you could imagine as well as really good street food. You could spend hours here! Huge crowds attend this market every weekend.
I am all temple’d out at this stage, but there were some incredible ones I did make a visit to in Chiang Mai also.
Doi Suthep
Doi Inthanon Twin Pagodas
I took a day trip to ‘Elephant Nature Park’, a rescue centre for retired, injured or distressed elephants. There were 116 elephants in the park in total but there were also some cats, dogs and buffaloes. The park is funded by visitors and relies on volunteers also. It was very clear that the animals here are very well treated and tourists are just allowed to observe the animals from afar unless they decide to come close to you. Each elephant has their own story with some coming from the circus, riding schools or logging elephants. Logging elephants were used to drag logs through water with their trunks or with chains, which is horrible.
I couldn’t go to Thailand and not get a thai massage – in fact, I got 2! One in a monastery, and one from a centre run by ex-prisoners. These centres are quite common as prisoner woman are trained in prison to have a skill when they are released. They were both interesting! Not the most relaxing and lots of body cracks! But you feel great after. I also got my nails done, so I am like a new person here! Everything is so cheap here which is great.
One last market -‘Night Bazaar’ and a catch up with Patrick from Switzerland, and his brother (who I met in Nepal ) and it was time to say goodbye to Chiang Maiand goodbye to Thailand for now.
My flight was just 3 hours from Kathmandu to Bangkok so a very easy day travelling. What a contrast to Nepal! Back to levelled roads, modern cars, proper bathrooms!
Bangkok is just like any city really but it’s so big, so it was hard to get a grasp of the place. The traffic is insane to the quickest way of getting around was motor bike taxis. I didn’t love Bangkok but in the few days I did spend there, this is what I got up to!
For starters, I had a really lovely hostel- ‘Niras Bankoc Cultural Hostel’ it was a coffee shop by day/hostel by night 🙂
This was a quieter part of the city, about 15 minute walk from the ‘Khaosan Road’ madness! Across the road, there was some lovely street food where I had my first Pad Thai for €1.64! My chopsticks skills could be better, could be worse 🤷♀️
After a good nights sleep, I visited some top attractions in Bangkok.
Wat Pho
This is one of the most visited Buddhist Temples in Bangkok, where history, medical science and education are combined. Here I saw some incredible Buddhist temples. This is also known as “the nations first public university” where you can read marble inscriptions about how Thai traditional massage was started and the medical benefits behind it.
I also saw the 46-metre reclining Buddha. Alongside the Buddha, were 108 coin pots where for 20baht (50 cent) you get a bowl of 108 coins and make a wish when you drop a coin into each pot.
From here I visited the “Grand Palace”, a complex of buildings such as royal and throne halls, government offices and the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
It covered an area of 218,000 square metres. Walking around here in the blistering heat took a lot of energy! But the building and murals were very impressive.
After all that walking I needed some fuel! So I found a cafe called ‘Breakfast Story’. This cafe had a menu similar to home which was very appreciated at the time! The pancakes were delicious!
I met up with an old school friend who took me to a lovely restaurant by the river called “The Deck by Arun“ to watch the sunset. It’s was so lovely to see a familiar face!
One of my last touristic visits was to the ‘Jim Thompson House Museum’
This museum sits on about half an acre (originally his home) which consists of six traditional Thai houses made of wood. He established the ‘Thai Silk Company’ in 1948 and was also an art collector, all of which is displayed in the different houses. The gardens were also beautiful. He disappeared in Malaysia in 1947 and since then, the house has been used as a tourist attraction. It was a really beautiful place to browse around.
3 nights was plenty in Bangkok, so after some more street food and some drinks with people I met, I decided to book a flight to Chiang Mai which is a little over one hour flight north of Bangkok. Chiang Mai is known for being a chilled city, with quieter streets and more nature which is more up my street! I will spend a week here, before returning to Bangkok to fly to Australia for Christmas. It’s a tough life!
When I finally dragged myself out of Pokhara, I went to visit the town of Bandipur, a hilltop settlement primarily known for its preserved, old time cultural atmosphere. Despite it always being part of my plans, I was reluctant to go in the end as I was back travelling solo (the people I had met had all moved on) and it involved a few hours of travelling. However, I am so glad that I went!
Houses in Bandipur are built using traditional architecture making it an aesthetically beautiful and quiet town. I counted 5 other tourists in my time there (which were very easily identified amongst the local people).
From Bandipur, I saw beautiful views of some of the Himalayas such as Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Langtang. (I am getting much better at remembering the names, but still need to be told which is which!)
These views were particularly spectacular during sunrise and sunset.
Ramkot
While having dinner, I met a girl called Lucy, from Switzerland. She ended up moving accomodation to stay with me and we also hiked to Ramkot together.
Ramkot is a rural village boasting with Nepalese culture and tradition. The hike took under 2 hours each way with gorgeous landscape and mountain views the whole time.
We only met a handful of people on the route so it was a very peaceful walk! It was very interesting to see the village people going about their everyday lives. They are incredibly self sufficent. There were people trading, building, harvesting, feeding animals etc.
Chitwan National Park
On the hike we met Patrick, from Swtitzerland also, who decided to join me on my next trip to Meghauli. Usually when people visit Chitwan National Park, they stay in a town called Sauraha. However, when I was on the yoga retreat, the lady who ran the retreat told me her home town, Meghauli, was a much nicer place to visit the park. Again, when I realised how long it would take to get there – I questioned my decision (2 buses and a tuk tuk later) but having a friend definitely helped and once again, it turned out to be a great call!
We stayed in Chital Lodge, another reccomedation from Durga, my Nepali mother! This beautiful lodge was run by Bishnu and his gorgeous family. They made us feel really at home throughout the stay. The setting of the lodge was perfect with jungle vibes and rainforest sounds surrounding us!
Bishnu was also the guide and knew every inch of the park. He took us on a jeep safari on the first evening where we saw rhinos, monkeys and deer- and of course, an incredible sunset.
The next day we did a full day walking safari. It was very difficult to spot animals and they are all hiding from the tigers, but we did see rhinos, hog deer, spotted deer, wild boar, monkeys, domestic elephants, crocodiles, many birds and one mildly venomous snake! We did also see fresh footprints and fresh poo of tigers, sloth bear and wild elephants.
During the day, we stopped for the cutest packed lunch of all time, prepared by Bishnu’s wife and sat in a secluded spot under the trees for an hour and a half waiting for animals to reveal themselves! A rhino did cross the river in front of us which was very cool!
By the time we got back, we were all wrecked! A gorgeous dinner and snacks were waiting for us after a hot shower, so we relaxed for the evening!
The next morning, we took a ‘private taxi’ to Bharatpur (private in that we paid for it, but anyone that needed a lift on the way jumped in) where I said goodbye to Patrick, and took the 7+ hour bus back to Kathmandu.
Karhmandu is as chaotic as ever so my lovely hostel ‘Elbrus Home’ was the perfect place to arrive at to escape from all the madness!
I laugh as I write this, as it seems like travelling has been completely seemless up to this point. It’s not the full truth however as I realised a few days ago that I had overstayed my visa by a few days (or rather forget to extend it). Panic mode hit, but a few phone calls later, I was informed that a small fine would get me out of going to jail on this occasion! One of many lessons learned on this trip 🙂
Today is my last day in Nepal as tomorrow I fly to Thailand (reluctantly)
I have completely fallen in love with this country and the chaos which encompasses it! The people could not be more welcoming and helpful. Every day you have the best conversations with locals who are only happy to give you their time. Everything about Nepal is chaotic – but it works! Despite having much less, they never seem to be stressed or rushing anywhere.
So how did I spend my last day you may ask? I could have done anything – massage, relaxed, shopping etc, but no – instead I went to Pashupatinath Temple, a Hindu temple that hold open cremations. Cremations happen 24/7 out in the open for everyone to see. I did a tour here, and the traditions are so crazy compared to what we are used to, that it was mind blowing really. I will spare you the most explicit pictures but it was quite harrowing, although the meaning behind their rituals are loving and respectful.
In the first picture, you can see a bald man with white clothing. There were many men resembling this at the temple. This means that their parent died in the last year. When a parent dies, their son has many duties, including burning their body. When the ceremony is complete, they must shave their head, wear white clothing for 30 days and only eat one meal a day as an act of mourning. They have many other duties also, too many to remember! On their deceased parent’s one year anniversary, they return to the temple with a priest and have a ceremony to mark the anniversary, which is what is happening here.
As a pick me up, I then went to a cafe called ‘French Creperie’ where I was very good to myself!
Its time to get researching a new country now, although I could easily spend another month here and would reccomend Nepal to anyone who is considering an adventure in the future! All that’s left now is one last Nepali dinner and probably one last painting! Thankfully my haggling skills have improved considerably!!
Pokhara is a beautiful city, on a lake that seems to slow everyone down in the best way. I have met many people who arrived in Pokhara for a few nights with plans to move on then – and they are still here weeks later! I see myself going down the same path!
For starters the food is incredible, and they have good coffee which has not been the case before now! ‘Vegan Way’ is a firm favourite at the moment!
I am staying at ‘Pokhara Backpackers Hostel’ which has a lovely atmosphere about it and is quite sociable too!
I went paragliding!
Did a small hike…
I walk by Phewa Lake daily..
Spend time with people I have met, do some yoga and spend time planning the next part of my trip from cute cafes, just like this one.
Overall, it’s very chilled which I love! I don’t actually have a flight booked out of here yet, but I am making my way to Australia for December 17th, via Thailand!
That’s me fully caught up! I hope everyone is well! When I know my next plan, I’ll be sure to post an update!
Emma's Travel Blog 