24 Hours in Bangkok and 1 Boy Later…

23rd September at 7am I had landed safely in Bangkok. I was so excited to not have to constantly be on edge and aware of my surroundings like I was in India. To keep myself entertained with my 30-minute walk to the hostel (because of my cheap skate ass), I decided to try and learn some Thai! I said the saying good morning about 5,000 times, before opening my mouth to a local. The last thing I wanted to do was offend a thai woman at 7am in the morning! But still my brain couldn’t remember the saying!

I eventually landed safely at my hostel bed station where I sat down with a cigarette. Whilst in my own world I had three boys knock my shoulder to ask for a light. I found this is how I have met most people. Smoking may be a bad habit, but it definitely ensures you make friends. After a solid conversation and discovering one of the boys has a huge farm in the Netherlands, we decided to venture out discovering the day markets in Bangkok. We spent the day eating, bartering and laughing continuously. This then led us to the first night in the big city.

Now these three boys weren’t like me they hadn’t got a single budget in mind, their main goal was just to have fun. They were on holiday for 3 weeks. So, as you can imagine we ended up in the best club on Koh San Road, with bottles of vodka and beer towers surrounding us. We danced the night away in luxury.

Finally, they got bored of the stuck-up atmosphere and decided they really wanted to discover the true Koh San Road. We took our last full bottle of vodka and fled into a rundown club bumping into all sorts of fellow travellers. Now this is the atmosphere I enjoy. The dazzling lights were flashing in your eyes blinding you from the awful place you were emerged in and the cheesy music blasting in your ears not allowing you to think straight. I then decided to take it upon myself to share the vodka around the club. I screamed in people's faces just to get their mouths open wide for the absolute vodka I had in my hands. 2 minutes later and it was all gone! Whilst participation in this charity work, I met a guy…

I saw him from a mile off with his beaming white smile and dark intense eyes looking into my soul. We sparked up a conversation while I continued to stare directly at his perfectly positioned features. Whilst enduring in this conversation, he let me know that he had decided to go to a little island called koh Tao tomorrow evening. He asked me for my future plans immediately after and myself knowing full well I had a flight booked somewhere else, I told him with a straight face I didn’t have any. So, as you guessed it, I followed him. Little did I know this little Thai island would make a huge impact on my travels.

That next day we booked our overnight train and ferry and got ready to endure the next 24 hours together.

We left the hostel in plenty of time for our night train and decided the best thing to do was grab a tuktuk in Bangkok. Wow did we mess up. This Thai grandad did not speak a slip of English and would not let me direct him to where we wanted to go. Long story short he took us to the wrong place. I started to freak out and panic about how we weren’t going to make it. I was certain the travel gods had doomed us with an awful future. I had already made the one big main mistake when travelling, changing your plans for a boy.

After finding someone that could translate and have a conversation with the old man, we finally reached our train station. We boarded the train eager to find some little beds in a cabin patiently waiting for our heavy heads. But no. We were greeted with diner booths for a train journey that lasted for 12 hours. But it was beyond my awareness this would be a memory that I will treasure forever. We got comfortable on the train and discovered who our neighbours would be for the next 12 hours. We were sat next to a gentleman from Egypt, a sweet youthful couple from Germany and a older strong minded thai gentleman. He was the first reminder in Thailand for me on why I decided to travel. This older gentleman had the most incredible story, but then again doesn’t everyone have one. Since travelling I had discovered how interesting strangers are and how much you can learn from one another. This gentleman had a very noticeable disability where he was missing half his jaw. He had the face of an 80-year-old man but the body of a 25-year-old body builder. He was strong minded and bodied and knew exactly what he wanted in life. He proceeded to tell us how he had a cancerous life-threatening tumour and yet here he still is living and travelling and not stuck anywhere, he’s independent. This is what I crave in life freedom, fun and risk. My life isn’t worth living if I can’t do what I want when I want, I want the independence and I despise how money has to be tied in with this. I’m on the other side of the world yet im still not free. When will I feel free like this courageous man?

Whilst enjoying this train journey we all grew close together in the intense environment of the train cabins. I was able to learn new card games I became obsessed with as we watched the stars shine down from the sky whilst we hung like monkeys out the side of the train screaming our joy of the moment. We laughed, we ate, we slept(barely), but mainly we were just enjoying our current moment and I knew I would treasure it. We saw the sun rise above the fields we flew by and finally reached Chumpong. This is where we waited to get the ferry to the little island, Koh Tao. Oh, how my life changed from this moment on.

Jaipur, a Jubilant Pink City with a Justifiable Big Heart

This is where I learnt about calmness, lucky karma and culture, whose people show gratitude for every day of their life.

Travelling to Jaipur was an interesting experience, particularly the trains! I was heading to platform 2 via a staircase, piled high and juggling my rucksacks. I just wanted to double check I was going to the correct platform when all of a sudden, I was surrounded by a gang… two in front and two behind it was a jaw drop moment.  Their form was unique as they blended into the beige staircase, I could barely line them out.  All of a sudden, I realised that this whole family of monkeys were so intrigued by what I was doing. This was a risky situation, with no one in sight I could be in danger here.  I remembered one fact I’d been told, don’t look them in their eyes. And you guessed it, I did! I threw my water bottle up in the air, hoping they would chase it… not even a flinch.  In a slight moment of panic, I decided to make a run for it and started screaming loudly! However, the male monkey launched at me, latching onto my leg.  This was not pleasant, and I didn’t want a hostile partner for my travels! Luckily, I got away with a few scratches and a bruise on my leg, avoiding the first hospital trip. TOP TIP: be aware of your surroundings – people and animals.  Monkey menace is reported widely in Jaipur.

I finally made my way to platform 2 where my train was sat waiting patiently for me. Of course, I got onto the wrong carriage, twice. Classic backpacker Ella. Recheck bookings and signs carefully before boarding.  After receiving help from locals, they insisted on having a photo with me and at this point I felt obliged to take pictures with them.

Throughout my time in India, I have felt like a celebrity walking the streets. In India there is a very challenging hierarchy called a caste system that still exists from around 1500 BC, there are four castes and a fifth group called Dalits or the untouchables.  This is exceptionally hard to witness as there is so much poverty, it opened my eyes so wide and is on another level in recognising world poverty.  Sadly, I was told that if you have a lighter skin tone and can speak English, you would be viewed as being in the top of this hierarchy and treated as a VIP within many eyes. A tuktuk driver named Ali also known as an Indian helicopter driver was able to share an interesting reason on why locals take photos with foreigners.  Lots of Indians who live in small villages and towns will visit the big cities in India for religious reasons and to discover more about their country and origin. When they return back to their hometown they will show off with these pictures, saying that they ate and drank tea with this person and how they are friends with them. This gains great respect from their relatives and neighbours giving them a higher status at home. This allowed me to have more patience and understanding when having requested photos with the locals, although no exaggeration, once you say yes to one you can expect a large queue to form, as if it were a meet and greet.

If you want to say no to people or you need beggars to leave you alone, my good friend Phuntsok from North India taught me to say ‘ney ney’. This is the local translation for no, no. This startles them as they are in shock you know some Hindi so if they say you know Hindi you respond with ‘tora tora’ this means little, little and they leave you alone and gain respect at the same time. I have learnt to leave people with a memory of kindness and humour instead of bluntness. I feel when travelling, respect is one of the most important traits to hold.

In Jaipur there is much to see as a tourist, being selective is best. Whilst I was on the train heading towards Jaipur, I was lucky enough to meet a likeminded woman from the Netherlands. We discovered we were located at the same hostel and decided to make the 10-minute trek from the train station to Moustache Hostel. Moustache Jaipur | Backpacker Hostel In Jaipur - Hostel with Rooftop Pool (moustachescapes.com) Well, this was not a walk for the faint hearted, because we soon found ourselves like deers crossing highways in the dark and our instincts on full alert with the fear of getting hit.  If you can’t pluck up the courage to cross a road in India, believe me life isn’t worth living.

We made it to the hostel with some skill and a lot of luck, with all our bags and limbs still attached. We were introduced to two guys when we arrived at the hostel, one from Sweden and the other from Austria. Two intriguing guys from two outstanding countries. These two men intrigued me so much in the way that they spoke and entertained one another.  This impacted me greatly and they have now encouraged me to read more and to use my brain in ways one does not think about.  We all spent the following day together visiting amusing sites and meeting intensely enthusiastic tuk tuk drivers.  It was the best day until I began to feel some slight grumbles and then realised I had gained the dreaded Delhi belly!! I just made it in time to the toilet where it came out in many ways! I think that’s enough detail for you all, although it wasn’t at all fun!

When travelling in India it is sensible to respect their culture and the way they dress, it is a privilege to visit this country, so I recommend wearing long dresses and trousers as this shows respect to yourself and their culture. I made the mistake of only bringing one long dress and wow did I regret it. Although to be fair it was value for money per wear. Research and plan your packing, make lists - it is essential!

I do want to remind all my female travellers not to trust everyone in the world, there is a mixed bag of people out there.  I keep making this mistake especially with tuktuk drivers, they promise you a price then kick off wanting more money when you get to your destination.  Agree the price first and be aware of your surroundings.  I have been lucky to meet fellow travellers and although hostel life is basic and not everyone’s thing, it certainly provides a community and learning experience.  You get to make friends from all over the world, so it’s definitely one step up from basic networking. 

On my way to the airport I had left myself with 120 rupees in hand. With the average cost of a tuktuk being 200 rupees to the airport. This is where I decided my bartering skills needed to be improved. I managed to grab an Indian helipcopter for the 120 rupees (£1.20) plus 2 cigarettes. What a skill I have now got! I might even place this on my CV!

My Flight to Bangkok awaits…

A Compassionate Country committed to Colour, Culture and Celebrations

Wow.

India full stop as a country is just fantastic and I’ve only experienced three cities so far as a traveller.  First stop in a country with nearly 1.5 billion residents.  New Delhi is a working city with nearly 33 million people living there and as a solo female traveller realistically I did not feel safe. My experience of a few hours in the city was just pure chaos and torment.  TOP TIP: I created a huge problem for myself as I didn’t book my train in advance, then on arrival finding out the train was fully booked.  On discovering this news, a gentlemen felt it was appropriate to spit at my feet as well as projecting a devilish glare towards me.  TOP TIP: follow your instincts, if it feels wrong, it probably is wrong.  Therefore, at this point I decided that I couldn’t stay in New Delhi a moment longer as the only backpacker in sight, I felt uncomfortable and unsafe.  After hopping on a Tuk Tuk for 30p I discovered a certified tourism office and booked a private transfer to Agra.  Don’t forget to take photos of the licence and number plate and send to a friend or family.  It was a 4-hour drive, and I paid a whopping £90. Now in England it would have at least been 4 times that! So, I couldn’t complain. The driver also made me feel extremely safe and comfortable in the taxi and I arrived in Agra to check into Joeys Hostel Joey's Hostel | www.joeyshostel.com | Welcome to Joey's Hostel, the most central and cosy Hostel in New Delhi & Udaipur, Rajasthan I chose Joeys Hostel because of the great reviews and fascinating view of the Taj Mahal it offers.

The kind, caring and compassionate people of India just blew me away…As soon as I stepped outside of the hostel, I was treated with a huge welcome from young children wanting to shake my hand and greet me to their country. They were fascinated by the sight of me waving from every angle I looked, just to be acknowledged. I was completely overwhelmed with all of the kindness and smiles in this city. As a solo female I felt so safe within this city. The hostel staff were also amazing. Getting everyone involved in activities and I even got to perform in a thoda (pronounced as ‘tora’ means little in Hindi) concert whilst one of the staff members played the guitar.

Whilst in Agra there is plenty to see and do. My highest recommendation will surely be the Taj Mahal after all it is 1 of the 7 wonders of the world, and it does live up to it.  TOP TIP: We went at 5am in the morning to make sure we were first in and able to catch the reflections of the sunrise as it lit up the beautiful marble stone.  When you visit the Taj Mahal, you will notice that the four pillars surrounding the palace are slightly leaning out. This is so that if there was an earthquake the pillars will not destroy the beautiful building they guard. There was also a rumour spread that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan chopped off the hands of the architects and builders who created and build the Taj Mahal as he did not want anything to be built as beautiful. He built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal has been standing strong and proud since 1648.

Whilst staying in Agra, India I was lucky enough to be there when they celebrated their Elephant God named Ganesha Chathurthi during a festival on my last day in Agra. This allowed me to be blessed by Ganesha. This was a small but simple ceremony for blessing each other it was touching and beautiful. Whilst one gentleman sang prayers, we clapped along showing our encouragement to the meaningful words. We then took it in turns silently speaking to the god and asking for a wish. Whilst we did that, we held a silver tray with candles and offerings, circling them in front of her face it was a magical experience. I did come away from this unique experience in India feeling blessed and refreshed. We were given a red dot on our forehead. This is called a tilaka, which represents a third inner eye. This eye is used to focus on God and religion. It can also represent your marriage status as a lot of single women wear black tilakas. We were also offered a red and yellow bracelet made of string with the colours of the Elephant God. I intend to keep this on as I now believe it will keep me safe throughout my travels. These moments touched my heart deeply, gave me time to reflect and it felt like an out of experience moment learning more about the Hindu religion and culture.

I felt welcomed into their country.

I’m now heading towards the busy city of Jaipur where I intend to learn more about this amazing country.

Your independent girl, Ella.