As someone who juggles SIM cards while travelling, getting an authentication code over WhatsApp instead of text message made my life so much easier 🙏
(It sounds like a scam but it was definitely legit 😆)
I spent the new year in Phu Quoc.
I learnt that a hotel can totally cancel your booking 24 hours before you’re due to arrive and rebooking for NY dates makes the price 📈 but Agoda won’t help 😅
I also learnt how to enjoy myself while doing nothing for 4 days 🙏 I’m well-rested now!
Hahaha! Please do report back, I’m invested 😆
I find it so cold now, but when I lived there I would never greet anyone 😆
This might be a strange observation, but I think a ‘morning’ might be a better greeting. To me, ‘hi’ feels like you have to respond or you’re about to get into a big chat, but ‘morning’ is said in passing. Might be just me!
And of course, the food is unreal 😋
But I think Hue is worth a visit in any weather.
The history is fascinating and there is so much to see.
This continued in #Hue, where it’s rainy season. The downpours were continuous - until the day I left, when it was absolutely dry 😆
I’ve been exceptionally unlucky with the weather in Vietnam.
My short stint in #NinhBinh was so cold that I lived in my fleece for three days. Of course, the sun came out the day I was leaving 😆
That’s exciting!
I loved the free walking tour of the city (you tip at the end). The post office, book street and cafe apartments are nice to see. The war remnants museum is worth visiting, but deeply upsetting 😅
I didn’t do the cu chi tunnels, but everyone says they’re great.
Hope you have fun!
The cool kid tourists in #Thailand and #Vietnam seem to be wearing Grab jackets. It’s the strangest thing 😅
Is there any better email than someone confirming they want to go ahead with a chunky freelance project in the new year?! 🙏 🥳
I’ve been in #Vietnam for less than 24 hours and I am in heaven.
The #coffee is unmatched.
The food is unbeatable.
Even the rain and pollution of #Hanoi won’t dampen my joy 🤩
The influx of tourists is on a whole other level.
It’s like the whole place exists to entertain tourists and it’s so peculiar. The amount of tourist traps - the bamboo bridge and Chinese village, for example - is just so strange.
I enjoyed the nature, but a week was plenty long enough for me 😅
I spent a week in #Pai and it was an experience…
I stayed in a lovely hostel and made lots of friends, which made it one of my favourite travel weeks so far.
But I think it’s the worst example of neocolonial tourism I’ve seen on my travels and the whole place made me deeply uncomfortable 😬😅
I valiantly put down the laptop and spent the afternoon at some #hotsprings outside of #Pai.
The water comes out at 100 degrees but cools as it slowly runs along a man-made river.
10/10 Monday, would recommend!
#MuangPaeng
#ChiangMai is such a beautiful place to visit. I’m really looking forward to coming back for a month of #coliving and #coworking soon!
I made:
👉 Papaya salad
👉 Thai cashew chicken stir fry
👉 Coconut chicken soup
👉 Thai green curry
👉 Mango sticky rice
The best bit? We could only eat half so I’ve got leftovers for dinner 🥳
Spent the morning at a cooking class in Chiang Mai. The location was absolutely unreal 🤩
One of my very favourite things to do when I travel is go to the cinema. Today, in Thailand, I paid £5.27 for a luxury seat to watch Wicked and it was an absolute delight. Still not used to the Thai national anthem playing before each movie, though 😅
