Day 1- Phuket
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 –> Koh Phi Phi
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8 –> Phuket
Day 9/10
After catching an overnight bus from Lisbon straight through to Madrid, we found ourselves at the main bus station at 5 am in the morning. Having not had the best nights sleep it took us a while to actually move and make our way to our next hotel. We were unable to check in straight away as it was way before check in time, so found ourselves strolling through the streets of Atocha at 7 am in search of some breakfast. Everywhere we looked you could see rainbow flags hung up. It was only after a couple of hours sleep and a very late lunch at a Tapas restaurant that we realised Madrid was hosting the annual Gay pride festival. We joined in the festivities with a couple of drinks and enjoyed seeing everyone come together to celebrate.
We spent the next day strolling through the streets, having coffees and Tapas all around, it was amazing!
We only spent about 3 days in Atocha, before we left for another airbnb in a different part of town. Once arriving at our Airbnb we realised there was no wifi whatsoever unlike advertised and we were meant to spend the next 4 nights there. With this in mind, we requested a refund (still waiting) and booked another airbnb closer to the heart of the city. This place was amazing! We 100% made ourselves at home! It came with great cooking and relaxing facilities (huge tv with netflix <3) with many restaurants and tourist spots nearby. It was perfect. No regrets!
After the 4 days had passed, it was time to say goodbye as Will and I would be splitting with Ed for the remainder of our trips. Will and I from here are off to South East Asia, and Ed will be continuing on with Europe.
Europe you were amazing, Asia here we come 😛
Hey Guys, Sorry about the delay in getting our Portugal part of the trip up but here it is 🙂
To get to Portugal, we decided that we would get a flight out of Tangier which is on the coast of Morocco. As the flight was very early in the morning, we had booked a nights accommodation right near the beach which we were stoked about. However we had to get a taxi from town to the accommodation and once we had arrived we were told that we could not pay by card but only by cash. Of course we had no cash which meant we had to get another 20 euro taxi ride back into town just so we could get to an ATM. After all this stress we had a few hours sleep in our room and then got a taxi to the airport. Although it was sad to leave Morocco, we were extremely excited to get to Portugal and relax.
When we arrived in Portugal we were greeted by a man holding a sign up with Jahnas name on it. This was the driver we had organised through our Airbnb. We were extremely tired so it was a relief to be driven to our apartment. When we got dropped off at the airbnb, the pictures did not do it justice. The apartment was huge for the 3 of us and we were glad that this was going to be our home for the next 9 days. It was 14 Euros a night each, close to the beach, supermarket around the corner and only a 30 min train ride into Lisbon city. For the first few days, we relaxed and did not move a whole lot. We mainly went to the beach, ate alot of food and walked around our area.
As well as relaxing and taking it easy, we decided to check out a beach that was about a 15 minute drive by uber which Will had just picked by looking on google maps. We tried this a day earlier however as soon as we booked the Uber it started to rain. As we were waiting outside, we couldnt decide whether or not to brave the rain, and at the last minute decided to cancel our Uber and stay hermets for the rest of the day. We attempted it again the next day and thankfully weather was perfect.
During our time in Portugal we also ventured into Lisbon city which was amazing. Once again perfect weather and it was a beautiful city. We had researched what to do in Lisbon and one of the main attractions was to catch Tram 28. Tram 28 is a yellow rickety noisy tram that was built back in the 1930s. It does take a while to actually get on the tram as there are tonnes of tourists wanting to do the same thing. It is recommended that you get there very early or later in the evening. But of course, we decided to arrive at midday when everyone else was there as well. After about an hour of waiting we finally got on the tram. The reason everyone wants to get on this tram is that it takes you on a very picturesque route and up some very steep hills through the old neighbourhoods including Alfama which is one of the oldest districts in Lisbon. After making it up about halfway, the tram lines broke down and we had no idea when they would be fixed so we decided to walk and get lost in the streets. This was perfect as there were many areas that were nice and we ended up at the top of the neighbourhood with a good view of Lisbon. After spending most of the day up in the old neighbourhood and spending a fortune on just a plate of fries, we decided to head back down and walk through the city centre of Lisbon. We soon stumbled across a tent that was setup with many food stalls. The food here was much cheaper so we decided to chill here for a bit and have a well deserved sangria to top it off. After a huge day of walking around we decided it was time to get back to the airbnb and relax once again.
Portugal was definitely hard to leave. We got extremely comfortable and had an amazing time. But next stop…Madrid!
<3<3
Hi all 🙂
We spent about 3 days in this small town in Northern Morocco, after taking an overnight train from Marrakech. We didnt do to much here, more spent the time relaxing and enjoying the culture. We did however do a cooking class and ate amazing food.
We highly recommend Chefchaouen if you ever choose to go to Morocco!
SOOOOO MUCH BLUE ❤
What can I say about Morocco, except wow, what a reality check. When we got to the airport we straight away decided to take a taxi to the hostel where we were staying as the transit from Montenegro was an nothing short of an exhausting one. After travelling all the way back up to Dubrovnik – Croatia, wait around until our 9 pm flight, we even had to sleep at the airport in Geneva over night (SIGH!) #backpackerlife. As we were driving to the hostel it was immediately apparent that this was a place that was so strange and different to any place we had ever been to before. It was quite eye opening at first to a point where we didn’t know how to process what it was we were experiencing. However just like all the other destinations we had been to so far it was the right place to be and the perfect time in my life to take in this beautiful country. We arrived at our hostel after a very short drive (which cost us a ton surprisingly), it was only once we had exited the apparent comfort and safety of the taxi that the full brunt of the culture shock hit home, leaving us with a tidal wave of confusion and anxious emotions. Hostel Itry was buried deep within the alley ways of the old town Marrakech and it seemed to be in the less privileged part of town. The second we left the cab we were immediately approached by locals and hagglers trying to convince us to choose buy their wares. The short journey by foot from where we had been dropped off to the door of our hostel was surreal. At this point, roughly 8 am in the morning, we could already feel the burning of our skin in the 40 degree heat. As we did not listen to those who said pack lightly, even the 2 minute walk to the Hostel felt like death with our 16kg backpacks. Its hard to explain the uncertainty we were feeling at this point, having constant awareness of your backpack, your pockets and trying to figure out where our Hostel could possibly be left us all quite confused and uncertain. However, once we calmed down and saw the obvious sign that marked the entrance to our humble abode we finally calmed our anxious nerves. Immediately once we passed through the doorway and had been introduced to the hosts of our hostel that we were quickly put at ease by their friendly and welcoming attitudes. We quickly got settled, had a shower and a 4 hour nap before braving the streets of Marrakech. As we only had a day in Marrakech before we embarked on our three day camel safari in the Sahara desert, we mainly spent our time in old town and the famous square Jemaa El Fnaa. Jemaa El Fnaa was insane! It bustling and chaotic with a mix of locals and tourists. We loved it, but it was immediately clear that this city has become very touristy over the past couple of years.
As we arrived during the middle of Ramadan (Muslims month of fasting), we had to walk quite a while before finding somewhere to eat. We enjoyed our first but definitely not out last Pastilla and Tagine. Close by we found the main square packed with vendors and markets selling all things from famous Moroccan spices to ‘Ray Ban’ sunglasses and ‘Armani’ Watches :P. The main square was unbelievable! Every stall you would pass, the merchants would try so very hard to get your attention and explain that their products are way better than the ones next door. As the square was rather large and spacious you could get away with not getting the attention from all the vendors, however once you pass through the backstreets thats when it gets slightly claustrophobic. The alleys were extremely tight and all you see for ages extending in from of you was literally just shop after shop making it very easy to get lost (which is part of what made it amazing). It must have been obvious that we did not know what we were doing by the looks on our faces as some one instantly took advantage of the situation and wanted to come to our rescue. At first this person was saying that he did not want any money he was just happy that he got to talk to foreign people to practice his english and he would happily escort us back to where we needed to go. Of course this was not the case, and we soon found ourselves outside his shop, far away from the square and him asking for 3 euros.
Our time spent in Marrakech was definitely intense, however even with the constant haggling and strangers approaching your for money, we only have good things to say about this place. The culture Marrakech had to offer was beautiful and the sense of unity as they all come together at the end of a day of fasting was unbelievable. We definitely recommend seeing Marrakech, however our only advice is – dont look lost 😛 and dont be afraid to haggle.
The next morning we were picked up by our tour guide for the next three days who was going to be driving us from Marrakech to Merzouga where we will be enjoying our night in the Sahara desert. The drive was broken up into 2 days, 6 hours to our Hotel in Boumalne Dades, and 6 hours the next day to Merzouga. As the three of us dont ever plan ahead, we did not think to take out cash prior to leaving Marrakech. So our first travel day was spent hungry yet again until we got a proper feed late afternoon early evening. This along with the lack of air conditioning in the bus + 40 degree heat outside was not the best combination and Jahna soon felt herself close to fainting when we tried to climb to the top of Alt Ben Haddou in Ouarzazate. We were troopers however and had an amazing feed not long after 😛
We spent the night in a beautiful hotel with a pool – which truly was the perfect way to end the day. We had a great swim a good meal and a great sleep. The next morning we woke to a beautiful breakfast at the Hotel with an amazing view on the terrace tops. We drove to a Canyon about an hour away which was absolutely unbelievable. We got escorted by a local Berber who showed us the agriculture and the nearby village as we walked through the Canyon. It was amazing! He took us into a Berber families home, where they proceeded to show us the handmade rugs they create every day. We were welcomed with a warm cup of tea and got to see their daily process of creating these magnificent rugs. It was a truly unbelievable experience seeing how these families lived and spent their days.
A couple of hours later, we found ourselves in Merzouga where we would start our Sahara desert Safari on camel back. This experience was amazing and never have we seen or experienced anything like it before. We rode the camels through the picturesque sand dunes for about an hour (which by the way is more than enough– your butt cannot handle any longer we promise you). We arrived at our camp for the evening just after dark, where we saw a huge square of rugs encircled by tents. We all got out private tents which was super special. Ed however could not handle the heat, and spent the night sleeping outside on the rugs along with 90% of the camp :P. We received a beautiful plate of food and bread prior to listening to the local Berbers playing drums. It was a truly magical experience. Unfortunately it was an overcast day so we were unable to see the sky full of stars, however there is always next time.
In an attempt to see the sunrise, everyone woke up about 3:30 in the morning to set off back to Merzouga.
This 3 day Safari was truly magical and well worth the drama and money on the way. We highly recommend it to everyone.
All in all Marrakech and the Safari was amazing and the experience was unbelievable. We loved every second of it ❤
Hey all 🙂
We apologise for how long it has taken us to update the blog, but here you go 🙂
So….After the intense experience in Hvar Croatia we took the advice of the people we had met and went with them down to Montenegro. All three of us had come down with a horrible flu and were quite sick so we decided to treat ourselves and get an Airbnb and bunker down for at least a week. We were extremely lucky because the place we had managed to book was right in the middle of old town Kotor and ended up cheaper than all the hostels in the area. The first few days Jahna and I spent mainly indoors only really venturing out for food and supplies when Jahna got Hangry 😛
Will ❤
Hey Guys, its Ed, I have chosen to write something here as unlike the two lazybirds I actually ventured out of the apartment. Whilst Will and Jahna were recovering I decided to join the group we had met and go paddle boarding for our first day. As we were all on a budget we hired the boards for only an hour as it was 10 euros an hour. It was definitely worth it as watching us all try and stand up was absolutely hilarious. Once the hour was over it was a pretty chill day as we quickly fell asleep on the beach whilst soaking in the sun. At night time, we decided to have a night out in Kotor and go on a 2 euro pub crawl. I wouldnt say the pub crawl was the best, but had the time of my life with the 4 girls we had been travelling with. The next day we were brave and decided to venture up to the Fort to see the sunset. It only took us about an hour to get up there but left us completely exhausted. However, as you can see from the photos it was absolutely stunning and 100% worth it.
Ed 😛
Hey guys, Will speaking again,
Jahna and I eventually (after a couple of days) felt well enough to actually join the others for longer periods of time and see a bit of Kotor. Even though we didn’t do much we definitely enjoyed our restful week in Kotor just by eating amazing food, chilling at the beach and watching movies. Half way through the week we had to say our final goodbyes to our group of friends that we had been travelling with for on and off 3 weeks. It was super sad but we are sure we will see each other again 🙂 ❤ Once it was back to just the three of us we found ourselves feeling rather adventurous after being cooped up for a week. We eventually decided we would go white water rafting in the second deepest canyon in the world., the Tara Canyon. This definitely made our time in Montenegro, not only was it a great experience but we got to meet some new amazing people along the way. Not only was the water a beautiful blue, it was so fresh we couldn’t stop drinking it.
We were told we could jump off another 10 m cliff, which we would not be able to resist. It was amazing, but damn that water was cold. Again I was being brave, and attempted to swim against the current of the river. Jahna has uploaded a video showing how my struggle ended up being their form of entertainment.
All in all by the end of the week it was evident that this was exactly what we needed before we embarked onto our next destination, as we knew our next week will be extremely full on. We had a lot on our plate heading over to Morocco but that story is still to come.
Shout out to Rhonda, Olivia & Emily ❤ Love you guys
WOW!!! This leg of the journey was a slight deviation off of our original route but we met some amazing people while staying in Dubrovnik-Croatia namely a woman named Carrie, who highly recommended going to Bosnia. So we followed these recommendations not knowing what to expect, but we were definitely pleasantly surprised and did not realise that this was going to be the best part of our trip so far. Let me begin with the hostel, this place was called Hostel Majdas and it was amazing! When comparing Hostel Majdas with all the places we have stayed in up until now, there was no competition, and they have definitely managed to set the bar high. This place was so good and as soon as we walked in the vibe of the place had us overwhelmed as the hosts were amazing and the social aspect was what we had been looking for. Once we were shown to our room we could hardly contain our excitement and as soon as our host had left the room we all shared an awkward three way chest-bump :P. We reunited with Carrie who we had met in Dubrovnik and who had recommended coming to Mostar in the first place, she took us for a walk to a place we could buy a cheap meal for dinner, only two dollars for a huge and satisfying meal. From day one Hostel Majdas was pact full of travellers who had so many stories to share. Even though everyone came from different walks of life, it was clear from the beginning that these people were going to become great friends.
The second day we took it very easy and just went for walk. As we walked it became more and more clear why everyone highly recommended Mostar. Once we made it to the Mostar bridge Ed and I were seriously considering jumping off despite Jahna’s protests. This is a locally important jump that the people of Bosnia considered to be ones right into manhood. Just to put out there some perspective, this bridge is roughly 25 meters above the river. We didn’t end up jumping, but now we have an excuse to go back and do it next time.
The third day we bravely signed up for a tour that was unique to this particular hostel and was run by the brother of Majdas, the host of our hostel. In all honesty, this tour made the trip for me, not only did I get to see a lot of Bosnia but I got to learn a lot about the war that was inflicted upon this country and the hard ships that these people had to endure from their perspectives. Thirteen of us including the guide squished into a van that was only equiped for ten. Bata (Our guide) asked for two brave souls to put up their hands for an adventure, I was one of them. Little did we know, he was going to make us sit on stools in the boot instead of a proper seat. Bata was one of the craziest people we have ever met, however this energy complimented the day and made it exceptional. I remember Bata kept saying he can’t figure out why backpackers keep coming to his country except for the fact that it must be because the people are so chill and relaxed. At first I thought to myself that the only reason I had come was the fact that it was so cheap and we could have saved some money, however he quickly changed that. He offered us a very personal view into Bosnia and what they had been through 2 decades ago.
This was truly a place that made me appreciate what traveling was all about and I highly recommend anyone traveling in the area to pass through Hostel Majdas and make sure you do the tour we promise you won’t regret it. The first night we landed here, we ended up extending our stay by about a week.
Here is some pictures and videos of our time in Mostar, hopefully it does it justice, if not you will just have to come and experience it yourself and create your own awesome adventure.
We love you MOSTAR ❤
Keeping us Crazy 