Honey, I'm Home.

I'm baaaack. Yes, my travels are officially over as of Friday and on this rainy, cold Tuesday morning in June (Summer who?!), it's all starting to sink in. So I have been sifting through and editing all my pictures from all the places I went and reflecting on my time away. I don't know how to sum it up really. Incredible? Amazing? Mind-blowing, yes all these things but also, ridiculous, crazy, exhausting, hard, challenging, marvellous, hilarious, sad and happy, I mean the list is endless.

So let's start with Thailand. I was in this beautiful country for just over two weeks with Eddie and we had an incredible time. The Thai people are so laid back and happy and everything we did was so easy and enjoyable. From crazy Bangkok (buckets, street food, lady boys, ping pong, markets) to Full Moon on Ko Phangan to the beautiful island of Phi Phi, Thailand was a mixture of utter peaceful beauty and absolute chaos. It was so much fun. Favourite memories were on Phi Phi, watching the storms with a cold Chang in our hands from the shelter of our balcony listening to Foals. It was Mine and Eddie's first real holiday away together and it was amazing. No stress or arguments, all memories are pure and happy.

So after Thailand, Amy and I headed to Kuala Lumpur. This city was such a contrast. It had all the big shopping malls, full of designer brands, all the latest technologies, some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, and yet behind all this was the real KL, the Food Streets lined with endless stalls of Nasi Lemak, Frog Porridge and other delights. The city has some beautiful parks and gardens with terrific skylines of the city. My highlight was visiting the Petronas Towers by night, they are just breath taking. 

From KL, we got the bus to Singapore. We were only meant to come for a day or so as we had to fly from here to Australia, but Amy's friend from home was there at the same time so we left KL a bit earlier. I spent most of Singapore on my own, walking around the city. I went to the Singapore Flyer, down to the River, saw the F1 track, went shopping in Orchard Road, explored down by Raffles Place. It was a cool city, but definitely not a backpackers place, or indeed a place to be with no money! On our last day, Amy and I explored Raffles Hotel together which was fun and very posh! 

ANOKHI

Whilst in Jodhpur, We stumbled upon this shop and were instantly hooked. They create cushion covers and bed spreads, tableware, wash bags, and purses as well as clothes in both Indian and Western styles. All their items are colourful and bright and created using block printing. They combine florals with graphic designs for a strong contemporary feel. We just couldn't spend enough time in here, so much so that when we got to Delhi, we went straight to their outlet there! We won't mention how much we bought...

Check out their website here and here are some of their lovely prints to feast your eyes upon:

Look of the Day

Loving this outfit found on Lookbook, bang on trend combining both pastel shades with colour blocking to create that perfect chilled out Summer look!

Lip Therapy

I don't know about you, but quite frankly my lips are always chapped during the winter months. This is due mainly to the cold weather outside, however studies have shown that dry, chapped lips is often a result of dehydration. It is just as important to drink at least 2 litres of water a day in the winter as it is in the summer, if not more. During the cold season, your skin, hair and lips are much more prone to being dry to to the harsh weather and lack of moisture. So make sure you get your 8 glasses a day!
If you're drinking like a fish and your lips are still a little dry, all you need is a cucumber (bear with me).
Cucumbers have long since been used in beauty therapy whether on the eyes, reducing puffiness, or infused in water for a healthy drink and now it appears they help chapped lip syndrome! Wahey. The trick is to place a slice of it between your lips. The reasoning behind the magic is pretty simple. Firsty, a cucumber is 90% water, therefore rehydrating your lips. Secondly, they contain caffeic acid, which is an antioxidant that prevents free radicals that protect your lips from the daily elements. Thirdly, its high in absorbic acid which helps stimulate the production of collagen, which gives your lips that lovely fullness that we all desire. And lastly, they make one heck of a good salad. So come on, embrace the cucumber and pucker up!

The Taj!

I went to India and of course I went to the Taj Mahal.  And yes, it was absolutely stunning. 

India...it's been amazing. 

Beautiful Pushkar

Probably on a par with Hampi as the best place we went to. It is hectic, busy, dirty, sweet, colourful, packed and utterly beautiful. To me, it is real India.

There was so much colour - fruit and veg market stalls, samosas and chapattis being made right in front of your eyes, pigment paints piled up high, bangles, shawls, vibrant silks and fabrics embellished with jewels, sequins, ribbons and bells, buddhas, handicrafts, cows, pigs, dogs and cats roaming the streets, children laughing and playing, never failing to smile, houses with beautiful archways painted in pastel shades of pinks, blues, turquoises, greens, yellows and purples, people sitting in and out of doorways, motorbikes screeching through the tiny alleys, a temple around every corner, bindis, henna, prayer beads dangling from every shop, holy flowers in pink white and yellow, bargainings being shouted accopanied with greetings and smiles. It was just wonderful. 

During our time in Pushkar, we stayed in a little Guesthouse called ChaChas Guesthouse. It was so cute and friendly, run by an English lady and her Indian husband who have two sweet kids and two equally cute turtles roaming around the garden! We were made to feel very welcome, they gave us a map of the village and fed us everyday! They also introduced us to their friend who runs a camel safari company so we even got to venture out to the desert for the afternoon on our very own camels!! Some pics below show me with my very misbehaved camel Jody, the journey to the desert, Amy on her well-behaved camel, and very last picture was the instrument played by a man at the Sunset Point. It was beautiful and sounded a lot like a violin.

We also made friends with a jeweller named Vikras (above) while we were here, who was super friendly and made absolutely fabulous jewellery. I think he deserves a special mention. He even got up early one day to come in just for Amy and I even though he was ill!