Livvy Em
Liv Harper Joined: October 7th 2006
Logged in: October 5th 2009
Logged in: October 5th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
Spring Time
WOW, if we ever get this sent off it will be a miracle!!! This blog has been in the works for an entire year......yes, we were in Val D'Isere December '06 - May '07 (meak laugh) Sooo following our Christmas in England, we flew to Val D'Isere in the french alps to start work as chalet maids in a 5 star chalet...our first lot of clients were arriving the next day so let just say we were thrown in the deep end!!!...enough said, despite neither of us having ever worked in hospitality before we managed to charm our way through the season turning our 'very very important' clients into friends. Val D'Isere itself is actually one of the most beautiful places on earth when it was snowing it was just like being in Narnia. Even after ... read more
London ladies
After three months of wearing fisherman pants and colourful scarves, sweaty pits a sad but constant feature (just slightly, we are ladies!) and living on only a few dollars a day we boarded the plane from Delhi to London….with just a week out from Christmas it was definatly a fun place to be headed! Arriving at Heathrow Airport, we ran out into the waiting arms (a real ‘Love Actually’ moment) of our two favourite brits’ Jodie Read and Chris Whiteman, a video camera rolling….. We spent the next week based in Jodie’s hometown of Guildford enjoying clean sheets, tapwater that you could drink and chocolate that didn’t melt everywhere before you could eat it. We also went in and out of London catching up with loads of friends, shopping, sightseeing and getting a little overly-excited ... read more
Sun loving ladies
You know those really annoying people that travel through places like India, entering the country as a tidy Westerner, yet after months of touring depart a scruffy hippy, claiming that their lives had been changed, they’d discovered some unknown spiritual dimension, and they would never be the same again….?! Well, we can’t go as far as to say we succumbed completely to the Eastern attire (Emma does want to work for Vogue after-all!) but as cheesy as it sounds, in some small way our lives probably will…..never be the same again. We endured the most delightful - and disturbing moments of our travels through the Central/South of India…..starting off with 4 days of travel from Rajashtan to Kerala….finding ourselves stranded in the slums of Amhendabad, being confronted by Eunachs on trains demanding money, and being ... read more
Jaisalmer
‘Hello Madams, where are you from?’ New Zealand ‘Aaah Switzerland, that is a very nice place…’ No, NEW ZEAland ‘Aaaah very nice also, Cricket! You know Fleming?’ Yeah Stephen, he’s our neighbour. ‘What are your names?’ Emma and Olivia. ‘Aaaah beautiful names, they are Indian names you know…’ Really? ‘Where are your husbands? Why are you not married? When are you getting married? I have a son who is not married? Would you like to buy my pashminas?, I give you a special price, those ones you have are not real, but mine are, mine are the most beautiful pashminas in all of India!’ And with the above dialogue, like its out of a text book we begin most of our conversations with the men of India, and its only men that we meet as ... read more
Heavy Travellers
Ok...its our lowest point yet, we'd love to tell you we went to Vietnam for a true cultural and life enriching experience, that we studied the amazing history and delved into a different way of life...but if we did it would be a lie...because Vietnam for us really became the land where we turned into fast-talking. high fashion designers...and spent a week in beautful Hoi An having the most AMAZING clothes made...just for us! In our short space of time, however, we did learn a lot about this country...we loved it but at times it was definately a little trying, lets start with our journey from Laos... A promised 18 hour bus journey that would take us direct to Hoi An turned into a 38 hour saga worthy of a Jerry Springer episode, complete with the ... read more
Vang Vieng - Tubing
We'd heard rumours and whispers from other travellers that Laos was the "hidden treasure" of south east asia...and a after week spent here we discovered this is truly the best way to describe this stunning country which sits on the eastern border of Thailand... Chiang Khong: We arrived in this border town late in the afternoon, with a mini-van full of friends ready to be made. We all bonded that evening when we stumbled across the town's annual Temple Festival which was hilarious! Before we knew it we were whisked on to the dance floor, ribboned lays sprung around our necks and all the local bachelors lining up for a dance!! As quickly as we learned the traditional Thai dance moves, we were stripped of our lays, thrown off the dance floor and sent on our ... read more
The trekkers in Chiang Mai
Fun times in Chiang Mai, North Thailand...Oh Yes!! After three weeks in the south of Thailand getting our tan on, buying way to many gorgeous clothes for two girls supposedly "roughing it!" and lazing around reading books we were reading for a bit of adventure...and 36 hours (on a bus!!) later we were in the B.M.P. Resident in Chiang Mai. DAY ONE...Happy Birthday Livvy!!!...25 today so we had a day of fun, chocolate for breakfast!, a day of exploring around beautiful Chiang Mai then two b'day cakes in the evening (one from Em and one from our hostel)....Livvy also gave the whole hostel a special treat singing "Wonderwall" kareoke... DAY TWO - FOUR...Trekking to the hill tribe villages...this was the most fun that we have had yet...beautiful blue skies and sunshine watched over us as we ... read more
McDonalds. Bangkok
Our journey began a week late - thanks to a coup in Bangkok! What timing! So, after officially the most tearful farewell that Auckland airport has ever seen, we couldn't have anticipated what we were about to be thrown into. Bangkok. The beautiful mess that it is, was laid out before us in all it's glory. They say that this place is one of the most ecclectic one will ever come across, and ecclectic doesn't even start to explain it. Ancient temples rise in the shadow of space-age shopping malls, soaring skyscrapers tower over tumbleweed hovels, cafes and restaurants are surrounded by simple street stalls. Bangkok is an interchange of the past, present and future, and eye opener for any new traveller. We did manage to find some wee gems in this town though, and headed ... read more
Koh Phi Phi Island
*Please check out our Bangkok blog previous to this... South Thailand, the place of beautiful white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, tailor made suits, a little bit of monsoon rain and Love Songs till midnight....actually 24 hours a day! Route; Bangkok to Phuket by plane Phuket to Ao Nang, Krabi by the scariest mini-van driver in history - yeah you pump those brakes! Ao Nang to Koh Phi Phi in wild monsoon rain by boat, not a fun journey Koh Phi Phi to Koh Samui by boat - bus - boat Phuket; 5 nights, 6 days Ravaged little lobsters. # Note using tanning oil by mistake on winter fresh lily-white skin...ouchy, not a good idea at all. Monsoon rain dampened our already low spirits as we battled a deadly tropical illness...(ok slightly dramatic, but we both ... read more
