daisyd

daisyd

Hi

I´m 37 and have lived in London most of my life. I studied English at University and was an actress for a few years before moving into marketing - most recently working for Arsenal Football Club.

But...life is too short to be little...and that's why I´ve just given up my job to go travelling for a year :)

If you are looking for an incisive and insightful travel blog that imparts all sorts of great information, hot tips and delicious details on lesser known places to visit in the world, weeeeell....i'll try but I need to level with you now and say I seem to have spent most of my time to date taking photos of plates of food and scouring pharmacies to see how women in other countries get their hair so goddamn shiny.

This is very much a diary - such as it is... about my journey. Both the outer one that´s taking me through Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize with a short pit stop in Vegas (where I either blow my budget in Sin City or make enough money for some spiritual redemption for the second leg) followed by Australia, China and South East Asia. But there will no doubt be some musings on the inward journey too.

Welcome to the world according to me :)




Travel Blog Posts


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daisyd
April 16th 2013

The skies are a scorching bright blue and the “hair dryer” effect hot hair is all engulfing from 8am til sun down. The water of the moat is running low and all along the waters edge, the blackened branches of the blossom trees droop with firebursts of bright orange flowers - as if the very tips of the twigs have burst into flames. The pavements are cracked, and the grasses dry. We are now entering the very hottest months in Thailand. All around Chiang Mai – the hillsides that ring the city are concealed in a dusty, smog. This is crop burning season and farmers are slashing and burning their fields which sends a thick low level blanket drifting into the city. Even the Thai people are fanning themselves and gesturing: "very very hot!" to me ... read more



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daisyd
April 11th 2013

I feel a little low suddenly. My time in Thailand has flown by and now my year of travelling is almost up. What to do? Aside from the fact that I have no return ticket to the UK – I refuse to go back and just get a job with another company. I intend to work for myself – and Asia is nice and cheap while I work out how to do that... But suddenly the reality of being far from home and in a new city where I don't know anyone sets in. Nico – the Argentinian guy I met in B.A has been a constant (albeit online) companion since I left South American in May – we had always made tentative plans to see each other again when my travelling was over – but ... read more



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March 24th 2013

I'm getting the overnight train from Butterworth in Malaysia to Bangkok. And I feel good. The sleepers to and from Bangkok are comfortable and in my experience, safe affairs. Just don't go for the cheaper option of a top bunk. I ususally like the top, I horde all my stuff up there and somehow it feels safer. But the top bunks on overnight trains to Thailand are half the size of the bottom bunk. The lower bunks are 2 or 3 dollars more expensive but the guard makes it up for you and you can stretch out fully, you have curtains to divide you, a place to store luggage underneath, proper pillows and blankets. Its almost as good as some of the hotel rooms i've been in and I sleep like a baby without any need ... read more



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March 10th 2013

We arrive into Penang at about 8pm and the minibus spits us out somewhere in Georgetown. I heave The Bastard on and start looking. All the accommodation is between $5 and $10 but i'd rather pay more for somewhere half decent. It all looks prefabricated like they've just shoved a load of compartments into a warehouse and then plonked a fan and a bed in each one. Its a bit like prison – and in the heat of March – a fan just isn't cutting it. I leave another one wearily, followed out by the owner and his sidekick. I can't understand a word he's saying to me even though he's trying to speak English. “Look can I just leave this bag here while I find another hotel” I ask. I know its rude and wouldn't ... read more



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March 4th 2013

Level 2 Yoga comes to an end on Koh Phangan. I feel disappointed and down. Whereas after the first month I was a picture of glowing health and supple limbs, this month i feel awful. I have a cold, an upset stomach and I have the worse teenage skin breakout in about 5 years – so much for 200 hours of yoga! I talk to Fleur, my willowy, blonde Dutch friend: “I don't know if I can leave in a week” I say ... ( I had been planning to stay through March and do Level 3 but now we both feel we need to get off the island and the man misery plus illness with a hefty dose of acne really hasn't helped!!!) “What's wrong with you?!” says Fleur “of course you can leave in ... read more



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daisyd
March 4th 2013

I get the early morning boat over to Koh Samui and arrive around midday. The rain is torrential. A cab driver takes me to Bophut where my parents are staying but wants me to run to the car first because its so wet: “no, no you first you first” I say. “no you first!" he retorts. "Oh this is ridiculous! Alright then!” I get to my parents hotel. As my father has generously informed me its all booked up I have to go find my own accommodation now i'm here. I stand in front of them wondering how long it will take my mother to see me! Then I head off to find a cheap (although at 700b a night not that cheap) b and b down the road. “Have you started drinking again?” says my ... read more



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daisyd
February 28th 2013

For my second month of yoga on Koh Phangan I'm moving to a place called Benjamin's Hut. Friends, Nick and Anke, are joining me. They are in the nice, air conditioned rooms at the front, i'm in the cheap seats or “the stables” as Nick calls them at the back. Its motto is “Simple Place, Simple Life.” I like their style. However due to my brilliant planning skills I have a night in between I have to find a somewhere cheap to stay, so I opt for a bungalow on Happy Beach. I'm glad its only one night, i'm kept awake by the prostitute bar “The Honey Pot” that swings well into the early hours and then woken again by a chorus of stray cockerels in the morning. But oh... the beach is heavenly, white sand, ... read more



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January 27th 2013

There now follows an intensive month long period of 150 hours of yoga! Everyone has forewarned me about how intense it will be, hell the course is even called the First Level Intensive. You'd think that would be a clue! I get up at 7 to 7.30am most days, if I don't i'm awoken by the “sneezing woman.” I run to Agama (this had always been the plan when I booked in September) It only takes 20 mins but seeing all the yoga bunnies arriving cool and showered in their floaty white trousers with me all red and hot and sweaty in my adidas is not the most positive start to every day. Then the schedule is 830 – 1030 yoga. I then walk back or buy brekkie on the way which normally gets me back ... read more



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daisyd
January 2nd 2013

I wake up on January 2nd still feeling sick. The White Russians on NYE probably didn't help but hey... Talon's been trying to get us to climb the big wooded mountain in the middle of the island for a while now (Canadians!) and today is the very last day I feel like doing it. But maybe sweating and a bit of aerobic exercise will help. He thinks its about a 6 hour round trip. Great. We drive to the base of the hill and start walking. I tell him I need to take it at my own pace and he says: “Oh anytime you want to we can start heading down just let me know” and then he disappears off up the mountain taking long strides. I'm beginning to regret my loose tee shirt dress outfit ... read more



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December 31st 2012

My plan for New Year's Eve was always to meet my friend Kat, a bubbly blonde Essex girl, in Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party. Even as early as September – all the accommodation was booked up in Hadrin so I book another place - Cookies that I think is nearby (in running distance to Hadrin.) It turns out i've actually booked another little beach bungalow on the same chilled out, yogic side of the island as Ananda , my current hotel. So maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. I make my way into Hadrin to see Kat. Its horrible. I think the gorgeous, tranquil beaches on the other side of the island are Koh Phangan's best kept secret. There is no sun today and it takes half an hour in the ... read more






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