Travelling South East Asia - Thailand

Over two years ago, I decided to start a blog on my website, so that I could have a space dedicated to sharing photographs from photo sessions that I felt deserved more than a couple of Instagram posts, however I quickly lost motivation for it after a few posts. Now that I have been travelling for over a month with another month and a half ahead, I have a lot more free time on my hands and have found that motivation again.

Travelling really is one of the most exhilarating feelings. You get to experience so many new things for the first time, step outside our first world bubble and see the world from a new perspective. But travelling isn't always smiles and adventures, there are a lot of small details that make it challenging and exhausting. There are times when you are so tired from 8 hour bus or train rides that you just want to collapse onto your bed, and if you're on a budget, it's not always a comfortable one. If you are like me and decide to take 3 cameras with you (I brought my Mamiya RZ67, Contax G1 and Canon sureshot Wp1), your back will be constantly sore. Sometimes you feel frustrated when you can't communicate with locals to find out info about buses or food. For me, eating plant based, I feel it is very important to be able to explain to waiters what foods I avoid. That being said, all these small details take nothing away from the privilege of being able to travel and visit these beautiful places. This is what makes it such an authentic experience. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and opens your eyes massively and you grow a huge appreciation for life, your home and for all the beautiful people you meet along the way.

I am currently in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, but I'll start from the beginning. I had already been to Thailand twice before with Antonio (my favourite human/boyfriend), but we loved it so much that we thought it would be nice to start our travels here, revisit some favourite spots and discover some new ones.

We stayed in Bangkok for 2 days after landing to recover from our jet lag and then jumped on a plane down to Krabi. We stayed one night and then continued on to Koh Lanta - we had fallen in love with this Island when we had first been there 3 years ago. We rented a bike by the port for 175 baht (4.5€) per day and headed to the south end of the Island as it was the quieter and more nature rich side. We stayed at a lovely guest house for 500 baht per night (around 13€) which was our max budget for accommodation. In previous years we had stuck to a lower budget but we managed to save a bit more this time. We explored the island by bike, ate at some delicious local restaurants, discovered some awesome veggie cafes and trekked through the jungle to find a cave and a waterfall. We also had