Back in NZ

Hey guys

I have come back to New Zealand, been back for just over a month...my grandfather is quite unwell so wanted to come back to spend time with family. I got a job at a call centre just before i came back but only completed the training, am hoping that the job market will be alot better by the time i go back to London. Am hoping to be coming back early April.

Jess :)

Glastonbury

Glastonbury

Still looking for a job

Hi guys,

well i think it might be nearly my 12th week in London, its gone quite fast which has been pretty scary. I am still looking for work, have only had one weeks temping so far. I am trying my best though!! Quite a scary position to be in with not much money left and no flight home.

Going to Glastonbury music festival on Thursday with Mark and a kiwi friend Nicola which I'm looking forward to, will be doing that on a very tight budget. Looking forward to seeing Bruce Springsteen, Crosby Stills and Nash, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Bat For Lashes, Blur, Doves, Animal Collective plus many more!!

Weather is warming up here, although I'm sure it won't be anything like the NZ summer, its apparently summer now but still feels like Spring. But nevermind!

So please send me positive job vibes or pray for me or whatever you feel like doing, i need it!!

Cheers
Jess

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/line-up/

Caroline and I at pub in Sevenoaks, below photo me with Mark...old primary school friends!
Hyde Park corner
The place im staying at, at the moment, the one with the red door
Harrods

Beautiful summers at in Hyde Park



Chairs lined up for a performance at Embankment
St Pauls Cathedral

London

Pic 1 - view from Charlotte & Jeremys flat
Pic 2 - Gates outside St James park
Pic 3 - Clock Tower and London Eye
Pic 4 - Tate Modern
Pic 5 - Ukelele night

London pics

Pic 1 - St James Park
Pic 2 - Neals Yard, where Monty Python lived for a while
Pic 3 - Monique, Me, Emma, Julie at my bday drinks
Pic 4 - Sky over Brixton
Pic 5 - Lauren, Charlotte and Me at Ukelele night

London town

Hi guys

Haven't really had the time to write my blog, been so busy job hunting!! The whole job hunt has been alot harder than i thought, mostly because its been impossible just to get temping work which came quite easily in New Zealand. Trying to be optimistic and positive tho.

Have been enjoying seeing a few of the sights (mostly free) and catching up with my friends over here, some of which i haven't seen for a long time so thats been great. Going to the pub, walking along the Thames, going to the Tate, and have seen my first concert...an English band called The Doves. Am looking forward to going to the big music festival Glastonbury next moth too.

Have just moved from my sisters place to a friends place where i am dossing, really looking forward to finally getting a job and getting my own flat!

Will hopefully have some more exciting news soon!!

Jess

Visual London

Koh Samui and Bangkok

Internet connection for the rest of my time in Samui was pretty dodgy so only really able to update now im in London (more about that later)...

When i was writing my last entry, it had just poured down. That actually went away pretty quickly and the little river of water going down the street went away after a few hours. I decided to go down to the other end of Chaweng and got some lunch with Ryan and we hung out at the beach for a wee bit under the umbrellas and got harrassed by lots of wonderfully annoying touts asking us to buy icecream, "I scream, you scream?"


Managed to get through alot of my book Shantaram (which ive almost finished woohoo - 920 pages long). Just before the sunset went down we decided to go take some photos of the area...above are a few of them. After that went back to the ARK bar and had dinner on the beach and a few beers on our comfy little cushions soaking up the atmosphere.

The next day (Wednesday 25 March) i decided to have a little sleep in and went down to the beach on my side of Chaweng. Managed to sneak myself onto a hotels lounger avec umbrella and read my book for a few hours and listened to my iPod, went for a couple of swims in the clear water. Its funny its really nice that the water is so warm, but it takes a few seconds to get used to it and after a while it isn't refreshing anymore! There seemed to be a few little strange things in the water that kept biting me so I mostly spent my time on the beach reading. I stayed under the umbrella the whole time but managed to get incredibly burnt anyway!! Nevermind. Later that night went back down to Ryans end of the beach and had some food and drinks, and had an early night.

On Thursday I was feeling a bit sore and thought it would be better staying inside to protect my poor skin from getting even more burnt!! At the hotel i stayed in they provided a whole lot of DVDs so i sat inside with the aircon on full blast and watched them all day! Although in the morning i went to get a Thai massage which was really nice, even tho it was a bit hard! Later at night i went to get a pedicure, why not when its cheaper than home?

On Friday i decided to go for a walk, had no idea where i was going but Chaweng isnt that big so just went for it. Came across a few random buildings and a lake but nothing spectacular, the heat was pretty intense so didn't want to walk too far...had a look in some shops and got a foot massage which was really great, i wish i had more of those. Had some indian for dinner and went back to my room to watch some movies!

On Saturday i left Koh Samui for Bangkok...ah Bangkok. So many things to say about that place. Was lucky enough to find the right bus to get to my hostel on Sukhimvit Road (the busiest craziest and longest road in the world) for only about 150 baht. Walked around a bit and met up with Ryan who was staying at the same hostel. He wasn't hungry so i went to a Mexican place nearby to get some food and accidentally ended up getting something extremely hot that burnt my mouth and throat, it was intense! I was pretending that i was all good tho and was determinded to eat it all!! :P After that we went to a random little bar and people-watched, we were right on the street so all these frog-ladies kept coming up to us, i don't know how many ways you can say no!!?! Some people brought and elephant through there, and i think one with a monkey and i really hate that so had to turn around!! Quite interesting just seeing people go past.

The next day we had a big trek up the sky train to Chatuchak Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatuchak_Park), which is apparently the biggest market in Thailand, and apparently the whole world!! It is really hard to get around as its basically a maze and the paths are pretty narrow. Managed to get a few things, and also a back massage whilst there! Was a good days shopping, but pretty tiring with the heat. Went back to the hostel after that to have a wee rest, and i got some kai. I got some Chang on the way back which we had in the hostel, we sat in the lounge that is actually the smokers lounge but luckily there was noone puffing away. A Thai girl who worked there was watching a Thai soap opera so we joined her and managed to make sense of it all, it was pretty hilarious...imagine a Thai Shortland Street series, and Gerald had just died and was lying there (thats not the funny part of course) and his friend (the blonde one) is so upset she climbs on the bed and cries for ages and starts singing for about 20 mins without saying anything...its just so random. Then it went to an ad break and another scene, and then cuts back to the hospital scene and shes doing a bit more singing. Anyway, i guess you had to be there. After that we went back to the bar we were at the night before, gotta love 45 baht Changs.

On Monday i said goodbye to Ryan as he was back home to Northern Ireland. I took the skytrain to Siam and came across some random people performing, then went into this MASSIVE hardout mall called Siam Paragon or something. Found a movie theatre but didnt realise it was an IMAX till they asked me for 500 baht to watch a movie ($25) which i didnt have! So went to the department store and had a look at their amazing pen section, it sounds silly but they had such a great array of fun and colourful office supplies. Had Japanese for dinner which was very yum and a nice change from Thai and watched dvd whilst thinking about having to pack :P

Tuesday was finally the day for me to leave!! Packed up my things and left them at the hostel. I decided to go to Silom to see the Japanese area that was apparently there. As i was looking a huge thunderstorm came over the city so i took refuge in an Irish bar and had lunch there and paid the earth for it!! After that had a thai massage which really hurt and i dont know wether it actually helped me or not! Got the train back to my area and hung around till i got my taxi back to the airport which was fashionably late. My plane wasnt leaving till 1.10am so had a lot of time on my hands which is always good.

I had a really nice time in Bangkok overall, i think the highlight for me was definately my time in Phuket where i met Lisa, Claire and Ryan and had the most relaxed time there. It was challenging but it was def and 'experience' and im glad that i went there. When i go back i think i will go to some of the smaller islands, it will be much easier without my massive suitcase to lug around!!

Jess is in Koh Samui

On saturday the girls and I spent the day at the beach, that is after it stopped raining! Was great to chill out under the big umbrella, although because of the rain the water wasn't clear at all and there was lots of seaweed around. That night we had dinner at Pineapple Phuket with almost the whole crew from our dorm, we were a bit worried that it was a bit much for Nut, the cook! But all worked out, cant beat the 50 baht beer!! After that, went to this random little bar thats just a few stools outside at a bar. Had to stay there for a while cos it started thundering down with rain! Made a break for it, and went down to the Coconut bar at the corner of our 'street' and started playing Connect 4, i won twice! Someone at the bar rung a bell which meant free beer for everyone, so i happily downed a Singha that i didnt pay for :) Didnt have a very late night as was a bit tired.

On sunday i missioned up to the Phuket airport, which took about 2 hours. Got to the counter to check in, and found that because the credit card i have isnt the one that i bought my tickets with (i got it renewed before i left), i had to go up to Bangkok Airways office and they refunded the ticket price to my old credit card and then had to pay for a new fare. I will probably have to do the same when i fly to Bangkok on saturday, i really hope that works out...dont want to have to pay for those flights again! :S

The flight over to Koh Samui was pretty cool as the weather was really good and could see all the little islands below. Koh Samui airport is the CUTEST airport ever, its so tiny....and has the nicest bathrooms, i mention that because the airport bathrooms in thailand are not nice...actually neither are the ones in NZ!!

Got a little minibus to my guesthouse (http://www.akwaguesthouse.com/) which is a cute little place but right at the other end of the beach! Its quite nice to have my own after being in a dorm for a week, with a huge king sized bed, AIRCON, tv and someone cleans your room everyday! In the arvo i met up with my Irish friend Ryan and we got a beer at the Irish pub on the main street, and a cheapish meal at this hostel...then thought it would be cheaper getting a beer at the 7-Eleven so we did that and had a few on the balcony! Yesterday (monday) i got up a bit late, had breakfast downstairs, potted around and went for a big walk down Chaweng Rd which took forever as i was looking at all the stalls. I bought some fake Havaianas (which i think i got ripped off) and this wraparound skirt from this lady who handmakes them...she was SO gorgeous. If you ever go to Koh Samui go to the plaza thats just across from Pizza Hut, go right to the very end stall on the right and there she is. Her fabric is really beautiful and so cheap compared to what you can get back home. After that i went on a walk down the beach and back to my hostel to recover from the heat! Walked back down to Ryans end of the beach (took nearly half an hour!) and we had dinner on the beach, there were a whole lot of tables there, plus these 'floor tables' i guess you could call them where you sit cross legged and you have these cushions you can lie on. We had two jugs of Chang between us and watched the crazy lightning that was going on around the bay, the lightning spikes werent going down into the sea/land but were going across the sky so creating heaps of crazy patterns, and also lighting up the whole place for a second or two. There was lightning in front and behind us, so it was pretty cool! What wasnt cool was heaps of Thai's coming up to us with all kinds of animals (snakes, monkeys iguanas, eagles) wanting us to get photos with them (HELL NO), little 5 year old girls wanting us to buy necklaces off them, people with glow-in-the-dark balls, bracelets..you name it! But anyway, you kinda get used to it.

So today is Tuesday and im sitting in my room with aircon (love it), was just preparing to go to the beach when it started to rain, and pretty hard! So now im thinking about what to do, as there isnt much to do when it rains here im thinking and i dont want to be in here all day!

Anyway, will post some photos on here when i find my camera!

Ciao for now :)

Jess is in Phuket

hey guys

So went to Wat Pho on sunday which was cool, did a big walk out there in the wonderfully muggy weather...got harrassed by lots of tuk-tukking people and went along my merry way just ignoring them all :D
Wat Pho is pretty amazing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho)...a huge Gold reclining buddha! There were a few temple things around that, so had a look at those for a while, then decided to leave...i was a bit 'Wat' - ed out. As i was leaving this thai guy asked me where i was from etc etc (which is their hook to lure you in to get one of their mates to take you around the city in the tuks) and i said thanks but no thanks...ended up doing this massive walk around the city, but there wasnt actually anything to see, just alot of grey buildings...but interesting all the same and good to be in a part of the city that wasnt so crowded. Can't actually remember what else i did that day...even tho it was only 4 days ago! Feels like forever.

on monday i got a bus to the airport nice and early, and hung around there for a bit for my flight to Phuket. The airport is so hardout!! Just ridiculously huge. Got on an old school plane via Air Asia, and only took about an hour to get there, waited at the airport for a while for our mini van to drop us off as they wanted a full van so after half an hour we finally left, there were some nice aussies and canadians on the van so that was cool, had a bit of a chat with them about what they were doing etc. Took forever to get to my hostel as i was the last to get dropped off and on the way to Patong/Karon we had to all get out to go into this travel shop to apparently tell these thai girls where we were staying so they could write the directions in Thai, but its actually a ploy to get you to buy some tours with them...they do it to everyone! But they didnt try it on with me so thats all good. After i got settled into my dorm i went for a walk to get some dinner-for-one. Went to this outdoor restaurant which seemed cool and they were playing Bob Marley...had a nice dinner then they cut off Bob and this Thai lady came on to sing, and she had a really bad voice...as she was singing she tried to sound american and it didnt come off very well...i left soon after. Walked further up Beach Rd and ended up in Kata, where they have this cool restaurant that looks like its straight out of The Flintstones!! Its called Dino Burger and the staff have Fred Flintstone costumes!! They had this little elephant outside though, and its put me off the place as the elephant was just on for show and its eyes looked really sad :(

On Tuesday i went for a bit of a wander around, and went down to the beach to take some photos...sat down under a tree for about an hour, didnt intend on staying for that long (as i was going to go back to get my togs) but it was just so relaxing and chilled and it was all so pretty to look at i couldn't tear myself away! Went back to the beach in the arvo which was better anyway as it was less crowded. Stayed there for a while till it got dark, chilled with my book Shantaram and my ipod. The Thai guy that owns all the sun loungers came over to me and had a big chat with me, and asked where i was from...he was very sweet. Back at the hostel i got talking to two english girls Lisa and Claire and went out for dinner with them that night and a few drinks, and randomly one of them knows Sarah who i went to uni with! So thats all very funny, such a small world.

The next day i went on a day trip to Ko Phi Phi and the surrounding islands via speedboat which was absolutely amazing!!! I would love to go back and stay there one day, or one of the islands around there. Went to Maya Bay where The Beach was partially filmed, snorkelling, went to a Viking Cave and to the Monkey Cave to see some monkeys and in the process invading their territory which i wasnt that happy about, glad i had my rabies shot. After that went to this resort to have a buffet lunch and met two really nice english people who were on my boat. Went to this teeny little island about the size of the Basin Reserve (just the playing field) and had a swim there, was lovely as there were heaps of little fish in the water and the water was so clear!! Then headed back after that, was a really nice day. You really wouldn't know that there had been a tsunami there, they have done such a good job of rebuilding.

Later that night went out for dinner and drinks with Claire and Lisa, went up to the other side of Karon for a walk and had a drink at this hardout ladybar, so funny seeing the old guys with the thai girls...how blatant they are! We were mocking them, and this Canadian guy who was actually prob in his 30s felt a bit stink and started talking to us. Walked around some night markets after that and took a back road which took forever to get back!

Yesterday we went out to Phuket town via a bus, with the sole aim of shopping shopping shopping!! The shopping wasnt as good as it is in Khaosan Road but we all managed to get at least one thing, i got some Thai fisherman shorts for cheap, so nice for the weather here. Might buy some more when i get back to Bangkok. It was so incredibly hot so we splashed out for a Tuk Tuk and got driven around everywhere. Was good to have another day out. Last night we went out with a new guy in our hostel, Ryan from Ireland and went to a restaurant up in Kata that had a special promotion on beer...3 Changs for 90 baht! This is a real bargain as thats about 3 beers for $4.50! After that went to a bar with a pool table that was free in the girly area and had a few drinks there...i didn't do too badly seeing as i hadnt played pool for ages. After that we got some beer from 7-Eleven as it was much cheaper, and found a random table with chairs by our hostel. Some random Thai guys came over and joined us with their beers and we tried to have a conversation with us, we got so far as talking about football and what teams we like and they kept saying 'lailo' or something to us, but we had no idea what that meant and maybe we dont really want to know? Such a random night, but very fun. We are all feeling a bit worse for wear today tho thats for sure!! Its been so great having Claire and Lisa to hang out with here, they are such great fun and best of all i can see them when i get to the UK!

Was going to have a beach day today, but its overcast so i think we will just hang out at the hostel...plus its just started raining! Which is kinda nice, hopefully cool things down a bit. Seriosuly its just so incredibly hot, its normally between 30-35 degrees all the time and because its so humid, it feels way hotter than that. In our dorm we just have a few fans around, i have one that fans in my direction but its on the opposite wall so dont get it hardout, but there is a revolving one that revolves around the person next to my bed (im on the top bunk) and i get a bit of that so thats pretty good. Very much looking forward to AC in Koh Samui next week!!

Looking forward to catching up with Anna Shanahan (from wellington) tonight for dinner as shes over here for her honeymoon. Have one more day here after that and leave on Sunday, not sure what else I'll do here but probably just take it easy.

Thats another big ol' post from me...probably should do them a bit more regularly to keep them smaller!!

anyway hope everyone is well :)