Autumn

 

Crisp leaves, muddy boots, fresh air - time to venture out to appreciate what's on your doorstep. Even if you live in the city, on our little green island you are never too far away from the leafy corners and windswept beaches of escapism. On the pitiful balance of a student's bank account and coursework-crammed diary, bigger travel plans shall have to wait till the summer months - for now stomping up the local common to check out the storm damage or taking my camera along to capture this beautiful, transitional season shall suffice. Hopefully the chilling winds that seem to be here to stay will whip up some winter swell to give me an excuse to journey off down West to catch a few waves. 

GIF Wednesday

Happy GIF Wednesday! This week I am looking back at the sunny month of August and its adventures as the chill begins to creep it - well it is October...This is comprised of pictures from this summer's last surf...we just have to sit tight and wait patiently for the winter swell now!

Takin' it easy

Hola Amigos!

Summer continues to shine on in the beautiful sun and what a glorious Summer it has been so far! The weather has allowed for many a beach barbecue, woodland picnic and sunset drink and thus not so many a blog post (sorry!)

Summer essentials and some lovingly collected shells from this weeks camping adventure.

Firstly, today I simply wanted to take the time to say happy Holidays and congratulate everyone who last week collected their A level results! I received my AS grades and was very happy which was followed with a celebratory camping trip down to the beach with some of my lovely chums (photos to follow once they have been developed.

Secondly, after much running up and down and round and round the country I finally had the chance yesterday evening to sit down with my mum and think about all the adventures I have had...well I would've done if I wasn't so exhausted, best nights sleep in a very long and canvas-related time! Which is why I am writing to you all today to say take it easy (as the post title suggests)... it is great to travel, explore and adventure but sometimes it is important to sit, think and soak up your wonderful surroundings be it at home in the garden, in London in a beautiful park, dozing in a European holiday hotspot or jet-setting off to a wonderfully exotic location. Otherwise us travel-folk become obsessed with 'seeing' as many places as we can without really seeing and appreciating the places right under our feet and right in front of our eyes!

The Big World Small Girl map is beginning to fill up with this Summer's clutter!

That's all I have time for today as I am off to Cornwall to catch a few waves before the Autumn leaves fall upon us!

India #2 [The Journey]

Namaste! Hello!

Today's post is (finally!!!) part two of my Indian adventure - if you didn't catch the first instalment catch up here. This section of the story is fairly brief as it covers just a journey from one location to another but I did not feel I could do the adventures we encountered a disservice by squeezing them into an introduction. So, without further a do, here is my recount of the journey up from port town Kochi, to lush and mountainous Munnar:

To progress further on this Indian pilgrimage we decided to begin travelling early to reach the Periya River in time for the elephants breakfast! We decided against visiting an elephant attraction park with elephant rides etc. as we disagreed with the money-making ethics and unfair treatment of the animals. As a more humane alternative we sought out an organisation that cared for orphaned elephants and trained them to be used in ceremonies and parades. This seems to western ears a cruel idea but the elephants are well looked after in this part of Indian culture steeped in history and tradition. Anyway enough rambling, I'll let the stars of the show do some talking with a few photos:

Keeping cool during a nice foot rub!

Me washing the elephant with a coconut shell.

It was definitely one of the best things I have ever done and I was humbled to be up close and personal with such  calm, majestic and powerful creatures.  Our next adventure was a culinary one: after all the driving and waking up early the family was ravenous. Luckily someone was on hand to help us and we stopped off at a beautiful home-stay not far from the Periya for a beautiful, light coconut curry and some jak-fruit. We devoured the feast hungrily and gratefully as you can see from our scraped-squeaky-clean plates in the picture! The picture below that just shows the front of the house. After thanking our hosts for their hospitality we were off again...

The next cause for a hurried photo shoot was a group of cheeky monkeys we spied sat atop the edge of the mountain road. They all posed willingly as they grabbed for scraps of food offered by outstretched local and foreign hands.

After taking far too many pictures we all scrambled back in the car to escape from the midday sun only to find another group of monkeys round the next few bends! Much to my disappointment we had to end stopping the car for photos as we'd never get to our destination on time. Unfortunately as we were just before the monsoon season all the  dramatic mountain waterfalls had run completely dry however we were kept well entertained by the wildlife for the final stretch of the journey. This last picture just shows a bit of en route shopping - much better than a tesco-express by the side of the motorway in my opinion!

 That's all for now then, let me know what you think in the comments and feel free to share your experiences below too - I love hearing from each and everyone of you!

Enjoy the sun and I shall be back soon with more in this Indian expedition series...



Life update and an inspiring brand discovery!

Hello everyone!

Well it looks like Britain has finally got round to getting some sunshine in and just in time for an epic Glastonbury and Wimbledon! As per usual, life has taken on a whirlwind characteristic hence my blog is seeming a little sparse at the moment but college finishes next week and so I will have plenty of time to catch up!

Life has been pretty good these past few weeks with two beautiful festivals one after the other (Glastonbury and Blissfields) in glorious sunshine. In the collage below is a picture of me and my mum at Ben Howard (glasto) and also me with my dread that I have finally managed to acquire(Blissfields)! Also below photos of busy open days in Cornwall, crazy friends and mojito o clock!

Now back to the serious stuff - what caused me to write this post. I was reading an article the other day and stumbled across this brand name:

A little research revealed that this flip flop company was set up by two brothers orphaned in the 2004 boxing day tsunami and were motivated by their unique and wonderful, travel-rich up bringing to create an ethical brand that could give something back to the world and are using profits to set up children's homes. The designs are colourful, simple and summery - I cannot wait to save up and get my hands on a pair! (Which I will definitely review on here.) I recommend you read more here as the story behind the flip flop is truly inspirational and touching.

Well that's it for now, I shall be back with more reviews, gap year ideas, summer festival write ups and some more India installments (honest!) asap...

I'd love to hear about your summer so far, let me know your exciting adventures in the comments!

Enjoy the summer sun and keep exploring,

INDIA #1 [Kochi]



So here it is: I have finally got round to uploading some of my India photos! I shall try and keep it as concise as possible - but there is just so much I want to share with you all from this amazing trip I was lucky enough to go on!

The first place we visited was a colonial port town called Kochi (formerly Cochin), in the state of Kerala. It had been colonised by the Portuguese first, then the Dutch and the British and is the most densely populated city in the state. After leaving the UK in the snow the wall of heat that hit us as we disembarked from the plane was most welcome! Our first port of call was a lovely home stay just out of town right next to the back waters (as you can see from the photos below). All tired and slightly bewildered from jet lag we thought we had found paradise (we pretty much had) and all raced to be the first to try out the hammock overlooking the view in the back yard of the spacious, colonial style outhouse. I probably would not have been able to drag myself from said spot if it wasn't for our hosts delicious home cooked feast which us tired travellers devoured. After that meal even my brother was a chickpea convert!

1. Where we stayed! 2. The hammock. 3. Loving the no-roof shower - hear the birds and palm trees as you wash! 4. Colonial style interior. 5. Location making the A level Geography revision just a tad sweeter...

A perfect place to watch a perfect sunset.

On a trip round the main town we visited a women's cooperative - such a lovely place full of smiling and grateful ladies, all very helpful and eager to kit me and my brother out in traditional saris and turbans!

Last ice cream stop in the world?!

We wandered blissfully around the slightly calmer old town on the sea front and visited the Dutch Palace - a gift from the Portuguese to the Keralans, most likely to sweeten trade agreements and controversially named following its Dutch renovation.

One of my personal highlights of our brief stay in Kochi was our private sunset boat ride along the backwaters that were right on our doorstep! I am full of gratitude for our wonderful host Jos who organised this for us, saving us the terrors of a midday scramble to share a boat trip with hoards of other tourists - no thanks! I don't think I really need to attempt how magnificent the sights and sunset were, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Traditional Chinese fishing nets are still a very popular method of fishing for the Keralans.

Our fisherman friend Nikson - everyone is just so friendly and happy to talk!

Cows, cows everywhere...

As we arrived on Easter Sunday in a primarily Christian settlement, the whole town was adorned in festive decorations and music, singing and partying could be heard at all hours! A chaotic and colourful celebration, yet somehow undoubtedly peaceful. It's amazing how so many religions live happily side by side in one area.

One of the favoured ways to get around!

We ended our stay at Kochi by seeing some traditional dancing and Kathakali. An intriguing performance with wonderfully intricate and ornate costumes!

So that's the first few days of the trip! Sorry that turned into quite a lengthy post, more to come shortly...

All comments welcome - would love to hear your thoughts!

Everest '53

This is a slightly belated post to commemorate the life of George Lowe, the last surviving member of the 1953 Everest expedition who passed away aged 89 last Wednesday. A climber not as well known as Edmund Hillary or Tenzing Norgay, yet a one who played a vital role in the first successful ascent of Everest through his support and determination in helping his fellow climbers, ferrying up gear and helping his friends descend from top camp. The New Zealander also partook in expeditions to other Himalayan peaks such as Cho Oyu as well as participating in the first successful overland crossing of Antarctica (1955 - 1958).

source: http://www.trekandmountain.com/everest-53-veteran-george-lowe-passes-away/

Unfortunately Lowe's death came on the eve of the publication of his book (which I shall definitely be investing in) and weeks before the 1953 summit's anniversary, however George's wife Mary is in support of the book's release and feels it is important to share his words. I for one admire this courageous man and am sad that one of our times greatest explorers has been lost.

Carry on adventure-seeking!