EMILIE ELSEWHERE

a simple blog dedicated to everything I love in the World. Be it travel, photography or lifestyle - I am intrigued by everything, restricted by nothing.

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Travel Memories (artefacts)

Every time I visit somewhere, or do something exciting, I love to collect all sorts from my time to remember what I did. I am such a hoarder, (it’s not always a good thing, as I end up keeping receipts from random meals and leaflets to museums I didn’t even go to) But anyway, it’s nice to have a little collection of stuff from a specific period of time to help me re live that! I very rarely look though my collection of artefacts from my adventures, mainly when I’m having a clear out in my bedroom or moving rooms etc, so I am going to take this opportunity to pick out a few things at random that I have compiled over the years and give a brief outline of where it is from and what the memory entailed :) Photographs are fab for memories, but I feel that little keepsakes like this are a bit more personal!

Okay so this isn’t mine, but it’s still pretty cool! This is my Dad’s ticket from when he flew to India in the 70s! I love to keep his travelsakes to look at and for inspiration! (I just made up a word)

Morskie Oko, Krakow business card! - One of the most cultural independent restaurants I’ve ever been to in any country. It was just so unique and we visited there 3 times during our 4 night stay in Krakow. This was recommended to us by Emily’s Mum and I have also recommended this to two friends who have been to Krakow who also loved it!

Postcard I sent to my Nanny in 2013, recently found when I was clearing out her house. 

Cibeles Palace Ticket. 2013. My first day in Madrid. Who knew I would be moving there 15 months later! So in love with this city!

Uffizi Gallery, Florence - 2013 I always visit a gallery or museum wherever I go, luckily Florence is well known for it’s amazing galleries!

The day I finally saw Wicked, Broadway ticket, 2015. There were many, many tears.

Jet Airways (terrible airline), Flight to New Delhi Ticket, 2016. The food was nice, the TV selection was good, but the staff were so so rude. I was so disappointed with the service from the on board cabin crew.

Virgin Atlantic Boarding Pass to JFK, 2015. Minus the panic attack as I was boarding, a very enjoyable first long haul flight thanks to the complimentary wine and the good company.

Train Ticket from when I interrailed Europe with Emily.  Madrid to Barcelona, 2013

Train Ticket from when I interrailed Europe with Emily. Lisbon to Madrid, 2013. An overnight 10 hour journey, with no leg room, stroking legs with two men opposite me. With a stag party next to us. Worst. Night. Ever.

Train Ticket from when I interrailed Europe with Emily. Rome to Florence,  2013

Top of The Rock, 2015

Interrail Pass, 2013. Where I fell in love with travel.

My very low budget hostel receipt on Phi Phi. £2 a night. Such a cool hostel, situated on different levels up in some rocks, but with very VERY basic rooms. Here is a write up of my experience at The Rock. 

Tonle Sap Ticket, Siem Reap. One of the most insightful experiences of my life. Seeing a completely different way of life really opens your eyes. I have some photos from this visit, here on my website.

When I got to tick off ‘Watch an American Basketball Game’ and ‘See something at Madison Square Gardens’ off my bucket list at once. New York Knicks Game, 2015

Empire State Building, 2015. We paid the extra 20USD to go to the highest possible floor!

I even keep this stuff? My bill from Iris Hotel in New Delhi, 2016. A GLP trip I took with uni. My first time to Asia and I absolutely fell in love with India.

I LOVE to collect postcards from everywhere I go. Here’s one from Oslo from the beginning of 2016. The Vigeland sculpture park was amazing!

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Update. . .

Good Evening!

Okay I’ll admit that I’ve neglected my blog and I definitely don’t publish content as much as I would like to but hopefully that will change soon. I’ve been super busy working, job hunting and planning adventures!!

Super excited to say that in two weeks Mike and I will be jetting off to spend 3 nights in Estonia and we are then hopping on a ferry over to Helsinki to spend 2 nights there. St. Petersberg was on the agenda, hostel booked and everything until I suddenly remembered. WE NEEDED A VISA!!? We weren’t going to risk these not arriving in time so I googled the hell out of visa acceptions upon entering Russia and...... 

‘There is, however, one small exception. If you are traveling to St. Petersburg for up to 72 hours on a cruise ship or on ferries from Helsinki and Tallinn with St. Peter Line, you do not need a visa. ‘

PERFECT - WE’LL GET THE FERRY!!!

ha ha - No you won’t - it’s out of season and the St. Peter Line ferries don’t start again until April.

No worries, I’ve been to Russia before and know I’ll definitely be visiting St. Petersburg at some point so for now, it’ll have to wait!

For like the second time in my life, I have treated us to a 5 star hotel! A Radisson Blu that towers over Tallinn. I never ever ever splash out on hotels, but this was an exception. I will always be for a cheap budget hostel but it’s nice to treat yourself every now and then to a little bit of luxury - especially as we will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary in Tallinn.

BUT.... I shall keep you all updated with trip details, photos and tips for all things Estonia and Finland in a few weeks. I also have some other exciting stuff coming up too which I can’t wait to share! But for now, heres some photos from the last time I visited the cold Nordic and Baltic areas of the World... Brrrr.

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12th Day of Blogmas

For my last day of blogmas, I am going to share my time I visited the Melissani Caves during my time in Kefalonia in August. Truly beautiful!  The highlight of this was being told by the locals how the caves were created and learning so much about the history of them. It always helps me appreciate where I am when I have a better understanding of the place. The water was so clear in the caves, I’ve never seen anything like it. It was also so cold, so I wouldn’t want to go swimming there! It wasn’t busy at all when we went which made the experience much more enjoyable. The tour guide we had was brilliant, such good vibes that made the trip really entertaining! I struggled with photos in the caves, but here are a few!

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11th Day of Blogmas

Today I’m going to tell you all about the most surreal moments. During my multiple trips to Asian countries this year, I could still not get used to the attention. The worst was in India but even in Thailand and Cambodia, people would ask for photos, talk to you and act as if you were a celebrity simply because of how different we look and our Western culture. I really didn’t mind it though as they mean no harm whatsoever. Especially when a lot of those were children.  The most intense time was when I was with 3 friends at India Gate in New Delhi. As we approached closer, we could see a group of about 50 school girls who looked as if they were there on a school trip. As soon as they saw us, they all stopped what they were doing, and came running over to us screaming! It was as if they had just seen their favourite celebrity. It was absolute madness. We spent about 15/20 minutes having our photo taken with all the children. We were being held up quite a bit though so we had to leave them all and crack on with what we were doing. I often wonder where all the photos are now and what the caption was if they were posted on social media! It was a moment of realisation for me how we can walk down the street, see anyone of an race and think nothing of it. But in these countries, as soon as they see an English person, they starstruck! 

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10th Day of Blogmas

Day 10 already!!  The 10th day of my little ‘blogmas’ series, to keep me busy over this festive period is the time I saw the Taj Mahal with my own eyes. ANOTHER WORLD WONDER YAY! It’s an experience you can’t describe. Mike had visited a year prior, and I didn’t want him to tell me much so it was a surprise, so I don’t want to go into too much detail and ruin this magical moment for anyone. But the first glance you see when approaching the huge, white, marble mausoleum is magnificent. It has been composed perfectly, and many tourists would agree, as there are crowds of people before you’ve even finished walking through the entrance.  We walked all the way round to see if from every angle and it truly is breathtaking. Upon entering The Taj Mahal, I was quite surprised it didn’t seem as big on the inside. It was so busy, so I aim to visit again at sunrise and I know it will be even more spectacular. I’d love to spend a whole day just relaxing there! I also want to see it when it has been restored so I can see it without the scaffolding

The history of The Taj Mahal fascinated me so much. The mausoleum that took two decades to construct was commissioned by Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor to honour his dead wife who passed away just after giving birth to their 14th child! With over 20,000 workers helping building the marble masterpiece!! Shah Jahan spent his remaining years in a prison cell in Agra Fort where he was put there by his son Aurangazeb. He was given a small window so that he could spend his time looking at The Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan had plans to build an identical black Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River opposite the Taj Mahal. This one was supposed to be for himself.  Imagine if that actually happened, having two opposite each other, one black, one white. wooooow!!!!

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9th Day of Blogmas

There was no way I wasn’t going to write about this one.  Waking up at 4am to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Such a serene moment. Didn’t take long before it got super hot though. I spent the rest of the day exploring Siem Reap’s other temples and I literally fell in love with them all! The pictures speak for themselves 

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8th Day of Blogmas

Over the last few months, I have been focussing on mindfulness and my wellbeing to make sure that I can be the most positive version of myself. I decided to sign up to a meditation course held by the local Buddhist Centre in Peterborough. It was run by one of their Buddhist Nuns, Nyingpo and she was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Nyingpo had such good vibes, it was beautiful listening to her talk about so many eye-opening perspectives. I was so happy when she was speaking of the benefits of meditation and she said how much it will help my anxiety, as this is what I wanted to focus on. Since then, I have meditated a few times a week and have noticed such a change. I am also sleeping better and have become more laid back. (kind of), even though I still struggle to relax. With more structure to my days now and feeling comfortable with where I am at, I am able to focus on what is going on around me and enjoy life in the present. I still worry every now and then about other things that are out of my control, but I don’t let it take over like I used to. I am able to deal with my anxiety and understand my mind and know what I need to do to remain happy.

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7th Day of Blogmas

One of the most exciting parts of 2016 was meeting these beautiful giants! I was able to volunteer with The Surin Project to aid with the caring for Elephants who have been rescued for various reasons. I was able to go on a walk with them, feed them, learn their stories and just hang out with them in the centre. It was magicaaaaal! It was a dream come true, these animals are incredible and it breaks my heart that they could be extinct within 20 years.

You can also check out: --> My time at The Surin Project in more detail  --> Why you should consider taking ‘Ride an Elephant’ off your bucket list

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6th Day of Blogmas

In September, my absolute dream came true. I finally became the proud owner of a Dog. Something I have wanted my whole life. It is no secret how much of an animal lover I am so I finally bit the bullet and on the 9th September, my life changed! I am so in love with him, he keeps me company every day, he is full of so much energy which helps keep me happy. It also means my sleeping pattern is spot on because I am up at 8 every day spending time with him. It’s great that my family are so supportive too, for years they said no because we have cats and other pets too but they finally came round. They love him just as much as me, so I am still able to go away knowing that he is in safe hands. I wont be going away any time soon though because I can’t even go to work for a few hours without missing him too much!!

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5th Day of Blogmas

Not really a travel related memory, but still kind of a big deal!! A few weeks ago I graduated University! YAY! Finally. Super happy to have been the first in my family to complete University and graduate. Although, post grad life comes with a sense of uncertainty, but I’m enjoying it.  I kind of had a few down points in my last couple of years at uni, and it definitely got the better of me at times. However, I powered through and really enjoyed working on my final project. I had such a great 4 years at Coventry University, but I am so so glad to be finished. It just felt like it was dragging and all I wanted to do was finish, earn money and crack on with my own stuff without always feeling like I was being judged. Which sucked. It feels good to know that I have worked so hard to get a degree and I can now do what I choose with it. 

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4th Day of Blogmas

Today’s highlight of 2016 is earning my TEFL Certificate. For those who don’t know, a TEFL is ‘Teaching English as a Foreign Language’. This means that I can visit anywhere and teach English without even knowing the native language.  I qualified for my TEFL by doing theory practise online, combined with practical classroom teaching in Thailand. Which was daunting at first, but so much fun once I got the hang of it. The best thing is, this certificate will last me my whole life so I can use it whenever I want. I cannot wait to fly somewhere and put it to use!

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3rd Day of Blogmas

Today, I will be writing about one of the most memorable moments thats I still think about nearly every day! The moment that made me fall in love with Earth and it’s surroundings even more. During my time in Kefalonia in August, a couple of times Mike and I would go down to the ocean and I would drift off on my own gazing at the stars. We had our own section of beach too which made it so much better! I have always had a fascination with Space, but this just blew my mind. I spent about half an hour just floating around on my back in the middle of the ocean, in the pitch black staring at the stars that were so bright. I just appreciate and love all of the natural wonders and beauties that surround us. It makes you realise the endless possibilities out there. Seeing a few shooting stars fly across the sky just topped it all off.  It was probably the most peaceful, most mindful moments of 2016.

(Apologies for the terrible photos, it was literally pitch black. You can also see the island of Zakynthos in the distance!!)

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2nd Day of Blogmas

So here comes my 2nd highlight of 2016. 

2. In March, I met up with a group of people I didn’t know to fly to Asia for the first time. I have wanted to visit India in forever! I was given the opportunity to visit New Delhi all for £400 so I couldn’t turn it down! Visiting a new place is always SO exciting! It was going to be a completely new environment and just the excitement of landing on new turf alone is enough for me! To learn more about this trip, click here!

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1st Day of Blogmas

EDIT: This was supposed to be posted yesterday. I’m terrible. Sorry!!

So, I have decided to participate in blogmas and over the next 12 days, I will be telling you all about my vaourite moments of 2016! It has been full of so many ups and downs, but mainly ups! Stay tuned...

1. Right at the start of the year, Mike and I flew to Oslo. We had flights for just £3.73 so this was already a bonus. My absolute highlight of this trip was riding the train out of the city, through the snowy mountains to visit Holmenkollbakken ski tower and museum. Once we got there, we got to the top and I was able to witness one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. I am not a fan of snow or cold places so it was also great to be out of my comfort zone. This whole day was just perfect. We then finished the night in a ski resort bar watching the sun set over the mountains whilst horses passed by.

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Problems I have run into whilst travelling (and how I solved them)

Touch wood, I’ve never missed a flight, forgotten my passport or lost my luggage However, I have encountered other situations which have caused some panic, worry or unnecessary stress!

1.  Stolen Passport In June, I visited Barcelona with my friends. Renting an apartment through Airbnb was something I had never done before as I always found much better deals in hostels. However, I probably wont do it again. During our stay, our apartment was broken in to and I was unfortunate enough to have my passport stolen (a week before flying to Thailand!!) I had to spend the next day buying an emergency passport for £100 at the British Consolate. By reporting this break in to the local police and getting a police report I was able to show this to Airbnb and they were able to refund the money I spent on the emergency passport. Aswell as the items that my friends had stolen too.

2. Mosquito Attack Guaranteed everywhere I go, I will get attacked my mosquitos. I don’t know why but for some reason they love me. The one repellent that I will recommend is Jungle Formula. It isn’t an aerosol like other repellents that I have tried so it doesn’t choke everyone in the room!  During the end of a recent trip to Phi Phi, I ran out of Jungle Formula so I turned to my second resort which was Holland and Barrett’s Incognito Luxury Citronella Soap. This I DO NOT recommend - you will get eaten alive. (See my right leg in the photos below) I spent £5 on this and unfortunately it did not work at all.

3. Food Poisoning  Whilst in New Delhi, I encountered food poisoning. I had never had this before and it literally felt like death. Unfortunately I cannot recommend ways to avoid this, because you just never know. (I caught it in a really nice restaurant!) however, by resting and sitting in my hotel for 2 days I managed to recover enough so that I didn’t miss out on any other days. I drank SO much water for the next week and it really did help. A long with rehydration sachets. I also recommend seeing a doctor when you return if it is a short trip. I was able to pick up some anti-biotics that helped clear my system and within a couple of days of taking these I was back to normal.

4. Language Barriers This is quite an obvious one but the main time that this was a problem for me was when I moved to Spain. I knew no Spanish so when it came to finding a house to live in, it really was a problem. Something that helped was carrying round a Spanish dictionary with me. This was useful when wanting to work out individual words to help you get by. Once I began settling into my house, it really helped to look up words and important memorable phrases. Once you get these put into practise you become more confident and end up picking up more and more.

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THINKING OF DOING CAMP THAILAND? Or maybe just intrigued as to what CAMP THAILAND is and what I got upto this Summer? Watch this video where I answer some questions I had received about the Camp Thailand experience!

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Why you should consider taking ‘Ride an Elephant’ off your bucket list.

Riding an Elephant, or ‘Elephant Trekking’ is one of the most popular animal tourist attractions in the World, specifically in South East Asia. It’s a vicious cycle between uneducated tourists who want to cross something else off their bucket list, or get that ‘perfect photo’ and money thirsty ‘mahouts’ making plenty of profit from daily rides to these beautiful animals. Elephants are wild animals and do not deserve to have their spirit broken and tortured every day. 

1. Breaking the spirit In order to make an Elephant respond to such orders of allowing people to ride on his back, or wear silly costumes to perform in a circus, it has to go through a series of beatings. This is known as ‘Breaking the spirit’. It allows them to be tamed for domestication, which is obviously very wrong for an Elephant. Being hit. This video is pretty informative

2.  Elephant’s spines are not designed to carry weight. It causes them severe pain and damage.

3. Living conditions They will spend a lot of time, chained up, on their own after being taken from their families at a young age. Elephants are like humans in the sense they can feel a strong mixture of emotions. This will affect them a lot, especially with their behaviour. They will still have to deal with daily abuse behind the scenes!

It’s safe to say that people are still riding Elephants on their travels due to lack of awareness. Admittedly, when I was younger, I wanted to swim with Dolphins and yes, even ride an Elephant because they have always been my favourite animal. But once I educated myself on the subject as I grew up, I realised how unethical it was and it need to stop. It still baffles me how it is still legal. After volunteering at the Surin Project, Thailand all it made me want to do is preach this even more - I just want to raise awareness for these animals that are soon to be extinct due to the tourism and ivory trade. There are many sanctuaries you can volunteer in which will be much more worthwhile than a 15 minute ride. You can get up close and personal with the Elephants, play with them, feed them, wash them and even make paper out of their poo (yes, this is what I did at The Surin Project). These sanctuaries offer a loving environment for Elephants who have been abused for use in the circus and the tourism trade. The Elephant Nature Park is world renowned and highly recommended!!