Natasha and The Hostel Takeover

A little Belizean's Travel Diary | IG: Natashaolive | Twitter: NatashaOliveS|

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Koh Tao pub crawlers in Belize! #SundayFunday #Kohtaopubcrawl (at Caribbean Villas Hotel)

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Paradise Lost

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Things I would have rather known ahead of time...

Here’s something I meant to post a while ago…there were a few things I wish I knew or could have done without that hopefully can help you…

Keep Bigger Currencies - try to change all your cash into bigger currencies, they have higher exchange rates, this mainly applies to Thailand.

Have pristine Money - Aside from that make sure your monies are in good condition.

Boho Heaven - I knew I’d be shopping but I didn’t  know I’d be walking into clothing heaven. Everything was ultra cute and ultra cheap. Yeah sometimes you get what you pay for but really it’s worth the buy. so pack light.

Catch Meter Taxis - This mostly applies to Bangkok, try to get taxis with their meters on, otherwise taxi drivers take advantage of you.

Do not be hungover on the streets of Bangkok - Bangkok can have some of the most ungodly scents and they hit you in unexpected waves. I find that being hungover or maybe even any kind of stomach sickness will inevitably be provoked by the putrid smells Bangkok has brewing up on a constant. 

Bargain - cut the prices in half, maybe even a quarter. It is totally okay to bargain. At first I felt really bad about bargaining or arguing about a dollar but by the end of the trip I was becoming pro and definitely got a lot for that dollar. Stand firm!

Don’t always have to prebook - we knew this but maybe others don’t. A lot of places aren’t on hostel world, booking.com or other websites sometimes you find nicer places if you just show up and walk around and check availability, you may even get better deals. 

Happy balloons are illegal - not that this stopped me, It's just a not so fun fact. :D

For now that’s about all I can think of. If I can think of a few more I’ll definitely post. 

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Expectations Met?

Hey guys remember my great expectations entry I posted before I left, well that’s okay if you don’t because I just reblogged it...here let’s see if I was right...

I know it looks like I’m crazy with the first expectation about the 20+ hour flight but really someone told me that’s how long it would be, I’m never listening to them again. We probably spent 20 hours total in airplanes but it wasn’t just one flight. The only flight that did take its toll was from Minneapolis to Tokyo (thank goodness that still happened), I was ready to jump out the plane with two hours remaining. Did experience jet lag.

The food was spicy, be careful what you wish for...still glorious though.

I did look like a disaster 90% of the time and just as promised, there weren’t many pictures of me in them, or there were many missed opportunities as a result.

There was culture shock for sure, but a lot of things did end up becoming my new normal real quick.

I feel like my shopping didn’t get out of hand at all, I did shop but I feel like I was very rational and realistic about my buys.

I did not over pack. Did need an extra duffle bag on the way back though, not too bad :)

Finn and Jean were indeed pro backpackers, we picked up real fast too though.

We did get along but I think we fought a lot more than I expected.

I wasn’t too lost, I never really did anything alone.

There weren’t as many scams as I expected and if there were we learnt quickly.

We did meet really amazing people, some that were very difficult to say goodbye to. There were some we met in places and then met them again in others. Most people are on the same route so maybe people tag along or just look around you just might see a familiar face.

I did learn a lot about myself, I am for sure more me than I’ve ever been.

I did use my voice and I feel I was very profound (I got feedback to prove it)

Not taking a blow dryer wasn’t so bad, my lion was tamed a lot more than I expected but I was for sure letting her roar more so than not.

Not taking my laptop was a problem, hence why I my posts were usually very late, with both Finn and I blogging we usually have the same chill time so it was a little difficult, my blog is for sure not pressing so I was just going with the flow and just making due.

I wasn’t much worried about those two very much.

Vietnam was indeed my favorite. #ToldYaSo

My IG did get a face lift, I could have done better, but you know what? it’s too late for that now.

I did get lot’s of massages and I actually ended up going to yoga three times so I outdid my self.

The four of us did become close, let’s see what’s in store.

It was for definite sure one of the GREATEST experiences of my life. Time to start getting ready for the next great thing, if my life is spared I will for sure be back in SEA.

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Great Expectations!

Now that we leave for the trip in only two weeks I thought I would share some of my expectations. I also figured It would be fun to see how/if any of my expectations were accurate or not.

I Expect…

That our 20+ hour flight from Minneapolis to Bangkok will be a major learning experience. I’ve never taken a flight longer than 5 hours, so this will be very interesting. We had a flight change, so that Tokyo stop is no more. We had also gotten tips about changing our clocks to Bangkok time on the last day and treat the day accordingly, but now that we’ll be spending a whole entire day in a plane we’ll need to do some problem solving to ease the seemingly inevitable jet lag. any tips? we can use some!

That the food will be spicy which means glorious.

That I will look like a disaster 90% of the time, so don’t expect me to be in most of the pictures. (yes, I’m one of those people)

That culture shock will be at it’s optimum!

That I will have a hard time not shopping, because I do already! Jean told me to pack extremely light because the shopping there has my name written all over it. So I’m thinking I will be taking an empty backpack! JK :)!

That I will still over pack!

That Finn and Jean will be professional backpackers by the time we get there.

That we’ll get along a lot more than I expect.

That I will be lost the majority of the time.

That I will have to try real hard to not fall for scams.

That I will meet amazing people that I will be friends with forever.

That this will be an accelerated course on me learning about me.

That I will need to stand up for myself and speak up whenever my instincts tell me to. (been way better at this in the past year).

That not taking a blow dryer will prove to be quite problematic for this girl that needs to flat iron her hair on the regular. This lion will not be tamed!!

That not taking my laptop will also become a problem because downloading music and blogging. The thing is my laptop is on it’s last limb and I really don’t need that weight. Borrowing Finn’s shouldn’t be a problem.

That I probably won’t even be worrying about those two things very much.

That Vietnam will be my favorite.

That my Instagram will get an awesome face lift. (Follow me @natashaolive)

That I’ll get tons of massages and will probably end up going to a yoga class like once.

That the four of us will become super close and will be planning the next trip upon departure.

That this will be one of the GREATEST experiences of my life. 

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Bangkok

I am back home now, finally settled but there’s a little something missing, Bangkok! I decided to save it for last since I would have made multiple trips there and didn’t want to comment too soon. Bangkok was our main hub, we had a rough start but it really did end up growing on me. It was the first and last place I saw, so many things happened in between that it looked and felt so much different mentally than it did the first time. It even kind of became our home away from home. 

I will do it no justice but here I go...

Bangkok is the heart and soul of Thailand. For this to be the first place to see is perfect. It’s chaos and it’s grungy and it’s busy and it’s messy but it’s still the best first thing to experience in Thailand. You get there and you just know you’re not in Kansas anymore. 

The Street life is always happening, especially on the infamous Khao San Road. you can find everything here from spas, restaurants, bars and clubs to happy balloons, scorpions and pad thai to the outfit your wearing tomorrow and all kinds of cool stuff. This is where you want to do your shopping in Thailand, and don’t pay full price. which brings me to the bargaining...

The idea of bargaining didn’t quit sit well with me at first. it took me a little bit to be comfortable with it, I mean the things are already cheap. But when I found out these people were just seeing what they can get away with, I started doing the same. After seeing a friend of ours do her bargaining thing, I was good to go. There is definitely a science to it, I almost had it down, I have pointers if you’ll need some. And, I will be back to perfect my talents. 

If you’re a backpacker on a budget, you better not mess around with full price. You’ll quickly find out what you can and cannot bargain for. Be careful with taxis and tuk tuks trying to take advantage. Try to get taxis with meters for far away places, tuk tuks are fine for tours and such. 

Things you have to do in Bangkok:

Grand Palace (with a tour guide)

Shop on Khao san Rd

Party on Khao San Rd

Get massages on Khao San Rd (at anytime)

Go to the fish spa on Khao San Rd

Don’t look around too much if your scared of rats like I am

Eat Pad Thai at Magic Max’s (he performs magic!)

The mall (for all western desires, prices are pretty much the same)

There’s so much to do there that we didn’t get to do because it was mostly a place for transit, we had many small doses. But these are things I have experienced and can give you my word. I’ll hopefully be adding to this list again at some point in my life. 

Words: Heart and Soul

 Bangkok,

You were awesome, sometimes you didn’t smell so great but you know what, I will compromise for you. Thank you for all the lessons, for all the culture and for being exactly what you are. 

Ka Pun Kaa!! (best spelling attempt)

PS. Apologies for not having some of the best picture quality. 

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Cambodia

I don’t have much to say about Cambodia because we only got two nights here, but what I will say is Angkor Wat in Siem Reap is a must (pictures posted earlier)! It’s the largest religious monument in the world and it’s history and architecture are so top notch!! Take a tuk tuk, get a tour guide and you’re in for a great day!

We also went to the night market, lot’s of cute stuff! There’s also pub street for the party goers. We stayed at the Funky Flash Packer hostel which just had everything; from good food to good atmosphere, perfect if you’re wanting to meet fun people and have a great time!

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How deep is your love - Calvin harris

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Ginza - J Balvin

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King!!!!

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Are you with me!!!

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Song that will forever remind me of this trip!

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Bangkok, Thailand

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The four amigos arrive in Vietnam. #backpacking #natashagoesbackpacking #BelizeansinVietnam #latepost #traveldiary #travel #backpackers #osprey #allday #foundmyshoe #thanksstanthony #ilovevietnam #Hanoi (at Hanoi, Vietnam)

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The Grand Palace.

You really haven’t been to Thailand until you’ve been to the Grand Palace. Most of their history together in one place. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

Get a tour guide to tell you the beautiful story.

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Angkor Wat, Cambodia - largest religious monument in the world! Get a tour guide!

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Some of the foods...yes that's the brain and in the "take away" plates are the snake!