Postcards to UB10

-Best friends from the suburbs of London travelling the planet-

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Soul searching in beautiful Ubud. The "true" Bali - discovering Kundalini and Vinyasa yoga. A real experience for both Becca and I, overwhelming to say the least! Thank you to Naya Ubud who took great care of us.

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Wonderful people. Wonderful memories.

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Could think of worse ways to spend an evening. 😁🍹

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Gili Trawangan 🇲🇨

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Home comforts! Missing autumnal walks and english food! The Graintraders in Singapore making me all nostalgic as I tuck into a bowl of poached Apple, cinnamon and banana oatmeal. Delicious! Naina x

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Singapore has been amazing! It's been great to be back in the city - in such a vibrant, multi cultural, buzzing place and the views... Need we say more?

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Obviously travelling to Singapore, Raffles and a Singapore Sling was always a must. Dressing in a finest and scrambling around in the hostel bathroom applying make up and straightening our hair we were ready. Walking through Raffles hotel it was pristine and we were beginning to understand why the Singapore Sling cost $30! Walking into the Long Bar the floor scattered with Monkey peanut shells, Singapore slings on every table and the bar staff shaking and stirring more slings to be served this was heaven! The Singapore slings were incredible and the monkey nuts not bad either (I did manage to eat thousands!). Savouring every last sip we decided one was enough we were "backpacking" after all. Nevertheless we thought, one more drink won't harm and so in true Becca and Naina fashion we headed downstairs to the Courtyard bar for a prosecco. Living the life we were indeed and it is an absolute ball. Something else ticked off the Bucket list, thank you Raffles hotel you were a delight just not so sure the bank balance would agree! 🇸🇬🍹👭💜

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'You must try the Chilli Crab' mum had said numerous times when we had put Singapore on our itinerary for our trip. So we arranged with Jen, 8 o'clock at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant for the famous dish. Mum's tastebuds did not lie- the Chilli crab was possibly one of the best dishes we had both tasted this whole journey. Served in a large cooking pan similar to a frying pan the dish was full of colour and the best smells! This was obviously the most popular dish as every table at the restaurant had the same and every person included us was wrapped up in the aprons to help save our clothes from being dressed with red chilli crab juices! Along with the crab we were treated to Tofu with spinach and mushrooms, spicy seafood noodles, prawn soup and a dish that resembled a cross between spring rolls and prawn toast all washed down with Chinese tea. Fantastic!! Anyone travelling to Singapore the Chilli crab is an absolute must! Enjoy and thank you massively to Mum's wonderful friend Jen for showing us the Singapore ways and treating us so well. 🇸🇬💜

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Singapore you beauty 🇸🇬

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Thai Masseuse qualified!

1,2,3, and...1,2,3. A chant repeated in my head for 10 whole hours over a period of 3 days. As Becca signed up for her PADI, and reluctant to take the plunge into the big blue sea, I decided to study for a Thai Massage qualification. I had read about the Royal Thai Massage course online and head down to Mae Haad Pier to check it out. My teacher who's name was Noina (DREAM team much!?) tutored me privately in the remedy and it did not disappoint. Based in a shop, and taking me up the into a modest, small ac'ed room with just a few mats, Noina talked me through exactly what the course would entail, along with a worksheet to follow the different steps of a Thai massage. Let's just get one thing straight...a Thai massage is HARD work. And that's without all the cracking and stretching! (Read on) How on earth am I going to learn ALL of this!?" I thought. I felt like I'd done a whole bums and tums class after the first session! Not only did I have to focus on getting used to the 1,2,3 rhythm, but also using the force of my body on the correct "lines" and "points". You are constantly on the balls of your feet and knees, rocking back and forth to apply the right amount of pressure. I learnt all about how the human body and blood flow works. Why we start with the feet and finish with a head massage. Why we should crack our fingers occasionally and how certain stretches can help with other factors such as metabolism. A common mishap with Thai massage is the intense cracking, stretching and walking on the back. All of which we associate with a deep Thai massage back at home...it's just what you expect right? WRONG!! All of these techniques are incorrect! Noina explained she never understands why some masseuses violently thud and pull at people arms and back. Cracking and stretching is a key section of the massage, however not as intensely as we thought we knew it. Noina would show me each stage, step by step, first by massaging me, then me massaging her. She was such a great teacher! On the final session, I completed a whole hour Thai massage and it felt great (bar my knees). Something I thought would be impossible to learn in 3 days, I had finally achieved! I'm so glad I took the opportunity to learn this skill as it's something I will have for the rest of my life. (Not to mention my happy family now there's a masseuse in the Rishiraj household!) haha. My certificate is currently being approved in Bangkok and will be sent home in the next week or so. Although I am now officially qualified, my technique will only get better with practice. And I'm sure I'm going to get lots in with the lengthy list of massage requests I currently have! Time to form an orderly queue people!! Haha.

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Diving into the unknown...

Arriving in Koh Tao I had one thing in mind...time to conquer the ocean through obtaining my PADI qualification. This was the place right everyone came here to gain their certificate! Initially booking through Scuba Shack I was all set to begin the course the following day a 2 hour video and knowledge review...GREAT! A bonus the stitches were out and aslong as I had my waterproof plaster I would be okay! Arriving back at the Scuba Shack at 3.30pm the next day I was met with a glum looking Stefan! 'Rebecca we have a little bit of an issue; the two others that were booked onto start diving with you today they have had an incident and hurt themselves so aren't sure if they will be even able to make the course. So we have some options. Number one: you can either go ahead but you will be on you're own with an instructor. Number two: you can come back tomorrow and start and we can see if anyone else books on but there's a chance that they won't. Or number three: I can try and refer you to another dive school that has people starting today.' Having a quick think and obviously 'just my luck' crossing my mind I decided, well I don't particularly want to do this on my own it may be too intense, even if I wait until tomorrow there's a chance that no one else will have signed up and well I booked with this school but having looked around all the schools offer basically the same course. 'Can you try and refer me to another school please?' I asked. After a quick phonecall I was headed over to New Way Diving where another lady was beginning today too! FANTASTIC! New Way was so welcoming and I was met with happy faces and you must be Rebecca. Quickly filling out some paperwork and medical questionnaires I was introduced to Bridget and off we trotted to the classroom to begin our knowledge reviews. Literally felt like being in an American high school- individual desks with our own desks. On went the video and out came our questionnaires. It was great to be paired with Bridget as she like me wanted to go over the video in thorough detail and re-read and star questions we were unsure of. I learnt that Bridget had tried for her PADI a year and half earlier but had been unable to master one of the skills with the mask and so had been unable to obtain qualification. Since then she had been practicing and practicing and been on many a Discovery and Fun Dives. (Hmm I thought that's why she thought i was a little crazy to be jumping straight into open water...everyone did this right?!) A couple of hours later we had completed all five sections of the knowledge and I must admit my brain felt a little frazzled and I was ready for home! When I got back I explained to Nains how there was so much to learn but I was really excited. 8am next morning I met my instructor Matt an American guy who had been diving for years and myself, Bridget and Matt headed back to the classroom to go over knowledge one-three and complete the quizzes. Going through the questions again allowed us to clarify any of our queries and I was feeling really ready! Afterward we headed downstairs to be kitted out with our scuba gear- BCD(by knack....), regulator(basically our underwater lungs), our wet suits and our flippers! I felt a little silly but I was raring to go! After learning how to put the equipment together, checking it over and then completing this a few times I felt ready to go! Out to sea we went! Completing a swim test of laps around the boat and a couple of minutes showing Matt we could float we were set! After running through the 12 skills we would be completing today, getting all of our gear on completing our buddy safety checks and then pulling out snorkels and masks over our face we each in turn took a GIANT stride off of the boat! I was absolutely cacking my pants! Swimming to the shore where we could stand to complete the skills we began. Skill number one and two: regulator skills and how to clean it should it come out of your mouth or be dropped to your side. I already began to feel myself becoming a little apprehensive what with having to remember to deflate my BCD through pushing one of the buttons on my LNRI(find this word out!) but it was okay I was with a professional and a lady who had dived for a couple of years. Somehow made me more scared. Nevertheless I managed to complete these skills after maintaining calm steady breaths through my regulator and we all completed our team high five! Skill Number Three and Four: Changing between your regulator and snorkel. I managed this practicing it a little more than perhaps necessary but I had already began to feel anxious and that I was holding back Bridget and causing myself to worry. Explaining this all to Matt he was fantastic and said that I aced that skill and was doing great and he was positively sure he knew I could complete this! Completely the skill again I felt proud but I realised I need to decide and make the most adult and comfortable decision for myself. Skill Number Five: Cramps: if you are your buddy were to get a cramp how would we deal with this. Completed no problem and I was beginning to think this stuff I had no issue with it's the underwater at 18 metres that freaked me out and breathing and what if the regulator broke or came out and you have to be able to provide others air. I explained that I would continue but I was thinking I would like to carry on with the skills longer and maybe just complete a fun dive. Skill Number Six: Adjusting your buddies air chamber should if come loose. Again this completed okay and I followed the rules given to me. Skill Number Seven and Eight: Out of air share air...in other words BECCA PANICKED! After watching Matt's demonstration I began to feel anxious. I watched as he and Bridget completed the skill both ways first him out of air and her supplying him her second air tube and then vice versa. This was the point that I decided Yeah...I'm not comfortable here and said you know I just don't know that I want to do this and if I'm not sure I need to follow my gut. Stupid really seeing as I have eight small children in my sole care on a daily basis and feel so comfortable the thought of supplying someone else air or them supplying me air at 18ft underwater was too much for me to digest or handle. Both of them so lovely and understanding and Bridget commented that it was a very adult decision. They said I would have been able to go diving because I had completed the first skills but I had decided enough for one day and I felt proud to say I've tried and done this and now I've made the decision only I can make that I do not want to continue. Bobbing about in the water for a while while Bridget completed her last few skills: mask clearing- two different ways, the fun flipper, buoyancy through breathing and loosing your weights I was not alone. Beautiful fish swam around me at my feet and I used my snorkel and regulator to swim a while with them in the shallow waters and it was amazing. Climbing back onto the boat my waterproof plaster had come off and the scab of my wound had nearly all come away too...FAB! Thankfully I had brought all my medical supplies and Bridget is a medical student. Helping me clean it up apply saline, iodine and plaster she assured me that my wound was fine and to continue cleaning it daily as I had. I will probably head back to the doctor to double check too but what I could see it will just scab over and be okay! So on a final note- I'm not saying that I will never complete my PADI (I already completed half of the skills and it's one of my ultimate life dreams), I'm just accepting that today I did not feel fully comfortable and therefore am and was not prepared to put myself into a state of anxiety or anyone else for that matter and for that I am proud of myself I tried and decided I didn't feel ready. One day I will conquer the beautiful ocean and who knows that may happen in two weeks in Bali, two months in Australia or two years in some other exotic part of our beautiful world but for now snorkelling is clearly my forte!

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Just a few from some of the amazing food we had in Koh Phangnan 🍷💁🏼💁🏽

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Saturday 24th September: HALF MOON PARTY! Applying ourselves and everyone else we were with with tonnes of luminous paint we were ready to hit the jungle for the party! It did not disappoint: bars everywhere, different stages hosting various DJs and their sets and of course an Instagram photo booth we partied until the early hours! Another experience ticked off the Bucket List...perhaps now for a Full Moon to compare the two...well in a year maybe when we are recovered!

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Mentally preparing ourselves for the Half Moon Party ✌🏻️🌙

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Monkey Beach, snorkelling and beautiful Maya Bay-Phi Phi Island 🇹🇭☀️👭💜

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Welcome to the jungle!

The jungle of drunken tourists easing through Bangla Road welcomed us into Patong, Phuket. As we waded through, the sight of people chowing down chicken burgers, kebabs and chips made our stomachs queasy as we were recovering from some bad street food sushi in Pai - let's not get into that one! Hmmm we thought, this is like a scene from the Inbetweeners. Not sure if we're going to like it here... But we were proven wrong! Patong nightlife is another kettle of fish, we had two heavy nights here and both were very successful! Tiger club and Illuzion being two of the clubs we ventured into. So deceiving on the outside of both clubs, with small bars on the outside but two levels above and stretching so far back, you never would have guessed the sheer size of them. I also met some Indian guys from Chandigarh and thought it would be a wise idea to start a bhangra dance off. I definitely won (in my head anyway). Becca meanwhile, was teaching everybody how to pole dance. An expert, after Lee's hen do! Becca even received a clap from the ladyboy dressed very flamboyantly inside the bar after doing a full swing and backlift pose- you know you're good when you get approval from a ladyboy haha! Well, we won't get into too much about the nights, it's all a bit fuzzy after the second bucket of cocktail, but Patong definitely surprised us nightlife wise anyway!

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Phuket Sails Tours with Captain Mark ✌🏻️🇹🇭