Advice On Packing | What To Pack, Or Not To Pack?

Hello fellow travellerinos! This week I want to focus on packing. In three weeks time I'm finally going on another adventure and its got to that stage where I am wondering what to take with me. So I thought I share my packing tips with you guys!

Post-Travel Blues | My Top Ten Survival Tips

Here is my list to surviving those dread post-travel blues!

1. Talk to the people you met out there and reminisce.

2. Look through your pictures and re-live those days from the comfort of your home.

3. Find like-minded travellers; there's bound to be several flitting around in your local area, and talk to them about new and past adventures.

4. Plan your next trip and just be inspired!

5. Try something new, everyday, if possible.

Featured Article on GapYearBlog | Frontier

Would just like to express a quick post of thanks to Frontier, who recently featured this blog on their Gap Year Blog and here it is for you to view:
http://gapyearblog.org.uk/blog/2012/10/31/volunteer-travel-blog-hannah-banks-the-frontier-se-asia-ethi.html

Thank you guys for the experience!

Vietnam | My last few days in S.E.Asia

Hanoi is a spectacular City, it feels very westernised and modern yet still withholds its Vietnamese traditions. Our first day was spent exploring the City, seeing a spectacular Gothic-like cathedral, buying new make-up, eating copious amounts of cheese sticks (they are immense) and purchasing cinema tickets to the new Batman film.

Our second day in Hanoi was slightly more cultured as we went on a tour around Halong Bay (Meaning: Descending Dragon). Our journey there was long, but we entertained ourselves by sleeping and watching the spectacular scenery race by around us. When we arrived we clambered on a boat, filled with other sightseers eager to cruise through the natural beauty. It was truly magnificent and words cannot justify it fully - it's one of those things you just have to see with your own eyes to understand and appreciate. The boat ride itself was fun as we ate a buffet of seafood (freshly caught) and rice. They took us through the caves which was amazing; they are massive and it feels like you've left reality and entered a pre-historic world underground.

Vietnam | The Journey from South to North

After saying goodbye to the teaching and forest volunteers we left behind in Phnom Penh, we took a short tuk tuk ride to the bus station and waited for hours for our night bus to leave - we found out later that the driver had taken a nap. To pass the time myself, Cat and Miri pulled faces, ate pringles and oreos till we felt sick, watched the other trail members attempt to sleep and contemplated taking sneaky photos (open mouths, drool and random subconscious movements...) which kept us entertained for the hours we endured on the non-air conditioned bus. Eventually we set off and reached the Cambodia-Vietnam border at 7:30am and proceeded through passport control and so forth.

The journey from the border to Ho Chi Minh City was over in no time and we arrived around lunch-time. As we sleepily plodded off the bus we were hounded by taxi drivers urging and pushing and pulling us to get in their taxi. Luckily for us, Miri knew they would only rip us off by charging too much for the distance we would need to go. But our hostel was a five minute walk away from where we had been dropped off so, naturally, we walked. By this point I was getting fairly good at swiftly hoisting my over-sized pink bag onto my back and trekking after the others towards our new home for the night. When we arrived in the hostel we were all ecstatic to be sharing a room altogether. Officially the trail was reunited and so we would begin our adventures again! We chilled in the room for a bit before heading down the road in search of food and exploring the City - we visited the huge central market, a Cathedral which was meant to look like Notre-dame and the post office.

Cambodia | Teaching and Living in Siem Reap

And so the island shenanigans in Koh Chang were brought to a premature close as we hopped on another bus and made our way to the Poipet border.

Our crossing into Cambodia was fairly smooth, although lengthy. On the other side we clambered back onto our bus and made our way to Siem Reap. Here, in the next few days, we would begin our voluntary projects. Due to the foot and mouth scare in Cambodia, at the time, Government schools were closed. We were initially worried that our teaching placement wouldn't take place as planned and thought we would have to participate on another project  (conservation, diving or working in an orphanage). Fortunately for us, we weren't volunteering in an area badly affected by the disease and the school itself, like many of the Government schools in Siem Reap stayed open. The school we taught at is run by a charitable NGO providing additional education to the children of Siem Reap and surrounding villages.

The only dilemma we did face was that our placement wouldn't be starting until the following week as they had taken an unscheduled "holiday".

Thailand | Koh Chang!

The time we spent in Chaing Mai wasn't quite long enough to really get a true feel for the place; so, compared to other travellers opinions, mine is a fairly opaque view. The City was nice, but compared with other Cities I visited later on, definitely not on my top five list which blew me away. However, I would relish the opportunity to visit again and really pick up on the detoxing vibes others resonate and speak highly of.

From Chaing Mai we headed back to Bangkok via train... What an experience! We enjoyed the scenic view it provided from our rickety carriages and peacefully watched the daily goings on of the locals. However, the hours dragged as we sat, slumped, curled and sprawled other our seats trying to find a happy medium and attempt to sleep through the mammoth 18 hour journey laid out before us. Alex even attempted the baggage racks above, which proved successful and he slept right through (until he got nudged to get down..).

Thailand | Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chaing Mai and Pai

Like many travellers who have passed through Thailand; I was struck down like a fly (or mosquito...) by a bout of sickness in my first few hours of arriving which, subsequently, took me a few days to shake off before I fully acclimatised to the intense heat within Bangkok.

Our first few days in Thailand were spent exploring the immense and crazy City that is Bangkok. We delved straight into the historical and cultural sites and visited: The Grand Palace; The Reclining Buddha (this was by far my favourite place it was just magnificent. I loved the location and all the intricate, pretty surrounding temples; just wandering around for a short while you truly felt immersed within the foundations of Thai culture and spirituality); felt like sardines packed together as we travelled along the river Chao Phraya by express boat with the locals; browsed the extensive shops and market stalls in China Town, sampling various fruits, spring rolls; and trawled through endless rails of clothes and jewellery along Khao San Road - the most popular item, amongst both tourists and locals, being t-shirts sporting various iconic phrases such as "Same Same, but Different". My only wish, whilst shopping out there, was that there could be at least one top sporting: "Lovely Jubly", as this was a frequent phrase I heard whenever I told someone I was British and it amused me every time!

Thailand | The Beginning

After plodding through Suvarnabhurmi Airport, Bangkok and dragging with me my gigantic, heavy, overpacked, dark pink backpack I found the representative I was meeting holding a flimsy sign with the company name sprawled neatly in black biro pen. Little did I know, at this point, that this girl, slouching against the entrance to Boots, waiting for me to arrive, was to become one of my best friends on the trail. I smiled nervously and uttered a shy: "Hi, I'm Hannah..." to my relief she recognised the name and introduced herself promptly as Miri, taking me swiftly under her wing. Haaaa!
We made our way through the airport, making general chit chat... How was the flight? Hope it wasn't too many hours ... Not too bad, there weren't any delays ... Where was your transfer? ... Don't worry, it's not too far to travel from where we're staying; your'll be able to put you rucksack down in a minute ... Has anyone else arrived yet? ... I can't wait to shower and get into different clothes! ... etc.

After copious amounts of winding our way down escalators and taking a wrong turn, we arrived at the Skytrain which would take us to the correct district and from there, after a quick stroll along a bridge overlooking a busy road below, we took a short tuk tuk ride to the infamous Khao San road where we'd be spending our first few days.

As I sat chatting in the back of the Tuk Tuk to Miri; clinging desperately to my bags and hoping I wouldn't fly out, but also being mesmerised by the 'STAR WARS' notebook Miri was writing in and explaining the itinery for the next two and a half months; the heat of the City struck me almost instantaneously!