Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai again was intense. The second biggest city in Thailand. I should really do some research before I go to these places... but actually it was fun to hear and learn about the place whilst I was there. My friends who acted as my tour guides, so extremely proud of their city and made it even more fun for me.

I know, elephant riding. Nobody shoot me, it was just one of those experiences they took me too. I can't lie, it was fun but sad to see the elephants had hooks attacking them. The man tried to assure me he was using them to kill flies, what can I say I'm naive, later I read that it is clearly not the case. The elephants seemed so loyal, listening to their every word :(

One of my favourite past times - coffee time! I love that Asia has these cute little inspirational quotes everywhere, can you tell I'm a sap?

Overlooking the whole of Chiang Mai on our way up to the temple. How beautiful it all is and the weather was crazy good.

My favourite photo throughout my whole camera roll. This dog with eyebrows, this DOG has drawn on eyebrows..

HAHAHAHA, I look like such a dork. I don't know how to smile for photos, I'm not a "let me take a picture in front of the.." kind of person. They forced me to do this - and you can tell what an awkward turtle I always am :(

And guess what? They have a cat cafe in Chiang Mai, so we obviously had to go. Thank god these kitties were friendly than those Japanese ones. This cat cafe was loaded with them too, this moody one in particular was my favourite, just look at that grumpy face.

Chiang Mai night safari, I didn't actually capture any good photos during that evening. I mean I'm such an amateur photographer I don't even know how to adjust my camera for night time mode.

Finally on my final evening I manage to make it on a night out - with people who had been sleeping in the bunk next to me for 3 days who I hadn't spoken a word to. Turns out we get on like a house on fire and the rest of the night was history. Chiang Mai was a beautiful little getaway, besides the overbearing humidity and being eaten by gnats, it was a good change from Japan. It was now onto the next and final destination!

Osaka

Before my trip I was super excited to see Osaka, I thought it would be like kind of more traditional side of Japan. How wrong I was. Not only that, but because it was directly after Tokyo it was hard to live up to. I mean... if people saw the sight of me before my flight to Osaka, they probably wondered why a girl was tearing up by herself. I mean, I'm not cold hearted all the damn time.

First stop, food. Cica - an arts and sweets cafe that is mainly breakfast foods like pancake and french toast. I mean, not the cheapest meal, and not the most Japanese.... but you know when you're so hungry you're so hungry you're belly is acidic, that was me! No regrets though, it turned out it was a special kind of cafe.

One that customises your breakfast dish. They asked you what you want to be drawn on, even your face or your favourite celebrity. I opted for a giraffe, how unoriginal. This will remain the cutest french toast dish I have or will ever eat, until I meet an artist who wants to prepare a breakfast like this for me....

Onwards to Osaka Castle, who knew it would be such a long walk, in the blazing sun and humidity. I was dying. Remind me how people wear jeans in this weather out in Asia. My butt was probably showing sweat stains it was so hot.

Little back story to these little statues. These two were stolen by the Japanese from the Chinese during the war. If you're from China or Japan this war was a big deal and was less than a century ago. For reconciliation reasons of the two countries China donated these to Japan and subsequently Osaka, and to this day they remain here. (I found that interesting, maybe I'm just an old soul)

Osaka Castle! You have no idea how relieved I was to finally be here, a little bit of me died walking up towards this place for sure.

I was asked to join this photo, one of the very awkward moments of my day. If you haven't noticed already, the guy in the right is struggling to squat..

Osaka's famous dish: Takoyaki. I hate to admit it but actually I didn't love it all that much. Saying that in 3 days I still had it twice. I'm such a fat b****. It was more intriguing watching them make it than eating it, but a must try for Osaka. The second thing is okonomiyaki which is very nice, but SALT OVERLOAD.

I'd been searching for this for hours. I mean hours I spent just walking endlessly, trying to find Wifi, trying to speak English to a guy who clearly was trying to be polite and had no clue, but I got there!

Most expensive dessert I will ever eat, matcha shaved ice with mochi and red bean topping. Delicious, but again I'm a fat b****, and it cost me more than 1,500 yen. My heart breaks knowing I didn't finish it all.

On one of my final days I took a mini trip to Kobe, purely for the Kobe beef. I mean Kobe beef is famous and award winning, I wasn't NOT going to try if I was so close. To my surprise Kobe is a little seaside town and it is one of the cutest places, I definitely enjoyed the fact you could walk from one side of Kobe to the other in around 2 hours. I did exactly that, and know for a fact that sweat was dripping from every crevice. This little cafe I stopped by in the morning was a Jamaican themed burger place, and can I tell you they have the friendliest workers and owners! I sat outside on the bench unsure of where I was going and the worker came outside and just initiated conversation. If you've met Japanese people, you know this is a rare occurrence! So I decide to head in and have a coffee to start my day, and he lets his owner know that I was visiting and she gave me the best tips and places to go, she is THE coolest woman I've met.

One of the places she recommended was to the most famous Kobe beef place in Kobe. Wakkoqu. I didn't capture any pictures on my camera, and this photo is empty, but that is exactly how I felt after the meal. It was pleasant, but the price was EVEN MORE PLEASANT (sarcasm). It cost me a mind blowing 10,800 yen and the slice of beef was the size of my fist. Besides that I can now say I've had Kobe beef.

Osaka and Kobe overall was a pleasant surprise, people here are so friendly and I manage to make some good friends, and I mean I got to eat all that good food so I'm not complaining. That was the end of my Japan trip... how heartbreaking it was to leave, but onwards!

Reykjavík

Iceland in the middle of winter is incredible. Mind blowingly (literally) cold, extremely deep snow and sunlight hours restricted to around 7 hours. We hadn't contemplated how cold it would be until it actually hit us. 4 layers was the minimum, especially on the tours. I recommend layers, hoods and if possible face masks!

The little town of Reykjavik. This side of the town was filled with restaurants and bars, perfect for me and Christy!

Did I tell you to wear layers until you look like a snowman like me?

My first meal in Reykjavik was an icelandic hotdog..... does it look appetising enough?

The most exciting part of Iceland was the Blue Lagoon, I mean I hate to admit it but it isn't one of the most exciting places I've been. Maybe because it's the dead of winter, and there are blizzards everywhere, but it takes so long to drive anywhere, and navigating the place yourself is almost impossible in this season.