11 reasons for going travelling with a tour group

For the majority of my trip through South-East Asia, I was travelling with a tour group run by G Adventures, and I could not recommend it more (no-one's paid me to say that, honest!)

Although guided tour groups may be associated with retired folk on Saga cruises, a lot of young people - particularly solo travellers - go adventuring with tour groups these days. Contiki is a big one, but there are tons of companies. I booked mine through STA Travel who work with a bunch of tour companies, including G Adventures.

As a 23-year-old girl heading off to Asia for the first time by herself, it was absolutely perfect for me.

Some people turn their noses up at tour groups, but I think they're wrong. Sure, you may lose a smidge of spontaneity, but you gain so much. It's just so much fun and so easy! Here's what I mean:


1. It's hassle-free before and during, thus also a timesaver. 

You can just recline like Buddha here

With my trip, the accommodation in each place and travel from place-to-place was all organised for me. And that's the stressful part of travelling, am I right? On travel days, all I had to do was dump my backpack in the back of a minibus and relax or follow my guide through an airport or train station. Simples!


2. It's targeted to your budget.

G Adventures offer trips at various different levels of luxury (or basic-ness!) so you know that the places you'll be taken to will fit your budget.


3. You know each place you stay will be decent. 

Alas we did not stay here as I was on a budget tour, but some day I plan to.

We've all heard accommodation horror stories from travellers who've backpacked through Asia, but by travelling with a tour group, you now you won't be taken anywhere too horrendous.


4. You're taken to all the best places. 

If I'd had to research everywhere I wanted to go in advance, I'd never have gone! Having run their tours for yeeeaaars, G Adventures know which places you're going to want to visit and how long to spend in each.


5. You're taken to places you wouldn't have thought to visit. 

Had I been travelling by myself, I'd never have spent nights in the Sumatran jungle but I am SO glad I did! My trip was ace as we went to all the tourist sights you want to tick off your list, but then also loads of places that were genuinely off the beaten track where we didn't see any other white people for days.


6. You're free to do as you please in each place.

Day on the beach with a coconut? OKAY THEN!

Although travel from place-to-place is organised and the itinerary is fixed, you can do whatever you want in each destination.


7. You get ideas of what to do from fellow travellers and your guide.

The amazing Indian restaurant we found thanks to Alice's guidebook

In each place we stopped, our guide gave us recommendations of what was actually worth seeing and doing, which was great. The other guys on the tour also suggested things that I hadn't heard of which was fab too.


8. You get the best of travelling alone and travelling with friends.

Want to spend some time by yourself? Off you pop. Fancy a big group dinner? You've got chums!


9. You make new friends.

No doubt about it, I have made friends for life, and I know I'm going to meet up with some of my new travel pals again. My group changed throughout the trip and although the majority of us were in our early 20s, our ages ranged from 18 to late 30s and we came from all over the world (but mainly the UK!). Even though I probably won't keep in touch with everyone, it was great to meet like-minded people - we were mostly young solo female travellers - and always have people to do things with. I know a lot of people meet up with friends from their tour group further into their travels, which is lovely. We had a ball!


10. Your guide keeps you safe.

Our fearless leader

As well as having a great group of people, our guide, Masha, was fantastic. She was so knowledgeable and warned us of any scams and the like, ensuring we didn't get ripped off or into trouble.


11. Your guide is there to answer all your questions. 

And I had a lot of questions. From asking where she'd recommend for dinner to random cultural curiosities, Masha knew the answer to everything. I learnt so much from her. What's that plant? Why do women work more than men? Is this safe to eat? She always had the answers.


Although travelling with a tour group may not be right for everyone, it was perfect for me, particularly for my first big exotic trip by myself. DO IT! I wanna go again!

Have you ever been travelling with a tour group? Or would you?

17 practical tips for travelling round South-East Asia

Did I mention I went to South-East Asia yet?

Yeah I kept that one quiet, didn't I?

My two-month long sojourn was not only my first time in Asia, but it was my first trip eastwards in any way, shape or form. And although I'm fortunate enough to have done lots of exploring of Western Europe, South-East Asia was a whole other kettle of fish. Or a kettle of noodles, if you will. (Wait a minute, why would you have fish in a kettle? Answers on a postcard please. Or in a comment. You know, whichever.)

So it's safe to say I learnt a lot.

I can't speak for the whole of South-East Asia, but I backpacked my way through Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia so saw a fair amount of different cultures.

Here are some of the things I learned which I hope may be useful to anyone heading off to South-East Asia themselves (and you totally should).

1. Use hand sanitiser, like, all the time. Srsly. Standards of hygiene aren't what we're used to in the western world so you're gonna want to keep applying that shiz all day long. You can buy it out there though, so no need to pack ten bottles of Boots' finest.

2. Avoid dogs. There are dogs running round ERRYWHERE and as cute as they are, all it takes is one unfortunate incident for you to end up with rabies, ma friends. And that brings me on to...

3. Sort your jabs in plenty of time. Having booked my trip only a couple of months in advance and what with spending one of those months in Brussels, I found myself in quite a sticky situation and had to go private for all my jabs. I erred on the side of caution and chose to have more than the pure essentials but they set me back about £500 which is not so fun. Speaking of money...

4. Get a Revolut currency card. Or a Caxton card. These babies are awesome for when you're travelling through various countries - my Revolut one was fab as I managed everything from the app and could transfer myself more money from my UK account in seconds. 

Singapore

5. Check visa restrictions carefully. I miscalculated and ended up having to pay a fine at Bali airport because I'd stayed in Indonesia one day too long. Sure, it wasn't the end of the world and was nothing compared to what I feared (the Thai prison in Bridget Jones 2 sprang to mind) but it was a pain.

6. Keep your money in separate places and never have more than £100 worth of cash at one time. One of the girls I was travelling with got about £1,000 worth of money stolen from her hotel room. Awful awful awful.

7. Take pictures of the items you send for laundry. This is a great tip from my guide, Masha: before giving in your dirty clothes to be washed at hotels, take pictures of each item. That way if something doesn't come back you can show a picture rather than trying to describe it and get around a language barrier.

8. No spice = a bit spicy. I learnt this the hard way. Granted, I am someone who is really rubbish with spice, but so often I would ask for something without spiciness and it would end up burning my mouth off.

9. Only drink bottled water. Except in Singapore. Bottled water is much cheaper out there, worry not.

10. Only eat fruit that you peel yourself, unless you're served it in a restaurant. Best to stick to things like mangoes (mmm), bananas (mmm) and oranges (mmm) as you don't know what could be on the skin. And if you do buy something else that you think should be OK, best to give it a good wash first.

11. Loo technique. Pretty much all "toilets" are holes in the ground, or "squat loos" as we called them. When using squat loos, crouch as low as you can, keep your feet as wide apart as poss and control your wee so it doesn't come out too fast and splash all over you. It takes some practicing but on the plus side I now have thighs of steel. Kinda.

12. Backpack-packing technique: pack your clothes in plastic bags or wallets inside your backpack - I organised mine by item (e.g. one bag for tops, one for shorts, one for undies) which makes packing and repacking all the time simple.

Leaving the UK with what I considered to be a tiny bag

13. If you aren't Asian, prepare to be stared at, waved at, photographed, filmed and generally treated like a bit of a celeb. It was insane.

14. Get Tiger Balm. It is a lifesaver. I'd never heard of this magical balm before my trip but apparently you can find it in the UK. Whilst good for all sorts of problems, we all found it most effective for soothing mosquito bites - I've never known anything to make them go down so quickly!

15. Get the Xe currency app. It's free, works offline and super useful for converting currencies so you know how much (or most likely how little!) your pad thai is costing you.

16. Learn how to cross the road. I never quite mastered this. The drivers don't stop for anyone waiting to cross. It's only when you step out into the road that they slow down. You have to be gutsy and it's blimmin' terrifying.

Crossing the Equator is easier than crossing roads

17. Leave space in your backpack. Struggling with what I considered to be a lack of luggage space ("But WHY can't I take my huge suitcase!?"), I packed my backpack (which was not even my backpack, thanks Amber) to the brim when I set off. This was an error. You're going to want to buy a load of elephant trousers, trust me (see picture above). 

And at the end of the day, HAVE FUN!

I loved my trip so much - everyday I learnt loads of new things about interesting cultures and everything was so different to everything I knew. Travel really is the one. The question is, where should I go next?

Do you have anything to add to my list?

I'M GOING TRAVELLING ROUND SOUTHEAST ASIA!

It's true! The above title is happening!

In two days time I'm setting off from London for Bangkok, via Dubai. I can't quite believe this is actually happening!

I remember months ago, in the midst of my finals at Uni, walking through rainy Bristol and dreaming of travelling to a far-off land with turquoise seas and white sandy beaches. And now I'm actually going to go there. (Google Image search Ko Samui. Don't be too jel.)

I'm heading off for just under two months (quote Mum: "you're going on an extended holiday") - God forbid I'm not home for Christmas! Am I slightly sad to be missing most of the Christmas period AKA the best time of the year ever ever ever? Yes.

However this is a trip I may never have the opportunity to take again, Christmas ain't going anywhere, and I'm just going to have a few days of MEGA INTENSE CHRISTMAS JOY (caps = strictly necessary to demonstrate the intensity of said joy) when I'm back. Get ready for it. Aaaaaand hopefully I'll have a tan in all this year's Christmas photos. [insert sassy girl emoji here]

I'M SO DAMN EXCITED! I've never been eastwards really, and I cannot WAIT to explore another part of the world. Who knows, maybe I will just "find myself" (whatever that even means). I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a selection of great food and pretty views if nothing else though so I'm fairly confident this is going to be a winner.

Oh snap! I haven't told you where I'm going! Well I shan't bore you all with a day-by-day itinerary (that was a gem saved for my immediate family) but basically I'm starting in Bangkok, heading down to some Thai islands (see: the aforementioned Ko Samui), down into Malaysia and through the Cameron Highlands, to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, over to Medan and doooooown down down to Jakarta, through Indonesia before finally ending up in Bali. You share my excitement right? If anyone has any tips for any of these places, PLEASE hit me up!

This is a trip unlike anything I've ever done.


For starters, I'm taking a backpack. Yes, me. Backpacking. I know. And nooooo don't be silly, of course it's not my backpack (y'all know I'm not the kinda girl who's likely to own a backpack) - I'm borrowing one from the very lovely and more adventurous Amber (you remember Amber from France right?)

Yeah, so backpacks? Not so big.

Packing light? Not my forte.

Like, this is really hard. How do I know what I'm going to want or need till I get there? How can I be prepared for everything if I'm trying to keep my bag under 10kg?

I'M NOT EVEN TAKING NAIL VARNISH! You can get a mani-pedi in Southeast Asia, right? Wow I sound like such a diva.

But like, I'm totally forgoing material things. The only jewellery I'm taking is one pair of earrings. Alright, two, for my second piercings. Okay FINE, six. But if that's not packing light I don't know what is.

There's been a lot to do to get ready for my departure: I've had to get some VERY expensive jabs (srsly, they cost like £500), buy also expensive travel insurance, establish that I shouldn't need Visas, sort a currency card (I'm planning on using Revolut) and spend ALL the money in Boots in order to hopefully avoid getting ill (how did I spend £56 in Boots?!)

But I think hope I've done everything I need to and can now just go forth and have a wonderful time.

Naturally, I'm a little apprehensive. But if you're not nervous before doing something like this I think that's a little odd. (Quote Mum again: "Do you know what a tsunami looks like? If that happens, RUN! Away from the sea."

I can't wait to meet new people - both travellers and locals - and learn about different cultures.

I'll be documenting my travels as much as I can but please forgive me if posts are a little sporadic. Instagram will obvs be updated as much as poss though. And snapchat. #sorrynotsorry to my friends in offices.

Wish me luck!

A #ThriftyOrganic masterclass and supper club with Deliciously Ella

I have a lot of recipe books. Like, seriously a lot. From baking to curries to healthy eating. And whilst I absolutely adore all my cookbooks – is there anything better than flicking through a hardback book full of glossy pictures of delectable delights in bed at the end of the day? – the majority of them tend to end up as inspirational coffee table books rather than instructive, useful guides.

The exception to the rule, however, is the Deliciously Ella book. I use it at least once a week and it’s without a doubt my favourite recipe book.

What I love is that Ella’s recipes are really accessible, delicious and simple. Whilst you may have to stock up on a few new ingredients to begin with, once you’ve got some tahini, tamari and almond butter in your pantry you’re good to go! Ella uses a lot of the same ingredients throughout the book which is really helpful.

I’d been a big Deliciously Ella fan before her first book came out though, and am one of many devotees of her blog.

So when an invitation to a Deliciously Ella masterclass and supper club popped into my inbox last month I practically squealed with delight. And I have no shame about it.

The event took place at Whole Foods in Kensington (don’t you just love Whole Foods? I’m such a clichéd middle class foodie) and was put on to celebrate Organic September, which, as you may be able to guess, is a September-long movement championing organic produce and encouraging us all to eat more organic food.

The theme of the evening was #ThriftyOrganic, and Ella was there to show us all how we can eat organic food on a budget.

I’d brought along fellow Deliciously Ella fangirl, Liv, and we were accidentally super keen and the first to arrive. (Why am I always early?)

We took our places at the prettily-laid tables and gossiped as girls do while the rest of the guests arrived, sipping delicious infused water and fresh cucumber, pear and mint juice as we waited.

The masterclass soon got under way and the demonstrations commenced with homemade oat milk (20p per recipe), houmous (£130 per recipe) and courgette noodles with avocado pesto (£8.20 per recipe).

All the recipes sure seemed simple enough – I suppose by putting in that little bit of extra effort (by making everything from scratch) you can save money and eat well. 

The demonstrations had certainly got our tummies rumbling too! So, hoorah! It was dinner-time!

Out came big platefuls of three of Ella’s dishes, and we were given the costs for making each one to prove how affordable they are: roasted butternut squash risotto (£1.12 per person), sautéed potato, kale and houmous salad (50p per person), and the aforementioned courgette noodles (£1.12 per person).

The risotto was definitely my fave!

Plateful 1. Yes I had seconds.

Although not strictly within budget, we were also offered some organic Prosecco which went down a treat and a half.

Very sweetly, Ella came round and chatted to all the guests at the supper, and it was lovely to meet the lady herself (and yes, she’s just as beautiful IRL and super passionate about her food.)

For pudding we had chewy sultana cookies and raspberry and coconut mousse. Both were yummy, but oh my days that mousse! It was so so good. My corner may have snaffled the leftovers too. Oops.

Was I surprised by the prices of organic eating? Yes and no. 

Friends are always asking me how I managed to eat things like medjool dates, almond butter and chia seeds on a student budget, but I totally did and so I’m fully aware of how possible it is to eat healthily despite being strapped for cash.

However I have to admit that I tend to choose non-organic produce purely because it’s cheaper. That said, I know organic food is better in various ways, and I think I will now incorporate more into my weekly shop. What am I saying? I go to the supermarket most days, not once a week!

What are your thoughts on organic eating?

Class of 2015: Graduating from the University of Bristol

I'm not going to sugar-coat it. Graduation was pretty much the best day ever.

Sure, it was two months ago now, but I've been waiting on the professional pictures which I now have, hoorah!

I remember back in October of Final Year how much I was looking forward to graduation. And then crying internally because I had practically the whole final year of my degree and a hell of a lot of work to get through first.

But we did it! After months of waiting to use the graduation cap emoji and writing "congradulations" everywhere (punny, no?) the day finally came.

I hope those of you who perhaps don't live in the UK or are merely intrigued as to what a British university graduation is like may enjoy this little insight to the day...

Modern Languages were given the very last ceremony after a week of graduations at the University of Bristol. And, after a week of sunshine, it decided to absolutely CHUCK it down all. damn. day.

For days I simply refused to believe anyone who told me it was forecast to be horrendous weather. I had my dress, shoes, bag, extremely detailed itinerary for the day (obvs), and nothing was going to rain on my and my friends' parades.

Shout-out to my dad for being awesome and chauffeuring the Hosie gals around all day thus saving us attempting to walk to far in our heels through the torrential rain!

Horrendous weather aside, I was so excited to be going back to Bristol for one last day and to see all my friends again.

To the annoyance of, well, ALL students, it's tradition at The University of Bristol NOT to wear mortar boards. I know! Bit rubbish.

Buuut we still got gowns, HOORAH! They're fun to wear, if slightly more awkward than I'd been expecting - mine kept falling off my shoulders and going wonky but I werked it. (Not a typo. I'm trying to be cool.)

After picking up my gown I dragged the fam (minus the absent brother, who had a prior commitment in Spain, whatevs) along for some professional photos with the very talented Jamie Corbin. So that was fun. He even let us pretend we had mortar boards, yay!

I am the dancing girl emoji, also known as José. (-> Hosé -> Hosie.)

Next up, we moved on to a lovely reception put on by the Modern Languages department.

There was Prosecco, tea, coffee, strawberries and cream and caaaaaake! So yes, it was pretty ideal.

I also really enjoyed seeing some of my teachers again. Quote the Shrimp: "Why are you, like, friends with your teachers?" What can I say? I'm that kinda kid.

It was also amusing to discover some of my teachers had seen Holly and thought "why isn't Rachel wearing her robe?" Apparently the Shrimp and I look kinda similar... What do you think? (In case you hadn't guessed, she's the one in the green dress.)

But mainly I was just so excited to see my friends again! I'd spent the morning bumping into people here and there which is exactly how I'd spent the past four years of my degree. I love it.

Also fun: seeing people with their parents, don'tcha think? It's funny because I'm super close to my friends but had barely met any of their parents, and vice versa, so it was super nice to meet people's families.

Awards were handed out (sadly there wasn't one for "sparkliest lecture attendee") and before we knew it, it was time to make our way down to the amazing Wills Memorial Building for our ceremony! With the prospect of walking up and down stairs in super high heels with hundreds of people watching still looming, I'd been conscious of not drinking too much Prosecco.

The graduands all took our places in our assigned seats in the Great Hall and were given a briefing on how errythang was going to go down.

It was only halfway through said briefing that I realised I had stupidly not been paying attention (I was too busy reading the snazzy programme and checking out who'd got Firsts.) Thank GOD my friends around me had been listening.

As well as the programmes we were given teeeeny UoB pencils and a tote bag. Don't ever say you don't get your money's worth from a degree.

As family and friends streamed in, the hall filled up, cameras snapped, the atmosphere of excitement grew and then it was time to start.

As the organ played, the important people in all their splendour processed up to the front and took their seats. It was Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Eric Thomas' final graduation ceremony EVER, so he was pretty emosh.

And then graduation happened. One by one we smiling graduands picked up our certificates and became graduates. It was all impeccably organised too. Equally impressive was that neither of us ladies in our silly high heels fell over on the stairs which is quite an achievement if you ask me.

We all cheered and whooped for our friends and it was so lovely because - as I've said before - we linguists are a sociable bunch, and so most of us knew the majority of the cohort.

The national anthem was sung, speeches were made and then it was procession time again. Our ceremony had all the pomp one would expect from a thoroughly British occasion, and I loved it.

The new graduates and our families mingled outside in the most celebratory of atmospheres before splitting off into groups for special dinners - we went to Aquila.

It's the most wonderful Italian restaurant: great food and friendly service whilst also being a bit more special and snazzy than the likes of Pizza Express. They also gave us free Prosecco so yay to that.

Apols the pics aren't better - I only had my phone, which is an iPhone 4 (feel my pain) - but please take my word for it when I say everything was fabulous.

After a wonderful dinner, my parents and sister headed back home and I rejoined my friends to party the night away and enjoy Bristol's fine nightlife with all my uni chums for one last time.

What a day. It was the PERFECT way to end four wonderful years at Bristol. I'm so sad university is over but I have the fondest of memories and Bristol will always hold a special place in my heart.