She Gets Around

I have recently returned from 8 months travelling solo around Asia and Australia and well I have rarely actually been alone.

I started travelling with two friends for the first 3 weeks when I trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and then continued with one friend for another month around India. But after that I really was travelling solo. As my friend Swatee said farewell in Delhi as I hopped on an overnight train to Mumbai, I was filled with nervous excitement, a new adventure began here… alone.

Saying farewell to my travel buddy Swat

After 2 months of sharing a room and spending 24 hours a day with the same person I was excited about some alone time (though don’t get me wrong Swatee was the best travel buddy anyone could ask for). I checked into my own room with a TV (luxury) and spent the evening selflessly watching CSI and the Simpsons (available worldwide) and wallowing in my own time. But waking up the next morning after a brilliant night’s sleep I instantly felt alone. Here I was in a foreign country, with weird smells, thousands of people everywhere you turn and I didn’t know a single person for miles around… the excitement of time alone had worn off already and I wanted my travel buddy back.

Fun times with Swatpot the 'loser'

I checked into a hostel for my second night in Mumbai and signed up for my first Bollywood debut as an extra the next day. Walking into the hostel I instantly met more travellers and before I knew it I was on route to Goa a couple of days later with 4 new friends and heaps of exciting adventures ahead. From that day on I probably spent only a small handful of nights on my own. Everywhere I went I met new friends, other solo travellers, groups of holiday goers, locals and complete randomers from around the world. The life of a solo traveller is very rarely a lonely life. Though as with anything there are highs, there are lows and there are occasionally though very rarely days of complete misery.

New friends

The Ugly.

Starting with the worst, there has probably been two or three days when I felt totally miserable. Nothing could make me smile, I may have been on a heavenly island or surrounded by new cultures and tasty foods but all I wanted was a hug from mum and dad and to sit on my best friend’s couch with a big mug of tea and set the world to rights. I didn’t know anyone, and those I did ‘know’ I didn’t really know past the usual formalities of where are you from, where are you going, etc.

It could be anything that bring on these moments of sadness, something happens back home and there is nothing you can do to help it, you get sick from dodgy Asian food or you lose your passport and all you want is your home town people to convince you everything will be alright.

Sometimes you just need some TLC

But these ugly moments… they only make you stronger! Don’t jump on the first plane home, stick it out, a new day will bring new changes, new positive adventures, new friends and in the grand scheme of things nothing is THAT bad and you WILL get over it!

The Bad

Travelling alone is expensive and most of the time more expensive than travelling with a friend or group. This is something to bare in mind when budgeting. The cost of a room is generally the same for one as it is for two and you are less likely to get good deals on tours and transport as there is a lot more bargaining power when you are buying more than one.

fancy room all to myself... expensive!

But don’t let these bad moments make you spend all your money… as I said you are rarely actually alone and are likely to find other solo travellers everywhere you turn who are probably having the same financial problems and willing to bargain with you or even share a room (safety first though peeps).

The Good… or the Great!

Good or even great, doesn’t really describe the infinite amount of pleasure you get from going it alone. For one you are free, truly free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You may have planned to stay somewhere a week, but decide you want to move on after two days… well you can. If you were with a friend then they might want to stay and then you have that awkward compromising situation when neither are really happy.

Free to Go My Own Way...

On top of the freedom to do what you want you are also free to meet whoever you want and then dump then whenever you want… not meaning to be mean… but… you can easily change your plans so as to not have to continue with ‘Miss moan’ or ‘Mr really crude jokes’ constantly tagging behind you. You owe them nothing, upsticks and move on.

Ok so perhaps that seems a little harsh, the truth is I have never really had to do that as just about everyone I met travelling has been a pleasure to be around, I have learnt new things from them, had many laughs and formed new friends who have already lasted long after my Asian travel adventure ended.

Travelling solo certainly has its ups and downs… but then travelling with a friend, a partner or family will have just as many if not more highs and lows. It isn’t for everyone and it is always worth testing your solo self out on a small weekend or week-long trip before embarking on something more long term.

Lots of photos taken like this when travelling solo

For me I know I made the right decision and definitely now look at travel differently … If I want to go somewhere I don’t need to wait till someone else has the time off, the money or the hunger to visit a certain place… I can just go and DO IT.

When I was informed at the beginning of my canoeing trip in The Lakes that the weekend’s food would be vegetarian, gone were my dreams of boil in a bag spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry … and these dreams weren’t even particularly exciting dreams, I just thought that was the best it could be cooking in the wild… boy was I wrong.

Campfire Cooking

My canoe leader Matt had clearly done this before and with little more than some basic knives, pans and a fold up camp fire he cooked us up some delicious meals that left our taste buds both shocked and delighted that such wonders could be made in the wild.

We've got everything you need in this kitchen...

Lunches

Ok lunch wasn’t TOO exotic, smoke salmon and cream cheese or peanut butter and banana bagles were the order of the day, accompanied by mixed fruit and nuts and juice. Certainly fit the bill as it started to rain.

Banana and peanut butter bagels

Dinner

This is where it gets interesting, a mixed vegetable Moroccan stew with couscous, followed by freshly made apple crumble and cream. Here are the recipes as I remember them…

Look at all that fresh food

Moroccan Stew

1. Finely chop peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, dried apricots, sweet potato and green beans
2. put into large pan and add chilli and herbs
3. add water and stew over camp fire until …erm, until it looks cooked, add chopped almonds (add not long before serving, otherwise they go soggy)
4. Meanwhile boil water and then take off heat and add couscous, cover and leave for 5-10 minutes until soaked up the water (may need to add more water until cous cous has swelled to twice its size)
5. Mix stew and cous cous, eat and enjoy.

The finished meal... delicious

Outdoor Apple Crumble

1. Peal and chop about 10 apples
2. Stew in pan, stirring and adding a drop of water
3. Add in cinnamon or other sweet spices to give flavour
4. Once cooked add crumble topping (easier to buy ready made topping when camping) and serve with cream.
   NB: technically you are meant to cook the crumble topping till crispy but without an oven this wasn’t easy. Though mixing it in with the apples worked a treat and was super delish!

From Gunnel Bobbing to apple Stewing...

Breakfast

Cinnamon eggy bread, washed down with hot chocolate… a campers classic.

Cinnamon. eggy toast... mmm

1. Whisk up some eggs
2. Add some cinnamon and other spices,
3. Dip bread into the mixture and fry on the camp fire until egg cooked and golden
4. Eat with maple syrup
5. YUM!

Matt showing us how it's done... Breakfast cooking

I for one hope to be signing up to another canoeing weekend with Wilderness Canoe in the future … though I am not sure which part pulls me in more, the canoeing adventures or the tasty food?!

The Peak District and The Lake District are two parts of England where if visited you wonder why you would ever go abroad. Rolling hills, wildlife in abundance, quaint villages and enough country walks and campsites to keep you busy forever. I was lucky enough to grow up in one with my mum and visit the other on a regular basis with my dad. Many a weekend was spent ambling through Ambleside and winding my way around Lake Windermere and never a dull moment, especially with all those outdoor shops…

Preparing the canoes

So when I was offered a free spot on a weekend canoeing around Ullswater Lake with Wilderness Canoe, I jumped at the chance and couldn’t wait to escape the city for some proper fresh air and an action packed weekend of canoeing, cooking and wild camping.

Matt explaining the many uses of moss ... such as wiping your bum!

I got the train to Newark and then dad, without needing an excuse to visit the Lakes again, drove me the rest of the way and hiked and camped while I canoed all weekend.  I was to be canoeing with a random bunch of 8 people, including Matt, our fun loving, mega experienced guide. Naturally we all got on very well, clearly all being outdoor, adventure loving types.

Belinda Gunnel Bobbing

Matt supplied all the equipment, including brand new top of the range paddles which sliced through the water like a knife. We met in a layby packed up our stuff in waterproof bags and headed onto the water, the weather was perfect, with the hills and valleys reflecting on the water. The first day was spent leisurely canoeing across Ullswater, stopping for lunch when it started to rain (the weather didn’t stay perfect) and before we stopped in the afternoon to set up camp we played a few canoeing style games… losers had to put up the tents and carry heavy boxes to site. I didn’t lose.

Setting up camp

Along with a brilliant day canoeing the day got better when I discovered what we were having for lunch, no ordinary boil in a bag camp food here, Matt must have been a chef in another life and cooked us up a treat for every meal. So brilliant in fact I have written a separate post about it. (Updated soon)

Morning tea by Ullswater

We cooked up food, sang a few songs, played a few games and had a good laugh before heading to bed in our luxury tipis. The night was cold, but with my thermals and thick sleeping bag I slept pretty well.

Morning wake up splash!

I was woken up to the sound of rattling pans and shouts of ‘tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?’… better than at home. We all raced to the lakes edge to freshen up with Icy cold lake water splashed on our faces before tucking into more delicious food and packing up our wildcamp site for the night.

Views across Lake UIlswater

Day two was again filled with blue skys and we started the day with a short but intense trek up to the top of Hallin Fell before getting back into the canoes and slowly heading back to the start point, learning a few new skills along the way. I think I have just about mastered J – stroke but need to work on my Indian stroke for future hunting trips through the waters.

On top of Hellin Fell

It was a brilliant fun filled weekend, I learnt new canoeing skills, met some great people, ate some delicious food, trekked up a small mountain and camped in the wild … all in a weekend’s fun before I caught the train back to London before work on Monday morning.

Team Ullswater Canoe

Matt was a fantastic guide and teacher, willing to help as little or as much as you want and full of useful knowledge about the area. He has over 20 years’ experience as a canoeing instructor and can offer anything from short weekend trips to longer trips canoeing down white water rivers in Switzerland. I know where my next canoeing trip will be to… can’t wait.

http://wilderness-canoe.co.uk

Diamonds on the water

Last week my first movie debut was released and no not some small made at home novice movie but only the biggest and best Bollywood movie of the moment, starring* you guessed it … yours truly Miss She Gets Around , AKA @jlowthrop … Me!

It has been a while in the making and I am sure all those other (not as good as me**) actors had to have a few more takes for the less important scenes to the one I am in.

Hair and Make up darling...

My potential for acting was noticed through my dramatic walking and natural ability*** in front of a lens, by a scout who picked me up off the streets in Mumbai and offered me a lead**** role in the next big thing … the James Bond of Bollywood … Agent Vinod!

The day of filming in a Russian nightclub scene consisted of lots of dancing in gorgeous***** clubbing outfits, a brief break for some delicious****** food, followed by more dancing and filming until 2am when we were sent home in a limousine******* and then paid the mega bucks********

Recognise this from the video link below?

Despite all the home truths in the ‘*’ below I had a brilliant day, with some great girls from back home and would do it again in a heartbeat. I brushed shoulders with one of Bollywood’s actual biggest stars, Saif Ali Khan and if you look closely enough in the Russian club scene you may just catch a glimpse of my once tanned leg dancing away as Saif stabs his arch nemesis.  Now if that isn’t fame?!

If you are interested in ‘starring’ in a Bollywood movie then follow my simple top tips below..

• Head to the Fort area, conveniently where all the travellers hang out and walk up and down the street, it won’t be long before a scout stops you and offers you the chance of a lifetime…
• Make sure they are asking to meet you in a central, public location, probably the next day and probably McDonalds (yes they have McDonalds over there sadly) where you just need to look out for the group of white folk waiting to be taken for hair and make up
• Try and get as much information about the movie as you can, we had a clubbing scene and had I known this in advance could have come with my own suitable clothes rather than their less than suitable and generally too small 90’s style outfits.
• They will offer you approximately 500 rupees for the day which is about £5, it is worth trying to get more but don’t hold your breath.
• It is worth asking if they have any slightly more involved roles, I met girls who were working behind the bar in the Russian Club or had to walk in front of the actors and got paid a bit extra for their LAMDA level roles.
• Enjoy, have a giggle, make new friends and get yourself infront of the camera… this is your chance people!!

Look closely and you might just spot me…

*not actually starring, more a brief but very important moment
**actually way better than me
***technically I was obviously a white tourist
****see note * above
*****hideous
******cold and slimy
*******non air conditioned bus
********£5 for 12 hours work

You may have noticed me constantly tweet about a particular song that takes me back to the fun times drinking buckets and dancing on the beaches of Koh Phangan.

‘Waaaooo sometimes, I got a good feeling’

Nothing is guaranteed to lift my spirits more than this song playing on the radio. It was the song of the season in Haad Rin, the Koh Phangan party town, and was played on average every 20 minutes (not even exaggerating), blaring out from Cactus Bar as we watch crazy people play with fire while supping our buckets.

Red bull fuelled buckets

It doesn’t take long to realise there are a total of about seven songs that are played on loop in most of the bars. The first night I moaned every time the same song came on … ‘AGAIN?!’ … but the next night I was complaining if they dared to detour from the top songs of the moment. Any random deviations to something new or old that wasn’t part of ‘the list’ and my mood left as I waited for one of the right songs to return.

Dancing on mass

Whether you love to hate them, or hate to love them, anyone who spent any time in Thailand around New Year 2012 will not be able to deny that these songs instantly take you back to those incredible non-stop dancing, hot man snogging, Thai Red Bull drinking nights of pure craziness in Thailand.

Were these the songs of NYE 2012 all over the world? What memories do they evoke for you?

Have I forgotten any?

Laters folks… It’s time for me to dance