June Favourites

This song! I live in winter permanently and it makes me feel like I'm in Hawaii with a warm breeze kissing my skin... 

I found the song above on 8tracks.com in a playlist called beach and sun.

Continuing the Hawaii theme at a Hawaiian party! I almost never have photos taken of me and even more, photos that I like.

Aloha!

Oooh! I have a new camera! Which I am totally in love with (and that took the photo above). If you're in the market for a new camera, here it is!

As is the case with the internet, I randomly found Caroline Calloway's Instagram and absolutely fell down the rabbit hole! Her Instagram is so awesome, I definitely recommend reading all the way from the start.

Gala Darling is always my first port of call for good feels on the internet. She has so many fantastic posts, and she's a Kiwi! Bonus!

Everyone already knows who Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter is but if you've seen her on YouTube and not read her blog yet, go ahead and indulge with that first link!

Of course, Louise's partner in crime is the effervescent Zoella who also has a blog but isn't as updated as regularly. Worth a look for pretty pastels and a stretch in luxury. 

More Instagram delights!

Carin Olsson

Nicole Warne

Jessica Stein

Last but not least, this is my view from home. I will never get over it. 

Vietnam

A day by the river. Hoi An, Vietnam. 

After finishing work in Niseko, Japan I spent six weeks travelling through Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. While I had travelling buddies in Japan and Taiwan; I flew solo to Vietnam and spent 3 weeks going from south to north by myself. I managed to spend all of my money (running out in Kuala Lumpur airport on a 10 hour layover), have my phone stolen by a crack addict in a hostel in Da Lat (then get it back) and be terrified for about 100% of the time.

Even now when people ask if it was worth it I'm still unsure. It was, hands down, the scariest thing I've done. Yet, I'm planning my next trip at the moment, probably not solo this time, but it definitely hasn't scared me off travelling in any way. I love the photos I have and in an extremely cliche fashion, I did meet some fun people, saw some sights and had experiences I will never forget. These photos I have are the most vibrant and colourful images of a nation that is relentless in it's explosion of sound, smell, taste and sight.

Unfortunately, due to my phone (where I take all photos) being stolen and wiped clean, I have very few photos of Vietnam before Da Lat - approximately 6 days into my trip. The photos I do have are taken from my Instagram (@iammereana - shameless plug) or Facebook which has reduced the quality of them. 

Canal boats. Mekong Delta, Vietnam. 

A new road, Da Lat, Vietnam. 

Family home at the farm. Da Lat, Vietnam. 

Farm shed. Da Lat, Vietnam.

Easy Rider is a well established motorbike guiding tour operating throughout Vietnam. I was fortunate enough to have the founder's son as my guide and he showed me the Da Lat surroundings including his family farm as pictured above.

Restaurant and homes. Da Lat, Vietnam.

Colourful buildings are everywhere in Vietnam. The call for optimised space means tall and thin are the way to go. Influence from French settlers is also obvious in Da Lat and Hoi An architecture.

Bold buildings. Hue, Vietnam. 

Organising a photo. An island off Nha Trang, Vietnam. 

Main beach. Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Nha Trang was a crazy place. It is known as the party capital of Vietnam with Russian tourists coming down for their sunny getaway as well as a major stop off for young backpackers and a hub for international staff too. Due to all the tourists as a target, Nha Trang also has quite a high crime rate (I did become a statistic), but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Bougainvillea lined streets. Hoi An, Vietnam.

Hoi An was my favourite place in Vietnam without a doubt. The temperature was much more manageable here and the entire place felt safer and quieter. Hoi An is renowned for it's cheap and fast tailor made clothing. I was already running out of money when I got here but had an item created from the hilarious Kim who told me off for drinking my money away in Nha Trang (and not spending it in her shop).

A shop that appeared to exclusively sell bird cages. Hoi An, Vietnam.

Mobile fruit shop. Hoi An, Vietnam.

These two came up to me and asked for a photo. At first I thought they meant they wanted a photo with me (not unusual in Vietnam) but it transpired they wanted me to take a photo of them which then meant I should buy fruit off them - I didn't arrive yesterday ladies! (But seriously, if you'd met me on my first day you could have taken everything).

Canal boats. Hoi An, Vietnam. 

Boats in a row. Hoi An, Vietnam.

In total I travelled over 1,700km from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. I went via night buses, despite, somewhat unwisely, reading terrible reviews online a couple of hours before getting on my first one. I had relatively good experiences with all of my buses but it's not the funnest way to travel. I've found people only bother to write reviews when they had a bad experience...

Book exchange. Hoi An, Vietnam. 

House. Hoi An, Vietnam.

Village from the bus window. Somewhere between Hoi An and Hue, Vietnam.

Frangipani in the Imperial City. Hue, Vietnam.

Rooftop cafe. Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Umbrella roof. Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Hang Gai (Street of Hemp). Hanoi,Vietnam. 

Instrument shop. Hanoi, Vietnam.

 Hanoi and Hoi An seemed to operate on a different frequency to the rest of Vietnam. Maybe it was because I was more comfortable and felt more in control by the time I rolled around to these cities but the combination of the climate, layout of the city and slightly less harassment on the streets (again maybe I was just used to it) meant I bonded with these cities a lot more. I would have liked to go further north to Sapa and Halong Bay but I had run out of money, time and patience with Vietnam.

Deserted Kuala Lumpur airport. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

I've become quite nostalgic while writing about my experience and could see the potential of returning again… Although that could just be itchy travel feet. See you soon, Vietnam?

You're Going to be OK

Frangipani from the Imperial City. Hue, Vietnam. 

This is a reminder to myself.

You are going to be OK.

You're going to have to look after yourself.

You have to eat properly.

You have to go outside.

You have to talk to people.

You need to drink lots of water.

But most importantly, you need to be kind to yourself.

I'm going to be OK.

Hello Queenstown!

Last Thursday I flew into Queenstown airport. This was after my flight was cancelled, delayed (twice) and stopped in every major airport on the way down the country.

Snow capped mountains 

Nonetheless, flying into Central Otago is always like a homecoming for me. After living in Wanaka for 2012 and calling Queenstown my New Zealand seasonal home in 2014 and 2015 I'm hardly a local but it still feels pretty special.

NB: to be a local your great-grandmother's uncle must have inherited land from his third cousin's wife and every generation lived here ever since without even leaving to visit Glenorchy. And complain bitterly about tourist drivers. Even then your status might be dubious... I digress.

Early season snow

My new home overlooks Lake Wakatipu, Kelvin Heights, The Remarkables and stretches as far to see Walter Peak and far down the western end of the lake towards Mount Nicholas. It's pretty ok.

The Remarkables

Oh, Canada!

Weyhayhay!

Canada was fun! And incredibly photogenic.

My time on Canada was sorta complicated and while I enjoyed it, there were some times of difficulty. Something which I may write about in the future.

In the meantime, enjoy this very heavy photo post.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals! Village Centre, Big White.

Snow Ghost chairlift on the walk home. Big White.

Big White.

New snow. Big White.

The Knoll,  Big White.

Louise, Phoebe. Friends! The Knoll, Big White.

Sunset from the Telus Park Chair, Big White. 

A proper mountain. Whitewater, Nelson.

Whitewater, Nelson. 

Late season snow. Big White.

Roadie to Silverstar! Vernon, BC. 

Louise, Me, Phoebe, Nicko. Roadtripsssss. In a car somewhere, Interior BC (maybe).

End of season chairlifts with Phoebe & Haydn. Big White.

T-Bar party! Phoebe, Laura & I. Big White.  

New house!

Yippee!

I have a house to live in this winter! While I have had no issue finding a place to live in all sorts of countries, my home one seems to be the most challenging.

View from the top Curvey Basin. The Remarkables, Queenstown.

NZSki (the company I work for) doesn't provide staff accommodation and it is extremely difficult to find semi-decent, not-extortionately-priced housing in Queenstown.

The Remarkables. Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown. 

Last year I lived in an ex-motel unit with 3 other girls. This place was tiny. I was sharing a room with another person as well as another room... Let me explain that. My bedroom was the front room that you walked into so it was a lounge-dining-bedroom. The kitchen was probably about the same size as a ship's galley but worse. We had, between 4 of us; a microwave from 1992 (a guess but probably not far off), two electric elements, a bar fridge, 3 cupboards and a sink. Maybe that sounds generous... It wasn't.

Lake Wakatipu. Weather station, The Remarkables, Queenstown.

Queenstown is the most popular tourist town in New Zealand. With that comes a huge turn-over of international travellers on working holiday visas each season. At the start of each summer and winter there is a demand for housing that is insatiable - many people end up leaving.

From the sky. Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown. 

Luckily! We have found a house to live in with only semi-extortionate rent! With proper bedrooms, an actual kitchen (what! an oven!), a dining room (now we're getting fancy) and a lounge, I'm willing to pay the price.

A short but comprehensive tour of San Francisco

Weeeeee!

Recently I went to San Francisco. I've now been to San Francisco twice, the first time in 2009/10 with my family and the more recent time was the middle of April.

I spent 3 full days and stayed 2 nights at a hostel a couple of blocks from Union Square and managed to walk until my feet hurt every day and then more.

Travelling by myself was no novelty so I happily meandered about with my own tourist checklist.

Holla at my girl working that pole... Union Square, San Francisco.

California did not disappoint! It was so sunny and 27°C on the first day meant I was one sweaty betty.

Lanterns, Chinatown, San Francisco.

5 years ago on our very first night in the States, my parents and I walked through Chinatown, got corralled into restaurant by street hawkers (100% because we needed the bathroom) and found an incredibly well-stocked Chinese herb shop.

North Beach, San Francisco. 

Lombard St, San Francisco.

Something new! We didn't manage to see this last time.

Top of Lombard and a cheeky selfie. Lombard St, San Francisco. 

A collaborative art space. San Francisco.

Free ride... Fisherman's Wharf Cable Car, San Francisco. 

I am very adverse to taking money out of ATM's while travelling. I hate giving my bank extra money just because I'm overseas. It's one of the things that absolutely winds me up. This was my last day and I was short on cash. Fortunately, while I was hanging out next to this cable car a very nice gentleman came up and gave me his ticket.

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.

I mean...would it be a trip to SF without this picture? I ate clam chowder and dodged slow-walking Texan tourists (and saw a naked bicycle parade!).

Can you find the odd one out?! MAC pop-up show, San Francisco. 

Guuuurl. Werk it. Found this MAC Cosmetics pop-up show at the bottom of Powell St. It was fantastic. Absolutely everything was pink and each afternoon (they were there Fri, Sat, Sun.) they ran a hair and make-up show on the models pictured above as well as having free make-up tutorials and demos to promote their spring collection (which is actually fantastic).

I passed by a couple times before I got the courage to get this photo. The next day I went back and actually got some make-up done. It was like Make-Up 101 for me... Hello rookie! Also, the guy on the end was unbelievably charismatic, definitely stole the show.

Embarcadero, San Francisco. 

Bay Bridge market! On my last day in SF I made a trip to the Embarcadero building to pay homage to the trip my mum and I made on our last day in the States half a decade ago. Also, the farmers market is insanely good.

Not so famous but still good to look at. Bay Bridge, San Francisco. 

Pier 39, San Francisco.

Carousel. Pier 39, San Francisco. 

Lazy Sea Lions. Pier 39, San Francisco.

Pier 39 was heaps of fun. I didn't plan to go there but saw it out of the street car window and jumped out impulsively (not while it was moving). I'm so glad I did.

That red bridge. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco. 

Yeahhhhh, squinty face for the win! I made a friend with a fellow solo traveller over mutual non-verbal photo requests of ourselves. (Actually, he looked like a major douchebag and scowled at my inferior iPhone 4). 

Painted ladies, San Francisco.

Getting out to the infamous terrace houses, the Painted Ladies, was a bit of a mission. When I finally got to Alamo Square I did have a moment of, "Is that all?". In hindsight, I'm so glad I made the effort, they're pretty cool.