healths

White sands, crystal clear waters and lush green mountainous surroundings; Thailand's islands are postcard picture paradise. Like most people, Thailand was brought to my attention years ago after watching The Beach . I was seduced, not by Leo DiCaprio but by the idea of ultimate escapism on an idyllic, untouched island. Years later and the journey to Thailand's islands is a path well trodden, dismissed by some who say that tourism has ruined Thailand. Despite this I still longed to go. It was a thirst I knew I could not quench until I had drank in the experience for myself. PARADISE We headed straight to Koh Tao and it did not disappoint. Many travelers flock to Koh Tao to do their diving PADI, as the tiny island is the second cheapest place in the world to receive this qualification. The streets are lined with various diving resorts and centers along with restaurants, cafes, bars and shops. Everything is accessible. I chose not to do my PADI as I wanted a good amount of time t

When packing you have to travel light which is easier said than done (especially in my case, I'm a serial over - packer!) I had to be really ruthless when deciding what to take. The below isn't an extensive list of everything I did bring (had to take mascara, it's a must for me but not for everyone) but a few essentials that have been really useful and practical. PICTURED TIGER BALM Oh tiger balm. I never even considered you in the U.K. After some horrible reactions to mosquito bites (really horrible, I'll spare you the pictures) a few travellers reccomend I buy some Tiger balm. You can get it from any 7/11 in Thailand and cost me 53 Thai Baht, which is about �1. As soon as I applied it to my bites it took the itch right out. The next day they had calmed down considerably and now 3 days later are looking so much better. My mosquito bites make me feel really gross as I react so badly so I'm so grateful for anything that helps soothe and heal them. MOISTURISING BALM T

Pai is a small town a few hours drive away from Chaing Mai. We got a bus which we arranged with our hostel in Chaing Mai, which cost 250 Thai Baht. Some people do hire scooters and tackle the drive that way. The drive is a good 4 hours and the road is a myriad of twists and turns so I'd take this into consideration beforehand.  As soon as you arrive in Pai you immediatly get a sense of how chill and relaxed it is. It's surrounded by beautiful lush green hills and the streets are lively and active but not crazy busy like Bangkok. The main streets are full of cafes, taxi ranks and tour guide stands and at night they comes alive with restaurants and bars. There are a lot of live music sets in most of the bars which I loved (Yellow Sun and Boom seem to be the most popular). There are also lots of stalls selling jewellery, clothes, art work and street food. WHERE WE STAYED  We stayed at a hostel for one night called Circus (or The Circus Hostel Pai) which we heard a lot of mixed rev