Welcome to week twenty-seven of the backpacking diaries. I’ll be updating you weekly on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week twenty-seven of the travel diaries!
If you missed the first twenty-six weeks of backpacking diaries, you can catch up here.
Top tip: for mobile data around Asia, we used the Jetpac eSim. This was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we arrived in Japan! Get $5 off your eSIM package when you use my referral code: 4293IOA9.
Day 183: Monday 16th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
Today was exciting as I was meeting up with a friend from home! She’s been working in Seoul for the past two months, so we grabbed coffee by the Lotte World Tower.
We haven’t seen each other in years since I’ve been living away, but she’s one of my oldest school friends so it was great to meet up in Seoul of all places and catch up on life.
After a relaxing coffee catch up by the lake, I met back up with Steff and we headed over to Lotte World Tower to see if we could go to the top. The queue was going to take two hours or more, so we put it off until tomorrow.
We had booked a river cruise for sunset, and it turned out to be a great evening to relax on the Han River with some music, drinks and great views.
It was a great way to spend one of our final nights in South Korea, and not expensive at all.
Day 184: Tuesday 17th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
Today was our last day in Seoul and we still had quite a few touristy things we wanted to see and do.
Our first stop was the Lotte World Tower Observatory. It was a great morning to look out over Seoul and had many floors that allowed you to get a 360-degree view of the entire city.
Afterwards, we headed to the Mapo-gu area and visited the Roof Cat Me Cat Cafe. I’d seen this on Instagram and it looked insanely cute!!
We actually got so lucky with the time that we arrived. As soon as stepped through the door, the bell rang to signal feeding time!
The cafe is decorated like a little town, with cobbled streets and storefronts. The feeding area looks like a hotel and each cat has its own little peephole (that looks like a window) to eat from. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!
We stayed here for an hour or so before exploring more of the area’s vintage stores.
We then took the train to Itaewon, exploring this area of Seoul that was very different to other areas with a lot of kebab shops, shisha bars and clothing stores.
For our last meal in South Korea, we went back to the pizza place from last week, Hokey Pokey. We both had a cheese pizza each and it was incredible!
The other tables were sharing one pizza between three people, but we were starving and also couldn’t get enough of their pizza. No regrets.
We took a long walk back to the hotel, passing the Palace at nighttime and also came across an outdoor library in front of the palace.
Seoul is a very cool city, and we had a great time travelling around South Korea!
Day 185: Wednesday 18th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea & Bangkok, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
Today was another travel day and started very early at 6am. We took the metro to the airport which was very handy and took around an hour.
Seoul Airport is huge but had a Dunkin’ Donuts! I was in my element and had the best hot mocha I’ve had in quite a while.
Our flight to Bangkok was five hours and after the last few flights we’ve had between Hong Kong and Japan, we were looking forward to watching some movies, eating good food and having a great flight.
However, there were no TVs on our flight and no in-flight meal either. I guess we were very spoiled flying with Emirates and Japan Airlines.
The plane had to circle around Bangkok for half an hour or so before it could land, but we made it through Bangkok Airport in good time and took the train towards our apartment.
Checking into our new place was a breeze compared to our previous place and first impressions are great.
I’ve been telling himself that I want to try pilates while I’m in Bangkok and you won’t believe this, but there’s a pilates studio at the bottom of the building! What are the chances?!
We’re on the 26th floor of the building and have incredible views of the Bangkok skyline! Plus the TV has Netflix, so I’ve just signed up for an account to catch up on a lot of TV while we’re here.
I have a feeling I won’t be leaving the sofa too often.
The swimming pool is on the 29th floor, where the co-working space also is. I can’t wait to explore more tomorrow!
Day 186: Thursday 19th September 2024
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
Today was a chill day that was very much needed. After six weeks of travels around Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, I was ready for a day on the sofa.
I had a great sleep in our new Bangkok apartment and woke up with the sunlight at around 7.30am. The blinds don’t go all the way down, which is actually going to be a great thing so I can wake up early in the mornings.
That’s not something I’ve been doing for the past few months.
We headed downstairs to the 7-Eleven that’s a two minute walk away to grab some breakfast supplies, and then grabbed coffee from the coffee shop below our building.
I spent all day on the sofa working on my laptop while watching Emily in Paris – yes, I finished the entire series in less than 24 hours.
Day 187: Friday 20th September 2024
Location: Bangkok, Thailand,
Dear travel diary,
Our new mode of Transport in Bangkok is the river taxis. I don’t think they’d pass Health & Safety regulations in the UK, but here we are.
Plus, it costs 18 Thai Baht (£0.41) to take us into our favourite spot to work from (Central Embassy), so we really can’t complain.
We worked from our usual coffee shop and then I went and got my hair dyed from Moga Hair Salon within the shopping mall.
Afterwards, it was straight back to work in the coffee shop and down to the basement for a cheap Thai-style dinner before heading back to the apartment later in the evening.
We made the mistake of missing the last boat so had to get a taxi back, which meant sitting in traffic for over an hour.
Bangkok traffic is on another level, no matter what time of day it is.
Day 188: Saturday 21st September 2024
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
It was another day around the flat today.
I’ve been hooked to Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders on Netflix and can’t stop watching it while I’m on my laptop.
We ordered a Subway for lunch and then worked from the cafe below our apartment for the rest of the afternoon.
I’d received some sad family news on Thursday when we arrived to Bangkok. This is the second time I’ve received bad news in Bangkok – maybe a sign. My granny had passed away after being sick for quite a while.
Today was the funeral back home. So with the time difference, I watched the livestream from my laptop in the evening.
I spoke about this a few weeks ago when my aunt passed away, that it’s a really weird situation to be in, watching the funeral online. Once it’s over, closing my laptop and then going back to what I was doing before, or ordering dinner and watching TV.
Meanwhile, the rest of my family are at the graveyard, greeting and chatting to everyone that turned up, going somewhere for something to eat together afterwards and just being around each other for the rest of the day.
It’s strange.
Day 189: Sunday 22nd September 2024
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
We were back in Central Embassy today to work from the coffee shops. I had some last minute things to prepare and tidy up before getting ready for Cambodia next week.
I uploaded a new YouTube video today, the last of my Sri Lanka vlogs. It feels like I’ve been editing Sri Lanka footage for the last year. So I’m kind of glad to finish that series. Check it out below:
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it already but I’m going to Cambodia next week to a yoga and meditation retreat – random, I know! – but it also has a digital detox element.
Which means no phone, no laptop, no TV and no Kindle for six whole days. How will I cope?!
I’m getting as much screen time in as I can, before I head to Siem Reap in a few days. Also, I didn’t think I would visit Cambodia twice in my life, never mind twice in a few months.
I’ve very kindly been invited to the retreat for free to experience it and then write about it, and share some content.
I’m excited to see the kind of people I’ll meet and what I’ll get out of it. I’m a very scatter-brain type of person who can’t switch off to meditate. So I’m very intrigued to see how I get on.
That’s another end to a week of backpacking! I began the week in South Korea and ended it in Thailand, getting ready to go back to Cambodia. How wild life has become.
Make sure to check back next week to hear how I get on in Cambodia!!
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