Hereandthereclaire.com

12.07.23 – 13.07.23

My plans for the day were to have no plans!! 

I ended up just going for a nice long wander which was very pleasant but very hot! 🥵 

I spotted some graffiti on a wall that was so weird! The night before I’d watched a clip of the last scene of ‘The Trueman Show’ a brilliant film. I then tried to see if I could watch it online, I can’t sadly!

The Graffiti was the last thing he says in that scene! I’ve walked past this wall several times and not noticed it before, or have I? 🤔 Is it a subliminal thing! Whatever it is it was weird. 

I ended up walking for a while and then stopped at a little place near the hotel for a drink & something to eat. It’s called ‘Johns Place’ and always seems busy, mainly with tourists, but it only recently opened so I thought I’d give it a try. I had a small Chang Beer and some spring rolls. Mmm, not sure I liked it. The spring rolls might have had meat, it was difficult to tell! 😳and they were really greasy. Not great. 

After that I headed back to the hotel and had a great video catch up with the lovely Jenna! 😘❤️ 

Sat and watched a Thunderstorm then had another video catch up with Anne & Mandy who were on their last day in Cyprus! Chatting about Ubers!! They were having a few drinks which made me fancy something, especially after Anne told me I was letting the Book Club down by drinking water! 😂

So I got changed and popped into my fabulous local Wine Bar! 

When I arrived a Dutch couple from the hotel were there, they asked me to join them and we had a nice little chat, politics, travel, sustainability, climate change. A very interesting conversation, the guy works in The Hague and was very knowledgeable about politics and energy issues. 

I then had another fabulous catch up with Rebecca! During which I managed to drink another 2 glasses of wine! 😍 (The Book Club will be so proud!! 😂) 

So many lush conversations in 1 day! WhatsApp really is a bloody godsend! 

It went slightly downhill after that as I ended up in McDonald’s for my dinner!! Big Mac & Fries! But it was Yum!! 😍

I didn’t even get in the swimming pool today!! Although I did do over 12,000 steps, so not all bad. 

I’m going to try and do slightly less walking today! 

With this in mind I just go for a supposed short stroll around the local area after breakfast which ends up being quite a long walk! 

But I do find a lovely new coffee place! I went in mainly to use the loo tbh! But it’s really nice and my Caramel Macchiato was delicious, and cheaper than the other places. They even bought me a little trolley to put my bag on! The coffee shop is part of a hotel, which looks so lush! It has a Spa and a gorgeous pool! Their food also looks amazing. 

I like finding these little places, as they are perfect for writing and uploading my blog. And indulging in a spot of people watching whilst staying cool! 😎

I manage to get my swim in today, 25 lengths. It’s really hot and sunny today so after my swim I just chill in the pool, floating about like a sea otter! 

I then have some food, Nikki’s favourite, Hummus on some corn crackers! The Hummus is from Hummus! 

Tonight I need to walk down to the night market to pick up some Mauy Thai shirts I ordered for Grantley, with his name embroidered. They are brilliant! 💙

On the walk there my left foot starts to ache, just across the top. By the time I’ve collected the shorts and walked back it’s really aching and making me limp a little. So I take myself straight to Lila Thai for a foot massage! OMFG! So, so, good. It definitely helped. The lady who did the treatment was so kind. I genuinely feel that they know what’s wrong with your body without being told and massage accordingly. 
I realise I done more than 13,000 steps today.

After my beautiful massage Im starving, so head to Kats. They are busy and so offer to seat me in their new Restaurant, which is next door. They take me round, and it looks amazing, unfortunately it’s empty, so I explain that it looks great but I’d feel lonely, which for some reason makes them laugh and I go back into the main restaurant and have to sit up at the bar, which is ok but not the most comfortable. 

I’ve been toying with the idea of heading and staying in the mountains for a few days? I’ve looked up various places. Some of which look amazing 🤩 but they are not cheap! The dilemma is should I stay here and use a fraction of the cost to have more massages, wine & Cocktails? Tricky! 

Any thoughts on the above let me know! 

Books Read 12

Do No Harm. Jack Jordon. This was the Book Club book for July. I’m afraid I didn’t like it. I found the characters difficult to relate to or like! It was implausible and a tad annoying! Sorry Bookies. 

10.07.23 – 11.07.23

It’s been a busy few days Birthday wise. 

My Rebecca was 36 on Sunday and the Georgia & Grantley were 24 on Monday!! Insane 😂 

I was the same age as the twins when I had Rebecca and the same age as Rebecca when I had the twins!! 😳

It’s not great that I didn’t get to,see them in their Birthdays, but thank you to Chris for spoiling my Becca and to Nikki, Jenna and everyone in Newquay who helped to make Georgia & Grantley’s day so special. 🙏😘❤️

We have had a couple of excellent storms, one on Monday night was awesome, lots of thunder & lightning. After dinner at Kats I sat outside my room just watching, to be honest I didn’t have the best view of the sky but it was still great! 

One of the things I needed to do while I’m in Chiang Mai is to extend my Visa. I arrived with a 60 day tourist visa but I’m actually going to be here for around 77 days. Trying to get a 90 day visa before I traveled was to complicated. So I opted to do what I did last year and just get a 30 day extension. Last year I went to the Immigration Office by the airport. It wasn’t that difficult, it just took quite a long time, around 5hrs. 

When I googled it this time there is now a satellite office in a Shopping Mall nearby. This is apparently a quicker option. 

With this in mind I finally get some help from Sing on reception to install and activate my Thai SIM card, download the Grab App; Grab is like the Thai version of Uber. This will be really helpful for getting around to places I can’t walk too, as Grab is much cheaper than normal taxis, Tuk Tuks or even Songthaews.

So I book my first Grab, and off we go to Central Festival Shopping Mall!

The Immigration Office Opens before the Mall, so the lovely Lady Grab Driver drops me in the food hall and I get directed up to the 2nd floor. The Office is not big but is also not that busy, excellent. I fill in my TM7 form, with a little assistance from a lovely Canadian volunteer. I hand in my form, passport, photocopies of my visa & passport, a hideous photo and £40, take a seat and wait! In 45mins I’m done!! Result! 👍😍

I decide to have a mooch around the Mall while I’m here, it’s quite big and has lots of shops, if shopping is your thing it would be great! Unfortunately shopping isn’t my thing, but I do find it quite interesting seeing all the different stuff! I spot a fabulous non Povo Pineapple shaped ice cube tray!  😂😂 

Then I turn round and there is a bloody Marks & Spencer’s!! WTF!  The last thing I expected to see, obviously I go,in to have a look, it has a food hall! 😍 Mmmm, yes lots of lovely M & S bits and bobs for 4 times the price! I’m sure if I was living here full time I might treat myself occasionally, but this time I’ll give it a miss! 

The food hall on the ground floor is the busiest place in the Mall! It’s also the most interesting, vibrant and colourful. I love walking round here seeing all the different foods, there are lots of sweet options! The Thai people definitely like their sugar. 

I grab an iced coffee a delicious little chicken puff pie and a chocolate pastry from a cute little bakery, find a seat, then sit watching the world go by! 

Slight problem when I go to use my Grab App, I have no data. I know I have data on my Thai Sim Card, so not sure what the issue is. I find a phone shop and ask a young person, he takes my phone, taps a few things and Presto my Thai data is activated! Praise the lord for young tech savvy people! (I think when I used Grab to get here my phone was logged into the hotel wifi) 

Another Grab is ordered, I head back to the hotel, have a swim 22 Lengths today. Then chill.

I go Hummus for dinner, I walked there yesterday only to find they don’t open on Mondays! 

Nikki you’ll be thrilled to know they make their Hummus to go! I now have a tub in my fridge and some Corn cakes to spread it on! Happy Days. 

I miss everyone today. WhatsApp is a godsend, free messaging and calls!! 

So looking forward to seeing my Rebecca, Chris and Anita in 30 more sleeps! 

Have a great Wednesday people.

Books read 11

A house in the woods. Mark Dawson. Reasonable. A crime drama. 

07.07.23 – 09.07.23

Ok, well I’ve been a bit behind the last few days.

I had issues with my hotmail, which turns out was easily resolved! I just had to delete hundreds & hundreds of old emails and photos! 😳

I have a ridiculous & convoluted way of doing things. 

So, I take all my pics with my phone, which is a Samsung. I then I email them to myself on my Hotmail, which is on my iPad, not on my phone. I have Gmail in my phone! I then save the pics to my iPad/iCloud so I can use them for FB, which I also don’t have on my phone! And on my blog. 😬😳😂 needless to say I take a lot of pics, which were taking up an awful lot of space as were all the other silly emails that I hadn’t deleted! I am now saving and deleting as I go! 

I’ve had a few days of doing not a lot tbh! Which has been nice.

More wandering, swimming and reading. 

I did visit the Night Market on the hunt for a specific Mauy Thai Shop. It’s the guy I visited last year to get Grantley some shorts. He is great and his stuff is excellent quality. I was after some Mauy Thai Gloves. I found the man, he also remembered me from last year! His gloves are great and he has some new shorter shorts which he says are great for Mauy Thai. I end up getting the gloves and shorts, I also get the shorts embroidered with Grantley’s name for an extra £2! 

The night market is lots busier that last year which is nice to see. 

I’ve been back to the lovely ladies at Lila Thai Massage. This time I had a 1 hour Neck Back and Shoulder Massage. It sounds like it should be very pleasant and relaxing, it isn’t!! 

I have no doubt that it’s doing me the world of good, but it is neither relaxing or pain free! The lady, who is tiny, has hands and fingers made of steel! 😳 and it’s not restricted to my neck, back & shoulders! My legs, head, hands all get a good going over! 😂 I certainly feel looser afterwards but not sure I’d have it again! I think the signature massage with the lovely heated pads is more my thing! 

I organised with a Tuk Tuk driver to take me to a little place called Bon Sang which is where they make all the beautiful umbrellas. He said he would charge 300bht there and back and also wait around for me. Sounded great. What we ended up,doing was him taking me to lots of different shopping outlets in the hope that I’d buy something. I think he must work on some sort of commission basis. We went to a leather bag shop, which was ridiculously expensive! Tiny sheep’s leather badges for £120! Then we visited a huge jewellery shop, again stupidly expensive.

A Laquer shop, this at least was interesting and they explained the process for hand making the laquer bowels. I particularly like the ones made with egg shells. But again hugely expensive.

Finally we made it to the Umbrella Place which was also interesting seeing them being made by hand. With some very sharp looking tools! 😬 

It was a pleasant morning, but not quite what I had in mind. 

I love my swimming, but unfortunately not the lying around by the pool. This is mainly down to the little flies/midges which seem to like biting me! Other people seem to be able to laze around. So yesterday I tried a different spot and things weren’t as bad. It’s also much better when there’s a breeze, but the breeze is usually followed by thunder and rain ⚡️⛈️

On Saturday evening I thought I would visit the Cocktail Bar I spotted ‘Midlife Crisis’ I popped over around 6.45. I was shown upstairs and then trough a curtain into another bar, which looked great. It reminded me of some of the quirky hidden bars Rebecca, Grantley & I visited in Melbourne. Sadly it was completely empty! The guys said it gets busy around 9pm (when I’m heading to bed! 😂) So I shall make an effort next weekend to stay up late and visit again. 

To make up for this I popped along to ‘Spice Garden’ yesterday for a B1G1F Mojito! They really are delicious and such a barging for 90bht – just over £2! 🍹🍹

I head to Kats via the Walking Street where I grab a couple more bits for People, I know that things will be much more expensive and not such good quality down in Krabi and on the islands, as they are more touristy, so I’m trying to get everything here. 

Observations.

The guys at the hotel work so bloody hard! They seem to never stop, they are there serving breakfast from 7am then cleaning, doing laundry and housekeeping till around 5! 

I think they like me, especially the housekeepers, because my room is always tidy, I make my bed and put stuff away. I have seen inside some rooms when people have left! OMFG! Disgusting.

Books Read 10

The Death House. Sarah Pinborough.  

I think if I’d read the blurb I wouldn’t have read this book. It’s a gothic horror written in 2015. Ultimately it’s about growing up, dealing with loss and love. I thought it was excellent. I would definitely recommend it. 

05.06.23 & 06.06.23

Feeling a little tired today, but ok, so I’ve decided to go for a little wander kind of north west from the hotel, using as many little alleys as possible. 

The plan is not to go too far.

It’s a great start I find some tucked away, gorgeous hotels, which look gorgeous! One of which has a lovely looking shop which i decide will be a nice cool stop! It has some great clothes made out of funky sack like stuff. Unfortunately it all looks tiny! 

I’m a little disconcerted to be followed round very closely by the sales person 😳 I know I’m looking a little hot, but I don’t thing I look like I’m about to rob the place! Perhaps she’s being solicitous 🙂

I continue on my walk, past big Temples and find myself coming out near the 3 kings monument, I decide against stopping for a drink and continue my amble, finding alleys along the way. 

I know I’ve said this before but it is amazing how quickly these alleys take you away from the hustle and bustle into the real heart of the place. 

I pass a building that’s playing music and realise it’s actually a dance class, with several older couples practicing, it’s so quaint and unexpected, I’d loved to have photographed it but felt that would be an intrusion. I pass hairdressers, shops, people eating lunch, tending their gardens, kids playing, schools, a college, apartments. Wonderful. 

I eventually emerge from the alleys near to a fabulous Temple called, Wat Lok Moli, which is along the north wall of the old city. 

I walk across to have a look. I’m wearing a sleeveless top but luckily I had the foresight to bring a wrap to cover my shoulders, which is helpful but hot! 

After this a walk along the waterway by the wall to the north corner, Hui Lin Corner. Then head down the west side of the wall before coming back into the old city and find myself back near the 3 king’s monument and stop at the Women’s Correctional Training cafe for a much needed Mango smoothie!! 🥵 It’s delicious, the air conditioning is cold, I eventually cool down!  The cafe seems very busy, with lots of serious looking Police, army, prison officers? All in very ornate, well pressed uniforms! (how do they stay so crisp & cool looking, I’m a soggy, sweaty mess!) I would have liked to,get a picture, but was a bit scared too! 😳I guess this is not surprising as it is an actual prison. 

I while away a bit of time, checking photos of Herbie, who is getting very big. Thanks Nikki for the updates 😘❤️ I send a sweaty video to Herbie and Clementine, so they don’t forget me! 

From here I head east and start to feel peckish. I only had fruit and a yogurt for breakfast today.  Next to the ‘Unirish Pub’ (yes, that is what it’s called 😃) I spot a bakery, I end up ordering a chicken and salad ciabatta. The bread is yummy, the chicken is mixed with very stron garlic mayo, but it’s tasty 😋 Whilst there something bitey manages to get in my trousers and proceeds to have a little biting frenzy! 😟 

I do have my White tiger  balm with me, so try and rub it in without looking weird with my hand down my trousers!! 😂

I walk back to the hotel and straight into the pool…….💙💙 

I end up only doing 10 lenghts as I’m a bit bloody knackered, I’ve done over 11,000 steps and it’s only 2.30 & 34 degrees! 

The ciabatta or probably the mayo has given my indigestion! The best thing is a walk around, not ideal as my feet are aching, but needs must. I just walk along to the coffee place and back which seems to do the trick . 

I’m undecided about dinner plans, Noodles? Curry? Rice? Falafel?  Just not sure. I walk towards Kats anyway and stop at the little Indian place by the hotel. It has good reviews, so decide to give it a go. 

The restaurant itself is a little lacking in atmosphere, it’s quite stark but the staff are friendly and the food is supposed to be good.

I have the chicken biriyani with a side of raita, it’s very good! A huge portion, which I can’t possibly finish, but take home instead. 

A great little find and a nice change from Thai flavours. I’ll be back. (Which I hope you all read in an Arnold voice 😂)

Then it’s home to read, and sleep! 

😍 Happy days, an undisturbed nights sleep, the Viking family are being perfectly behaved! Unfortunately they are still not very friendly. But, kudos to me I guessed correctly where they are from. I had suspected from listening to them speak at breakfast, but wasn’t 100% sure, but they confirmed yesterday when they said the parents are flying home to Israel! Looks like Viking boy is staying. 😕

Right, that’s that little saga done I feel, but I’m sure I’ll,let you know if anything else occurs 

I am off to visit a particular temple today, it’s called Wat Sri Suphan, or The Silver Temple. I follow a group on Facebook called ‘View from Your Window’ it’s a great way of seeing views from all around the world. Earlier this week I posted a view of a temple here through a window and tagged it as Chiang Mai, and someone commented and recommended visiting this Temple, so off I go! 

It’s not that far away, just off the Sunday Walking Street on Wua Lai Road.

It’s so weird being on this road without all the stalls and people! 😳

The temple is easy to find and quite beautiful. I don’t think my pictures do it justice, trying to photograph silver in the sun isn’t the best. 

Women aren’t allowed inside this temple, due to the fact that we menstruate. You also have to pay to enter the grounds, 50tbt approximately £1 TBF you do get a bottle of water, a leaflet and a rather fancy key ring! Bargin. 

The carving is so intricate and beautiful. 

After visiting the temple and the silver workshops nearby I head back. I spot a large urn on the path which has water, plants and tiny little fish in!! It’s so cute and totally random. 😍🐠Love it.

It’s pretty hot today, the last few days have been very sunny in the mornings until at least mid afternoon. 

It’s straight into the pool to cool off and do my lengths. I’m not sure what the staff make of my swimming, Tam, one of the waiters asked me yesterday what my plans were, I said walking and sightseeing and then he said ‘and Swimming, yes? You like swimming?’ 😂😂

I do indeed! 

24 lengths today. Then reading, a beer and some Lays! 

Kats Kitchen it is this evening. I arrive just in time, as 5 minutes after I sit down, they are full with at least 20 people queuing! Crazy.

Chicken and vegetable curried rice today. Yum!! 😍

Observations.

It’s very strange seeing so many people still smoking, especially Europeans. We have got so used to most people vaping you forget about the smell. 

Books read 9

The Brief. Simon Michael. Reasonable. Crime/legal. 

The 6.20 Man. David Baldacci. OK. 

Slight delay in posting due to technical difficulties with my hotmail & photos 😬😳 Hopefully it’s fixed now 🤞

03.07.23 – 04..07.23

A very lovely relaxed morning. 

Breakfast, then put some washing on and had a little wander round by the hotel.

I’m sure there are little smaller roads, cut throughs that can get me from the hotel to other places without having to go onto the main road. So I take the first alleyway I come to and low & behold I come out exactly where I thought much further along the main road. This is great as the alleys are quiet and much more pleasant to walk along, especially in the rain as they are concrete roads and not slippery, life threatening tiled footpaths!! 😳

After a nice but hot mooch I get in the pool and cool off, then swim, but only 15 length’s today as I got chatting to a Scottish couple that are staying here. 

More chilling follows, the book I’m reading is good and I find myself wanting to know what happens next! 

Around 2.30 I realise I’m a little peckish so have a walk to ‘Stories’ another quite trendy coffee shop nearby, I go there as I know they do snacky things and French Fries, which is what I fancy! 

Just as I sit down the heavens open and it’s a torrential downpour, which actually goes on for a while. It certainly helps to clear the air, as it’s been very hot and muggy today. 

Stupidly I walk back on the slippery footpaths, completely forgetting about the safer, alley route! 🤦‍♀️ 

When I get back I get some fabulous news from Rebecca & Chris. So proud of both of them. 

It’s a late dinner at Kats, an absolutely yummy Chicken Massamam, then off to my bed. 😴

After a nice peaceful nights sleep and a relaxed breakfast I’m going to head off for a wander towards Warorot Market to look for Thai trousers and a Bank. 

There are lots of ATMs around but feel better getting my money from one at an actual bank. 

I walk in the direction I know that takes me to a good Thai trouser shop/shops and on the way pass a beautiful looking building which turns out to be an old Tea House. I pop in to have a look around and it’s gorgeous, with a wonderful green garden, beautifully planted. I stay for a delicious glass of iced Mint Tea. So lovely to stumble on these places on my wanderings. 💚

The trouser place is still there, but I end up not buying anything because I’m not sure of the size needed, the sizing is weird, small is tiny, medium is small, large is still small! 😂 I’ll double check and come back. I do end up purchasing a little dress, a simple throw over for the beach or when it’s very hot….which is all the time! £4 Bargin. 

The Thai trouser place is near to Warorot Market, and the streets around it are all full of shops, so many fabulous colours and things! Fabrics galore, huge hardware shops, clothes shops, jewellery shops! Is busy but not mad busy. I go inside the market which is pretty big. I remember from my last that it’s important NOT to go through the meat section, I’m afraid the smell is too much 🥴🤮 

I manage to avoid it and instead visit the Flower section, which smells amazing! So many beautiful flowers, lots & lots of gorgeous golden marigolds, a symbolic flower in Buddhism, which represent “Gods perfect light” I love the Market, it’s busy with lots of locals, some of whom look quite grumpy until you say Sawadee Ka (hello) and are then given big smiles. There is no ‘hard sell’ either so it’s nice and peaceful to wander around. 

I head back to the hotel but using more little alleys, so fun, discovering new routes and fun places to visit! Interesting looking Cocktail Bars, cafes, temples. It’s also a little more shady! 

I stop for an iced Coffee and some air conditioning on the way! 💙

Just as I get back to the hotel the sun goes in and the clouds come over, but I manage to do 25 lengths and as I get out and dry off the rain & thunder arrives, so I grab a beer, a book and sit in the comfy covered area by the pool and relax! 

As I was sitting in my room, I saw a guy go past the window, who I thought looked a bit like to dad from Noisy, Viking Family! I think, No, it can’t be, but unfortunately it bloody well is!! 

Him his wife and the Viking himself are back, they seem to have lost 1 son but they are back….buggery bollocks! 😩

Hopefully wherever they’ve been has been exhausting and they’ll all just go to bed early! 🤞

I was going to head to one of the cocktail bars I spotted earlier, but decide to just pop along to the little wine bar next door instead. I have a glass of lovely Rose, whilst chatting to Tracey, who is off tomorrow with Jaques to start their fantastic sailing adventure on the fabulous ‘Mossy Joe’ Bon Voyage Darlings, can’t wait to read all about it in your Blog! 

Dinner at a very busy Kats, Mama noddles. Then home. 

Update! No noise all night from the Viking Family. Yeah! 😃

Unfortunately a phone call at 1am woke me up anyway! 

You know who you are, just as well I bloody love you!! 😍❤️❤️

Books read 7

No One Saw a Thing. Andrea Mara. Very good, a definite page turner. Would recommend. 

01.07.23 – 02.07.23

I don’t regret my rant now, after a very welcome, peaceful nights sleep! 😂

Went for a wander to buy my SIM card, stopped in a few temples on route! Such beautiful places, so calm and restful. Also very colourful. 

On the any back to the hotel I stop for a drink in a local bar/cafe that’s popular with expats, they apparently make a great Roast Dinner in Sundays! It seems nice enough the staff are friendly, but I just don’t think it’s my thing. I love a roast dinner, but not in this heat. 

It did get me thinking about living abroad and what I’d miss, obviously Family & Friends, but then the list appears to be full of Cold related things, Snow, frost, jumpers, fog, Autumn colours and smells! 😂😂 TBF I’m not called Cryogenic Claire for nothing! 

I am now the proud owner of a Thai Sim Card, exactly what to do with it is another issue. I’ve popped it into my room to worry about another day, or until I find a young person willing to help, I’m not even s.ure where the SIM card is on my phone 😳

I have a lovely swim and lunch of Hummus leftovers. Then chill by the pool reading.

There is a guy staying here, I think he might be American, he came down to the pool area and spent ages setting up his towels, putting on some music, then went back to his room and came back with a large Reusable Starbucks cup, with just a little bit of what looked like lemon tea at the bottom. He fiddled around in his bag for a bit then finally laid down on the 3 towels he’d put out! I finished my swim got out of the pool. Sat chilling. He then does some more fiddling around in his bag, and gets in the pool, still with a little bit of amber liquid in the bottom of his cup. The amber liquid appears to never go down! I think he might be drinking Whiskey or Rum!! 😂 I’m assuming the Starbucks cup is in lieu of a brown paper bag!! Just own it, pop that shit in a glass, bang in some ice and enjoy!! 

Anyway, it entertained me while I banged out 25 lengths! 

I’m going to head down to the other ‘Walking Street’ tonight. I’m not sure if it’s all the same people, stalls but I’ll see. I think this one is bigger than the Sunday one. 

I was going to get a Tuk Tuk but decided to walk in the end. 

It’s much cooler walking in the evening (No surprise there! ) The street is soo long! Definitely feels bigger than the other one. 

I stop for a drink in a nice little place I came to last year and the owner came over and said “ Welcome back, so nice to see you again!” How fabulous is that! Great customer service. 🥰 

I sit and people watch and listen to the little boy playing some sort of air operated keyboard with his dad playing a tiny guitar! They are actually very good. 

I then continue my wandering, right to the end of the street. I spot a stall advertising wine, it’s being made as a project for the Chiang Mai University! I feel it’s important to support local educational initiatives so feel obliged to stop and try some! Mine is made from Longan fruit and is apparently the dry option. I’m not holding out much hope, taste wise, but it’s not too bad.  

Whilst there I get chatting to Cory, a South African now living in Chiang Mai. We have an interesting conversation, ranging from Disability issues, he’s a paraplegic and imports different mobility bikes, etc, too politics, apartheid, China and Cornwall, his daughter lives in Bugle, 30mins away from Newquay! Such a small world. 😁

I then head off and make my way back to Kats For dinner, I could have eaten at the Market, the fried scorpions looked tasty..Not! 

I enjoy a delicious curried vegetable rice and a rum & coke then back home to bed.

I’ve done 15,230 steps and swam 25 lengths today. 👍

I’m woken up this morning by the large family group staying here, it’s no problem as it’s 8ish anyway, they are happily playing in the pool.

I’ve decided to have a bit of a lazy day, so after breakfast I go to Lila Spa for a wonderful foot massage. Heaven. ☺️

Then I grab a delicious iced coffee at the Wine Shop, amble back past a small group of Tourist Police staring up intently at a tree by the hotel! Strange.😳

Then I chill for a while, write my blog, read and have a lovely video call catch up with Rebecca! 

I jump in the pool, with the idea of just floating about but end up doing 28 Lenghts! My best so far. 👍🎉

It’s the ‘Walking Street’ near me this evening and I’ve got a couple of things I’d like to get. Something I saw yesterday for my Rebecca and a Handkerchief 😂, random I know, but as I was leaving last week I spotted a little old lady selling them and they would be perfect for wiping my sweaty forehead when I’m out & about. The tissues I use are next to useless and disintegrate at the mere site of moisture!! 🙄

The item for Rebecca is on a stall which the stall holder told me would be between the Temple & the police station, I rather optimistically assumed she meant the nearest temple to me, but No, she meant the Temple right at the furthest end of ‘Walking Street’ and handkerchief lady is at the other end! 

I drop my items home, the off to Kats for some rice and a cold drink!

I’m really tired but end up having one of those nights when you just can’t get to sleep. I toss & turn, scroll on my phone (bad idea, I know!) and finally drop off around 3.30! 🥱😴 

I don’t think I’ll be doing much on Monday! 

Have a great Monday! 😘😍

Books Read 6

Our Missing Hearts. Celeste Ng. Excellent. A scarily real dystopian novel, relevant, powerful and very moving.

Highly recommend. 

29.06.23 – 30.06.23

Today has been another lazy day! 😊

Started with breakfast, yum. Chatted to the lovely lady who makes the food, it’s her last day tomorrow as she has a very poorly neck, which she is receiving hospital treatment for. She is so sweet and chatty. 

Spent the morning chatting to Zoe and the girls, who seem to have taken a shine to me, helped by the animal biscuits 😂 the hung out with me for a bit while Zoe & Nick packed, we chatted, they looked at all my photos on my phone, asked a million questions then chilled watching Peppa Pig! Reminds me so much of Clementine! 😍

When they left the girls gave me 2 lovely leaves and a flower!! 🩷🩷

I have found a lovely new seating area at the end of the balcony, large and open with a bit of a breeze! I sat here for ages writing my blog and even managed to upload all the photos! Result. 

I had a wander at lunchtime and grabbed some mango and coconut ice cream 😋

I had my swim in the afternoon, which is when the pool is pretty quiet. 20 lengths today. 

I’m going to try a new place for dinner! Zoe recommended it, it’s a tiny little place called ‘Eings’ it has excellent reviews. 

It’s not to far from the hotel and the clouds are gathering, there’s thunder, so that’s probably a good thing! 

The place is very small and eclectic! The menu isn’t big but it’s very cheap.

I order a Chicken Pad Thai, it is delicious 😋 so tasty only 1 problem, I forgot to say no tofu, so unfortunately I have to leave the large amount that was in there. I just find tofu weird, it’s tasteless and an odd texture..😐 

‘Eings’ is great! Eing herself is tiny but has a real presence. My dinner & drink was 70bht! Madness. 

So, just a couple of moans. 

First: 

What is it with people walking on a narrow footpath, 2 abreast that then don’t move out of the way when you are walking towards them?! It seems that I’m always the one moving out of the way, stepping aside, stepping into the bloody road, nobody says thank you! Not the Thai people, they are unfailingly polite, it’s other bloody tourists! 

Second: 

There is a family here at the hotel, Mum, Dad and 2 young adult sons. I’m not sure where they are from as I can’t pin point the language, not German, or Dutch don’t think it’s Eastern European, not really sure tbh. They are rude, they never speak to anyone, I’ve tried saying hello, nothing! They are dismissive of the staff. One of the sons looks like the guy from the raving Viking gif! (Pic attached) 

The standoffishness alone would be ok but, they have rooms either side of mine and they came home last night at approx 1.30am chatting outside the room on the phone, then banging about and chatting very loudly in their rooms! WTF! I just think some people are completely inconsiderate. 

Hallelujah!! Just as I’m writing this I’ve spotted them all with their luggage, it seems they’re leaving! Yes! Sayonara Fuckers! 

Sorry for the rant! I sound like a right moaning Minny! 😊😂

After celebrating the departure of the above! 👍😁 I spent the morning, writing, reading and generally chilling. Some on my new favourite balcony and some in the air conditioned luxury of a Coffee Shop!

I think I would like to visit a lovely little nearby town that specialises in making umbrellas, it’s called Bon Sang. It’s not very far away and so I could get a taxi, or go on an organised trip (not keen) which then leads me to thinking about ‘Grab’ the Thai equivalent of ‘Uber’ this would be a much better, quicker and cheaper option. The problem is I don’t have the app, in order to get the app I need a Thai Sim Card. (Just these words fill me with dread! 😳) I resisted this last year and so far this year but I think it’s a necessity. With this in mind I go in search of said Sim Card, apparently Tesco or Lotus are a good place to buy them, I walk to the nearest Lotus, they only have one for 350bht, which is more than I need, so I walk to the next 7/11 they do have the one I need, but, they also need my passport 🤷‍♀️ Which is in the safe back at the hotel! I walk back to the hotel, collect my passport walk to the nearest 7/11 they don’t have the one I need, so I walk to the next 7/11 they don’t have one either! At this point I’m literally dripping sweat into my eyeballs so I give up, walk back to the hotel and jump in the pool!! 

Crafty planning, I already had my costume on under my dress!! No more sweaty, hip displacing, callisthenics for me! 😂😂

The pool is sooo good, it really is quite cold which is fabulous!

I only manage 16 lengths today due to the thunder & lightning, but feel that’s ok, certainly better than electrocution! 🌩️⚡️🌩️⚡️

I get chatting to a very friendly young German guy, which passes the time nicely 😁

I’m heading out to ‘Spice Bar’ for a 241 Mojito! Then onto Hummus. I feel quite peckish today. 

I think I might have mentioned this before, but, one of the problems of traveling alone is trying new and different food. I would love to try different stuff and in a group or a couple you can order lots of things and try, but that’s a lot more difficult on your own. I also feel very conscious of wasting food, so, if I don’t like it and have to send lots of food back I feel it’s disrespectful. 

With this in mind, I really wanted to try the roasted cauliflower at ‘Hummus’ so I ordered my usual Falafel sandwich which comes with potatoes and a drink and a side of roasted cauliflower! Well, what a feast, there is so much food! The cauliflower is absolutely delicious, especially drizzled with the tahini! 

I can only manage 1/2 of what I ordered, but the rest, including the complimentary piece of Baklava, is wrapped for takeout! That’s my lunch sorted for tomorrow! 

I head back to the hotel, full and happy. 🥰

Books Read 5

The Winemakers Wife.  By Kirsten Harmel. I really enjoyed this Book, I would recommend it. 

I’m adding a couple of pic of the wine bar which I omitted in the last post!

27.06.23 – 28.06.23

I’ve had a super relaxing day today 😊

I started my day with a leisurely breakfast, tried the scrambled eggs today, yum! 

Then a nice walk to  Origin Coffee to write and upload my blog, enjoyed a very nice Iced Caramel Macchiato. 

Then I took myself off to Lila Thai Massage and had a fabulous 2hr massage!

It comprised of a Foot, leg, back shoulder, neck and head massage, which was amazing. The lovely therapist had extremely strong fingers so it wasn’t a soft massage by any stretch! However it felt great. Once all the massaging is finished she disappeared for a few minutes and came back with hot, herb filled massage ball pad thingies (I’ll add a pic!) these were them pressed all over you to warm and relax the muscles. It was so wonderful, the herbs smelt gorgeous, mint, bergamot, ginger possibly lime? This bit seemed to last for ages and was so relaxing. 

It was a truly amazing massage and I’m pretty sure I was there for longer than 2hrs. I now have a loyalty a card for Lila Thai, so obviously I’ll have to visit again! 

I walked back to the hotel feeling very zen, I did get into the pool but just floated about for a bit then only did 15 lengths.

After that I just sat around reading my book until dinner time!

Dinner at Kats, Spring Rolls, MaMa noodles 🍜 and a Coke Zero, no pics, sorry! 

Back to the hotel, more reading than bed.

All of which was great, except for the inconsiderate behaviour of some guests, who feel that the table and chairs outside my room is the perfect place for a late night (almost midnight) loud chat on the phone! Fuck off! Go in your room and chat, arsehole! just before I went out to say something, the person next door did. 👍

Back to sleep 🛌 💤 

Breakfast was great, chatted to a lovely family I’ve got to know, English but living in Barcelona; Zoe, Nick and their beautiful girls, Lois who is 6 & Thea who is 3. They are very cute and chatty. 

I’m going to walk down to the 3 Kings Monument today, I think it’s in a quieter part of town and I know it has some nice green spaces nearby.

I end up looking round a Lanna Folk Museum. Lan Na, commonly called Lanna, is the name of the first Tai (Siamese) state in Northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. Lanna literally means ‘the land of a million paddy fields’ The capital of the kingdom was Chiang Mai. La Na was a powerful state and the centre for the spread of Theravada Buddhism. 

It was great looking round the museum, it wasn’t huge so didn’t take long.

After that I found a beautiful, calm, peaceful garden to sit it. It was lovely. So quiet and relaxing. I just sat watching the butterflies and listening to the birds. 😊

Just across the road from the garden was the Thai Women’s Prison and the Training Centre. They also had a great looking cafe. I went for a little stroll around before returning for an ice cold Lemon Soda. The cafe seems to be more locals than tourists, well outside definitely was, inside with the air conditioning was a different story! 😂 

I really like this area it seems calm and green. 

I wander back towards the hotel, but not really taking a direct route just meandering. 

I’m starting to get hot and a little peckish when I spot a Mango Coco stall! I treat myself. OMG! So delicious 😋 Fresh Mango, sweet sticky rice, mango sorbet, coconut ice cream and a toasted rice biscuit. Exactly what I needed and totally yummy 😋 

I get back to the hotel and jump into the pool, do my lengths, 20 today.

Then chill, reading and people watching. I chat more to Zoe and the children in the pool, it’s their last day tomorrow, they are in Thailand for another 15 days then during the summer they are going to Cornwall! I’ve told them to pop in to Coffee on the Corner 😍 Georgia, be sure to get a photo if they do! 

On the way to dinner I pop into this fabulous little wine bar which is literally 1 mins walk from the hotel (dangerous 😬) ‘Meilleur’ it’s so nice. A fabulous selection of wine, even a Cote De Provence Rose!! 

I order a glass of Australian Sauvignon, which is ice cold and comes with snacks! Tracey, Anne & Nikki, you’d be impressed!  

Unfortunately or possibly fortunately, wine is very expensive in Thailand due to the import tax and other taxes, so this will be a once in a while treat! 🥰

I head to Kats where my dinner and a Coke Zero costs less than my glass of wine! Mad. 

To put it in perspective, my dinner cost £2 my wine £4.

Zoe and her family are at Kats so we chat and the girls ask a million questions, I love that children just ask what’s in their heads with no filters! 😍

Then it’s home for bed.

No outside chatting tonight but a noisy bunch above me, I stick in some earplugs and go to sleep. 

Books Read 4

Strange Sally Diamond. Liz Nugent. Excellent, disturbing, sad and definitely worth a read.

Thank you Julie for the recommendation! 👍

25.06.23 – 26.06.23

I must still be quite tired because even though I was in bed and asleep by 10.30 I’m still not waking up till around 8am, which is quite late for me. It’s all good though.

I head down to the restaurant for my usual breakfast, I’m obviously a creature of habit! Fresh fruit, today they had some Papaya, which I added to my plate along with pineapple, mango & watermelon. 

Mmm, not sure 🤔 Papaya is odd, it’s kind of sweet but a little savoury, it confuses me and I’m not sure that I like it! 

The egg situation is a bit hit and miss, todays egg was undercooked, I don’t like the white on top of the yolk to be raw, so I politely asked for it to be flipped, then hey Ho! Yummy egg. 

I’m amazed at how different nationalities approach breakfast buffets. One very small, slim Asian lady had at least 3 large plates full of food, she eat nearly all of it as well to be fair, but some people pile up their plates then leave loads. 

Georgia, do you remember this happening in Bali!! It makes me sad, just take what you need and then bloody eat it!! 

After breakfast I was trying to finish writing my blog and upload the photos, but no joy. The WiFi at the hotel is a bit patchy, there are several ones I can join, I’m told A1 is the fastest but not today. This means that my photos just don’t upload. No problem, I finish writing then head out to the new, very fancy coffeehouse down the road, which I know has fast wifi. 

I order my iced Caramel Macchiato and get to work, presto! We are on. Blog and photos uploaded, hurrah 😁 

It’s quite a pleasant coffee shop, very modern and full of trendy young things posting their pics on Instagram! But the coffee is good, they have beans from 3 local coffee growers which I like. 

I decide to chill here for a bit checking emails, paying bills, reading the news (so depressing!) after an hour or 2 I start to walk back to the hotel but stop and have a pedicure instead!  So lovely and relaxing, I’m the only customer and the ladies are just chilling and chatting shit. An hour or so later I have lovely pink nails and pampered feet! 

Back to the hotel for a swim.

Just before I get in the pool there’s lots of loud shouting coming from the reception area, then out comes the lovely receptionist, Sing, 

followed by some other woman who is screaming, pointing and following her! She in turn is followed by an older couple who are trying to calm her down, Sing is crying and trying to make a call on her mobile, the other woman continues to scream! WTF! I have no idea what’s going on, or why but I know that lovely Sing is being attacked by this demonic Bitch! Sing tries to leave the hotel and the woman continues to scream at her. The next thing the police arrive and talk to the screaming woman, who is still shouting, she is then bundled into a car/taxi with the older couple and driven away. Sing comes back and is still crying and looking shaken. What a drama! 😬 Poor Sing.

Anyway! Whilst all this is going on I’m in the pool doing my lengths, I did 20 today. (Well, 40 of the hotel pool which is equivalent to 20 normal lengths) 

It’s the ‘Walking Street’ tonight which starts at 5ish. The ‘Walking Street’ is a market set out along a very long street just by the hotel. I’m to have a look as I need to get a couple of things. 

Firstly, a new silver chain. Mine broke before I came away and on it I have a few things that are very precious to me: a Green Stone (Jade, Pounamu) pendant I bought in New Zealand, a silver globe that I bought after my first big trip and most precious, a saints pendant that my lovely friend Colin gave me last year, the pendant belonged to his Mother and he said it was to keep me safe. I’ve carried these items with me since the chain broke but want to wear them again. I found a perfect replacement and popped all the items back on and am now wearing my talisman, balance is restored. 😊

The ‘Walking Street’ is good fun, with lots to see and different people, smells etc. I love it. 

After a good mooch around and a brief stop for a beer and a chat to possibly the most beautiful couple I’ve ever seen, Him: tall, big, perfect teeth, big nose. Her: small, slim, perfect teeth and smile. They were not only beautiful outside but warm, friendly, lovely and Australian and on their Honeymoon! 

One of the things I most enjoy about traveling is all the fabulous people you meet, even if it’s just for a few minutes. 😍

After that, I was beginning to get peckish, so headed to Kats. I was able to figure out the quickest way there using smaller lanes and cut throughs, go me! 

Kats was extremely busy, there was a queue for tables, I’m not in a rush so am happy to wait, after only 5 minutes my little table becomes available. I’ve been fancying Noodles for some reason, so that’s what I order. Ma Ma Chicken Noodles, which are not spicy apparently (although they said this about the Drunken Noodles last year and they blew my head off!🌶️🌶️🌶️) I also ordered a Thai Rum and Coke. They apologised and said there would be a long wait, I literally waited just over 15 mins, which is not long at all. 

The Noodles were bloody delicious 🤤 so good, they may well become one of my favourites! 

Kats also seems to have employed a singer with a guitar, they must have seen my blog yesterday! 😂 

To be honest, he wasn’t great he managed to massacre a rendition of My Way just before I left! 😬 but who cares, the vibe is excellent, the food, delicious and the price, £3.50 Winning. 😍

I woke up feeling great, did some stretches, showered and then off for breakfast!

It really is handy having breakfast included, not only does it keep me fed for the morning/afternoon it also provides a great people watching spot and somewhere to write my blog!

The staff are really kind, and very attentive, especially to me as I’ve been before and am staying a long time 😍 most guests are here for a few days, a week at most. 

I’m going to have a little walk towards the river today as there is a Big C supermarket down that way and I’m determined to find some Butter Biscuits or Palmiers!  😂

It’s a nice stroll down quite a busy road, with lots of bars which are full and buzzing at night but pretty quiet in the day, although there are a few sad western men out already trying their luck, drinking their beer! 

One of the busiest places is a Bar called ‘The Red Lion’ serving English breakfast’s etc. 😬 I think I’ll give it a miss. 

Once I spotted the supermarket I decided to continue my walk and call in on the way back. 

I walk down to the river by the big Iron Bridge, then have a wander around a less touristy area, which is pretty quiet. 

The river Mae Ping was traditionally the source of trade for Chiang Mai it flows from the Daen Lao Range on the Myanmar/Thai border and heads south to the Chao Praha River that flows through Bangkok.

There are some lovely areas around here, which I will definitely be back to explore and apparently it’s great at Sunset, so that will be added to my list of things to do. 

I stop at a nice cafe for a Coke and just enjoy watching the locals fishing , the boats going past and the breeze! 

There seem to be a few high end Condos down by the river which might account for the fancy French Bakery I spotted! It had some amazing looking cakes, but had sold out of Palmiers! NO!! Thwarted again. 

I call in at the Big C and it’s not as big as I expected, more Small to Medium C tbh! But it is reasonably priced compared to the fancy supermarket at Maya Lifestyle, sadly no Butter Biscuits, but they did have Palmiers! 😍 while I’m here I also grab a 4 pack of Singha Beer and then off I toddle back to the hotel. By the time I get back I’m pretty hot so pop the beer in the fridge and attempt to put my swimming costume on!! 

For the love of God! It’s like doing some kind of complicated contortionist manoeuvre! I’m surprised I haven’t dislocated something 😂😂😂 this is the result of removing clothes, bra tops particularly and them putting on a body shaping costume whilst a little hot & sweaty!! 

Finally, it’s on, with only minor discomfort and into the bloody refreshing, cold pool I go. 🥵😍💙

I swam 24 lengths today 😊 I’m so pleased with my swimming this year, such an improvement on this time last year. 

I spend the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing, listening to the rain. Late afternoon seems to be the time for the rain, which is perfect. 

I head out to the ‘Spice Bar’ around 7 for a Mojito or 2. The lovely barman remembers me, apologises again and promises not to bring both drinks at once! Such a sweet guy. 

I spend the time chatting to Grantley on WhatsApp and comparing our Wordle attempts! I’m currently on a bit of a roll. 👍 (it won’t last) 

Then it’s off to Kats. Tonight I’m trying the Yellow Curry, which is quite mild, but absolutely delicious 🤤 I’m also joined by a cute little ginger kitten! 

Kats, Kittens & Curries you can’t get better than that! 😍

A very lovely day.

Books read 3 

Down to the Woods by M.J. Arlidge. A Detective Grace series, Book 9. Good. 

23.06.23/24.06.23

A great nights sleep, didn’t get frozen to death! 

I decided to take a Songthaew to Ninmam and a fancy shopping centre called Maya Lifestyle. The sole purpose of the trip was to purchase some snacks from the supermarket there, specifically some delicious French butter biscuits, which I found here last year. They are Tracey’s favourite ❤️ they are yummy and perfect for a little snack or breakfast if you don’t want lots to eat. I was also thinking about getting a Thai SIM card and thought I might look there.

The shopping centre is very nice, quite big, lots of nice shops, just not really my thing tbh. 

I had a wander around then found the supermarket. How very disappointing! Not a French butter biscuit or palmier to be found 😢😢 and trust me, I looked around the entire store, three times! So having now been in the store for around 15mins I felt I should buy something or I’d look suspicious 🤨 so I left with 2 packets of Biscoff biscuits, nice but not the same. 

I tried to get a Tuk Tuk back but they were charging silly money, cheap in £ but ridiculous in Thai Baht, so I went and found another Songthaew who charged a more reasonable price. Travelling back I felt bad about quibbling over a couple of quid, but those couple of quids soon add up! 

I would have walked but the route is along a large busy road which isn’t pleasant. 

I got back to the hotel and had a lovely long swim and chilled. 

On my wanderings yesterday I’d seen a lovely little place that had a garden and a bar doing Happy hour Cocktails, Mojitos. So I thought I’d head there before dinner. It’s called ‘Spice Garden’ attached to ‘Spice Hotel’  it’s really lovely like a little calm Sanctuary in the city. I ordered my BOGOF Mojitos, sat down and enjoyed the peace. 

The lovely young barman then appeared with both of my drinks together! They look great but now I feel under pressure to drink them before the ice in the second one melts 😂 (first world problems) 

Sitting at the bar is a young American girl, early 20s, probably staying or residing at the Hotel. As she got up to leave she quietly explained to the barman that he shouldn’t prepare both cocktails at the same time for a single person, as the ice melts, drips on clothes and ruins the taste of the drink, what a sweetheart. He then came over a apologised profusely, bless him. TBF I was by then on my second drink so not hugely worried 😍

I was going to head to Kats for dinner but realised I was right near one of my favourite places ‘Hummus’, Nikki, you would absolutely love this place, the name says it all!! 😂 so off I went. 

I was not disappointed, oh my! Seriously good, Middle Eastern food all made on sight, so, so tasty. I had a Falafel pitta, with salad, tahini & hummus, side of pickles, obviously 😀 Potatoes and some cinnamon spiced tea. 

I think one of the reasons I love it is because it evokes memories of my travels in the 80s to Israel & Egypt,  and trying a falafel for the first time on a street corner in Tel Aviv. A proper Falafel is a thing of joy! 

Anyway that’s enough about Falafels, for now! 😂

After my lush dinner I headed home, laid in my bed reading and listening to the torrential rain that I just missed! 

Today my plan is to try and stop making plans! 

I always feel like I ‘should’ be doing something, going somewhere, achieving something. I need to try and go with the flow a bit more, be more spontaneous and get into the holiday mode! (Mmm I’ll see how that one goes! 😃)

But with that thought fresh in my mind I have a leisurely breakfast, fresh fruit, egg on toast, tea. Then just go for a directionless wander! 

This wander takes me down towards the large Temple of Wat Phra Singh, I take a random left turn and end up in a familiar area with some art galleries, I pop into one, which I didn’t get the name of, but which was amazing. I then take another random street and find myself in a much quieter more residential area, it’s surprising how just a few streets can make such a difference, I can’t hear much traffic, there are very few shops, there are a couple of nurseries and local people just sitting in there porches eating lunch, relaxing. I find it very calming. 

I have a pretty good sense of direction, so don’t worry about getting lost and eventually find myself exactly where I thought I’d be.  I stroll back to the hotel along the waterway that runs beside the old city walls, it’s shady and pleasant. 

By the time I get back I am a little hot (yes, once again I walked during the hottest part of the day! 😬🥵) I get straight in the lovely cold, refreshing pool and bang out 32 lengths, approximately 16 normal ones. Which isn’t bad, I can do more, but I’m now starving! I jump out and enjoy a large glass of water and a palmier saved from yesterday. 

Dinner was a bit of a predicament, Kats is great and cheap, but wasn’t sure if I needed another Mojito first, so wandered over towards Spice Bar, but got there and changed my mind, walked past Hummus and thought about going in, but didn’t, continued walking and found myself at Dash. One of the people I chatted to today mentioned going there, I went last year and liked it. So that’s where I settled on. 

I had spring rolls and chicken rice, it was really tasty, but it’s around double the price of Kats and not really any better, it did have a man singing random songs whilst strumming a guitar, but I’m afraid that’s not enough. I’m not sure I’ll go back. Kats has a much livelier vibe. 

I’ve walked around 12,000 steps today, which I feel is a lot, especially as it’s 33 degrees. I’m not sure how people are supposed to fit in 10,000 everyday, and work, and shop and do their usual stuff! Weird. (Answers in the comments please!) 

Ok, so I feel this is quite a long blog post, not sure if you guys would prefer daily updates or every couple of days, I’m open to suggestions!

Have a great Sunday! 

Books read 2

A Friend of the Family by Lisa Jewell. Entertaining.