A Lot Has Happened!

It's been a long time since my last post!

I finished the season in the Alps, drove home through Italy, France and Spain, and returned to normal life. I got a job in a cafe, and that was that, back to the grind of making coffees and clearing tables. I got promoted, became a supervisor again, and worked long hours to get the pennies in. I kept myself busy when I wasn't working, running, rowing, becoming a yogi and I even started hula hoop classes. And when I wasn't doing any of that I was volunteering with the National Trust helping with ecological surveys, bat studies and countryside management - pulling out/erecting fencing and clearing invasive plants. Phew.

That handsome massage therapist man has stayed by my side, despite living several hours away, and we have now been A Thing for almost a year. A few weeks ago he and his dad took me to Andorra for a week of snowboarding and it was amazing to get back on the slopes! The Pyrenees are very different to the Alps. There you are too high for trees and the snow turns everything into a blanket, while in Andorra being lower down means the pistes are beautiful tree lined runs and rocks arch up out of the ground. It's incredibly spectacular. Plans are already in the pipeline for next year!!

Working in the cafe was fun. I met a lot of great people, gained some serious confidence and collected a decent stash ready for the next adventure, which is coming around pretty quick... Tomorrow in fact!

First stop is Madagascar where I'm joining an ongoing conversation project run by an organisation called SEED - Sustainable Environment, Education and Development. I'm going to be working with the local community collecting data on the forest and the creatures within in. And that means lemurs. I'm going to be spending my time with those gorgeous little wide eyed primates who like to move it move it.

And now I'll keep it brief;

From Madagascar I'll fly to Bangkok, Thailand, before travelling north through Chiang Mai and crossing the border into Laos. I'll travel down the Mekong river in a traditional slowboat to Luang Prabang before flying to Siem Reap, Cambodia. First stop in Cambodia is the ancient temples of Angkor before heading to Phnom Penh. I'll cross the border into Vietnam and explore Ho Chi Minh City before flying to Bali and spending a month at surf camp. After some island hopping I'll fly to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, then Singapore, and back to England via Budapest where I meet my brother and his fiancee and friends for their stag/hen do.

Phew.

Watch this space. I'll update when I'm not lost to the jungle!