TRAVEL | back to london

Falling behind on blogging already. London was about 4 cities ago and I had just managed to finished editing all the photos today. Guess this is what happens when you're having fun.

London was just as good as I had remembered. Since I've basically visited all the spots I've had bookmarked the last time I was in town, I didn't have too much planned to see, which worked out for me because I was kind of beat from Edinburgh. It's also worth mentioning that I got extremely lucky this time in London--a tube strike was scheduled on the day I was supposed to arrive, however the whole event was suspended the night before. High fives all around!

As much as I loved my hostel from my last trip, I thought it'd be interesting to switch it up a little. This time I checked into Wombats London. I stayed at their other chains in Munich and Vienna in 2013 and was always very impressed with their facilities. And as expected, I had a great time. I was placed in the highest floor, which had a breathtaking view of Southern London

I was lucky enough to have been in the city to see the { Charles Pétillon } installation in Covent Garden. When it launched, almost every one on my facebook dashboard was posting about it, and I'm not going to lie I felt a small sense of smug satisfaction that I got to see it in person.

I also took a brief break from London and hopped on a train with Thomas to Rye for a short day trip out of the city. This little town, located in South Sussex, was recommended by a friend whom had just visited the day before. She showed me some photos that morning and I was sold.

Ok back to London

No trip to London is complete without a stop over at { Borough Market } & { Columbia Flower Market }. 

Living 20 mins by foot from Borough Market was like a dream come true. Wake up at 9 and get there by 10, which in my opinion is the perfect time to visit because all the vendors have set up, but all the tourists haven't arrived yet. 

TRAVEL | the first stop

As long as I've waited for this trip (about 2 long years), it seems like only yesterday I began my first euro journey. There was always no doubt in my mind that Edinburgh would be my first stop again. I remember visiting { the first time } and falling head-over-heels for the rolling green hills and medieval streets. On this visit, I stayed for a total of 5 nights. It still surprises me how little of the city I saw in 2013, and therefore I took it upon myself to wake up early each day to explore every nook and cranny I came across. 

I began my trip with a morning hike up { Arthur's Seat }. It was the first thing on my itinerary because wouldn't feel like a Eurotrip without it. And when I reached the top the views were just as spectacular as I had remembered. I still can't believe Edinburghers get to come here whenever they want. I wouldn't mind hiking or jogging every day if I this is the kind of environment I get to surround myself with. 

2015 has been a year of happy accidents (travel wise) because turns out I had booked days in Edinburgh without knowing that the famous { Fringe Festival } was (still) in town. I had heard of the festival a few weeks earlier and had expected to miss it but I had no idea it ran for a whole month! I was so surprised when I first arrived because the streets were just filled to the brim with people. And despite all the people, I was more than impressed as to how flawlessly everything seemed to run, especially for a festival of this magnitude. 

Here's some stats from this years Fringe Fest: 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows in 313 venues!!!!!! I mean, can you imagine the level of planning that must've gone into this. Those people must be management wizards to the highest degree. Teach me please!

I managed to catch two shows during my stay. The first, a lecture on parapsychology: { Unbelievable: The Science of the Paranormal }. It was quite interesting; during the show we played some fun games which revealed some paranormal facts about yourself. Apparently I'm very susceptible to hypnosis. 

The second show was {  Thones! The Musical }, which was hilarious and played by a ultra talented group called Baby Wants Candy. I highly recommend it to fans of GoT. Hopefully they'll return next year with an updated show!

I always see jetlag as sort of a blessing in disguise when I travel because I end up waking up so much earlier than what I'm used to back at home. The extra hours in the mornings open up a lot of opportunities to explore.

This is Leith, a harbour town just a mile or two outside of the city center. It was a pretty dreary morning and I had to admit even I found it quite depressing, but then I later came across a small farmers market which boosted moral just a little bit.

photo 7 by Paige Roche

GUIDE | a packing list

Packing is always the most stressful part before a long trip. Usually I have no problem as long as the trip is under 2 weeks but when it starts going over a month that's when things get a bit tricky. I'm currently prepping for long-term travel in Europe. I'll be there from August until December and I'll be bouncing around many different countries, which means I have to prepare for all climates.

I've been lucky enough be able to travel a lot in the last few years and therefore have some experience with packing bags. On my first major trip around Europe I was moving one hostel to another every 3 or 4 days and I've learned through trial and error that the key to stress free days on the road is simplicity. I'm still learning how to be a light packer and here's kind of my basic packing list I always follow:

Shirts
3-4 t-shirts in black, white, grey and/or other neutrals. 1-2 long sleeve shirts. I tend to stick to basics like breton or chambray. This way I have a good range of shirts I can wear again and again.

Jacket/Coat
1 light jacket. Preferably something that can withstand a bit of rain

*1 Coat for colder climates

Jeans & Shorts
1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of shorts

Sweater
1 sweater/sweatshirt to layer when it gets a bit chilly. I usually go with the basic grey sweatshirt or a cashmere sweater.

Shoes
1 pair of sneakers (black or white), 1 pair of boots, and 1 pair of flats for dressier occasions, 1 pair of rubber flip flops for showers/beach

Dress
1-2 dresses

Wide Brim Fedora
Leave the beanies at home! They don't keep you warm and they give you bad hat hair. Instead, invest in a wool fedora (even cheap ones at h&m will work). They insulate heat much better, keeping you warmer for a longer period of time, and they look more fashionable ;)

edit: ok so I did buy a beanie while abroad and they do work to a certain extent. But make sure its a tight knit one

Pajamas
1 top & 1 pair of comfy pants

Card Case
One of the most important items on this list!!! So many times I've heard stories of friends getting their belongs stolen while on a trip. Therefore, keeping my wallet hidden away is always my first priority. There are many cities where you have to rely on a metro to train to get around. I keep all my metro passes, a bit of cash, and my student id in my card case so I don't have to take out my wallet as often

Lock
Many hostels have lockers but many don't provide locks so you'll have to bring your own. I usually bring a laptop and camera with me on my trips so it's important to have a good, sturdy lock to keep every thing safe. I prefer combination locks so I don't have to worry about losing a key.

Muji Travel Bag
These little packing bags help you save so much room, and makes it easier to fit everything in your suitcase. Buy 1 for shirts & 1 for trousers

Bag
1 backpack, 1 cotton tote, 1 cross body bag

Pouch/Envelope
To hold all important travel documents so they're all in one convenient location. Nothing worse than digging through your bags at a crowded station looking for bus tickets.

Toiletries & Makeup
Basic makeup (foundation, eyeliner, 1 lipstick etc.), 1 bottle of Dr Bronners soap, lotion, face cleansing towelettes. The trick with toiletries is: the less liquid you bring the better.

Quick Dry Towel
Most hostels will have towels available for hire, but usually at a price of 2-3 euros/pounds. I traveled towel free my first time in Europe but quickly realized the money I spend hiring towels could have bought me a quick dry towel (which costs around $15). I would recommend investing in a XL size. They're pretty compact as well so they don't take up much room in your suitcase

Misc Items
Earplugs, eye masks, vitamins, photocopy of travel documents, sketchbook, chargers, camera(s), external hard drive, laptop, sunglasses, scarf, umbrella, (optional) extra wallet, book

This list is still a work-in-progress and I'll be adding more to it as I go along. I hope this will be useful to someone in the future.

Happy travels everyone!

TRAVEL | tokyo misc ii

Ironic that I'm thinking about my next trip as I'm editing and posting photos of Tokyo. I've still got a bit of work to do in terms of my personal project before I leave. I'm hoping to get it done in two weeks so I can sort out the kinks from the printing process during the last.

In the meantime I've been taking a break from photography. I realised I put aside illustrating and painting for so long, my skills have gotten weak. So along with the photography personal project the next few weeks are strictly dedicated to brushing up my drawing skills again!

In the meantime, here are the last of the photographs from Tokyo I plan to post online. I really liked these miscellaneous moments.

TRAVEL | tsukiji 築地市場

Tsukiji market is just one of those places you have to visit when you're in Tokyo. You don't really have to go to Tokyo Tower, don't really have to visit all the temples..but Tsukiji is definitely worth the trip. The market is famously known for its tuna auctions, which take place in the early hours of the morning (5-6am). It's a once in a lifetime sort of experience–once you've seen it, there is no need to go again. I've visited the tuna auctions the first time I visited Tokyo. Here's the original post from tumblr (2013) & I've included a few pictures (5, 6, & 7) I took from last time.

"Woke up at 3am to catch the tuna auctions at Tsukiji Fish Market. We decided the previous day to group up with a fellow hostel roommate since Kelly and I were still quite unfamiliar with the city. Turns out, waking up at 3am was still considered late, and we ended up being put in group B. This means we didn’t get to see the tuna auction until 5:50-6 in the morning. Tip for any future Tokyo travelers: [1] Go early in your trip (so you’re still jet lagged), [2] bring a book & snackfoods (you will be waiting)."

This time my sole mission was to find awesome sushi at Tsukiji. According to yelp and many other travel guides Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi are the ones to visit. However, both restaurants had 3-4 hour minimum waits–even at 9am!!! I wasn't about to spend so much time waiting for sushi so I went for the 3rd best option: { Sushi Sei }. No lines at all, and the sushi was amazing. I couldn't be happier about my decision. And the price was justified for such a tourist spot. I even had enough yen to buy myself an equally delicious green tea soft serve in a random stall inside the market.

I was a really good morning, to say the least.