Phrae is a small town about 3-4 hours away from Chiang Mai by bus, with a reasonable cost of ฿180 for a return ticket. A while ago I joined a Dragonfly English Camp at a remote temple school there, but I decided to stay in Phrae for longer than just the two-day camp, so my partner in mischief could join me for a few days afterwards and have a countryside getaway.

The first thing I noticed was the weather, because Phrae was a different sort of Northern place - it was significantly drier and more humid than Chiang Mai, with a landscape that was quite unfamiliar to what we'd explored already. The feel of the city was much more bare than busy Chiang Mai, and felt quite simple and uncluttered. The best part about our trip was that a short drive outside the city in any direction took you straight into middle-of-nowhere Northern Thailand. Perfect!

This was the real highlight of the place; getting lost out on the open roads alongside lush rice paddies, mountainous backdrops, and long, winding highways to bigger, busier places than quaint old Phrae. As usual, everything I mention is marked on the map below, which you'll need as there is not much English to be found in this tourist-less little heaven.

In May 2013, during the last week of the school term break, my boyfriend and I hopped on our CBR 150cc, and began our adventure to the town of Pai. I had been on this Pai journey once before, in the high season, and didn't quite understand the difference going in the low season would make. Of course, the trip there was thoroughly terrifying, although extremely enjoyable as well (if that makes sense). A lot of the more treacherous roads seemed to have been repaired since I had been on the same ones a few months before, and there were many more construction workers milling about and fiddling with heaps of tar. It rained heavily, as usual, and this was the part that made the trip so dangerous. Unless you can overcome the paranoia of flying down a natural water-slide on your vehicle, I'd recommend pulling over for a coffee while the rain subsides, which it nearly always does.

Because it was so quiet in Pai, with a noticeable lack of people and parties, we spent more time exploring the town and its surroundings. We would drive aimlessly along the little roads that make rings around the place, and stop wherever we thought we had spotted something interesting. This is how we came to find a lonely chained-up elephant, the Pai canyon, some adorable puppy friends, and many, many beautiful views of the scenery. Pai is a lovely little town, but it does have an extroverted, party-crazed personality during the high season, and I'm grateful I got to meet the beauty of this place when things were calm, quiet and peaceful.

A lonely elephant off the beaten track in Pai.

The beach at night on Ko Phangan.

In March 2013, my boyfriend and I had begun our holiday in the south of Thailand, starting off in Bangkok, where we fled Khao San Road, stalked the malls, became Skytrain experts, and had the ceiling of our hotel room collapse. We then explored a bit more of Bangkok by motorcycle taxi, and landed up at The Museum of Death. After leaving The City of Angels, we had a quick break in Ko Samui, and then headed off to camp on a deserted island. So far, our trip had been overwhelming, fascinating, frustrating, fantastic, and breathtaking, and it was far from over.

After camping on the island of Koh Wua Talap for three days, and exploring the beauty of the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park, we made our way by ferry to the island of Ko Phangan, which is a notorious "party island". Unfortunately, my boyfriend and I were exhausted, and just excited to eat some restaurant food and pass out on a soft bed. And that's exactly what we did.

Ko Phangan, in our opinion, was much nicer than Ko Samui. Of course, we could explore more of it quicker, as it is smaller and less populated. We could not, however, explore further inland, as most of the natural forest and mountainous area is pretty much inaccessible by vehicle, and I doubt many tourists leave the bustling coastline to wander around the wild parts of the island.

We ended up staying there for two nights, and spent most of our time wandering around slurping fruit shakes, eating delicious Mexican, Western and Thai food, and relaxing at our guesthouse. Our bodies needed a break from the sun and constant travelling, and this is why we didn't really do much on the island of Ko Phangan.

I liked this shot of the sleeping dog and statue.

Stoic island dog.

Perfect Ko Phangan waters.

Yet another shot of clouds, sky and sun in Ko Phangan.

We enjoyed a few drinks at this place, but had to leave before the party started out of sheer exhaustion.

Ko Phangan sunset number one.

Our second sunset on Ko Phangan.

Beautiful.

Myself and a silly golden labby who hung around our guesthouse.

Leaving the island.

From Ko Phangan we got on yet another ferry, and arrived at our final holiday destination: Ko Tao. As soon as we had arrived on the tiny pier, cramped with tourists and Thai hawkers, selling everything from sunglasses to diving courses, we knew this would be a special place. Our friend in Ko Tao had already hooked us up with Phoenix Divers, who picked us up from the ferry in a truck and took us straight to where we needed to be. While my boyfriend booked himself a diving course, I checked out the free accommodation, which was a cozy fan bungalow at AC Resort. My boyfriend then spent the duration of his course getting free breakfast at AC Restaurant and learning how to dive in various beaches around the island, while I rode around the place on a hired scooter, stopping for food and shopping now and then. On the fourth day, when he had finished his finished his course, we realised we weren't going to leave Ko Tao just yet - we had fallen in love with the place and wanted to explore it together - so we moved a few blocks away to a quieter area. Our authentic and affordable bungalow at In Touch Resort was perfect for us, and right next to their relaxed cocktail bar and restaurant on the beach. This is where the last bits of our holiday were spent, lazing around with pineapple shakes, perfect weather, and each other. Paradise.

A view from Phoenix Diving School during the sunset.

Oxygen, anyone?

A shot my boyfriend got while on a boat to a diving spot.

Practising his diving in the pool at AC Resort.

This is a huge centipede who joined us in AC Bar. Unfortunately, he had to die for his dangerous, partying ways.

A DJ booth overlooking the beach.

A fire-dancer outside the bar.

Another bar, where people sat around on the beach in a fire-dancing trance.

Pretty.

My early morning reading spot at a restaurant.

A beach I snuck off to for yoga and meetings with dogs.

Another view of the beach.

A bay from the beach that led to the ocean.

A very cute spotty-nosed dog.

A character casually chilling in the road.

The entrance to our rustic bungalow at In Touch Resort.

Our bedroom.

A very cool, blue bathroom.

A friend.

Another friend - the Tokay gecko.

My last sunset shot on our trip, waiting for the ferry to go back home.

Paradise.

After spending a glorious two-day break in Koh Samui, we had to get up off the beach, dust the sand off,

On the ferry ride to Samui.

One of Thailand's famous islands - Ko Samui, which locals simply call Samui

A snap of my boyfriend on the back of his scooter-taxi.

Our third day in Bangkok would be no less chaotic than our first two,

Street art in Khao San Road.

Schools in Thailand end their second academic term

After my month-long trip to Australia in 2008, I stayed put in South Africa for almost two years. I was unhappy with my life to say the least. I spent most of my time earning money just to throw it away on an expensive cost of living, and only venturing out to the nearest mall, nightclub, or friend's house. I was hardly opening my mind or broadening my horizons. In short, I missing out on the good stuff.

In June 2010, I abruptly moved to England. I stayed with my family who had emigrated there from South Africa a few years before - my father, step-mother, and three younger sisters. It was a big change after being a (somewhat) independent 20-year-old. Suddenly I wasn't the master of my own kitchen anymore, and had to navigate one of my worst enemies again - public transport. We lived in the town of Witney, population 25,000, which is a quaint place filled with pretty old buildings from the Middle Ages. Yes, it's bloody ancient, and I quickly became used to my new old world: cobblestone alleys, chancels and spires, and names like Wood Green, or Tower Hill.

Besides the bits of travelling I managed around the county, I spent many weekends in Oxford - another ridiculously old place, but with a lot more going on than my small town. It's where I would go pub-hopping or band-watching at night, and window-shopping with a million other people during the day. This is my personal slogan for the place: "Oxford: home to traffic jams and 9.3 million tourists a year, who can usually be spotted in their Oxford University hoodies licking a Thornton's ice cream."

Here are some photos from my year of living in Witney:

A snow-covered street in town.

"The Plough Inn" - how British.

The view from my bedroom window in December.

This was my neighbourhood - pretty small and uniform.

Our tiny backyard covered in snow - polar opposite to South Africa.

The view out my bedroom window during snowfall.

The same view after the snow fell. I had never seen snow okay!

This was the house we lived in.

A street in Witney.

Garden-envy.

I used to walk past this all the time to get into town.

The route home.

Swans that I would say hello to almost every day.

One of the views I would usually see on the bus to Oxford.

Another one of those views.

Cake in Oxford. Yes, I have a problem.

Oxford scenery.

Massive old cathedrals, nothing new - Oxford.