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.

I'm taking you back to July 2012. I'm still living in my hometown of Durban, which is the third largest city after Johannesburg and Cape Town. Around 3 and a half million people live there, and are referred to as Durbanites. We are notoriously good at ignoring the humidity, the sand in our bums, the beggars at the traffic lights, and the blaring taxi music from dawn to dusk. The city of Durban is also known to be much slower and calmer than The Place of Gold, and a lot less happening than The Mother City. I think that's exactly why people choose Durban over the others.


As a child, I have memories of so many beaches that they have all become one long coastline in my mind. I can't remember the first time I stepped foot on a mountain in the Drakensburg, and wondered about the hunter-gatherers who had stepped in the same tracks thousands and thousands of years before. I can't recall my exact thoughts when I first squashed my face up against the car window to get a glimpse of a giraffe, or if I felt fear or excitement when I climbed out my tent one morning to see a herd of zebras in our campsite. Growing up, my perception of Durban and its surrounding beauty is almost polar opposite to my current view of the city (we'll get to that later). My childhood was lived in a world of picturesque sunsets and postcard natural wonders. It was lived in the animal kingdom, in the wild, in freedom.

Sounds perfect, doesn't it? But by the time I had reached my second decade, I was itching to get out and fall in love with someone else's world. Our world. And that's why I began travelling. It was a seed planted by my own mind when I got lost in the book-worlds of One Hundred Years Of Solitude, On The Road, or Lonesome Traveller. It was a concept that I kept picking out in all sorts of films - from Natural Born Killers to Lost in Translation, from Y Tu Mama Tambien to Thelma and Louise. I found a case for modern nomadism everywhere I looked, but it would only be when I was eighteen that I'd have my first taste of another country: Australia. I stayed in the Gold Coast and explored the city of Brisbane, while fantasizing about roadtrips through the outback to the other side of the continent (I haven't done that yet). When I landed back home I was more restless than ever, and that sent me off on an adventure to England, which ended up lasting an entire year. I lived and worked in the small town of Witney, 12 miles from Oxford. Again, when I came back home at 22, I couldn't sit still in my own country, and embarked on my longest adventure abroad yet: Thailand.

To get back to the purpose of this post, I'll drag you away from my ramblings, and back to July 2012. It was my last holiday in South Africa, my last vacation before I began my permanent vacation abroad, and it took place down the South Coast. I spent my 22nd birthday there filled with a nostalgia that was already seeping in before I had left, and made sure to capture what I could.

Here are my photos from my last holiday in South Africa:

My friend and I stayed in this beautiful loft room.

A famous pancake place called Mac Banana - they serve up everything you could imagine in a pancake. They also have a store full of homemade jams, chutneys, fresh cheeses, and nuts. Yum!

Donkeys in someone's yard.

Marina Beach, Southbroom.