Blogging is something I delved into right at the deep end. Instead of sitting in that cosy spot in my room or downstairs on the sofa, I pretty much took it straight around Asia with me. Here's the truths about blogging on the go, and just how I'd make it easier for myself next time.

Whether you're simply taking the train down to London for the day, or hopping on a plane and flying half way across the world (like me..) for a few weeks/months, blogging inevitably gets that little bit trickier. I began blogging around a month or so before I started my backpacking adventure in December, and saw it as a perfect way for friends and family to see what I got up to on the trip. I usually write my posts on my laptop where I'm able to edit/style/play around with it as much as my heart desires and until I get the layout spot on. I can also preview it etc before making it live and releasing it to the big wide world. But when it came to packing up and heading off to Thailand, silly old me only took my iPhone 5s - and what a silly silly mistake that really was.

I currently have a Macbook Pro and find it the most perfect device to do all my blog-related bits on. But with Asia being notorious for backpackers valuables going missing, I decided to leave it at home and take only my phone with me. This meaning blogging off this and only this for the next 3 months. Now, if you're a blogger or fancy giving blogging a go whilst travelling, I urge you to either a.) take a laptop or b.) take a tablet. 

The amount of times I wish I had my iPad over there with me was excruciating. I saw so many travellers too with tablets (fyi, there's lockers to put them in in every hostel - which I clearly didn't realise before I went) and it killed me a little bit that I didn't have mine. I could just picture it sat there at home on top of my chest of draws, where I'd have a lovely big screen, a keyboard attached and the 'blogger' app working 10x's better than it was doing on my phone.


1. Work Out Just How You're Actually Going To Blog - The platform I use is blogger, so before going away I rummaged through the app store and found the 'blogger' app free and ready to download. Yeah, its ok and it did the job, but all in all it was pretty rubbish. I couldn't see my layout properly, I couldn't change the size of my images and to make matters worse, the website itself through the phones browser won't let you create a post. So decide what platform you're going to use in advance and download it onto your device.

2. Find The Time - If you want to write up a blog post, you'll need to find the time to do it. Backpacking is sooo much fun and trust me when I say this, you're constantly on the move. There wasn't a day really where I was sat around doing nothing, so getting a blog post up relied on me purely managing my time. I found the best way to get my posts done, was while I was travelling from A to B - busses, trains, boats you name it. I popped my headphones in, opened up the app and got going. So find your spot to do this, whether it be on a boat or beached up in a coffee shop. Get your idea jotted down.

3. Plan In Advance - Some days when I knew I'd be going to the most perfect photo opportunity place, I'd get my charger and make sure my phone and its camera were at the ready. I mean don't get me wrong, a lot of the time many places were impromptu and I'd have absolutely no idea that I could do a blog post on it until I got back. But for example, the islands in Thailand were absolutely beautiful and I knew straight away that I could do so many posts on it so made sure my camera was fully charged.

4. Take The Right Tools - Like I've mentioned above, try and take something that will make blogging that little bit easier for you. iPhones just don't cut it, and even though they have amazing camera quality and are perfect for Instagram, the blogging apps just aren't up to scratch. Laptops and tablets are your best bet.

5. Don't Overthink It - You can't blog everything, you just can't. If you don't have the time, if the photos don't work out or if the post simply doesn't happen then that's fine. Leave it be, move onto the next and be spontaneous - you'll know when you have blog-worthy material.

Our next stop was the famous Koh Phi Phi. And what better way to spend one of our days here than sailing around the islands, paddling in the tropical waters and snorkelling in Leo Dicaprio's Maya Bay.

I arrived in Koh Phi Phi and instantly fell in love with it. If you have an image of what Thailand's islands look like in your head (I'm guessing it's going to be the rocks in the sea covered in palm trees and lined with beaches, turquoise waters and brightly coloured wooden long boats - yep, I'm pretty much right, aren't I?) then thats exactly what it looks like. Phi Phi is basically the exact reality of what you're picturing in your minds and what you see images being shared of all over social media. It's absolutely breathtaking.

From the second I arrived, I knew I'd never want to leave. Phi Phi is famous for Bamboo island, Maya Bay (from DiCaprio's film 'The Beach') and Monkey Beach. So we quickly booked ourselves onto a little boat trip for the following day to take us to all the must-see sights. We headed to the pier bright and early and started what was going to turn out to be one of the best days in my whole 3 months of travelling.

We set sail, headed into the middle of the sea and dived into the waters for our first bit of snorkelling. This particular area was called 'Shark Bay' so it didn't exactly fill us with confidence about what was lurking underneath.. But we went in nonetheless!



We then climbed back on board and sailed to the most stunning beach I've ever set foot on - Bamboo Island. It's a little island located around a 15 minute journey from Phi Phi itself, and has the most crystal clear waters and white sands that I've ever seen. It was literally like walking on flour.



We paddled around for a good hour or so, as well as seeing it as the perfect place for a good old photo oppourtunity.



                  

Just a 2 hour boat ride away from Otres Beach and you'll find yourself at Koh Rong island. Also known as the island that gives you the mysterious food poisoning. But determined not the let it ruin our experience, we hopped on the boat and headed on over for the night.

Now, (just our luck) we didn't end up having the best experience during our 24 hours on Koh Rong island but view-wise, it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived at the harbour around midday and hopped onto the partly put together, partly falling apart pier and wandered down onto the beach to find a place to stay for the night. You're quickly approached by many travellers working there trying to get you into their hostels, so we found ourselves at one called Island Boys. To give it credit, it's location was absolutely perfect.

Literally a 2 minute walk from the pier and amongst all the main bars and nightlife, it's hard to knock it. The only thing I will warn you about (if you choose to stay here) is that it's very VERY basic. Our 4 bed room had 2 bunk beds draped in pink mosquito nets, and the building itself is very minimal - just wooden beams holding it up and no ceiling. So although all the rooms upstairs are divided off, you can hear everyone in the rooms next to you as there's huge gaps where the roof should be. Hard to explain, but you'd know what I mean if you saw it!

The room itself though was very cute and quirky. The walls were covered in writing which when we inspected it closer, turned out to be poems and motivational quotes. After wandering around the island we quickly named it 'Pirate Island' as it literally feels like you're staying in that sort of vibe.





We spent the rest of the day eating at a little floating restaurant down at the pier over the sea, sunbathing on the beach and then getting ready for the famous island pub crawl in the evening. We had so much fun!



. Food Poisoning - We'd been told by so many backpackers before we came that the one thing to watch out for on this particular island is food poisoning. 9/10 people we'd spoken to who had been had suffered with food poisoning. Many people put it down to the meat there and the conditions it is kept in (sat out in 30 degree heat for a couple of hours is never a good sign), but even those who didn't eat the meat still somehow ended up with food poisoning so it really is a mystery. Even though we were only there for one night, one of the girls managed to get it and was seriously sick. All I can suggest is to be very careful. Don't get ice in your drinks, become a veggie for your time there and just stick to western food. There's not much more you can do about it unfortunately - you're either lucky or unlucky.

. Thieves - Out of our big group, 2 people had personal belongings stolen. 2 phones and a wallet. Keep your stuff safe! It can happen anywhere in Asia but Koh Rong just seemed to be the devil for us.




Even though our night was ruined by food poisoning and theft, we still managed to have such a fun time here up until then and had these things not happened, we'd of loved it even more. We decided to head back to Otres Beach the next day to get back to our comfort zone, but we'd have probably stayed another night if we weren't in such bad moods.