Laos

A short travel down the Mekong and I was in Laos, rich with textiles and history. I only spent 3 weeks travelling through Laos to Cambodia but it was stunning and so lush with green landscapes and amazing waterfalls. Apart from the hill tribes in Thailand, I also learnt a lot about textiles in Luang Prabang and the raw ingredients that are the foundations of  weaving in Lao. From natural dying and fibres, Hmong batik on raw hemp, silk Ikat weaving and bamboo weaving, the diversity in techniques and patterns, from motifs in embroidery and weave, to the skirts worn by women everyday, was incredible. I learnt so much in such a short space of time and skills I will use in future projects.

Thailand

The next stop on my travels was Thailand. I started in Koh Samui completing my TEFL course and due to a dislike of the island culture jumped on a 24 hour bus and headed straight up north to Chiang Mai. Taking a breath I realised I had stepped into the 'true' thai culture and ended up staying there for 3 months after falling in love with the people and place. My main venture in Thailand was teaching english with various volunteer schemes and for hilltribe villages, making art and building with Pee Pui in the countryside. I was welcomed and accepted by so many families from various backgrounds, living with them for weeks at a time, I even spent Xmas in Chiang Rai with a family who spoke no English, seeing how they celebrated the time of the year as a newly Christian group. So many incredible individuals and groups of children and monks, all so caring and respectful. So many beautiful memories for life, and a first tattoo to remind me of my time spent with them.

Japan

Now that I have returned from my travels, I am finally going to do a little overview of each country I visited and the amazing people that I met that really made my journey so special. During my 8 months in South East Asia I immersed myself in beautiful cultures, ate some spurious and scrum my foods and worked with some incredible kids, not forgetting the inspiring textiles and craft that I picked up along the way....

And to begin. Japan.

My plan in Japan was to purely travel for 3 weeks, and that's what I did. Using the Shinkansen as my transport to take me around Central and Southern Japan, I encountered so much wealth in tradition and respect within their history and culture. Such a distinct and unusual country, I fell in love with matcha ice cream, silk kimonos and Shibori tie-dye. Whilst walking through the mountain treks and getting lost in the busy cities, Japan identified itself as such an alien country yet in most areas was so humble. I started my journey visiting my friend in Osaka, then venturing to Nagoya, onto the history of Kyoto and big electric city of Tokyo. Horishima was steeped in sadness and Naoshima was a little island of pure artistic and architectural pleasure, finally heading back up north to Matsumoto with its incredible craft history and ceramics.

Teach.Discover.Create

Kon 'nichiwa from Japan! Now as some of you may or may not know I am in fact off on some travels for a year to teach, discover and create. I'm hoping to get very inspired and perhaps in return can inspire you to travel solo and see what the world has to offer!! Watch this space!! 

New Tutu...

Here are some pictures of the finished Tutu for Belinda...