10,000

That's right, I finally reached my 10,000th blog view yesterday!! I can't actually believe that so many of you are continuing to read my ramblings - thanks so much :)

I thought I'd do a quick post dedicated to all my trips since I started the blog. I suppose this could act as a bit of a catch up for any new readers, as well as a celebration of all the wonderful things I've experienced and incredible people I've met over the past two years.

East Coast USA

New York - Philadelphia - Washington DC - Knoxville - Nashville - Atlanta - Orlando - Miami. In three weeks. Possibly the most hardcore travelling I've done to date. These first two trips are the reason I started the blog, which is pretty crazy considering how much it's come along now!

Started off the trip with Rach and Ferris as well as Aimee to celebrate Rach's 18th birthday! We managed to pick the rainiest cloudiest day to visit the Statue of Liberty and to be honest were pretty underwhelmed by how big it was... Still, been there, done that, got the t-shirt and it was still a pretty good day.

WE MET ED SHEERAN. In Nashville after a Snow Patrol concert at which he was the support act. He smelled wonderful where as I was sweaty and horrible and hadn't washed my clothes for far too long. Sorry about that Ed.

Our first basketball game! Heat vs Pistons and Heat won it by a mile. We also got on the big screen by dancing like loons whilst people around us held up giant cardboard cut outs of H E A T.

Peru, Chile and Bolivia

Lima - Cusco - Arequipa - Arica - Iquique - San Pedro de Atacama - Uyuni - Potosi - Sucre - La Paz - Copacobana - Isla del Sol - Cusco - Huacachina - Lima. A beautiful continent full of beautiful people. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

Peru: This was actually taken on our return to Peru at our last stop in a place called Huacachina. It was a great place to end the trip, with our good friend Sam from Aus, pretty much just partying all night and eating BBQ chicken wings all day. In this picture we'd decided to go on a midday booze cruise on the tiny lake with a surprisingly strong current in the middle of the oasis town. Such a great memory :)

Chile: Arica, the dryest city in the world, where in 10 years in rains only enough to fill one tea cup. 25 degrees everyday without fail. What an incredible place.

Bolivia: Sugar Daddy, The Cow (that's me...), G-meister General and Evester, setting out on three day 4x4 tour of the salares and salt flats. The trip consisted of the absolute coldest nights I've ever experienced, as well as the most breath-taking views.

Eurotrip 2012

Prague - Vienna - Budapest. A trip to reunite all the homies after a year away at university and travelling.

Prague: For some reason we decided to climb a really big hill just to see what was at the top. If I remember correctly, there really wasn't much up there, but the view was pretty special.

Vienna: This is from the night out where we went to the club 'Flex' and got invited on stage by the DJs simply because we were 'foreign'. Great night, from chucking shoes at Peter to the wall of sweets in the bathroom. Even though I wasn't wowed by the rest of the city I had a really good night.

Budapest: Since we're dead mature and all we decided to spend a day renting go carts and bikes and ride around the park. One of my absolute highlights of the trip as Pete and I rented a tandem and failed miserably at riding it. We also enjoyed ice creams and played in the musical fountain.

Abersoch- Girly Summer Holiday

A week holiday with all my favourite girls from high school. Unfortunately I didn't blog about this at the time but we had a lovely time chilling out at the beach and doing some serious charity shopping, whilst sleeping in a lovely cottage we rented.

The beautiful girlies. We decided we weren't too old to fit on this little train ride around the park and all six of us crammed into the back seat, making the ride rather squished.

This was pretty much our own private beach, about 15 minutes walk from the house and hidden away from the main busy one. This is also the beach that destroyed my apparently indestructible camera that had survived three months in the USA and South America... 

Five days in Amsterdam

Another one I didn't blog about - sorry fellas! - because I only really started blogging again in January where as this trip was in November. In short we stayed in a caravan, visited a lot of Van Gogh exhbitions, the Botanical Gardens, Anne Frank's House and a fair few coffee shops. You know, the usual Amsterdam thing.

Note to self: Going on a holiday with four boys and no girls to a place like Amsterdam is probably not the smartest thing you could have done.

Me and the guys chilling in a pretty cool coffee shop in the Red Light District. Going with four guys means you spend a little too much time in that area of town.

I met Desiree and Sophie from the Machu Picchu trek!! We went out for a lovely traditional Dutch meal and I tried Bitterballen which I am a BIG fan of. It was great to be reunited with some old travel friends :)

We LOVED the Botanical Gardens. I can't remember the exact price anymore but I know it was pretty reasonable (especially if you have a student card) and they also have a butterfly house!

Eurotrip 2013

Siegburg, Cologne and Bonn - Krakow - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - Belgrade - Sarajevo - Mostar - Novalja, Pag (Hideout Festival!) - Zagreb - Dubrovnik.

I spent the first four nights with my friend Mani who I met in Cusco, Peru. We had such a great time chilling in the sunshine, swimming, sharing a few beers and throwing popcorn at each other.

Highlights picture created by my wonderful friend Mitch. I joined the trip at picture number nine. I can't believe how much we did in such a short space of time!

Mitch and I chilling at the lake in Bratislava, one of my favourite pictures from the trip. This is the day we tried Bull's Testicle Goulash and Josie burnt her ass and stomach. Silly girly.

And last but not least... Hideout Festival and Zagreb!

On Novalja, Isle of Pag with 11 other members of the Preston crew. Probably the best festival I've ever been to.

Danny and Ki living it up on the first day. This was at a pool party with a live DJ set (goodness knows who it was) where we danced like crazy and drank tasty but pricey cocktails.

Sunrise at 6am. I saw four of these during the five day festival. Not bad for a girl who didn't even like house music before she went.

(Almost) Everyone together in Zagreb, which pretty much acted as a recovery session for the festival. Despite the criticisms it's had I actually really liked the city, which is much more chilled out than others so a welcome break on a busy trip.

And that just about sums up my last two years worth of travelling. Looking back at the post I really haven't done too badly have I? Especially considering I had to cancel two trips to Madrid and Dublin. I'm really excited for my cruise round the Canary Islands in August now :D Once again, thanks so much for reading (I wouldn't be a proper Brit if I wasn't excessively grateful now would I?), it really is quite flattering that so many of you want to read my thoughts, documentaries and rants. You're the best! :)

Being yourself: Officially a Dreadhead!

Another dread update! Last time I mentioned their progress I'd just brought the number up to 11 in Sarajevo. I now have a couuuuuple more than that.

I used the twist and rip method and despite the adverse advice, used elastic bands to secure the sections because my hair is just to smooth and straight to do it without. Will be taking them out within a week though! No product and I'm going to throw out my crochet hook because I've only heard bad things about them since I starting using it. I also have a few beads and fancy bits which I intend to start putting in soon. So yer, this is how they look right now:

Dread count: 36

I finally took the plunge and thought, 'Hashtag YOLO, let's just go the whole hog and hope I don't look too ridiculous'. I've wanted to dread my hair since forever (well early high school but that does seem like a life time ago) but to be honest I never really thought I'd pluck up the courage to do it. It's not that I've always tried to blend in, far from it, I've always liked to do my own thing. However, for some reason doing anything crazy with my hair has been something I have been worried about being judged on.

I worked out recently that this was mostly to do with the fear of not being considered 'attractive'; that because so many have people have warned me that I won't suit dreads or they look dirty or just plain awful, I started to think, 'Well maybe they're right. Maybe if I change my hair I'll all of a sudden turn into some hideous monster that no one will ever love ever again and I'll have to become some crazy-cat-lady-spinster who is forever alone.' When in actual fact, that is just THEIR opinion (the not liking dreads thing, not necessarily the crazy-cat-lady bit) which of course, they are fully entitled to. I, on the other hand, have always loved dreadlocks. If I see someone rocking dreads I will literally fall in love with them on sight (no exaggeration, ask my friends) and have always thought of it as a really beautiful and individual hairstyle.

Most of the above realisation came to me during a conversation with a friend whilst travelling, when discussing how society has conditioned us to think that looking a certain way is attractive, whilst everyone else becomes completely undesirable. It attempts to impress on us an ideal way to look and boxes us off into categories. Short skirts, long blonde hair, fake tan etc etc are a big yes, whilst dreadlocks, baggys jeans and facial piercings are a big no-no. Now I'm not suggesting that if you want to have the blonde and bronzed look there is anything at all wrong with it - I'm merely suggesting that if that's not how you want to look, don't just to it because society says you should. I know plenty of people who find their other half more attractive without make-up and dressed down anyway.

Too many times this year I've found myself wearing tighter and more revealing clothing than I'm comfortable in, simply because that's how you 'look nice'. Then I spend the whole evening feeling self conscious and either go home early, or get a stupid level of drunk so I don't have to think about what I look like. True, I'll get a lot more attention dressing that way than I do dressing the way I prefer, but it is attention I've never enjoyed. It's nice to be called pretty, but when it's accompanied by a slap on the ass (swiftly followed by a return whack in the face from yours truly) it completely loses any complimentary value. Being treated like a piece of meat just makes me feel cheap.

I finally made the decision to progress from my 11 hidden dreads to a full set due to meeting a guy in a hostel in Zagreb, who was just as infatuated with the hairstyle as me. I'd never met someone else who has as much love for dreads as I do, whose first question wasn't, 'Have you thought about how you're going to take them out?', but rather, 'They look incredible, when are you going to do the rest?!'. I know it sounds silly, but that was literally all it took and my mind was set. I think far too often people are scared to do what they want to do with their lives because they feel like they'll be the only one to think that their choices are the right ones. That they'll be alone in their decisions and it'll be difficult to find any support. But if I've learned anything from that accidental meeting, it's that sometimes you'll find people you can really relate to completely by chance, in the strangest places and at the most unexpected times. And really, if the decision is right for you, who cares what anybody else thinks? Also it turns out that after all my worrying, aside from a few exceptions, almost all of my friends and family admitted they actually quite like the do, or can at least tolerate it.

(Instagram @gracelund1)

Aimee and Pete actually HELPED to finish off the last couple.

I know it might seem a bit odd getting all deep about a hairstyle, but for me it's more about what it represents. It's a lifestyle choice that allows me to express myself, despite the stigma which can come with it and I'm just really pleased that with a little encouragement, I've finally been able to carry it out. In today's society I don't think there's enough emphasis on the importance of being yourself, so I hope I can at least do my little bit to spread word that it's OK just to be you. Judging people is for losers, so who cares what anybody else thinks?

This post is inspired both by my new dreads and the above video my Jenna Marbles, who I think is an absolute babe. It's an inspiring video for me, so I thought I'd share it with you all :)

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand; 99th Anniversary

(Sorry for the multiple uploads today, the Wifi has been a bit shoddy recently!)

Our exploration of Sarajevo began with a visit the Latin Bridge and the sight where Franz and Sofia Ferdinand were assassinated, which was on the 28th June 1914. 99 years ago to the day. We didn't even plan it intentionally! I found it really strange to stand in pretty much the exact spot Gavrillo Princip stood as he took aim for the shot which would shake up the entire future of Europe. I wonder if he had even an inkling of what he was about to start.

Views walking down from the hostel. A perk of being up so high. (Instagram @josiepanda)

(Instagram @mitchellckc)

The old town is gorgeous, reminiscent of Istanbul according to Steve and Josie. We walked in as a call to prayer echoed through the cobbled streets and I was able to witness my first Muslim prayer ritual. Is it bad to find the customs of a religion that is relatively alien to me fascinating? I don't mean to patronise or condescend, as I have no idea what I believe in, I just think it's interesting to see different forms and places of worship. Religious studies has always been a particular passion of mine.

For lunch we had some traditional Bosnian Ćevapčhičhi, which was delicious and after just 3€ worth I was fit to burst.

We wandered down to the memorial for the 1992-1995 war, which is a beautiful fountain in a park just next to the main high street. There was also a list of children who had died during the war, which really hit home when I noticed that many were born the same year as me, but were deprived of their privilege of life before they'd even turned three. Looking around at the young Bosnians in the street I realised that many of them must have lived through the war; some may even remember it. It's so strange to consider something like that happening in my life time but at the same time, it still very much a reality for many citizens across Middle East and Africa. Children die needlessly in war because adults act like children. We forget the important things and protect our pride and greed and honour and whatever other stupid, unnecessary, selfish tendencies we possess, rather than those innocents who are crying out for peace.

We decided to head to a shisha bar to wind down after a hardcore day of sightseeing. It was SO CHEAP I could barely believe my ears when the waiter told us the equivalent of £2.50 for one! I don't even smoke but even I was tempted at that price.

The evening was spent in true traveller/hippy fashion, dreadlocking more of my hair (I'm now up to 13 dreads!), attempting to use henna and failing because being an idiot I cut the nozzle too thick. We managed to improvise though...

I also knitted some more headbands whilst the others span around in a hammock and massaged each other. Literally Emily hippy paradise.

We got the train to Mostar this morning - early get ups are much easier when you're drunk on culture and jelly sweets. Let's see where the day takes us.

The Journey Begins

This year has been both simultaneously the most exciting and challenging year of my life due to many reasons: starting uni, meeting so many incredible people, leaving old friends behind, learning about myself and becoming more independent are just a few. However January to March were without a doubt the worst three months that I have ever had to survive. I was very ill and had to miss a lot of uni because of this and because of the struggle to get better, I lost myself a little too. You may remember my post Refinding My Muchness, which I actually wrote at one of my lowest points as an attempt to keep hold of the little bits of myself I still had left. I wrote about how travel is my 'muchness' it helps me to discover and express myself. However due to illness, I haven't been able to travel since November, which for me feels like a life time! I have just under three weeks left until I am finally let loose upon the world again, but since my final exam was on Friday, I figured why wait that long to let the adventure begin?

The past couple of weeks I have been on a journey of rediscovery. My friends have mocked me a little since in the past year I've tried to 'refind' myself repeatedly, though to little avail. However this is the first time I've started to feel a real difference in myself. My happy-go-lucky outlook is creeping back in and I'm moving away from my newly developed self-consciousness, towards my old 'it's my life and I'll do what makes me happy and I don't care what you think' approach, which I have sorely missed. So to celebrate the return of the old Em with a few new updates (I couldn't not learn from the past year's experiences) I have decided to rock a new hairstyle which I have been dying to try for many years now... Dreadlocks!

Josie helping me dreadlock!

Bless this girl's patience of a saint AND her epic dreadlocking skills. Who'd have thought it?!

My first two dreads! Repping the Snapchat ;)

I made the decision to start them yesterday as I went on a bit of a youtube binge watching various videos about how to dreadlock and why people dreadlock their hair. I also read a lot of articles on dreadlocksite about the reasons behind dreadlocking. It seems that for most people, dreadlocks are a kind of journey, whether it be of self-discovery or spiritual or otherwise. Since I have spent most of my last year constantly worrying about what others around me think about my appearance, my mannerisms and generally just trying to act to please others and no matter how hard I tried, I was finding these habits hard to kick, I decided that I would finally do something for myself, despite the criticism I may face. Also I kind of like the idea of the journey, though I'm not exactly sure what that means just yet... I'm sure I'll find out in due course.

This video inspired me because of the look, I think her hair is just incredible. Oh and she's danish, which only adds to her awesomeness.



Also this one, for the reasons behind it.



I currently only have three as a kind of experiment, to see how they mature and to practice maintenance before I go the whole hog. After extensive research I decided to use the 'twist and rip' method, which is no where near as painful as it sounds, as it allows me to keep most of my length and since I'm a little OCD, I wasn't feeling brave enough to go au naturale. The only downside to this method is that it takes a bloody lifetime to do, around four hours to do three, though my hair is rather long and it took a little while to get the hang of. I got the overwhelming impression NOT TO USE PRODUCTS such as wax etc, apparently they're extremely unnecessary and just bad for your hair. I also bought the Lush solid shampoo bar 'Seanick' after reading multiple recommendations for it. So if you're worrying about becoming stinky, don't fear! My dreads are going to be squeaky clean :D And that's just about it... I'll keep you updated on their progress as I travel, as for me I already feel they're gonna be a significant part of the adventure.

Oh and I finally reached my 7,000th blog view today! Feels like a positive sign. Thanks so much for reading and supporting my efforts :)