My name is Ailsa, and I used to be what you might call a shopaholic. I estimate that I bought on average two or three new items of clothing a month (maybe that sounds like a lot and maybe it doesn't, but for me I definitely didn't need that much). I expertly transformed every want... Continue Reading →

When I first moved to France on my year abroad in 2009 every short conversation at the bank, in a restaurant, or with an old lady at the bus stop felt like a win. Nowadays, every time I find a zero/low waste swap for something designed to be disposable, I get that same sense of... Continue Reading →

Going green can appear a colossally difficult task at first. Once you've started, as in my case probably with something small such as frustration with over-packaging in supermarkets, you begin to notice all sorts of areas in our everyday lives which are filled with unnecessary waste or pollution, plastic or otherwise. It's easy to feel... Continue Reading →

Bonne année 2018, readers of Salut Le Monde! The travelling adventures are over, and I'm taking my blog in a new direction: on the journey to living as sustainably as I can. If that interests you in any way, if you are also somewhere along this bumpy road, looking for inspiration, or a place to... Continue Reading →

Our final two weeks of what has been an incredible, adventure-filled, and somewhat life-changing year were spent in the beautiful south of Thailand, getting up close and personal with the local marine life. We decided to do a diving course/trip to the Similan Islands, apparently one of the top dive sites in the world. I... Continue Reading →

The capital city Hanoi in north Vietnam was a shock to the senses after 5 days in sleepy Laos: crossing the road requires 360 degree peripheral vision and nerves of steel as you make eye contact with cars and scooters revving towards you, said cars and scooters beep their horn for seemingly every movement, and... Continue Reading →

One 45-minute flight later and we had left Chiangmai for Luang Prabang, Laos. As soon as we began the descent in the plane the difference was stark and it felt like we had entered a natural paradise, even the airport is surrounded by rich green hills. We made our way to our guesthouse, where I... Continue Reading →

The Thailand leg of the year's adventures began in Bangkok, at a family friend's home where we stayed just one night and had the most delicious introduction to Thai food! This set us up for some initial food-related disappointment when we arrived in Chiangmai the following day and took a couple of days to really... Continue Reading →

We left Rona, Dave, and Rufus at 4.45am this morning. The tears in the taxi eventually stopped, re-started in the check-in queue, and were set off again somewhere over central Australia. Although we are on our way to Bangkok for 5 weeks of exciting travels, I admit my heart is still in New Zealand with... Continue Reading →