Author: Sarah Kemp

Reunited with Headmasters, Mayfair

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Moving away from home is hard for many reasons. The hardest thing for me was missing my friends and family and a single day didn’t pass without wondering what they were doing, wishing I was there with them, laughing at their jokes and attempting to make them laugh with my nerdy jokes. Before As well as missing the usual things like tea bags, English chocolate and the BBC, I also really missed my regular hairdressing salon, Headmasters. After a couple of visits to the Biba Academy in Melbourne, I decided to leave my hair to do it’s thing while I travelled and pay Headmasters a visit when I eventually arrived in London. I cut my trip down by two months and arrived in London a few days ago. Jet lagged, I ventured into central London and walked into Headmasters Mayfair feeling like I had never even been away. I started off with a much needed complimentary coffee and Pervin made her way over to me for a quick Colour Theory Consultation, a new service to …

The Killing Fields, Choeung Ek, Phnom Penh

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“How could I not have known this before now?” I whispered to Euan as we listened to tranquil birdsong and slowly paced the beautiful land that was once used for mass killings and graves. We were at Choeung Ek, the largest site of a group that is collectively known as ‘The Killing Fields’, 15km outside of Cambodia’s largest city, Phnom Penh. I had just listened to the opening sequence on the audio aid that all visitors are given upon entering the site. “Almost three million people were killed in between 1975 – 1979 by Pol Pot and his Khymer Rouge soldiers under his communist regime.” Three million poor innocent people were dragged to sites like this all over Cambodia and killed mercilessly, for nothing more than living in cities and owning possessions that were seen by Pol Pot as dirty. That’s one quarter of the whole population. How does that make you feel? Pol Pot had a vision for Cambodia to be completely self-sufficient. So he set about to achieve this by arresting the well …

Learning to Scuba Dive at Davy Jones’ Locker, Koh Tao

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It’s the afternoon of 24th February and I’m sat on the porch of my hut, which is overlooking the DMT’s (Dive Master Trainees) gallivanting around in the Davy Jones’ Locker resort pool, tanks and masks on, blowing air bubbles to the surface. Despite a growing envy, I sit here dreaming of life underwater and reflecting on the steps I took to becoming a certified Open Water Diver. Although I knew I wanted to conquer my fear of the sea on this trip, I hadn’t realised that it would be in Thailand in the first week of a fifteen week tour of South East Asia, Sri Lanka and India. Having asked an STA Travel agent in Bangkok to recommend beach activities for us to do for the last 9 days before we depart for Cambodia, he recommended this with all his heart. After much deliberation, we decided to jump right in at the deep end and book there and then. Two days later we were boarding the air-conditioned overnight bus to Koh Tao, a trip that …

Al Fresco Dining Bangkok at Vertigo Restaurant, Bangkok

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What Vertigo Restaurant, The Banyan Tree hotel, Bangkok Where 21/100 South Sathon Road Sathon Bangkok 10120, Thailand +66 (0) 2679 1200 Experience Day one in Bangkok and after a whole day of trudging the streets in humid 32 degree heat, we were ready for a relaxing dinner at Vertigo, an al fresco dining experience situated on the top of the Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok’s sparkling Sathon district. Known for it’s gridlocked streets, Bangkok can be a pain to travel around by taxi. Last night was no exception and as a result we were slightly late. Feeling mildly stressed as we wandered through the hotel reception towards the lifts, all feeling left my body as we ascended at rapid pace up to the 59th floor. Once we arrived, we were ushered up two more floors to the rooftop. Neither of us were prepared for what we were about to see and as we stepped out onto the deck, loud gasps escaped from both of our mouths as we looked over Bangkok’s glittering skyline. We were …

InterContinental – Wellington, New Zealand

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What A luxurious stay at Intercontinental, Wellington Where 2 Grey Street Wellington 6011 New Zealand The Experience “I don’t remember the last time I was this tired”, I muttered to Kayla as we walked down the coast of Kiakoura on the South Island of New Zealand. We were on the way to the Dolphin Encounter center to put on our wet suits and be transported by boat to the middle of the ocean where we would be spending the morning swimming with 800 dolphins. Later that day we travelled to Wellington, where we spent the last night of the 21 day adventure tour saying our goodbyes over lots of drinks and shots. Waking up the next day with not only a stinking hangover, but a dark cloud over my head because the best 21 days I have ever experienced had ended, was exceptionally hard. But not all was lost, because I was about to check in to one of my favourite hotels in the world – the Intercontinental in Wellington. As I stumbled into the …