THE LITTLE THINGS

001. A collection of photos I've taken recently of the little things that make me happy. Dappled skies, ocean sparkles, warm sunshine and sandy toes. Feeling forever grateful to be here on this little planet endlessly flowing with natural beauty. There is magic and abundance everywhere- all you have to do is open your eyes. 

Lena x

THE BEST OF INDIA AND NEPAL

001. I promised to write this post a while ago, to summarise my 3 months abroad in Nepal and India, but honestly I just needed some time to process and reflect the whirlwind of adventure I experienced. It's been three months now since I landed back on Australian shores and I can honestly still say I am still not quite sure how to put my experiences into words- but here we go!

002. Nepal was straight up mind-blowing and beautiful. Experiencing the insane natural wonder of the Himalayas was enough to make my jaw drop from day one. The kindness, warmth and generosity of Nepali people was humbling and made me feel full with endless gratitude. I always feel at home in the mountains, on top of a small part of the world where the air is crisp and comforting solitude can be found. Nature seriously makes me so DAMN HAPPY and Nepal was abundant with that pure Mother Earth magic. My memories of hiking outdoors everyday and feasting on delicious dhal bhat each night fills my heart with so much joy and happiness. The mountains are calling and I definitely will be back to answer them.

003. Functioning chaos and enchanting beauty. These are the words that resonate with me the most when trying to put the entire country of India into words (and maybe it still doesn't quite do it justice). The only thing I really think that can prepare you for a trip to India is a previous trip to India! Seriously, drop all your expectations, go into it with an open heart and an open mind. You will be far more rewarded. I only hit the tip of the iceberg with my time in India, travelling mainly around the North. Now I've had a few months on home soil to reflect (and heal my poor digestion) I really know that one day I am going to go back to keep exploring that wild country, hopefully little more South. The sounds, colours, people and places of India are intense, challenging and beautiful. It was far from anything I have ever experienced and it really still blows my mind. Travel is SO incredible man! Just go book yourself a flight and maybe take a look for yourself.

004. This post is filled with a few of my favourite moments I managed to capture during my trip. I freaking LOVE nature, exploring and travel. I hope you do too.

Lena x

STUDIO FROCKLED

001. Say hello my latest creative endeavour Studio Frockled. If you are new around here, you may not know that I am currently in my second year of uni studying graphic and web design, with a minor in photography. I freaking love all forms of creativity and would actually love to be able to make some money to live off from this passion one day. Studio Frockled is the home all of design, photography and creative magic. I currently have an Instagram and Facebook page set up for this new business and visual portfolio. If you are interested at all, and want to support a budding young creative, it would mean the world to me if you flicked Studio Frockled a follow or like. I'm also aiming to set up a real portfolio in the near future, but for now this is what I'm working with. Baby steps right!? 

002. Life has been pretty crazy to say the least over the past month. Thanks for hanging out and reading the scramble of words and explosion of visuals on this small space in the world wide web. 

Lena x

HIMALAYAN TALES #11: PUSHKAR

001. Nestled in between small mountains in the desert, you will find a teeny-tiny place called Pushkar. It’s a backpacker favourite in India filled will endless cheap guesthouses, lots of hippie hangouts and a chilled out vibe. The main area of town is the market- essentially just one long street with shops squeezed into every corner imaginable. If you want to do shopping in India, Pushkar is definitely the place to do it. It had the cheapest prices and variety I saw by far in all my travels! Camels, monkeys, and cows with five legs were the animals of choice for the town. We ended up staying in Pushkar for about a week due to just wanting to chill out before international flights. I wouldn’t recommend staying that long though because it really is teeny tiny and is easily do-able in far less days.

002. If you are in Pushkar and are are wanting to escape the busy centre of the market I recommend just WALKING. Ben and I loved just walking out of town and quickly finding peace and quiet. There are lots of small hills to climb around town too which can be quite spectacular at sunrise or sunset. The landscape in Pushkar was arid and reminded me a lot of my time in Central Australia. Dry, sandy ground with green shrubs and bush popping up over hills on the red horizon. Sadly in Pushkar my camera had some complications, so I don’t have a lot of photo evidence to show (but on the bright side it was my last stop in India and thankfully not my first!).

003. Puskar is a pretty tourist centred town and the food options were endless. Cheap juice and muesli stalls are dotted along the market street and made regular a tasty breakfast. Honey and Spice was our favourite for something really nourishing and super vegan friendly. But my favourite was Radhe Ji, because it had bomb Indian food for affordable prices (which was surpassingly hard to find in Pushkar). Order their thali and sit on the rooftop to enjoy the sunset views- I promise you will not be disappointed. 

004. So… that’s my last India post! I’m not really sure how to wrap this up?! Thanks for (maybe) following along with the long adventure. I hope it was somewhat helpful, insightful or amusing. There will be a post coming soon with a collection of my favourite photos from the trip through Nepal and India. Along with some slightly deeper words reflecting on the most diverse, confronting, challenging and beautiful adventure I have ever embarked on. 

Lena x

HIMALAYAN TALES #10: JAIPUR

001. Jaipur was our first taste of Rajasthan and embodied everything I ever imagined of a typical Indian city. Endlessly chaotic and colourful! Sightseeing and being a cliche tourist is what we did during our few short days in Jaipur. The streets in the city are CRAZY and walking on foot to explore the area can be pretty overwhelming. Luckily rickshaws are everywhere and super cheap if you are prepared to haggle. Being budget backpackers, we would usually always choose to walk to places and explore but trust me that in Jaipur a rickshaw is your best option. Also, apologies in advance for the photos in this post. My camera battery was flashing red on the ONE day we hit up all the attractions and I had to shoot on auto and quickly turn the camera off after each shot oops (see: how NOT to tourist 101). 

002. There are SO many architecturally beautiful monuments and attractions to explore in Jaipur. If you have a few places you want to stop at, I highly recommend hiring a rickshaw driver for the whole day. It should cost around 500-600 rupees, and you won't have to worry about haggling or finding drivers at every place you visit. My absolute favourite place we visited was Amber (pronounced Amer). The fort/palace is just INSANE! It is the most beautiful piece of architecture I’ve ever had the pleasure of wandering around and getting lost in. The town of Amber itself is also super lovely to explore, just a short walk down the hill from the fort. The stepwell and a handful of temples are fun to check out (plus totally free!). The Hawa Mahal was my other favourite pick. Sadly we didn’t get to hang around long because our driver couldn’t park BUT I highly recommend hanging out at one of the upstairs cafes directly across the road for extra killer views. The City Palace was another stop we checked out, but honestly we were a little underwhelmed and didn’t think it validated the price. A word of warning-some of these places can be pretty pricey to enter for a backpacker. If you’re on a budget I would suggest doing your research and investing your money into the places YOU really want to visit and are interested in.

003. While in Jaipur we stayed at a little place called Jwala Niketan. It was cheap, walking distance to the bus station and the guy who ran it was super friendly. Plus it was across the road from Mohan’s Restaurant, a cheap and delicious Indian place that we dined at for most of our meals. We found affordable food in Jaipur was a little bit harder to find in comparison to other Indian cities. Breakfast was mainly fruit bought off the side of the street and our favourite Indian place for the rest of our meals. We also checked out a place called Anokhi Cafe a couple of times. It’s pretty pricey but sometimes you just NEED a fresh, healthy salad to balance out all the curry and roti. 

004. Jaipur was a whirlwind of chaos, colour and beauty. The Rajasthani architecture, culture and buildings were mind blowing. After a couple of brief days we packed our bags and headed onwards to Pushkar, a much smaller town that was a little more our pace. 

Lena x