SUNSHINE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO

As most of my close friends know I like my home comforts - nice clean bathroom and fresh, crisp bed linen, so when I mentioned I was thinking of travelling, some of my friends actually laughed!! But I love new experiences and new challenges, so not going was never an option.

First stop India - Incredible India!!! Landed in Delhi but 1 night was enough in the massively overpopulated and over polluted city so headed to the colourful, romantic and wonderful state of Rajasthan.

My first taste of this amazing place was from a rickshaw whilst constantly dodging the frantic traffic of camels, motorbikes, horses, cars, cows and even the odd elephant!!!! I spent my birthday on the back of an elephant, on a ride up to the magnificent, skyscraping Amber Fort, one of many stunning forts in this area.

Henna is an ancient Indian tradition so of course I had to get it done. The young girl who did it was an excellent artist, and so fast and precise. As the story goes, the darker the ink reacts with your skin, the more loved you are by your husband. Well, I don't have a husband, but it was very dark so I guess someone loves me :-)

Christmas day was spent playing with wild Langur monkeys and New Years eve spent partying with my new friends. I'm extremely lucky to have started 2009 in such a fantastic place, surrounded by people I love.

Moving on from India was extremely difficult. The people, the places, the food - everything has just been perfect, but Burma beckoned...............

So, Burma......... For a country so downtrodden by it's government the people are so wonderfully friendly. Don't quite know how I managed it but for the 1st week I stayed in a 5 star executive suite - for free!!! It was heaven - I finally had my clean bathroom and crisp, fresh bed linen!!! I eventually had to tear myself away, with great difficulty, and start exploring the rest of the country. And what a beautiful country.

There were so many highlights to this part of my trip. Talking to a monk for 3 hours about his life in the monastery was definately one. It was very fascinating to learn about his beliefs and way of living.

Without a doubt though, my best moment, was the hot air balloon ride over Bagan. The view of the land, dotted with thousands of stupas was simply breathtaking. Our very English captain, Crispin, has flown balloons all over the world yet he says this is the best place he's been.

After 4 weeks in Burma, Bangkok was the next stop. Just a week here to relax a bit and recharge the batteries. It was busy, fun and vibrant. Totally different from where we'd just been. Spurred on by a little bit of alcohol I was brave enough to try some of the local delicacies. Ants, crickets, grubs and even a cockroach!!! As you'd expect it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I visited a Tiger Sanctuary whilst in Thailand. It was quite a sad place as the tigers were chained up so you could touch them. But the aim of the sanctuary is to look after tigers, expand their breeding program and stop them becoming extinct, so it's not all bad.

Philippines wasn't in the original travel plan, but after a week in Bangkok I found myself on a flight to Manila. So happy that the plans changed and we ended up here.

First, we headed up North to see the 2000 year old rice terraces, rightly dubbed "the eighth wonder of the world". Then it was a little bit of island hopping on some very dodgy looking boats, eventually landing in Donsol where I spent the most amazing day of my life.

I swam with a 30 foot whale shark. Wow, wow, wow. The feeling of being that close to something so huge and so powerful is truly indescribable. The only thing I can say is if you ever get the chance to do it, do it.

The next day I went to Legaspi and saw the world's most perfect volcano, with smoke still spewing from it's top. ANOTHER breathtaking sight. So many times on this trip have I been wowed by the natural beauty in front of me.

I'm now on a paradise island with white sands, clear blue waters and coconut trees everywhere you turn. It really is heaven. So I'm writing this with a rum and coke in my hand, trying to come to terms with the fact that in 4 days time I'll be on a plane bound for Heathrow :-(.

I'll be very sad to leave but excited to see all my friends and family. Especially the new addition, baby Reece, who was born while I've been away. And believe it or not I'm ready now to get back to Cyprus and get back to work.

Jill x