My Birthday In Abu Dhabi

I have grown not to be the biggest fan of birthdays in recent years.  You always feel let down by friends who text you at the last minute to say they can’t make your get together anymore, or someone important to you that forgets to wish you.  So whilst this may sound extremely bratty, I really don’t like being in South Africa, or, at least not in Cape Town for my birthday.  So when Christine mentioned that I should come visit her in Abu Dhabi, I figured my birthday would be the perfect timing, as the backpackers would also be quieter during that time and Abu Dhabi wouldn’t be too hot yet. 

Christine flew to Lagos, Nigeria, 2 days before my birthday and was due to arrive back the morning of, so I went to bed really late the night before my birthday so that I would want to sleep when she came in.  I woke up at 8am to let her in, where I was surprised by a birthday cheese cake…a very welcome surprise!!  After enjoying a slice as well as one of my many cans of Coke (AED 1.50 each!!), we went back to sleep and I managed to get about another 4 hours sleep in.  There was something about Abu Dhabi that made me want to sleep in very late each day, no matter what time I had gone to bed the night before.  When we got up around 2am, we lit all my candles and then I had some more cake J 

We had decided that we were going to go for half price sushi for my birthday, so when we hailed the cab, I figured that’s where we were going.  But, Christine had another surprise up her sleeve, this time a pedicure as my other birthday present.  I have hardly ever had pedicures so this was a real treat for me!!  The Philipino ladies who worked in the shop were so sweet, I don’t think I will actually ever forget Margie and Rhonda.  I got a wonderful foot massage before getting painted with a lovely pink nail polish (which has lasted to over a month later).

From Bellacure, we headed off to Aloft for sushi, which Christine wasn’t joking about when she said that I needed to dress up.  Going out places in Abu Dhabi are a LOT more ‘dressy’ than Cape Town!!  We ordered some cocktails as well as sushi (no salmon roses in Abu Dhabi!!) and wow I was not disappointed.  Their tuna sashimi was the best that I have ever tasted, wow.  I ended up ordering another portion, before we debated where we wanted to for drinks afterwards.  We ended up deciding on a club at a hotel in Yas, which had become my favourite area.  The music that was being played there was super cheesy, and Christine and I realised that we no longer really knew how to dance to anything but trance, so we just tranced to the commercial music J  I was happy though, as they had Strongbow draught, which I have missed terribly from the UK. 

All in all it was an amazing birthday spent with my friend and definitely a really great decision to spend it in Abu Dhabi!

Maya Island

When Christine mentioned that we were going to a place only open on Fridays called Maya Island, I asked her what it was and she said ‘drinking and pools’.  I figured there might be a big pool with a small bar next to it and that would be about it.  So on Friday morning we had a nice sleep in, then woke up, got dressed in our bikinis and headed into a cab.  When we got to the dock where the boat would leave from, it seemed like some kind of abandoned construction site.  I later realised this was probably to conceal the whole thing from conservative Abu Dhabi, especially as it said on the rules board ‘No local dress allowed’.  We got on the boat, headed out for about 20 minutes (the view of Abu Dhabi from the boat is amazing!!) and when we came close to the island, I realised very quickly that this was more than just a pool and a bar.  This was amazing!!  There was one HUGE pool, surrounded by about 3 other pools and a big Jacuzzi.  There was a massive stage playing awesome house music, as well as inside the pool was a huge bar, with the bar stools being in the actual pool!  There were sun loungers everywhere to lie on, either pool side or on the beach front.  I was shocked, never in a million years did I expect to find this in Abu Dhabi.  I felt like I was back in Ibiza the year before at a Bora-Bora beach party, not in a Muslim country!  It was a hot day, so we got our drink vouchers and then spent a couple of hours between lying next to the pool, swimming in the pool and lying in the Jacuzzi.  Once it started to get dark we went to sit on the bean bags for a bit and chat, before heading back to get a boat back to Abu Dhabi as we didn’t know when the last one was leaving.  This was definitely one of the highlights of my stay, it was very amazing to see this ‘great escape’ from the Arab-ness of the rest of the country!

My First Day In Abu Dhabi

When I planned to go to Abu Dhabi, my main purpose was to go and see my friend Christine, and so I didn't give much thought to what I would actually get to see there, or that this was my first time seeing a country which isn't totally westernized.  Coming out at arrivals in Abu Dhabi airport, I was so so excited to see Christine and it was amazing to be reunited with her outside Starbucks.  We got into a cab outside the airport, and driving down the motorway for the first time was a totally surreal experience.  It felt like a never ending road to nowhere.  But seeing all the different mosques all over the place it started to dawn on me how different (in a good way) this country really was.  After about 20 minutes in the cab, we drove past the Grand Mosque, one of the biggest mosques in the world, and what would be one of the stops on our sightseeing.  Driving into Abu Dhabi centre was so interesting.  Some of the buildings looked like something out of an Indian slum, very run down or even half destroyed, whilst others looked brand new and very expensive.  Christine's building inside was very fancy, like nothing you would find in Cape Town.  As neither of us had had any sleep the night before, we got into bed, but I soon heard the nyaaaaaaaa of the mosque across the road singing their ''call-to-prayer''.  As Christine had told me about this so many times it was rather exciting for me to finally hear it live...so I went to her window to see it, though there really wasn't all that much to see!

After getting about 5 hours sleep, we woke up very hungry and so headed down to the corniche (a strip of restaurants and such along the beach front of Abu Dhabi).  It was there I discovered one of the new loves of my life - the tortellini pasta at Rosa Belina.  Most amazing spinach and riccota pasta with a sundried tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar drizzeled over it...too amazing!!  Over the course of the trip, I managed to eat this meal 4 times.  After we'd finished our lunch we walked along the corniche a bit more and bought some YogaDay - a very yummy frozen yogurt with some interesting toppings like pomogranites.  We sat on the beach a bit and then hailed another cab to take us down to the Grand Mosque as it had started getting dark. The roads in the UAE are very strange.  For starters you drive on the right hand side of the road, and secondly, when you come out of somewhere, there is no option to turn either left or right, you have to turn right and then do a U-turn.  The city is also not very friendly to walking, as pavements and padestrian crossings are few and far between.

We got to the Grand Mosque and it was very beautiful from the outside.  The lights on the water features by night were just stunning!! We had to wear proper Muslim abaya to be allowed in so we got givenn some in the changing rooms.  Christine and I looked pretty funny in them!  Although the place was pretty breathtaking, a lot of the decorations, especially those inside were very 'kitch' and a lot of the gold looked very fake, so I didn't really know what to make of a lot of it. 

After being at the Grand Mosque, we went to one of Christine’s friends, Shannon’s house and from there headed to an Irish bar.  Abu Dhabi has ladies nights where drinks are free for ladies, and it was tonight, so I enjoyed a couple of free vodka mixers which was nice.  There were some very weird guys who danced very strangely but made for funny entertainment.  I went to bed very exhausted that night, but having had an amazing first day in Abu Dhabi.  It’s a funny feeling being in love with several cities around the world, but your own city not being one of them.  This is definitely a place in which I could see myself living.  Tomorrow’s Plan – Yas WaterWorld!

Home again...

All I wanted, every second of every day for a year and a half, was to go home.  Home, being London.  I truly believe that home is where the heart is, and from my first time of setting foot in London, I knew that this was home for me.  So, when the day finally came for me to finally go back, I actually couldn't believe it.  It was not until I landed at Heathrow, and the cabin crew said ''ladies and gentlemen, welcome to London'', that I cried like a baby.  I was convinced that I wasn't going to make it though immigration for some reason, but they went really easy on me.  I got my bags, hopped on the tube and headed for Russell Square.  On coming out of the tube station, I got incredibly emotional once again.  It was the wierdest feeling walking these streets once again.  I headed straight to the Generator, my second home, where I was re-united with my lovely friend Lisa.  I also got to see some other old friends from the Gen, which was amazing!  That night I went back to my favourite restaurant, Wetherspoons, and had my favourite meal, nachos as well as my first freshly poured Strongbow cider.  Amazingness!!  Throughout my trip, I went to various different places which I had missed dearly, like Kensington Gardens, the Cath Kidston shop in Sloan Square, Victoria Station, Oxford Street, Little Venice, Leytonstone and Stratford Centre.  I realised though that there are many things I miss, that you can't get back just on a holiday, like convenience (being able to get KFC in an ad break or the post office being a 30 second walk away), or safety - being able to walk home from my night bus stop at 4am with my iPod on blast.  Or night buses, meaning i never worried about drink driving.
This trip did help provide me with a little bit of closure, helped me to accept a little bit more that its not meant to be - for now.  I will never give up hope that I will move over permanantly one day.

Woah! We're going to Ibiza!

So...my little Eurotrip, just off my trip to the UK, was going amazingly.  I'd had 3 super days in Amsterdam showing my friend around (it was her first time - my third).  We'd then headed on to Barcelona and now, here we were at Barcelona El Prat airport, waiting to catch out plane to Ibiza.  If I am very honest, I wasn't dying with excitement, as I was literally picturing myself not eating anything for 4 days, and going all the way to this island and not being able to do any partying, as I'd been told by so many people that it was the most expensive place on Earth.  Anyway, we had managed to get the flights for 20 quid each way, so I was going, even if it was just to tick the box.

Once my friend and I boarded the plane, much to our relief, as we were convinced the ever un-friendly Ryanair staff were going to say our bags were to big, we took off and were set for our island adventure.  The flight lasted about 40 minutes and on landing, I was already surprised at how awesome the island looked.  We went to the information desk to try and figure out how to get from the airport to our hotel.  I saw a sign that said ''hotel transfer, 50 euros''.  I went cold - that was half my budget.  How was I going to do this?? The lady then told us though that their was a bus we could take, for 3 euros!!  I couldn't believe it.  We got on the bus, which was packed.  Felt like real rural travelling.  On the way, we passed a McDonalds.  Okay, I thought, this can't be too bad, I can always survive on McDonalds for a few days.  When we got off at our stop, we were a 10 minute walk from where we were staying, so we peaked into some shops on the way.  Too my surprise, I was seeing food for way cheaper than the other European cities!  I was shocked...

Our hotel was awesome, it had a huge pool, which was surrounded by sun lounges.  Our room was cozy with a fridge and airconditioning.  My friend and I were starving, so we went to the restaurant next door.  I managed to get myself a bowl of tortellini pasta, as well as a cider for just 8 euros!  Stoked...

The next day we took the 20 minute walk down to Ibiza Town where all the shops were located.  The only negative thing I could say about this part of town was that a lot of the shop attendants tried to rip me off with change, trying to give me back incorrect amounts of money.  Luckily though I was on such a tight budget that I realized this everytime.  After Ibiza Town, I went back to the hotel with my stacks of British gossip magazines and lay by the pool for house, jumping into the water every once in a while to cool off.

On the Sunday night, we headed town to Playa den Bossa, to check out the Bora Bora beach party.  I couldn't believe my eyes when we got there.  Thousands of people everywhere, all partying it up on the beach front, drinks flowing, music booming and just the most amazing feeling being there!!  We stayed a little while then went out for dinner on the busy main street of Bossa.  This head to be the worst meal I'd had so far though...Club sandwhich aka cardboard and cheese :/

On the Monday, our second last day, we managed, through a very kind friend, to get on the door of Space Ibiza night club.  I was soooo excited, I think this is anyone who has ever been to a club's dream.  We hoped in a cab and as we got out the cab and I looked up, an aeroplane came swooping overhead (the airport was very close by), it was an amazing feeling to be standing there ready to go in!  We got inside, and I was pleasantly surprised by the level of security in the place!!  We headed to the dancefloor (this is where Ibiza can be accused of being out-of-control expensive, a single vodka/coke was 15 euros!).  I really had a fantastic night!! Whilst I did sort of felt like I had listened to the same song the whole night, I danced like crazy truly had an amazing time.

Besides the amazing party vibe and lying in the sun - the island really is just so beautiful.  The beaches are the picture of beauty and the views are phenominal.  I really do feel like this island holds a piece of my heart now and I was very sad when we had to leave!!  I definately know though that this is one place where I will definately be back, and soon!

The great trek from Coffee Bay to Lubanzi....stretching boundries and pushing the limits.

How do you put into words, an experience that truly changed your life and how you look at things?  Something that you can always look back on when you feel that you are unable to do something, and know that you did that even whilst it felt impossible?  I will try, because I would like to be able to look back on this when the memories start to fade.

When Kim & I started planning our road trip from Durban to Cape Town, she mentioned that getting a shuttle between Coffee Bay, Wild Lubanzi and Bulungula would be more effort than it was worth, as we would have to drive all the way back to Umtata first, and then get a lift out again, so we should rather walk it, which would be about a 4 hour hike each day.  I was very sceptical about this, as besides the fact that I never exercise, I had sprained my ankle just over a month prior to that that was by no means healed yet, so I didn’t know how I would cope.  I decided, however, to have the mindset that I was going to push the boundries and try new things and so decided to go for it.  I would only draw the line at jumping off a bridge or out of a plane!

Coffee Bay was beautiful and I was just blown away by the seemingly never ending coastline and beautiful beaches!  One downfall though was that it was incredibly hot so I wondered how I was going to manage this walk in this extreme heat.  Anyways, not deterred by the challenges, I woke up the next morning and loaded up with a big breakfast.  Kim told me to get a decent amount of water, but for some reason I thought this was a strange request because I really didn’t think that I was going to get that thirsty!  Little did I know...

We set off just after 10am with our guide Silas, and 4 other hikers from the backpackers.  Once we got to the top of the first hill I was totally out of breath and grabbed the water and drank almost half the bottle!  I was a little shell shocked at this point as the harsh reality of what I was about to do hit me.  However, once we continued, the views and what we saw in front of us was just so unbelievably beautiful that it really had a way of distracting me from being tired and my muscles aching.  I also had Kim who was being really motivating and encouraging, so, to my surprise, I actually started to really enjoy myself!  (Yes, this was a shock, as I was doing strenuous exercise!) 

We continued to hike for another hour or so when we got to a beach.  I was pretty amped to take a dip in the ocean, as it was very hot!!  The ocean in the Eastern Cape is quite a bit warmer than in Cape Town, so the swim was very refreshing!!  After our swim, Silas told us not to put our shoes back on, as there would be a part of the hike in about 5 minutes where we would have to swim as there would be no path to walk on.  When we got to the spot where we had to jump into the ocean, I was a little nervous, and as luck would have it, when I jumped in, the current picked up and I got sent in a bit of a circle.  One of the other hikers grabbed my hand and lifted me out of the water. 

We continued on and got to a very steep hill, which took me almost 15 minutes to get up, with everyone else waiting at the top of the hill for me (embarrassing!).  I think what was tougher than the tiredness, was being so incredibly thirsty and only having warm, not so tasty water to drink.  One of the other hikers was snacking on Pringles and offering them around but I couldn’t even think of eating when I was so thirsty.  We were applying sunblock to ourselves about every half an hour but I was still aware that I was burning pretty badly!  Not too much we could do about it.

About two hours into the walk I really felt like I had reached the limits of my fitness levels, but I was very determined to push ahead and complete the hike, at least until The-Hole-In-The-Wall.  With Kim’s encouragement, I pushed ahead until we walked to the top of yet another hill, just over 4 hours into the hike.  When I got to the top, I saw a big village in front of me.  Silas told us that this was the village of the Hole-In-The-Wall and that we were almost at the end.  At this point I got a little teary, as I couldn’t believe I had made it this far.  It may not be a huge achievement to some, but I was pretty stoked with myself for making it this far, as besides the Argus Cycle Tour in 2004, this was the hardest I had ever pushed myself to complete something.  I had proven to myself, by myself, that anything was possible and that sometimes you really should try and stretch the boundries and push yourself further than you think you can go.

I finally got to the Hole-In-The-Wall, which was spectacular, though not quite as much as some of the things which I had seen on the actual hike!!  I finally got my wish for an ice-cold coke granted and had 2 hours to kill before my lift to Wild Lubanzi Backpackers would arrive, so I had a nice long swim in the pool at The-Hole-In-The-Wall Hotel and chilled on the lawn.  2 very nice backpackers from Wild Lubanzi came to pick me up at 6pm and drove me to the lodge where I met up with Kim again.  She cooked us a delicious hearty dinner which went down very well after the days walking!!  I went to bed with a big smile on my face because of what I had achieved that day.  Thanks Kim for making it possible and showing me how do to prove to myself that anything is possible!!

My Big Road Trip: Umzumbe to Coffee Bay

Umzumbe to Coffee Bay.....

I spent the first night of my whirlwind Durban to Cape Town trip at a lovely backpackers called Mantis & Moon backpackers.  The rooms are located in and amoungst the trees, some of them even in tree houses so it has a lovely magical feel to it.  I was a little creeped out by some of the bugs but none-the-less was pretty excited about having the experience of staying here.  I headed to the bar and got myself a nice cocktail to get started with.

The next morning I set my alarm for bright and early to catch the BazBus that would take us on the 6 hour journey to Coffee Bay.  The drive was really scenic and we had a very funny and friendly driver, John.   Shortly after out lunch stop, we passed the border between Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces.  It was interesting how the scenery changed almost immediately from tropical trees to hundreds of little rondawel huts.  The BazBus then dropped us in Umtata where we waited for the shuttle to Coffee Bay.  The road from Umtata to Coffee Bay its rather wonky, but so scenic!!

Once we got to Coffee Bay we were immediately greeted by a very friendly member of staff who showed us around the place and then gave us a welcome drink.  We were told about a full moon party which would be happening that night and a beach day the next day so it was obvious that they are always organizing fun things for guests to do.  We headed to our room to chill a bit and settle in before re-joining the group for the Full Moon Party.  We were taken to the top of a hill which had the most breathtaking views.  Here we were given free mussels and vodka-sprites.

The next morning I woke up very early as I was very hot!  I went to the outdoor communal area to find that Coffee Shack had an awesome breakfast menu.  So 2 fried eggs, some bacon, and baked beans later, I was very full and ready to start the big hike to Hole-in-the-Wall!

Some of my ''I can't believe I am actually seeing this'' travel moments!

As I traveller, someone who lives to travel and who's whole world is about travelling, I have a few memories whilst travelling of stopping and thinking ''I am so lucky to be seeing this right now'' and ''I can't believe I am experiencing this''.  So I thought I would share some of them with you.

1.  Sydney Opera House, Australia


After a long morning taking a train from my friends house in Mount Evelyn to Melbourne City Centre, from there the SkyBus to Melbourne Airport, waiting 4 hours for my delayed flight to Sydney and then the flight from Melbourne to Sydney, I was pretty tired by the time I got onto the train from Sydney Airport to the city centre. So I found a chair in a quiet area of the train and lay my head against the window, half dozing.  About 10 minutes into the journey something made me look up.  And there, right in front of me, was the Sydney Opera House!  It is a landmark I have wanted to see pretty much my whole life and was just so excited to be standing in front of it, I actually got all teary-eyed.  What a beautiful sight!

2. My First Kangaroo and Koala!!

There are 2 things which I really wanted to see whilst in Australia, a Kangaroo and a koala.  I was fortunate enough to see kangaroos at Melbourne Zoo, Australia Zoo as well as roaming the streets randomly in Queensland!  I even got to eat some kangaroo meet at my Aussie BBQ birthday bash and it is delicious!!  I got to hold a koala at Australia Zoo, Queensland which was a very special experience.

3.  Manchester United Stadium, Manchester England

Although I'm not a big sports fan at all, I figured a visit to Manchester would not be complete without a visit to Old Trafford to see the Manchester United Stadium.  It is huge!!!

4. Loch Ness, Scotland


This has to be one of the most breathtaking views in the world!  The whole drive from Glasgow to Loch Ness I had my face right up against the bus window just trying to take it all in.

5. Loch Lomond, Scotland

Not far behind Loch Ness in the beauty department, Loch Lomond also took my breath away!  So much so that I returned the following year to see it all again.  

6. FatBoySlim

International artists coming to visit South Africa as a rare occurance, so when I was invited to see FatBoySlim by my good friend Lisa, I was pretty stoked.  It was at one of London's most popular annual festivals, SW4.  Also playing was Carl Cox, who was also awesome as well as Armand van Helden.  It poured with rain, but we still pushed our way right to the front till we were bare metres away from FatBoy himself.  This day definately goes down as one of the best days of my life!!