“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Passport & Plate - Nandani's Sri Lankan brinjal curry

travelbug77 — Thu, 5 Mar 2015 19:27:19 GMT

Ingredients
500g eggplant – sliced in wedges like chips

2 green chilli finely diced

1 onion thinly sliced

2 tomatoes roughly diced

1 level teaspoon of minced garlic

1 level teaspoon of minced ginger

1 teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon pepper powder

½ teaspoon of masala

¼ teaspoon of turmeric

¼ teaspoon of mustard powder

Small cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teacup of coconut milk

How to prepare this recipe
Heat a fry pan or wok with oil, enough to cover the surface, until very hot. Once ready add the eggplant and fry until dark golden brown and slightly crunchy. When done put aside.

Fry the sliced onion, ginger, garlic and green pepper until light, golden brown and then add the chopped tomatoes.

After a couple of minutes add salt, chilli powder, pepper powder, masala, turmeric mustard powder and cinnamon. Stir thoroughly until all the spices are mixed through.

Add the eggplant back into the pan and add the coconut milk, combine well. Cook for about 2 minutes then stir through a tablespoon of caster sugar.

Before serving take out the cinnamon stick and discard. Serve with rice and roti and eat without cutlery if you’re game!

The story behind this recipe
As I prepare the curry, slicing the eggplant and chopping the tomatoes I remember Nandani’s instructions “make sure the pan is very hot” and her laughter as my delicate eyes could not contain my tears from the onion.

Nandani was my host mother while I lived in Sri Lanka, and I her ‘Australian baby’ which she would proudly tell the neighbours and anyone who asked.

The eggplant curry was my favourite dish and one of many she taught me to cook in the back of the kitchen with the rows of glass jars filled with an assortment of spices lining the wall. The recipe, like all the others, was passed to her down the generations and she worked not from a cook book but years of practice.

While I happily gobbled down all of her meals her aromatic, eggplant curry always left me wanting more. The crisp outer layer of the vegetable gives way to the soft, hearty flesh inside and the mix of spices; masala, turmeric, and mustard powder blend perfectly. The long green chilies, pepper powder and chili powder produce a fiery kick but are balanced out with the hint of sweetness from the cinnamon and sugar. The smooth coconut milk combines with the juicy tomatoes creating a creamy, soothing sauce interrupted by the crunch of the crispy eggplant.

Served with roti I would tear off small portions of the bread with my hand and scoop up some of the curry along with rice, doing my best not to dribble the mouthwatering meal down my chin.

Nandani, with her big brown eyes and smiling face, would eat with me and tell me stories about life in Sri Lanka and press me for details about life in Australia. We would sit for hours on the plastic chairs at the table covered in newspaper.

We did exactly this on my last night in Sri Lanka, the hot air clinging to my shirt as I helped my Sri Lankan mum cook my favourite meal. When I cook the curry at home for friends and family I think of walking down the dirt lane to her house tucked away and shaded by palms and beginning our cooking lessons once more.

Breathtaking Africa

travelbug77 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:45:00 GMT

Well this is very late but hey better late than never! Limited internet connection throughout Africa meant the blog didn’t get updated and it was back to the old school journal writing!

If I wrote about all my amazing experiences in Africa this blog would be about 100,000 words long, so to sum it up, Africa was AMAZING and hands down my favourite part of the trip. I had so many beautiful experiences while I was there which I got to share with some beautiful people, big shout out to my amazing tour leader Manda, cook Sofia and driver Gylos from Gecko’s tour company. Their local knowledge and great sense of humour made the trip, and by the end of the 3 weeks they felt like family and I didn’t want to say goodbye.

I had prepared myself for the adventures of camping and to be honest I was a little nervous as I had never really camped before, it’s just not something my family did when I was young, we were posh and stayed in caravans! So I packed my large supply of wet wipes imagining no showers for weeks and I got quite the surprise when all the campsites we stayed at had shower and toilet facilities with most of them also having a pool! This was definitely not what I expected but after a long hot day those showers before bed were heaven! And the tents were pretty good too, nice and roomy, I think I’ve passed the test and could definitely camp again.

Our tour started in South Africa, Cape Town and we made our way through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and ended in Zambia. I met some wonderful people along the way and as I mentioned had some of the best experiences (crashing my quad bike and smashing my face was not one of them) so I’ll just mention a few.

One of my favourite experiences of the trip was in Botswana on the Okavango Delta River where we were treated to a Mokoro ride along the river, it’s a traditional dugout canoe with boys on the back that use poles to move the Mokoro along. It was so peaceful to be moving through the water, amongst the reads almost at water level to everything. After setting up camp and having lunch the boys took us out on the river again where we spotted some hippos across the channel. We sat there for a while taking photo’s and I said to our Mokoro poler named Manpower ‘is it just me or do they seem to be getting closer’ to which he replied ‘yes they are making their way towards us so we need to leave’. We swiftly started to make our way back and had only just started moving when suddenly a huge downpour started. The cameras quickly went into plastic bags to keep them dry and initially I tried to crouch low and shelter but soon realised my attempts were futile. We were all sitting in these Mokoro’s getting absolutely drenched with fish jumping out of the water and over our heads, one even landed in the boat next to me. It was one of those moments that you had to have been there for but it was really funny, the image of all of us sitting in these Mokoro’s soaked to the skin while the poler boys furiously tried to get back to shore with us laughing our heads of while the fish jumped out of the water all around.

Seeing all the wildlife was of course one of the best parts of the trip and we got to see the elusive big five but the highlight for me was when we saw a male Lion close up, it was truly spectacular. He was a young male sitting by the roadside drinking from a puddle and he just watched us while we watched him and snapped away. It was breathtaking to be that close.

My memories of Africa will be of beautiful sunsets and sunrises, the Christmas day sunrise while we were on the houseboat on the Okavango Delta was by far the best, the wildlife and breathtaking scenery and of course the beautiful people I met along the way.

Africa definitely stole my heart and I will be going back one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, to explore the rest of the fascinating continent!

Photos: Namibia

travelbug77 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:07:00 GMT

Photos: South Africa

travelbug77 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

travelbug77 — Sat, 8 Dec 2012 08:43:00 GMT

Well 7 weeks in the UK has flown by and it’s time for me to begin the last leg of my journey and head to Africa where some much longed for sun will welcome me!

Despite the cold weather and trying to acclimatise to the lack of sun I couldn’t have asked for a better 7 weeks in the UK.

Afternoon tea at the fancy Mayfair Hotel, a night at the West End to see the theatre production Cabaret, regular trips into London to see Alice (including a Jamie Oliver cooking class), a trip to Budapest with Sade and a booty shaking Nigerian wedding!

I joined the family at Uncle Ade’s nieces wedding where I got to view the beautiful and colourful dresses and hats, enjoy the delicious food and get up and shake my booty ass with Uncle Ade while getting money placed on me! Apparently it’s not just a tradition to give the bride and groom money during the money dance but everyone as a sign of appreciation for coming to the wedding. Had I known that earlier I would have gotten up and danced my booty off earlier!

A quick trip to Budapest with Sade was a nice way to spend part of my last week here. Although it was absolutely freezing, the cold European weather does give off more of a Christmas feel. Ice-skating on the lake, visiting the Christmas markets, high tea in a beautiful top floor restaurant of a bookshop while a man played the piano, a visit to the thermal spa’s and a river cruise took up our days.

The novelty of the trip for me was of course when it started to snow and it actually settled! I had my first snowball fight although the fun wore off quickly because it was just so cold! On my return to Luton I was even more surprised to find the roads icy and a layer of snow in the backyard.

That pretty much sums up my last couple of weeks in the UK and as I’m preparing for my flight tomorrow to take me to sunny Africa where my camping challenge will begin I’m sad to say goodbye to my family, not knowing when I will see them again. I have mixed emotions but I am looking forward to getting on the move again and for whatever life has in store for me back home in Australia.

Life in the motherland

travelbug77 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:08:00 GMT

This blog update is long overdue but surprisingly I don’t have too much to report on, just living a bit more of a regular life here in the UK as compared to the jam packed adventures of travelling from place to place.

It’s absolutely freezing over here, I do miss the Spanish climate and of course the Spanish food but it’s nice to be back in the comfort of the family home and not having to deal with the dramas of work.

I’ve had a few dog sitting jobs since I’ve been back so I’ve found myself once again walking through the muddy heaths of the UK and earning my pounds which has been great. Apart from that I’ve been heading into the brilliant London once a week to see my friend Alice who thank god has kept me alive by letting me borrow her winter coat while I’m here! I’ve spent some time with my cousin Sade who lives in a more rural area called Market Harborough where she works as a vet and I’ve got an upcoming weekend with my other cousin Ade and his girlfriend Annika who live in Shoreditch, London.

It’s really nice to be in the UK not as a tourist this time but just enjoying London without having to rush around ticking off all the sights. It’s nice to be able to discover different places and to catch up with friends and family for a meal and a drink in places they know are good not what’s written in the tourist guide. Of course being a tourist is great and the first time I came here seeing Buckingham Palace and the rest was fun and exciting but this time around it’s nice to be able to be a bit more relaxed and just go with the flow.

I’ve got a few things left on my agenda before I head off to begin my African adventure so I’m filling up my days with a trip to the west end to see a theatre production, a big Nigerian family wedding, a day trip to Brighton, a weekend stay in London with Ade and a possible 3 or 4 day trip somewhere in Europe as a last hurrah before I find myself in the hot plains of Africa for the next adventure!

Goodbye Spain

travelbug77 — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 23:01:00 GMT

My time has come to an end in Spain and it’s back to the UK I go. Things didn’t really work out at my internship so I decided it was best to head back to where my family are and see if I can pick up some casual work while I’m there before my Africa tour starts.

My last week in Spain was fantastic as a special someone came to visit me. While I was expecting the lovely Alice to come and spend a week with me it was actually Michael who came to surprise me, everyone was in on the secret but me, I had no idea! Because I had already finished up at the paper I was able to spend the entire 5 days with him and because he had hired a car we were able to drive around and see some of the surrounding villages and towns so it was a great way to end my days in Spain.

We visited Casares which was a typically old school Spanish village with white washed walls and cute old Spanish men sitting on benches chatting the day away. We also drove to Ronda about an hour away which was beautiful and had a very ancient history feel to it. There was a large Moroccan influence there with many of the shops seeling typically Moroccan ceramics and tea sets, it was nice to be reminded of my time spent in Marrakech. And of course I couldn’t leave Spain without visiting the village Júzcar, also known as the smurf village. It was absolutely hilarious! All the houses are painted blue and there are smurf drawings and statues around the village, they definitely found a niche market and it’s certainly a successful way to attract the tourists and make money! Apparently before the village was painted blue and had the smurf theme they attracted around 300 tourists a year but in the six months since the smurf theme took over they had 80,000 tourists so they are reaping the rewards.

The weekend before my surprise visit Dana and I escaped and spent 3 days in Sevilla about a 4 hour bus trip away. There are not many big cities that I would refer to as beautiful and clean but Sevilla was definitely one of them. There were beautiful parks and gardens one of which was hosting a festival of nations and Australia made the cut! At the Aussie bar you could buy a Fosters beer and eat a Sydney burger; steak in a bun, very Australian! The cathedral and palace gardens were beautiful, it was nice to just walk around and admire the views and stop for a picnic in the park, jamón and cheese on a baguette!

Because Estepona is very small it was also nice to just be in the hustle and bustle of a city again where there were endless bars and restaurants to choose from, the best tapas I’ve had so far in one of them! Dana and I also dressed up for the night and had a very romantic date night, dinner followed by a flamenco show.

Tomorrow, 25 October, I leave and head back to the UK. Part of me is sad that I won’t be spending the full 2 months here that I had planned. My Spanish is still extremely basic so the longer I stay the better chance I would have of improving it. I also love the lifestyle over here, while some may complain at everything being closed on Sunday I love it. It means you have to relax and take a rest because there’s nothing else to do! The food of course will be greatly missed although I’m sure my waistline will appreciate the break from churros. I’m looking forward though to going back to the UK and spending more time with my family and my friend Alice. It will be nice to be around familiar faces and the comfort of my home away from home.

Just have to survive the cold and then Africa in December here I come!

Freelancing in Sevilla - protestors march against budget cuts

travelbug77 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:01:00 GMT

Protestors took to the streets in Sevilla on Saturday, October 13, to march against the government’s budget cuts and proposed bailout.

Their banner stating ‘we don't owe, we won’t pay’ lead the group of around 500 protestors who shouted slogans as they pounded pots and pans.

The protest was just one of many which has taken place around the country this month as Spaniards are growing increasingly frustrated with the tough measures the government has introduced to save the failing economy.

Speaking to me as he marched along with the crowd, protestor Rafael Granadoes said “we are against the budget cuts and politics in general”.

“We shouldn’t have to pay back a debt that has been created by a few,” Rafael added.

Fellow protestor Nori Ortegas also shared her frustration telling me,

“They need to stop bailing out the banks and realise that it’s us who are going to have to pay back this debt in the long run,” she said.

My life as a journalist in Spain

travelbug77 — Mon, 8 Oct 2012 21:52:00 GMT

After the mishap of the car breaking down from my last post, yes I’ve learnt my lesson, the rest of that week went by pretty smoothly. While the office is in a beautiful location it’s not exactly ideal in terms of accessibility. A tree fell down that same week due to some of the heavy rains we had and blocked the single gravel track so no-one could get in or out. Hence the library became our office for the day with our editor emailing back and forth.

For those that didn’t hear, Malaga which is only about an hour away from me had huge floods recently with around 10 people losing their life. It was devastating and the clean-up is going to be huge, something I’m sure Spain’s economy hadn’t bargained for. While we were ok here in Estepona the debris from both the recent fires and now the floods has started washing up on Estepona’s beaches. Lots of logs and tree branches as well as dirt can be found along the shore.

My work at the newspaper is forcing me to adapt and learn a different style of writing. In terms of the newspapers audience I’m learning that in general the British expat is not that interested in hard news so my stories so far have been pretty soft. Not trying to stereotype, I’m sure there are British people over here that enjoy some hard hitting news but generally speaking our audience is not interested in this form of information.

The newspaper is very tabloid, a style of writing I’m not used to so I have to adapt to that form of journalism. I’m also having to get used to the way they put together content. From university and other internships I’ve done I was always taught to get two sides to every story and only publish what you know as fact. At the newspaper this isn’t always the case. Again it’s a different style than what I’m used to, I guess being able to adapt can only make me a better journalist...I hope.

I did get to attend the Marbella International Film Festival which was a good chance to get out of the office and interview some people for our (Dana and I) story. There were a whole bunch of different films being shown from independent film makers from across the globe, some made on a budget of 30 pounds. The day was a nice break from routine and a good chance to get out and meet some people.

As for my free time I’m still enjoying the delicious tastes of Spain and I went a step further last night joining my fellow Spaniards to watch the Madrid v Barcelona game. While football isn’t really my sport of choice as they say when in Spain…..It was pretty intense, all the bars were packed and I actually got really into it. I decided to go for Barcelona having done a stadium tour there years ago but unfortunately they didn’t win, it was a draw. I really wanted there to be a winner so I could see some people go crazy but it was still a good match.

Four day working week this week then off to Sevilla for a little getaway, counting down.

Spanish siesta’s, paella, churros oh and work….

travelbug77 — Tue, 2 Oct 2012 03:48:00 GMT

Spanish life is going well for me, the Spanish diet is not going so well or should I say it’s going down a little too easy. Paella, churros, crepes, baguettes, jamón (delicious ham), chorizo and salami are the staples of my diet; perhaps this is contributing to why my clothes are starting to feel a little tighter and my stomach seems to regularly have more of a bloated look!

On my weekends after enjoying some sun on the beach or a walk around town accompanied by some delicious food I then get to enjoying my siesta, finally I have an excuse to nap, this country definitely understands my needs.

Having a base for a while is fantastic, having a wardrobe to hang my clothes in instead of living out of my backpack is a small luxury and it’s been great to be able to cook at home. Dana and I learnt our lesson about not doing food shopping on a Sunday however as everything is closed, it appears Sundays are a day of rest for all.

Keeping to Spanish time is harder than we thought. Everyone eats so late here, about 10:00pm and no-one really heads out for a night out before 12pm so learning to have a late afternoon or early evening snack is a priority. During the week however as we are getting up at a normal time to go to work we are going to bed at our normal time so we are trying really hard to at least adapt to the later Spanish schedule on weekends.

The office for the Olive Press newspaper where I’m doing my internship is in the beautiful countryside of Casares. The drive itself to get to the office is picturesque with the rolling hills as a backdrop to a landscape dotted with big beautiful country homes, animals and meadows.

To get to the office itself you have to drive down a winding gravel track where eventually you get to big wrought iron gates which open up to a huge property which holds both my editors family home and the large separate office to one side. The house looks straight out of the pages of a designer magazine, it’s absolutely stunning and the views from our office windows of the hills and fields can be quite distracting.

The second day at the office was a bit of an adventure….I drove the company car around Spain. Driving on the opposite side of the road took a bit of getting used to especially in a manual car when I’m used to my gear stick being on the left of me. It was quite stressful and definitely nerve racking, the tension headache was definitely in full swing, but all was going well until….we filled up the car with petrol instead of diesel. Needless to say we didn’t make it much further until it packed up on us. Stranded in a town still a good 40 minutes away from where we needed to be to do our stories we had to call insurance and wait for a tow truck to come and take away the one remaining office car that was in use, the other two taken off the road just last week. Fortunately Dana is fluent in Spanish so was able to deal with insurance etc. The rest of the day involved taking numerous buses to get to Mijas, a small Spanish village which we were doing a feature story on, and several buses back home. To complete the day nicely I also managed to fall down some stairs, slightly grazing and bruising my arm, apparently my sandals don’t agree with Spain’s tiled pavements as I’m finding out. It was 9pm when we finally dragged our tired, sunburnt selves back home, totally exhausted and wondering what the rest of the week will be like!

Photos: Spain

travelbug77 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 01:18:00 GMT

Immersion

travelbug77 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 01:13:00 GMT

Life in Spain has begun with my two month stay underway.

With my Spanish extremely limited I have been thrown in head first, struggling to keep up with conversations and as yet only able to say basic sentences at best. Never before have I felt so limited in my communication skills, it’s a new and uneasy feeling, frustrating at times, I’m eager to quickly learn. Lucky for me my fellow intern and housemate, Dana from Minnesota, is completely fluent so in her I have both a teacher and translator. As I stand by trying my best to follow the conversations she has with the Spaniards my inadequacies are like a flashing red light but each day I try to push myself to learn a new sentence or ask a question in Spanish. They say the fastest way to learn is by diving in and immersing yourself so here’s to hoping that after two months I can improve my vocabulary which I can further at home through more study.

My first 4 days in Spain were spent in Marbella and I’m thankful we are now living in Estepona. While Dana and I did happen to stumble across and explore the charming old streets of Marbella the majority of the city was full of uncultured tourists who drank, ate mostly English food and watched football in the restaurant strip along the beach. Huge out-dated resorts lined the ocean front and local women totted around in heels with their leathery, tanned skin partially covered in loud, bright outfits displaying most of the colours in existence.

Finding a place to live in Estepona for two months was our priority and thankfully luck was on our side and we found a place on the first day of our search. My new home is in a little guesthouse down a cobble stoned street (yes I realise the cobbled stoned streets seem to be a recurring theme in my blog) which is two streets back from the beach and one street back from the restaurant and shopping strip. My room is on the top floor with a private bathroom only used by Dana and I. We have access to the kitchen which is in the private part of the house, also on the top floor but separated from our little wing, which the hostel manager lives in. Last night marked our first home cooked meal and I think my stomach was happy with the healthy meal, if not somewhat confused!

Having had a chance to look around some of Estepona I’m very happy with my new home. It’s a much smaller city then Marbella with a much more authentic feel to it. There are more local people and fewer tourists so there is more of a chance to improve my Spanish.

Back to work on Monday after my initial first day on Friday and there is talk of driving the company car around Spain…. stay tuned!

Istanbul - a charming surprise

travelbug77 — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:28:00 GMT

If the airport was anything to go by Istanbul was going to be a challenge. Rude visa staff barking orders and demanding US dollars despite the sign on the window saying pounds were accepted. Never ending queues to get through passport control with no real order, people just crowded together jostling for the next spot, the stuffy airport heat making the wait more uncomfortable.

Istanbul however was a surprising city and one I would go back to a well as making it onto the ‘I could live here’ list. It’s a city full of history, winding cobbled stone streets throughout the old city, delicious food with 101 different ways to cook eggplant (heaven for an eggplant lover like myself) and clean streets, a nice change from many of Europe’s other major tourist cities where rubbish and graffiti cover the streets.

The city was a view into the past with grand palaces, giant mosques and insights into ancient civilisation still present from the Ottoman Empire when Sultan’s reigned. While there was always something to see or do it was also nice to relax on the roof top terrace, an amazing view of the impressive Blue Mosque on one side and the Marmara Sea on the other with a cool sea breeze often blowing.

The city was both modern, with its shopping strips in Taksim square, and charmingly old with the grand bazars and traditional Turkish bath houses.

To visit Turkey and not experience a traditional bath house service would be a sin and it is an interesting experience to say the least. Women and men are separated and after getting changed into a cotton robe I found myself walking into a huge marble, stone, domed room built in 1584 where I was requested to lay on the giant round stone slab along with the other women to let my pours open. Old Turkish ladies walk around performing the cleaning process one woman at a time. After sweating profusely for 20 minutes it was my turn to be exfoliated like never before. My skin was scrubbed raw all over by an old Turkish lady who then enveloped me in bubble bath washing me from head to toe before depositing me in a refreshing plunge pool. I walked out feeling cleaner then I had in weeks, the stress of previous travel completely gone and my skin thoroughly scrubbed and clean, ready for the next stop on my trip.

Photos: Istanbul

travelbug77 — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:14:00 GMT

When it all starts to come apart

travelbug77 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:57:00 GMT

It can’t all go smoothly for too long when it comes to travel and there is bound to be some drama along the way. While there are many great experiences and those at home are envious of the carefree life that you are living there is almost always a downside and that will eventually catch up with you.

The first thing to go wrong was Sade and I missing our flight from Marrakech to Prague for the simple fact that we got our dates wrong. So a night was spent sleeping on the floor and in chairs in the airport waiting for it to come alive again so we could rebook our flights out of there. Of course we were having problems with the internet and our attempts to rebook flights this way were unsuccessful so we had to wait many long hours and do it in person when the first workers arrived. And naturally at this stage I had come down with the traveller’s bug, my stomach hadn’t agreed with something that I’d put into it so I was feeling pretty lousy and the concrete floor and lack of sleep weren’t helping.

$700 later and we were able to leave Marrakech, the next day spent entirely in airports our new flight plan consisting of flying from Marrakech to Munich, Munich to Warsaw, Warsaw to Prague. Once in Prague our time was extremely limited, we originally only had 1 and a half days to sightsee, two nights to rest. We now only had one night to grab some dinner and sleep in a bed and a few hours in the morning to quickly sightsee before making our way back to the airport. Yes maybe it would have been easier just to go straight to Istanbul but we had already paid for a flight from Prague to Istanbul and we wanted to say that at least we had seen it.

After a rushed morning of sightseeing the beautiful old town of Prague and viewing the castle we decided to head back to the hostel to get our bags and go to the airport. We had been told what trams to catch and we gave ourselves plenty of time so we jumped on the tram and headed back. All was going well and we were heading in the right direction until we crossed a bridge we hadn’t encountered the night before and we started entering unfamiliar territory. At this point we decided to just get off before we went too much further in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for us no-one we approached with our map, and we approached many, spoke English so no-one was able to direct us back to our hostel and our plan to just jump in a taxi wasn’t going well as there wasn’t a single one in sight. So there we were two foreigners completely lost, running around a strange neighbourhood searching for a taxi or someone to help us, and time was running out. Just when things were looking dire I spotted a taxi coming down the other side of the road so I made a dash across 4 lanes of traffic madly waving for it to stop.

We picked up our bags and made our way to the airport, our panic slowly subsiding as we realised we were on the way but our concern not over as we still needed to get to the airport before check in closed. Once at the airport we found ourselves in terminal 1 and realised we needed to be in terminal 2 so panic kicked in again as we made a mad dash through the airport. Let me paint a picture of myself; trying to run with my smaller backpack on my back, oversized handbag over one shoulder, large backpack/suitcase being wheeled behind me, sweat dripping down my face, hair dishevelled, dropping things left right and centre, out of breath and calling out Sade’s name as I had lost her up ahead. Yep pretty safe to say I wasn’t looking my best. We made it to check in with 8 minutes to spare and were told to relax by the check in staff, who found us quite amusing, as our flight was delayed by 20 minutes anyway.

So it’s not always a barrel of laughs however these are the memories that make up part of your experiences and that you can look back on later and laugh despite at the time thinking the world is ending!

Photos: Prague 2012

travelbug77 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:39:00 GMT

Morocco - 'you like you buy, very good quality'

travelbug77 — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 03:35:00 GMT

Where to begin with my tales of the beautiful and intriguing Marrakech! I found myself thrown into the chaos of the city, deposited on a sidewalk in the bustling Jemma el fna square, the intense and draining heat, chaotic traffic and mass of people an overload for the senses. Fortunately the family run riad (guesthouse) my cousin Sade and I had booked was an oasis of tranquillity. From here the hustle and bustle of the outside was left behind and I was able to relax and unwind, revitalising myself before the next adventure outside.

The city provided a constant contrast with women on the street dressed in full head to toe burka’s walking alongside another female friend dressed in jeans and a nice top with their hair uncovered. Wide, paved streets housing designer shops and expensive hotels in the new city were in comparison to the old city where horse drawn carriages showed tourists the sights and donkey carts transported local goods.

Cobble stone pavements wove their way into the narrow, twisting, turning souks where I found myself lost many times! Anything you could want was to be found in the souks, from leather, spices, animals, jewellery, rugs, mirrors, crockery and much more. Finding your way in and parting with money was easy, finding your way out was another matter altogether!

A camel safari to the Zagora desert to explore outside the city was a great way to see some beautiful sights such as the Atlas Mountains and learn about the traditional Berber people but a word of advice to anyone thinking of doing a camel safari where you will be sitting on it for more than 20 minutes. Make sure the seat is comfortable and positioned well otherwise like me you will find it difficult to sit down for a few days after and your walk will turn into some weird sort of swagger!

My favourite memory of Marrakech however is by far the Jemma el fna square in the charming old district. During the day it was an open sauna with no shade, the sounds of the snake charmers could be heard loud and clear. At night it was a busy hub, full of locals and tourists, drums and dancers, story tellers, henna artists and other goods sellers and of course the open air food stalls manned by the lovely, cheeky boys doing their best Aussie accent to get you to eat at their stall ‘look and me Kim, look at me’. At all times of the day however it was a danger zone of scooters whizzing by from all directions. I managed not to get hit, although very nearly on some occasions, and for that I will go back to Marrakech one day to see once again the beautiful city full of its beautiful, friendly people. Next time I will go with an empty suitcase and a full wallet.

Photos: Morocco

travelbug77 — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:43:00 GMT

UK - from city living to country life

travelbug77 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:03:00 GMT

My two weeks in the UK is almost up and I must say it will be hard to leave and begin the next chapter of my trip. I have had such a wonderful time seeing my family again, catching up with friends who have now made London their home and enjoying past experiences from when I was last here (the St Albans Waffle House=Heaven) as well as creating new ones. But back to the beginning…..

I arrived safe and sound in the UK after a mammoth journey. From Adelaide I flew to Kuala Lumpur where I had a 9 hour wait until my flight to the UK and 9 hours is a lot of time to kill when you’re on your own. It’s true what they say that when your backpacking the majority of your time is spent just hanging around airports!

I have been staying on and off with Auntie Julie an Uncle Ade in Luton, which is about an hour out of London, but I also stayed for a night with my cousin Sade in a small country area called Market Harborough where she lives and works as a vet. I was also able to stay with my other cousin Ade and his girlfriend Annika in their new apartment in East London.

I didn’t realise how much I had missed London until I was there. There is always something happening and always something to do which makes it such an exciting place to be. If I was able to get another work visa I could easily live in London however I would always come back to Australia as I prefer our clean streets! Big city dirtiness and the smell after it rains is not something I could put up with for life.

Staying in East London just off Brick Lane with Ade and Annika was great, again there was always something happening and going on. There were loads of vintage shops and cool markets to explore as well as amazing food. The world food hall where Ade took me for lunch one day was amazing. The hall was full of different food stalls from Asian to Ethiopian, Caribbean, Sri Lankan and more. So we sat on the floor listening to Caribbean beats while enjoying our food which was of course followed by a strawberry crepe! The streets were full of hipsters and trendy people and while I could admire the daring fashion of some, secretly wishing I was brave enough and cool enough to be able to pull off some of their outfits others made me cringe. There were a few one lens sunglasses which just looked ridiculous. Why anyone would want to go out wearing a pair of sunglasses with only one eye actually shaded/protected is beyond me, there is a limit to how hipster you can be without looking stupid.

From the hustle and bustle of the city I then found myself staying in a tiny country village just outside of Luton called Whitwell. It was very sweet and quaint and surrounded by fields or heaths as they call them which I spent most of my time walking through with the dog I was looking after. And despite being summer I still found myself dressed in a coat and wearing gum boots (wellingtons) through the muddy fields.

On Monday Sade and I are off to Morocco to begin our two week journey which will take us to Prague and Istanbul then Spain awaits. I've got London under my skin though so I think a visit back here before my trip to Africa is on the cards.

Photos: UK

travelbug77 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:47:00 GMT