Category: Countries

Stranded! How to kill time in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

September 12, 2011

Banda Aceh, on the north west tip of Indonesia, isn’t really known as a tourist destination. Possibly because it’s quite industrial, or perhaps because it’s the main town in the most conservative Muslim State in Indonesia. Unfortunately, it’s more likely because Banda Aceh is better known for being the epicentre of the Indonesian Earthquake, and the worst hit area in that horrific natural disster of 2004. Banda Aceh lost around 61,000 people in the Boxing Day Tsunami; around a quarter of its population. … More Stranded! How to kill time in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

A Whirlwind Romance: Diving the gorgeous Red Sea Wrecks and Reefs

July 26, 2011

It’s 10.30am on a Thursday, I’m in a bikini, and I’m swimming in the bluest, calmest ocean I’ve ever seen. I’m above a shallow coral reef, and the water is so clear I can see the bright golden sand at the bottom, occasionally broken by the shadow of a small school of fish. The sun is already tingling my skin. I’m watching people jump off a boat into the aquamarine water and I’m wondering what I’d possibly be doing at work this week instead. Probably forecasts, or sending out another spreadsheet. But I’m not. I’m swimming in a gorgeous coral bay in the Red Sea, although it could be the Maldives, and I can’t think of any better therapy than this. … More A Whirlwind Romance: Diving the gorgeous Red Sea Wrecks and Reefs

London vs New York

London vs NYC: a resident’s perspective

June 27, 2011

For some strange, weird reason, this week seems to be the week that loads of people want to ask me if I miss New York. I don’t know if there’s some kind of NYC-smell in the air, or Sex and the City has been rerun on Living this week, or even the fact that the southern UK is currently sweltering in NYC-like temperatures, but lots and lots of people, friends, family and utter randoms have been asking me this week if I miss New York. … More London vs NYC: a resident’s perspective

Dahab: Like Sharm, but no McDonalds…

June 12, 2011

I spent a week in Dahab in 2007: my first scary single holiday. The aim of that first solo adventure was to see the pyramids, but I thought I might struggle in Cairo for a full week on my own (in hindsight, I would have been fine, if a little overwhelmed). Having passed my first diving qualification the year before, I thought I’d combine some diving with that first bucket list goal. And the Red Sea’s great for that, I found. … More Dahab: Like Sharm, but no McDonalds…