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Ireland – A Trip to see the Family
A visit to Ireland is as familiar to me as going home to the town in the U.K. I grew up in. My mother’s side of the family (there is a lot of them…) mostly live in Newbridge and Naas; I have been visiting here since I was a toddler and I never get to see them all in one trip, there is just too many of them! As the task of seeing as many relatives as possible is usually my reason for visiting I never see anything but kitchens (Irish meeting place), the pub and Dunnes. For this trip, I was determined to get out a little bit and…
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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur was a BIG shock to the system! Eyes a little wide taking it all in! Just a few days ago I was on a tiny island, with few people, sleeping in a tent the beach… I must say though, I do love the electric feeling down the spine, from the towering buildings, seeing the lights, experiencing the energy, the rush of people on a mission, so different from the beach. My first night I stayed in a little a little guest house on a dodgy street in a great vibey area. For my last 2 nights, I decided to treat myself and use my air miles to book…
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Koh Ta Kiev, Cambodia
A couple of nights on a small island, sleeping in a tent on the beach. A find, on one of the almost daily boat trips I was taking from Otres beach to go snorkelling. It’s a place, you know will stop the world and suck you into a timeless bubble!l – and it certainly did! The first few hours after stepping off the boat, my world stopped – tent on the beach, water at my feet, jungle at my back, hammocks at the bar, happy people hanging out. Never have I reached a state of total relaxation faster than here. And there were puppies!! Walking back to my tent along…
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Otres Beach, Cambodia
It was great, to finally hit the beach after a few weeks travelling hard, lots of planes, lots of places. 250km walking around the sights (I don’t think I walked that much all year!) Otres Beach, for the moment, is a quiet place. A lot like Koh Samui was 20 odd years ago. Bars, basic huts on the beach and one or two places with nicer bungalows in and around the hostels across the small dusty road. Most places are thatch and one storey. Lots of people on the beach wanting to give you manicures, massages, threading – felt like a big slumber party… And, the best part of all…
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Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap, the jumping off town to visit the Angkor Archaeological site, is a busy mad town. A lot bigger and busier than I thought it would be. I hadn’t done much research prior to my visit, so didn’t realise how many people visit each year – millions. Especially high season (December)! It was a quick flight over from Luang Prabang and a short Tuk Tuk ride to a fabulous hostel and some cool people. An early 4.30am start, to go buy my Angkor pass and be in place for the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I do love sunrises and try and see as many as I can. I love…
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Luang Prabang, Laos
An 180km drive through steep mountains and stunningly beautiful scenery to get to Luang Prabang, a World Heritage site. The drive was supposed to take 4 hours but took 7! We managed to get the slowest driver on the planet average speed about 45km and a group from Lao Tourism who were travelling up and down the country conducting surveys. We had some good chats with them about Laos and they made the driver stop at a couple of viewpoints which were absolutely breathtaking. In addition, they bought local food along the way for us to try. Everyone was passing food back and forth, so was a really festive long……
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Vang Vieng
The drive to Vang Vieng was the normal mad, no regard for road rules affair. At one stage the driver overtaking on a blind corner took his hands off the wheel to pray – I burst out laughing, no one else on the bus had seen it so thought I was a bit mad… In a lot of countries, you just have to accept your fate on the road and enjoy the crazy manoeuvres of the not really law-abiding citizens! Nick and I met up in Vang Vieng and started exploring the sights together. We took the famous Vang Vieng booze tube cruise down the river, not the mayhem of…
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Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane Laos – I hadn’t read or heard many complimentary things about Vientiane so my expectations were low. I arrived late afternoon and hit the streets seeing the sights. It is a small town, and maybe due to it being a weekend was quiet. Walking and a little help of a tuk tuk (I love my Tuks Tuks) I saw all the sights in town in a couple of hours. Vientiane comes into its own at night. As with most countries whose temperature can be a little hot in the day. The river (Mekong) becomes the evening social hub. Everyone hits the streets, walking running, mass aerobics, shopping in the…
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Inle Lake, Myanmar
Inle Lake is south-east of Mandalay a quick flight over a patchwork quilt of colourful fields, small villages and of course golden pagodas… I love the little airports here, everything is done by hand and printed sheets. Personal service from the time you get to the desk, a little sticker so people know what plane you are on and bags hand delivered to you at the other end of your flight! A 50-minute drive on windy roads through the mountain with a very nice but very nervous driver, I was going to offer to drive for him, I don’t think he liked the mountains bends much… The first view of…
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Mandalay, Myanmar
Flew into Mandalay this morning. As I only had a day here, I hired a guide and a driver to show me the sights. First stop was the U Bein Bridge that stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Built in 1850, the 1.2km bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world – it’s a bit wobbly so well believe it… Next stop, was an unexpected one to the Maha Ganauon Monastery, to watch the donations procession for the novice monks – everyday people from across the world arrive to donate food, clothing etc to the monks. This is their only source of food and essentials.…
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Bagan Myanmar
Bagan was on my bucket list for a long time even though I had no idea where it was… I had seen photographs and thought 1 – one day I will find out where that is and 2 – will go there! When I decided on a side trip to Myanmar, my research revealed the location of the photographs I had fallen in love with years ago – it was Bagan! Now I was excited, I couldn’t wait and even giggled when we were coming into land (I know, even this hardened traveler can still get excited…). I hired an E Bike as soon as I got to the hotel.…
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Yangon, Myanmar
I have just spent the day walking Yangon, Myanmar flat (I’m finished!!). Yangon is not what I expected, it is quite modern from the airport great roads not one motorbike in sight (they are not allowed in Yangon) and the buildings change as you get closer to the river, tall narrow buildings with lots of trade. Hassle free to walk around, hardly any tourist around except for Shwedagon Pagoda, which is incredible, it is so over the top it makes Disneyland look bland… I took a trip across the river to took a trip across the river to Dala, but had to keep my wits about me there, scam artists…
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Phnom Pehn
My annual trek started with 2 days in Phnom Penh, Cambodia ( I will come back to Cambodia in a couple of weeks). A nice little town along the Mekong River very easy to walk around and see all the sights lots of bars and restaurants. I have never been in a place with so many single middle aged men walking around, was really strange, more so than other Asian countries! The one night my hotel bar had about 30 guys and me (the only girl), I actually asked If it was a gay bar, apparently not…
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Phuket, Thailand
After the year I just had it was time to slow down and recover, I was a bit (well a lot!) tired and very out of shape after sitting in a car driving through Africa for a year. So after the trip to Vietnam, I took myself down to Phuketfit in Rawai to spend a month getting fit (now, as I’m writing this, it sounds like a stupid way to relax!!!). Well, after a week, the universe agreed with me and threw me down some stairs… This put a bit of a spanner in the works as I was bashed up pretty bad and one of the many injuries was…
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Saigon, Vietnam
Saigon (as the locals still like to call it) – took a little while to warm to after Hanoi and Hoi An, but when it did, it was so cool. We walked for hours exploring all Saigon has to offer, every corner brought something new. We took a day trip out to the Mekong Delta, to float on the river, a visit to the Vietnam war museum (mmmm not sure about that one, it’s a bit hectic) and New Years Eve jumped on the back of a motorbike for a local food tour, oh my, the food was insanely good!!! Getting up close and personal with the millions of motorbikes…
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Hue & Hoi An
Hue – historical town with lots of beautiful temples, tombs of past Emperors and pagodas. A drive along the coast stoppIng at China Beach (sadly nothing like the Tv Programme, no hot American soldiers…). A visit to marble mountain, some seriously messed up statues in there!! Hoi An – what a place, one of the cutest little towns I have been to, it is an ancient town, dating back to the 15th Century. Luckily it escaped major damage during the Vietnam war. Tiny streets and alleyways, full of tailors, clothing stores, coffee shops, restaurants, markets, galleries, souvenirs…. (yes more shopping was done, I needed to fill up the bag I…
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Vietnam
Vietnam – 2016 Country 48!!! Over the last year and a bit, I have done an insane amount of travelling. I have visited and experienced some incredible places and things with some amazing people but I have to confess that Vietnam is turning into one of my favourite places ever!!! It is one of the friendliest, vibrant places I have visited. Hanoi – love at first sight! The tiny buildings no more than 3m wide in the old town where we stayed, give the place such character, the millions of scooters obey their own rules. The only way to cross the road is to keep walking and not look at…
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Africa As One – 1 Year Ago!
One year ago today, the DHL Africa As One team made it to the UK! After an epic 11 month journey by car, through 44 countries (40 in Africa, 4 Europe). In each country, organising DHL customers functions, tag rugby clinics, eye tests, handing out school supplies and creating amazing content showcasing Africa. To have been trusted to organise and lead such an amazing, and at times not an easy project has been a highlight of my career so far! I hope it wasn’t a once in a lifetime opportunity! Thanks to my team for an incredible journey Lazarus, Jaco, Mohau, Ndumiso and Songi
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The End of Africa As One!
Well that’s it, the Africa As One project is done, the boys all went home 2 weeks ago, I delivered all the cars (bye Princess!) for shipping back to SA on Thursday and now, I am getting on a plane to go home to Cape Town, 1 year and 4 days after our big send off at the V&A Waterfront. It has been an incredible journey with some really great people (I miss you guys!). The things we have seen and experienced have been life changing, the challenges we met daily have made us all stronger and more resilient, we can handle and achieve anything now! We have met amazing…
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Spain, France & Belgium
Spain, France & Belgium Crossing into Spain without any hassles was such a relief, I was wound up so tight, waiting for the next problem I was ready to burst… But guess what – no problems (yeah yeah yeaaaah!). We took a beautiful drive from the ferry in Tarifa up to Barcelona mostly along the coast (some magnificent scenery). I had never been to Barcelona before and was delighted to be be there, beautiful buildings lots of tiny winding streets, shops, lots of shops!!! I have been wearing branded clothing all year and was in heaven to hit the shops and buy some “real” clothes (only problem was the sizing…
