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Category: Travel

A dinner date with a dragon

No trip to the Indonesian island of Komodo would be complete without visiting the famous dragons but be warned, when a dragon gets a whiff of its first meal in 3 months you’d better get out of the way!

 

Apparently, the Komodo dragon only eats once every three months, so there was much excitement when our boat moored at Rinca Island in the Komodo Nationa Park, home to around 1,500 of these monitor lizards, as they were in the middle of a long-awaited meal – a sight that was very rare to see. In fact, we’d already been warned that there was no guarantee of even seeing a dragon, let alone watching them feed, so I was a little unprepared for what I was about to experience.

 

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Caught up in a caiman face off

Think a canoe trip in the Pantanal region on Brazil is a quiet affair? Think again!

(Visiting the Brazil stand at the World Travel Market yesterday made me think back to this most memorable of days during my solo trip to this incredible country)  

Today we’re talking reptiles and mammals and despite the night safari being cancelled due to high winds, the 7am 4km walk through the neighbouring area showed up a whole array of strange and exotic creatures. That may sound like an early start to some of you, but believe me, it’s impossible to sleep past 5am as a cacophony of birds, ably led by the extremely loud and ubiquitous chaco chachalaca, shake you out of your bed whether you’re ready or not. (Side note here – I am awarding the chaco chachalaca my ‘how to big yourself up’ award as it has a fabulous name that sounds like a samba step and a call like nothing you’ve ever heard before yet it is the dullest and most boring looking thing you’ve ever seen. The thing is, everyone knows it and it is completely unforgettable  – a great job of self-publicity that we could all learn from!)

Back to the morning walk and it wasn’t long until we came across howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, yellow armadillo, marsh deer, and South American coati.

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Sri Lanka Hill Country – go for the tea, stay for the curries​

Sri Lanka is foodie heaven and a vegan paradise

It’s mid-morning and the train to Nuwara Eliya is climbing through the lush, green countryside on its way to the hills of Sri Lanka’s tea country. Since I boarded at Haputale the scenery has changed completely and I find myself jostling with other passengers, hanging precariously out of the open carriage door as we wind our way through the undulating, rough country risking my life to get the perfect photo. Yes, the tea plantations are impressive and that is why I’m making the journey, but it’s the manicured terraces brimmed to capacity with vegetable plots that are really getting my attention. I had no idea that Sri Lanka produced such an abundance of fresh produce but then I suppose there’s a reason why the national dish is rice and curry and most of those curries are made from vegetables.

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Solo in the Maldives – resort vs local island

Resort vs local island – there’s a clear winner for me and you might be surprised which it is

I first visited the Maldives three years ago when I went in search of mantas and stayed at a very nice resort in Baa Atoll, about half an hour by seaplane from Male. It was a lovely week, you can read all about it on my blog, and yes I did see mantas and enjoyed the full resort experience. As with this latest trip I was there out of season and as some of you will know, I’m a big fan of travelling this way as not only do you avoid the crowds and get a much more personal experience, it’s also much more affordable (although to be honest, nothing in the Maldives is ever cheap!).

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India is topping the list for solo female travel and I understand why

India may be the Marmite of destinations but I love it.

Mention India and it tends to gets quite a polarised reaction. People either love it or can’t think of a worse place to go. It really is the Marmite of destinations but for me, however, it was love at first sight. (For all you non-Brits who don’t know what Marmite is I’ve added a postscript below!)

In 2014 I finally took my first trip to India. I say finally because it had been on my list for a long time but sadly not a choice for my ex and so it was only after my divorce and I began to travel solo that I could fulfill my dream and explore the country.

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First stop the nudist​ beach

As a solo female traveller of a certain age, you don’t want to feel invisible on holiday but on the other hand, there’s some kind of attention that you’d really rather avoid.

Some years ago I took a last minute solo trip to Croatia, Hvar to be precise, and booked myself into a very nice hotel, Hotel Podstine, for a week of sun, sea and fabulous food. It was here that I met Charlie, a sprightly octogenarian with very few teeth, a full repertoire of Frank Sinatra songs and a penchant for taking his clothes off.

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That tricky second solo trip – Argentina

Be careful whose advice you take when selecting your solo destination

Feeling emboldened by the success of my first incredible solo trip to Borneo (you can read all about that here) I was ready to take on the world and plan my second escape.  Nowhere was out of bounds or off limits – the world was my oyster! I recalled a conversation with a lovely couple that I’d met on that first trip, where I’d asked them about their favourite place in the world and they’d replied Argentina. So, Argentina it was. And reflecting on this now, I can’t actually ever recall thinking to myself that I absolutely had to see Argentina. I chose it specifically on the back of their recommendation combined, perhaps, with the fact that I was working in the wine industry at the time so thought it might be good to visit some vineyards in Mendoza. What was I thinking?   (more…)


You’ll love Crete, the tomatoes are amazing!

Top 5 things you absolutely have to eat in Crete and where to find them in Chania

It’s so good to discuss travel with fellow foodies as they feel duty bound to give their feedback in terms of where or what you can eat and drink and share their culinary experiences of your chosen destination. This was exactly the case when I mentioned to a friend my upcoming trip to Crete. His instant reply was that I would absolutely love the place as the tomatoes are amazing! He wasn’t wrong and in fact, the tomatoes were so unbelievably good that they became my breakfast staple, sliced and layered on some toasted local bread, sprinkled with dried oregano and thyme, and topped off with a drizzle of the local olive oil. Simple yet utterly delicious.

I hold my hands up now and confess that I haven’t really thought that much about Greek food. Of course, we all know moussaka ( I make a very good one myself thanks to Queen Delia), feta cheese and the Greek salad, kebabs and various meze dishes but I’m wracking my brains to think of one Greek restaurant that I’ve tried in London in the past ten years and I can’t come up with anything even though I’m a regular on the eating scene here. (Please feel free to comment below with your suggestions if I’ve missed something special!)

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A day trip to Marathi Beach

Seeing more of Crete

After a few days exploring Chania, I decided that I needed to go further afield if I was to experience a little more of the authentic Crete that I was craving. I had my mind set on Marathi Beach – around 30 minutes by car from Chania and back over towards the airport. I’d heard that it was delightful and also had a great place for lunch. I was sold.

I asked one of the two young guys who manned the hotel rection desk how I could get there, not having a rental car. After much deliberation, we decided that I’d be best taking a taxi there as it might be a bit tricky to get there via public transport but I could most definitely get a bus back. I asked him to order a car to pick me up at 10.00am. This, he said, was far too early and I shouldn’t get there before noon at the earliest as it would be freezing on that side of the island first thing. I ignored his advice and arrived at Marathi Beach at 10.30am. It was a chilly 29 degrees C!

I shouldn’t get there before noon at the earliest as it would be freezing on that side of the island. I ignored his advice and arrived at 10.30am. It was a chilly 29 degrees C!

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First time solo in Greece and it hit the spot

What did my first solo trip to Greece and Shirley Valentine have in common? Not much as it turns out!

Why is it that as soon as I mentioned I was travelling solo to Greece for a week the comments about Shirley Valentine started? For any of you who don’t know the story, (which was a film and play in the late 1980s)  a fictional, mid-life Shirley heads off to Greece for a holiday and falls for the local tavern owner ending up in an, ‘unexpected discovery of herself, and the rekindling of her childhood dreams and youthful love of life‘.  Actually, Shirley is 42, not 50-something, married and travels to Greece with a mate – so not many similarities to me really, except perhaps the thought that was present in the back of my mind that maybe a holiday romance wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen whilst I was there. Let me nip that in the bud right now and tell you that unfortunately, didn’t materialise, however, it didn’t stop me from having a very enjoyable week in Crete! (more…)


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