Travels
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Primero semana en Jaco (First week in Jaco)
Hola muchachos! It’s Friday and I’ve just completed my first week of school at Escuela del Mundo in Jaco. A few stories to share, to help paint a picture of what life at the school here is like. First class on Monday, I meet Lyda, mi professor de Español, and my fellow beginner class classmate, H. H is German, just finished high school and on a gap year…as the Germans tend to do. Oh to be so young again! We start slow and the pace is generally kept slow or slower, for the rest of the week. I can’t say I’ve learned that much Spanish so far, but the…
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Packing for Costa Rica
I’m going to be gone for at least a month, maybe more, so my backpack is stuffed pretty full of clothes and toiletries. Here’s what’s in my carry on and in my backpack. Amazing I managed to get it all to fit into the 50 litre backpack! This is an old Macpac Pegasus I bought in 2012 when I did my ‘Round the World trip. It originally came with a little 15L daypack attachment, which I’ve since left behind in Singapore as it was getting way too dirty and worn out. That little gem had been with me through a lot and it was time to let it get some…
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For the love of dumplings
One of the my biggest regrets about living in Singapore is not finding out about this amazing hawker centre and the amazing dumpling stall until my VERY LAST WEEKEND in Singapore. Literally, on my last Friday on the little red dot, I met my friends C & B there. C & B were regulars here for ages and for a while had a regular Friday night dinner thing going here. C couldn’t believe I’d never been here so said to me earlier in the week “we have to go, I’ll take you there”. Naturally I couldn’t help thinking that I’d missed out on FOUR YEARS of dumplings from here!! It…
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Tao Philippines Adventure
Maja and I were both leaving Singapore for good in a couple months and both wanted to get a couple more adventures in as a last hurrah. We tossed some ideas around and agreed to do the Tao Philippines Palawan adventure boat. Several friends had told me over the years how amazing this experience is. Tao Philippines is an adventure travel operator; their signature trip is week long island-hopping adventure from El Nido to Coron (or vice versa) on a souped-up bangka boat. My friend PL loved the trip so much that when her boat sailed into the last stop in Coron, she promptly got right back on to do…
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Where to go and what to eat in Singapore
Living in Singapore, you get a lot of pass-through traffic. By that, I mean friends who stop in Singapore for a few days, enroute to somewhere. Aussie friends on their way to Europe, European friends on their way to Bali, whatever the case I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to have lunch/dinner/drinks with these visitors and giving them my list of suggestions for their visit. Here’s my list of places to visit/things to eat/do in Singapore that I’ve shared with friends, and now with you. It’s long, so pick and choose what interests you the most. Eat – Singapore is a foodie’s paradise, so naturally I’ll start with recommendations on where…
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Long weekend in Pondicherry
Easter long weekend, a sense of adventure, and a hankering for some good dahl — what more reason do you need to book a trip to India? I must admit, I’d always been apprehensive about going to India. It’s a huge, diverse, intense country, a place that can initially seem daunting to even think about planning a trip for. But more than anything else, I always had a fear of catching food poisoning in India. Horror stories abound amongst travellers about being horrifically ill in India. After my personal experience with food poisoning in Myanmar, I was very very wary of this risk. But my old flatmate Lisa adores India…
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Lions and Hippos and Zebras oh my!
Thoroughly enjoyed the five day safari I did with Tanzania Experience. Though I booked the trip via African Budget Safaris, the actual tour operator was Tanzania Experience. Our vehicle was great, our tour guide was awesome, and the accommodation and food were superb and even better than I was expecting. Saw the “big five” animals, although the elusive rhino was difficult to find and when we finally did see it at the bottom of the Ngorongoro Crater it was from a far distance…I could just make out the silhouette of the rhino by staring hard into my binoculars. Highlights of the trip… Hippos. What funny looking creatures. Quite deadly apparently…though when…
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Tanzania – how to pick a safari operator
One thing to call out early: Africa is not a cheap place to travel. After 3 years living in Asia and being spoiled by the affordable travel available in the likes of Thailand and Indonesia, I was a bit sticker shocked by the prices of very basic accommodation in Tanzania. And even more sticker shocked by the prices of the safaris. To be fair, there is a wide range, you can go budget and sleep in tents or roll out the red carpet and stay at the Four Seasons soaking in a hot tub while staring at giraffes and elephants metres away. Choose your own adventure. Being my first trip…
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Zanzi…where?
“I really need a beach holiday” my friend Alison said. Alison had been back in Germany for almost a year and the poor girl was sun starved. We were planning a reunion trip for December/January, so anywhere in Europe for a beach holiday wasn’t really going to be feasible. South America? Too far? South Africa?!? I’d never been but have this on the top of the list. But Alison had been before…hmm…what about Zanzibar, she asked? Zanzibar…that name alone sounded so exotic and exciting. I’d heard of it, but honestly didn’t know exactly where it was or anything else about it. I quickly googled it: Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago…
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When you want to go “extra” on photos
I recently had the chance to go a bit “extra” and do a photoshoot in the middle of the rice fields in Ubud. Wearing a bright coral evening gown. Wait what? Why? Because why not?! Here’s the back story. I was going to be in Jakarta to see a client for work on a Friday, I was feeling a bit down, so I thought a short solo weekend away in Ubud would be a good way to recharge. I’d been to Ubud two years ago and loved it, and had wanted to go back to check it out again for a while. Having followed her Instagram stories, I knew my…
