TIA baby

This is Africa! Whenever I travel,  there's always a little phrase that gets branded around.

Costa Rica was "Pura Vida", Vietnam was "Same same but different and Belize was  "YOLO" You only live once.

Africa is absolutely TIA "This is Africa". This is all encompassing as Daddy would say "The good, the bad and the ugly".

I know I say this about every trip but this has been such an incredible experience. I truly am so blessed to travel to these amazing countries and witness all it has to offer, and also sadly see what is lacking.

I honestly don't take for granted the experiences that I have. It does make me sad that not everyone is as luckily as I am to see these things.

I've barely had any wifi so I haven't been able to do my blog this trip. Also I haven't done The Ducky Diaries- sorry. But it's actually been really nice being 'off the grid' so to speak.

The people in my tour group are amazing! I'm not just saying that (in case some read this) but they really are all so great. I really feel like I've made some good friends on this trip. And hopefully we'll have some more travel adventures together. Madagascar anyone?

I've seen the 'Big Five'. I first saw the rhino on our first game drive. That was am experience! We were watching a dominate male white rhino from about 10-15 meters away. He started making some noises to say he was getting agitated with us so we went to drive off and out land rover had a flat tyre- TIA.

Next I saw the elephants from quite far away initially when we went for a bush walk in the Deltas. But then we saw them just by the side of the road in our truck (it's not a bus, you know!).

We saw lots of buffalos along the river when we were on the Chobe river cruise. Some had white birds on their backs.

On another game drive we were lucky to see a Leppard hiding in the bushes. Our guide, Patrick, spotted him. Sadly he then radioed everyone and our quiet moment was spoilt with loads of other trucks around.

Finally we saw female lions playing. They were pretty shy but it was great to see them.

In the Deltas, our guide asked us to wade through Croc and snake infested waters... Ok I don't exactly know if there were crocs and snakes in there but I was still so scared.

Graeme kindly offered to give me a piggy back ride but I thought I'd be too heavy. Biggest regret saying no!

We did manage to get closer to the hippos. They were huge and just chilling in the water. I did expect it to jump up at us but luckily they kept a safe distance.

I loved seeing the Zebras. They are such incredible animals. They run just like horses.

The giraffes were really funny to watch run. They really are 'gangalies' as Mum calls them.

I was really lucky to see a bush baby in the bushes at dusk. It looked so adorable with its big eyes and tail longer than its body.

Sadly I think I saw one when I was returning from the bathroom in the dark, I freaked out and screamed. I felt so silly as everyone in the bar heard me.

After being incredibly ill in Livingstone  (we've all sadly had some bug) I somehow managed to go horse riding with Graeme.

We were accompanied by the very own African Kardashians. I have never seen "waist so little but the ass is like woo" (So annoyed I can't remember the name of the song).

We luckily split into two groups as they have never been horse riding before. I really enjoyed the difficult terrain but we really wanted to cantor.

I've been to South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The countries are all so different.

I know I'm incredibly ignorant but I didn't realise it was 80% blacks to 20% whites in South Africa.

Unemployment is a huge issue in all the countries. It's incredible but in Zimbabwe 91% of the population are literate yet unemployment is 95%. That is insane!

The political systems all seem full of corruption and there is sometimes a Robin Hood mentality.

Sadly food aid has been removed from Zimbabwe due to Mugabe.

We visited a remote village in Zimbabwe and there were lots of children so I gave them my biscuits. They seemed so happy.

I also bought a beautiful wooden sculpture from a vendor. Usually I'd barter but I figured they need the money.

However, I was so surprises when he asked me to be his Facebook friends. How can they be worried about not having enough food yet they have mobile phones with Internet?

I really feel like I want to help the people here but I just can't figure out what would be the best way.

Throwing money at problems don't help. I'm not religious but I do agree "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he'll feed himself for a life time".

When I came back from Dubai,  I was raving about it so much but that was so superficial. Yes the cocktails were amazing and the buildings luxurious but I actually think that's not me.

Yes I love my handbags and nice things but I have loved so much being in nature and seeing so much beauty.

I've met some incredibly genuine people that I feel so connected to. Our tour leader said something in out welcome meeting about us all being equal and it's true.

It doesn't matter what job someone does or how much money someone has, it's whether they are a good person or not. And I've been blessed to spend nearly two weeks with some very good people.

Doing things like this makes me realise how much I've changed as a person. I really did love Dean but I really wasn't a good person.

No one is perfect but I realise now how precious life is and we only get one shot at it. My saying would be 'do as much as you can of what makes you happy and ditch the negativity'. Definitely "Live, Laugh, Love". Not my saying (no copy writes sueing please) but live by it peeps.

Dubai I am not done with you yet!

It is very rare that I say at the end of a trip that I'd like to visit that country again soon, very soon. But that's exactly how I feel about Dubai.

I have been to some incredible places in the World but Dubai has really captured my passion for exploring new countries, cultures and generally just having a blast.

Four nights was no where near long even to even scratch the surface of the United Arab Emites so I know I need to return soon.

Because I booked this trip last minute, I didn't really research exactly what I wanted to do or places to see. I know I wanted to explore Atlantis but sadly due to a rather difficult hang over, that plan went out of the window.

Instead I spent all of Sunday on the beach. One of the guys from the night before, Karim, came and hung out with me. It was nice having some company and talking about life in general. He was explaining to me about his girlfriend back in Jordan and how it's expected that they get married. It seems crazy that these decisions are made by other people!

Sunday evening, I met up with a lovely girl who friends back home put me in contact with. We had such a nice evening enjoying ladies night at Fuse. A gorgeous Mexican restaurant where when you walk in, you get vouchers for free drinks. The UK should definitely start this trend!

I also wanted to go up the World's Tallest Tower- Burj but when I went to buy a ticket, it was sold out. They are very clever and had the 'fast track' tickets but this was 300 AED, around £58, which is crazy just to see the views.

I saw The Palm from the Sky Lounge one evening and it did look so impressive but I think I would have gotten better views from another bar. There just simply wasn't enough time to visit all these gorgeous roof top bars.

I spent a lot of time relaxing on Jurmirah beach. This was one of the public beaches but it was so clean and not too busy. You saw a noticeable difference on Friday and Saturday compared to the other days as this was the weekend, so there were many locals enjoying the sun and sea.

At first, I did feel a little self conscience in a bikini in front of the locals, especially when they were fully covered even in the water. Butt hey didn't seem to mind. I walked into the sea once and it was a little chilly, one of the local ladies asked my name and pretended she was going to splash me.

I honestly haven't met one that hasn't been lovely. Everyone has been so friendly towards me. Of course all the staff at the hotel were fantastic. They genuinely seemed to want to please you and there was never an expectation to tip, I wanted to tip many staff purely because they were so good at their jobs.

I've been lucky to speak with many expats here. From the great bunch of Swedish girls to lovely Peta from London. Many have said that it does take time to adjust to living here. It's a very different country but once they found their 'groove' they absolutely love it!

Finance is a big sector out here so there would be many compliance jobs available, perhaps I should explore the very interesting handbooks of the Central Bank of UAE. I mean, just to widen my knowledge of course...

I would love to come back to Dubai with someone

What happens in Dubai...

Wow what an awesome night! After a day at the mall, and quite frankly being pretty underwhelmed I had the most random night out.

I asked the staff at then hotel to recommend a cool bar to have a cocktail in, they recommended Sky Lounge at Hilton. It was on the 35th floor and the views were amazing.

The cocktails are so expensive here £11 for a strawberry margarita. They have happy hour but that's usually during the week, not at the weekends. 

After my one cocktail, I decided to grab some dinner then head to the hotel bar called Penthouse 25. Again it's a great bar with awesome views.

It was really quiet when I arrived as it was only 8:00pm. There were a few girls at the bar but I just assumed they were staff. They were playing a little drinking game called Kings. It was great fun.

There were three Swedish girls and one French girl. All so young aged between 21-25. It's pretty expensive here to drink so they suggested we head to a house party locally.

I guess that was the point when really I should ace said I'm going back to my room but being in Dubai I thought 'why the devil not?'

After a quick taxi ride, we were at the apartment. The views were amazing and so big! We continued playing some more drinking games and after a while decided it was time to move on (promptly when the alcohol ran out!) so off we went to another apartment for two cool Arabic guys.

We spent the night drinking, dancing and generally having a cool time. I decided to call it a night and headed home at 5am.

It just goes to show that you have to be 'out there' to have a great time. I've made some cool friends and had an amazing random night plus the bonus is I learnt that Dubai isn't a country, it's actually a city in United Arab Emirates.

So here's to an awesome night and not getting murdered!

Desert Safari

I decided to mix up the beach/pool dilemma and opt to go on a desert safari tour.

The very helpful staff at the hotel helped me book with ABC Tours. They picked me up from the hotel at 3.30pm and after a couple more pick ups, we were in the desert.

There were so many different tour groups out there so it wasn't exactly peaceful but then saying that, we switch from the nice luxury (that word again) car to a big (white again) Geep.

There was some arguing about who was going to go in the back, some people are very sad and get worked up over silly things. I was fine cramed in the back but I felt very sorry for the older lady stuck in the middle.

Our driver took us over the sand dunes- it was crazy! At some points I honestly thought we were going to topple over but thankfully we didn't. I even let out a little dolphin squeal (I managed to suppress most of it).

I've got this travelling solo down to a fine art now. I'm not sure whether people feel sorry for me or they are just being friendly but I've not had to use my selfie stick at all! I have personal photographers everywhere.

The driver took the best jumping picture for me on the dunes- I was suitable impressed with his photography skills as well as he's driving skills.

After another thrilling ride over the dunes, we arrived at this great camp where we were having dinner. There were two camels out front so I had a little ride on one. I forgot how scary it is when they sit back down (yep I squealed again!).

They also had sand boarding which I really wanted to try but it was literally a board with no one helping. I thought I don't fancy breaking anything so I opted for the safer option and ordered a glass of wine.

Dinner was incredible! A mix of so many different dishes such as lamb, rice, hummus, chickpeas etc It reminded me a lot of Turkish food, maybe it's all similar influences.

During dinner there was an amazing belly dancer. Now I can roll my belly (thanks Dad for teaching me) but she was incredible. It got me thinking that she was very good and looked sexy doing it, but I'm sure no on bats an eyelid when she says she does belly dancing. Yet me doing pole dancing is always thought of negatively- so frustrating!

I decided to get a traditional henna tattoo on my hand/arm. The women doing it was from Pakistan. I think everyone I have spoken to here has been from either Pakistan or India. They said its a much better lifestyle out here compared to home. It's really interesting seeing other people living in another country. I wish I was brave enough to do it!

Three words to sum up Dubai so far.

I had three words (ok technically it's five words but you get the picture) to sum Dubai up within 30 minutes of arriving in the country: Luxury, White Cars and Tea Towels.

I'll start with luxury- everything is immaculate! The airport is huge, clean and very artistic. Everyone is well presented and there is no rubbish in sight.

Driving from the airport, there was a bit of traffic but looking out of the window all I saw was white car after another. My little car would fit in nicely here! Going back to luxury, even the taxis are decent brands and clean.

I do have a thing for cars so when I've been walking around and watching the Farraris, Mustangs and Lamboginis cruise (slowly) past, it's been great! The sounds of them is so hot! But sadly the arrogant men (hardly ever women driving these ones, they are in the 4x4s) is not so hot.

That brings me on to tea towels- what's up with that? I was worrying so much about what I can and can't wear, I didn't even consider to research the values of the country and the reasons why they dress the way they do.

I actually thought the men would ignore me or look down at me dressed as a Western but apparently not! They have no issues saying I'm beautiful (apparently) whilst walking along the street. Even if they have women close by, they still look.

I've felt very safe walking around on my own. I went for a jog along the beach in the dark (sorry Dad) and I even felt safe then. Maybe I was safe in the knowledge that my horrendous singing would be a suitable deterrent, if not my sweating perfusley would definitely put anyone off touching me.

I spent most of yesterday on the beach. Although Dubai is man made luxury, the beach is still beautiful. I was playing around in the sea thinking how bloody lucky I am to be in the sea in February! I know I travel lots but I really do appreciate how lucky I am.

I decided to walk around the Marina and look at the gorgeous boats. It's such a nice place and loads of apartments overlooking the marina. I noticed a sign saying 'No dogs around the marina area' I was surprised by this but after speaking to a nice guy later on, I discovered that the locals are pretty scared of dogs.

Whilst in the marina, I decided to take a boat trip up to Atlantis and back. The view from the sea of these incredibly impressive skyscrapers was incredible. I was lucky as a couple of the crew members took pity on me and kept taking lots of pictures for me. They were even getting annoyed when other people were in the shot- opps!

The hotel I'm staying at (JA Ocean View) has an incredible bar on the 25th floor. The views looking out to the ocean were amazing. The music was pretty good too! A nice guy called Sammy decided to come sit with me so we were chatting for a while.

He's friend is the owner of the bar and he was explaining what it's like to live in Dubai. They are originally from Denmark and the culture sounds very different in Denmark, even compared to the UK.

I really can see why there are so many expats here. Everything is luxury and they actually seem to care about each other. Yes it is very strict and you can be arrested for disrespecting their values but actually the ability to feel very safe is a very good benefit of these strict values.

Now when is my company (apparently I'm not allowed to say where I work anymore on social media) going to open an office in Dubai? No doubt when I go to South Africa in April, I'll be saying the same thing.

Dubai... Here I come!

As always I'm off globe trotting, the first overseas destination for 2015 is: Dubai.

After what seems like a mountain of stress from the delay of moving house (due to exchange contracts 16th Dec 14 and still nothing) and also being incredibly busy at work, I thought it was recommended I do what I do best 'run away' before I was placed in one of those lovely jackets that allows you to hug yourself.

Last Monday was a particularly difficult day. I had a horrible nightmare (yep still a DMMcQ related one) and was I working on about four hours sleep so I was toying with the idea of taking a short break to either New York or Dubai. Seeing as the temperature is pretty darn cold in New York, I opted for some winter sun.

I remember looking at potentially going to Dubai with an ex but after researching how strict they were, I thought it was best not to go. You see, one of the 'rules' is to do with non-married not being able to share a hotel room or be romantically involved. I just wasn't quite sure that if I explained that my 'boyfriend' (at the time) was married, albeit not to me, would really work. 

So now that I've decided to head to Dubai on my own, I'm pretty sure I'll be ok! Luckily a dear friend of mine has put me in contact with a female friend out there so I will have some company whilst I'm there.

I remember how much I loved my alone time whilst I was away in September. The ability to wake up whenever I want (of course before breakfast ends though) and explore the places that I want to explore, was brilliant.

Because I only booked this trip just over a week ago, I haven't really has the chance to 'plan' what I'd like to do. In fact, I did put together a word document (Little Miss Organised) with places I'd like to visit, emergency numbers and my flight details which I was also going to send to my Dad (sorry) but I realise I forgot to print it out- oops.

I'm staying at JA Ocean View Hotel near Jumeirah Beach. It looks like a typical Dubai hotel- pretty fancy but sadly not the Burj (perhaps one day!). It's very close by to the beach so I will definitely have the opportunity to sun myself for a bit.

The limited research that I have done has been focused on trying not to get myself arrested. I have the non-boyfriend issue sorted (woo boo for being 'single') but I understand they are very reserved with what clothing is worn.

I had visions of wearing a pair of shorts and vest top to the beach and being carted off in a police car, which my boss has already told me he won't be paying for my bail! So I've opted for reserved maxi dressed and jumpsuits. 

However, I'm getting conflicting information as other people have said how relaxed they are with the clothing. I think so long as you don't walk into a religious place barely your thighs, mid riff or heaven forbid (pun intended) shoulders bare, then I shouldn't be eating prison food. Which is lucky because I bet there's no air con in jail there!

I will keep you posted on my thought of Dubai and whether I even have the opportunity to get any 'white bits' whilst wearing my burkini ;)