Torture massage

Well that was an interesting experience. I decided after feeling slightly delicate today, that I'd treat myself to a massage. 

There are lots of people advertising their massage services as you walk along the main street but you never really know how good they'll be. 

A very happy animated man asked whether I'd be interested in a massage. After haggling the price from RM100 to RM80, that's about £14, I agreed to go to the spa. 

It was a very nice clean area with beds on the floor and traditionally massage beds. 

He was explaining what to do so I got ready and much to my surprise he came back into the room for my massage. 

I've had massages by male therapist before but he did not initially strike me as a professional therapist. 

Either way my gay dar was working pretty well and I'm 99% convinced he bats for the other team. 

The massage was one of the oddest ones I've ever had. I'm sure he was a professional but I swear they just make up what to do next. 

He was desperate to crack my back but I think he's hands cracked more that anything I've heard before. 

He's technics were rather interesting. These ranged from punching, slapping and the best (worst!) was pinching the fat on my back!

The funniest moment was when this little Buddha man straddles my back (I know this is 'normal' in Asia as it was the same in Vietnam and Cambodia) and starts to pull my arms to arch my back. 

I don't think he was expecting me to have so much flexibility in my back and he nearly fell off the bed. I have no idea how I managed to keep my laughter in. 

After a full hour of punches, slaps and pinching (and I paid for the pleasure!!) my 'relaxing' massage was finished. 

Oddly enough it was actually pretty good. I did feel quite relaxed and I have no tension in my shoulders anymore. 

It was once again one of the interesting travel experiences. But it just goes to show, you get what you pay for. 

KL: It's not wrong, it's not right, it just is.

It's not wrong, it's not right, it just is. 

Those wise words were recently shared with me and I couldn't agree with them more at the moment. 

Today's my first day exploring Kuala Lumpur. Last night I went for a walk after checking into my hotel and it was an eye opener. 

I have this attitude when I'm travelling that is a mix of confidence and slightly invisible but I didn't feel that last night. 

It wasn't that I felt unsafe, as such, but I think I was far more aware of my surroundings. 

I've been thinking about it and perhaps I am more aware now. I hate to admit it but before I had a bit of a mindset of 'shit happens'. 

What I mean by this is, if bad things happened then there was nothing I could do about. I'm sure a shrink would have a field day on that comment. 

KL is like most Asia cities. It's very busy, noisy and bustling. There are lots of different people along the streets from tourist, locals and sadly some bad people. 

A local who I know in KL, told me to be very careful when walking around as there have been many bag snatching. 

I was very switched on and I have an over shoulder back which is permanently zipped up. 

Before I would sometimes walk along the streets with my headphones in but I haven't done that either. Perhaps it an age thing that I'm more alert. 

One thing I did notice a lot last night were the prostitutes. I know they exist everywhere but they are very open here. 

I looked (yes slightly judgementally) at one lady who was slightly large in her tiny shorts and crop top and say a guy give her 'the look'. 

Now for me, 'the look' is one where you catch the eye of someone attractive and you both give a forthcoming look to one another. 

Well that's how it would be in the innocent world of dating but you'd think it's pretty different in the sex world. 

Enough about the ladies here. I love also seeing things that perhaps in the UK we'd never dream of doing but in other countries, it's perfectly normal. 

An example of this is the father with his two young children (both no older than 8) on a motorbike with him. And the most bizarre thing was he was wearing a helmet but his children were not. Maybe they don't make them that small!!

Can you imagine the Daily Mail headline at home of that incident. But here, it's simply the norm. A families way of getting from point A to point B. 

So far people have been very friendly which I find most Asia countries, the people are very nice. 

Lots of people trying to make a living so many taxi drivers touting and people in the markets asking to 'lookie lookie'. 

I know I'm so incredibly lucky with my travels. I wish other people, namely my family, could see how things are in different parts of the world. 

I understand it is dangerous at times but it's dangerous everywhere. Some of the 'normal' places I've been to like Paris and Bussell have certainly been pretty dangerous of late. 

If they can't be here with me, I just hope they enjoy hearing about these places. 

Next stop Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Singapore

It's that time of year again when I can take advantage of the Easter holiday and use only five days annual leave to travel for 12 nights - exciting!!

I have to admit, I didn't compare whether the ticket prices were more expensive over Easter (I assume they are) but I got a great deal for three nights in Kuala Lumpur, five nights in Bali and two nights in Singapore.

I do have two overnight flights with Malaysian airlines (fingers crossed the plane doesn't go missing in my sleep!) but other than that, it's all good.

As I just typed Malaysian airlines, I have a horrible feeling that was whom I flew to Vietnam with and if it is, it was horrific!! There were technical issues on the plane so we were delayed on the runway of Heathrow for over an hour. Then we were diverted to another airport in Vietnam because the pilot couldn't land due to bad weather. It was a complete mess from start to finish.

Here's to hoping the flight will be uneventful. It's incredible sad what has happened in Brussels today. I imagine there will be heightened security at the airports. I'm travelling alone (again!) but being a white female (yes I said it) I don't tend to have any issues.

I spoke to a lovely Hindu lady at work who is supposed to be travelling to Brussels this weekend. She explained how she really isn't sure whether she and her boyfriend should go or not. She was explaining that people will racially abuse them - it's complete madness!!

 I'm actually really looking forward to travelling alone this trip. Because I'm so used to travelling alone, I feel like a pro. Before I would always worry about not having someone to speak to so I would use the likes of Tinder to meet up with people for a drink (nothing more intended!), but I obviously won't be using it this time because I'm all loved up!

I'm actually looking forward to having some 'Me' time. I think it's so important to be comfortable with your own company. I've packed a good book and I've also got my study material as I'm learning Italian.

Travelling alone gives you the opportunity to do whatever you like. You choose what time to wake up, where to go exploring, where to eat - it's bliss. And although I love doing this, I have a feeling this may be one of the last trips that I travel alone on.

Marco and I are visiting where his family live and where he lived for 20 years in July and August. I am beyond excited for those trips (in fact I'm more excited about Italy than I am this trip). I know Italy will be a completely different experience than my usual travels.

I think that's why I want to savour each moment of my forthcoming trip. I'll miss a certain someone a lot but all my hotels have wifi so I'm sure we'll still be in contact lots.

I know travel is expensive but I can not encourage it enough. It is completely different going to a resort in Spain or the Caribbean for a week or two than it is to go to a place, be it a city, countryside or beach and simply exploring what is there.

Of course the whole purpose of a holiday is to relax and unwind so you don't want to be waking up at the crack of dawn every morning but it truly is amazing to sometimes just wake up and see the World.

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!