Just a Kidd

Our last day in Abu Dhabi was Sunday 16th April. Our flight back home was at almost 2 am the Monday morning, which is why it doesn't quite make sense this was the day we planned to wake up the earliest we had all holiday to go on a desert safari. My younger brother and I were sharing a hotel room, we got up around 7.30 am and went downstairs to meet my step-dad for one last hotel breakfast. We felt my little brother and sister were a bit too young to deal with an outing in the desert, so my mum decided she would miss out and stay with them for one last day by the pool. Swimming was their favourite thing all holiday so they were totally fine with that, it was all they ever wanted to do. Our guide picked us up at 8.30 outside the hotel, in his 4 by 4, we were introduced to an Australian couple who would be joining us. They had already sat in the middle seats, leaving my step-dad to sit in the front seat and my brother and I in the back but that was alright, the back was prob...

As I sit at my desk, wrapped up in my woollen cardigan and sipping a nice cup of tea, it seems crazy that 3 days ago I was in a 35 degree Abu Dhabi. Not that it isn't a beautiful sunny day here in London, it's just nowhere near as warm at 10 degrees. However, in less than two weeks we will be flying to Bangkok (OMG) so I really can't complain. Looking back on our holiday, one of my favourite places was definitely the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, better known as 'The Great Mosque'. It is considered the key site for worship in the UAE, not surprising considering it has a capacity of around 41,000 people. This place is absolutely HUGE and can be seen along the skyline. From our hotel window it looked very close by, even though it took about a 15 minute drive to get there. A trip to Abu Dhabi just would not be complete without a visit here, it is honestly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen and I am very fortunate being able to say I have seen a lot of pl...

On Monday 10th April, my family and I set off on a 7 something hour plane journey to Abu Dhabi for a week. This holiday had been planned for a while, but I honestly had NO idea what to expect. Before this trip, I had never travelled to the Middle East and all I knew of the area is that the previously desert land is now filled with very expensive buildings and the police have sports cars. Abu Dhabi is a beautiful city with plenty activities from water-parks and Ferrari world, to more cultured outings to see such as local Mosques. A little background into the city, all I did not know before going. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. It sits on an island in the Persian Gulf, completely unaware of this I was not expecting a beach holiday. It WAS a beach holiday, which was an incredible surprise used to its full potential in the 38 degree heat we were experiencing. Many hotels are grouped together in an area called 'Qaryat Al Beri', which is where ...

Forewarning: This post is not about a real pincushion, it is actually about my pincushion alter ego I have recently discovered. Yesterday was my first meeting with my local travel doctor. She was very helpful and cleared up anything I was unsure about in regards to which jabs I should be worrying about and whether or not Malaria medication is necessary for the areas I am visiting (it's not). Her relief I had done some of my own research was clear as she explained not many do before coming to her, however, she was concerned with how soon I leave (26 days omg) and what little time we had remaining to fit in appointments. It should be noted here: NOT ALL JABS ARE ON THE NHS! I was aware of this, however I didn't know I wouldn't be abled to get Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis vaccinations at my local Doctor's surgery. This means I shall have to try make more appointments at another travel clinic not so near to me for 5 more jabs, trying to fit them all in before I...

I've been feeling a little unwell and lousy today, luckily I already had the day off work so I decided to just have a me day. A stay in bed, watch Netflix and do pretty much nothing else day. However, after being ridiculously engrossed in 'Jane the Virgin' for about 4 hours, I decided it would probably be beneficial to use this time as planning time. I'm currently trying to perfect my self titled 'Travel Bible'. A cute notepad I got for Christmas which, I have decided to use for all things trip. Any information we need to remember will be in there. What time is our flight? Refer to Bible. Where are we staying? Check the Bible. What are we doing today? BOOM Bible. Stuff like that, I just like to be prepared. Plus planning is becoming pretty damn fun.                                                     (double points for travel aesthetic) Our first...

With travelling comes a lot of planning (well duh thanks Captain Obvious). Yes yes, I know that is pretty evident but I'll be honest, I would not have thought of most of this stuff on my own. We now have only 5 weeks before we leave and that is an extremely scary thought for many reasons, the main one being we really just haven't planned very much. In these upcoming months I have spoken to a lot of people who have previously been on this trip or similar, many of whom would say winging it is the way to go. However, I have definitely decided this way is not the one for me. I am not the kind of person to just rock up somewhere and feel comfortable sleeping there for the night, I need to have done my research. Also not too keen about sharing a bathroom with strangers but I'm very aware I might have to deal with that just a few times. Anyway, planning accommodation counts as a big thing, therefore an obvious thing. This is going to be a list of the little, less obvious thing...

When I was younger I loved to read. I still do love to read, but I find it very difficult to get started. Finding a book that will excite me from start to finish is difficult, mainly because I'm pretty impatient. If a book hasn't grasped me early on in its story, I will without a doubt lose the motivation to carry on. To make matters worse I HATE not finishing a book, especially if I've made it halfway, so then I'm just stuck reading a book I'm not interested in so I can read a book I've got my eye on and not feel guilty about it. Not the best way to go about it really. When I was a kid, I remember loving Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. Those books are amazing and I would 100% recommend, especially to pre-teens. I would refuse to put these bad boys down. In fact I vividly remember one car journey reading Battle of the Labyrinth, and just refusing to accept the fact I was feeling rather car sick and just kept powering through the nausea. That right ...