It’s already over a month since I got back from Thailand. Not so long as to have forgotten the details of my trip, but long enough to have settled back into the routine of daily life and processed some of my learnings. Let’s start at the beginning. This was not my first solo trip – … More Thailand – Part 4 Reflections on my trip
Phuket was actually the starting point for this whole trip. It was a crumb of temptation from some friends who had booked 3 weeks in a villa in Nai Harn, and who suggested I could join them since they had a spare bedroom, that started the cogs turning and led to flights being booked. It … More Thailand – Part 3 Phuket
The end of week 1 in Thailand saw me hop an internal flight north to Chiang Mai. Just a short 1 hour 15 took me to a completely different landscape and vibe. I arrived at my hotel mid afternoon- was very pleased with my choice of accommodation, which was a little oasis in the corner … More Thailand- Part 2 Chiang Mai
Where do I start? I suppose it would have to be with the jet lag! An ‘overnight’ flight from Heathrow to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi, where the clock said it was morning but my body thought it was 2am… When we landed in Bangkok, local time was 6pm and by the time I made it … More Thailand – Part 1 Bangkok
Where did January go? How can a month be at the same time the longest month ever, and over in a flash? As during most Januarys, I spent some of my time wishing my life away and longing for lighter, sunnier, longer days and some of my time planning and visioning what I wanted life … More Brave vs bravado
New Year resolutions just don’t do it for me. I gave up on them years ago, on the basis that they are so often short-lived and prone to early failure! I much prefer the idea of setting a series of goals or challenges that have some longevity and can offer some positive feelings of achievement. … More My 2024 bingo challenge
Just over two years ago now, I wrote in my post Stick or Twist? about making changes in life when you felt decisions weren’t serving you, and in particular about my own decision to jump out of a job I wasn’t enjoying. This post is something of a follow up to that, as I have … More Let’s twist again!
I spent yesterday in beautiful, sunny Eton. That in itself would have fed my soul – the stunning buildings in quaint streets, the quirky independent shops behind traditional facades, the dabbling ducks and majestic boats along the River Thames… you get the picture. I spent most of the day indoors, however, exercising my brain, lungs … More Fluting!
I have just returned from a week in Nantes, a city lodged between the Loire valley and Brittany, which is twinned with my home town of Cardiff. It was the return leg of a linguistic exchange for adults from the two cities, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The exchange is organised annually by … More Parlez-vous français?
Do you remember where you were on Tuesday 6th February 2024 between 6:30 and 8:30 pm? Here in Wales, the wind was at gale force and the rain was torrential. So, like most sensible people you would probably have been curled up in your warm living room in front of the TV with a glass … More Fire and Ice
Within the past 3 weeks, I have lost two aunts. But more importantly, my Mum has lost both of her elder sisters leaving her as the eldest surviving of her siblings with her younger brother (who lives in Eire). My Mum and her eldest sister didn’t see a lot of each other; this sister lived … More A short reflection on family after two bereavements
I’ve been back home just over a week after my adventure in Jordan. It’s bloody cold here (around 22 degrees colder than on our final days at the Dead Sea and Madaba) and the news from neighbouring countries of the Middle East makes me glad to be home – not because I felt in any … More Reflections on Jordan
So my free day in Petra was one of self-care – a swim, reading beside the pool, a walk, a museum and some retail therapy. The following morning we were en route by 8, north towards the Dead Sea area. We drove through breathtaking scenery – winding roads through rocky mountains with a view over … More Jordan part 4 – Dead Sea and Madaba
Unfortunately for me, my head torch came in handy as overnight I developed a rather unpredictable stomach and spent the next day somewhere between fragile and nauseous. I remained undeterred from the programme, however, as this was Petra day – one of the highlights of the trip! We had a winding 2 hour journey from … More Jordan part 3 – Petra
Leaving the noise and traffic of Amman behind, we journeyed south on the Desert Highway (not dark, no cool wind in my hair…) almost as far as the tip of the Red Sea and sandwiched between Israel on the one side and Saudi Arabia on the other. We were headed for Wadi Rum – a … More Jordan part 2 – Wadi Rum
My first night was not the best for sleep – I was beyond tired but slept fitfully, awoken by the 5am call to prayer and then dozing until 9 before I decided to get up and get breakfast. Which was interesting. I remember Moroccan breakfasts being a surprise, and this was similar with omelette, falafel, … More Jordan part 1 – Amman
I hadn’t intended to go months on end without posting nor for this to turn into a travel blog, however here we are and I’m off adventuring again! I am currently sitting in a trendy coffee bar in downtown Amman, Jordan. I’m joining a tour with intrepidtravel.com (same people I went to Morocco with) this … More A new adventure!
If you read my previous post, 50 shades of wobbly, you will know that my solo trip to Madeira almost didn’t happen as I got an attack of freezing cold feet in the airport departure lounge! But I made it, and I’m home feeling glad that I went and feeling that I’ve learned a few … More Reflections on Madeira
It is sometimes quite a task living up to the ‘brave’ nomenclature that I write under and seem to have been labelled with. The word itself carries a weight of expectation … much of which I put on myself… but I also feel some sense of duty to live up to being ‘brave’ given how … More 50 shades of wobbly!
Please indulge me for a moment while I unload… I am currently in pain. In fact, I have been in almost constant pain probably for over a year now. If I wasn’t sure what ‘chronic pain’ meant… I am now! I have had on/off lower back pain for quite a few years, including a period … More A short reflection on pain