Favourite Holiday Snaps
Onto a slightly lighter note now, I thought i'd show you some of my favourite holiday photographs, as i've been fortunate enough to have been able to visit some very lovely places as a result of my father having spent most of his life working in the Oil Industry. I have absolutely hundreds of pictures and could go on forever talking about each one, so here's just a select handful of some I like best...
She talks to the animals.... She talks to the flowers....
Yes, you've guessed correctly, that's me looking like a prize prat talking (or what would appear to be attempting to do so) to an Asian elephant in Singapore Zoo! Of course, I wasn't really; i'm not quite yet mad enough to believe i'm akin to Dr. DooLittle!! I was merely trying to feed it and was caught by my brother at exactly the right moment to produce this rather nice but somewhat amusing photo!
A picturesque view at Nirwana Beach Resort in Indonesia
Nirwana Resort is a completely private resort with it's own private stretch of beach on the Indonesian Island of Batam. With crystal clear blue waters and white sand, whilst the hotel complex itself had every possible luxury you can imagine, although our stay was quite short, it truly was a charming place to visit. My family and I were there for a long weekend, four days, Friday through to Monday, having travelled over by ferry from Singapore, and it was a very quiet and peaceful place ... or at least it was, that is, until we descended upon the place. I'm only kidding, that makes us sound like a right rum bunch, which we're really not! It became patently clear within an hour or two of being at our hotel that the majority of the guests were couples, perhaps honey-mooning, or just trying to have a nice tranquil break away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. So, with a child of just two, eager to explore every nook and cranny and be heard by all and sundry, it's not at all surprising that I was slightly anxious about upsetting others. But all was fine in the end and a very enjoyable time was had by all.
Up Close and Personal with Bottle-nosed Dolphins in Tenerife
OK, so I know Tenerife is not exactly what one could describe as an 'exotic' location, though it is still a nice place to visit. I've just sneaked this photo in because I really like dolphins, and my son and I were able to get close enough to touch one at the water park, simple as that!
Ready... and after three both say CHEESE!
This is an interesting one to talk about! This picture was taken whilst we were on a desert safari in Dubai. My son, Curtis, was just three and a half years old when this photo was taken and we had all (7 of us, 8 including the driver) piled into a very large off road 4 X 4 vehicle which was waiting to pick us up outside our apartment building. Of course, my dad had played his cards close to his chest about this little excursion (having been on one himself before), so none of us knew what to expect. We then headed off on the road and soon had met up with 7 other vehicles the same as ours, all, like ours, full to maximum capacity with passengers (or rather, i'm guessing, probably unsuspecting guinea pigs, rather like us!) and we then headed in a big convoy to the desert!
Well, what came next was a rather hair-raising experience to say the very least! As we went further and further into the desert, our driver suddenly sped up, followed closely behind by the convoy of others, and headed up a huge sand dune only to then tear back down the other side of it at an even greater speed! These high speed antics continued with, many times, it seeming as if we were coming down the dunes sideways or on two wheels and were about to tip over. Oh my gosh was I scared, but at the same time it was such a thrill!! And my little one could not stop guffawling with laughter - he thought it was absolutely fantastic!
After what seemed like an eternity of these madcap antics (though realistically, as I was very scared so had had a sort of temporary system shut down, it was probably more like an hour), we stopped at a settlement deep in the desert where we then had a traditional arabic meal, seated on huge rugs, followed by a belly-dancing show. We all then had a camel ride and were allowed to pet the animals, and the bigger kids (in this case, that was myself, my boyfriend, my brother and his friend) hired out some dune buggies and raced around on the dunes. It was great fun!! We finished off the night by racing one another down a huge dune on snowboards, before getting back into our vehicle to be taken back home. So it was a really adrenaline-packed experience, but one i'd jump at the chance to do again.
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