It might have taken me eight months to get back but I still spent the majority of my weekends in 2013 in Dubai. I had to move out of my apartment in The Lofts in February but we moved everything into South Ridge a bit further round the Boulevard. The new place is a bit bigger but doesn't have the same amazing views out towards the Arabian Gulf. We do though have a Spinneys supermarket in the building, complete with pork shop, and an African + Eastern off licence in the building next door - what more do you need?!
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| The old view from The Lofts |
2013 was a good year for travelling and visiting new places - we managed three trips in three months which was pretty good going. First up was the Maldives in August over the Eid break at the end of Ramadan. What an incredible place - a huge country of tiny coral islands only a couple of metres above sea level, spread out over 90,000 sq km. We stayed on Meedhupparu which is north-west of Male, the capital. Getting there was an experience in itself, boarding a sea plane from Male and landing 45 minutes later in the water just off the edge of the reef of the island.
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| Meedhupparu in the Maldives |
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| Water villas on Meedhupparu |
We spent the week relaxing, sitting in the sun and eating and drinking everything on offer. Our villa was built on stilts out over the water, complete with ladder down to the sea, jacuzzi and personal butler who would attend to your every need. The service was incredible - canapés brought to your room every afternoon, breakfast in your villa if you wanted it, and a whole menu of cocktails to work through.
The island itself was beautiful with clear blue sea, white sand and a tropical green centre - everything you imagine the Maldives to be really. We spent a lot of time in the water, me especially. The snorkelling and diving were incredible - angel fish, surgeon fish, and many more that would swim right up to you, and multicoloured coral everywhere. Our underwater camera was brilliant but couldn't really do the view justice.
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| It's a hard life on a tropical island |
Along with the fish there were rays and turtles visible from the surface, plus reef sharks that swam a couple of metres from the shore in the shallow warm water. They tended to come out at lunch time for the leftovers from the kitchen. Apparently they're are harmless but I didn't get close enough to find out. Crows that grabbed breakfast off your plate, herons, burrowing crabs and hundreds of bats completed the line up of wildlife.
Despite thinking we'd be sat around on the beach all week, there were actually a lot of activities to keep you busy - jet skiing, the spa, a trip to a neighbouring populated island, plus leisurely walks around the island finding bars hidden away under the trees. With warm and sunny weather most of the week, it really was paradise.
The next trip in September was a week away in Coral Bay on the west coast of Cyprus, meeting up with my friends from home. The week was mainly spent sitting around or in the pool, catching up with my mates that I'd not seen for quite a while. Coral Bay is a small town just north of Paphos, full of bars and restaurants catering mainly to the tourists. We made the most of it by sampling the local delicacies, including 21 inch kebabs (oh yes) and the local drink - gin fizz cocktails.
We did get out and explore on one of the days - Cyprus has some pretty spectacular inland views, with roads winding their way over hills and through valleys of fields dried out in the sun. We made it up to the northern coast and found some lovely beaches and a few wineries en route, picking up a few bottles to take back for our evening BBQs.
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| Western Cyprus |
Getting back to work in September and realising we had the second Eid holiday looming, it was too good an opportunity not to book up a last minute trip. Having considered a few options we settled on Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, somewhere neither of us had been before.
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| Ho Chi Minh City |
A seven hour flight from Dubai, Ho Chi Minh is an amazing place, full of hustle and bustle and frenetic energy similar to somewhere like Bangkok. Rather than tuk tuks though, the transport mode of choice is the motorcycle - they're everywhere, at every turn and going in every direction. The country obviously has an interesting history and Ho Chi Minh City's role in the Vietnam War is evident everywhere, even now a few decades later. The War Remnants Museum goes into graphic detail about the atrocities of the war, and has planes, tanks and all sorts of other military hardware out the front.
The Vietnamese local food was interesting - I thought the selection of wildlife in the Maldives was extensive but in Vietnam there isn't much that they don't eat. The menu in one restaurant in the city featured braised chicken feet, snake sausage, deep fried dried frog and skin salad. All tasty stuff.
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| Make sure you save room for dessert |
We took a couple of trips out of the city, one to the Cu Chi tunnels that were built by the Viet Cong during the war to hide in, and another down to the Mekong river. Boarding boats captained by people with pointy triangular hats, we travelled down the river learning about life in the jungle. I politely declined the opportunity to purchase a bottle of cobra wine (wine, with added pickled snake), and reckon it's probably on the UAE customs banned list anyway...
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| Travelling down the Mekong river |
