Noosa - The Adventure Begins...

What an experience, 3nights camping, one in a supposed hostel, which is really just a shed with hammocks and the other two spent wrapped up in sleep bags, in a real life outdoor tent. Probably one of the more sociable things I’ve done in Australia, made heaps of friends (‘heaps’ being an ozzy slang word for lots). Purchasing enough food to accommodate for three nights, not to mention stocking up on ‘Goon’ which is an Australian alcoholic drink made up of the remains of white wine and stored in a box with a little tap that pops out for your convenience. The Golden Oaks brand, isn’t too bad, and when I say ‘not too bad’ I mean barely drinkable, if you are a real wine fan, then this stuff will literally mortify you; however, it’s cheap, pretty strong and most popular in the backpacker way of life. The Sovereign brand however, isn’t even drinkable! It tastes more than disgusting; I can’t even find a lady like term for the stuff! The simple fact that it gets manufactured is beyond me. It contains a fish egg that is all you really need to know. Yuck!   

Moving on, the camping experience, shifting from city life in an apartment/boyfriends house to non-flushing toilets, tiny tents, pitch blackness and campfires in the middle of practically no-where was a shock to the system to say the least. I’d recommend trying a night in the back garden before fully jumping into the deep end! Not that I didn’t absolutely love it.

On the first day/night, it was plummeting with what I can only describe as torrential rain! This didn’t help the adapting to new surrounding process and the missing home (Brisbane) feeling that loomed over every once in a while. The fact that we had the car however was a massive help. To know that I could have had to deal with lugging my now 48 kilo backpack around the place gives me the shakes! Fair enough it has wheels but non-the-less I really do need to sort and lose a great deal of possessions before I carry on any further up the coast. As I was saying, it was raining. Excessively. Luckily it was our first night, and that meant we were eased in by staying one night in the shed described as a hostel. We simply unpacked all our sleep bags, cooked dinner, made a huge camp fire and drank the night away, playing pool and socialising with our new camp mates.

On the second day, the weather was much, much more delightful! The sun was beaming and the temperature, from what I remember ranged from 24-25 degrees Celsius. It was the day that was arranged for us to go canoeing down the everglades. This is known as the river of mirrors, the story tells of how black the water appears due to the roots of the trees, yet still pure and crystal clear, thus leaving the water reflecting and mirror like. The Canoes were made to fit three people, which happened to be music to my ears, as I found kayaking for 1 hour testing, and to think that I might have to paddle for two hours against the wind, by myself would simply have been death by rowing in my opinion. Luckily this was not the case, my boyfriend sat in the front, and lovely guy sat in the back, whilst I slipped comfortanbly in the middle.

We paddled all the way up the river, and crossed a huge lake, until we stopped at the beach, where there was a historic pub providing much needed lunch completed with a Malibu and pineapple. Appropriate for the occasion. I forget the name of the actual pub which is a shame, however it seemed to be the only one in the small town we rowed to, I know that it was the second pub to be licenced in all of Queensland. On the way back, we were advised to take a detour, which took a little longer but enabled us to discover a hidden tree swing. The guys had a ball, swinging and dropping into the river, minding fallen trees and hidden rocks, the activity was I’ll admit extremely dangerous and not suitable at all for those that are weak swimmers or under the age of 12, however an extreme thrill. I myself was too dry/chicken to do it, but it looked like great fun. We spent the night cooking dinner as per usual and drinking once more around a camp fire, playing drinking games.

On the third day, we had the option to either go canoeing again on a shorter route, or to visit a near-by Quarry. I had only ever seen one Quarry before, and that was in Brisbane, but I never went swimming in it to fully appreciate the wonderfulness of this untouched nature oasis. The definition which I researched on Wikipedia (not the most reliable source I know, but convenient and accurate enough non-the-less) is that “A Quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock and minerals are extracted” and from my understanding, Quarries are prone to flooding because they are sometime dug below the water table and struck on clear spring water, this creates a swimming pool like area, where many people, swim/ dive into the crystal blue waters. After walking for I’d say a good 20 minutes in the scorching heat, we all stripped down to our swim wear and jumped in. The feeling was immense. The water was so clear and the feeling the cool liquid wash over your body; it was brilliant. Located just next to the Quarry was what we were told were mud pools. We went over and it was exactly that, a pool filled with natural mud, which had the texture of clay, most people were covering themselves in the substance, as it’s known to be very good for your skin. Me and my cousin, fully aware that most celebrities pay more than thousands for this kind of spa treatment obviously plastered ourselves from head to toe!

The evening came, and I was dreading sleeping in the tent, having already done it the night before, the temperature dropped to what I could describe as ‘bloody freezing’ and the mosquitoes would come and bite my skin all over, despite the amount of bug repellent I sprayed on myself, my sleep bag and tent. But on a positive note, it was a character build, I’d learnt to live without the luxuries of hair straighteners, and (although it would have been easy enough for me to apply) make-up, I felt it was a tad too much for the occasion. So a quick touch of mouse and eyeliner after a hot shower was all it took for me to ‘get ready.’ This was great news I guess to my boyfriend, as I would usually require exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes to fully class myself as ready.

After meeting amazing people and enduring a most challenging yet amazing experience, it was time to leave and head off to ‘Fraser Island.’ By far the best thing I have done so far in Australia, and judging by my previous blog entries, you can imagine how great this really was. 

What do I do with my Drunken Sailor?

I’m in love, yes. It’s happened. No, this is not a poor attempt at writing a fiction novel; this is real life. As I said before, a few weeks after my birthday, we decided to head down to the Boundary Hotel. This is a Bar located in an area, known as the West End in Brisbane. It is currently known as ‘the place to be’ for a ‘Sunday session.’

Apparently Australia missed the memo on quiet Sunday afternoon Roasts and DVD’s prepping for work the next day. Sunday to them is THE night to go out and get smashed, regardless of the fact that work occurs bright and early on the Monday morning.

I myself personally would prefer not to feel hung-over and useless at the beginning of the week, however on this odd occasion, I decided to join my cousin and her boyfriend for a few festive bevs. 

So we headed into town, and met up with a few friends, chatting away. The best thing I’d say about Australia, is that for some reason, everyone is your friend and it’s standard for a person to sit and start talking to you as if they have known you for ten years !? In the beginning I found this particularly odd, like if I was to pop into the local shop to grab a fix of Red Bull or Gum, the shopkeeper would just start a conversation usually along the lines of “Hi, How you going?” or “What have you been up too, any plans for today?”…

As you can imagine, my initial reaction was like ‘what the hell?’ I guess in London, speaking so informally to someone who you don’t know, especially whilst you’re working just simply isn’t the way.

Moving on, the place was pretty crowded, full of all sorts of different age ranged people, so we found a place to sit at the opposite end of the bar. This is where I met my sailor. Him and his friends came over and asked to sit at the same table as us and due to the fact the bar was overflowing and we occupied I’d say at least a 10 person table, my cousins boyfriend more than happily offered the seats.

Despite the fact that I was completely naïve to the fact that this was a pick up line, my sailor started a conversation asking if it was preferable for his shirt to be buttoned up fully or half way done. Me being oblivious to whole Pickup one liner, happily stated my opinion, however also suggested that he asked my cousin across the table as she is go-to girl for fashion advice.  We got talking for the whole night and learnt so much about each other in such a short space of time. Not thinking that this could be anything more than ‘just another guy you met at a bar’ I was enjoying the company. As the night went on, we exchanged numbers and discovered that we both have a major passion for a good steak. My Sailor mentions a great Steak place that he said he’d take me to. I was a little tipsy at this stage so without thinking I agreed that I’d love to go.

Monday morning hits and I receive a text from my sailor saying:

“I’m taking you for a steak on Tuesday if you are down.” Typical Australian laid back attitude if you ask me. I was a bit taken back, but went along, as I was a bit curious and sort of thrilled by the forcefulness of the text message. The date was nothing short of magical, full flowing conversation through out the whole night, the steak was AMAZING- Cha Cha Cha’s in Brisbane CBD near the river on Eagle Street Pier, if you make it to Brisbane and have a few cents to spare, GO THERE. After dinner we walked along the river then drove up to Mount Co-tha look out, where we swapped stories and I was taught a few star collations such as the Southern Cross and the Saucepan.

My sailor was a complete gentleman and got me home by midnight. A few weeks had past and I had been on four or five additional dates including, go carting at Kingston park – biggest race course I’ve ever seen, the power in the cars was incredible, and ok I know it’s not the same, but to feel the thrill of driving after so long felt so good! We also went out for drinks, dinner and picnics. I found myself spending a lot of time with this one person that I had only met for a few hours in a bar, then before I knew it, we were boyfriend and girlfriend, I’ll admit, at the time I was a bit foolish as I was fully aware that I am only in Australia on a 1 year working holiday visa, so entering into a relationship with someone who wasn’t travelling sounded bizarre.

Usual boyfriend/girlfriend events occurred. Meeting each others friends, laughing, talking ect. We’d be spending so much time together it seemed strange to be apart. I imagine my sailor must have felt the same, as he mentioned to me that he’d be off work for a while so he has some free time, and said that he would come up the coast with me! Well! This was a surge of mixed emotions overwhelming my body. 

It was still early days as we weren’t planning to leave for coast for another few months or so, so I happily acknowledged the idea, however not fully taking it on. We started to get fairly serious, I mean I was showering and straightening my hair at his place, which every 15-23 year old female must understand, is a big step. There came nights where there was no make up. He would drive me to work every morning and drop my things off to me in the evening should I need them the next day. We began to spend more and more time together, and I found myself being by his side for the majority of my free time. 

...Life when it's Unpredictable

It's going to be difficult to explain everything that's happened to me since my last update, but here goes. 

So the 'Photographer Job' yeah, that didn't work out to well. Word of advice to all travellers or potential travellers. YOU WILL NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. I guess it sounds fair, I mean when you are known to only be in the country for a year, I understand that business' would only see the advantage of taking a person on as casual staff, but jesus christ that doesn't mean you can change the job description as often as you like ! Long story short, it started out with Friday nights from 10 - 2am for $125 a night, and then progressed onto an additional two hours of 'Promo work' and yeah you can guess what the deal is with that.

 ... Of course I was mortified and told him to stick it where the sun don't shine! Luckily me and my cousin got our Jobs back at FOS, (telesales). I know it's not the most enjoyable job in the world, but it's an office of amazing people that make the time pass quickly, and I hate to say it, but I think I've become quite good at it.

The first week back after returning to the UK felt like an alternative to reality. Back in the same apartment, unpacking all my things again, shopping in the supermarket (Coles FYI) preparing for work the next day. 

My Grandma, was still alive when I left home. WOW this is harder to type than I realised. So she was alive when I left home, she seemed to be improving, her liver had still failed, but she was talking, eating, drinking laughing, watching the queens jubilee. She loved the queen. But at about 9pm at night my time. My cousins boyfriend came in the room and told me that she had passed away. The feelings that washed over my body were ones that I had never felt before. Dealing with a loss and being so far away, I would have to say is definitely something that should be considered before escaping real life for a year. All I can say, is that it hurts. BIG TIME.

But my faith in the statement that 'everything happens for a reason' has really helped me. I found some comfort in knowing that everyone has their time to leave & I know that she is still with me.

Skipping ahead a few months, May, June and July were probably that hardest yet of my adventure, cold winds, wet rain and public transport made me feel like what the hell is the point in me being here, when all my Family needed me, and I needed them. We wasn't doing anything, just powering through every day. 

August came, and the bouncy ball had shot up again, another one of my silly terms that I guess I live by is that 'What goes up must come down' and well I guess after all them months of being down, the ball must have hit bottom and shot back up again.  August has been one of the best years of my life! 

We had a good group of friends, work was bearable, the weather was heating up and it was my 21st birthday on the 4th. I couldn't of dreamed a better way to spend it. I was adamant that i'd do 21 things on my 21st and well I did, Kayaking, face painting, max brenner, jaga bombs, dancing, and I had the most amazing people around me ! Life couldn't get better.

... Or So I thought. On the 12th August 2012, I decided to go to a place called Boundary with my Cousin, her Boyfriend and my other cousin. It was that night that I met a Handsome Sailor and my life had changed forever.

But there will be more about him later, all I can say is that it's the 1st of October today and he's still around.

Apologies for my Absence

As it seems, I went into 'cog nito' as they call it for a short period of time. Not to worry my lovable Londoners, I am back and with lots to report...

Firstly. 

Byron Bay - Staying at Nomads Backpackers, the accommodation was adequate. Sandy beaches, its more of a party town, with lots of people looking for a party, yet oddly enough, there aren't many high standard parties to attend to. More lower class adolescence's "Lets all get wasted and smoke weed" type ground. Not my type of thing. But if your into it? Then hey, I recommend the fabulous beach bar, located offside of the main beach featuring live bands and a fish tank bar. The name of the bar I admit could have included a lot more imagination, but the overall feel of the place, I guess would do, if you mistakenly put your self down for the more than a couple nights in Byron Bay. Oh. And do not bother going to Nimbin, complete waste of $55 day tour into a town full of hippy weed addicts just smoking their lives away, one brain cell at a time. Pathetic.

Secondly.

Surfers Paradise - One word. Paradise, I can't really explain how wonderful this place really is. A mixture of the city and sandy beaches, this place really has it all. Except Jobs. Despite the wonderful and affordable apartment, Surfers is unfortunately considered as 'A Holiday City' for Australians. And it is difficult to get a Job in the City once they know your a 'Backpacker. Yes I said it. Apparently when you explain the you are on a 1 year working holiday visa, you are labelled a 'Backpacker'. My suitcase has wheels and doesn't even go on my back! Surfers is in an area known as the 'Gold Coast.' Not as high end as Sydney's 'Darling Harbour' filled with a million dollar Yachts, yet still Classy and expensive.  

Thirdly.

Brisbane - Where I am currently living. Brings back all the reasons why I proudly declare myself a City Girl. 

Renting my own apartment in a town called Albion, I also worked in Telesales and had firmly landed on my feet! After a good 2 months, Me and my cousin had to fly back to the UK in aid of our unwell grandmother, and now that our three week break from our Australian life is up, I have grown to appreciate the wonderfulness that is Brisbane and that isn't London.

Being without my car, has opened my eyes to how rubbish our public transport system really is, as well as how lower class the country has become. Driving around and seeing young parents, without a hope in hell of tasting real life outside of their home towns. And the double recession really has hit everyone hard. It's ruined the foundations of what I considered London town... Relationships, Friendships, Trust and Business Alliance. It all comes crashing down and in my opinion sometimes its better for things to be pure black and white rather that true colours burning through. And people are so reliant on their TV's AND whilst your unemployed you really have no reason to be. I guess that's another consequence on the country being so money orientated. 

Enough of the cloudy greys... it turns out, that through great connections you can achieve your dreams, my flight is booked to take me straight back to paradise and the apartment is ready for us to move back into. If that wasn't enough, I e-mail a previous contact by the off chance, and it turns out the Photographer Job that I applied for is still available! 

HELLO! I start the Saturday of the week I fly back and my first event is Photographing the world famous R&B Artist SHAI at the club I work for. I love his songs! My favourite is "If I ever fall in love again." 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of Surfers Paradise.

xo xo Navita in wonderland.

Dolphins on Port Side !

Before I start bogging about Port Maquarie, I would like to mention, this fab thai resteraunt that we had dinner at. It was right opposite wake up and the portions were great, the staff were friendly and the food was lovely. Surprisingly enough this turned out to be quite good value for money, which in Sydney happens once in a blue moon.

7 hours later, boarding the 7am Greyhound we arrive to Port Maquarie. Staying at Ozzy Pozzy Hostel… I know, I couldn’t actually believe the name myself, but well that’s what it’s called. So we arrived at the Hostel to be welcomed by colourful walls, and what reminded me of a youth centre for troubled teens. There was a ‘games room’ which had free pool , air hockey and foosball, along with a TV room, Ping Pong, Kitchen and BBQ Area. It was very difficult to not feel sort of patronised in this place.

I loved the open laid back attitude the staff had, it was kind of refreshing, and I also loved the aviary and random parrots sharing the accommodation. The pool area was nice, simple decking with a reasonably sized swimming area. I did not love however the strict 11:00pm curfew and the ‘no young people unless you are travelling’ policy that was apparently in place at Port Maquarie. Honestly the place was like an island for the retired, now I love little old people as much as the next person, and I guess if I missed my grandparents this would be a great place to go, but I always felt like I was intruding on a 24 hour checkers game! The beaches were lovely, but dead. The Parks were lovely but empty. The pubs were erm,,, I only saw one. Irish Tavern… This was a lovely pub and according to my cousins boyf the first time he has been served a full sized pint in Australia rather than a ‘scooner’ which I think is equivalent to half a pint. Bit pricey however and they only serve food from the hours of 12-2pm and from 6:30-9:00pm. Oh OH and you can only buy alcohol from licenced bottle stores, which again. Close at 9:00pm.

Adventures:

Day 1 – Took a stroll around the port to find out what there was to do and see, I was amazed to find a long trail of rocks painted in memory of lost relations, some of them were absolutely wonderful. Walking back looking over the ocean and a lovely old man tells us to stop and wait (admittedly this annoyed me a little as we were walking for ages) he bought our attention to the open sea where real life wild blue nose dolphin were swimming and jumping as nature intended. This made my walk worth it.

Me and my cousin sitting on the PORT MAQUARIE landmark

Day 2 – Visiting the Koala Hospital! This was great, it was kind of like the RSPCA for Koala’s. we got to see a range of Koala bears that were either rescued or in care from the wild. The animals are fascinating. Later on in the evening we were drinking with fellow backpackers and I learnt how to play a new German game named Mexler, apparently I was very good at it J

Day 3- SO Unlucky, we had to check out of our rooms by 10am and our coach wasn’t untul 1:45am, we were allowed to pack up our cases and store them away in an open outdoor shed for a small fee of $10. I changed into my bikin with the ONE intention to sunbath, unfortunately that wasn’t the case, as the sun was so scorching hot, I decided to dip my legs into the pool, fully clothed with bikini underneath, I then get bored and decide to take a stroll around the outside of the swimming pool, in the meantime I am telling the story of how a little boy referred to me as a ‘lady’ earlier on in the supermarket. Just as I was coming to the end of my tragic story, my foot slips and splash, I fall into the pool. Just as I was sobbing in my wet clothes I walked in what I thought was a graceful stride over to my sun lounge, when Noooo! The floor gives way?! And I am down a pool filter drain. Three Swedish men wetting themselves behind me confirmed the reality of my bad, bad luck! My leg is sore now.

Currently on the Coach to Byron Bay, staying in my last hostel as we have found an apartment to rent in Surfers Paradise for 10 days ! Wahoooo, ensuite bathrooms and my OWN bedroom, sounds like paradise if you ask me?

Anyway enough for now, only 23 million hours to go on this god dam coach.

Xo xo Navita

Waking up at Wake Up !

I have decided to follow my cousins boarding a 6 month tour up the East Coast… We are travelling via a coach company named Greyhound, it’s pretty popular in Australia, in all honesty we stole the idea off my previous work friend.

Right now we are staying at a Hostel, or as I like to call it ‘Hotel with an S’ named ‘Wake Up Sydney.’ Apparently it’s one of the best Hostel’s in Australia. In my opinion it does pretty much have everything you’ll need to get yourself on your feet when travelling. The staff are so friendly, and helpful, mind you, you could say that about nearly everyone is Australia… Everyone is talkative and welcoming and polite, and they can’t help you enough!

So we are staying here, because apparently it’s right in the centre of ‘Mardi Gras’… I know, I know, it’s famous for being one of the world’s biggest gay and lesbian festivals and you’re probably wondering why the hell a girl like me would want to attend such an event. Well. It’s supposed to be a ‘must do’ in Australia, the Hostel is pretty hot on keeping you up to date with all the things you should do in Sydney, and Mardi Gras seems to be one of them. From advertising all over the city, to silly uniforms for staff and fundraisers, it seems like the city is pretty excited for it? The downside to this is that it’s described as the biggest street festival and everyone is supposed to wear… and I quote: ‘Bright, Tight and Flamboyant’ attire. The only thing I own that is ‘Bright, Tight and Flamboyant’ is packed away in a big box back in England… It was for my friend Zoe’s 2oth Birthday, for some reason she decided that it would be a good idea to dress up as ballerina’s, and for some reason I decided that it would be a good idea to wear a fluorescent tutu with a pink vest top. Thinking about it, that outfit would have definitely won me the $100 bar tab on offer for best dressed!

Anyway moving on, the street party is supposed to consist of great food, lots of drink, live bands and lots of fun in the sun, only it’s been raining loads in Sydney! A taxi driver predicted that it was supposed to pour 30cm’s of rain over the next few days, and since yesterday, that’s exactly what it has been doing! I haven’t been to the beach in like 7 days, my tan is fading and I’m about one rainy day away from becoming paler than the locals! It will be interesting to see how that works out.

So here are three of the stops we have planned so far for our journey…

I’ll keep you updated on how it’s going…-

1^st Stop – Port Macquarie (6^th – 8^th March 2012)

Hostel Name: Ozzy Pozzy

Apparently a tiny little island around 4 hours away from Sydney, it’s big on water sport activities and outdoorsy stuff

2^nd Stop – Coffs Harbour

Hostel Name: Hoey Moey Backpackers

Direct Beach Access, ride a Segway, Ice Skating in the Subtropical Coffs Harbour, Jetty Strip of bars, restaurants and little Cafés. Whale watching at the Coastal lookout point.

3^rd Stop – Byron Bay

Hostel Name: Nomad Byron Bay

Learning how to surf baby. Full Stop! 

Setteling in Sydney...

Wednesday 22^nd Feb 2012

…Settling in Sydney

 So I’d landed at the airport and I’d have to say that the passport control was a lot more organised and relaxed than Heathrow. The good thing was that minutes before we landed, the pilot announced which belt our luggage would be distributed on! My flight was alright, the downside was that I was sat next to a guy who couldn’t control his gas…Yuk! This put me a bad mood.

My book got me through most of the Flight: ‘I heart Vegas’ written by Lindsay Kelk, it’s such a great book. There is a tail of them. Wise buys is what I like to call something that I think is money well spent! Another Wise buy would be something like my beloved Iphone! It literally saves my skin sometimes, like when you’re perhaps stranded and need a cab home but don’t have any numbers, or you need some information quick time!

Today we went to the famous Bondi Beach, it wasn’t exactly paradise, there were no palm trees or hidden caves, but there were crystal clear waters complete with white sand and just at the top round the corner there was a tiny Italian restaurant with the best lasagne made by a family of Italians. Delicious! If you like foods with a lot of flavour and authentic cuisine this corner delight is the place to eat. I had a meat Lasagne and an iced coffee.

Earlier in the week we went to a couple of bars and clubs. Scubar is an underground bar, which was packed on a Monday evening (Backpackers Night). Good music and not to overpriced drinks with friendly staff and almost acceptable toilets. The cab ride in from Potts Point was $16 though. Side bar is equivalent; it’s linked to one of the nicer hostels named Wake up Sydney and just round the corner from Scubar.

We also went to Westfield Sydney… After the exchange rate, you realise that the prices are dearer than the ones back home! NOT GOOD.

 

Local to us at the moment is Kings Cross – I’ve classed this as an avoid area, much to my surprise it’s quite common for woman to be prostitutes and or work in Adult Lounges, a taxi driver explained that in Australia prostitution and broffels are legal and are as common as muck.

I’ve walked up the steps of the Sydney Opera house, this is lovely and so huge, although in most pictures you get the idea that it’s sparkling white and luxurious, up close you can see that it’s quite yellow and faded and in major need of a refurbishment.
Most of the City on the other hand is super clean.

Things yet to do and report back…

 

*Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge

*Spend the evening at Ivy Hotel

*Sydney Zoo

A walk through the botanic gardens on the way to the city pretty much f
features all the animals I could take. From Wild exotic birds to free flying huge bats !

* Yellow Water Taxi !

Any way, I need to get out there and start taking some shots, i've really negleted my Canon lately...

Pictures coming soon…

xo xo Navita

Singing in the Singapore Islands.

Sunday 19^th Feb 2012

Today the official adventure begins. One week in Singapore admittedly felt like a holiday, and it never really hit me that my whole life was just about to change.

Throughout the week I’ve been receiving general ‘missing you’ texts, e-mails, Facebook comments, ‘Whatsapp’ messages, and Face time calls! Jeez there are so many different ways to keep in touch nowadays, I could probably move to Mars and still be able to add my two penny’s worth in pity family arguments!

Ok so updates and tips on Singapore. One week really wasn’t enough, although, the anticipation and excitement of getting my life started in Australia made me count down the days one by one, seven of them made it a really tight schedule to cram everything in!

The thirteen hour flight for me was like hell! Only because I hate to fly; the ear popping, the engines, the awkward sitting positions, the terrifying vacuum disposal after trying your hardest to pee your quickest and return to your seat before the turbulence hits and throws you off the toilet. Ouch. Yes that’s happened before; I was on a day trip to Brighton and took the National Express, as much as I tried to hold it in, my will power gave up…

…So I braved it to the ‘on board lavatory’ and to my horror the door was faulty. Sitting in absolute anguish praying for this to be over, whilst holding the door shut, the worst happened. Round-about. As soon as I felt the rubber tyres cause friction whilst doing a 180, that was it, off I flew and bashed straight into the cold shiny mirror. You know how woman talk about different mirrors giving off different light and therefore somehow making that mirror the reason their hair and make- up doesn’t look right that day? Well I do… I am one of them. Anyhow, having your carelessly blushed cheeks pressed up against the mirror in an ‘on board lavatory’ happened to incur one of them moments.

Not good when you are off to meet some guy you met on holiday after a long thread of 5 month texting. Really – I think I’ve forgotten how to dial a real life Phone Number.

So yeah – Singapore – Shit Turbulence, jeez this is bad, dammit the Seat belt light has just come on and the pilot has just interrupted my two and a half men episode playing in the background… how dare he… I don’t mind really, its season 9 and there’s no Charlie Sheen; only Ashton Kutchur, he’s ok, but they’ve given him facial hair, and dear god I HATE FACIAL HAIR!

Anyway where was I, oh yeah Singapore. You can probably guess that I get distracted easily.  

Right, Food: My thoughts are that it turned out to be very traditional; very spicy; very coconutty and very high in Carbs. No dish can be eaten unless it is accompanied by rice, noodles or Pita bread.

Money: So expensive, one cosmopolitan was around $20 which works out to around £10. And that wasn’t even in a high end club.

Places to go:

Clarke, it’s your average strip of clubs which you’ll find in every country. They range from Shisha bars, to Bongo Clubs, to Cocktails bars and traditional Irish Pubs. On the other side there are Ice cream parlours, vintage jewellery and novelty items that you could buy.

Orchard Road, this is just like Oxford Street, from Prada and Louis Vuitton to Top Shop and Abercrombie and Fitch; this would definitely be a Fashionista’s heaven. Filled with attractions like them guys in Covent Garden who are painted silver and move only if you flick a few coins in the pot along with giant statues; you could find yourself spending most of your day here. There were restaurants and bars all around, which in my opinion ticks all the boxes.

Sentosa Island, very child friendly place, the Island consists of two beaches, Universal Studios and you travel there by cable car, which costs around $26 return ticket. You would need to start your day early in order to get everything you pay for out of the park. This place was filled with good clean fun!

Marina Bay Sands. WHAT AMAZEMENT! This place has it all, I mean really, high end shops three stories high, amenities and essentials that would be expected of a 5* hotel. But the thing that really blew this place ‘out of the water’ pun intended, was the boat shaped masterpiece that was a bar/night club named Ku de Ta located in the Sky park, on the 56^th floor right at the top of the skyscraper building which stretches longer than The Eifel Tower! We went on a Wednesday which was free entry; however it was still packed and had great music and an exasperating view. This is a must do in Singapore.

I could waffle on, but then i'd be scared that my blog may turn into a novel! And let's face it! I am terrible at telling stories!
Catch up later guys... xo xo Navita