Llangollen

Jam and cream scones. Yum yum!

Well, I suppose it’s unfair to describe how delicious these were; how scrumptious they tasted, the perfect combination of jam, cream and butter. The way the butter melted into the scone and with every bite, how we could not help but enjoy the wonderfully crafted delight.

How cute were our own individual little jars of either Tiptree’s raspberry or blackcurrant jam; blackcurrant being my favourite. And then there was the cream, well, where to start with describing this dairy product. I think it was Cornish cream, or maybe not, but whatever it was, delicious is the word. The difference between this scone and others, was that it was home-made, and gosh, we could tell the difference. It tasted like it was made with the special ingredient of care, care for how much sugar and flower was added to the mixing bowl, not that I’m a baker or anything, but it was evident that these scones were not shop bought!

Anyway, you’ll be wondering where these magnificent scones cropped up during the summer holiday for me ... Llangollen, a small town in North-East Wales, beautiful it has to be said. It’s situated on the River Dee, a 70-mile long river in the UK. I’d heard of the River Dee the previous summer when my Mum and I went up to visit my brother in Aberdeen, and we went cycling along the river, from Ballater, yet another gorgeous place to visit.

Let’s get back to the scones ... let’s just say they were a well deserved treat after our walk alongside the River Dee in Llangollen. My Mum, Grandma, Grandad and me planned our day out and left home earlyish in the morning to get a long full day in.

Our first stop on the way to our destination, Ponderosa, the Horseshoe Pass, where the scenery was wonderful. I shouldn’t really mention the lovely sausage sandwich we enjoyed with brown sauce, a necessity to make it tasty! The journey involved driving up and down hills, as green as green can be. It was funny how we were discussing the idea of living somewhere like that, as we noticed little cottages on our way, and then came to the conclusion that if we were to win the lottery, I mean a large amount, we could possibly think about it. But if not, we wouldn’t buy one, as it seemed far away from anywhere, in the middle of nowhere perhaps, and the idea of being snowed in, as the winters can be harsh as we all know in the UK, so feasibility and health care could be an issue.

So, once we’d parked up after the long drive to our destination, well after we were stuck behind a tractor, haha, we stretched our legs and set off on our walk along the gorgeous River Dee. Passing some cottages and houses along the way, as well as hikers and day-trippers, some of who were pleasant and we exchanged good mornings with, we took photos of the scenery on offer. My Mum and Grandad brought their new cameras with them, both of which produced fantastically great quality photos. It’s amazing how cameras, for example, have developed and can now give us pictures of such clear quality, as though we are there.

Skipping along, we came across Hercules and, what was the other one’s name ... oh yes, Stan it was. These were the horses operating the horse-drawn barges, what a wonderful novelty I thought, and so, as they approached us, my Mum snapped some great photos. Coming towards us, working hard pulling his barge full of day-trippers.

Oh, I forgot to fill you in on the weather. Well, it turned out to be a gorgeously hot day, no rain in sight, and yes, the weather forecast had said rain and as usual, it was wrong ... Haha!

The horses, oh yes. It wasn’t too far past the horses that we arrived at the jam and cream scones. A lovely cafe serving many dishes and desserts, all of them looked as tasty as each other. We settled on the scones, as I’ve described, but what I haven’t told you yet is about what happened when we were in the midst of enjoying them. Oh my word, if you had seen the size of it, wow wee. A horse-fly was crawling up the wall beside my Grandma and me, and much to our surprise, my Grandma, being brave and not knowing what it was, got a few tissues and grabbed it! My Mum and Grandad had spotted it, but knowing that I’d jump or scream, which I sure enough did do, didn’t say anything. Only when it was squashed in the tissues and my Grandad stood on it, my Mum said it was a horse-fly, and mentioned that it was a dangerous insect. My Grandad said the sting could have been deadly, oh no I thought! Then planted his foot upon it. 14 stone on top of it, which of course, is my grandad. Don’t worry, you’re safe now, it6’as got 14 stone on it now. Thank goodness it was squashed now and not flying around us and near our scones!

And on that bombshell, as Clarkson says, that is the story of our scones, delicious as the home-made treats were.  

Emeli Sandé

Emeli Sandé. Amazing voice. Superb in concert.

Me being me, researched Emeli and found out that her name is Adele Emeli Gouraguine, a recording artist and songwriter, born 10 March 1987. She was raised in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. I was flabbergasted to find that she’s written many songs for various singers including Alicia Keys, Gabrielle and Rihanna. How talented I thought. Simon Cowell has even named her as his favourite songwriter at the minute! Listen to this, it’s unbelievable ... she wrote her first song at 11 years of age for her primary school talent show!  

Anyway, it was whilst walking along in Florida’s Downtown Disney this summer, that my Brother disappeared into a shop, caught us up and gave us 4 tickets to see Emeli at The House of Blues. What a fabulous treat!

How brilliant our evening was. Not only was Emeli fantastic with her songs which she co-wrote, but to actually see her in The House of Blues; a real feel for blues, jazz and a great sense of soul throughout. What a great atmosphere and layout; with the balconies and different levels looking down and across onto the stage where she stood, sat and played the piano - an extremely talented artist.

Her outfit consisted of a dress and a short denim jacket; something I’d definitely wear. Her shoes were of the Dr. Marten type, and gave a casual, smart look.

Emeli Sandé hit the stage and well, wow, what a superb voice. ‘My Kind of Love’, ‘Read all about it’ and ‘Heaven’, were absolutely fabulous along with many others. As soon as she started singing each of her songs, you should have heard the crowd applauding and joining in too. It seemed like she performed for hours, and it sure enough was past midnight when she finished.

It was unbelievable to see her in concert, especially when it was her first performance in America/Florida.

And then the ballad type: ‘Clown’, oh how gorgeous this song is, you could feel the emotion she poured into each and every word. Then there’s ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ too, which she sung perfectly.

Having had a wonderful time at her concert, my Mum kindly treated me to her CD, and so, every time we listen to it, we remember how awesome Emeli Sandé was in Florida’s The House of Blues. Who would have thought when we were in Disney, Emeli would have been there too!     

Dubai

Dubai. The Emirate on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf. One of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dubai. The city lots of people have heard of; the Burj Khalifa building that Tom Cruise absailed down in Mission Impossible Protocol. The city where Sex and the City 2 was supposedly filmed, yet it was Morocco but you wouldn’t realise the difference if you haven’t visited this part of the globe.

It was flabbergasting to see the skyline of Dubai and how much it had changed from years ago when we arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It was 18-and-a-half years ago when we arrived and the landscape was completely different.

You should have seen the amount of desert back then, the numerous camels roaming the sandy white dunes, the little architecture that existed. A marvellous transformation has taken place. The vast multitude of buildings, all shapes, sizes and architectural styles. So many highways, roads, so much more traffic too. And talking about traffic, you should see the fabulous cars which zoom on by. Gosh, the speed they go too despite the whopping 140kmph speed limit on motorways! A race track you could say, or wacky races as my Grandma pointed out. I love seeing all the cars on the roads, it’s as if you’re in a showroom full of all the amazing cars Dubai has to offer.  

We say that there isn’t much of the desert left as properties, shopping malls, hotels and many more buildings have taken the place of the sand which we were welcomed by 18½ years ago. The doors to Abu Dhabi airport opened and blimey, we were hit by the shocking heat and the gust of humidity attached to it; as though we stepped into a sauna. It’s unbelievably unbearable in the summer months, with temperatures over 50°C, difficult to imagine when you’ve grown up and lived in the UK for example.

Before I was born, my Mum, Dad and brother lived in Sharjah, covering 2,600 km². It’s amazing to hear their stories of how this emirate was not so long ago. I remember them telling me that roads were narrow, one-laned and it sounded like the compound they lived on was lovely. My Mum says that their bungalow backed onto the communal swimming pool where mums and toddlers used to gather in mornings, swap stories and socialise. Thinking about how life was in Sharjah back then and how much Abu Dhabi and Dubai have changed from when the four of us arrived, makes me wonder about how great and wonderful the United Arab Emirates are, and how powerful the rulers can be in advancing their emirates with the help of construction workers, consultancies and workers like you and I.

I’ve had a fabulous time growing up in Abu Dhabi with my family. We’ve had so many opportunities to travel around the globe, grow up amongst a multi-cultured society, and for that, I am truly thankful to my parents for broadening my brother’s and my knowledge and opening our eyes to the many wonders which this world has to offer.

Phuket's beautiful Big Buddha

So many colourful tuk tuks on the streets, a traditional three wheel motorcycle, but modified into 4 wheels for safety. A bright pink tuk tuk pulled up so we hopped in, bounced around and listened to typical Malaysian style music coming from its speakers. 

A tuk tuk has been the symbol of Asia for more than 50 years, so were wonderful to see and travel in, even including being bounced up and down all the way! The driver was as friendly as can be and had a little smile and chuckle every time we went over a bump, which made us laugh. He was as amused as us with all the bumps and laughed all the way and sung to the music coming from the speakers!   

The beauty of Phuket and its attractions are most certainly some of the marvellous wonders which the world offers, and having the opportunity to visit Phuket, made our Christmas holiday extraordinary and different from the usual one with Christmas dinners and snow.

In this bright pink tuk tuk we slowly ascended up a hill of sorts, going up winding roads along the way. As the altitude rose, we could feel our ears going ... I don’t know where to, but they soon popped, thankfully!  

There it was ... the head could be seen in the distance. Going round bends in the tuk tuk, we saw parts of the statue through the island’s greenery, and then as we moved on it disappeared for the moment. 

Whilst inclining up the steep slope, the statue eventually drew nearer to us and the feeling of arriving at this remarkable piece of architecture was unbelievable.      

Dropping us off at the entrance car park, we thanked the lovely driver whose taste in music was extraordinary. Off he went down the slope, and off we went into the grounds of the Big Buddha. 

There the 40-metre tall statue stood ... how marvellous it was indeed. I couldn’t believe my eyes at the beauty of such a statue, the beauty of the hard work put into constructing it. As the sun shone down on us, the sun’s rays bounced off the Big Buddha, and it seemed to sparkle with its beautiful white Burmese marble, showing the thousands of tourists and locals the detail of such a sensational landmark which sits at the top of the Nakkerd Hills between Chalong and Kata at 45 metres high.

Not only was the Big Buddha stunning to see, but it also offered breathtaking views over Phuket’s east coast, Chalong Bay, and south and southwest Phuket.

How lucky we were to arrive just as the Buddhist monks were in prayer and chanting, how fascinating it was to hear, see and be a part of. The prayers drew us into the atmosphere and made us feel very welcome and at peace. 

The monks were calming to see when in deep prayer, clothed in their robes of white and orange. Listening to them was peacefully relaxing, and the sound of little jingling bells and the gentle fluttering of the yellow Buddhist flags could be heard.  

We then went on to see some of the beautiful Buddhist monasteries and temples, which was yet another of the gorgeous highlights of our holiday. 

Absolute splendour of Langkawi

Sitting back in a cable car to admire the beautiful and stunning views all around as we ascended Langkawi’s Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi’s second highest peak, was simply breathtaking. This was unlike our everyday routine at home with work and university, and so, hovering above the turquoise sea, we took the time to relax and enjoy what we saw. 

Reaching the top of Mount Mat Cincang by cable car, we jumped out one by one as it circled around the platform then woosh, off it went back down the mountain. We walked across the Skybridge, such an amazing piece of architecture, at 125 metres or 700 metres above sea level, to soak in more spectacular views. It felt quite scary as we walked across it, looking down into the thick, lush undergrowth of forest, but trying not to think of it collapsing, we did just fine.   

The Oriental Village is just a splendid place to visit within Langkawi Permata Kedah translating to be the ‘Jewel of Kedah’, surrounded by its beautiful sea, paddy fields and jungle-clad hills. So many people came to be amazed by the beauty which it had to offer, and like us, were in awe with its wonderful setting and welcoming locals in their little, quaint shops, happily going about their day selling items like wooden candle sticks and wooden ducks. As we were leaving the village, we bought a delicately hand-crafted wooden duck for my grandad, as he’s always feeding the ducks around the lake at Lymm back at home. My mum came up with a great idea to wrap up a piece of bread with the duck to give to my grandad as a joke, an ingeniously clever idea I thought. This particular shop was across a bridge with a little stream running underneath, and was surrounded by autumnal coloured trees which gently swept their leaves from side to side in the cool, refreshing breeze.   

Kayaking in the Andaman Sea was sheer bliss, so we went on a kayaking tour which was out of this world. We saw animals of all sorts, monkeys swinging from tree to tree: the Macaque and the Dusky Leaf Monkey, as well as birds like the Brown Eagle soaring above us to shore. Dipping our hands into the sea, but not immersing them in too deep in case of what lay beneath, to feel the coolness of the water or on other days, to feel how surprisingly warm it was. My brother happened to drop his sunglasses in the sea, so dove in after them to shortly realise it was best to come back to the surface without them, thinking of what sea life could be lurking around. Having kayaked to shore, we laughed at the thought of something deep below us wearing his Persol sunglasses, and how many people must have dropped items into the Andaman’s turquoise sea full of exotic marine life.    

We were intrigued learning about the mangroves and how they helped to stop the tsunami. Visiting Langkawi Geopark where we walked around and learnt about Langkawi’s fascinating legends and myths was astonishing as we felt much more knowledgeable than before. Walking along to Datarn Lang (Kuah), also known as ‘Eagle Square’, was also amazing to see a 12-metre tall monument of a sea eagle preparing for flight whilst standing by the Kuah Jetty. Although the heaven’s opened and it seemed as though there were thousands of little, annoying, pesky midges that bit us galore, we were determined to find the Eagle. Other tourists could be seen doing the same, walking around in the rain, which is quite funny when you come to think of it, as you wouldn’t necessarily go on an adventure in the rain back home, yet abroad you have an urge to do so! 

What also made our holiday so wonderful was the utter luxury of our hotel and the absolute splendour of the island. Sheer bliss and extreme tranquillity were all wrapped into one, in the archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea. I love researching information about the holiday destination we choose to visit, and so I found that Langkawi is 30km off the mainland coast of north-western Malaysia. I’d sell you Langkawi as a destination, but then it’d be as if you’re reading a brochure, so will just say that it offers so many ways to relax and at the same time, be involved in adventurous activities depending on what you’re looking for. 

Its beauty will easily help you escape your everyday routine back at home, helping your mind unwind and chill when you sip the welcome drink of Malaysian special tea which The Andaman Hotel provides guests with on arrival.  

The hotel was simply luxurious, with its beautiful setting of being tucked in the 10 million year old rainforest, its  location on the Datai Bay and having an 8,000 year old coral reef, made our stay at the resort such a splendidly, wonderful experience. Its private beach is recognised as the 9^th best in the world by the National Geographic, as well as the National Geographic filming the flying lemurs there, which I thought was amazing. We were told by one of the hotel’s staff who took us on a nature walk, that: "The National Geographic came to film the flying lemurs at The Andaman Hotel because of its rich diversity and abundance in wildlife". He then went on to say to their surprise, the flying snake was also captured on film. Wow, I thought!  

Since I’m not selling you Langkawi in a brochure but am being a travel writer, it has to be said that Langkawi is a place you ought to visit. Its magical essence and lush foliage including the 300 species of butterflies, lures every visitor and adds to the tranquillity and luxury which the island has to offer.  

Aberdeen in depth

With its consecutive growth in the number of bustling passengers that pass through each year, my mum and I landed in Aberdeen International Airport to be greeted by my brother, one of the many who live in the third most populous city in Scotland. 

A beautiful coastline and a bustling city centre are only two of the reasons why Aberdeen is such a wonderful city to visit ... as well as my brother living there of course!

Its striking granite architecture gives reason to the nicknames: Granite City, the Grey City and also the Silver City, as the buildings sparkle due to their high mica mineral contents. The city holds an insightful history and displays a wide selection in arts and culture. Since the 1970’s discovery of North Sea oil, another nickname which Aberdeen has been given is the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. 

Walking and exploring being two of our favourite things to do, my mum and me discovered places in Aberdeen which were marvellous to see whilst my brother was at work. We visited the Central Library with its amazing architecture, as well as Aberdeen Art Gallery, where we were in for a fabulous treat; the House of Annie Lennox exhibition was open for the public to see. I can remember how wonderful it was with the setup of her colourful and creative costumes from videos such as Walking on Broken Glass and Little Bird, Annie’s sentimental memorabilia and awards; all of which paid tribute to the creativity, style and passion which she pours into her work. 

One day during our wonderful summer stay in Aberdeen, my brother took us to Ballater, a beautiful burgh in Aberdeenshire which is located on the River Dee, east of the Cairngorm Mountains. 

Ideal for walking, hiking and mountain biking, Ballater is such a gorgeous spot to visit, especially when the weather turns out to be as glorious as it was for us on that particular day. 

On mountain bikes, we took an amazing route through Ballater and being confident in our abilities, we crossed over into the forest. Going deeper into the splendiferous undergrowth of green lushness and smelling the pine scent from the trees as we passed on vehicles consisting of a light frame mounted on two wire-spoke wheels one behind the other; bikes of course, the sounds of birds around us and crackling of branches beneath us was simply splendid.

The sunlight was breaking through the branches as we settled to have our picnic near a lake within the forest. After our tasty picnic, we continued to cycle through the forest.

There were other cyclists who passed by and we exchanged a few words about the weather as it seems to be everyone’s favourite subject! Few walkers could be spotted through the trees as we cycled on by, and I thought what a beautiful location this was indeed.

My brother explained when to use the brakes and which way to turn when going down slopes, and so, having grasped the knack, my mum went after my brother down this steep rocky slope, and cleared it. So I went straight after her, and knowing me, I had to head straight for a massive rock, boulder, whatever it was, and flipped over, falling on stones. But it was as if I went in slow motion, knowing I shouldn’t have headed for the only big rock there was, screaming whilst I did so. My mum turned round when successfully reaching the bottom, but due to the screaming she heard from me, continued into a little stream with her bike. She was tangled with the bike on top of her leg, so it was a matter of urgency to get up and fish her out. The handlebars on my mum’s bike had a clump of grass from the bank of the stream; funny to see but sore nonetheless. Despite the bruises and cuts, we continued to cycle further and back along the beautiful River Dee.  

Another day we travelled to Stonehaven, yet another beautiful town in Aberdeenshire. My brother took us on a fabulously stunning walk to Dunnottar Castle, 3 kilometres south of Stonehaven. It’s a ruined medieval fortress on the north-east coast of Scotland that towers above the ground on a rocky cliff and spreads across 3.5 acres of land. The Castle was spectacular to see, as well as the stunning views around. There were many people visiting, both tourists and locals, all taking photos of the scenery and listening to a boy playing the bagpipes, music to our ears, on the edge of the cliff which overlooked the castle. The perfect setting it was with a castle, the wonderful scenery, and people who were ever so friendly.   

50 metres below the Castle, we sat on the white sandy beach enjoying our picnic, listening to the crashing waves next to us and admired how breathtaking the Castle looked up on the cliff.

Dining out every night was lovely as we got dressed up and enjoyed what Aberdeen had to offer during the night-time. My brother took us to Tropeiro, a Brazilian restaurant based on a ‘Rodizio’ concept, a Brazilian style steakhouse. Their mouth-watering meats are cooked on an open fire and carved at the tableside, and with the vast choice of meats, it was lovely to enjoy the variety on offer. However, there were baby lamb’s hearts and other strange but exotic meat to choose from. Every time the baby lamb hearts came round, we all mentioned Mary had a little lamb, the poor lamb, haha! It goes without saying, we declined the offer of it.

One particular night after dining in Tropeiro, we went to the cinema to watch ‘Brave’, a computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Being set in Scotland, it seemed apt to watch the film in Aberdeen, and with a voice cast including Julie Walters, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson, to name a few, it was a great film to see. 

The B&B we stayed in was just wonderful. A massive TV came in handy to watch some of the 2012 Olympics, as well as a full cooked breakfast, freshly cooked ... simply fabulous every morning.  

To summarize our visit to Aberdeen, I’d have to say we had such a splendid stay and explored wonderful places thanks to our brilliant tour guide, my brother.