07 August 2023

I went Sri Lanka for a bit of R&R with a friend of over 30 years. Well as a professional travel agent, it's a bit embarrassing as to what actually happened...... While I booked the main part of the holiday I left my friend to book some of the ancillary parts. I wanted her to experience what I do on a daily basis. The results were a little mixed shall we say ... First off, we arrived at Birmingham airport and my friend hadn't actually booked any car parking. So I had to hop on to my wifi and sort out. As we were checking in for our flight I asked whether my friend had booked the hotel in Doha for our layover on the way. Err no was the answer! So we board the gorgeous Qatar Dreamliner (lots of space in Economy it felt like premium and the food was the best I have tasted in economy in a long time) not knowing whether we have a hotel at the other end. We turn up to the hotel and it's fully booked and so instead I jump on wifi again and book an airport lounge for the 8 hour stopover. Luckily I book a lounge with showers and a nice rest area. We convince ourselves that it was better than a hotel anyway! The rest of the holiday gets even more eventful that involved thunder/lightening, disappearing taxi drivers and a slightly too intimate massage please read on……… When we flew into Si Lanka it was right through a massive electrical thunderstorm which almost literally made my hair stand on end! We landed “fully charged” and found our driver who proceeded to disappear for 40 minutes to collect the car. At one point we thought he must have been struck by lightning! After a couple of hours we arrived at Hotel Eden Resort and Spa. On arrival, they were very welcoming and friendly. We were on all-inclusive and the food was brilliant, lots of variety and all very fresh. The next morning, we ventured down to the pool area where there was lots of space and a gardener that never stopped running around to get your sunbed into exactly the right spot. We chose an area both near the beach and in the shade. There was a lovely breeze which, in 38 degrees, you need! With a 5.5 hour time difference, there wasn’t really any jet lag, which was a blessing. The next day a butler suggested that we visit a local temple which had a really friendly elephant in residence. The temple was the 2nd highest in Sri Lanka. Of course, despite the height and the heat, I forgot my water! We jumped into a Tuk Tuk and apparently “Cashpoint and temple with Elephant” translates to “shops, shops and more shops”. So when we had finished our tour of all the shops, we entered a forest and low and behold there was this massive elephant with the biggest tusks you have ever seen. We weren’t allowed to get too close to this magnificent creature, which was apparently a gift from Thailand to Sri Lanka. However, he did love his nose being stroked. It was so hot we wanted to go somewhere cooler and we needed water. After making a donation to the temple, we headed back to the hotel. When we arrived back the driver said a price, we didn’t have a clue. It worked out about £10.00 which was great value, even if the hotel said we got ripped off! Luckily to wind down I had an intensive treatment at the hotel spa which worked wonders on my aches and pains. The rest of the holiday was fantastic. We loved the local bar on the beach outside the hotel which had some amazing sunsets. On the quieter nights we got talking to the barman “Shaggy”. We politely declined the beach parties that he invited us to! I will definitely go back to Sri Lanka with my husband. There is so much more to see including cultural tours and train journeys. If you would like a less incident packed holiday, then just get in touch and I will be delighted to help!

07 August 2023

I have been thinking about what would amuse you all this month as the weather has been so miserable. All my plants have died including a Jasmine crawler that I have had over 10 years! Sad! But on the bright side, it does mean I can go out and redo my garden again :) Back to putting your foot in it! When I meet anyone new I tend to always say and do the wrong thing, being dyslexic in both speech and writing doesn't help at all. So, to 'cover my tracks' as they say, I tell them embarrassing stories of me putting my foot in all the wrong places. Here are my most memorable 'putting your foot in it' moments: 1. First Date Stumble Most of us feel like we have had a first date disaster, but how many of us can say they have fell over and cut their leg? My date took me to a lovely restaurant, just as I thought things were going well I got up to use the ladies room. On my way upstairs towards the ladies I tripped and fell scraping all my leg on the way down! Embarrassed I walked back to the table and had to ask to end my date shorter than planned so I could go back home to see to my leg. You would think that was the end of that relationship... but the second date went a little better and now we are happily married! 2. Work Trip To St Lucia If you remember, a few years ago myself and two of my colleagues visited St. Lucia to compete for 'The Best St. Lucia Experts in the UK' (and we won). On our first night, we were taken to Gros Islet to get involved in the exciting 'Friday Night Jump Up'. Unfortunately, there was no jumping for me as I was lucky enough to find a ditch to trip into on the way and twisted my ankle. But wait, that isn't even the worst part of it yet! Everyone can imagine how busy the London underground is during rush hour, imagine sliding down a moving escalator at peak time! This is exactly what I did on my way home from St. Lucia. Whilst going up the escalators on the London underground I tripped and terrifyingly started sliding down, I managed to survive but my legs were once again battered. There are plenty more times where my poor legs have taken the brunt of it! A wonderful Thai massage in Bangkok that left me so relaxed and supple I just went flying across the road straight after. The time during our annual conference when I tripped over in the bathroom and cracked my head against the porcelain bath. The list goes on and on... 3. Camping in A Ditch Saving the best and funniest moment until last; a couple of years ago I went on a camping trip (you all know how much I like camping), it was late at night and I needed the ladies, I think you can already tell this isn't going to end well! It was after 10pm so to avoid the loud crunching of the gavel I toddled around the edge to make sure I didn't disturb anyone. Everything was fine on the way there, so I started off on the same route for my way back to the tent. All of a sudden, I found myself in a ditch! That's right, I tripped over and stumbled into a ditch that was taller than me, only the top of my head was poking over the top. I felt like I was taking part in a challenge in 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here', trying to escape out of a tall ditch full of brambles in the pitch black. I am not the lightest of people and no matter how much I tried I just couldn't get myself out. I had done such a good job of not disturbing anyone on the way, that when I was shouting for help no one could hear me. I lost count of how long I was stuck down there, I think I even had a little nap at one point, it was starting to get really late. Finally, I heard someone (or something) coming towards me, slight fear crossed me as we were staying in the Big Bear Lodge and I didn't wanted to be found by a grizzly bear! But luckily it was my husband, Denny. He didn't notice me down in the ditch and walked right past me so I had to shout as loud as I could to get his attention which puzzled him at first, he couldn't figure out where my shouting was coming from. With some difficulty Denny managed to pull me out leaving me looking like I had been in a cat fight with scratches all over me. I'm sure there are plenty more hilarious episodes of my weak ankles giving way, but I think I'll leave it at that for now. To say the least, I can definitely put my foot in it!