48 Hours Sashaying Around Singapore

When I planned my round the world trip (the New Zealand one - don't worry, I'll get to my recent US/Canada trip sometime soon, maybe) I plotted my journey around a few of the brilliant people I've met over the years.

Hopping through Doha, Australia and New Zealand, my last stop was Singapore. And, in only 48 hours I managed to take 983 photos.



Arriving into Changi Airport at 7am, I freshened up in the spa and then shot to my home for the first night - the horizon dominating Marina Bay Sands. With only two nights to spend in Singapore I made sure to make every moment count, and dropping my bags off with the concierge, I took the 57 floor lift and enjoyed a breakfast with an incredible view.

Ladies Day At The Goodwood Races

A few years ago I was very, very lucky to receive an invite to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party, but it left me with a rather unusual problem: a surfeit of beautiful millinery.

Languishing in a box and dust bag combination on the top of my wardrobe, a navy blue brimmed hat, trimmed with a gauzy bow waited. Waited for a reason to be lovingly dusted off again for a special occasion that never seemed to present itself. I had tossed up the idea of a hatted afternoon tea for my 30th birthday, but my lazy busy self didn't quite organise it.

10 things to do in Wellington, New Zealand

The capital city of New Zealand is my spiritual heart (I fell in love whilst at university there) and with more cafes per capita than any other city in the world, it always feels like home. Walking down Wellington streets, my mind overlays so many memories - and I'm always amazed at how after a decade I still know how to get around without a map. I suspect it is indelibly etched on my heart.

I could actually suggest a zillion different reasons to visit Wellington, but for me, the most important ones are my brother, sister-in-law, two rosy cheeked nephews and my best friend (who I managed to also get to see up in Auckland!). Even if you don't possess such filial ties, Wellington is a brilliant city.

Unique London: The Old Royal Naval College Painted Ceiling Hall Tour, Greenwich

Do you ever have those moments where you realise that you are a square peg in a round hole, and you are absolutely ok with that?

Most modern ladies, they buy handbags and dresses off Instagram, but having spotted the Painted Hall ceiling tours on a good friend's instastories, I knew we had to make our way down to Greenwich to take in this unique tour.

Orbit 360° Dining - Restaurant Review - SKYCITY Auckland, New Zealand

"You spin me right round, baby right round" Ahem, sorry.

In my experience over the years, restaurants with amazing views have more often than not have low quality food. There have been a few exceptions; Hutong at the Shard, Duck and Waffle brunches and Peninsula Restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel. It seems as though the restauranteurs know they can get away with this because the view is so beautiful and restaurant goers are usually tourists who have money to burn and won’t go back any time anyway.

Sorry, grouch over. The Auckland Sky Tower is totally different (and that’s not just national pride kicking in). I’d been there a long while ago for their sumptuous buffet, but my sister visited a couple of years ago and pronounced that it hadn’t lost any of the quality.

That time we went out for brunch and accidentally hiked the Rangitoto volcano crater

Nothing seems to surprise my husband anymore. I must come out with ridiculous scenarios so regularly now, he doesn't even lift an eyebrow. Case in point, when I video called him from New Zealand. (He knew I was in NZ by the way, my whereabouts haven't become that surprising. Yet.)

"How was your day?" 'Good thanks, we went out for brunch with Ginni and Alice, and then hiked up a volcano crater.' "That's nice dear. It rained in London today" (sic)

The Luxury Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel (warning: this is not a typo)

Brunch is somewhat of a religion in New Zealand, and Afternoon Tea is rather a genteel worship of tinkling tea cups in England. They are both altars that I spend an inordinate amount of time at, both in London and away, and more than once I've declaimed them to be my favourite meals.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Le Meridien but all thoughts, 

flavour sentiments and brunch chants are entirely original.

Somehow, the stars aligned to not only find an afternoon that both Becca (of Runaway Kiwi infamy) and I had free, and coincide with an invite to try out the Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel in Piccadilly. Living our best lives indeed.

'We Love Saturday Brunch' at the InterContinental Hotel, Doha

I can't tell you how many times I've opened Polly's instastories and looked on in envy as she and her friends settle down to beautiful Middle Eastern brunch feasts on the weekends. Seemingly endless selections of international cuisines, icy glasses of bubbly and the chatter of much loved friends.

Friday brunch (the first day of the weekend there) has become an art form in the Middle East, and sadly we missed out on our trip to Dubai due to our night sleeping in the desert running over, so I was more than excited when the Intercontinental Doha invited us to try their 'We Love Saturday Brunch' whilst I holidayed in Qatar.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of the Intercontinental Doha, 

but my (very many) opines on champagne and sushi are only ever my own.

It was all kinds of deliciousness.

48 hours in Sydney, Australia

I'd only been to Australia once for more than 4 hours - back in the days when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Aside from picking up a sole faded photograph - sat on the plane next to my little sister, both of us dressed in scarlet velvet dresses trimmed with crisp white ruffles, I can't remember a second of it.

It's kind of crazy - even though Australia is the closest geographical neighbours to New Zealand, as it was so close, I'd never visited. Fresh from the desert city of Doha, Qatar, where the lovely Polly had shown me around her home in 40°C+ temperatures, I was ready to walk into an antipodean Autumn - a far more reasonable range of 15-20°C temperatures.

Hutong at the Shard: Luxurious dining with a London vista

Breathtaking London views, incredible flavours from Northern China, elegantly arrayed surrounds and a beautiful Wishing Tree, every branch perpetually hung with lucky red wishing cards. Hutong at the Shard is both everything that you think it will be, and yet nothing quite like your imagination.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Hutong at the Shard,

but my palette and misuse of ancient Chinese proverbs are all very much my own.

Invited to try out the newly launching menu courtesy of Head Chef Fei Wang's home province of Sichuan (the home of giant pandas and Asia’s longest river, the Yangtze), Shandong (known for its Taoist and Confucian heritage) and Beijing (known as much for its modern architecture as its ancient sites such as the grand Forbidden City complex) we toasted our good fortune with crisply poured glasses of Veuve Cliquot and much laughter.

Eating at the luxurious Bovey Castle Hotel - Codename: OperationDon'tTellAftab

They say an army marches on its stomach, attesting to the importance of forces being well-provisioned, but when this phrase was invented they hadn't quite encountered the voracious appetites of 4 particularly travel obsessed food bloggers.

Having organised a night at Bovey Castle escaping the confines of London for a few belated birthday celebrations, we made sure to enthusiastically test their onsite restaurant offerings, not least as we were a 40 minute drive from Exeter St Davids.

Our stay at the luxurious Bovey Castle Hotel - Codename: OperationDon'tTellAftab

Many moons ago, in the distant realm of Devon, a shire far far away from the steel and glass towers of Londinium (about 2.5 hours by iron horse) a gallant Fresh Prince was fearlessly escorted by 3 Princesses (take THAT mansplaining!) to a beautiful stone castle snug in the wild valleys of Dartmoor.

We think he may have liked it? But, let's rewind a month or three.

10 London cocktail spots this summer

My little blog profile image came about almost by accident. I was chatting to a Kiwi cartoonist one day on Instagram who offered to use me as a practise subject (his name is James Espie, check him out) and he, given a few of the few photos of me on the blog, drafted up my cool little avatar. Cocktail in hand.

So, in essence, I blame him for this habit.

Nb: Post contains a couple of blogger invites, marked with*
but I've been back to all of these on my own dime.

The habit of meeting good friends in delicious bars around the London. Ok, ok, who am I kidding. It's a labour of love that I greet with glass in hand. It's quite a London thing - with commuters living in all corners, a well planned or last minute (there aren't many in between) catch-up somewhere lovely is one of the pleasures of living in London.

An afternoon at the polo and exploring the Cowdray Estate.

Boarding the train at Waterloo Station armed with morning cups of tea in hand, we chatted the whole way through our 50 minute journey to Haslemere, watching the skyline change from forests of steel to boughs of ancient leaves.

We were bound for an afternoon at the Polo, to watch the pinpoint trained ponies and riders duke it out for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, a match played to honour one of the riders.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Cowdray Estate, 

but my swooning prose is very much original and unaffected.

After a quick 20 minute cab ride through the country lanes lined with stone built cottages, many with yellow framed windows* - we dismounted for a tour and lunch at Cowdray Manor House. What used to be the family home of Lord and Lady Cowdray, is now an exclusive residence that can be hired out for special occasions, wellness retreats or for private use.

A dreamy Shangri-La Hotel stay in Sydney, Australia

To sit in my hotel room window, and gaze over the Sydney Harbour - the waters enfolded by the Sydney Harbour Bridge on one side, and the iconic Sydney Opera House on the other  - is a memory I won't forget for a long time.

I mean, this was the view from my bed.

When planning my epic holiday, it just so happened that one of my favourite London buddies, Madam Globetrotter Postcards (a regular guest on this little corner of the internet), was going to be visiting family in in Sydney - we're so close now, we have a joint railway card, talk about commitment - so we teed-up 48 hours of fun meandering, culminating in sunset cocktails from our hotel bar in the Shangri-la. (The evening before I stayed in the neighbouring Four Seasons, but more on that another time.)

My travel journey - beginning in Singapore #travellinkup

My first ever taste of travel was probably the craziest if I'm honest. I had decided - despite only ever taking 2 internal NZ flights in my life - to pack up my life and move to the UK. On my own. Only knowing one person on the other side of the world. At twenty years old. So, so many things could have gone wrong.

To temper things slightly, I booked a week layover in Singapore between the long haul flights crossing the planet.

Touring Lord's Cricket Ground (and learning to bat with Matthew Hoggard)

How often do you find yourself in the cricket nets at Lord's, getting tips on how to improve your skills from an ex-England fast bowler before taking a tour through the hallowed 'Home of Cricket'?

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of the England and Wales Cricket Board
but my terrible hand eye co-ordination and ensuing words are all my very own.
Tours don't usually include a personal Cricket masterclass.

So for Shikha (of Why Waste Annual Leave) and I to find ourselves batting and bowling in the Marylebone Cricket Club nets at Lords, we actually couldn't stop grinning at our blind luck - and when Matthew Hoggard MBE, former England test cricket team bowler and captain of Leicestershire) saw me pick up a cricket ball and just how terrible my bowling was, he also smiled. Slightly grimly if truth be told.

4 Days in Doha - A stopover in the Middle East

Having decided to change my career, I thought that I deserved a wee holiday to celebrate. Now, most people would book a long weekend in Spain or perhaps a week on a beach, but I decided that a 3 week trip to New Zealand was in order. With the blessing of my Mr Kiwi (who had to keep the UK hearth fires burning and the cat fed due to work commitments) and a brand new baby nephew to meet, I booked myself on a flight.

It's becoming a bit of a cliche to say that the best thing about blogging is the community - but it is. Hence the cliche. I'm in the very, very lucky position to have made friends all over the world through blogging, and when I realised just how easy it was to hop off my flight to Qatar en route home, I couldn't resist the temptation to harass Mrs Follow Your Sunshine for a few days, not to mention soak in some of the Middle Eastern sunshine.

How to travel in-between "travelling"

Alas, our lives aren't always a constant flurry of airport lounges and glamorous glasses of champagne poured at 30,000 feet. Mine certainly hasn't been - for the last 5 years I've been balancing a full-time job with running a blog, trying to sneak travel in as much as I can, and lately freelancing for clients.

This has meant that I have had to become creative when trying to slake my wanderlust around a 9 to 5 desk job. Luckily, I live on one of the best islands in the world. People often worry about becoming a travel blogger, thinking that they don't jet off to all corners of the world every weekend and they won't have enough content. Well, to that I say phooey.

Hitting the high notes - A limited edition jazz afternoon tea at the Sheraton Grand Hotel Park Lane Hotel

Our evening started as the sun set over the Hyde Park tree canopy. Shaking off my long day at a desk and having sat for a reflective half an hour, I was more than ready to slip into the Sheraton Grand Park Lane hotel, to try out the limited edition Jazz Afternoon Tea with Binny & Aftab.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel
but my verbose words are all mine.

As I sank into the luscious carpet, the harpist gently strummed the final chords of a catchy pop tune (the song escapes me now) and I looked up to see the mischievous grin of Binny float through the door, Cheshire Cat style.