Yes I am happy! Enjoy it, it's rare :)

Loving 2006!

I told you I wasn’t made for long term writing commitments, so don't even go there with the whole guilt trip thing.

I was in Beirut for the new year. I had wanted to go to Beirut since 1995, and now finally I've been and I sooooo wish I had gone there earlier. It is an amazing city, in an amazing country with the absolutely friendliest people I have ever met. Everyone was soooo sweet to me, so kind, so amazingly wonderful and generous towards me. The sun was shining, people were nice, and the food was so delicious I gained 2 kilos!

I am home now, and have been smiling ever since 12:05 of the 1st of Jan 2006 and I am convinced that this year is my year. I am happy and in love with life and nothing can bring me down. Not money, not solitude, not health (btw, health has been on an upward course since December: hurray!) Life is wonderful and I hope everyone has as wonderful a 2006 as I am having.
Kisses all,

It's been a long time

I really am not made for long term writing commitments. So sorry. I would love to be better at this, but I get bored to very easily. I'll try to be better at it, but most of the time I am just to darn lazy to write to my hearts content. Actually, at the moment I am only dancing to my hearts content. Dance, dance, dance the night away: that's me lately.
Summer is almost here and I can't wait to start enjoying the long nights and the warm weather and the most amazing time in London. Summer is wonderful, amazingly fantastic and I intend to enjoy every minute of it this year, and I hope all my friends will too. Have fun everyone. Live life to the fullest this year and every year and always remember: CARPE DIEM!

Happy 2005

May the new year bring everyone joy health and happiness.

One more day to go and then it's back to reality for me. I've maxed out my credit cards, the memory cards in my camera and my sightseeing tolerance. I actually really just want to make it back to my own bed and go to sleep. And you know, the best part about going home will be reading the newspapers instead of watching the news channels so at least I can minimise the Tsunami impact.
South East Asia is an amazing place, and I can't wait to come back again, and again, and maybe just one more time. Bali, KL, Bangkok are all spectacular in their own unique way and I am so happy I had lovely people like Mandy and James and all of Atika's family taking me around, showing me the sights and also the local culture. I took cooking classes in Bangkok. I had a curry breakfast in a Kopi shop near the wet market near Mandy's house, and then a steamboat dinner in a huge sidewalk restaurant near KL. In Bali I learned how to snorkel, almost learned how to surf (I try again), had the most delicious prawns I've ever tasted and played pool in a villa with a wrap-around pool and stunning view of Bali...what more could I have asked for?
Well, actually there is one small thing that was missing: Atika. Yup my superstar friend flew off to inform the world of the tragedy in Aceh, and man what a job she did and is still doing. I missed Atika the most this trip, but I am so proud of the amazing work she is doing that I just wish everyone would spend 24/7 watching CNN just to watch her in action.
Well, that's all for now folks. Tomorrow I'm off to Ayutthaya, and then back home. See you all soon, and again Happy 2005 to all.

Merry Christmas To All and that all may be safe

I would love to tell you all about the wonderful adventures I've had in the past week, but all seems so small compared to the human tragedy of yesterday. So instead today I just want to thank all my friends who have called, texted and emailed to make sure that I am well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you all are well, healthy and safe, and I want you all to know that I love you with all my heart. A huge world wide hug too you all, and I promise that in my next blogg I'll be less emotional and fill you in on all my exploits. Stay safe. Love!

I made it!

Yes, I made it sana e salva to Bangkok. Today is day three, and I am exhausted already. My flight arriving was two hours late, and I was dead after being seated near a Thai lady who spoke perfect Italian. All my good intensions disappeared once I got to teh hotel. I had planned dinner and a massage and a short walk around Silom ROad and Patpong. Gone, Gone and Gone. All I could do was shower, order room service and colapse in my bed. Needless to say, I was awake at 4am wondering what to do.
Day two was definetly more productive seeing as I was able to get out of the Hotel by 6:30 am, and thank goodness for that. I got lost around the trrrain station, lost in Chinatown, and lost in the veggie market. All was not lost though: I did find Chinatown eventually, I stumbled across a Catholic Church which was very pretty, I had my second breakfast on teh river at the Sheraton Orchid, and I finally did make it to my destination: the flower market. After having walk for hours I decided that a lovely massage at Wat Pho was exactly what I needed so off I went once more - this time though I knew how to get from the flower market to the Wat. After all that though once I was back at teh hotel all I could do after writing postcards on the roof terrace was to fall asleep. Again NO NIGHTLIFE!!!
Today I decided on a later start and a bit less wandering and a bit more culture. I took teh sky train to this lovely Palace outside the center where they show the history of the Kingdom from 2000BC to today. It is a donation from a Prince and it really was lovely, pity it was so empty, only another 4 people while I was there, and yet it is amazingly beautiful. Then I had to stop off at the Doll museum. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love to shop for mygodchildren adn I just couldn't resist a Thai Barbie outfit. It was soooo cool to actually see the factory and the workers making the dolls right in front of you. Finally to end my morning of culture I weent to the Erwan shrine and decided to do the rounds with teh other pilgrims: four prayers, four packs of insence, for garlands of flowers adn four candels, adn let's not forget the four packets of gold leaf. Well, lets hope Erwan listened and 2005 is better than 2004. If not, well at least I got to watch Thai dancing at the shrine. Enough culture for one day, I am know in a mall and shopping till I dropping, and that will be soon. Will keep you up to date if I finally make it to see Bangkok by night.

...Horse and Carriage

Sorry folks. I know I've been gone for so long, but not my fault... really! It's just that I'm a jet-setting wedding guest. Yup that's me: I fly around the world to see all my friends get married, and don't have time to internet.
I think the whole world has gotten married...except for me of course. Everyone seems to think that I haven't noticed that I am still single at 32. Comments come in every size, shape, and form. Usually a bit hushed, inquisitive ("So when are you getting married then?") or imperative ("Well, you are already 32, you have to start thinking about getting married soon"), but all as if they were the only person to have noticed that I am still alone at the ripe old age of 32. Well here's news for everyone: I KNOW!!! Yes, I am aware that I am alone, and surprise surprise: ya I do think of marriage. However I want what all my friends have: someone who loves me.
I have to say it is truly lovely to go to these weddings and see two people so utterly in love with each other. The best part is to see these Alfa-male/macho-men all strong and virile say "I am really lucky to be with such a wonderful woman". They seems so surprised when they say to me: "You know, I really don't know what I would do without her"; or:” I always knew that we'd be together, and now so does the rest of the world"; and best of all is "She's my best friend and I love her". I think the effect is different when said by a man. Girls are mushy by nature, but to hear a guy so sincere, so surprised and so in-love is just heart warming. I want that. Where do I buy myself one of those? Has Tesco started to sell them? Can I choose the confection too?
"One tall, dark and oh so handsome man in-love with me please. You can deliver him straight to my house while I go to the till to pay... Thank you"

Birds of a feather

I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving Day! Where has all the time gone?!? I can't even believe it's Thursday, never mind Thanksgiving!!!! So it's Turkey Day again, which is in theme with our subject of the day: Birds, or in this case Hens. Ah yes, I went away for a hen party last weekend (still think I'm recovering) and I must say it just always amazes me how different Anglo-Saxon culture is to the rest of Europe, or the world for that matter. I have been to other hen parties before, but it continues to amaze me what different people define as both "FUN" and "ACCEPTABLE". I am not a prude mind you, contrary to what those who don't know me too well may think. No, I like to have fun, but to go out before your wedding day, the day you will promise to be forever with the man you supposedly love, and then to proceed to embarrass yourself and kiss strange men because, well it's the last time you'll have the chance to do so, I don't know, but I just find it all a bit too strange. Of course this was not what was going on at our party. But exactly because this was not what we were doing while all the rest of the Hens were, well, shall we say enjoying there last night of freedom very openly, we sort of stood out like a sore thumb. It was almost as if we were from another plant, not just another country. Even our waitress felt pity for us and decided to help us have a "Proper" hen party by having the other Hens in the restaurant write tasks for poor little Rasha. While we appreciated her help, I can assure you that only half of the tasks got done, as the others were just too shocking for words (even though you could obviously see the other hens enjoying their tasks). But the funny thing is that while others may have thought that we were strange, and needed to be taught how to have fun, we were actually having a good time, just talking, laughing and dancing amongst ourselves. We had a really great weekend without any need to go embarrass ourselves, nor cheat on the groom-to-be, so why is it that we were looked upon as something strange and abnormal? Does this prove that birds of a feather really do flock together? And if so, does that mean that the Anglo-Birds really are different from the rest of the world? It's a scary thought, if you think of the implications, but let's not, and just think of turkey instead: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!