After my plans to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats were abruptly halted by a vicious dog, I felt the need to fill the aching achievement void of the last few months. Still unable to cycle long distances due to my injury, and with time running out before starting Uni in October, I looked... Continue Reading →

I must be the only Brit who had never been to Marrakech.... at least that what it seemed, so packed was the BA flight with folks who were returning to a city that felt to them like a second home. For me, it was my first experience travelling to North Africa and even then, it... Continue Reading →

After spending some time at the races, we jumped into the car and followed behind Mohammed Islam in his pick-up, as he headed towards his stables.  It really is an entire Camel city in the middle of the desert.  Row after row, block after block, dusty alley after dusty alley of stables for the camels,... Continue Reading →

I've made no secret of the fact that I adore camels.  They're full of character, have the cutest faces with big eyes, long eye lashes and full lips which curl and flap into the funniest shapes or simply hang in gormless contemplation.  Buts its not this that really attracts me - its their nature -... Continue Reading →

I'd arrived in Petra after two nights of no sleep - one on a flight from the UK and another in a freezing cold seedy hostel in old Amman - and a five and a half hour bus journey, two hours of which were spent standing on the side of the Kings Highway waiting for... Continue Reading →

Tonight I am in Jordan, sitting in The Seven Wonders Bedouin Camp with bedu boys around a camp fire, drinking sweet tea, talking a little arabic and feeling right at home!  Its my last night in Petra after spending a few days in Jordan on my way back to Doha from the UK and yet... Continue Reading →

As the taxi drives us from the airport, I can see that every woman is dressed in the abaya and full veil….. I ask Yazid if I need to buy a veil.  He reassures me it will be fine.  There are areas where I will need to be careful but in busy places such as... Continue Reading →

At the end of April, having been in Qatar for more than a year,  I decided that I needed to step up the adventure and experience quotient and look further afield for a bit of excitement.  Where did I choose?   Ever since I met my friends in Souq Waqif, here in Doha, and having... Continue Reading →

Now my hotel is not a particularly busy one, so for most of the time I have a pretty peaceful existence, especially at night as I rarely have someone in the room next door – other than during the big holiday periods when Saudi families come to Doha for weekend breaks.   Their children are lively... Continue Reading →

Having been in the Middle East for 8 months now, I should really talk about the Thobe - the traditional male dress in this part of the world. There is certainly a magical power attached to this simple garment and the head dress which accompanies it.  It seems to give the men who wear it... Continue Reading →