Recently, a woman at work told me of her evening with her husband and people from the Italian Embassy at a private dinner at a restaurant in Alhazm with the man who owns the mall, Mohamed Abdulkareem Al Emady. She told me that the centuries old olive trees cost tens of thousands of dollars a…
A Drive to The Tree of Life, Bahrain
Bahrain seems to have a different feel from Qatar. More laid back. Not laid back as in the very liberal UAE. Just more settled. Older. But the driving was just as nuts as it is in Doha! We witnessed a terrible car accident as we drove from the airport to the hotel Thursday night. A…
Indoor Skydiving – Gravity Wind Tunnel, Zallaq, Bahrain – Day 2
During our second day at Gravity, Michael finished up his hour booked for the weekend with 2 ten minute sessions. I booked 1 two minute session with the option to add on more minutes as I wanted to. Michael and I were both stiff and sore. Surprisingly so. Gary kindly informed us yesterday that we’d…
Indoor Skydiving – Gravity Wind Tunnel, Zallaq, Bahrain
We flew to Bahrain this weekend for indoor skydiving at Gravity wind tunnel. This was a total first for me. I have never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane in this crazy sport called sky diving or have I ever simulated free falling in a vertical wind tunnel. Michael, on the other hand, has been jumping out of…
Arabian Afternoons – An Afternoon at Souq Waqif Doha, Qatar
I enjoyed an afternoon at the Souq Waqif . This is one of my favorite hang out places. I arrived hours before most shops opened and walked in the heat of the midday sun deciding on where to have lunch. I decided on Syrian food, at Damasca One restaurant. I sat upstairs with the intention of smoking…
Moments – Phuket, Thailand
Sunset, Karon Beach Interesting Trees Souvenir Shop in Patong where we bought three of the hanging wood carvings of twisted, bizarre faces!! We noticed the name of the shop after the fact…..very fitting for the area!! 😉 Umbrellas hanging above the entrance of a restaurant. An ice cream shop with a close up of gum drops…
Zekreet Beach. Well, Not Really!! Zekreet, Qatar
Michael and I packed up the doggies and headed for Zekreet Beach. This area a popular spot for camping and a popular go-to spot on the weekends. This was an adventure for sure because just like all the universal “off the grid” locations that only locals know about and/or aren’t clearly indicated on how to get…
My Afternoon at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl & The Tony Sawaya Salon, Doha, Qatar
Here is a bit of a glimpse into a day in Doha. Not a typical day for me, for sure, but it is here, in our backyard so to speak!!! As mentioned in my previous blog, I was given a gift certificate to the Tony Sawaya salon in the Marsa Malaz Kempinski. Here is my day as…
Wat Chalong Temple, Phuket, Thailand
After visiting The Big Budda, we continued on to visit the Wat Chalong Temple. This, the largest of Phuket’s temples, houses a splinter of bone from Buddha. As we walked the grounds, fireworks were lit and exploded in unique furnaces. We weren’t sure of the significance of this, but it sure was loud! Visiting…
The Big Buddha, Phuket, Thailand
Michael and I decided to visit Buddhist temples in the area. Our first stop was The Big Buddha located on top of one of the Nakkerd Hills, not far from our hotel. After our unexpected adventure on , our ride on Lulu, the elephant we continued up the road to the apex of the hill that…
Riding Bareback on LuLu the Elephant, Phuket, Thailand
This was a moral dilemma. It was so, SO exciting to ride an elephant – bareback at that!!!! An experience I will never forget because it was a teenager dream Indiana Jones inspired adventure come true…. BUT…. Only if the elephants are treated ethically. Most of the Tripadvisor feedback of elephant safaris in Thailand are…
Bangla Road, Patong, Thailand
We ended up here, Bangla Road, …because it was where all the action was, shopping right? We didn’t know what we were getting into… but when it hit, we took it in. That said…… I lasted maybe an hour and wanted to leave! It was CRAZY! Packed, PACKED with tourists and built for tourists, this…
Rang Hill, Phuket Town, Thailand
Without a destination in mind, we set off on a scooter for a day of adventure! Michael has driven scooters in Bali, Indonesia as well as having his own motorcycle, so he was a confident driver on the busy streets of Phuket! We found ourselves driving up Rang Hill to discover a look off over…
Phi Phi Islands, Krabi, Thailand
We booked a tour through Phuket Island Hopper to explore the Phi Phi Islands. The sky was overcast…rain seemed just around the corner. I was grateful for the overcast sky as it was a minimal shield from the sun scorching us during this entire day spent on and in the waters of the Andaman Sea. The sun here, like…
The Beach and First Glimpse of a Few of the Many Streets – Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand
The rain stopped after a few hours, so early afternoon we went down to the pool, chilled, then went for a walk along Karon Beach. Karon Beach is the third longest beach on Phuket Island, so we rock-paper-scissored to decide to walk the left half or walk the right half. We walked right. There is a…
Gardens, Statues, Animals, Rain and Thunderstorms…A Morning Poolside – Thavorn Palm Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand
Sitting here, poolside, with an overcast sky rumbling of thunder while rain falls softly with moments of attitude, Michael and I settle deeper into vacation offerings of relaxation and bliss! Here are pictures I took this morning of the grounds of this charming hotel with its gifts of beauty and grace……. Love, Stephanie xo
Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Coming to you live from Phuket, Thailand! I’ve been awake since 4:40am yesterday, Thursday morning and have since then worked, home to meet Michael to get a taxi to the airport, have flown on three airplanes with (of course) a few glitches along the way when transferring from plane to plane!! Seems our luggage arrived…
The Dancing Fountain, Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates
Joan and I ended Day One of shopping watching The Dancing Fountain. It is better to watch at night because of the lights, but we were DONE after a full day and the 6:30 show at sunset suited me just fine!!! It truly was spectacular, the video not doing it justice as the thundering of the…
The Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates
The Dubai Aquarium was SO much fun!!!! As a little girl, Jaques Cousteau was my inspiration for falling in love with the ocean. The movie Jaws scared me for life with an irrational fear of sharks. This was the first time I saw sharks up close! I was mesmerized!!!! I tried to keep thoughts of…
The Dubai Mall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Dubai Mall = One Stop Shopping…..and shopping and shopping and more shopping……. There is EVERYTHING, well not a ski hill….that’s at the other mall down the street….at this mall!!!! Including The Dubai Aquarium, but I’ll blog about that separately! After our adventure at The Burj Khalifa, Joan and I continued our Girls Weekend of Shopping……Here…
