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A fascination for the Sahara
Sahara is the Arabic word for desert. Visit a desert or two, and you will find out that the desert is a magical, ever-changing landscape and not just a huge pile of sand: huge golden dunes, flat packed desert, a moonscape scattered with strange rock formations or craggy and colourful mountains. If you care to spend a few days […]
2015 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,000 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people. Click here to […]
Code of Conduct
I am a Kiwi and a Sagittarius, which means honesty comes naturally to me (truth is… I am such a bad liar, I have no choice). All opinions on this site are my own. Any products found on the site have either been tried and tested by me or my friends or clients and discussed and reviewed […]
It’s Christmas: still no room at the inn
It’s quite hard, I find, to enjoy a cup of tea at someone’s house when you can hear gunshots being fired outside. It was late in the afternoon, and I was at Hashem el-Azzeh’s house in Hebron, Palestine. My friend, Sophie, and I had just spent an interesting and moving day walking around the settler-occupied neighbourhood […]
My top 10 most insightful books to read on Cambodia
Recommended Reading: Cambodia Cambodia has to be one of the most moving places I have ever been to. Their tragic recent past still haunts the population today in the form of landmine victims, psychological trauma, lost family members and mistrust. However they struggle on with life – because after all, it could not be worse […]
Zen and the art of relaxing …whilst taking on a scarey, new challenge
It is winter in Dahab, Egypt, but the sun still shines every day. Dahab is surrounded by a backdrop of caramel-coloured, desertous mountains which contrast nicely next to the turquoise waters of the Red Sea. As a busy person, I come here for the winter, not to grind to a halt, but for some “downtime”
Giving back and travelling in Cambodia
When you booked yourself a trip to Cambodia, lured by the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, lush landscapes, warm temperatures, cheap cocktails and tropical beaches, you might not have spared much of a thought for it’s recent dark past. Maybe when the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh by storm in 1975 and sent the inhabitants of the […]
7 good reasons to drink Gin
Like you need a reason. But ok, here goes. And this is also why we have gin o’clock on our Venus Adventures trips, it’s an important part of our day. Cheers! 1. Gin and tonic with a slice/squeeze of lemon. Now we all know the benefits of lemons, some say it can even cure cancer. 2. […]
9 different reasons why I love to visit Muslim / Arab countries
In these days of rampant Islamophobia, a trip to an Arab country could do everyone a bit of good. Being amongst Muslims has certainly changed me, and understanding other cultures, not judging them, is key, I believe, to peace. Travelling either as a lone female or with a group of women in the Muslim world, […]
The Interesting Characters of St Catherines village
The Bedouin Jebeliya tribe of the St Catherines area (South Sinai, Egypt) is full of interesting characters. In fact, I have never met so many interesting people in one place. Being around these people, with all their knowledge, fascinating old skills and wisdom, is a privilege and I learn something new every time I visit. Jamil Attiya […]
