It was already dark when we reached Jetwing Surf. From Pottuvil on the east coast of Sri Lanka, a fleet of Tuk-Tuks ferried us to the little seaside hotel – the coach could not negotiate the narrow roads. With twenty cabanas in a seven acre coconut grove, Jetwing Surf looked pretty. We checked-in, sipped chilled…
The coach sped along the Southern Expressway. We ate stuffed roti and egg buns from the picnic box and sipped mineral water from glass bottles. It was six thirty in the morning. The motorway service station was packed. The sun was beating down and men and women were eating breakfast in shady corners. There were queues…
This year we celebrated Christmas at Nick & Renu’s house in London. Rani & I drove down from Harrogate on the 23rd and Dilu, Nadja, Alma & Lottie came over from Germany. It was three days of foodie fun That evening, Renu cooked sausages in onion sauce and mash with lots of cream…
Is there anything new to say about the Great Wall of China? You already know that many of the 400,000 – give or take the odd soldier and peasant, that died building the 22,000 kms long wall from the seventh century BC to 1878 are buried within the wall, and in 2007 a British couple…
“A square foot of property in Beijing costs 54,000 Yuan” Kathy said. That is about £6500. The average size of an apartment is 100 square feet and a young couples would struggle most of their life to pay the mortgage Not everybody in Beijing is keen to live in high-rise apartment blocks. Many…
I flew to Beijing with Etihad on an 18-day Ancient China Tour arranged by Wendy Wu Tours. It was my first visit to China, first flight with Etihad and the first tour with Wendy Wu. The Chinese visa application form is the most complicated such document I have ever encountered and an absurd…
Friday We spent the 2019 August bank holiday weekend in London. The A1 was slow with delays, accidents and diversions and the drive from Harrogate took over six hours. Stuck in traffic, we ate cheese sandwiches, drank black coffee from a flask and listened to Ashes Cricket Radio 5. Eating Old Cow That evening we…
Ciutadella is a pretty little place. It was founded by the Carthaginians, governed by the Moors for several centuries and was finally recaptured by the Spanish during the reconquista. In 1558, Turks captured the city and the 3000 odd surviving inhabitants were taken to Turkey and sold in the slave markets of Istanbul. Ciutadella remained the capital…
In the summer of 2019 we holidayed in Menorca for the first time The morning Jet2 flight from Leeds/Bradford reached Mahón, the capital of the tiny Balearic island of Menorca in two hours and fifteen minutes. Nick, Renu and Seren arrived fifteen minutes later on a flight from London. Nick drove the rented car…
The 2019 Fathers Day weekend was spent in London. On Friday, we took the A1 from Harrogate to London, stopping in Blythe for lunch. It was a warm and sunny in London, a perfect evening to sit on the terrace and drink G&Ts (London No.1), munching long, thin Catalan sausages. Lamb chops, asparagus and…
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