2 Nights and 3 Days in Tenerife

Tenerife is a well-known holiday destination and the most visited Canary Island. It is also famous to be a honeymoon destination. Since it’s a 15 min flight from Gran Canaria we thought well why not visit it.

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We made a huge mistake by booking a flight that lands in the North and the apartment we booked was located in the South. There are two airports in Tenerife and we kinda missed that information.

Our apartment was in Costa Adeje so we rented a tiny car and drove South. It was a 1 hour drive. Regretfully, I forgot my driving license in UAE so Tim had to drive the entire trip. We landed early in the morning and arrived at Costa Adeje at 10AM.

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The Landlord can only arrive at 4PM to handover the keys so we kept our luggage with a gentleman who was guarding the compound and we were picked up at 1PM to quad bike. The tour picked us up and introduced us to our group and we all drove to Mount Teide. We stopped at one of the villages for snacks and later that day, we went to the beach for a walk and to explore the area and had a proper Spanish dinner.

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The next day, we woke up quite early in the morning, bought few items from the supermarket and drove to Jungle Park. We saw a lot of animals and actually enjoyed the Exotic Bird Show and the Seal Show. Afterwards, we drove around the island and checked out other resorts and hotels. As it got darker, we decided to head back to Costa Adeje for dinner. We ate at an Indian Restaurant which was packed with people, we actually had to wait for an hour to get a table. The restaurant is called Delhi Darbar and the food was delicious. We later went for a walk around the area and did some shopping.

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We got back to the apartment quite late, so we packed our luggage and woke up early the next day to handover the keys to the landlord and drove back to the Northern Airport of Tenerife and flew to Alicante.

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It was quite a short trip and we kinda wanted to stay a little longer because there were other activities to do on the island but we wanted to explore mainland Spain together.

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72 Hours in Kenya

We booked our flights 2 weeks before the trip and had to visit the travel clinic in Dubai to get vaccinated against yellow fever.

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I’d say Kenya was one of the most amazing trips of our lives. As soon as we landed in Nairobi, we took a van and drove to Masai Mara. We stopped at 2 provinces on our way. It is a 5 hours drive from Nairobi to Masai Mara.

As soon as we arrived, we had lunch and went on a safari. We met Timon and Pumba LOL and saw giraffes and lions. We went back to the resort before it got dark. We had dinner that night and enjoyed a presentation by the Masai Tribe.

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The next day, we woke up REALLY EARLY in the morning and we didn’t have enough sleep of the hyenas. YESSS!!! HYENAS!!! We later continued our safari trip to meet the big 5 animals of Africa and had lunch in the middle of the jungle overlooking the crocodiles and hippos. Our tour guide explained the migration process which we missed by a month. We drove to the Masai Village to meet the people and they performed a wedding ceremony. They taught us how they build their homes and their lifestyle. They also showed us how a man would propose to a woman and I pretended to be a potential pride. Basically, the man who wants to marry her has to jump really high, if he can’t he has to provide 10 cows as dowry but if he manages to, he then can offer 6 cows instead. Tim jumped really high that the chief of the village joked and said sorry Nissreen you don’t get any cows LOL. We bought lots of items from the village because everything they offered was made by hand was beautiful.

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Our final day in Kenya, we drove back to Nairobi and had dinner at a province. We also stopped at a souvenir store to purchase a painting of the Masai Tribe. We were so upset that it was our last day in Kenya because we really fell in love with that place.

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Here is a fantastic article written by my close and good friend Christina Voskou. The article is called ‘Safari Holiday – Jumbo Kenya’.

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Monkey Forrest in Ubud

Tim and I stayed in Ubud and the first highlight of our trip was the Monkey Forrest which we highly recommend. It is a sanctuary for Balinese Monkeys. It’s in a village called Padangtegal. There are approx. 700 monkeys in the Forrest. It is one of the most visited places in Ubud and have about 100,000 visitors a month.

The Monkey Forrest is huge and has 3 temples inside. Good Luck finding it all. The villagers believe the Monkey Forrest to be a spiritual place. Honestly, the Forrest is breathtaking and the pictures are not enough proof of how wonderful the place is.

 

 

 

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How To Maintain Your Relationship When Travelling?

So my previous post ‘I choose travelling with my partner than by myself BUT there’s a catch…’, yall know that I prefer to travel with my husband rather than being alone.

I’ve mentioned why travelling with my partner is better but no matter how much we love each other or have similarities there will always be minor disagreements.

If you are currently in a relationship, Tim and I recommend that you guys should travel together. You will be surprised how much you’ll learn a lot about one another. Travelling can either make your relationship stronger or make you grow apart.

Here are our tips on how to maintain your relationship when travelling:

  1. Agree on a Budget: before booking any trip, you both have to discuss your budget and how much you want to spend. So we write down an itinerary of where we want to go and places we want to visit and then look at forms of transportation and compare rates.
  2. Plan an Itinerary: I’ve to admit, our itinerary changes when we arrive to our destination however we have a plan. So before finalising the itinerary, we both write down the locations we want to visit of the country we are going to. So after listing the places, we then discuss and make it work so we both get to do the things we want together.
  3. Be Ready to Compromise: Like I said our itinerary doesn’t always work according to plan. It changes on circumstances and you need to be ready for that. (Compromising has to be from both)
  4. Communicate & Be Honest: If there’s something you do not like and do not want to do. Tell your partner rather than giving attitude and ruining the day. We’ve seen it in other couples and we agreed to discuss things if it doesn’t make us feel comfortable. For example, I really did not want to go for the Japanese Bath (Sentō) but after discussing it for 5 days LOL. Tim managed to convince me.
  5. Plan a Date Night or a Surprise: I know sounds corny but it works. There are times where Tim and I have no plans so we look up romantic places to visit and go on a date together. For example in Morocco, I booked a table in advance and planned a proper meal with entertainment for Tim’s birthday. It keeps the sparks *wink wink*

So when travelling with your partner, remember to compromise, to plan, to communicate and to be romantic; and the outcome of your trip will truly be worthwhile.

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I choose travelling with my partner than by myself BUT there’s a catch…

Hi Everyone

This blog is to talk about couple travelling. I previously wrote a blog about Female Solo Traveller, recommending all women to travel solo at least once in the lifetime. Now that I’m married, this blog is about why I prefer travelling with my partner rather than myself however do carry on because it’s not the right travel for everyone.

As mentioned previously, I was a solo traveller till I met my husband abroad. So people asked me ‘So Nissreen, do you prefer travelling alone or with my husband’

That’s a really good question, here’s the thing; when I met my husband in Singapore, we got along from the moment we said hello.  We realised we had a lot in common and have some similar interest. After going our separate ways, we agreed meeting every month at a new destination.

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Now travelling shows you a lot about a person and yourself. You will go through a lot of obstacles such as transportation, navigation, languages, local market rip offs and other challenging situations. Tim and I passed it all and before being a couple, we were friends and really good friends. It felt like we knew each other before. So I’d say I prefer travelling with my partner than being alone.

My opinion on this would be neutral and here is why. When I was single, I never wanted to travel with anyone because I knew we wouldn’t get a long. I have friends who I trusted and wanted to travel with but unfortunately circumstances didn’t allow us to travel together. My close friends are the ones that I can face all challenges with. Travelling with them is the best and you wouldn’t want to be alone. You get along because you have the same core values but share some similar interest and that’s how it’s like being with your significant other.

I know for a fact that I would have hated travelling if I’ve done it with particular people. I’d leave and prefer to be alone. There is nothing wrong with them, it’s just that we are completely different.

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I support travelling alone 100% however if you find that special bond with someone then it’s lovely to share moments with them and create memories. So if you are in a miserable relationship, I do not recommend you travelling with your partner but travel by yourself to enjoy and appreciate things. To make yourself happy and content. Appreciate the moments and live life.

When Tim and I were still dating, he travelled for 10 days to Japan by himself. He contacted me every minute by sending me pictures, calling me and updating me about his trip and what he ate and what he tried. When we met the next month, he said he would never ever travel alone and just wants to travel with me. And ever since he only travels alone if it is work related.

So do not travel with someone who doesn’t make you feel fulfilled; whether it is a friend or a partner. So travel alone to do what you love but if you ever find that person who completes you and shares the happy and sad moments with you then travelling as a couple would be the best travel experience EVER.

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Arabian Tea House

Arabian Tea House was recommended by my dear friend Christina. Tim and I visited old Dubai several times for Art Night, Dubai Treasure Hunt and many other events.

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Arabian Tea House is one of the few original and cultural places in Dubai that serves Arabic food in an old traditional Emirati house. The restaurant is a mix of Gulf and Levant dishes. Their Arabic coffee is a must; they prepare it really well. If you ever want to try it make sure to ask the waiter to boil the coffee, it brings out the flavor.

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The prices are fairly reasonable and their salads are very delicious. If you are visiting from abroad, I recommend you take Al Fahidi station and walk towards the Dubai Museum or Creek. Take the traditional Abra ride for AED 1 equivalent to £ 0.21 to go to the Gold Souq on your way back take the Abra and stop at Arabian Tea House for a traditional meal.

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Sahtein – Bon Appetite

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Our 14 days Travel Itinerary

Tim and I took 14 days off of work; actually to be precis, we took 10 working days off to finalise personal errands in the Philippines and then continue our holiday to other destinations.

So our itinerary of 14 days covered, Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau. I guess being a full-time employee to a huge organisation restricts our travels because of the limited days off.

In UAE, we are entitled for 22 working days off but being an expatriate, our holidays include visiting families abroad which means travelling to the same destination quite often. We don’t mind it at all because we really do miss them. So our current travel mission is to cover as much places as we can in a short period of time.

Here is how our itinerary looked like (not detailed)

Day 1: Landed late night in Philippines

Day 2: Makati, Philippines

Day 3:

  • Bonifacio Global City, Philippines
  • Rockwell
  • Travelled to Japan

Day 4: Landed in Narita Airport and took a bullet train to Kyoto

Day 5: Kyoto

Day 6: Nara & Kyoto

Day 7: Kyoto and took a bullet train to Tokyo

Day 8: Tokyo

Day 9:

  • Tokyo
  • Travelled to Philippines

Day 10:

  • Landed in Philippines and spent 5 hours at a nearby hotel
  • Travelled to Hong Kong
  • Explored Kowloon Island

Day 11: Macau & Hong Kong Island

Day 12: Lantau Island – travelled to Philippines

Day 13: Eastwood, Green Hills, Pasig, Marikina and Antipolo.

Day 14: We woke up an hour before check out and had breakfast in Pasig and headed straight to the airport.

Day 15: BACK TO THE OFFICE

PHEW!!! Typing the itinerary was as tiring as the trip but worth it. LOL. I really want to dedicate time to write about it because we’ve learned a lot and observed a lot and I’m dying to share everything with you.

Unlike most of my other posts, I want to put a lot more effort into writing about our experiences and stories, particularly Japan. I’ve visited 20+ countries and Tim has been to 30+ countries and by far our favourite country is Japan and I can’t think of any other place that can beat it. It was Tim’s third visit and that says a lot and I can’t wait to go back.

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