Hidden Hertfordshire

RSPB Rye Meads

I visited RSPB Rye Meads, having used google to find me a list of places I could go. Entry is free but it costs £3 to park your car in the car park if you are not a member. There is a loop trail you can follow, or you can turn back at the one way turnstile. It is wheelchair accessible too. There are lots of hides along the route, in which you can bird spot. I am not an avid bird watcher so I generally didn't stay long in the hides and predominantly all I saw was ducks. You can hire binoculars if you are so inclined and spend as long as you wish bird watching, as long as you know the car park is locked at 5pm (the lady at the desk made that very clear). I spent about 2 and a half hours walking the trail and looking at birds from the hides. It was very pretty and I even got in a little bit of plane spotting.

Paradise Wildlife Park
This is in Broxbourne and is home to some of the world's big cats. The highlight for me was seeing a jaguar cub and a cheetah. I would recommend buying your ticket online as it is cheaper than buying it at the door. I can't say that it was a great day out, although it did come with free parking. If you want to see animals you are better off going to the zoo - either London or Whipsnade. It was quite a small park and I felt sorry for the 2 zebra in the concrete pen. It also annoyed my that there was only one place near the entrance that sold a range of hot food, even if it was at high prices. There are a good few playgrounds for the kids, but at £16 for my online ticket I think it is definitely more of a day out to take small children out with you, as it is smaller than a zoo and maybe just a little bit cheaper.

Aldenham Country Park
This is a lovely place, although a little bit costly to park. It is the home of 10 Aker Wood, complete with associated Winnie the Pooh references. It is a good place to walk round on a nice day and comes complete with a restaurant. There is also a lake with ducks to sit by.

Tring National History Museum
This is a combination of the legacy of the Rothschild's and an association with the Natural History Museum in London. It is full of taxidermies and highly educational. It wasn't as busy as the London museums, but just as good. There is a car park tucked away in a nearby field, which allows you to explore the local area and high street should you wish.

Rickmansworth Aquadrome
Once you find the entrance to the car park, there are two loops you can follow around the reservoir. It is a nice place to go if you want to go for a walk and relax.

Frithsden Vineyard
This is a relatively small vineyard that you have to be careful not to miss and has a rather small carpark. It grows 3 different types of grape and only costs a few pounds to walk round and taste the wines (provided they still have stock). It has a shop where you can buy their wines and they do a very nice afternoon tea.

So given that Hertfordshire is only a short hop from North London and is relatively accessible by train and car, there is a lot to see and do. As always, check where you plan to go online, as sometimes the tickets are cheaper if you buy them online, even for the same day. Plus websites give you useful information about how to get there and parking costs.

Eastbourne and Rochester

Eastbourne

The pier

Eastbourne is one of my favourite places to go in the UK. I went to University here, so lived here for 3 years, so I always have lots of friends to see when I go. Eastbourne is not as busy as Brighton, but still has a lot to do. There is Beachy Head and the 7 sisters if you like walking. There are some great cafes and restaurants, as well as museums and Sovereign Harbour which is a nice place to go. Currently Eastbourne is under redevelopment, with new housing and development of the high street. I am not sure when these are due to finish, but will hopefully improve the facilities further. The beach, bandstand and the pier are all iconic places and in good weather the beach is obviously great. There are lots of events held throughout the year in Eastbourne including a beer festival, 999 weekend, extreme sports, an air show and international markets.

All Souls, Eastbourne

In good weather all these events are extremely popular. If the weather is good for the air show in August the beach is standing room only. The Western Lawns is also home to a motor show every May bank holiday and there is generally a lot going on if you are looking for something to do. It is not as expensive as Brighton and only 1hr35mins by train from London, so accessible for a great day (or weekend) away. There is a good chance there will be more blog posts for Eastbourne as I go there quite a lot and there is always something going on.

Rochester

I went to Rochester specifically for the Dickens festival. This is held annually over a weekend, with special events along the high street, parades and lots of period costumes. Rochester is less than an hour by train from London, so we went for the day along with lots of other people. There were lots of places to eat and some pretty good sweet shops. It makes for a great day out. Rochester also has a cathedral and a castle (see further down page)

My favourite sign

The photos below are from the parade, held at midday:

Dickens

One of many Miss Haversham's

A Christmas Carol

We also visited Rochester Cathedral, pictured below and looked at the castle from the outside as it was relatively expensive to get in. There were organised tours of the Cathedral, or you could walk around it yourself. It has lots of memorials on the walls and is alongside a lovely courtyard. The castle grounds were full of stalls and was rather busy. It was free to access the outer grounds and provided a nice place to sit in the sun with ice cream. The Dickens festival definitely made our day trip more exciting and we had a lovely day out.

Rochester Cathedral

Lesser Known London

London is a great place to be, but there is more to do here than just the big famous tourist attractions. Local areas in the suburbs are also home to their own array of events, especially in the spring and summer months. Here are just a few of the things I have done:

Heritage Festival
This was held over a couple of weeks and we had a whole booklet of events that were being held to choose from. Some were free and others required pre-booking. Where you did have to pay it was pretty cheap.

I went to see Henry Tate Mews, now a housing estate, but the grounds are listed and have some intriguing features from the time it was built.

Henry Tate Gardens

I went on a history based, guided tour of Emmanuel school. It has an archive in its library and has some rather famous alumni, including the founder of the world wide web. There is a new bridge to enter the school and when we went they were just preparing to open a new building.

The Wandsworth Prison Museum was also an interesting stop. It is open at times other than during the festival and is curated by a serving prison warden. It is tiny and is basically housed in a garden shed in the car park. There are some historical artefacts alongside information about famous inmates and events.

Wimbledon  Village Fair
This was a day full of events on Wimbledon Common. My favourite event of the day was the jousting. This was held in the main arena by the Middle England Jousting team and was a great re-enactment of a medieval joust. I think the 'good guys' one in the end. There was also a birds of prey display and a whole range of dog competitions. You can also eat and shop to your heart content, but nothing will beat the two cuddly toy Vikings I got from the Viking Cruises display. Look out for the freebies at fairs like this and you will not be disappointed.


Other
If you drive just out of London into Surrey you will find a whole array of villages with their own little tea shops and village Churches, which are generally left open for visitors. They are all beautiful little places. The one in the photo below is from Headley. Surrey is basically countryside and is very green and pretty. It is a short jump from city life to rolling country if you need a break from the city.

Versailles and the Paris Airshow

I tagged along with my old people to Paris for the air show. Paris is a brilliant place with lots of places to visit, however, beware the public transport system. Paris is rife with pick pockets (dippers), especially on the transport system. In the last few years, whenever I have been, someone has had their wallet taken. So - boys: be careful putting your valuables in you pockets, especially if they are loose or on a jacket as they can easily be taken out and the pick pockets are well practised. Girls - keep your bag in front of you, preferably take a bag that zips up so it is a bit harder. For those that worry about having the handle cut, keep a hold of the handle and keep the zip protected as well. The harder you make it to dip the better.

The Palace at Versailles

Anyway enough of the security warning. First off we went to Versailles. The ticket was 20 euros and gave us access to the audio guide for free. The queue outside looked really long, but moved pretty quickly.  It took us an hour to do the inside of the palace, which was absolutely beautiful and is a great place for budding photographers (just no flash photography). We then went out into the gardens. The gardens were huge and as it was hot we only went down to the pond and back. You could hire a golf buggy to tour the garden and there are other buildings you can go and see.

The view of the palace gardens

The main reason we went to Paris was actually to go to the 2017 international air show at Le Bourget airport. The preceding days had been for trade and press, so we went on the first day it was open to the public. It had lots of stands displaying in the hangers, but the men wanted to see the whole days flight list, so we spent the day sat by the runway watching the planes. Now I love planes too and photograph my favourites. The music played alongside the flight meant that I discovered just how graceful the Airbus A380 actually is, as it took off, flew and landed before us.

Airbus A380

There was also a display by the French equivalent of the red arrows (I am afraid I don't remember the name of the team), which is always a bonus and lots of fun to photograph, even if high speed does mean off centre, fuzzy photos. It was a great day, but if you want to see the stands and static displays as well as all the flying you will need to be there for opening at 08:30. There is a free shuttle bus to/from the RER train station and security is pretty thorough - don't take too many bottles of drink, you will have to drink out of each one. Apparently the air show alternates between Paris and Farnborough, so it will be back in Paris in 2019. The ticket was pretty cheap and you can get a return to Paris' Gare Du Nord for less than an airfare. It is also nice to see a mix of commercial planes (the A380 was launched here back when it was new) with display teams and (my favourite) the fighter jets.

Paris is also the home to the Eiffel tower and the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa. I have been to both of these places before and if you are in Paris they are definitely places to go and see. There is no end to places to go out to eat and drink and the French take food seriously. There are also plenty of cheap hotels that charge by the room, rather than by the person (so no single room supplement). It is also a great place to shop and if you wish to go see the Arc De Triumph on the Champs Elysees then make sure you mind the traffic. There are pedestrian traffic lights, but even when it is green to cross, watch out for the cars turning right into you.

Comparisons: India, Sri Lanka & Dubai

I have compared a range of things that I noticed during my travel through these 3 very different countries. India was alive and fast paced, Sri Lanka green and beautiful, whilst Dubai boasts a whole range of things to do. I have no favourite and in truth, they cannot be truly compared with each other as they are each so different.

Dress

In India women still mostly dress traditionally, in either Kurta or Sari. These come in a vast array of beautiful colours and designs. I saw the occasional man in the male Kurta, but mostly the men have adopted a very Western style of dressing.

In Sri Lanka women dress in a much more western style. I did pass a school group where all the female teachers were in matching sari but this is less common. The men are split between wearing Western clothing and the traditional Sri Lankan outfit - a sarong tied around the waist with a t-shirt or shirt.

Dubai was incredibly international in way of dress. It ranged from girls in dresses to women in full Abaya and men in jeans to men in full Arabic dress.

Roads/Driving

In India the roads are an experience all to themselves. On numerous occasions I have been crossing the road and thought 'this is how I'm going to die' as the auto rickshaws and cars sped towards me. The concept of lanes seem to be long gone and no one really indicates. People beep to overtake, undertake, because the light has gone green, to turn the corner and sometimes when there is nothing in front of them. It was noisy, busy, polluted (your auto rickshaw with open sides being merely inches from the neighbouring car's exhaust pipe), but an education and an experience not to miss.

In Sri Lanka the roads seem to be much quieter and the beeping of a horn much more appropriate and restrained. Mostly it is used for going round blind bends. The busy roads are nothing compared to India and crossing feels a lot safer. In Colombo the traffic lights tell you how long you have to wait (in red) and how long you had to go (in green) for the cars and sometimes for people too. There were zebra crossings occasionally, but they didn't do much for crossing the road.

Dubai had nice big roads and didn't have so much traffic. There were traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that you could actually safely cross at.

Poverty

In India the poverty was clear, with street children and people begging apparent, especially outside one of the local cinemas. The begging was mostly done by lone or groups of children and it wasn't specifically localised to certain areas. There were slum houses by the side of the road and you could see slums whilst driving or from the trains. These slums could range from a few hand constructed shelters by the side of the road, to sprawling areas with  lots of shelters built close to each other, with high populations.

In Sri Lanka there hasn't really been any obvious begging. Poverty is more apparent in the state of people's homes which can be very basic and small. You often find whole families, with 6 or 7 people, living in very small homes that resemble garden sheds. They lack proper bathrooms and drainage and often sleep on the floor together in the same little area.

In Dubai there were no beggars out on the street, neither did you see homeless people in doorways. It all looks very clean and safe wherever you go.

Tuk Tuks

In India all Tuk Tuks have a meter in, but the drivers really don't like using them and much prefer a pre-arranged fare. You can also use Uber or Ola if you want to book a taxi and these are generally the better priced, nicer taxis.

In Sri Lanka there is a lot more focus on using the meter in the tuk tuk, in fact many of them advertise themselves as meter taxis. Just be careful that they don't go the long way, or have accepted your fare but don't actually know how to get there. It may be a good time to have google maps on your phone to make sure.

Dubai: You get a taxi with full AC. The airport taxis that take you out of the airport cost you twice as much as regular taxis. It cost me 87AED to get to my hotel and only 37AED to get back to the airport in a taxi. The taxis are metered though and pretty nice.

Metro:

In Delhi you buy a metro card and top it up either by 100 or 200 rupees depending on where you top up your ticket. The cost of travel was really quite cheap and the metro is a great way to get around Delhi. The first coach of every train in for women only, which is something I think is brilliant. As a female I mostly travelled in this coach and is was generally not as crowded as the rest of the train. To get into the metro you have to have your bags scanned before you are allowed to the ticket barrier - security is a big thing in India.

In Dubai you buy a ticket for 2AED and top it up with the number of journeys you wish to make. The cost varies if you cross zones, but is 4AED one way in one zone. There is also a coach for women and children and a gold class section for those who want to pay extra. The trains are driverless and very efficient. The metro is closed until 13:00 on Fridays.

Shopping:

In India you can choose between the markets and the malls. Malls require you to have your bags scanned on your way in, whereas markets are much more open. Malls have high end shops and the markets are the place to go to buy all you colourful clothing and souvenirs. You will have to barter though, but market products are often pretty cheap.

Sri Lanka had markets, malls and high end shops on the street. It has lots of places you can buy clothes and souvenirs, mostly at fixed prices, but there are opportunities to barter. Sri Lanka has lots of tea plantations, so there are lots of opportunities to buy all kinds of tea (chocolate tea anyone?).

In Dubai you can either shop in malls with high end shops and famous brands or in the Souks. Most places are fixed prices and gold is sold by weight, but I found there was some scope for negotiation in the Souks and gold shops. It was  a pretty good place to buy anything you wanted, from spice to clothes to gold.

Dubai

Dubai was my final stop on my way back home and what a city.

I was surprised by just how international Dubai was and it wasn't as much of a high rise city as I had expected (I thought it would be like New York). There is so much to do, but be prepared with the £££. There is about 4.5AED to £1.

The Burj Khalifa

This is the tallest free standing structure in the world and is accessible from the Dubai mall. Don't worry about going all the way to the 148th floor. The view is similar to floors 124/125 but the ticket is twice the price. It's 200AED to go to floor 125 and 500AED to go to floor 148. It's seriously not worth the extra money. The view is incredible though and you get a good view of Dubai. You can't see the palm island from the top and there is a dust haze, but it was definitely worth a visit. There is an outdoor viewing platform on 124th floor and a shop.

Dubai Mall

Wow. What a place. There is an aquarium tank that can be viewed from the ground floor. There are high end shops, so it is a brilliant place to go shopping. It has a waterfall that covers 3 floors with little sculptures in it. Outside is Dubai Fountains. There is a water show at 13:00, 13:30 and half hourly from 18:00. The show was much shorter than I expected, but I don't know if that is because I went during the day time. There is also an ice skating rink if you want something more active. You will need at least a whole day to dedicate to just the Dubai mall.

Aquarium @ Dubai Mall

I bought the 120AED ticket, which got me a ride around the top of the aquarium tank in a glass bottom boat and a go in the underwater submersible simulator, guided by a cartoon turtle. You walk in through the aquarium tunnel and then go up to the 2nd floor for the rest. There is also a night time animals area and lots of pretty fish. There are events during the day and the crocodiles are fed daily at 16:00. I did enjoy my trip to see the fish and sharks - the zebra shark and leopard stingray being my favourite. There are different tickets which give you access to different activities.

Gold Souk and Spice Market

I took a water ferry for 1AED across the creek to visit the gold souk. I don't think I have ever seen so many jewellery shops full of gold all in one place. It was so shiny and one shop has the world's heaviest ring (complete with its Guinness world record) on display in the window. The gold is sold by weight but there is still scope to negotiate on the price. The spice market nearby is full of bags of colour and scent. They are beautiful displays of herbs and spices and worth going to see even if you don't buy any spice.

Dubai Museum

This cost 3AED to visit, but is very popular with coaches and gets pretty busy. It is based in Al Fahidi fort, which is thought to be the oldest building there. It was interesting to see about the history of Dubai and the origins it had as a pearl diving community at the creek. You only need a couple of hours to visit it.

Bur Dubai

This is also known as Old Dubai and is located on the creek. There are Souks and malls, so it caters for whichever type of shopper you are. There are places to eat along the creek and it is quite nicely lit up at night.

But seriously, forget the Burj Khalifa and the shopping, what you have to in Dubai is to go on a Desert Safari. 

I had the most amazing experience on this half a day trip. There are 7 seater land cruisers which collect in convoy to drive across the sand dunes. With air let out of the tyres, you speed across the dunes, sliding down sideways and roaring back up again. It was thrilling. The desert is huge and you could see hundreds of other cars doing the same thing. We went to a camp for dinner and there were other activities to do there - quad bikes, camels, henna, shisha and dances between dinner courses. There were the classic belly dancer, whirling dhirvish and fire eater. I may have left my camera case behind in the dark, but what an experience it was. If you do nothing else in Dubai, do this.

I had always heard mixed reviews about how long I would need in Dubai. Some people told me 3 days was enough, whilst others told me it wasn't. For me 3 days was plenty, especially for my bank balance. However, I stayed up in the city and I would go back again for a few days to go and explore the area around the Palm and the beach. It is a city of variety and you certainly won't get bored there.

Negombo

Negombo is my last stop in Sri Lanka. It is a tourist strip of beach, lined with hotels and restaurants. People typically only come here for a few days, as honestly apart from the beach there is not a lot going on other than its close proximity to the airport.

Beach view

I have found an amazing restaurant though, called Lords. The food there is AMAZING and it is a really pretty restaurant with a lovely atmosphere. The food is reasonably priced, but it is exquisite. I cannot put into words how good the food was. Hats off to the chef for sure. I have eaten here 3 times in the week I have been here - it is that good.

My amazing curry at Lords

I paid a ridiculous amount of money to go on  a "boat" trip around the lagoon for 3 hours. When I say boat, I mean more of a poorly constructed raft, made of a canoe and some bits of tree. You will see 2 pictures at the top of this post which show these catermarans as they call them. The lagoon was beautiful and home to lots of birds and fish farms, where little fish grow into big fish. There wasn't really a huge amount to see out in the lagoon, but it made a nice change from the beach.


Birds of the Lagoon

I went on a tuk tuk tour with the pool attendant from the hotel I use the pool of who drives a tuk tuk in his spare time (I think I was supposed to tip him and I totally didn't register in time - I am a bad tourist. I better tip him double when I use the pool tomorrow). He took me first to St Mary's Catholic Church which was very pretty.

St Mary's

We then went to the 2 fish markets. One sells fresh fish, the other prepares and sells dry fish. Dry fish are prepared, salted and then sun dried for 2 days. It was quite an experience being in an open air fish market with fish laid out over the floor.


FISH

As a solo female I have found this to be the worst place in terms of men making passing comments. I wear trousers and t-shirt, so I am not exactly dressed provocatively, yet I cannot walk down to the supermarket without at least a dozen comments. Tuk tuks kerb crawl me, beach boys hang around in wait and they don't seem to be able to take no for an answer. I told one pool attendant that a whole group of boys where watching me and I didn't like it, but he didn't seem to understand why I found it a problem. It has actually made me really uncomfortable to be here and to have to go out. In the last 3 months of my travels, nowhere has made me feel like this. If you come here - bring a friend at least. I am actually quite grateful to be leaving Negombo soon. It's a shame because Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country.