Exploring Dubrovnik

All inclusive holidays are great, we aim to do one a year. It’s simple, everything including flights, transfers, accomadtion, food, drinks, entertainment are all organised for you. You could do it without speanding any extra money than the package you paid for. 

But a week of sunbathing, eating and drinking can get a little tedises when you’re only in your mid 20s surrounded by mostly retired couples and families. So we like to add activities and sight seeing to our list. 

Croatia has so much to offer but can be restricting if you’re not backpacking it so picking a good location is key. We’ve chosen Cavtat as it’s quite but transport are easily accessible. We can explore Cavtat old town, very small and cute by foot and enjoy the beautiful coastline. 

Dubrovnik is a 45mins boat journey costing 100kn working out to just over £10 for a return. Cheaper option is the bus, 50kn for a return. Not much difference in duration of the journey, which is around 50mins to an hour. We’ve chosen the boat ride as we wanted to see the view of the coastline. 

The boat drops you off right on the harbour outside of the city walls. Transport to and from runs regularly so once you’ve had enough, the wait back is never long. 

Dubrovnik has a lot to offer, history and culture tours including a very popular games of thrones tour. You can take a tour around the city’s wall or get a cable car up above the city. The main square is buzzing with restaurants, cafes and shops. 

But the lovely thing is that there are many stair ways off the square, taking you up to hidden cafes and on one side beach access. 

My recommendation is doing the city wall. As you’re higher up and can see the whole city from slightly above. The walk can be challenging in the heat as it does take up to 2hours. Longer if you’re constantly stoping for photographs and rest. There are a couple of restaurants and cafes along the way but thats a more expensive option. So make sure you have plenty of water with  you and enough sun screen on. Snacks would also be a good idea however we did the walk after making sure we were fed and energised. Another thing to point out is that you go to the toilet before! There were no more than a couple along the way unless you’re buying something from one of the restaurants. 

The walk really is beautiful and the views are incredible. 

After the walk, I would recommend taking a much needed rest. And what better way to do so than by having a splash in the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. 

We headed out towards the harbour and walked around the outside of the wall where we came across a rock spot perfect for sunbathing and access to the water. When looking at a map of the city, these spots are referred to as a ‘beach’, it’s really just a sea access. These spot offend include showers which is always a bonus! 

So remember to pack your swimwear and a towel! Because trust me, you’ll want the swim at some point during your day of exploring in the heat. The crystal clear water is always so inviting. 

The day was finished with an ice-cream and boat ride back to our hotel where we could enjoy dinner and watch the sunset. 

I haven’t gone into as much detail of this day trip as I would have liked, it’s a very brief recommendation. So feel free if anyone reading has any questions or would like more details. 

SandCloud- Live to Give

SandCloud has caught my interests. It started off as a page that I followed on Instagram but never really paid much attention to. Then the posts became more frequent and the products started becoming more appealing to me. So I decided to look into it.

I guess you can call them a ‘Beach Lifestyle’ company. Their main product are beach towels but  they also sell related accessories such as; beach bags, clothing and necklaces. There’s isn’t a wide selection of products but different colours and patterns to choose from.

The most appealing aspect about buying from Sandcloud is that they say 10% of their net profit goes towards nonprofitable organisations that share their mission in saving and the preservations of marine life and environment. So every purchased made, goes towards a much needed cause.

Sandcloud started in 2014 and already by 2017 has over 10,000 ambassadors representing their brand. An effective way to spread the word on the company and organisations.

Becoming an Ambassador is pretty easy. All you have to do is go onto their Sandcloud website. Enter your name, email and Instagram. If successful, you heard back within the next couple of days, which is pretty exciting.

And that, is exactly what I did and what happened to me. I am proud to say, I am a Sandcloud Ambassador. Spreading the word and the good work of this company. As you will probably know if you’ve read any of my other posts that I love to travel and I love the beach so I think it’s important that we do what we can when it comes to saving our ocean.

And here is a little something that I purchased from Sandcloud.

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Processed with VSCO with f2 preset

 

This beautiful delicate necklace really does portray my love for the ocean. It comes in a cute hessian bag along with stickers and wristband. There was a small handling fee as I live in Scotland and the product was shipped from America but it was worth it. Especially when there was a little discount involved which I am happy to share with you all! You can purchased your own Mermaid necklace using my link for 25% discount or use my code- Ratana25 at the checkout. Then, like me, you won’t feel so bad having to pay for postage!

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Processed with VSCO with f2 preset

 

The necklace is a great length and is adjustable so can go slightly shorter. It’s not too big or too small and sits nicely. It’s very light so I can’t really tell that I’m wearing it. It’s engraved with ‘save the fishies’ on the back which is a quirky touch.

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Processed with VSCO with f2 preset

There are many items on their website that you can purchased but this necklace for me was exactly what I’ve been looking for and now that I’ve experienced a sales from Sandcloud, I am definitely confident in making future purchases.

I’ve added the images to my Instagram post!

I’ll stick to the Zip Line

Bucket lists, Im sure like me, most of us have a bucket list, we’ve never written it down physically but it’s up there. We have it in our heads, a list of things we want to do and experience before we leave this world.

When I was young, I loved the outdoors, I loved challenges and I loved anything that gave me butterflies. I’d make my siblings take me onto the big scary rides and I’ll climb to the top of the climbing walls and suddenly let go. My point is, from a young age, I’d always had this idea of seeking adventure. I added thrilling events to my bucket list, and a bungee jump became one of them.

I couldn’t wait, I’ve heard people tell stories and their experiences. New Zealand, Australia. Me, on the other hand, I went with one in Thailand during my travels in Asia. It was a small one and probably not as appealing, the view I am sure did not compare either.

But, it was the experience I was after, the leap, the free fall and the adrenaline. I was excited, I watched a couple of girls before me, it looked fun.

Long story short, Never Ever Again. I got to the top of the tower, the straps around my legs were tight and restricting, the rope was heavy and pulling on me. I found it almost impossible to actually let go. My stomach tightened and I felt sick. I wanted to climb back down but knew I couldn’t. I panicked, the guy at the top calmed me down, told me to breath and that he would help me. I asked is he was allowed to push me, he laughed but knew I was being serious.

He put his hands onto my waist and said on the count of three, I’ll give you a little help. Next bit was blurred, not sure if I made the leap or if he shoved me. Most likely a little bit of both. Not sure if he ever counted.

The images were unflattering, not how I imagined I’d look doing a bungee jump. All the images on the internet of people jumping all looked so cool. I looked like a doll on a piece of string being jerked about.

I didn’t like the feeling of free falling, I just felt so out of control, I wasn’t able to control how I fell and my arms waved frantically at first until I could relax and put them slightly more together. As the rope reached the end of it’s stretch, I was waiting for the rebound. That in itself was just as bad, the bounce back up and down until

Once it was all over, I was relieved. Instead of feeling the adrenaline rush afterwards that so many people talked about, I felt rather numb. I did not know how to process the experience. I just knew that it was well and truly ticked off my list.

It’s a shame as I would have loved to have tried out the ones in New Zealand and Australia. My biggest regret, wasn’t the bungee jump but that if I had known that I would most likely only ever do one in my life, that I had chosen a better location for it.

So from now on, I think I’ll be stick to the Zip Wire.

Bali- Ubud

Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of spending every single day of my holiday relaxing on the beach, surfing and sipping coconuts but sometimes, all that heat and sand just becomes too much. And I’m itching for a change of scenery. After all, it was my birthday, so I was able to plan this part of the trip. So to Ubud we went.

It’s a little hard to describe, you really need to experience the place first hand. It’s culture mixed with spiritual hipsters. Everything about this place appealed to me. There were nearby waterfalls, rice paddies and even a volcano to explore. We only set ourselves 3nights to spend in Ubud, which for me, really wasn’t long enough. At the time, I was also still recovering from being ill as I mentioned in my last blog, so that limited us.

I want to talk a little about food. When we first started our trip in Bali, it was difficult trying to figure out the local cuisine as so many restaurants and cafes were rather westernised. We had yummy fish tacos and amazing burgers, but that’s not local, not at all. I mean, we discovered the Nasi Goreng and the Mie Goreng, which were delicious but kind of got a little boring. This all changed when we made it to Ubud, the selection of Balinese dishes were incredible.

A couple of activities in which I enjoyed most during my time in Ubud were visiting the famous Monkey Temple and chasing waterfalls.

Monkeys are not for everyone, there’s a reason we created the term ‘monkey business’. Those creatures are so cheeky, naughty and un predictable. Extremely clever too as we know. I can not stress enough about how cautious everyone needs to be about being around them. I, myself, have been jumped on scratched and nipped by one. Neither the less, non of these experiences have put me off, but it has kept me on my toes when it comes to encounters with wild monkeys.

Not only were these mischievous creatures allowed to roam freely within the temple but were free to come and go as they pleased. When walking around the streets of Ubud, especially during the morning hours, you will definitely come across one of these along your path.

Upon entering the temple, you can buy banana’s to feed the monkeys. We had to hide them in our bags to avoid them being taken in one go. Any sign of banana’s and you’re all of a sudden the most popular person there to them.

Moving onto chasing waterfalls. There are a few waterfalls situated close to Ubud. Once again, our choice of transport was to hire out a mopped. But as I’ve mentioned in my previous blog, transport were never an issue as taxi services and uber were available everywhere. Uber is a great choice as it was one of the cheapest way of getting around. That was how we did most of our longer distant commutes when moving from one place to the other.

As you can imagine, waterfalls are not always the easiest of places to get to. So be sure to be sensible and wear comfortable footwear and take plenty drinking water. It’s usually a long way down and a climb if you want to check out the top as well. It’s worth having your swimming stuff handy, it’s very likely that by the time you’ve climbed all that way down, the first thing you want to do is jump straight in.

There were so many activities that we would have loved to have done and things to see. Some recommendations were the volcano trek during sunrise, Balinese fire dancing at the old palace and the Tagalalang rice terrace.

Lastly, make sure you get a full body balinese massage. A little strange to start with when your masseuse climbs onto the massage table and put their whole weight o your back but you sure come out feeling amazing!

Bali- It really was Paradise

Bali, one of Indonesia’s most well known islands. It really does have something for everyone. The island host a varied landscape of hills and mountains, ridged coastlines and beautiful beaches ranging from white to black sand.

Surfing and diving are a popular choice when visiting the island. Whatever your level of surfing, there are waves for everyone, even those (like myself) who are just starting out. Same goes for diving, no matter what level of diving experience  you have, it really can be enjoyed by everyone.

Bali attracts all kinds of visitors, ranging from backpackers, romantic getaways and the super rich. There’s a massive range of accommodation.

We visited Bali based on our love of sun, surf and sea. It definitely did not disappoint. Flights were cheap enough and the duration wasn’t too bad. Our visit took place over Christmas and New Years. For Bali, this is during their wet season. It did rain but mainly during the night, by which time, we were already in bed. By the morning, it was dry and sunny.

 

Our first visit was to Canggu. A costal village. Although the beach was not walking distant  from where we stayed, it was easy enough to get to on rented mopeds. You can hire them with or without surf racks. If carrying a surfboard, like we were, I’d recommend requesting a rack, it just made everything, a lot easier. If you’re not comfortable with driving a mopped, there are many taxi services including uber.

We spent most of our time on Echo beach. It can get rather busy throughout the day, depending on the surf. All in all, there were always waves. Personally, I found that this was the best place for beginning to surf as there were no reefs. Even though the waves weren’t always clean, it was great for practising to stand on white water.

Adam happens to be a lot better at surfing than I am 

 

After Canggu we ventured to Balian. We were meeting up with a friend who loved to base himself there. For those considering Balian, let me tell you, unless you are there to surf, there really isn’t much else there. Sadly, I fell ill during our time there, heat exhaustion and food poisoning which saw me bed bound for a good couple of days. Luckily, we were staying at a rather nice place so I was comfortable. Our accommodation over looked the beach and was a very short walk across the road to get to. Ideal for Adam as I laid in bed all day. When there was no surf, we did have to venture to nearby beaches.

Next stop was Ubud! Very different from what we’ve seen and experienced so far on our trip. But I’m going to stop here before this blog post becomes an essay on Bali. There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Ubud, it deserves it’s own blog altogether! And I can’t wait to share it with you on my next post.

First Blog Post

‘You can use this space to post about why you are starting this blog’ So yes, I think that is exactly what I will do.

Just recently relocated from my hometown Hereford to Aberdeen (Again). It’s pretty far to come and a pretty big change even if I have made the attempt before. Same reason as the last, I followed my heart and made the move to join my other half.

It’s scary, having to start over. Currently unemployed and having very little friends. Those we have are his but that’s to be expected.

This Blog is for myself, I’ve never really done this kind of thing before but I’m excited. It’s nice to be able to just express yourself and share ideas. Heaven knows if anyone else would even be interested in what I have to say or ideas in which I have to share.

I’ve done some travelling and many more trips planned ahead, so I will be posting a fair deal about all of that. So far, most of my trips have been in Asia but by this winter, I’m looking to spice it up and visit a different region of the world.

My Fashion knowledge isn’t always on top form but I do have a textile degree, so I’m hoping this blog is going to get me back in touch with my creative side again and share with you some craft ideas.

There’s not a lot more to say at this moment. So I’ll be taking some time to think about how to get the ball rolling.

For now, Happy Thursday!