May 2009 Archives

This morning we've reported on the death of a British tourist in a ballooning accident in Cappadocia, Turkey. Explore, the operator with which the man was travelling, believes the balloon may have been in collision with another. 

I went ballooning in Cappadocia just last month, and on the day I flew there were nearly 40 other balloons in the sky. I don't have sufficient frame of reference to say whether that is a lot, but it is more than it used to be - the operator I flew with told me the number of balloons that rise up over the valleys of Cappadocia each morning has grown over the years.

Either way, it caused no problems on that occasion. The pilot of our balloon was in radio contact with other pilots to keep track of where we were in relation to other balloons. They would often radio to check that there was no balloon above us before we ascended.

Nor is it unusual for a number of balloons to take off in the same airspace - take a look at photos from the many festivals all over the world, such as the famous one in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Suffice to say that the incident in Cappadocia is as out of the ordinary as it is tragic. We will have to wait for more information from Explore and from the Turkish authorities before we know exactly what lay behind it.

There are many different varieties of coconut across the world, but surely one of the strangest is indigenous to the Seychelles, and predominantly to the island of Praslin. In the centre of this small island is the Vallee de Mai nature reserve. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to the Coco de Mer. Swathes of these palms tower above and make a strange rattling sound when the wind moves their vast, 10m-long leaves around.



Despite its name it has nothing to do with the sea; however, its strangely shaped nuts were washed up on faraway beaches and those who found them thought they were some exotic marine plant.

Every Coco de Mer palm has a gender. Unsurprisingly, this one is male.



Even more uncanny is the female. On the tree, the nuts may look innocuous enough.



But once the outer husk is stripped away, the seed is revealed, rather resembling a shapely female bottom.



This symbol is everywhere in the Seychelles, even on the stamp you get in your passport.

 

The pace of life on the island of La Digue is so slow that even the local giant tortoises seem relatively dynamic. There are only ten vehicles on the island - everyone else meanders around on bicycles, and even a wedding party are taken to their beach-side ceremony by ox cart.

The Seychelles are made up of 115 islands, but most visitors will stay on the three largest - Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue.

Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles and its largest conurbation, still seems incredibly small - there are just three roundabouts and only one set of lonely traffic lights, with signs preceding it so drivers aren't too surprised by the changing shades of red, amber and green.

Indigenous drinks of the Seychelles? Yes, rum is one, but you can also sip a nice cup of local char.

With beaches like this ten a penny, it's pretty difficult not to fall in love with the Seychelles.


This is the beach at Anse Royale, on Mahe. Our hotel is called 'Le Relax', and tries to make it as easy as possible to do so. Sitting on the terrace with an ice-cold Seybrew beer, we watch the sky turning from blue to a nicotine-stained yellow as the sun goes down.


Above us, large fruit bats circle on the evening air currents. They can sometimes look a little foolish with their big heads and chunky feet - like bumble bees, too large to fly - but they bring a real novelty to the evening, and we're told they make a darn good Creole curry.

 By Claire Ballhatchet

 

I'm having an absolutely amazing time here in Beaches T&C! The morning flight on the Sunday was on time and we arrived Sunday evening. Cold towels and champagne cocktails were presented on arrival at the resort! Baggage was taken to the room directly! First evening meal was an a la carte new Italian restaurant, Mario's.

Monday morning, we were free to have breakfast at leisure - I chose Mario's restaurant again as I knew where it was and it offered a great buffet selection, including an amazing variety of options: 

 

We had a resort tour, which took approx 1hr 30 as the place is so big... there are 7 pools in total and 16 dining venues! After the tour, we had a quick lunch and then went snorkelling - it was my first time and boy did my heart race when I jumped out of the boat and into the sea, breathing only through a small tube with my mouth!!

After the snorkelling, it was straight off for a massage at the Red Lane® Spa. I had quite a few knots in my shoulders after the snorkelling and it felt great to get pampered with some aromatic oils.

Dinner was at Kimono's - the resort's only reservation-only restaurant, which serves up Japanese cuisine cooked up in front of you by an entertaining chef! Here's me getting involved!

On Tuesday, a quick trip to the gym followed by breakfast at Barefoot by the Sea - an a la carte restaurant. I had a lovely smoked salmon and soft cheese bagel, washed down by orange juice and freshly brewed coffee. Next, the splashing began at the brand new Pirate's Island waterpark, featuring childrens and adults waterslides, including a tube ride!

 

Not forgetting the surf simulator, which can be used as either a body board or surf board. Unfortunately, I was far too chicken for this!

Instead, I would be cruising along around the 650ft lazy river, laying back and enjoying the sun!

It's clear to see why children would love this new area so much, they are even treated to their own swim-up bar.

After the fun-filled floatation, sunning and splashing, it was off to the beach to learn the art of windsurfing. With the sea so warm and enticing as it was, it's easy to see why many of us soon gave up learning to windsurf, and took to sitting in the sea and spectating!

That night, we had a meal at Schooners, the seafood restaurant on the beach front. One of the gourmet restaurants, it served a variety of fish dishes and I had an enjoyable conch salad and seafood risotto.

Wednesday was a little more laid back and gave me an opportunity to view parts of the resort I hadn't seen. The Café du Paris was a great little find and I couldn't resist the ice blended mocha drinks and little pastries, all served up with a smile.

The afternoon was scheduled for watersports and we managed to go hobie cat sailing, which was a scream! The instructor would tip us up on one side of the miniature catamaran and give us all a soaking!

We enjoyed a gourmet meal at Barefoot by the Sea, where I tried conch fritters (if only I'd known what conch looked like - I soon found out the next day (Thursday) during the island tour at Conch World)...

The tour guide kindly informed us the differences between the frankly icky looking female and male conch:

After the tour, it was quickly back to get dressed up and ready for the first night of opening celebrations at "Welcome to Beaches" Barefoot Beach Party. This was a truly spectacular night with candle-lit entrance, ice sculptures, hollowed out coconut drinks, shaped melons and a huge buffet... there was entertainment on stage including exotic dancers, fire throwers and limbo and congas.

After the party, we headed to the Cricketer's pub - new to the Italian Village, this English pub proudly serves up Guiness and an array of typical pub grub including some lovely fish 'n' chips.

Having played (and won) a good game of pool against marketing directors Karl and Phil there the previous night, I felt at ease at the pub. It was actually cooler inside than outside, and being such a nice evening, we chose to sip some drinks outside, before turning in early ready for our Sesame Street character breakfast the next morn.

The rest of Friday morning involved setting sail on a Kitty Katt catamaran boat cruise, a luxury add-on for guests that they can pay for, which includes a snorkel, drinks onboard and a lunch.

The afternoon involved a wine tasting session, where we learned about how sharp and sweet foods such as limes and apples affect the flavour of wines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few swigs, swallows and spits of wine later and we rolled off to see the Sesame Street parade, featuring dancers, drummers and favorite characters from the show.

During the parade, I sneaked off to try the sushi, as I knew I wouldn't get another opportunity to try it, so I ordered a sushi platter to try a bit of everything:

It was lovely - all very fresh and tasty! Then it was off to the Pirate Pool Party for a show and some singing and dancing.

 

DMC - picture right

 

 

 

Clique Girlz - picture left

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night ended by us getting glammed up and hitting the nightclub Club Liquid.

Saturday morning began by watching others enjoy the surf simulator. We also learned about how to scratch and mix vinyl.

This was very popular amongst the young 'uns as was the learning to beat box!

Saturday night was the big night for the opening ceremony and started with a cocktail party with canapés, before sitting down for the ribbon cutting opening ceremony. There were 2 hours worth of speeches and then the ribbons were cut followed by fireworks!

 

This marked the start of the masquerade carnival party, with entertainment from syncronised swimmers, acrobatics and a lazer show!

 

Drinks were free flowing and fantastic spreads of each type of food were on offer, including an amazing collection of chocolate!!

 

What a fantastic end to a press trip! Home time on Sunday!

On our second last day we had the chance to try a Desert Safari. I was a little nervous having heard stories of jeeps tumbling onto their sides and hurtling down dunes at 100 miles an hour, but it turned out to be a fantastic experience.

We piled into our 4x4s and our charming guide drove us into the desert an hour outside Dubai. It was a relief to have a respite from the skyscrapers and construction work in the city. The scenery was amazing, with perfect sand dunes and camels walking by in single file.

 

We then arrived at Bediun style candlelit camp, where we had henna tattoos and a barbecue dinner. Pictured below is a belly dancer who managed to get a few of the guys' hips moving!

The group flew back on a British Airways night flight on Tuesday, happy, slightly saddle-sore and full of activity ideas for their clients travelling to Dubai.

 I've just come back from a fam trip to Dubai with a group of UK travel agents. Our mission was to discover that there's more to the city than huge hotels, sun and shopping.

For our first challenge, we tried our hand at clay pigeon shooting at the Jebel Ali hotel. I discovered I had a hidden talent, getting five out of ten (with a little help from the instructor).  Here's the overall winner, Lucy from Flight Centre.

The next day we visited the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Centre, which is home to beautiful horses used for polo, jumping and riding. One of the instructors, Marion Wichmann (pictured), told the group about the effects of the ubiquitous construction work on the club and its members. A new road means members have to drive 5km to cross the street.

She also told us about the problem of wealthy Emiratis who buy horses as a status symbol, but don't  know how to ride or care for them properly. Some of these horses end up at the club where the team nurses them back to health.

 

 Next up, the agents donned their helmets and riding chaps for a spot of camel polo. The camels, which are owned by ground handling agents Gulf Ventures, live mainly in the desert and are brought to the polo club  when booked by a group. They were all very friendly and gentle, apart from one who decided he'd had enough and ran back to his truck.