After spending so long out of the UK, one thing I've really missed is getting to hang out with other bloggers and writers. Travel and food are two of my favourite things, so getting to spend a day combining the two and getting to blog all about it – pretty much my dream day! So I was over the moon when I was invited along to a Middle Eastern cookery class with Visit Qatar and found out I would be spending the day cooking up a storm with a group of bloggers, journalists, food stylists and more. Watching the sunrise from the train as we powered through the misty and frosty fields towards London, I was on my third coffee of the day and couldn't wait to get started. The event was being held at The Cookery School, just off Oxford Circus, and it was such a perfect venue with everything we needed to create our feast, plus a great team of chefs on hand to help guide us through the process. After brief introductions, it was full speed ahead to create an amazing feast of middle eastern delights for lunch.
The aim of the day was for us to all work together on various recipes to create a feast for the whole group to enjoy over lunch. Whipping up everything from flatbreads, tabbouleh and a mezzo of dips including hummus, to a choice between lamb or vegetarian tagine with Persian rice, and rounding off with semolina cake served with yoghurt and fresh oranges, and homemade baklava. I couldn't think of a more perfect menu and I was so excited to get stuck in and learn some new recipes, I was especially looking forward to learning how to make hummus and to see how their tagine recipe differed from the one I make at home. We were all set to work on different tasks from chopping and slicing, to buttering and mixing. I love cooking and I love how social it is, we all had plenty of time to have a good chat over the mixing bowls.
The first dish I helped out with was the baklava which I was very intrigued by, I personally have never been too keen on the sweet treat, often finding it a bit sickly. But after realising this one wasn't soaked in sugar syrup I was keen to find out if I would like it. Working with Amanda Bernstein of Glass Magazine, we teamed up to butter the many layers of filo pastry before adding chopped walnuts and cinnamon prepped by some of the other gals. I can tell you, after tasting the finished product, I am a total convert on baklava – the one we made was absolutely delicious and definitely wasn't too sweet.
Afterwards, I was assigned to helping to prep the tabbouleh which ended up being the most colourful dish on the table! With all the bright colours of the herbs, tomatoes and lemons, it certainly brought a dash of the exotic to the table. This one was a nice easy dish, it just took a lot of chopping and preparing. I took the herbs to one side as I worked my way through chopping them for tabbouleh-duty.
Finally, it was on to the dips and one of the dishes I was most excited to make – hummus. I've always wanted to make hummus myself at home but it's just one of those things I never get round to. Now, after seeing how ridiculously easy it is to make, I really have no excuse. We spent time perfecting the flavours and seasoning, adding a dash more lemon juice here, or a pinch of salt there, until we were happy with it.
And finally, after hours of prepping and cooking, lunch was served! Everyone really enjoyed their food and we loved finally getting a chance to sit and enjoy all the unique flavours as a group.
This amazing event had been organised by the wonderful Jess and Katie, of Visit Qatar, as a way to celebrate everything about this beautiful and exciting country. Why? Well it's just become visa free for travellers from no fewer than 80 nationalities, so not only is it the most open country in the whole region, but there has never been a better time to visit!
After reading this blog post by The Travelista after her visit to capital city Doha, I was already rather interested in what the city had to offer. Having spent very little time in the middle east so far, it's an area of the world that becoming ever more accessible with countless new and more direct flights being introduced across the UK. Apparently there are over 37million travellers passing through Doha International Airport each year, but very few are actually taking the time to enjoy the city while passing through. Perhaps, like me, they were simply unaware of the incredibly diverse travel experiences that await them there! But ever since the event, I've been dreaming of getting my heart racing by 'dune bashing' across the desert in a 4x4, or exploring the alleys of the Souq Waqif and taking in the stunning architecture. Whether enjoying a holiday, or just a few days stopover in the city, you can squeeze in a taste of authentic street food across the country or discover the breath-taking exhibitions at the Museum of Islamic Art. 
More than 150 countries spread across six continents are now connected with Doha thanks to Qatar Airways, which means you could easily build in a visit to your next trip. When flying back and forth between Asia or Australia and the UK, my layovers have always taken me to the likes of Dubai or Kuala Lumpur, so I'm eager to take the opportunity to discover somewhere new on my next big trip. There are even new direct flights available from Cardiff to Doha as of May 1, flying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, these will be available seven days a week. Find more information on the Visit Qatar website.
Have you been to Qatar – how was your experience? Do you love middle eastern food – what's your favourite dish?
As the clock ticked down on my final days in Melbourne, it struck me that there were still several things I had yet to do before leaving. All those touristy things we want to do but simply forget once we start working and life gets in the way. Well working 12 hour days six days a week definitely cut back the amount of time I had to give to such activities, but I was still determined to give it my best shot. So when the birthday of one of my best friends was approaching, I thought how better to celebrate than with a trip up the Eureka Skydeck to see our beautiful city twinkling in the moonlight followed by a night of cocktails by the river. We met at Ludlow's, a bar along the river where loads of our friends who worked there were celebrating the boss' birthday with drinks and food. The crowd that work at the bar are great, such a friendly bunch and they definitely know how to party. The company actually owns part of the Skydeck and when they heard we were going up there that evening, the bosses gave us free tickets to both the Skyjack and The Edge - we couldn't believe it! It was so lovely of them and we really appreciated it. Normal prices at $20 for entrance to the Skydeck Experience and a further $12 for The Edge.
We walked over to the entrance and were given a warm welcome by the staff to ushered us into the lifts which carried us a whopping 285m above ground in just 38 seconds! No wonder my ears were popping. The fastest elevator trip in the Southern Hemisphere took us directly to the dizzying heights of the Eureka Skydeck - and I wasn't sure how well this was going to go down. Heights have never bothered me in the slightest, but the birthday girl suffered terrible vertigo as we had found in the Grampians and I hoped she was going to be able to enjoy it. We walked around the Skydeck where we experienced Melbourne sightseeing at its finest, the whole city was alight and glowing against the dark skies. It was beautiful - take your breath away beautiful. I was so glad we hadn't come up during the day, but also wondered what it would have been like to witness this spectacular view at sunset. We had an incredible 360 degree view of the Melbourne skyline thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows. From the top it is possible to see Albert Park Lake, Port Phillip Bay, the Dandenong Ranges and beyond. There are also 30 viewfinders around the Skydeck, so you can take a closer look at some of Melbourne’s favourite landmarks such as the MCG, Federation Square and Flinders Street Station.
After exploring the platform, we decided to enjoy a nice glass of wine with the view over the city - it really was a breathtaking sight. We all had to take a minute to breathe in the fact that this was our home, we lived in this amazing city. It was one of the moments I really found a true appreciation for how lucky I am. Then our buzzer went and it was our time to check out the second stage of the experience - The Edge - a glass cube that projects from the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower and suspends visitors almost 300 meters high above Melbourne. A world first, it gives you a chance to stand over the city and really experience the view from a whole new perspective. Now I know that it might not appeal to those who are scared of heights but with me were two of my best friends who were both nervous about the experience and worried they couldn't cope with the height. Both came out with huge beaming smiles on their faces and not a hint of shaky legs. Even if you hate heights and ca't usually deal with them, don't write off this experience because my friends coped well and were so glad they had given it a chance. There really is no other way to see Melbourne like it and I will always remember seeing Melbourne twinkling below me.
Have you been up the Eureka Skydeck? How did you find The Edge? What other top Melbourne attractions could you recommend?
One of my favourite things about being in Charleville was the incredible, enveloping darkness that I noticed from the very first moment I pulled up in town. Living in Darwin CBD, I never really experienced the darkness of the outback, I was always surrounded by streetlights and only ever really noticed the darkness when I went running alone at night. But nothing compares to standing out in the street in Charleville alone after dark, there are barely any streetlights and you can't even see your hand in front of your face. I've never experienced a darkness like it. It's unnerving at first, and then you start to adapt, you get used to walking the same paths without any lights, you start to make out familiar shapes. One of my favourite times to be outside was when I would arrive home late, either from a friend's house or the pub, and I would hop out of the car at my place. As they pulled away I would always stop for a second to let my eyes adjust to the darkness, then I would look up at a sight that would always take my breath away. The stars here are the brightest, the clearest, and the easily the most beautiful I have ever seen. I cursed the fact that I didn't have a good enough camera to capture their beauty on several occasions, but was certain that even the best cameras in the world would not do justice to the sight.
I was lucky enough to have a great friend - one of many - while I was in town, someone who kept me sane on more than one occasion and made me feel so welcome from the beginning. He loved the stars and had his own telescope, so we went out a few times while I was in town and parked up in a field in the middle of nowhere to get away from the lights and take a closer look. Those nights spent lying in the back of a truck watching as one arm of the Milky Way moved across the night sky were easily my favourite time in the town. Spending nights losing count of all the shooting stars we spotted and zooming in on different constellations - those are the moments I know I'll remember the most from my time in Charleville. Even better, it was great to be with someone who knew about the stars and could tell me about them. I remember the first time we went out and I managed to capture the amazing picture of the moon through the telescope - I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked that night and I'm glad I appreciated it then because another time when we went out at the full moon it was so bright it outshone so many of the stars in the night sky.
While I was in Charleville, what was probably one of the most random coincidences I have ever experienced happened. An English friend I met while in Thailand and travelled with through Laos suddenly showed up in town. It turned out the solar power company he worked for sent him all over the country, he had just been in New South Wales the previous week and now he had turned up in my tiny outback town! I couldn't have been more surprised to suddenly hear from him, especially when he dropped the bombshell that he was in town with his friend and colleague, JP. It came at a perfect time - the halfway point through my three months and I was struggling to stay sane in this town. Seeing Paul and getting to catch up with a fellow backpacker was just the tonic I needed to show me why I was here doing this three months - so I could spend another year with people like him. Of course, we had to celebrate being reunited and how better than with steaks and wine?! We had a fantastic weekend together catching up, we went swimming at the river and even squeezed in a visit to the town's Cosmos Centre and Observatory.
The three of us went along on our final night together ready for a night of stargazing - we weren't disappointed. After we were shown a short movie about the observatory and how it was created, we headed straight out to a specially-built building with a retractable roof. It was very impressive and obviously had a lot invested into the creation of such a structure, especially considering it was housing several telescopes worth millions. The guides were fantastic - they talked to us throughout, answering any questions and telling us all about what we were seeing and lots of other information that helped us to understand the scale of what we were seeing. We focused on the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius HR 2491 which is also known as the Dog Star, before taking a look at The Great Orion Nebula in the sword of Orion, both beautiful and completely different to look at. We also took a look at open cluster M41, a binary star system called Almaak with orange and blue stars, before finishing with the second largest globular cluster in the night sky - Tuncana 47. Now this won't mean much to most of you - but I can tell you it was a pretty spectacular collection of stars and a real range. They were beautiful. The only thing I was a bit disappointed by was at that point all the planets were below the horizon so we didn't get to see any, sadly they only started to appear as I left so I missed them completely. But to be honest, the stars were just that stunning that I wasn't really that bothered. If you happen to find yourself passing through Charleville, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Observatory - it's truly out of this world.
Where is the best place you've stargazed? Have you randomly bumped into a travelling friend in the middle of nowhere?
Since volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, it has become a regular topic of conversation with friends, family, fellow travellers and complete strangers. Everyone seems to have elephants on the brain and its little wonder why, these majestic, intelligent and simply beautiful creatures seem to capture the hearts of most. Why? For me, it's always been something in their eyes. Elephants seem to have eyes that tell a story, much like humans, you can tell there is more going on in their heads. That they think and feel in similar ways to us - whether you agree of. It is another matter, but I've always felt that elephants have a lot in common with humans which is why it has always broken my heart to hear about cases of poaching and animal cruelty. The more I read about it all, the more it tore me apart to know that such amazing creatures could be so brutally targeted by my own species. Sad how you can feel so ashamed of your own kind at times, but I guess some brains are just wired differently.
Something that has come up again and again in conversations are the same questions about how to know if elephants are being treated cruelly, what is cruel treatment, whether elephant riding is okay and so on... Of course I answered all of these as best I could after learning so much firsthand at the sanctuary, but the journalist in me couldn't resist talking to the expert about it all. Lek Chailert is the founder of Elephant Nature Park, and during my week long volunteering at the centre I was lucky enough to meet her and to sit in on a talk she gave about her experiences, her work, Elephant Nature Park, elephant cruelty and tourism, and the future. It was simultaneously fascinating and devastating - within seconds she had the whole room captivated, and in less than five minutes she had the whole room in tears. I have never met anyone so passionate and true to her cause, and I have never felt so inspired by a single person. Lek has achieved so much in the face of great cruelty and adversity, she has never given up on her mission and remains stronger than ever and full of determination to make her dream of freedom for elephants a reality.
A week of volunteering left me desperate to do more and help in any way I can, and my best way of doing this is to write, to photograph, to interview and to share all of this with all of you. I know I have many friends and followers who are big supporters of the volunteering programme, who love elephants and are strongly against animal cruelty, so I thought it would be great to share my interview with Lek on here so that you can all hear firsthand from her of the reasons behind her work. By hearing exactly what is involved in domesticating elephants, you can make a decision for yourself about whether you really want to ride an elephant or participate in elephant tourism. As Lek says herself in the interview, the most important thing is educating people on why it is wrong. I hope very much that you are finding my elephant-themed week on the blog informative and interesting, I hope that you too will feel inspired to help by sharing this post with your friends, family and social media followers - you could be helping to save an elephant out there from being subjected to cruel treatment.
Check out the video below for my full interview with Lek Chailert.
If you have any questions about Elephant Nature Park or the topics covered in this video, please do leave them below and I'll do my best to answer. I have a final post in keeping with the elephant theme coming up this Friday - focusing on my time as a volunteer and what I thought of the experience.
