Ibrahim's first visit to a beach on the British Isles!

Well after visiting the bays in Portugal there needed to be comparisons made on our own Isles.  We did catch a great day to make the hour stay at the beach memorable.
Casual Bay is a hub for families not to mention for surfers alike.  It was a warm light breeze late afternoon with the Swansea Family and their relatives. Ibrahim was soaking in the experience of the sand and the sea. Bet he was saying 'just let me find my legs and you see who be surfing and making castles!'.

Great day.  Definitely worth the visit.

Ibrahim first trip abroad - Portuguese!

It was a very memorable voyage albeit only few hours air travel from Heathrow.

With his Mclaren XT Techno he was always in the F1 fast lane.  We went to many places on our travels and definitely helped having a base at my sisters too. MashaAllah.

To name a few (which I had details of on my handwritten holiday blogg) which includes the historical city of Belem, Cascais (our base), Gothic Sinta to the windy roads of the nearby local villages.

All in all was a great success Alhamdulillah.  And Ibrahim had definitely passed the test for further atlas exploring!

4/5 ****

Is it Monkey Business?

Well after having interviewed for Emirates through skype from inside my bedroom in February 2013, I was successful in getting to the next stage of proceedings.  And a second bite at that after I cancelled first invite to Dubai due to my wife expecting our first born during that time.

So was flown in on Business class on Emirates A380 with the cabin crew at my every calling. This luxurious life was definitely going to spoil me.  Though think I deserve this given the few very hectic months I have had.  Alhamdulillah Allah provides ease.

It was a beautiful relaxed journey given my 5am early morning wake up for an 8.40 departure from Heathrow.  The entertainment system 'ICE' was the best I have come across on any flight and boy have I travelled a lot in my time. I arrived to Dubai at around 8pm Dubai time and to hotel around 9ish. I was definitely feeling extremely tired and had very little time to rest and stupidly went back to the airport to get a sim wasting valuable rest time especially with a 8am start at Emirates HQ.  After having a subway sandwich at the airport headed off on the shuttle bus, a gratuity service from Premier Inn hotel.

A 6.30am wake up call from my S3 and it was all go once again.  At 8am I just about got to Emirates HQ for the assessment day.  Which completely threw me and after four hours or so I was out for the Emirates tour which was a gruesome 5 hours looking at schools, apartments, medical centre etc.  Later when I arrived at the hotel I found out they would no be asking me to return the next day. That made the post the tour something very painful. Allah is the best of planners and it was for the best even though I don't know why. That's the beauty of the deen when you have emaan you never feel too down in the dumps.

So with two days to relax well try too I had to plan the business side of the trip.  Yes business you heard right.  So  the following day with another early but not totally ridiculous time had a continental breakfast and was off to Al Khaleej Centre to visit the bank having confirmed early morning with the bank manager. Having sorted things out there prayed had mcds and off to Nakheel.  Did some serious walking round in mid sun from Palm Jumeira to the metro station (next time I will know not to bother).

The metro system was pretty impressive albeit ram jammed at times.With a unlimited day ticket at 16aed  around 3 pounds it was pretty good. The metro goes to all the major places with the exception of the coast and beach i.e Burj al Arab, The Palm. I didn't really fancy going on my own to The Palm or  top of the two Burjes. InshaAllah another time with my family.

You don't see the Emirate on any of the public transport or taxis. Mind you with only making up appropriately 11% of the UAE population they are one of the smaller minorities in their own country.  Some may say, Tower Hamlets and Dubai have one thing in common after all (given the latest news).

Braved into the malls when I had some spare fime. And not just any malls one of the two finest on the planet, The Emirates Mall and the Mall at Burj Al Khalifah. Now I have found the 11% (see above for reference) in the Malls. The idea to go to the malls after a few minutes was a big no no especially a man on his own and the only thing stopping me from going insane was the adhaan call where I was saved in many ways by my Salaat (men reading this you know what I mean).

It was in summary all in all a very good experience had made much progress with business issues and interview practice and assessment.  Dubai is good for short stop overs with family or couples.  Though what it really reminded me was that you can be in the best place on earth but without your loved ones there is no meaning to enjoyment.  So looking foreward to seeing ya bunayya and zawjaty and of course ummy and abby.

Overall:
***
3.5/5

Brecon Beacons Couples Retreat

We had a most relaxing retreat staying for 3 days at the Brecon Beacons National Park not so far from the town centre of Abergavenny.

In early November the landscape was still very beautiful.  We stayed at a Cottage owned by a couple from London, yes you heard correctly in Wales. The owner was very fascinated to hear my wife's Welsh voice.

We had our own chickens laying eggs every morning for us to go and collect (partially collect as we chickened out!) and have with our hot breakfast (tomatoes, mushroom, halal sausages, bagel) made in a beautiful country kitchen.  The cottage we stayed at had two en suit bedrooms, large lounge, kitchen, cloakroom and a spacious outdoor area.

Time stood still whilst we just chillaxed just doing very little intentionally. We went for few drives to see various nearby towns and had our adventure of walks too in the Welsh valley's. Playing scrabble in the evening and the wife cooking succulent cuisine, salmon, mackerel, kebabs, couscous, grilled potatoes to name just a few.

In summary excellent value for money if organising a couples or larger family retreat.  And definitely worth a visit. Just shows you don't always need airports and passports to enjoy a holiday away, the best voyage may be on your own shores.

****
4/5 - Overall.

Honey Moon in Sorrento and Amalfi coast

A few weeks after the biggest day of our lives, the nikah (Islamic marriage contract), wife and I went on a beautiful relaxing break to Sorrento, Italy. This was a complete surprise to my new wife as had served up many hints of going to Bournemouth as the prized destination for our honeymoon.

Once we arrived at the airport then the secret had to be let out and it was a very welcomed surprise and less typical of the usual muslim honeymoon placeholders such as Dubai, Malaysia, Maldives etc. Though these destinations are spectacular too.

Having never been to Italia before it was going to be a new experience for both of us and it was just that.  Beautiful Naples coastline with the Mountains all round the harbour it was something out of the bond films.

As we arrived in Naples airport it wasn't the most glamorous of airports. I heard much about this city and with an abundance of influence from sicily and the mafioso it was not a staying ground for us unless you wished to be in the next remake of Goodfellas.

The drive to Sorrento was picturesque.  winding roads, through various bridges from one mountain to another. Few hours later we arrived at our Hotel Aminta taking a taxi up the Mountains from the Centre of Sorrento. And once we arrived at our suite with pre arranged flowers and the finest rose petals all around the room, the wife was speechless.

The views from our balcony stretched out towards the Bay of Naples and were something picked out from a postcard. And the sunrise after Fajr was gorgeous we could view the sun rising from our beds.  Alhamdulillah.  Just makes you think about the creator through His creation of all these beauties. It isn't by chance, it is to reflect and ponder on our purpose in life.

Our 7 days stay were spent chilling most of time spending time soaking the sun near the pool taking romantic strolls across the beach and port. One of our favourite past times in Sorrento was to enjoy watching the Sorrentonians (my own term) in the plaza over a beverage and Italian food (mainly pizza, tagliatelle and fresh bread with olives). There's nothing like fresh olives in the Mediterranean air.

We ventured around on our own trip to the Capri Island which was a tourist magnet.  But nothing could prepare you for the beach at Amalfi.  There was much about the Limon in this region and not sure why it tasted just the same as anywhere else. The road trip to the Amalfi coast in itself was a roller coaster ride and not for the light hearted with narrow winding roads keeping you on your toes.  We also went on a trip to the famous town of Pompeii via Naples, and this historic site after a half an hour in the mid day sun was enough of the cultural top up. Think I consumed on this outing my full allocated vitamin D for the whole year.

All in all it was a great vacation to get to know each other better.  Gala dinners here were few and far but each dinner was a gala for us.  The daily frequent coach service from town to our hotel was a plus and made the chilling even more chilling.

***
3.5/5 Overall.

Morocco : Honey Moon Part IV

An excellent 10 day break in which we covered 5 towns and cities covering most of the varied contrasting landscapes imaginable on earth.  Travelling from the hustle and bustle of the Djema al fna square through to passing through the tiers of the Atlas mountain ranges and into the beautiful historic town of Fez.

Words cannot describe the beauties and the experience we had. ShukrAllah for providing us with this great opportunity to enravel for ourselves the colour and vibrance of Morocco.  We were so filled with richness from most people especially the Fez berbers in the souks we made a solemn pact we shall visit this beautiful town once again InshaAllah.

As usual with so many towns and only having a limited time to marvel at them, it required much planning.  We originally booked to go in March 2012 but due to illness in the family we were unable to. Having cancelled Allah the best of planners provided us with another path.  So 8 weeks or so later we were on our flights having planned the excursions and routes with some flexibility.

We arrived in Marakech after a few hours fllight from London and stayed for a few days staying at the Riyad Amiran.  This Riyad was premier class in every bit of its make up and the hospitality of the management and staff was second to none with a special note and appreciation of Mohammed. We almost had a tear jerking moment on departure!  Mohammed even put up the Champions league final all for me in my own lounge with Muhammad playing light refreshing bollywood melodies from the 80's (did I recall the tune from Muhabbattain).

We went for a day trip to Essouirra. Essouirra had the beauties of sharing the same coast as Agadir but without the onset of the large European crowds. It was a peaceful coastal town very much to be enjoyed by and for the family. There were lots of Morroccan  families with children and elderly parents sharing a walk on the beach or a fish tagine at the souks.

We embarked on travelling north of Morroco by train. And it was a great experience I would definitely recommend.  The booking service was excellent and 1st class carriages were only a few pounds more. I planned to go to Casablanca on route to Fez.

Having heard much about this cosmopolitan archipelago of a city it didn't fail to leave a footprint on our travels.  Taxi driver madness is one way of putting it, though the great spectacle of Hasan II Mosque was a great sight.  The only sad thing was seeing a very empty congregation for Asr and Maghrib prayers.  A one night stay at this city was more than enough and upwards literally to better things ahead.

Next stop was the historic town of blue Fez again on train and warmly even with curiosity welcomed by a Bengali Saudi national tradesman.  Fez definitely slbrought the coolness to our eyes. We made our way to our pre booked riyad, Riyad Al Akhwaine (Riyad of the two brothers). The riyad was in a great location right on the doorstep of the souk and Masjid al Karaweeh (if my memory serves me right).

During our 4 day stay at Fez we went on a day trip hiring a chauffeur driven Mercedes to Meknes.  At 500 riyals it was the top haggle made on this Moroccan adventure.  We were shown the very green lush landscape and assorted fruits on the way by the driver.
It was Jummah day and we prayed at the large central mosque in Meknes where we met some Pakistani Americans who were adopting a Meknes born baby. We visited a few more sights whilst we were in town. The markets in Fez were a maze and without much trying you would end up getting lost. 

A trip to Morocco could not be done without a visit to a Hammam. And not any one but one that gets you up and close with the locals. And with women and men having alternate hours it was all very much strictly halal. Alhamdulillah. Though my back took a good workout from the local masseuse and stiff all the way back to London.

****
4.5/5 overall.

Paradise WildLife Park

It was my nephews 8th Birthday today and well what better way to spend it with a fellow Leo with the Lions at Paradise Wildlife Park in the countryside of Hertfordshire.

The whole family went (minus the ones that had squabbles on the morning of the trip, that sisters for your, what can a brother do), which as it happens was an almost dry day. Say almost as it did rain in the middle of the day which Sis #2 was not too delighted about esp. given that she was drying most of her kids clothes on the railings of the park bench due to them going into the paddling pool and soaking all of what they had to wear! Kids will be kids! To be honest if I had my speedos (not laughter for those reading) I would have had a splash myself.:-)

The journey to the park was not so bad, all in all took around 50 minutes to get there. Just shows that Lions can be at the footsteps to your door within an hour!

The kids loved the day, though they were more concerned about the army style indoor and outdoor assault course then the animals so parents bare in mind its a big myth, kids do not like animals esp those that stand still and don't do anything like the Bali Mayna! I remember my eldest niece saying to me, "if that is the Bengal Owl does that mean it can speak Bengali like us?"

The Video