Rosie & Jim's Travel Blog

A blog of all our travels

  |     |   Honeymoon 2010   |   Morocco, Marrakech
In the Muslim world, Friday is the Sabbath day. That means that the bulk of the shops/markets, sites and sounds of Marrakech are closed. We therefore dedicated today to reading, relaxing and a little bit of swimming. We spent most of the day by the pool, but the latter part of the afternoon and evening was spent taking pictures around the hotel. Day’s Photos - 0416 Sunshine Friday

  |     |   Honeymoon 2010   |   Morocco, Marrakech
We had our first full day excursion today, and this was out to visit the High Atlas Mountains outside of Marrakech. The journey began with a bit of musical 4x4’s as we were moved from one 4x4 to another for no apparent reason before finally getting going for a rendevous with a number of other 4x4’s from different hotels. Thankfully there was no more switching around for the rest of the day. A short while after we set off we stopped again for an introduction to the excursion and the Atlas Mountains. The journey continued for a couple of hours stopping off at various locations on route to take pictures where the guides thought was best. Thankfully, the light levels allowed me to take some...

  |     |   Honeymoon 2010   |   Morocco, Marrakech
Having thoroughly enjoyed our day yesterday, we spent the morning lounging by the pool again :-). This allowed us to prepare ourselves fully for the busy afternoon we had prepared. In the afternoon we headed into the Medina (the walled city) for a brief tour of the Ali Ben Youssef Medersa, which was once a very popular school for scholars from across the North African Arab region. The school was a beautiful place hidden deep within the labyrinth of streets in the North of the Medina, once we were 5 minutes from the bus, all but the guide were thoroughly lost! We followed this up with an introductory tour of the Souks of Marrakech. The guide showed us a number of different areas, each selling...

  |     |   Honeymoon 2010   |   Morocco, Marrakech
To kick start our “Package Holiday” Honeymoon we felt we should follow the traditional British holidaymakers way and lounge around by the pool. So we got out of bed late, caught breakfast just before close and headed to the pool with our suncream, water and books. As the holiday is All Inclusive we took advantage of the bar, pigged out on the buffet lunch, and followed suit with our evening meal as well. It was a great day, but there’s not a whole lot going on at the hotel other than the gym, the pool and the food so I don’t think either of us would be able to manage it for an entire holiday. We therefore headed over to the Thomson rep before dinner...

  |     |   Honeymoon 2010   |   Morocco, Marrakech
Well we are now married after a beautiful ceremony at the St Pierre Hotel in Chepstow. The day was glorious, sunshine, good food, great company, hopefully some fantastic photos, the works!! Having got that out of the way, we are now on to the important bit, the Honeymoon. We’ve decided on a week in Marrakech as part of an all inclusive package holiday. That should make it sufficiently unusual for it to be very memorable (the fact it is a package holiday is unusual in itself!!) We left home far too early on the Monday morning following our wedding, arriving at Gatwick airport just before 7am. Although the flight was a little delayed, we actually landed early in Morocco before being whisked away, by coach,...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Hong Kong
It’s my birthday today so we took the opportunity to go to Disneyland!!! Neither Rosie nor I have been to Disneyland before so it seemed like the right thing to do for my 25th birthday. We got up relatively early, checked the MTR maps and got going. We were at the park by 1030. At the entrance, there was mention that it was my birthday (Mark aiming for at least one cheaper ticket), we were told to head to the City Hall for a badge and stickers once inside. We did, then went for breakfast. Every “cast member” we came across wished me happy birthday, and a number gave me more stickers. We had breakfast in a cafe that made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes and...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Hong Kong
Our lazy mornings continue, so we left the hotel this morning a little later than planned with the intention of going back to Stanley for the markets and the beach. On arrival in Stanley we got stuck into the markets picking up the last of our trinkets/pictures etc. We then went to the local supermarket to pick up the supplies needed for a BBQ on the beach for an early birthday party. It was then time to get to the beach :smiley:. The first task was to find a free barbeque pit that was in the shade. Turns out that at 1400, this was not a difficult task. We were the only ones using a barbeque pit! Mark set the fire going and we left...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Hong Kong
Lantau is the biggest island in Hong Kong so we couldn’t really come here and not see it. So we got the ferry from Central to Mui Wo to start our adventures in Lantau. We started the day by catching a bus to Ngong Ping which is the location of the Ngong Ping Cable Car (which is currently shut for 6 weeks maintenance) and the Tian Tan Buddha. The Buddha statue is set atop a mountain with a crazy amount of steps leading up to it. The complete tour required us to buy a meal or a snack ticket. As we didn’t think much of the menu, we bought snack tickets for HK$23 each (approx. £2). This allowed us to walk around the inside of...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Hong Kong
This morning began in the usual way, we got the MTR to TST, we were harassed by tailors and watch salesmen and we went to Deli France for breakfast. However, this time we went into a tailors shop for prices and information. Mark was looking for some new work shirts that were a good fit, and I wanted a proper dress shirt. This first tailor was useless and would not listen to what we wanted, but the second tailor happily listened, then told us what was going to happen. He had the right attitude, and reasonable prices, but we said we would think about it. From the tailors, we headed onto the Hong Kong Science and Technology Musuem. Being big kids, the interactive nature of...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Macau
Having deliberated over the guide book about what to do today, we totally disregarded it’s advice and headed to Macau (mainly because the guide book was wrong and we didn’t need to book a day before). Our transportation (see right) was just like a wide plane that rocks a bit. Our first reason for going to Macau was that it meant leaving the country so we got extra stamps for our passport for leaving Hong Kong, entering Macau, leaving Macau and entering Hong Kong :), but that wasn’t our only reason…honest. Macau was once a Portuguese run island, but was handed back to Chinese rule in 1999. It therefore enjoys the same status as Hong Kong in that it is a Special Administrative Region of...