Xmas Markets

MARCHES NÖEL SORT TRÉS BON!

Christmas markets are where the spirt of the season's festivities come to life. The UK hasn't really caught up with Europe on their festive offerings. Fortunately, there's so many great markets in France, Germany and other cities/towns in Europe where Christmas is celebrated, it's worth taking a short trip away to enjoy these foreign delights and see first hand how they measure up to xmas markets in the UK.

Arguably, beside's the fantastic and fun Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Brits just don't seem to be able to capture the same 'spirit' of Christmas as our European cousins do - and, in my experience, they certainly can't offer such great value or quality. So at this time of year, it's a great adventure for the family to take the Eurostar, ferry or tunnel and head to one of the Northern French towns like Boulogne for some vin chaud and saussison.

While we do have access to the French food and wine in our supermarkets, it's just not the same as buying it directly from the farmers and their families who work the weekend markets in France. Eating some freshly prepared food, snacking on cured meats and sipping vin chaud/champagne, all for just a few Euros, in a beautiful medieval french town square, really makes such a great start to the holiday period.

Mapping It Out

PLANS FOR A PLAN

Creating a route for a planned journey just got really easy. I love Google Maps and have used their maps for years to find locations and for navigation but forgot all about the function of mapping out a route with stops added in and notes overlaid in a format that can be shared, edited and amended by the group who are all included in the trip.

Google Maps Route Planning
Google have an array of great apps at our disposal - Blogger being one of my clear favourites, but their map editing software is a really cool took and likely something that many miss out on.

In just a short space of time, I've been able to create a route that me, my partner and parents can go on to visit/enjoy northern France Christmas Markets trip in mid December. It also means we have full directions on hand, are aware of the distances we travel every day, have interesting stops planned - marking out some key places to visit and options for where we can stop to refresh ourselves at these great festive markets - well in advance of the travel date.

Hola!

VIVA ESPAÑA

Spain is a great country with so many beautiful cities all with an abundance of culture, yet most of us Brits will usually only fly in to an airport near the coast and head straight to the beach.

One such city that I visited recently, Seville, had fine architecture and a vibrant river front full of great bars plus a fantastic food market. Usually, I feel that Spain is a nice place to visit for sunshine and beaches but on this occasion, I could see that Seville as a city could be somewhere I would like to live.

Spain not only has a rich culture steeped in history but the people really know how to enjoy life. The amount of festivals that Spain has on offer, including all those found on the islands, truly is amazing. There's practically a festival or event happening somewhere in Spain every week - and these are just the well known ones. With flight costs being so low, it's now so easy to take a long weekend break to Spain. Plus, with Air BnB, it's also really great value to get some sun, immerse in the culture and enjoy celebrating great food & drink at one of the many festivals throughout the regions of Spain that get overlooked.

Running To – Not Running Away

ESCAPE TO VICTORY

Jonny Bealby's amazing story of travel, book writing and the events that led to him starting up an adventure travel company, all began with a tragedy.

When Jonny was 26, travelling through Kashmir, his life path took an unsuspected turn when his then soulmate/girlfriend died in his arms. Jonny was knocked sideways. So, while all his friends were getting married and embarking on a more conventional path through life, he was off riding solo on a motorbike through Africa.

His adventures across some of the most amazing and hazardous parts of the globe have inspired many others to travel and through investing energy in his travel company, he's found a calling that has brought both fulfilment and success.

In interviews with Jonny, he talks about his adventures and the inspiration taken from his many travels which inspired him to write books and in turn, how writing led on to making a TV show - things he believed, as a dyslexic, he'd never be good at doing. 

All the time he was moving further away from the path his friends were taking. By crossing continents on his own, often through dangerous parts of the world, everyone believed he was running away. And yet, when he returned to Kashmir, the very place forming the start of his altered path, he realised with his newfound success in the adventure travel industry, that he'd been running towards his calling all this time and not away from it.

Taking A Review Of The Positives

A QUESTION OF PERSONAL TASTES

We all have different tastes in what we like and don't like. For certain open minded people (myself included), trying and experiencing new and different things in life is what's enjoyable and doing the same boring thing all the time, not much fun and hence not enjoyable.

On the whole enjoyment scale, there's many shades of grey. For others who have definite tastes, this means their preferences are very black and white. They either like something or they don't - ie, they have very distinct opinions of things that can make them happy and equally make them unhappy....sometimes even really angry. 

I appreciate that there are certain activities or foods etc. that can bring about feelings of great pleasure but I find it so strange that someone can strongly dislike certain things in their life to the point of rage. We're not talking about injustice or corruption here, we're talking about not replacing the soap or the loo roll in the hotel loos and then to tell everyone else about their long whiney opinions via the internet....it all seems such a waste of valuable time.

Yet, if you read through reviews on sites like Trip Advisor, you can see there's hoards of people expending their time - dragging out their misery even further by leaving long negative reviews - mostly on such trivial matters that it boggles the mind at how these people can enjoy anything at all. Why do they do it and do they realise that nobody really cares? We ideally need a filter to switch off all these types of reviewers so we can read the most helpful of reviews.

Thing is....I really like Trip Advisor, mostly because I can read these sad reviews. Although they offer nothing to me for making a decision on staying at a particular place or not, they are entertaining. And, the madder they are, the better it makes me feel about my own judgements and general positive outlook. I know I shouldn't laugh at some of the ridiculous reviews that people write up on their miserable holiday and I really wish I could help them to see how ridiculous they are being about their loo roll not being replaced, but it seems some people thrive on finding problems with even the greatest things in life.

Visiting some of my quirky and most favourite places a couple of weekends ago, I couldn't help but get swept up in some of these miserable people's lives and get dragged down for a while myself. Thankfully, I was able to move to a spot out of earshot and it was there in that moment that I realised how poor a lot of people's lives are. Having one of the most idyllic views in the UK on a beautiful sunny summer's day, with a cold beverage in my hand and the girl I love at my side, I pulled myself back through after being subjected to the negative energy around me.

It struck me at that moment, that I have a duty to speak up for the sane. I just had to put my first review on Trip Advisor to counter the negative reviews. I now vouch to do more positive reviews - giving credit where it's due - to counter the bad reviews, so others may benefit from hearing how a positive life experience should be. 

The Value And Excellence Scale

QUALITY NEEDS VALUES

Revisiting Georgham - another favourite spot in North Devon this week, we were again reminded about the 'UP' and 'UP AND OVER' theory that I proposed at the start of the trip.

On this journey, it's been clearly shown where some places have continued to thrive while others have lost out to complacency. Reliance on previous good ratings must be a common problem for many establishments. If they seemingly drop the ball for even a moment to allow disgruntled customers to leave a low rating on Trip Advisor, it can mean a decline in visitors & revenue - which then has a knock-on effect with the quality of staff employed and further adds to the downfall of a potentially great establishment as they struggle to cope with tired, over-worked, under-qualifies staff. 

We witnessed this effect recently at one place where they clearly failed to appreciate the relevance of leadership - leaving inexperienced staff at the helm in the True Lovers Knot), who didn't pay heed to the small details (bizarrely, replacing loo rolls is high on the list for complaints on Trip Advisor) and lost focus on the fact that the customer is always right. It's amazing what a complimentary desert or drink on the house can do to correct a minor - or even a major niggle - yet this has rarely been offered in the places where I've had to speak up lately.  

It's not just the establishments that fail to recognise leadership and over-delivering on service for retaining happy punters, it can also catch out the long established venues too. So many places think that having good reviews entitles them to hike up the prices. They need to retain a measure of humbleness like Pumblechooks do - a particular favourite of mine in East London, yet they get above themselves time and again. This is a big problem for a lot of places that I've frequented over the years and why very very few stay 'UP' (certainly in my estimations) for very long. 

It's a fine balance giving quality and value at the same time. The Kings Head in Hursley had it but alas, has it no more. But the Kings Arms in Georgham had - and still has it 10 years on. It's a real achievement, even with new management and so many different staff over the years, to retain the core values that mean this place can provide such a high level of quality food & drink. And all delivered with consistently great service at such great value, in comparison to the many other over-priced places around today and likely, not tomorrow. 

Shared Accommodation

A HOME FROM HOME

On a wet and busy Saturday in Cornwall - right in the middle of the summer school holidays, finding a decent, good value place to stay can be difficult to get last minute. That's where my first experience of airbnb came in.

Air BnB is relatively new and the opportunity for us all to discover something a bit different, is now literally right there in the palm of our hands! I look forward to making the most of this power to select great places to stay in the very near future..

BBH - New Zealand
A forum for finding and staying in peoples homes is nothing new, as I recall from my own fantastic experience travelling around New Zealand back in 2000. In 2015, with the internet being so prevalent and easy to find interesting places to stay, BBH still has an extensive listing of quirky places to explore staying at in New Zealand. It's arguably still the most established and largest of it's kind in New Zealand, with carefully chosen, quirky properties to stay at - all graded by the people staying there. With Air BnB now also on offer, this will offer even more chances to find those special places - travelling off the beaten track has never been so exciting.

All in all, I loved my travels back in 2000. it was a great experience that I'd happily take again given the opportunity. Looking back the places I stayed at and seeing them still featured in the top 80-100% top listings, I'm pleased for the owners that they've managed to retain such consistency. The top listing is still at the top even today - that's a real feat! Hopewells, Marlborough Sounds, NZ deserves to be at the top - it was an amazing place.

Make The Last Moments Special

FINISHING ON AN UP

No matter how good an experience is, the lasting memory will always be based on the latter moments from that experience - be that a night out on the town or a week's summer holiday.

If it's just a night out, the final moments can be marred by simply having a poor experience getting home at the end of the evening. But provided the night's been a success in every other way, having a blip at the end merely diminishes a tiny fraction off of an otherwise brilliant time spent in enjoyment and experienced within just very recent memory. But on longer periods like a week, earlier good points will be already diminished in memory over the days that follow and the period of lasting memory will be built up from the later section of the trip.

So if you're planning on doing something on a final night of a trip - make sure it's something really special to better cement the recollection of the entire trip as something you'd want to remember.

Carry on Camping

MOBILE HOME IN A BAG

Taking to the roads this week, we packed the car with our camping gear and headed for some of the most beautiful places in the south coast - Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

No-Go Bongo
The original plan had been to take a trip down to my friend's place and buy his used Bongo Friendee but it had a serious engine problem and meant a costly repair. So, we decided to take our Mercedes for a 900 mile spin and see what adventures we could make for ourselves in this old convertible.

Who needs a camper or caravan when you have a tent?
Overtaking so many caravans and looking at the options for mobile homes - dull looking camp sites with dull looking people staying there too. We opted for the hidden little farms and quirky places with no electric points, hence no RV's - where only a tent could make the most of these gems. So while the weather was mixed and the initial thoughts were for the confines of the pop-up roof of the campervan to make our luxury sleeping quarter, it actually worked out better for many reasons.

It's so easy to pitch up and make a temporary home from a compact folding abode. Buying tents that pitch in minutes, ones that you can stand up in, others with porches, or seating areas and multiple sleeping quarters - all for very little money these days, means the home is where you make it.

Having a few essentials like a decent sleeping bag and the odd luxury like a pillow or blow-up mattress, means the night's sleep can be just as comfortable as back at home. And gone are the days that going camping means packing up the car to the max - because even if there's a bit of equipment required that we don't have, or can't improvise with - an Argos or Halfords is never too far away. And choosing these national outlets mean, should an item not life up to its standards, it can be replaced easily at any branch within a year. Having the tent meant we paid £6 each per night - leaving far more of the budget to spend in the local pubs and fine eateries too.

On The Up

HIDDEN GEMS

If you are looking for a great place to stay and eat while on your travels, some of Britain's history-rich country Inns are arguably amongst the best in the world for offering friendly service, comfortable accommodation and sumptuous fare. 

Driving through quaint villages on medieval coach roads - long since used as major routes and passed over by the masses on busy motorways, these long-standing abodes are the little gems where that bit of magic awaits those who venture out along the roads less travelled. 

The Roads To Discovery

There's something very special about that feeling we get, stumbling across a new place never visited or known about before. Having a 'discovery' moment is up there as one of my greatest feelings as it ignites the adventurer spirit in me. It's not that these ancient places haven't been around for hundreds of years before hand, but the feeling that you've 'found' this special place - a diamond in the rough, a sanctuary for the weary in that time of need - feeds a satisfaction that expectations can never deliver. 

Great Expectations

When something is really good - the hardest thing possible is to keep it consistently up there. Renowned chefs like Gordon Ramsey, who are furiously working at very high levels under close scrutiny, will vouch for this. The fact is, very few can keep to these sustained levels, especially in the food and hospitality industry. There are just too many variables to consider and it's almost impossible to deliver consistently over and over again, keeping everyone happy all of the time. That's why discovery delivers positive results over expectation fro delivery the vast majority of the time. 

Up and over

The places that I consider to be the best - are either those that offer such good value for their modestly understated excellence (like a simple cafe called Pumblechooks in Wapping does consistently well) or those that are working fervently towards it and therefore deserve accolade for their passion attaining it. These are the the 'UP' or the 'ON THE UP' places that we seek. 

Diminishing returns

Because I find the thrill of discovery so rewarding, I refrain from going back to the same places for fear of diminishing a special memory. There's so many new discoveries to be made, why be lazy and relive something that can't possibly deliver the same or better quality as first experienced? 

There are exceptions to the rule however - and these places just have something that much more to give, that they can be visited 2, 3 or more times without losing their appeal - but they are very rare. One such place that we love, is The Kings Arms in Hurley. An Inn located near Winchester, steeped in British history, connected to Cromwell and royalty. 

However, as with many great discoveries, they eventually get discovered by the masses. They peak to greatness and eventually fall to complacency - and hence, the magic inevitably diminishes. It's strange, but you can actually feel the spark has gone the moment you arrive in a diminishing 'UP AND OVER' place, as we did today. Under new management means on this occasion that the person holding the magic has moved on to pastures new. It's saddening but as a chapter closes on this once great place, the quest for discovering an exciting new 'UP' place begins once again. 

Micro climates in Dorset

THE MAGIC OF DORSET

One of the biggest mysteries is how parts of Dorset can have such idyllic weather when all around it is cold and wet. The Square and Compass in Dorset is one of my favourite places to visit and through some strange magic - always seems to be in the sunshine. Can the alleged world domination by the Mason's really extend to controlling the weather too...can't be all bad if you're enjoying a pie and pint at this great British pub.

Road trips

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Taking a ride along roads to places new can be likened to roads of discovery in other areas of our life too. Having time to think as the world passes us - moving away from home, work – leaving our worries behind, allows new thoughts to open up and bring about a freer state of being. This was the idea behind the mind-altering trip that the Merry Pranksters took in their bus way back at the start of the hippy revolution in 1964. Those heady psychedelic days may now be gone, but the open road is still there for another kind of mind-altering trip.

Looking for any evidence to support the happiness I feel when I'm on the road, I can only find religious references. It's interesting that so much is put on discovery of religion but little comes up on self discovery through travel. The closest I have found is through reading The Art of Travel by Alain Botton - although, he ventures further afield to find himself through travel and art. Yet, simply whizzing along in a car is largely overlooked in this profound book for having any life epiphanies take place and it really can be that simple.

When those poor lost souls 'discover' religion, they are moving from their current 'place' or state of mind - where they are weighed down with all their life baggage - to a newer place in their minds where they feel the merits of discovery in the form of religion. It's all merely a state of mind - can't they see that? So, I'd concede that this same baggage-dropping state can equally be found by going on a journey to new places in a car.

The very act of driving means we are constantly in the moment - checking the road situation, reading signs, maps, gauges. It's a form of meditation in itself - especially so on those long trips that demand extended periods of concentration. For a passenger, it's a very confronting state as the responsibility for safety is on the driver. This allows all other thoughts to flow through the mind and this is where we can practice the art of observing these thoughts as they pass in front of us - choosing which ones to listen to and take action on.

This quality time can prove to be the best for making tough life decisions and is a place for coming to the realisation that whatever baggage we've 'left' behind, can even be left behind on our return from being on the road to discovery.

Run For The Hills

THE IDEAL MAN SPA

It's a bit of a generalisation to say that women like to be pampered more than men, but for me, the idea of a spa weekend is not something I'd ever do with a group of male friends. Not to say I don't like a massage or a Jacuzzi - it's just that men don't really know how to really look after themselves in that regard and if they ever do go to a spa - it's not really discussed with their mates. Again, I'm generalising. But....this weekend, I've realised what an ideal spa break for me is. A trip to the mountains for some life-threatening activities, followed by death-cheating celebratory drinking filled with many moments of laughter.

It's amazing how much clarity of thought you can get after really concentrating on not hurting yourself up a mountain - all other worries and concerns are pushed right out of the mind. It's the exhilaration and thrill of doing something potentially dangerous with your friends with a bit of competition thrown in and banter in the pub afterwards that make my man-spa weekends. And for a bit of conventional spa treatment - booking in at a spa hotel like the Grandes Rousses Hotel where we stayed, means theres even a jacuzzi to relax in too.

Making Good Returns

DIMINISHING RETURNS

There's so many great places to explore, new people to meet and exciting experiences of adventure - all out there waiting for that brave step into the unknown. So, why is there ever a need to go back to somewhere we've been before? If the first time was great - will the second time be as good... In my experience - no. It's very hard to live up to the first time so it's better to strive for somewhere new and take the risk. The more we try, the better we see and hence I try and stick to my motto - 'never go back.'

Barceló Illetas Abatros

Sometimes, when something is so good, when a 'go for what you know' is a sure bet - it makes perfect sense to go back. This hotel in Mallorca was just as great this weekend as it was for me two years ago. So the never go back motto now has been modified....The secret to going back now is to have new places to explore as well. That way, if the new doesn't inspire, there's always the known places to enjoy!

Weekend Get Aways

THE PEAK DISTRICT

Being in a major city like London, you have so much entertainment right on the doorstep. Theatre, film, culture and of course great pubs, restaurants and bars to meet with friends and have some fun. However, we have other great places of natural beauty also just on our doorstep. The Peak District can be reached by rail or car and is just a short 3hr journey away. There's great things to do like horse riding, hiking, cycling and nature watching.

The area also has some great pubs with local beers and hearty meals - and what better way to enjoy a pint after a full day's excursion walking or cycling the famous trails around the area than stopping at The Lady Bower Inn which is where we are today after completing a 28mile Ladybower loop on our mountain bikes.

The extra reward at the end of the trail was seeing the sun setting over Derwent Dam, which had a kind of other-worldly glow and gave the illusion of a floating reservoir of water and submersed castle at it's edge. After a heavy 4 hour exertion cycling up and down steep and rocky hills, the pint in the sun at the end was all the more sweeter and my 'fix' for taking on an adventure like this - new places and sites to explore, gave me a satisfaction that a workout in the gym can never compete with and a reminder to get away more at the weekends.

Family Holidays

EASTER BREAK

The first bank holiday of the year - and the longest, is the Easter weekend. It signifies the start of Spring, longer and lighter days and the beginning's of Summer just around the corner. That's why everyone goes crazy! It's a big deal and you have to get it right. A lot of us will have been sun-starved and only just surfacing from the winter cave. If, like me, you've been on special diets and alcohol free for the most part of the year, this is a weekend to let the hair down and indulge yourself. Usually, that's what happens on my bank holiday every year and quite often they will be lost weekends. So, for fear of coming through the fog on the other side, a different weekend awaits this year. A family trip away. What better opportunity to spend a few quality days with loved ones - playing with the kids on the beach, eating ice creams and being merry with a drink or two.

So, it's time to down tools. And that means switching off the phones, leaving email and Facebook status well alone and drawing the focusing towards having fun with the family that will impart special memories the kids can retain for future moments, so they, in turn can take our grand kids to the special places when it's their turn.

Family holidays are a treat for the soul. Make them happen and make them special. It's the best reward you can give yourself, a reality check on life - and will reveal to us what and who are the most important people in our lives.

St Ives

AN ARTIST'S HAVEN

The picturesque seaside town of St Ives in Cornwall was once renowned for it's pilchard fishing and after the pier was constructed, also known for being the largest port on the north coast of Cornwall. Since the late 1800's, this pretty coastal town has became a famous destination for artists.

J M W Turner, was among one of the earliest artists attracted to St Ives by the quality of light, where he famously painted seascapes. The arrival of the railway line in 1877 made St Ives all the more accessible to aspiring artists and became a key destination for the middle classes to set up their holiday homes.

The town saw it's greatest boom for being a trendy destination for hippies, artists and rock 'n' roll jet setters in the 60's but saw a decline in the late 70's through to the 90's, as holiday makers took off for cheaper and the sunnier climates of the Mediterranean resorts. Cornwall has had somewhat of a resurgence over the last decade and returning this Easter weekend, I could see how crazy this town now gets in the summer months.

Happy Memories
My parents have been going to St Ives regularly since 1967. It's where they first went on holiday together and worked for a time over the summer. It's obviously a happy memory and they have a real connection to the town and it's townsfolk, regarding it fondly as a second home.

I've been visiting with my folks on Easter weekends since I can remember and have lots of happy memories of the beautiful beaches, (now very retro) arcades, narrow cobbled lanes and quaint tea & ice cream parlours. Being a graphic designer myself, I can attest to the pleasure St Ives offers those who visit. For a small town with such a rich history in art over the years, it's evident where such energy exists for creatives, and one can easily see first hand, where Turner himself took great inspiration from painting the breathtaking sea views. This has to be one of the most picturesque seaside towns in the UK and it's not surprising that so many holiday makers want to stay there too.

A Destination Of The Heart
Although I love St Ives and I have such fond memories of going there as a kid, I've always reasoned to myself that living here full time would be tough. The winters can be harsh and for a Londoner like myself, I'd likely find the quieter off season months a little too quiet.

However, with Cornwall's general popularity increasing amongst UK holiday makers, potentially due in part to the stronger Euro and family travel costs in general, it feels increasingly as if the holiday makers and new jet set, have taken over the place this Easter. According to the locals I speak to, the spike in visitors are not just isolated to the seasonal summer months these days either. More people are moving to Cornwall permanently and who can blame the! It stands to reason that places which are most popular, will evolve to accommodate the tastes of those investing time/money and it's evident from the many different accents I'm hearing, that foreign holiday makers are also in great appreciation of the seductive Cornish charm.

But still, I can feel the characters and their influences from the 70's and 80's, as well as the general quirky Cornish ways of doing things, are being ebbed away to cater for it's present day tourists and second home investors. Cornwall appears to be changing into a quintessentially British 'theme park' – twee, polished and dressed up in a reflection of the ideal rather opposed to the real. And although this boom for local businesses is a positive sign for growth, observing the overly-large flashy cars crawling in procession through narrow streets and witnessing where snazzy boutique hotels have replaced the wonky B&B's – plus with major high street chains like Pizza Express taking up prominence on the seafront, – could it be paradoxically said that St Ives' new-found success is potentially becoming it's failure too? I personally miss the authenticity from the way it was before, warts and all – change is always difficult to accept.

But who am I to judge, I visit for maybe a week or so per year and I'm just another visitor at the end of the day. Luckily, some things haven't changed at all. Sitting here right now in front of The Sloop Inn, watching the advancing tide and defending my ground against the brazen gulls who swoop in low to retrieve carelessly dropped chips at my feet, I still get a gratifying feeling of being in a special place that eternally remains part of me and me part of it.

Land's End, Cornwall c.1834 – J.M.W. Turner

Update March 2018: 
If you are fortunate enough to visit Cornwall and St Ives, you will appreciate it's inspirational lure for artists and tourists alike. The Tate gallery, St Ives, is the perfect place to view some of the greats and witness their inspiration from the coast first hand. For those wishing to own a piece of art capturing the beautiful Cornish coastal views, great painters and their work can be found here at Artsy. For visitors and residents of Amsterdam, Holland – the Rijksmuseum has an exhibition featuring J.M. W. Turner amongst other great masters: 'High Society' – Four centuries of glamour by the great masters of the history of art, including Cranach, Veronese, Velázquez, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Sargent, Munch and Manet.

Getting Away From It All...

DUBNOBASSWITHMYHEADMAN

Spring is upon us. You can feel the energy coming through from having the longer days. The jumpers are coming off and it's time to come out of the cave again. And it's worth looking farther afield for some inspiration, fun and adventure. Holland is one of my favourite destinations - but usually it's Amsterdam that I head for. However, there's more to be had by looking at some other less well known places too. So, for this weekend, we made a decision to head off for somewhere new and to see Underworld play a gig at the very cool STRP venue in Eindhoven last night. 

They were playing a set to their first album in commemoration of the albums 20th anniversary - Dubnobasswithmyheadman. The gig was cool. I loved this album 20 years ago, and it still has legs even now - hence their European tour. It was great to get away from it all. We could have scrabbled for tickets in any of the British venues where Underworld were playing - but what I got from this experience, is that Europe - and in particular, the Dutch, have got such a great way of doing things. It's a reminder to get away from the UK a bit more and explore some of the other European cities to see what they have to offer...

I made the most of the two days - and the 5am club was adhered to, except it was at the end of the day rather than the beginning. Luckily, the spa, pool and bar in the Pullman hotel were happy places for respite. They have some other cool looking hotels all round the world and they are well worth a visit on the next city adventure...

Travel

EXPERIENCING LIFE

I was talking to someone about travelling last night. Not just a holiday, you understand, but an immersive experience in another country. The type of trip where you've been away from your every day environment for enough time, where you can feel like you've always lived this other life - one of new horizons, adventure and possibilities. A place full of life-enriching experiences. It feels like such an age ago when I travelled to a place like that where I could experience adventure for a decent length of time...

The last time
It was 2007 when my girlfriend and I took a month travelling through Rajasthan & around southern India. We hired the Indian version of Ryan Gosling, our trusty driver in an Austin Cambridge, to take us on a journey of discovery through the northern delights of India through Rajistan. We embarked on a magical trip to catch the Taj Mahal at sunrise, engage in some diamond dealing in Jaipur, camel racing in Pushkar and Tiger hunting in Rantambore. Travelling on the trains down to Goa and riding an Enfield Bullet down through Varkala in Kerala, we really covered some ground in those 4 weeks and complete with bindis, pashminas and the pair of us adorned with Hindu kalava bracelets and other Indian trinkets and jewellery, we found ourselves on a beach at the southern most part of India, Kanyakumari - where the Bay of Bengal, The Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea all meet. A place of spiritual significance and somewhere to watch both the sunrise and sunset over the sea in the same day while contemplating life and the fruits of travel.

Danger travel
After spending four enjoyable weeks with my other half, I then found myself between jobs. I was now getting into the travel mindset, and definitely not wanting to go home at that point. So I decided to extend my trip for another three weeks and travel north to meet a friend in Delhi - where we would then head off to Gulmag in Kashmir for some snowboarding. It was during these last 3 weeks that the real adventure kicked in. Kashmir has been at the centre of struggles between Pakistan and India for many years. There has been much conflict and it's on the FCO (Foreign Commonwealth Office) list of unsafe areas to visit. My friend was held up at gunpoint on a bus when he visited previously in 2000 and likely, only just avoided a hostage attempt by refusing to get off the bus. So, it was a risk going back - and hats off to my friend for taking the second pilgrimage knowing what possibly laid in store again. Kashmir is now more geared up for winter tourism. They have a French-made gondola, which is the highest in the world but it's only recently that they've been making the area safer for more tourism. I hope they haven't taken too much risk away as it's the thrill of surviving a danger trip that fuels the soul and has kept me in good stead since 2007.

No guts no glory
I like to use this saying when there's a risk of losing. I normally use it when playing cards with friends, but it's the same feeling you get when you undertake a risky task that could result in serious injury or even death. Making the decision to come through a war-torn nation to get in some of the best snowboarding in the world at the risk of being hijacked or killed in an avalanche was not really a tough decision for that reason. The attacks in Kashmir have largely been indiscriminate - like lobbing hand grenades on to a crowded bus. The chances of having this happen in London are probably just as high, plus you can get run over crossing the road outside your house. So, it was a decision to take a measured risk of being somewhere remote and therefore tricky to get help if you really needed it. I actually found the people from the region to be extra tolerant, considerate and accommodating. Even the army guys, who were a bit ominous and serious with their Kalashnikovs ready to hand, were helpful when it came to buying beer - selling to us from their own reserves. War is generally not good for business (unless you sell weapons, of course) or conducive to happiness, so things had calmed down considerably since the most recent fighting from 1999 it seemed.

Raja's Tea Hut
The first place we stayed at was a small and hospitable hotel run by a great guy called Raja (pictured below), who is the friendliest and most hospitable ex-mujahideen in Gulmarg (you'd definitely want him as your friend though...). It was in here one night where we were sampling some of the local delicacies with an eclectic mix of people from different religions and backgrounds including a Sikh, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu two Muslims, and Agnostic, a couple of Atheists - all from different backgrounds - that we collectively put the world to rights. That night, in the cold hut, sitting huddled round the Bukhari heater, with my new worldly friends, I truly felt the magic of being a traveller.

Kashmir did feel however, like there were many opportunities to get caught out and come to a grizzly end. On the first day of arriving, we learned that someone had gone out for a hike the previous day and hadn't made it back. A group of us went up the gondola the first day and one guy put a hole in his hip and twisted his knee so bad, he would need surgery. But he wasn't immediately able to get down the mountain again and back to Srinagar for a flight home, because the roads were snowed. So, considering there were only about 30 people in the resort - that's a 1 in 15 chance of serious injury or death just there in the first day!

Riding the deep and fluffy snow, through the trees - all unmarked runs and with no avalanche prevention, all the thoughts of death were outweighed by the sheer exhilaration of being in the mountains. Being amongst just a select group of adventure travellers, I really felt part of a kindred rag-tag bunch and now feel very privileged to have met some of the craziest and greatest guys - those that are willing to go that extra mile, to discover the special places in pursuit of that live-enriching feeling. The thrill of being alive.

The School of Life

LEARNING HOW TO LIVE

It always amazes me when I observe how supposedly intelligent and 'wise' people are doing things that are not beneficial to themselves or anyone else. They're stubbornly stuck in their ways because they truly believe they know what is right - when clearly there are better more beneficial ways to do things...if one looks hard enough. A lot of people chose the easy and lazy option and it seems to be the older, well-educated and outwardly respected folk that get stuck in their ways the most. They don't like to have their thinking challenged and they stop learning & growing as a consequence.

Watching some more of Alain De Botton's short documentaries and reading The Consolations of Philosphy again, I've learned another truth today - we have to understand that failure and hardship are to be embraced as a way to improve ourselves. We should abandon comfort for true fulfilment. Nietzche said, 'That what does not kill me - only makes me stronger'. This is why, I've pushed myself in the gym, when I could have stayed at home - this is why I get out of bed early when I could so easily stay in bed and why I chose to avoid the comfort zone.

Another one of Alain De Botton's projects, The School of Life, has some great courses and a helpful list of good reads for better understanding how to live life. I cycled past it the other day. It's located in one of my most favourite areas of London - Bloomsbury. It's well worth having a look at the website, even if it's just for some reference for what to read. Alain also has his TV documentaries, Ted talks etc. on there too, which you can watch for free. You can learn about another great project Alain's involved with, Living Architecture - where you can book a room at some fantastic properties in the UK.