10 Reasons To Go On Holiday To Jordan

1. 'Welcoming' people who ply you with tea at every opportunity

It's been three weeks since I went to Jordan and I'm pretty sure I left my heart there in an 'I left my heart in San Francisco' kind of way. It was a random holiday I booked after a major work deadline and I only chose the destination because budget airline Easy Jet flies there. After that I picked up a guide book and realised I had made one of the best decisions ever! 
Jordan is surrounded by worryingly political unstable/religious countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria which puts many Westerners off visiting, but it's a country filled with culture which is geared up for tourist trade. It is also one of the friendliest places on planet Earth, every single person I encountered starts, ends and peppers conversations with the word 'welcome'. And if you travel to the deserts in the South you will be offered a delicious, warming sweet herbal tea by everyone you meet. Bedouin guides carry around tea pots and start fires with twigs whenever they fancy a cuppa.
(I'm pictured with Mohammad from Jordan Tracks and Owde from Wadi Rum Rocks)

2. Veggies can feast until they can feast no more on chickpeas

I eat a lot of chickpeas in the UK, I've often thought I could happily live off them, in Jordan I practically did. Humus and falafal were served with every single meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

3. Perfect swimming conditions for people who love swimming but aren't the strongest of swimmers

The aspect I enjoy most about holidays is swimming outdoors. I LOVE it. Literally if nothing else happens, I don't mind, just one dip in a warm sea or outdoor pool makes me forget everything else. This is the gorgeous infinity pool at the Kempinksi Dead Sea Resort hotel, which overlooks the Dead Sea. It was taken early morning, but the beautiful colours were visible all day, I was memserised by the incredible lilac rocks. 

4. The chance to experience your own Indiana Jones moment

This is Petra, a vast archeological site set within an incredible rock valley, where they filmed Indian Jones and the Last Crusade. During the day you'll find camels and donkeys chilling and waiting to transport weary tourists around the major sites. I was there shortly before sunset, by which point other tourists had left. There is nothing fake about this picture, I explored the complex without a single living soul in sight. It was surreal and magical.

5. When the sun shines the colours are beautiful

One of my favourite things in life is colour. It inspires and fuels me every day. The colours I generally observe at home come from clothes, advertising, people and objects but in Jordan the colours were natural. Vivid, bright hues that I could sit and stare at for hours.

6. There are so many opportunities to do something different

On holiday anything is possible. You wouldn't see me horseriding in London but here in Jordan I developed a whole new confidence in riding up extreme cliffs with steep drops even though it was only the 2nd time I'd sat on a horse in my life. I also scaled crazy rock mountains barefooted and snorkelled in deep, wavy conditions.

7. It takes history to another level

See my foot? It's in Jordan. See those people opposite, they are in the West Bank, Palestine, Israel....a completely different country! It is the banks of the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised and where people come from all over the world to get themselved baptised/ or to reconfirm their faith. 

There are strict rules in crossing boarders throughout this region so this sight was incredible and that's before you even remember about the Jesus connection.

8. The capital is filled with creativity

The week I was there coincided with Amman Art Week, an annual celebration of art and artists in the capital. It was a good excuse to see some work by individuals I wouldn't normally get to appreciate. This matchbox installation was part of a wider papercrafts exhibition.

9. You can enjoy 360 degree sunsets all to yourself

In London I usually miss sunset as I'm either still at work (my desk doesn't face any windows) or I'm at the gym so seeing so many jaw droppingly beautiful sunsets was an absolute pleasure. I witnessed sunset every day from different and unique spots but nothing beat enjoying it from the top of a rock in the Wadi Rum desert.

10. You will never, ever get bored

I could go on and on but there is just so much to see and do in Jordan. 

In a week I ticked off the main things like floating in the Dead Sea, snorkelling in the Red Sea, camping in the desert...but there was still so much more (crafting things like watching goat hair weaving and mosaic spotting aside). 

The temperatures were an amazing 36-40 degrees, which doesn't seem as hot when you wear floaty tops and headscarfs. There's lots of air-conditioned places and as long as you constantly drink water you'll survive the heat. 

I absolutely cannot wait to get my photos printed off and put into an album, a great reminder that there is so much more to life that everyday routines.

How to get a new skirt: the cheat's way!

It was love at first sight the I moment I spied this gorgeous floral print cotton fabric in my local haberdashery Roll & Rems. I knew it had to be worn to be celebrated properly, but at the moment I don't have time to make new clothes from scratch. Customising on the other hand is the perfect alternative...

I found a black mini skirt lurking at the back of my wardrobe. I had originally purchased it in a charity shop but have never worn it. I rarely wear black, but I bought it as it was cheap and just incase I ever need a black skirt...(yes that old chestnut!)

I laid the skirt on to the fabric, unzipped the back and tucked the edge over the top hems.

Once this was pinned in place, I folded the fabric in at each side and lined the edges up at either side of the zip so that they would't get caught allowing the zip to still work. 

TOP TIP: Don't pull the fabric across the back too tightly, otherwise you may prevent some of the natural movement of the garment, making it a tighter fit. It's worth trying it on at this stage to check.

I also trimmed off the excess that I didn't need.

Finally, I stitched the fabric in place on my sewing machine. Firstly across the top hem, removing the pins as I went. Then one side of the zip, and then the second, overlapping where both sides met at the bottom, under the zip, so that there was complete coverage  and no black skirt peeping through.

Voila! A completely new skirt in less than 30 minutes. So now I have a gorgeous floral skirt and I still have lots of lovely fabric left...question is, what do I do with the rest of it? Hmmmmm...

Happy Birthday Red Hair and How To Get A Cheap & Chic Hairdo in London

This month I'm celebrating 4 years of being a Redhead. During that time, and infact every week, I still get asked the same questions:

1. Why do you have red hair?

2. How do you do it?

3. Doesn't it cost lots of money?
Well I'm about to answer all three questions. Starting in reverse order:

A cut and colour at a regular hairdressing salon in London will set you back £70+ - if you're heading to a 5 star salon like Toni&Guy, you're looking at £100+.....BUT there are ways to avoid these fees, by giving up 3-4 hours of your time and becoming a hairdressing model - which is what I've been doing for the last decade.

If you're a Londoner, or passing through, you may have stumbled cross this sign on New Oxford Street. Well I can confirm, it's completely genuine, is a very friendly service and worth a try. You normally need to book a week or two in advance but no more, so it's perfect for people who are holidaying in London, as much as it is for locals like myself.
You can have a cut, colour or both and prices range from £5-20 but sometimes they do promotions or check out Gumtree as some of the students often place adverts up there.
So what actually happens? There are two categories : firstly you may be the model for one of the students completing a course at the academy or secondly you will be a demo model where you get your hair done by one of the tutors who teach at the academy who are all Creative Directors - if you model for them, it's free and that's what I do!

Lovely Fabrice who works at the Covent Garden branch has been cutting my hair for about three years while the colour until the end of last year was done by Lindsay Ashton, but she recently moved to the Manchester Academy so I've had some different colour experts dyeing my hair since then - all have been fab! If you demo model you get your hair done on a stage with a small audience, otherwise you'll have a more regular experience of just you and your stylist, but don't worry their work is assessed and over seen by a tutor so you will get the same professional level of service. And you do get a say in the final look.

Demo models get prepped 'backstage. These are the sinks; usually there are three or four demo models at a time.

Here's a sneaky peak at the colour cupboard...so many dyes, not enough time to try them all!

And here's the shoe rack, mainly made up of super high Kurt Geiger heels - if you're a demo modelling you get a full T&G makeover with clothes and shoes to wear!

And here's the stage, see it's not so scary....though I admit I have completely forgotten what a traditional hairdressing experience is like. I'm used to there being people watching me rather than looking in a mirror, infact I can't see the progress at all. I tend to on stage with one look and leave with a whole new style.

The lovely pots of red dye about to go in my hair. Although I tend to keep a whole red head, there are details within it - different shades, often hints of purple or pink.

After the colour it's time to leave the stage and get the heat on for the colour to speed up. It's then washed before returning to the stage to get it cut.

And yes it's one of the rare times I wear black...it's the T&G way, but it's only for a few hours and in exchange I get an amazing brand new hairdo every 8 weeks ....so now you know my secret and why my hair always seems to look different....and it doesn't cost me a penny - yay! But I should admit, although I've mainly been a red head, there have been couple of experimental phases:

There was my brief lilac fling...

and the time I got the Blues.....which I regret not keeping for longer, I loved it!

But alas, I was born to be a redhead (answer to question 1) and that's how I intend to stay for a long time yet!! (There is also the fact my heroine and the girl I aspire to be: Bat Girl has red hair too........)

If anyone out there is contemplating going red or has any questions about getting a cut and/or colour at the T&G Academy then get in touch and I'll do my best to answer. It really is quite an experience and I highly recommend it to someone who wants a good quality haircut, doesn't have the money but can spare the time (you're looking at least 1/2 a day off work.) If you make an appointment it will be with a student, you may become a demo model on the day if the tutor needs one at the last minute, otherwise, most use the same models. When I started, I had my hair cut by students until one day a tutor cut my hair and I stuck with him, mainly because just like your regular hairdresser, he now totally understands my look, face shape etc which means I never have bad hairs days (touch wood.)

The Toni&Guy London Academy needs models Monday-Friday, appointments are normally 10am and 2pm and take about 3 hours. To book, call 0207 836 0606 or visit the branch in person at 71-75 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1DG. There is also a Manchester branch and others around the world.

10 things I love about Kuala Lumpar

During my recent new year expedition to Bali I also spent a long weekend in Kuala Lumpar, one of Asia’s most bustling and modern cities. But while some visitors head to the iconic Petronas Towers I discovered some other remarkable things about the city that will always be dear to my heart.

 1. Monorail

My inner travel geek surfaced as soon as I disembarked from the coach from the airport into town. To get to my accommodation I had to board a monorail and despite the fact it was 11.30pm and I had just spent 15 hours travelling, I could not believe my eyes when I witnessed the sheer beautiful of this incredible feet of engineering. A far superior version of the DLR (which is a driverless railway in London, of which I am a huge fan), these two-carriage trains zip around the city, high above the streets. A kind of Bladerunner meets Gotham City form of transportation with added sunshine (each carriage door has floral glade air fresheners attached), the journeys were smooth, frequent and most pleasurable. 

2. Women only carriages

In fact, I sampled five modes of transport while in KL – local trains, coach, monorail, boat, taxis and the suburban train. One thing I was completely shocked about was the incredibly high standard of the taxis – I’ve never been anywhere in the world where taxi drivers are so friendly and take pride in turning on their meters and as such, the fares are extremely cheap (at most we spent 80p getting between places). But what surprised me the most was the suburban trains. The main platform at Sentral station looks European, the only difference being there are women only benches, positioned directly infront of where the women only carriages are. Yes this may seem like an alien concept to Westerners but I can confirm, women only carriages are clean, well kept, friendly and make you feel special. 

 3. Batu Caves

Wannabe batgirls like me clearly have to visit batcaves from around the world for research and these ones at the edge of the city were no exception. Ignore the various tourist coach trips and organised visits to the site which will set you back £8-12. You can take a train from Sentral station – 30 minutes, dropping you directly outside for just 10p each way. I think this makes it one of the cheapest tourist attractions to visit in the world and it’s free to climb the 272 stairs to the top too. Add to this the fact one of the best places to eat in town is across the road (an ultra cheap Indian restaurant serving up street snacks, thalis and fresh coconuts for a couple of pounds), it makes a dream daytrip. (You need to pay a few more pounds to go deep inside the caves but I skipped that part…I have to save something for next time!)

4. Curry

Everyone I know who has ever been to KL talks about the food and how yummy it is. From all of the different cuisines I tried, the best by far was the Indian curries. They have the best flavours outside of India – fresh, simple and wholesome. This thali style feast served on a banana leaf was a particular highlight. 

 5. Bubble Tea

Bubble tea is a beverage trend currently sweeping the UK and is a cold flavoured tea or milk drink with small chewy balls at the bottom made from tapioca starch. If you loved screwball ice-creams as a child (ice cream that came with bubble gum) you’ll develop an immediate appreciation. Extremely refreshing and fun to drink, the balls can be slurped up with your straw. Most of the time, it’s a surprise as you don’t quite know when one will pop up. I’ve not tried any of the London cafes yet, but I’m told Bubbleology is the place to go!

6. T-shirts

 Despite the plethora of shopping malls containing miles of clothing shops, I couldn’t buy any as the sizes were so small. I’m quite petite in terms of the UK but clearly a giant in Asia; everything was teeny! Apart from the t-shirts…there were so many incredible designs. I wanted to photograph them all but after I shot this one, the shop assistant told me off and said I couldn’t take any more photos! 

7. Rainy day devices

Speaking of quirky design, someone really ought to import these handy devices into the UK – umbrella hats as worn by children sitting at the back of bicycles to keep their heads dry and modelled here by my travelling partner Janine. 

8. Sunday night market

Sunday markets in the UK are about waking up at 6am to get to a car boot sale. In KL Sunday markets are slightly more sociable, opening from 4pm until the early hours. So while we are at home chillaxing on a Sunday night ahead of the dreaded Monday morning, things are buzzing in Bansar Village. It’s the place to stock up on your essentials and fresh fruit and veg. The one stall that particularly caught my eye was serving sweet steamed dumplings topped with coconut; a dish I haven’t tried for over a decade. They were a speciality my mum used to make, on rare occasions as they were so labour intensive. She ground the flour, had the filling shipped over from Bangladesh and spent hours steaming them inside cloth. My dad and his best friend were the number one fans. Seeing and eating them made me feel incredibly comforted. 

9. A,b,c dessert

As a connoisseur of puddings, nothing could have prepared me for the Malaysian signature dish of A, B, C – Air Batur Campur translated as mixed ice. It’s so advanced even Heston Blumenthal couldn’t come up with something this peculiar. It consists of a tower of shaved ice with different toppings, the most common being red beans, grass jelly and sweet corn. Never, ever have I tasted anything like it…nothing comes close to the sensations you experience when sampling this most bizarre of concoctions. It sounds straight forward, but look at this picture and imagine mixing it all together into a complete mess – that’s how you eat it. The taste sensations are unexpected – smooth, creamy, milky, refreshing – all these things excite your tongue and then you realise the reality, you are eating sweetcorn….in a dessert. Though I consider myself an adventurous eater and though I loved the dessert I still cannot get over the fact the dish contains sweetcorn – something normally eaten with tuna in sandwiches, grilled on bbqs, served with chicken at fast food stores and here it was for dessert. The texture just felt so wrong. I would have this again but I’m not sure I could do it with the yellow stuff included! 

 

 10. Britpop

Call me naïve but I always thought Britpop was a mid 90s music scene that only stretched as far as British shores. There was the occasional band that made it to America (sadly this ended the career for some bands like the Longpigs) but I had no idea is was a scene that was still big in Asia. There’s me getting on down at Nuisance club, the 3^rd Friday of every month in Camden, Londinium, while KL has a Britpop clubnight every Friday night thanks to this fine DJ on right (my friend’s boyfriend, she’s Lee, pictured next to him and they live in KL.) Added to this the fact many Britpop bands have been to KL (Lee’s boyfriend was the official guide for Super Furry Animals and Mogwai when they visited the city), it’s clearly a city I could easily make my home.