Happy Birthday Miss Sutcliffe

Luna2 Studios, Seminyak

The first day of our internship in Bali entailed lunchtime super-smoothies by the pool, watching the sunset with the company of a Mojito and over eating a five-course (saw off Lex’s pudding too didn’t I…) meal of Lobster bisque, seared scallops and pork cheek, Mahi-Mahi served with caviar and a flaming baked Alaska. All on the house of course. I don’t know who me and Lex thought we were calling each other from adjoining rooms to discuss the bubble bath menu and what we were going to watch whilst we were IN our Philippe Starck bathtubs. Harry Potter was the overriding favourite. Couple of Porn star Martini’s later we were out for the count in our king-size beds. A stack of legendry caramelized banana pancakes set me up for our first day at HQ. First impression alone, loving Luna2…

After a really tough 3 day week at Luna2..

Over the bank holiday weekend, celebrating the end of Ramadan, we beach crawled from Padang Padang to Dream land to Jimbaran. Padang Padang was hosting the annual Rip curl cup so was heaving! We joined the hundreds and hundreds of surfers piling down the cliff creeks onto the white sandy beach, trying our hardest to blend in with sun-kissed, bleach blond surfer chicks… However Jamie gave us away with his factor 30 and preference to the shade. There is not a lot to say about Dream land other than that it is not worth the detour through acres and acres of half constructed golf resorts. We raced to Jimbaran beach for a sunset- Bintang session. Jimbaran beach is cocooned by a vibrant stretch of fish restaurants. We were spoilt for choice and had no recommendations, other than to buy a chili-butter corn on the cob from a local beach-vender whilst you wait- so went with our gut instinct/favourite table cloths and picked Warung Ganesha. You order by the KG, pick your own fish and 20 minutes later your eating red Snapper, which has leaped 5 meters on to your plate, like a king! It’s very grounding to think that at 7pm, almost exactly 8 years to this day, 20 people were killed on these sandy beaches and in busy-hedonistic Kuta, the two sites targeted by the terrorist networkJemaah Islamiah. Harrowing as that fact is, it’s inspiring to see how Bali has moved on and how Jimbaran’s has been restored to the fish’n’corn-on-the-cob lover’s haven it’s always been!

Honeymoon-ing on Seminyak beach, Bali

How to deal with Post-Graduate Depression

Step 1. Go traveling. I was the last person to pack their bags up and buy an around the world ticket. I wouldn’t say I’m a work-a-holic but I do swear by keeping a diary and I have had a hefty selection of jobs in all my 21 years.  I want to graduate and get on that property ladder. Quote-un-quote. However as the prospect of unemployment became an immediate reality and exam-period boredom let my imagination drift a little further than endless graduate job applications, when Alexa planted the seed of going traveling together until Christmas in a dreary student travel agency in Newcastle, there was no chance in hell I was saying no.