Antep Living 1.5

Migros grocery shopping in matching shoes at lunch break. I love grocery shopping. It is my hobby alongside knitting, cooking and scrubbing the kitchen clean. 

Quick Berlin Stop

Had a quick work trip to Berlin and went to this uber fancy restaurant - Reinstoff - and had a ten (yes ten!) tasting course menu. I died and went to heaven. 

Gaziantep

My life in the capital of South-East Turkey includes having a really messy work station. I call it dis-organised mess. And the other is consuming a lot of wine while hanging out reading in my bed, especially on rainy, chilly nights. 

18 February 2015

This is the view from my office window - foggy foggy foggy morning. 

Valentine's in Beirut

That V-Day. I gladly took myself to Beirut - the wild child of the Middle East - for some lovin' amongst friends. Bought myself a carved 'Syria' ring from Henry's on Hamra. 

And I absolutely adore the writings on in the hotel room. 

Yoga and Detox in Thailand

It's been a hard and cold month in Gaziantep so I took myself out for some yoga and clean eating in Koh Samui. No meat, no alcohol and no bad eating for a week. The result: a lighter and more balanced version of myself. 

Love is in the Air in Antalya, Turkey

Who doesn't love Paris?

Edinburgh, Scotland

Took us only about 5 hours driving to get to Edinburgh from Nottingham. Yikes. 

Nha Thrang, Vietnam

Everything you need for a perfect day by the beach in Nha Thrang. 

Halong Bay, Vietnam

In Halong Bay searching for the perfect pearl. 

Johannesburg

Dubai Party Plane 2014

One of the things I do well is bringing people together. So I found 10 fun friends and round them out for a weekend trip to Dubai for Easter. The result was a combination of utter mischief, elevation burgers, no-sobrierty, water-park fun and too much laughter. A couple of brawls too, no big deal.

Friday Night Lights

When you live in Sudan, Thursday and Friday nights are pretty much what you spent your week looking forward to. You look forward to kicking back your flip flops, switch your brain off work, enjoy forbidden goodies and simply relax. 

Zanzibar Love

I was blessed to spend a beautiful weekend in this palace, enjoying delicious seafood, snorkelling and being in love. Mushy stuff. 

View from my flat in Khartoum

Lunch time in Khartoum

What do I have for lunch normally?

I used to head out for lunch but this time around after wasting precious money (and waiting in taxis) on eating out, I've become more homely and decided to eat in a lot more. Yesterday my lovely Japanese colleague made me egg and tuna sandwich which was pretty good. I love eggs and I love tuna. And cucumber. 

Lunch options where my office is in downtown Khartoum are extremely limited unless you genuinely enjoy dry bread with falafel/chicken, ful (traditional dish where kidney beans are soaked with oil and cheese) or deep fried fish. Which I honestly don't though the shatta (local chilli paste/sauce) is pretty good. If you ask me, there's really nothing exciting about Sudanese food. 

So I do try and make my own lunch. Usually from last night's leftovers. Last night, I made beef patties - minced meat mixed with onions, garlic, coriander,salt and pepper and a splash of chilli powder. I throw the patties into a cosy nest of lettuce, tomatoes, onions cucumbers and sweetcorn and presto - LUNCH!

When eating Chinese food Khartoum style (or anywhere else)

When in a Chinese restaurant, you cannot just order a few dishes. You need to order as much as you can however many people there are. That's the rule of eating Chinese food. And a word of advice to my Western readers, don't order and eat it for yourself. Share. And you get more out of it. PS: I was so chuffed my Mandarin came in handy, all that months in Beijing totally paid off.

Nampula, Mozambique

After a cold rainy time-out in England, I was all too happy to find myself surrounded by the warm waters of Choca beach in Nampula, Mozambique. My last pit stop before Sudan.

Red Sea, Port Sudan

Red Sea, taken near Port Sudan in January 2013