Well, 2024 was a trip! And my travel experiences were pretty crazy too… (boom boom).
I started out the year with a plan: to gift myself a ‘mini monthly travel moment’. Some downtime, an excuse for an adventure… something to look forward to every few weeks. But, like all good New Year’s resolutions, I abandoned that idea by the end of February. When I was scribbling in my diary back on 1 Jan 2024, how could I have known that my year of staycations and minibreaks would end in the Maldives? Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself…
January travel: Start with a staycation. Again.
As I said, I started with good intentions. My ‘mini monthly travel moment’ for January was a DIY wellness staycation on a budget of £100 – well as close as I could get to that in London. I chose the Aloft London Excel because it fit the budget brief and, with its gym and pool facilities, I could happily get my wellness on too. I loaded up my bag with beauty products that I’ve been hoarding but never opened, a scented candle and a lot of good intentions, and traveled to the ass-end of the DLR to check in for the night.
Functional rather than fancy (seriously – at what price point does a girl qualify for a robe and slippers?!), it was a good place to have a decent workout followed by a session in the steam room. Then back to the room to drown myself in products before jumping into my very comfy bed with a grab bag of Hula Hoops, a mini bottle of Prosecco and the Reacher finale on Prime.
‘Decent’ was my final verdict. Nice, but…underwhelming? A good start, though.
February travel: finding my ‘Tribe’
Onto February, and onto round two of my ‘mini monthly travel moment’ quest. Upping the glam stakes a little, I headed down the Jubilee Line to TRIBE London. Never head of the brand before, but they have independent roots and was pleased to find out they have links to the owners of the Hoxton and Mama Shelter hotels – both of which I love. Also pleased when I saw the price. Room was tiny (I always book the cheapest) but the hotel was lovely. It was on a new bit of Canary Wharf that I had never visited before – Wood Wharf. Riverside, very neighbourhoody – if you can afford the multi-millions it would take to live here – with a ton of bars and restaurants on the doorstep.
I particularly liked the California-cool of the hotel bar/restaurant Feels Like June (great cocktails – you know I know these things) and also The Lowback Bar, underneath the Hawskmoor restaurant and literally on – or in? – the river. Another great cocktail list and an epic mac and cheese to boot.
I earned my treats by spending 3 whole hours in the ridiculous Third Space health club. This is the kind of place that charges £3k a year just to walk in the door, so I was grateful for the £20 discount day pass I was able to purchase via the hotel, and the chance to get my money’s worth. Lushest gym I’ve ever been to, btw, and my skin and hair really appreciated that steam room. Perfection.
Other than that, I didn’t do a whole lot. I watched Past Lives on Netflix ,wandered around The Wharf to get my steps in, hunted unsuccessfully for white creme eggs (sold out everywhere). I just…relaxed. Which is what it is all about, after all.
April and May: around the world in 8 day(s)
Yeah, so…the wheels came off around about March. My ‘mini monthly travel moment’ quest failed miserably. Not because I didn’t want to take trips – hell no! But because I realised that trying to plan many little things, even on a tight budget, was costing me way more cash than booking a big thing.
So I booked a big thing.
Last year, a booked a very special travel bucket list flight and used it as an opportunity to go on a manic adventure taking in Oman, The Philippines, Singapore and New York. Loved it so much, figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Until I was back browsing my plane geek forums (like an addict) and found the same flight. It was in reverse this time (JFK – SIN), not business class, unfortunately, but it was an absolute steal. Clearly, it was a sign.
It was the end of the financial year, I had a week if annual leave to burn… time to plan another travel adventure!
New York
If you’ve been paying attention, you’d know I was just here in October 2023. Though it is one of my fave cities, as I only had a ten hour layover, I wasn’t too bothered about heading into town. Instead I ‘invested’ in a ‘daytripper’ stay at The TWA Hotel for a travel bucket list-level day feeding my inner plane geek.
Originally built as the TWA Flight Centre at JFK (then Idlewild) Airport, the iconic building was converted to a hotel that opened in 2019. Preserving many original features and sixties vibes, you can stay in a room facing the runway, plane-spot from the rooftop infinity pool, go full Mad Men day-drinking in one of the many bars or even check out the various museum exhibits.
My faves? The pool, obvs. What a view – though I had to fight to snag a sunbed. My room was great – very minimalist cool white with the signature TWA-red accents. A classic sixties minibar and rotary phone were nice touches and, though I didn’t get a runway view, I could still watch planes take off from the massive bed facing huge glass feature windows. Loved the kitschy pink beauty salon (just for pics!), the classic flip-flap departure boards and, best of all, The Connie cocktail lounge. Parked out front, an old Lockheed Constellation converted to a bar. Loaded with original features, they even have uniformed staff on hand to shake your Mile-high Margaritas. Fab.
Only a short stay, but a perfect place to shower and chill before the next stage on my very long, very random journey…
Travel round the world – the other way
Also known as ‘the longest flight in the world: the remix’. Nobody believes me when I say I sat on a plane for 18 hours and 40 minutes and loved it so much that I did it all over again – without the lie-flat bed.
Surprised that this flight from JFK to Singapore was longer, and that we flew East rather than West (last time flew over the pacific so got to claim my ‘round the world’ bragging rights), but another great flight.
Caught up on the rest of of my Awards season films, ate myself silly – I had to turn down food they offered me so much of it – and even managed to ask the cabin crew to make me a signature Singapore Sling to enjoy halfway (full disclosure: have never liked them – way too sweet. Did it for the flex).
And yes, the delicate little snowflake that I am survived just fine without a flat bed. Had the best seat mate – a lady from Singapore. We coordinated loo and exercise breaks so we wouldn’t disturb each other. I rolled out my sexy compression socks and did a full on Peloton barre class outside the galley mid-flight, grande pliés and all. Not even a little bit embarrassed.
Despite losing an entire day of my life (took off Sunday night, landed Tuesday morning – who likes Mondays anyway?!) to travel, loved it, loved it. Don’t be surprised if I do it again (spoiler alert: I’m booked for February 2025…).
Kuala Lumpur 1.0
After a super-speedy stop in Singapore, I flew Singapore Air’s less glam little sister Scoot to Kuala Lumpur.
This was the first of two trips to the Malaysian capital and, as it was only for one night, I treated myself to a room at the Traders Hotel. Slap bang in the city centre, I got a bargain rate for a room on the 31st floor directly facing the iconic Petronas Towers. Baller.
My sightseeing fell casualty to the weather, so I had to make do with hanging out in the club lounge drinking free wine and scoffing a complimentary afternoon tea. Poor me. However, the rain cleared up and, because I have a spidey-sense for cocktails, my first night in town coincided with the last night of KL Cocktail Week. Coincidence, I promise! So, I headed over to The Four Seasons to check out some events.
Started in Bar Trigona where Singapore’s Employees Only had a takeover. Beautiful bar, beautiful cocktails, beautiful people – including those who helped me with recommendations for the rest of my trip starting with a trip upstairs to Vér bar. Another takeover, this time by Sidecar from New Delhi who like Trigona and Employees Only have spots on the Word’s 50 Best Bars lists. More good cocktails, more great service.
Definitely needed my mega buffet brekkie the next morning, especially as the next leg of my trip involved a 5-hour bus ride…
Penang
About five hours travel north of KL by road lies the Unesco World Heritage city of George Town . Bit of a culture shock at first. The city was a lot rougher round the edges than I had expected. Beautiful historic buildings, yes, but most were in a state of disrepair and the pavements were a little…hazardous? Cracked slabs, open drains and lots trash. But once I’d checked into my very bijoux room at my cute boutique hotel set in a semi-converted shophouse- then dragged myself out to explore – it started to grow on me. Then I fell for it pretty hard,
.
Being a cringe tourist, I decided to get the lay of the land via a bicycle-powered trishaw tour. The drivers were all parked up near the end of my road – Muntri Street, so I was able to negotiate (badly – I definitely overpaid, but it’s all relative) an hour’s tour to check out the town and see some of the famed Penang street art . There are lots of incredible mixed media murals dotted about town like the best kind of open-air gallery and you can easily snag a map to seek them out yourself – or like me, find a friendly driver who knows where all the best pieces are hiding.
As a bonus, we stopped for me to have a stroll through Chew Jetty , one of the historic clan jetties, overwater villages of wooden houses on stilts. They were originally built by Chinese immigrants in the 19th Century and are still inhabited to this day – though with probably a few more souvenir shops and food stalls than way back when.
For about £12 quid, it was a great way to get my bearings as a solo traveller. Went out around 5pm to avoid the heat of the day (and to be fair to the driver who had to haul my butt around town), which meant I was back just in time to head out for cocktails. No matter the city, I’ll never change…
My second day in started with a tour of the iconic Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion just down the road from my hotel. Also know as The Blue Mansion, it was built by a 19th century Chinese businessman as his home and office. It was also home to his favoured 7th wife (must have really sucked to be one of the others) and, after falling in to disrepair, was beautifully restored in the nineties, kicking off a bit of an architectural renaissance in Penang. Stunning building, it’s worth catching the guided tour – and sticking around for a cocktail after.
Hidden among the old shophouses in various stages of restoration, you will find so many boutique hotels, cute shops and cool design cafes, like Higher Ground where I grabbed an iced coffee post-mansion or Hanakoya Flower Café, a flower shop-cum-cafe where I had an IG-worthy breakfast the next morning. These places are nowhere, then everywhere – such an amazing place to explore.
Because it was my only chance to see the sea in this trip, I grabbed a Grab to travel to Batu Ferringhi to chill by the beach and catch the sunset. The beach bar was mid, the cocktails radioactive – but the views were incredible. I called it a win.
In search of better quality booze, I headed back into town to try three of the bars from the list I’d been given in KL. Backdoor Bodega , Good Friends Club and No Bar Here were all pretty much next door to each other and nothing short of world class. In Penang? Who knew?! First person I ran into in Backdoor Bodega was my awesome tour buddy from the Blue Mansion and her lovely group of mates. Then I met a bunch more peeps at the bar. There were shots. Worked out that one of the guys knew one of the guys I’d met in KL. More shots. Drank my fave cocktail in Malaysia (Sticky Rice and Mango ). Carried on the crawl. More people. More drinks. More laughs. Good vibes.
Woke up with a headache ready for a ferry and a four hour train back to KL. Good times.
Kuala Lumpur 2.0
Heading back to KL, I had to navigate a taxi dropping me at the wrong port (my fault), a half mile walk in the heat, a ferry, 5 hours on a train that was not the platinum service I’d seen on YouTube, 2 metros and getting lost in a mall looking for my hostel. Standard travel day.
Luckily, my Chinatown bar crawl with Efmike was a lot more straightforward. Booked via Airbnb Experiences , he took our group to a list of cool spots that I would NEVER have found by myself, dropping some local knowledge and a bit of history along the way. 10 of us made it to The Attic bar, Kapitan Haus, Her House and Rimbar with a few survivors orchestrating the carry-on to Concubine and Trec. I think I got back about 3. I blame the shots…
On my first KL stop, a monsoon scuppered my sightseeing plans. This time, it was almost the hangover that got me, but I dragged myself to a Grab to travel to Batu Caves. Top tip: go early. On a Saturday afternoon it is CRAZY busy, but I was still able to climb the steps and explore the stunning cave and Hindu Temple complex with a few thousand of my closest friends.
Once fed, for my last night in Malaysia, I wanted to try a rooftop bar (a bar? Never!) and, because it was the highest, Vertigo topped my tall list. On floors 59 & 60 of the Banyan Tree hotel , the views were insane and, my lemongrass caipirinha was so good I had two (last night…).
Doha
Was a bit uneasy about stopping in Qatar given upon whose backs it was built. However, it was the cheapest way home, gave me another chance to fly my fave A380 and Qatar Airways has a stopover programme that makes it cheap to stick around- even if only for 20 hours, like me.
My hotel, the super glam Mondrian, was GORGEOUS. My room was flawless. Also huge (big contrast to my capsule hostel the night before) and complete with an expansive view of West Bay and a yum plate of welcome chocs. The bathroom was bigger than my flat and had a shower AND a bath with its own chandelier. The hotel was full of cool spaces and sexy design features – and the staff were lovely too, giving me tours of the bars, the gym and the most beautiful spa I’ve ever seen. Seriously.
When I finally dragged myself out, I ubered (cheap in Doha) to Qanat Qartier to wander around a super fake Venice-inspired development (pretty, but why?!), then on to The Ned for a Picante. So freaky, it’s almost a carbon copy of the one in London.
Took an evening walk the mile or so along the corniche to Souq Waqif , which was nice for views. The souk was busy – it had been heavily modernised so not like any I’d visited before- buzzing with people and had loads of places to eat and shop. Fun place to spend an evening stuffing my face with baklava.
Back at the hotel, I checked out the patio bar Walima and the sexy cigar spot Smoke and Mirrors for some fab pre-bed cocktails and to reflect on another great trip well done. Whose idea was it to book an 8am flight?!!
August travel: Olympic antics
After days of watching diving, rowing, swimming and loads of random sports that I hadn’t given the time of day since…well, the last Olympics, I decided spontaneously that I should be there too (watching, not competing obvs.). I refreshed the resale page a billion times to snag the cheapest tickets to the my fave -the athletics. Last minute flights and Eurostars were criminally expensive, so I bit the bullet and booked a Flixbus to travel to Paris for a ‘day trip’ with overnights either side to save cash. Crazy, yes, but definitely not the first time I’ve done this…
Worth it? Well, I got to watch the men’s marathon up-close and personal and for free . I got to see the final night of track and field, including an epic women’s 1500m final, a jump-off in the men’s high jump and Team GB bronzes in both 4x400m relays. I also got to soak up both the sun and the general Olympic vibes in a city that was nowhere near as busy as you’d think. And there was the rosé, of course.
Epic travel adventure, would definitely do it again. Maybe with a few weeks of training beforehand, yeah?
September travel: birthday, beaches and Bangkok
Travelling over my birthday has become a bit of a tradition. Usually I make a quick over to Ibiza for the weekend, but as even spending 24 hours on the White Isle is now so crazy expensive, I fancied a change. And better value for my money. So I went to the Maldives.
No, wait…hear me out!
I was doing my usual thing, trawling aviation forums and deal sites looking for travel inspiration, when I spotted an insane offer. One way, on Etihad, Malaga to Male for €162. The best kind of madness.
I walked away, then took a second look, then walked away again. Then took a third look, eventually crunching some numbers and realising I could make it work. With a combination of paid deals and reward flights, I was able to build another of my famous adventures, travelling back via Singapore and Istanbul, with a stopover in Bangkok in the middle. Obviously…
Onto my second big trip of the year!
Nooe Resort, Maldives
Can’t say I wasn’t a little bit apprehensive travelling solo to what is usually considered a honeymoon destination, but one of the few things I love more than travel is a bargain. Aside from my bargain flights, September is the tail end of the low season so I also got to stay at a bougie boutique 5* resort at a seriously discounted rate. Because I’m worth it.
Tbh, only looked at 5 stars as I was seeing upgrades & 50%+ discounts all over. Don’t get too carried away as you have to factor in how to get to the one island you have chosen out of 1,192. The distance between the furthest atolls is over 500miles and, much as I’d love to flex with a seaplane, those prices are extortionate every season.
Instead, I chose beautiful, boutiquey Nooe resort on Kunaavashi , a much cheaper 70 min speedboat ride from the airport. Even pinching pennies, I was able to snag an absolute stunner of a sunset villa, right on the beach, steps from the house reef. The island itself was small – nothing like the ‘big’ resorts where you need a golf cart to get around – but perfectly formed. It’d probably take you about 10 minutes to do the tour, but they still found space for bars and restaurants, a spa, water sports, a gym, an infinity pool…and a load of overwater bungalows that I definitely couldn’t afford.
I spent 3 days kayaking, snorkelling, lounging by the pool and downing happy hour cocktails at the bar. Oh, and lots of full-on relaxation. Bliss.
Off season, with fewer guests, half the restaurants were closed. Food is pricey – they have to ship everything in – so though I treated myself to a fantastic Teppanyaki on my b-day, day 2 saw my broke ass munching leftover cake for dinner because I couldn’t afford the BBQ. Sad!
.Everything was new and spotless, the staff were amazing – never told them it was my bday, they saw it on my passport and sorted out treats! – the vibe was barefoot and chill. Even the other guests were nice peeps.
So sad to leave, 100% recommend. But next stop…
Dhiffushi island, Maldives
After 3 days at a very beautiful resort, it was time to drag myself back to the reality that I am, at heart, a budget traveller.
“But I’m in the Maldives!”, I whined (I do that a lot…), “there’s no such thing as BUDGET!!!”.
Oh yes there is…
If you stay in the bubble of international 5-star resorts , sea plane transfers and all-inclusive meals, you’ll drop a fortune. And tbh, once you leave the airport, you could be on any random paradise island on the planet.
.
However, with a little bit of research, I learned about ‘local islands’. Rather than privately ‘owned’ by resorts, these are inhabited by Maldivians who (only) since 2009 have been able to claim some of the tourism market from the multinationals and open guest houses, restaurants, watersports centres etc. and generate income . This means tourism that is perhaps a little more responsible, that puts money directly into the pockets of the communities, and is also super affordable.
Based on reviews, I chose Dhiffushi . You get the same white sand, the same blue sea, the same sunshine…from about £30 a night. I did an incredible dolphin cruise for about a third of the price the resorts were asking. Delicious restaurant meals? £6-7.
Ok. The beaches are not as manicured. You will see some rubbish and there are no staff assigned to spray for mozzies every night. Guest houses are more basic, but at my place the Portia Hotel and Spa they did try to add a touch of design – and the hospitality was great. You also have to be incredibly respectful of the local culture (as you should anyway). The Maldives are 100% Muslim. There is no alcohol outside of the resorts and, if you want to hang out in swimwear, you are restricted to the tourist bikini beaches. Male or female, you just can’t walk the streets half-dressed, people live here.
Small price to pay. I loved the vibe and people I chatted to were doing a whole island-hopping thing, using speedboats and local ferries to jump between local islands. I could definitely see myself doing that.
Maldives on a budget? HELL YES.
One night in Bangkok
I’ve been to Bangkok before. In fact, as part of my big Asia-Australia trip, I ended up staying in 4 different hostels and guesthouses as I popped in and out of the city between visits to the Thai islands and Laos. So, I’d had the chance to explore the city, several of the temples and historical sites, even experience the delights of the Khaosan Road. But that was more than 10 years ago, and places can change so quickly. I only had a couple of days before I had to be back at work so, not really enough time to explore someone new, but definitely enough time to drop in on an old friend.
I found a great deal at the W in Silom ( I was inspired by my stay at the Traders and motivated by the promise of a humongous buffet spread at breakfast, don’t @ me). The package included breakfast, set lunch at the onsite heritage mansion The House on Sathorn, 2 hours of bottomless cocktails in the bar and tickets to the Mahanakhon Skywalk. Also, perfect for a lazy cow with a late flight , 3pm checkout. `Nice staff, really fun space – though a little to pleased with itself in places. And yay for the brekkie.
Outside of the hotel, I went for a wander, then indulged in what I do best: cocktails. One on the 78th floor of the Mahanakhon tower, one in Soho House and one in the BKK Social Club – best bar in Bangkok, according to World’s 50 Best Bars.
And with that last drink, it was back to the airport for 3 flights, 2 layovers and home.
Now, where are we going in 2025?
