2L Travel Blog!

'You can’t build a house on sand' , they say, so how about building a series of 5 star luxury hotels on sand islands artificially reclaimed from the sea!   Well that’s exactly what they did to create the Palm Islands of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira off the Persian Gulf coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I’m not totally sure how we ended up here on vacation because we were trying to decide whether to go for a city break or a beach-based adventure holiday.   However, after a lot or research, we decided that Dubai offered us all of the above.   We therefore booked a 5-night trip in April, staying at the 5 Star Fairmont Palm Hotel ( https://www.fairmont.com/palm-dubai/ ) on Palm Jumeirah. Getting there was fairly easy with direct flights from the UK taking around 7½ hours.   We flew with Emirates Airlines and would definitely recommend them, as the quality and service was as good as we’ve ever experienced.   We’d al...

I’ve travelled the world for many years with my daughter, experiencing European culture, American hospitality, Middle Eastern luxury and Asian adventures.   However, we had both always expressed a longing desire to experience the ultimate experience of a trip to the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives. I’ll be honest and admit that the expected high cost was one of the reasons this hadn’t been researched further.   Another potential concern was ending up on an over-commercialised island resort that had been created purely to provide 5 Star Luxury Spa experiences for pampered guests, rather than the authentic, back-to-nature experience we were seeking. However, after months of research and review reading, we eventually found an island that ticked all of the boxes and was within our budget, for a 10 day trip in May.   This turned out to be the 3 Star Embudu Village Resort ( http://embuduvillage.com/ ) on the South Male Atoll. Embudu Village is a very small island,...

"Do you mind if I take a picture with you?", I asked a Chicago police officer as I approached her wearing nothing but a pair of bike shoes.  She was more than happy to oblige.  Normally, standing outside in the middle of downtown Chicago completely naked would quickly result in a trip to jail and a pretty massive fine.  But not that night.  That's because I had decided to join thousands of other people to participate in the World Naked Bike Ride, which is an annual event that's exactly what it sounds like: large groups of people riding bicycles through the streets of major cities around the world naked.   The purpose of the ride is twofold: to send a message about having a positive body image and also to protest society's reliance on oil.  In addition to cyclists, there are also runners, skateboarders, roller-skaters and people using a variety of other forms of transportation to complete the 14 mile course (the only rule is that your ...

I've always tried to seek out the most interesting places in the world to run. So I couldn't resist signing up for Mayor's  Midnight  Sun Half Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska.  This race is during Summer Solstice weekend when there's almost 24 hours of daylight in Anchorage and the post race party is an all night long street fest with music, food, drinks and dancing and the sun never goes down. I would say that the party goes until the sun comes up, except that it never actually sets. My friend Alfred and I spent a few months planning our trip and when race weekend finally arrived, I flew five hours from Chicago to Seattle and then another four from Seattle to Anchorage. My flight landed sometime in the middle of the night but since the sun was still up, I had no idea what time it was. My sleeping patterns were a bit off for the rest of the trip because of the constant daylight but I didn't mind. Something I found to be pleasantly surprising about Anchora...