So Suraj and I have had a difficult year. Nothing traumatic but we needed to getaway. So far some of the huge things that have happened are: -

Got married – this is not part one of a list of things that are difficult by the way

Changes in living arrangements

Learning to live together

Playing a large part in a big wedding within our immediate family

Changes in employment

Changes in management at work

Health issues

Members of our extended family being unwell

Multiple deaths in our extended family

& more

So anyway, with all of this going on we wanted a break. We couldn’t find anything that fitted in around the dates when we were available which didn’t cost heaps.

Finally, we found a city break deal with Easyjet.

So off we went to Marrakech! We got there and it was nice and warm! A great thing to feel straight away! Well, for me anyway

As Suraj has written in his post, it was good that he’d found out how much we needed to pay the taxi to get to the hotel as a driver tried to con us. So we got to the hotel, which was called the Dellarosa, and it was great! In terms of the room, the personal service, the extra bits provided as part of our stay and the food; it was great!

So on our first day we ventured into the Djamaa El Fna, the square. It was busy in terms of how much there was going on but it was great. There were food stalls, places selling clothes, jewellery, ornaments & more, as well as, ladies doing Mehendhi/Henna. We also checked out the Soukhs. Definitely worth a trip there.

While we were in the area we went to a place called Earth Cafe. Suraj found it on the internet and was keen to take me there as they serve many vegan options. The food was delicious!

When Suraj and I went to St. Lucia we played drafts together and developed the urge to play different board games together. We’ve got a few since then and Suraj and I have started to take them with us to play on the tube, train, plane, at cafes etc. We took one of our new games called Chaos to Earth Cafe. The photo shows you who won. The aim of the game is to get rid of all your pieces first.

We did a lot of chilling out and playing games at the bar. I’ll tell you more about what we got up to at the bar later.

So what else did we do? We did some touristy stuff. We went to see the Ben Youssef Medrassa, the Almoravid Koubba and the Mnebhi Palace & Musee de Marrakech. I definitely think it’s worth going. It was beautiful. Here are some of the photos we took: -

The walk to the Djamaa El Fna or the Soukhs is about 15/20 minutes. On the way back to the hotel we were lucky enough to see the sun setting. It was gorgeous!

Finally, in terms of excursions, we went to the Ourika Valley Waterfall. I’ve never seen a waterfall before. It was such a nice surprise.

Check out the footbridge below.

We saw this village on the way there. Timeless!

Now I said I’d tell you about what else we got up to in the bar didn’t I? Well…Suraj did something he’s not done before. He serenaded me. Another surprise! And not just once either! Sometimes he sang alone and at others times the group of musicians who were there each night, joined in with him. It was really nice to witness him doing it and see how it made him feel. It goes without saying; it was amazing to be sung to as well!

So we got married as you can see from the photos below. After that I had NO idea what was going to happen!

So we got married and then we moved in together over the 23rd and 24th of December. On Christmas Day we spent time with my gran, mum, two aunts, an uncle and my cousin. Following this treat we went to Suraj’s aunt’s place and hung out with most of Suraj’s mum’s family. It was a big affair so I won’t list them all.

Suraj told me we were going somewhere hot on Boxing Day. He told me to pack some dressy clothes as well as beach clothes. That was all I knew.

So we drove to Gatwick the next day and we got on a plane. At Gatwick the screen said St. Lucia but I didn’t know if we were going there or somewhere other place after landing there so I maintained an ‘I don’t know where I’m going’ mindset.

We got to St. Lucia airport and it was amazing! I am referring to the heat! It was so nice! Anyway, Suraj was then stalling. He wanted to go and enquire about something but he didn’t want me to see so I had to face the other way. It all added to the suspense. After that we were asked to stand in a particular place but I still wasn’t sure what was happening. I then found out that we were going in a helicopter! The road to the hotel would be quite long and bumpy so to ensure that the very beginning of our honeymoon was ‘wow’ and pleasant; Suraj booked a helicopter to take us there. It was SO cool!

So we got to the hotel and were greeted with champagne. The staff were so helpful and friendly. They made everything easy so that we could be and remain carefree. We stayed at the Rendezvous. I would recommend it to everyone!

So one of the concerns we had was that we both followed a vegan diet. The Head Chef, his team & the serving staff were so amazing! They thought about what was being offered to the ‘non vegan’ guests and if we couldn’t eat it, they would put a lot of thought & effort into what they made for us. The presentation was never a let down either. It wasn’t the same food every day either! We were truly spoilt!

This dish below was so yummy; I had to take a picture of it! Unfortunately we didn’t take pictures of what we ate during one sitting i.e. the starter, main and dessert.

During our stay we chilled out completely. We bathed in the sun, played life-size checkers, read a little and we walked to the Castries. At the Castries we shopped! They had so much jewellery! The coolest ‘sets’ which would include earrings, a necklace and a bracelet. Beautiful!

Also, within the hotel itself they have a restaurant called Trysting place which is their smarter à la carte dining room. The Trysting Place is open only for dinner. It is a treat to eat there. It is calm, quiet, romantic and includes a musician who plays music whilst you dine. You have to make a reservation. However, there’s no limit to how many times you can dine there.

We also went on the sunset cruise. It was gorgeous! There was entertainment on board which was fun, inclusive for those who wanted to take part and the view was breathtaking.

Last but not least, we enjoyed New Year’s Eve at the hotel and it was so much fun! The staff presented the Lion King. You could see that the production was well thought through. They wore great costumes and it came across as a planned, professional show. The guests were given some headwear as you can see below. The tables were all ‘dressed up’ too. As usual, there was nothing to complain about in terms of the meal that was served! A great experience

We’ll end up paying more for our air fares with this new system. The background to it and how it has changed since is described below: - 

Back in November 2008, in the last budget, the chancellor declared that the cost of Airline Passenger Duty (APD) would increase in November 2009 and then again in 2010.

APD is one of the charges that is currently included in the taxes you pay on a ticket and amounts to approximately £40.00 per person when traveling to the Caribbean.

Unfortunately, with the intended change, the Government has divided the world up into four geographical bands based on capital cities, which means that passengers will pay higher rates to visit all of the Caribbean islands compared to anywhere in the US, even though most of the US is further away. For example Los Angeles and Hawaii are almost double the distance from the UK than Barbados but the APD will be less than when travelling to the Caribbean.

This cannot be fair! 

This is an important issue for everybody who travels to the Caribbean as the intention of the Chancellor is to increase the tax by £10.00 per passenger next year and then by a further whopping £25.00 per passenger the year after!!

We’re urging all of our customers, the airlines and our industry partners to support us to stop the changes being made to Air Passenger Duty which penalise destinations which rely on British tourism for the wellbeing of their economies and in particular, YOU our customers.   

In the first instance we would urge you to join our campaign by signing an industry petition to the Prime Minister which can be found by clicking on the following link.

The link to Number 10 is:   http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/APDtax/

 

 

 

 

I received this message from the Mutual Self Help Network.

Hi all,

As you must be aware, British government is considering several changes to some of the rules that govern visa conditions for visitors (tourists as well as family members). One of the key objective behind this motion is to stem flow of illegal immigrants and also to prevent visitor visa holders to illegally work in UK.

The Indian community is likely to be most severely affected due to these changes. These changes do not apply to EU citizens or to citizens of some of the other western countries.

Home office has released a consultation paper for people in UK, asking for their opinion on the proposed changes. The paper is provided at http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/visitorsconsultationpaper/. It is essential that we send them our views on the proposed changes and suggest any corrections, if we feel necessary. The deadline for submission of this paper is 10th March. If you have not submitted your views already, please do so soon. Also, I request that you forward this information to your friends and family members so that they can also submit their opinion.

To make the process easier, we’ve prepared a specimen form and associated questionnaire with the information completed. Please contact us if you could like to have a look at it.
You can email completed forms with your views to visitorconsultation@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Best regards,
Mutual Self Help Network

Just as it should be! When the guests come over, the men cook for them. Good huh? Here’s some photos of them cooking in the desert.