Author: nickolai.kinny

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My journey to motherhood

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Tomorrow marks 250 days of being pregnant! This brings us to the end of 2022, eight months after I found out I was pregnant and, as I write this, my baby boy is kicking like crazy, happy and healthy. And somewhere, amongst all those kicks over the last few months, I started dreaming and visualising what motherhood would mean to me. Dreaming of a future with my adorable baby...
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Conquering 3 summits in the 1st trimester

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After completing the Couch to 5K challenge last year, I needed to aim for something else. Something higher, like a summit or why not 3 summits. Especially with the knowledge that we were already down a quarter in 2022. So in April, I came across Conqueror Challenges, which offers various long-distance challenges within the time frame you set yourself. Quick reveal... In May 2022, I fou...
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My binge-watching addiction

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While recently watching the newest season of Dexter: New Blood, I realised that the series hadn’t finished airing. This meant waiting another week for the finale episode and it made me feel both lost and deeply upset. Followed immediately by the realisation of how conditioned I’ve become to automatically expect autoplay and a constant stream of service. With data being as fast as it is we’re livi...
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Life in lockdown

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lockdown walks
Hello again, A lot has changed in the last 18 months and I’m sure none of us had lockdown or a pandemic on our travel vision boards! At the start of March 2020, I wasn’t worried, simply because I was unaware of just how the year would unfold. But as months started slipping by it became apparent to us just how serious things were and the implications it would have to our freedom of movement.So ...
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Staying stylish and comfortable while travelling.

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When you’re on the go, style often needs to take a back seat. You’ll often find yourself limited to what’s clean, or something that might be culturally appropriate. While I can’t help you to avoid the fashion disasters which might pop up along your travels (like a bottle of shampoo exploding in your bag over your entire travel wardrobe), there are certain tricks and tips which can help you to be ...
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Offbeat Guide to Glasgow, Scotland

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I’ve had 3 trips to Glasgow, and every time I visit I manage to  come up with a new list of things to do. Despite the fact that it has enough to offer for a lifetime of exploring, most people who visit only spend one day or a weekend in Glasgow before carrying on with their journey through Scotland. But in all honesty it has so much more to offer. Here’s a curated list of some unique experiences ...
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How to truly experience Ho Chi Minh City.

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Mekong Delta
Vietnam's various bays offer plenty of things to see and do for visitors, and are usually every traveller's first choice. But did you know there's also much charm and unique experiences in Vietnam's urban cities? Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's busiest city. A chaotic whirlwind breathes life and movement into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride. It is an a...
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The best UK destinations for family holiday.

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In recent years, more and more people have been opting for a summer staycation. The ease of travelling within the UK makes this a particularly popular choice for a family holiday, especially those with young children. This alleviates much of the stress of planning and packing as you can simply pack everything into the car and be on your way. The UK has plenty to offer families from home and ab...
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Romantic days out‎ in London.

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The best part about living a 20 minute train ride away from London is that we try to get into the city every time we want to make a romantic date-day out of it. You’ll never have a boring date-day with that someone special in London. So this Valentine’s Day, we've done the swooning and wooing to bring you our favourite experiences that will make you fall head over heels in love all over again. Wh...
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How I save money to travel the world.

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Save money to travel! A travel fund can start with simple lifestyle changes you make over a few years so things add up towards that much deserved holiday. Most people assume that millennials who travel constantly either have massive trust funds or are very lucky. If I had a penny for every time someone said “You're so lucky” I’d have another lifetime of travel booked and planned. My usual respons...
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Green grooming tips for travelling girls.

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Maps and makeup
We’re all familiar, and sometimes envious of, well-travelled Instagram girls who look their best in every picture. Sometimes these images seem like a catalogue shoot and I’ve always wondered how most female travellers have the time to get pretty and pose for the camera. If you ever need some fashion inspiration when going to a new country, or if you just enjoy seeing pretty girls wearing pretty cl...
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How to use social media for travel planning.

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Social media has become such a big part of our everyday life that we don’t even think about how it influences our thoughts and choices. Do you remember your last trip and what led you to choose that particular destination? Chances are that social media influenced your decision to travel there. But social media doesn’t just influence, it can also be used to our advantage to enhance our travel plann...
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Lessons that travel has taught me in 2018.

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Monk at Ankor Wat
Every New Year I sum up the year that was in travel. In 2017 I recapped my favourite memories and all the places I’d been to. This year I’d like to do something different... and tell you about my travel lessons from 2018. The beautiful journey from parts of Europe to the far corners of South East Asia and everything it taught me. So here goes: Explore your own city While still getting used...
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How to prepare for your first long-term travel.

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I think it’s safe to say I've travelled a lot in the last year alone; I’ve made a living and a life from travel and I couldn’t imagine it any other way! I love to encourage people to take the leap and travel more, and I always have plenty of tips and tricks up my sleeve that I’ve learned from my own travels. But ever travel is different so don't forget to also check this must-read tips while prep...
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Unique experiences in the Isle of Wight.

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The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England; with half of the island being designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it makes it an Instagramers dream destination! It's extremely easy to get to this little slice of heaven, it's just a short hop and a skip away. Hop on a 2-hour train from central London to Portsmouth, and then skip onto a 20 minute Wightlink f...
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Paris on a platter – An ode to Anthony Bourdain.

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Very few people come into your life with a purpose to inspire without even realising it. For me that was Anthony Bourdain, he pushed the boundaries of what a TV show about food and travel could be, always with an insatiable curiosity and an unflagging respect for the people he met along the way. He inspired me to be inquisitive, seek compassion, and live life adventurously. After watching his Pari...
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Fun ways to document your travels.

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Some suggestions for the best ways to document your travels: these are creative ways to document your trips, keep memories vivid and engage others while you do. When you are travelling the world, it can be easy to get lost in the moment. However, you want these memories to last a lifetime, and so it is vital to document your travels so that you can look back over them when you are older. Read on t...
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Alice in wonderland trail in Guildford.

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Alice is a normal young girl with a normal sort of life until she is reading a normal book on a sunny afternoon by the river and follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole and tumbles headfirst into Wonderland. Since a young age, I've always been taken by this charming world jam-packed with fantastic pictures and interestingly bizarre conversations, mad tea parties, croquet matches, riddles, race...
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Books I read in 2017.

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In spite of moving countries, travelling and a precipitous drop off in blog posts, 2017 has been a fantastic year of reading. I did a poor job of keeping track of all my books and had to try and reconstruct it all over the last few days. I added them all to Goodreads because that was the easiest way to go about it. If you want to see the list, I believe clicking on the infographic on the left will...
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Bombay to Birmingham, and everything in between.

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I’d like to ring in this New Year 2018 with a post that is a recap of my 2017 year in travel. From moving countries to my first snowfall, the adventures of this tiny lady has evolved significantly over this last year. Here's a look back at how far we travelled and what our favourite memories were: Moving back to Bombay: (December 2016) After spending 2 years of working and living abroad in t...
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Now that you’ve married that girl who travels.

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If you've read, Why You Absolutely Should Date a Girl Who Travels you'll  better understand and appreciate the context of this blog. I decided to write this for my husband because he had shared the article with me when he was my boyfriend. Dear Damian, It’s been 3 months since we said “I do”, a day I will forever cherish in the depths of my heart. A day I said yes to you being you and you sai...
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15 Indian habits I lost after moving to England.

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It's been 2month and 2 weeks since I arrived in England and it's slowly shaping this new person I'm becoming. And even though everybody who decides to move to a new country needs time to adjust to their new environment, I've noticed that some changes are merely accepted overnight (like no fans in your bedroom) while some take awhile (like bundling up for all kinds of weather) But here are som...
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Walking tour of the WWF Living Planet Centre

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I was really excited to take a walking tour of the WWF Living Planet Centre today! Here are some pictures and observations from the space. The #WWF may be one of the most recognised conservation organisations around the world, but their building the Living Planet Centre is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the UK. I was surprised to find that they have three massive trees in t...
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The beautiful palaces of Bhuj.

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My first stop on my journey through Kutch, headquarters of the district and the most important place in the area is the city of Bhuj. Picturesquely placed between two streams, Bhuj was built by Rao Khengarl (1548-85) with a city wall, 10.5mtrs high that forms a polygon to surround it. It has 5 major gates and one small gate known as Chathi bari. Not much remains of the fort wall after the multip...
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Recipe: Rum Fruit Cake

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It’s the 1st blog post of the year 2017, so why not make it a sweet one? I’ve tried my hand at the famous old recipe of a rich fruit cake but, alas, what is life without its twists (Spice) and turns (Rum) and who said these should be devoured only around Christmas? I say.. let’s make, bake and in return it’ll… help see us through the year and whatever curve balls it throws at us! Belated Happy New...
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Eat like a local: Paraguay

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Whoever said “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” has obviously never been to Paraguay, where the food is not only cheap but delicious and drool-worthy and where it’s possible to eat every meal like a king! In October 2014, I had the opportunity from Gadventures to travel through a few countries in South America. While Paraguay was never on the plan, I foun...
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Munnar, a vibrant hill station.

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Munnar is a famous hill station in Kerala and located at an elevation of 1700 meters above the sea level. It draws a large number of tourists every year because of its pleasant climate, lush green landscapes, and beautiful tea plantations. Munnar is located in the Western Ghats and has a large cover of the area under protection as it houses some of the rare species of flora and fauna. It also offe...
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Cheat Sheet: Best Tango shows in Buenos Aires

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Argentina’s capital fizzes with energy, be it art, football or dance. Tango, a Porteno (The name for natives of Buenos Aires) creation, grew along the banks of the River Plate in the 1880’s, as the city welcomed thousands of European and African immigrants. Today it remains a fixture of the local scene. I had the opportunity of a lifetime to spend a few days in Buenos Aires on my trip through Sout...
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Why Nepal is on my Bucket List!

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Long associated with trekking and yoga fanatics on a quest for spiritual enlightenment, the country of Nepal offers plenty for any traveller that simply loves stunning landscapes, unique architecture, history and unexampled culture. Nestled cosily in between the Himalayas that stand tall and the wild jungles of the Indian plains, Nepal is now accessible by daily Indigo flights to Katmandu (KTM). T...
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Dubai Walls: Graffiti in City Walk

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#DubaiWalls is a ground-breaking initiative bringing street art to the Middle East. It invited 16 globally renowned street artists representing five continents to create their signature style art work in public spaces across CITY WALK in Dubai. They aims to engage both residents and visitors in a conversation about this exciting art form and introduce new mediums of street art for the public to ex...
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10 Things to do in Pondicherry.

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The good life, lies in Pondicherry. Perfect for a city break if you live in Bangalore or Chennai and easily accessible by an 3-6hour overnight bus. It is 135kms from Chennai which takes around 3-4 hours while it is around 350kms from Bangalore which takes 12 hours of travel time. The culture there is synonymous to being laid back, sunny, great sea food and tax free alcohol. My favourite part of ...
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Formerly known as @Miss_Mused

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Many of you would have recently noticed the sudden name change on all my social channels from @Miss_Mused to now being @nickolaikinny  Changing your name so dramatically and without warning isn’t something many of us would consider, so I thought it would be fun to tell the story of why I changed it and then tell you the story about a girl who was once known as @Miss_Mused. I decided to change i...
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Recipe: Pan Seared Salmon

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2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 (3-ounce) salmon fillets Salt and pepper Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste for marinade Oregano, for marinade 1/2 Lemon slices, for marinade Liberally season salmon fillet without skin with the ginger and garlic paste, oregano, with salt and pepper. Finally squeeze lemons over everything and leave to rest in your refrigerator for an ho...
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The world beneath our world

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On account of it being World Ocean Day yesterday, I wanted to surprise my readers with something straight out of my travel journals. Yes! There are a few stories and moments I hold onto and keep to myself, they're both sacred and almost never make it to this blog. But that might change and here’s a treat. It relives the memory of my first scuba dive in the Andaman Islands somewhere off Haveloc...
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Everything you learn from travelling with a partner.

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The adventures of this tiny lady has a +1 these days. After 10 years of travelling solo, or with friends, I finally found a partner who loves to travel and explore just as much as me. We’ve taken 4 trips together so far and I’ve learned many new things along the way - about me, about him, and about us, as we take on the world. But more importantly, about everything that travel gives you a chance...
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Camping at the beach.

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Last year, i finally took my friend Kris up on his millionth attempt to take me overnight camping by the beach. He picked Kashid, a beach town on the shores of the Arabian Sea, in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. Located 30 kms from Alibaug and 135 kms from Mumbai on the Alibaug-Murud road. I rode pillion on his motorcycle all the way from Mumbai one weekend and we arrived at 9pm. Af...
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Every adventurer needs a friend called Frodo!

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You know a new travel tech product is going to be good when its launched and backed by adventurers and for adventurers. NexGear is a tech startup in Mumbai with a focus on developing seamlessly wearable devices. It is driven by a core vision to better the way people capture and share their adventures. Made up of a bunch of travel, adventure, and photography enthusiasts who also happen to be engine...
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Travel Apps To Look Out For!

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Using my phone during my travels comes almost naturally. There are so many cool apps that makes travel and travel planning easy, so I decided to put together the 5 on my radar and which im currently using. From finding fun things to do along the way, the best hotels or car drives, to splitting bills with friends or saving money on tourist attractions, you are going to love having these apps along ...
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Money Mistakes to Avoid While Traveling

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By this point, I think I’ve tried it all when it comes to carrying money while travelling. Going back to thinking about a few trips in the past, I can only chuckle and shake my head as I recall myself, cautious and frightened, carrying cash in money belts, various hidden pockets, and forex cards, which I came to know about during my first trip abroad. After a while, I immediately switched back to ...
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5 Must try Malay dishes.

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LAKSA
If I could pick and choose the next country I fly to, I would pick Malaysia. And it would only be because of the food they have there and the amazing Malay dishes I could gorge up. This craving is strongly influenced by my Malaysian flatmate who loves to cook up a storm in the kitchen and flood our apartment with drool-worthy scents. After having tasted quite a variety of Malay dishes, here are so...
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Around the world in 10 films.

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The 12th Edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) brought together the best films from around the globe for their ‘Cinema Of The World’ segment. It showcased 134 films from 60 countries, including 55 world and international premieres, 46 MENA premieres, 11 Middle East premieres and 17 GCC premieres, the 12th edition cemented its status as one of Conde Nast World Traveller’s Top 10 Film ...
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Online video is the future of travel content.

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If it were five years in the future, would you be reading this blog article or would you be watching it? As online video continues its inimitable rise, it's an interesting question to ponder. I asked the same on twitter and was surprised to see the results of how videos is almost at par with written blogs. While websites, social media, blogs and infographics dominated online travel information ...
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Stopover in Abu Dhabi

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If you’re on a long haul international connecting flight on Etihad, you will very likely end up connecting through the Abu Dhabi International Airport. It is located roughly 30 kilometres from the city centre and makes the city a quick destination for those who are stuck on long layovers; the airport also makes it possible to let people get a taste of the Arab culture between flights. There are pl...
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Simple ways to adopt responsible travel.

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The sustainable travel movement is strong and growing and includes multiple organisations around the world that are seeking to educate people about how they can help. Many of the suggestions are simple and can be easily incorporated in your day to day travel lifestyle too. It’s important to know the ways to be a sustainable traveller, because many people that may take care of the environment when ...
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10 Essentials for a camping trip.

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Ive noticed a trend and rise in how camping is more popular than ever, with more and more people choosing this rustic getaway instead of hitting hotels etc. With the right camping equipment, you can holiday at a low cost with friends and family for years to come. If you are new to camping, this guide will give you a basic knowledge to prepare you for your first trip, it's worth getting a hold of t...
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Explore Dubai on a shoestring budget.

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Winter is coming! Yes we're halfway through September, and October is speeding up around the corner and if you're looking for places to end this year with, Dubai should be on the top! Every year airlines swoon with offers and encourage you with excellent deals. Dubai's leading airline in particular will top their offers every winter to convince you to just Fly Emirates. Being the jewel of the M...
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Summer Treat: Watermelon & Feta Salad

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Psst. (Scroll to bottom for the IKEA giveaway details.)                                              The combination of salty feta and of sweet watermelon might seem strange at first , but it is very common in the Mediterranean. Watermelon, apparently originated in the Nile valley and with its greater than 90% water content, it is perfect for any sweltering summer heat. Given the area's proclivity...
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Places to Explore From Dubai

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Planning a holiday can be an expensive affair; therefore, researching about your travel options beforehand is one of the greatest options that will save you from extra expenses. With the rise in low cost and budget airlines such as FlyDubai and Qatar airways, it has now  become easier to escape and unwind on a shoe-string budget. Here is a list of all the places I would like to explore in Dubai: ...
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Buenos Aires in 24 hours

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From wandering the streets of La Boca to outdoor steak houses and from walking through the eerie Recoleta Cemetery to Tango dancing in my converse. Here’s my journey through Buenos Aires, Argentina in 24 hours. Enjoy!
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