Holiday-wise, travel books will tell you that the young Middle Eastern city – one of the richest cities in the world  – is very modern, American and excessive; a liberal playground for wealthy magnates that fly in, hit the highways in sleek rides and flock to the high-rise hotels for big pimpin’ and spendin’ cheese (Just ask Jay-Z, Drake , DJ Khaled et. al who consider the DXB their spiritual home).

But for some of us who are less inclined to pop swanky bottles or make it rain with our rent money, there’s a Dubai for us too – one steeped in  more history and alternative culture, less shopping malls and boozy brunches. And, if you go in January and February, you can get a flight for under £200: not bad  for guaranteed sunshine (average 24 °C) in the winter.

So for things to do in Dubai – quirky things, arty things, foodie things, value for money things – who are five activities I managed to tick off on my recent Christmas holiday (NB: Dubai is a driver’s city, but car rental is a doddle or you can cab /Uber it everywhere.)

A mooch around Alserkal Avenue

This industrial compound of revamped warehouses is the hub for edgy art galleries, regular festivals, music nights, pop-up shops, a cinema, cafes and everything else you’d find around Boxpark in Shoreditch (but much better).  Free to walk around, Alserkal Avenue is where you’ll find the hipster expats hanging out with Emirati cool kids, and the moneyed art set bringing a fresh wave  of creativity to the masses.

The gold souk in Deira 

If crowds give you anxiety, this probably isn’t for you. And real talk, I thought I was gonna have a panic attack the first time I visited the legendary gold souk. But, once you can tune out the relentless salesmen asking if you want a watch or their other wares, it’s bearable – especially if you want to buy a bit of bling aka gold. Just make sure you have the current market price of the precious stuff committed to memory so you can work out how to get value for money and what you can afford. It’s sold by karat and weight, so you’re basically haggling on the labour cost.

An ‘Abra’ boat ride

For 30 dirham (£6-£7) each,  we took a private, 30 minute boat ride from Deira on an Abra – a traditional wooden boat that is a cheap way to see the old Dubai via the creek. If you don’t want to do the whole private thing, it’ll only cost you 1 dirham for a quickie ride across the river. Do it before sunset for a charming end to an afternoon of haggling at the nearby gold souk.

Lunch at the Arabian Tea House

For foodie things to do in Dubai, There’s a branch of the Arabian Tea House in the quaint Al Bastakiya area, and it’s so popular they don’t take reservations. But it only took 15 minutes on a Saturday to get seated at this lovely restaurant which serves traditional and affordable Arabian fare.

Hitting JBR beach

There’s something very Beverley Hills about the Jumeirah Beach Residence – a glossy,  residential, waterfront community near the Dubai Marina. Still, the JBR beach is free. This one’s pretty popular given it’s easily accessible, but there’s plenty of sun, sea and sand for everyone.

Looking for things to do in Dubai? Or maybe you’ve already been? Let me know in the comment!

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Well, mission accomplished. On August 14th, I hopped on a British Airways flight by myself to a destination I’d never heard of before in my life (not Spain obvs but Arenys de Mar – a Spanish fishing town with a name I embarrassingly still can’t pronounce properly). It was one of those Lastminute.com flight and hotel deals and I believed them when they said it was a family-friendly destination. In other words, I wouldn’t come across any lager louts on their stag do or naive uni grads committed to misdemeanors and poor life choices. Don’t they just love Spain!?

Anywho, second mission accomplished. I had a relaxing, enjoyable two-night stay for the most part at the beautiful, 4 star Sa Voga hotel. Sure, there was a lively, local village festival going on until like 1am  and I somehow managed to not get even a whiff of my beloved paella – but the beach delivered, the sangria flowed and I had a really happy birthday. That’s all I could ask for.

And here are a few lessons I learned from travelling solo:

• If you’re arriving late (like I did) to a foreign destination take the hit and pay for a proper taxi transfer from the airport. I organised this a day before, mind you, and while I hated how much I had to spend, it was better to be safe than sorry.
• Keep the friends and family aware of your movements via social media, at least. Trust me, I planned for my insta to be LIT this week.
• Pack light so you don’t have to check in your luggage and can breeze through the arrivals and get to where you need to be. It also makes it less obvious you’re travelling alone (no one – and by that I mean weird people who hang around airports – needs to know).

Check out pics from my trip below:

Have you been on holiday for your birthday? Or travelled solo? Let me know in the comments!

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But while I’m looking forward to swaying along to the likes of Jamiroquai, Erykah Badu, Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper Experiment, I’ve set aside plenty of time over the weekend for a bit of exploring. Here are at least three things on my itinerary:

A post shared by Rotterdam Sight running Tours (@toursrotterdamsightrunning) on Apr 9, 2017 at 10:53pm PDT

Jog through the city on a ‘running tour’

I love cycling (as do the Dutch, obvs), and my original plan was the go on a cycle tour. But all the good ones are booked up or don’t work with my timings, so what’s the next best thing? Running. Rotterdam Sight Running Tours offer a 7km run around all the modern and historical bits of the city.  Fingers crossed we’ll get to jog past those infamous cube homes (for the ‘gram!)

A post shared by Tante Nel Rotterdam (@tante_nel) on Feb 16, 2017 at 10:09am PST

Pig out at Tante Nel 

I’m committed to shamelessly devouring everything on this trip, so one of my foodie stops will be Tante Nel. This popular fast food joint is known for their incredible chips served with lavish, mouth-watering toppings. I hear the milkshakes are divine too (see why I’m on that running tour?)

A post shared by Kunsthal Rotterdam (@kunsthal) on May 16, 2017 at 8:47am PDT

Wander around the Kunsthal Museum 

You gotta love a modern museum and since 1992, the Kunsthal has developed a rep for presenting fun and innovative exhibitions around art, design, photography and fashion. Current shows include a tribute to Prince and a large-scale retrospective of the work of influential 20th-century photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Have you been to Rotterdam? Got any tips? Let me know in the comments! 

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The post In photos: Tokyo fashion and style appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

No lie: this is the best ramen I’ve had in my life. So cheap too #tillyinTokyo #photography #iphoneography #japan #vacay

A photo posted by Matilda (@megerecooper) on Feb 22, 2016 at 7:28am PST

Every London street needs an Izakaya

“Izakayas” are these cosy eating and drinking spots that seat like, eight people (?) max – and you can expect to get some of the most delicious food that costs next to nothing. On the night of my arrival, the friends and I visited one not far from our AirBnB for a piping hot bowl of ramen and gyoza on the side. Total cost? Six quid!

Being the only Black American Woman in an entire city is weird – but it has its advantages

I know there were others in town, but they were few and far between (but when I did see a fellow sista, we gave each other that look and nod that basically meant “Black lives DO matter even if we’re in the minority right now. Keep ya head up”). Still, I didn’t catch a whiff of racism and figured if I dropped the name “Kobe Bryant” in all conversations, the Japanese would appreciate I knew their love for US basketball, America and the sixth largest city in Japan that produces some really tasty beef.

Plus, when you’re probably the only Black American Woman running a marathon, people WILL notice you, like this kind chap:

@megerecooper I don’t know you, but you looked elegant so I took these photos. pic.twitter.com/4rFAinQRPF

— Philbert Ono (@philbertono) February 29, 2016

I’m kind of fat in Japan

I was very happy to discover the biggest Uniqlo in the World is in Tokyo. It’s one of my favourite clothing shops, and I’m well aware that I have to pick up most items in a Medium or Large. Not so in Japan. I could only fit in XLs, which my self-esteem didn’t like very much.

The first (and last) time I’ll have sushi (including “sea urchin”) for breakfast… tasted good though #daiwasushi #tillyinTokyo #iphoneography #japan #vacay   A photo posted by Matilda (@megerecooper) on Feb 22, 2016 at 6:31pm PST

I’m not 100% sure about sushi now

We all know proper sushi is raw. But in the UK, restaurants aren’t even allowed to roll like that, so even if your sashimi or nigiri looks and feels quite fleshy, it’s been prepared in a way to remove any remnants of life for the sake of our health. Yet when in Tokyo, you get the raw deal. And you know it’s raw. Why? Because you’re eating it in a fish market, at 8am in the morning, because that’s the time you will have the freshest fish that was probably caught 30 minutes before you sat down and ate it. Let’s just say it was an… experience. A tasty one to be fair, but  I had to give up on the roe aka “baby Nemo” maki. That’s just going too far now.

Google Maps is my ride or die

The only time I got lost in Tokyo was when my phone died. Thankfully, the good people of Japan that evening went so far as to map out the way to get to my destination (one guy in a shop actually disappeared for 20 minutes to find a computer to print out a map for me, bless him). But even with three maps in my hand, I still struggled to find my way. Never will I underestimate Google Maps again.

Insane in the membrane #takashimurakami #contemporaryart #culture #tillyinTokyo #japan #vacay A photo posted by Matilda (@megerecooper) on Feb 24, 2016 at 12:57am PST

The city is demented and blissful in equal measure

I saw some very strange things out there, not least the Takashi Murakami exhibition at the Mori Art Museum. But that was an intentional kind of weird. On other days, I’d find there was alot going on beyond the city’s flashing neon lights, Hello Kitty references and the occasional spotting of a Harajuku girl.  I walked into one shop that looked and sounded like it had a serious case of ADHD. Thank God I was only looking for KitKats, so I could get out of there quickly (speaking of: I brought so many different flavours back home like Strawberry Cheesecake, Green Tea and even Sweet Potato!). But on the flipside, you can walk through an area like Ueno where all calm is restored. How odd. Or as my friend put it: “bi-polar”.

I need some Japanese friends in my life

I’ve travelled to many places in my time, but this is one of the few occasions I’ve felt so welcome. And I liked a lot of their customs – like offering wet cloths at restaurants, the humility of bowing, the meticulous approach to everything or the habit of wearing sterilised masks to protect us from their germs (and here’s me thinking they were trying to protect themselves from us).

A few more flicks from last night’s run: the unusual suspects ( @rkrkrk ) #btgtokyo #bridgethegap #rundemcrew #tillyinTokyo #tokyomarathonsooncome #japan #vacay

A photo posted by Matilda (@megerecooper) on Feb 24, 2016 at 10:25pm PST

Everyone should run the Tokyo Marathon

The organisation, the crowd support, the route (for the most part: there were four nasty inclines at the end, boo!) – I’d give it a ten out of ten. And you get a very lovely medal! Plus, the “Japanese Run Dem Crew” AFE Tokyo hosted a “Bridge the Gap” weekend for all running crews coming in town for the race, and it was great to meet them.

And finally: Tokyo has some kickass toilets (that can actually clean ‘that ass’)

I’d heard the stories and seen the photos but seeing one of these superloos in real life was one of the highlights of my holiday. No matter where I was, every time I had to go, I was met by a mechanical contraption that appeared to take pleasure in my personal waste disposal. But really,  the pleasure was all mine.

Have you been to Tokyo? What did you like about the city? What drove you mad? Let me know in the comments!

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Friday’s post:  Somewhere you should eat (in Paris)… Le Bistro du Pientre and Chez Janou

The post What we’ve been up to (in Paris)… Musée d’Orsay appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

You could spend a week at The Louvre

The Louvre is one of the largest museum’s in the world and houses a breathtaking collection of classics that have to be seen in real life. To save time, I bought my €12 ticket in advance through the Fnac website (I picked them up from a local ticket outlet merely 10 minutes away from the museum), which ensured I could avoid waiting in the ridiculous queue when I arrived. Once inside, it felt like I’d walked into a mini-city: so I decided to do a little bit of the 90 minute Masterpieces Trail and whatever else I could come across. In two hours, I managed to marvel at a number of paintings and sculptures including the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast at Cana, Cupid and Psyche and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I’ll definitely return to see more – and next time I’ll plan my trip to coincide with the first Sunday of the month, when entry to the Louvre is free! www.louvre.fr (nearest Metros: Louvre Rivoli and Palais Royal Musée du Louvre)

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Plane vs Eurostar

Everyone knows that travelling by Eurostar is dope – and if you book it well in advance, you can get to the Paris for less than £100 quid. My lastminute.comness meant I spent a eye-watering amount that went over the £150 mark, but I don’t regret it; the ease of just pulling in to Gare du Nord from Kings Cross St Pancras always trump travelling on a plane in my opinion, even if flights nowadays are a bit cheaper.

City guide vs apps

I bought the Time Out Shortlist Paris 9th edition guide a day before I travelled, just to be on the safe side: it’s got a quality map in the back and I found it pretty useful during the weekend, especially in learning about the different  areas in the city. But I couldn’t live without Google Maps – and thanks to GPS, I could frequently conserve my data while getting an accurate location. The Uber app was also fantastic for booking quick and cheap taxis and the free Duolingo app helped me with brushing up on my (very) basic french.

Hotel vs airBnB

The last time I visited Paris was in 2013 for the half-marathon and I stayed in the uber-hip Mama Shelter in  the 20^th district in central Paris (nearest metro: Alexandre Dumas). It’s got a great vibe, dope food, but it’s off the beaten track and hardly the bargain I was looking for this time round. So I tried airBnB for the first time which is so easy to use.  After a friend recommended I search for spots in Le Marais or Saint-Germain-des-Prés,  I ended up booking a clean and quaint apartment from a guy named Ahmed which only cost £116 for two nights and was in a fantastic location. Sharing with a friend meant I only spent £58!

Public vs two-legged transport

I ended up being one of those tourists wasting everyone else’s time when I tried to buy a Metro ticket from the machines at Gare du Nord. Eventually I figured out the system of a single €1.70 ticket per journey  (so cheap!), but I only every used six for the entire weekend so avoided buying the booklet of ten. The rest of the time we walked to take it as much of the city as possible – thank you Google Maps! We also used the Vélib’ bike hire scheme which was cheap but a lot trickier than it should have been; the first hire machine we found was out of order, the second had plenty of defective bikes and once we hired, we struggled to find a place to dock them once we reached our destination in Bastille! Also, cyclists ride on the right in Paris, so there were a few hairy moments when it came to crossing junctions…traffic light crossings became our fast friends, I tell ya!

Tomorrow’s post: What we got up to… The Louvre, Centre Georges Pompidou and Musée d’Orsay

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I stayed in Chungking Mansions on Nathan Street, Kowloon, home to hundreds of guest houses and ideal for travellers on a tight budget. On average, a single room will cost around $200 HK (approximately £18) a night. The accommodation is cell-like, just room for a tiny bed, a TV, and nothing else, though there is usually space under the bed to store your belongings. The rooms are generally clean, but you get what you pay for.

As for food, there’s no shortage of good Indian food in and around Chungking, but I was craving some greasy noodles and dumplings. The area surrounding Jordan Station is great for cheap local food, especially if you visit the night market. For awesome wonton and beef noodles, I highly recommend Mak Kan Kee. I also have to give a shoutout to Ned Kelly’s Last Stand Pub in Kowloon for inviting me to play drums with their phenomenal jazz band.

Pic: Carys Jones

If you find yourself in Hong Kong, a trip to Lantau Island is a must. On my second outing there, I took the subway to Tung Chung Station then rode the cable car to the Po Lin monastery and the gigantic Tian Tan Buddha, more colloquially known as the ‘Big Buddha’. From there we took the number 21 bus to Tai O Fishing Village where I was told we could see pink dolphins if we were lucky, but unfortunately we didn’t spot any.
I’ve been told that one of the must-see attractions is The Peak. The best way to get there is by tram, but when I attempted to visit there was over an hour wait. I began to hike alongside the tram route, but as summer dresses and sandals don’t make for good hiking gear, especially in 34 degree weather and 69 per cent humidity, I eventually gave up and went to the nearby botanical gardens instead.

Pic: Carys Jones

My next destination will be Shanghai. Word of advice, if you’re travelling to mainland China you will need a visa. These are easily obtainable from most travel agents in Hong Kong, but don’t make the rookie error I made and leave it until the last minute (I applied on a Friday, I needed the visa for the following Tuesday) as you could end up paying up to quadruple the base price.

The post Rediscovering Asia: Hong Kong appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

Pic: Francis Amiand

Pic: Francis Amiand

A fortnight ago, I popped over to Paris to run their half marathon and stayed in the Shelter for the weekend, quickly discovering why it’s become so popular. Designed by Philippe Starck – whose knack for the unconventional made infamous pitstops in Miami (The Delano) and New York (The Paramount) – the native Frenchman’s hotel combines contemporary styling with heavy doses of graffiti and eclectic finishes that could border on the kitsch were it not so creative. The first thing I noticed in my cosy single room was the Toy Story Woody mask lit up by a side lamp – quirky – while the Apple Macs offer the in-room entertainment (which is also the source of the free wifi and more impressively, free films). The room lighting was too dim mind you, and the bathroom a bit small (shower only), but this was made up by the fact it was stocked with Kiehl products, which was just another reminder of the hotel’s quality factor.

Pic: Francis Amiand

Pic: Francis Amiand

As for the restaurant, its fun interiors sees portraits of “mothers” adorn armchairs, children’s swimming rings hang off ceiling lights and chalk drawings decorate the blackboard ceiling – but none of this could take away from their delicious breakfast buffet, which at 15euros, is worth every cent. Dinner’s a tad pricer and the restaurant can get extremely busy in the evenings, so it’s wise to make a reservation, even if you’re a guest. Like most places in Paris, it’s also good to know a tiny bit of French – staff are friendly and know their English, but you’d be surprised how the odd “avez-vous” can go a long way.

Pic: Francis Amiand

MS’s only real shortcoming is that it’s quite a walk away from the nearest Metros (roughly a 10 minute walk from Gambetta, Alexandre Dumais or Porte de Bagnolet) – yet it’s a small price to pay for a reasonably-priced hotel that ticks so many boxes, and doing an excellent job thinking outside of them too.

For more info, visit www.mamashelter.fr

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