10 latest experiences http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia en-us Walking through the souks (markets) of Saudi Arabia you can find every fruit possible including reasonably priced strawberries. But the one thing that is in abundance is the fruit of dates. Not being a much of a date enthusiast I was surprised to know that there are such an extensive variety. The traders sit before mountains of dates of various, shape, colour and quality of flesh. Now for some quick date facts: Date palms line the streets in Saudi Arabia. The unripe dates are green in colour, then a mustard yellow and finally a reddish-brown when fully ripe. The sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%. Worldwide there are about 600 varieties of dates. Saudi Arabia donates approx 16,000 tons annually to the World Food Program Medina, Saudi Arabia Nadia Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:25:47 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/939 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/939 New Orleans is the home of jazz. It’s a place where almost every other shop is a bar that hosts musicians that play jazz, this becomes even more apparent at night when the nightlife in the city comes alive and the signature sound of jazz wafts on the airwaves. The three man band playing at a bar in downtown New Orleans’ belted out some swinging numbers none of which I knew, but which certainly encouraged some melodious foot-tapping. New Orleans, United States Nadia Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:39:58 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/937 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/937 It’s a picturesque view from the Lady Young Road lookout which weaves around the mountainside that elevates drivers from Barataria into the heart of the capital city, Port of Spain, Trinidad. The lookout shows the three towers that have become the countries latest landmarks, the twin Financial Towers officially known as the Eric Williams Financial Complex that house the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. The blue-mirrored glass tower known as the Nicholas Tower was the tallest building in the capital in 2006, but at the rapid rate that the new waterfront development is going up it won’t hold this title for long. To the front, the new shipping complex is near completion. Ferries and top line catamarans shuttle passengers back and forth to the sister island of Tobago. Trinidad, caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago Nadia Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:36:07 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/908 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/908 In Trinidad, from the heights of the Northern Range Mountains on the way to Maracas Beach, visitors are treated to an awesome view at the Maracas Bay lookout staring out across the blue rippling sheet of the Caribbean Sea and the distant islands. Another attraction is the large sized jars that are on display at the food vendors tents in this area containing bright red things to eat. There are fruits such as local plums, mango slices and local cherries that are pickled or preserved as they called it here. Trinidad, caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago Nadia Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:31:55 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/905 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/905 There we were in Mecca for the Islamic festival of Eid Ul Adha, merchants filled the streets selling everything from silk scarves to souvenirs and toys when in the midst of the hustle and bustle I spotted an animal wearing a multi-coloured garland. On approaching it there was a Saudi Arabian camel kneeled down on the roadside heavily decorated with garlands of flowers. I wasn’t sure if it was real flowers as I was too timid to go close. The camel was properly muzzled and had a chair like carriage on its back complete with a roof to shade from the sun. “Ride, ride, ten riyals” called the camel owner holding up his fingers to show me ten.. Even though Saudi Arabian riyals translates to just £1.34, it was still not going to tempt me to climb up and take a ride. So, I admired the camel from a distance. The single hump, Arabian camel represents 90% of the 14 million camels in the world and there it sat right in front of me. Mecca, Saudi Arabia Nadia Fri, 17 Aug 2007 23:29:34 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/796 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/796 The Asa Wright Nature Centre nestled on 1,500 acres in the mountains of the Northern Range Mountains of Trinidad’s lush tropical forest offered an up close personal look at exotic flowers of all shapes, sizes and colours. They were to be found along the nature trail which takes various directions and over the undulating landscape. The evergreen rainforest’s flora and fauna began in a small way as we ventured along the nature trail led by our guide. He pointed out fruit trees, tress exclusive to the Caribbean region, but nothing compared to the incredible assortment of flora and fauna that lay ahead. There were bright red, hot pinks and bright yellow flowers larger than I had seen before under the canopy of the trees. Arima valley, trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago Nadia Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:53:46 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/651 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/651 Many people see going on a cruise as the ultimate holiday experience, after all it is really a luxury all-inclusive hotel afloat the high seas. It offers the chance to be part of a unique vacation which is chocked full of a daily itinerary delivered to your cabin with everything from bingo, cabaret show to fine dining. But for me the most beautiful thing was just taking in the scenery from the multi-leveled wooden decks. The sunrise and sunsets are worth making an effort to get up for and hang around for. The different lighting offers the break of sunrise across a smooth blanket of ocean and the sunset closing a day with trails of orange and red on a velvet mass of sea. Miami, United States Nadia Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:24:39 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/650 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/650 As we entered our cabin we could see the figure of an animal staring at us. There from our dressing table overhead was a monkey hanging from his arms, his eyes piercing ours. What did we do? Laughed, got out the camera and took a photo of it. This is just one of the towel creations that met us in our stateroom onboard the Carnival Cruise Line. Carnival Cruise’s surprises all of its guests with a different towel animal greeting every night. It’s just one of those things that they do to make your stay memorable and guess what? It works! I remember at breakfast we had a conversation with other passengers about the towel animal they had waiting in their stateroom. We were surprised to find that there was an array of towel animals on any given night. Miami, United States Nadia Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:20:13 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/625 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/625 Chugging away from the docks on a conch train through the streets of Key West is how our first ever trip to the Southernmost city in the Continental USA began. We were dropped off at Mallory Square at the conch train station and were left to create our own little adventure. Sheltering from the rain we scuttled through the town centre which reminded me of an old western movie town with the exception of cars for horses. Key West, United States Nadia Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:15:13 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/623 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/623 Have you ever noticed how it takes people to visit for you to get up and take a look at your own surroundings? This was the case with our trip to the Asa Wright Nature Centre nestled on 1,500 acres in the mountains of the Northern Range Mountains of Trinidad’s lush tropical forest Arima valley, trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago Nadia Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:40:16 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nadia/experience/613 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/613