Varun's Daily Diary

Wednesday 8 September 2010

This time last year, we were filming in New Zealand and it was cold! At this VERY moment ... to the second, we were eating pizza. A year on ... we are in Abu Dhabi... eating pizza but outside, it's pizza-oven scorchingly hot!

It's been another long and weary day. The heat was almost unbearable and I am sure that I sweated at least my body weight ... well, it felt like that.

Up at 0400 as I couldn't sleep! I am a bed hopper ... maybe I have hopped in one too many? Tim says that I am looking old & haggard and should retire. So, today, I am announcing my retirement from Inside Luxury Travel ... January 1st 2021 ... diarise it folks!

So - met with Maraike and Moez ... and headed into the game reserve. Waiting for me were 3 cheetah ... Mummy & two babies - just a couple of metres away from the vehicle. The babies were bred in the UAE and introduced into the food chain to cut down the number of herbivores. Arabian leopard are the next lucky species to appear here.

From there we headed to the jetty and jumped into a sea-plane and took a flight around the island. It was lovely ...

We had most of the afternoon free and we sat in my pool contemplating life ... and like a herd of hippos, we kept cool!

Then we cooked with the delightful Executive Chef - Anthony Galo from the Phillipines. We cooked a prawn curry (-ish) dish ... harra ... which was delicious! Yummy! Also we (and I mean he) prepared a dessert - umali - puff pastry, coconut powder, hot milk, whipped cream, raisins, rose water, sugar and pistachio. Hmmm ... nice ... gave me an instant sugar rush!

Tomorrow we leave the "Desert Island Resort & Spa by Anantara" ... off to the desert. The staff here have been EXCELLENT! Friendly, caring, smiley ... I will miss them ... it's like being with family ...

Song of the Day: Stand Clear - Adam F
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8an-Oo-5Fo&ob=a2e

Weather: Hahahahaha - pop ... exploded with heat overdose!

Stay different friends!