Georgina Does

Exploring Dubrovnik with friends

Monday 24 June 2024

After a late arrival the night before, Dubrovnik welcomed us with warm temperatures. We had been out for some drinks but luckily, most of my friends are also morning people, prompting an early start to our day of exploration.

The Airbnb had arranged for breakfast at a quaint cafe in the Old Town, so we sat eating out eggs and orange juice in serenity before the arrival of cruise ship crowds and tour groups. One of the biggest perks of starting early in Dubrovnik.

After breakfast, we continued our wanderings around the old town. Picking up a later arrival and an ice cream on the way.

The Old Town was very interesting to explore, offering picturesque views and historic charm. It was a little bit otherworldly.

We followed a path which led us to an archway, one of the old town gates that opened to the water, outside the old city walls. There was a port, lined with cute restaurants and though there was no beach, like many others, we spent a blissful couple of hours lounging on the rocks by the water.

The boys swam while the girls and I relaxed on the rocks. I felt like a siren.

In the afternoon, we headed back to our Airbnb for a quick shower and change before setting out again.

Our destination was a charming bar and restaurant adorned with vines and pretty pink flowers. Despite the staff's slightly grumpy demeanour, the beauty of the location made it a perfect spot for pre-dinner drinks.

Dinner that night was back by the harbour, naturally featuring seafood and wine.

Then back to our wandering, we stumbled across an abandoned bar carved into the cliffside. People has brought their own chairs, drinks, music so we grabbed some drinks from the shop and settled in for the sunset.

The following day we booked a boat tour, which turned out to be quite a memorable adventure. It started having mistakenly boarded the wrong transfer and found ourselves on someone else's boat, complete with skipper and a bar stocked full of champagne.

Everyone involved was very confused but after a bit of back and forth, we soon found our boat.

After a quick explanation of how to drive it, we loaded it with our own supplies and set off in search of a beach. Despite the mix-up, the day turned out to be one of my favorite travel experiences. I often travel alone, but this day made me truly appreciate having my friends with me on holiday.

Being by the water always brings me such happiness, and spending eight hours on a small boat in the sunshine with them was all kinds of wonderful. The sea was a beautiful colour, the music, the snacks. Perfect. Even with a few other mishaps along the way.

Wednesday 8 May 2024

Uluwatu was a part of Bali I’d not explored until recently so I thought it was worth a visit this time around. Known for its stunning cliffsides, I knew I wanted to spend some time at one of the beach front hotels there although adamant I wanted somewhere that wasn’t a big resort; something small, unique, boutique. I ended up using Google Maps to see what lined the beach and soon came across Rock n Reef. It ticked all my boxes.

As I learned from my BBQ on the beach a couple of days prior, getting from the top, down to the beach in Uluwatu is no easy feat. The paths are steep and rocky, often leading through abandoned sites with no idea where they are going to end up. I had to trust Google Maps more than once this trip, but as I got closer to the beach and passed through a small door, suddenly I found myself in the safe haven of the reception area. And relax.

I had booked a room called "Sunset," and it was perfect. Open plan with a bed on one side and an open stone shower on the other. I unbolted the doors and swung them both wide open onto the balcony overlooking the ocean. It had a straw roof and a hammock and was pretty magical.

As soon as I walked in, I knew I wanted to stay an extra night, but of course, it was fully booked; unsurprisingly so.

After a couple of hours listening to the waves from the hammock, I started getting hungry so headed downstairs and grabbed a sunbed as the evening drew in. There were only three or four beds, and they were all empty so I had the area to myself.

I actually wasn’t planning to eat there, but there was no way I was going to bother with the stairs more often than absolutely necessary, so I ordered a plate of fried rice (and dessert, of course) and dined at what felt like my own private, beachside restaurant.

I retreated to my room just in time to shoot some golden hour content before settling in to watch the sunset from the hammock. Very pleased I'd chose the sunset room over the sunrise one, the sky turned orange as the day faded into night.

Once it got dark, I laid inside with the doors open, listening to the sound of the waves until I fell asleep.

I woke up early the next day as the morning light flooded in. After spending most of the morning lazing around on the hammock, I got up for breakfast served on the balcony. A very nostalgic banana pancake circa 2017 baby backpacking Georgina, accompanied by tropical fruits and honey, tea and fresh pineapple juice.

With the tide out for a couple of hours, I grabbed my chance to take a walk alone the private beach. It was totally empty apart from one woman selling bracelets who I couldn't say no to. I finished my exploring with just enough time to shower off the sand and take one last hour in the hammock.

After checking out, I was planning to hang around in the communal area for a little bit longer, but the idea of tackling the stairs again was playing on my mind so I couldn't relax and ended up heading out for lunch pretty soon after. Despite that, I would 100% recommend this amazing hotel. It provided me with such a special experience, that I will never forget.

Wednesday 20 March 2024

As I mentioned in my roundup, my recent trip to Indonesia was about grounding myself; and maybe a little bit of closure - for the year I’d had. It was some of the hardest months, emotionally, of my life and Bali was a chance for me to put a physical finish on it.

Asia had healed me before I needed its help again.

A healing ceremony; I told my friends as I showed them TikTok videos of girls screaming into the abyss. A traditional Balinese Purification ritual known as "Melukat"

I woke up at 3 am that morning, crying about something that I didn’t think had affected me, so that was a good start. It set an emotional tone for the day.

Arriving at Tri Desna felt eerie. The dark wood structures and purple fabrics set an unfamiliarly dark ambience, heightened by the distant echoes of other girls' screams.

That’d soon be me.

Sitting in a wooden cabana, I sipped my tea and waited. We started with a tarot reading which did not relate at all, so I came out of there in a huff. We’ll just breeze over that part.

I was then asked to pick an outfit from a wall of sarongs and ties that lay in front of me. By the time I had gotten changed, another girl had arrived so we sat together and shared stories of what brought us there.

I told her how eerie it all felt and she quite wisely said, 'people come here to dump their trauma and leave, of course it felt weird.' It made so much sense. The dark, moody sky all added to the atmosphere.

The videos I'd seen, had shown girls screaming their hearts out at this part and to be honest, I thought it was a load of rubbish. Surprisingly, I wasn’t told to scream, just to let it all out as and when.

I could feel myself tearing up as it was happening. I'd had a really hard few months.

They poured water full of flowers over me and as chants filled the air, the emotions I had suppressed surged to the surface; so I did let it all out. Screaming, sobbing, releasing what had consumed me for months. I felt terrible afterwards.

After sitting there for a little while, we moved to another corner of the garden - which was now a sunny spot. A sanctuary of vibrant fruits, flowers, and swirling incense. Together we said prayers as I was blessed with holy coconut water and offerings of rice and fruit.

As you can you can tell by the photos, I was feeling very sorry for myself at this point.

Before I left, they tied a traditional Indonesian bracelet of red, white and black thread around my wrist; representing love, life and death. Told not to remove it, I am still wearing it now, 5 months later.

The weird feeling lingered for a few days after the ceremony, I was emotionally drained. Sitting by the hotel pool that afternoon, I called home to talk it though amidst the haze of emotions that clouded my mind.

Adhering to instructions, I also refrained from showering for three days to let the holy water sink into my skin. Like a good little girl, I arrived back in the UK with dried flowers stuck in my hair, still smelling like Bali.

Returning home, the haze slowly lifted and was replaced by glimpses of happiness which I hadn’t felt for months. Tri Desna gave me what I had come for. Looking back on my trip to Bali - and all my adventures of the past year, I was thankful to have them as happy memories during the worst year of my life.

Friday 15 December 2023

Travel is such a huge and very important part of my life; and 2023 has been full of incredible adventures. Here are some snippets of my favourite days from each.

Tenerife

In January, I was fortunate enough to escape the cold on a last minute trip to Tenerife.

One of my favorite moments was lounging by the pool with a frozen cocktail in hand. We stayed in an amazing suite with a rooftop jacuzzi so my time was mostly split between there, the spa or eating iberico ham at the beach bar.

Morocco

I had been desperate to go back to Marrakesh ever since my press trip in 2017, so this was a real treat.

The whole city is just magical and reminds me of Aladdin so I especially enjoyed having more time to wander around the souks and the Medina this time.

My favourite part of this trip was our afternoon at the La Sultana; where I had my first hamam experience and an awesome massage. After that we went to a Moroccan restaurant and ate traditional food whilst the belly dancers weaved around us.

Amalfi Coast

My driving holiday along the Amalfi Coast was unforgettable. Cruising along the twisting roads in a Fiat 500 while watching the sunset was magical. However, my favorite day was our boat trip to Capri. We made friends on the boat and spent the afternoon sipping sparkling cocktails with them on the island before heading back to the mainland for dinner in Positano.

Thailand

In May, I took my first solo trip since before lock down and it was full of great days.

Maybe the five star hotel spa day, the day I spent surfing on the flow rider; or maybe an accumulation of the lazy days spent at the pool at my jungle hotel.

Every day was special in its own way on this trip. I was really struggling with life at home in May and needed some time away to reflect and process what had happened. I spent a lot of time journalling by the pool, speaking to my therapist and getting into bed early and came back feeling much better.

Ibiza

I had been wanting to see Ushuaïa for as long as I can remember so whilst I'm not a big party girl, this is what my trip to Ibiza was about. Another bucket list item, done

Lagos

Our biggest girls trip yet - we some how managed to find a date where everyone could come which was great. Still doing a lot of reflecting, I spent a lot of time of my own by the beach but my favourite memory from this trip was getting afternoon drunk on frozen strawberry daiquiris by the pool.

Seville

I haven't got a lot to say about this trip because I spent the majority of it in bed sick. I did manage one morning of adventure though which involved a food tour around the city and I enjoyed that very much.

Barcelona

This trip was booked totally last minute when I won a ticket to see Blink 182 play there. It turned out to be one of my favourite memories from the whole year. Not only was I super excited to see one of my favourite bands which I'd not been about to get a ticket for in Lodnon, but I also took my skates along with me and spent the afternoon skating up and down the beach in the sun. I ate tapas in the street, wandered about on my own and fell in love with around a city I'd previously written off.

Indonesia

Having already flown to Asia earlier in the year I was looking for another excuse to go back so when I saw that another favourite band of mine, Bring me the horizon were playing in Jakarta it was the perfect excuse.

Jakarta was another place I had no interest in visiting, I was only there to see the band but funnily enough, this was another place I ended up really loving.

Bali I know well and with a mix of luxury hostels and private treetop villas, it was a wonderfully varied trip. I made friends and went to beach clubs some days and jumped between delivery food by my private plunge pool and the spa on others.

This trip was less reflective and more grounding. I looked at it as a healing trip and wanted it to be about getting back to myself and being happy - and that's exactly what happened.

I am very grateful I was able to travel so much this year and after a couple of quieter years due to covid, it reminded me just how happy travel makes me. I look forward to whatever adventures 2024 brings!

SLIDER