Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 286

Place everyone has been except me. #30stays

Out of people I know, Nepal is probably the place where it feels like everyone else has been except me.  In reality, I’m very fortunate and have been to a lot of cities, restaurants and tourist spots.

Trip I was most out of my comfort zone. #30stays

I had to think about this one for a moment – ultimately, I landed on a journey I had more or less blocked out – the trip from Galle to Colombo.  While this wasn’t actually worse than driving in India (cows!  people using the road as a toilet!  cars everywhere!), there was something about being completely blocked in traffic for hours when I had to pee and didn’t know where we were actually going or when we would get there that really shut me down.  Our driver was perfectly nice, the car was clean and safe – but somehow I almost forced myself into a panic attack.  Fortunately, that hasn’t happened any other time in my travels.

Place I can’t wait to take my kids. #30stays

That’s a bit presumptive, is it not, booking.com and maker of this challenge?  Let not assume everyone wants to (or has the ability to) have kids, shall we?

Let’s say instead I was taking any young person somewhere (whether or not they were related to me).  I would definitely take them out of their home country/environment.  I like both the Emirates and Singapore to be ‘lite’ versions of their regions (Middle East-lite and Asia-lite).  These locations are non-intimidating ways to share a new culture without scaring off a young traveler by completely throwing them into the deep end.  Knowing the Emirates better, I think a 5 day trip in Dubai/Abu Dhabi would be a fun place to explore.

Next question.

First thing I do in a hotel room. #30stays

Lock the door and put the deadbolt on.  Safe lady traveler here.

After that – I do a quick exploration, mostly centered around what the free goodies/toiletries in the room are.  Satisfied with that, I’ll probably use the restroom and then get onto the (hopeful) free (and quick) wi fi!

Most beautiful place on earth. #30stays

Wow – that’s an incredibly difficult question and one that I’m not really sure I’ve found yet.

However, if I was pressed to pick a place, I would say the desert (specifically the United Arab Emirates – near Al Ain).  I was fortunate to get a free balloon ride from where I used to work and the experience was actually quite breathtaking.  (A close second place is the Grand Canyon).

Just incredible.

 

I did a thing.

After much (much) internal debate, I decided to pull the trigger and pay for proofreading on Room 702.

I realize this is going completely out of order – that generally authors tend to have their books proofread BEFORE publishing and certainly not almost 1.5 years after the fact.

Why even bother?  My thought process was this – as Ann Benjamin, I’m going to release another book(s) and let’s say (optimistically) that readers start enjoying my works.  I don’t want them to buy an inferior product.  So, call it a mistake or a rookie move, but I’m okay with this decision.  Before my next book is released, I want the current novel I have available to be the best it can be.  Yes, I realize this will probably have no impact on sales whatsoever.  Yes, this is a selfish move.  No, I don’t care.

In case you’re interested here is the company I’m going to use.

Most Welcoming Place I’ve Stayed. #30stays

Would you believe another tie?  :)

In this case we have the Oberoi Amarvilas Agra and the Fortress Galle – both incredible examples of hospitality.  The Oberoi might get the edge as a property (who went above and beyond on multiple occasions), but as a whole, the country of Sri Lanka is an incredibly lovely and welcoming place.

Ganesh near the pool at the Oberoi.

Jumping in Galle.

 

If I only had one holiday left… #30stays

Well, that’s a bit of a depressing way to begin my day, don’t you think?

Although part of me would like to go to a new place, I think the reality is I wouldn’t care where in the world it was, as long as I was with friends and family.  I know we would have a good time wherever we were.  Still, if I was in charge of picking the location, I like the idea of taking over some small all inclusive luxury island for a week.  The drinks would be strong.  The karaoke loud and there would be all kinds of dancing.

Place Everyone Loves But I Hate. #30stays

London.

No love for this city.  Literally none at all.

I’ve been 4 times (5?) and have never been spectacularly impressed.  Don’t get me wrong – I love the history of it all, but it’s not a city I would pick to go back to.

From the only time we had a nice time. #3weddings4weekends

Place I Wish I’d Visited Sooner. #30stays

Uh, everywhere?

However, I think my progression of travel to new places has been at a good pace.  We slowed down a bit this year, but I’m hopeful for some additional new places next year and am really looking forward to my first new country of 2014 later this week – the Philippines!