Blonde Girl + Blue Eyes = How Many Camels?
Final year business student Lauren shares her unique travel experiences with ZK7. They include being chased by a camel, volcano walks and security guards with tasers.
Quick fire random questions
Travelling solo or in a group of 5
Solo – If it was a group of 2, I would go for it but group of 5 not a chance!
Hostels or hotels
Pretending I am really rich, I am going with hotels.
Hot air balloon or sky diving
Sky diving 100%!
Mountain climbing or scuba diving
Scuba diving – I am a level 1 qualified scuba diver.
Swimming with dolphins or swimming with sharks
Swimming with dolphins - As I have already been swimming with sharks.
The flying dance
Travelling can be spontaneous, incredibly cheap and enjoyable, simultaneously.
“I have uni football friends who were in Mosh (a night club) pre Covid, who were in the middle of the dance floor when one of them got an advert pop up on their phone, for £10 return flights to Amsterdam.
All 4 of the girls booked their flights immediately for 2 weeks later. It was in the airport departure lounge, whilst having some drinks, the girls found and booked an Airbnb within their budget, only a couple of hours before they were set to fly. They went on to have an amazing time!”
You can get super cheap flights by downloading airline apps onto your phone, as they send you a notification whenever they have a flash sale.
Fun with Egyptian camels
Being born with platinum blonde hair and the bluest eyes you can imagine, Lauren, aged 7, soon discovered that you can be bought for a lot of money in Egypt. On a holiday to Sharm El-Sheikh, a random man approached Lauren’s mum. He stated he wanted to buy Lauren for 5 camels and some cash.
“I recently found out from my Egyptian friend, that 5 camels are worth quite a lot of money.”
Lauren explained that she had half decent parents at the time, so her mum said no. But then her mum asked to see the man’s camels.
“I don’t know if she was strongly considering selling me or just taking the joke too far but luckily, when we went to see the camels, they were really unimpressive.”
Whilst viewing the camels, one of them got off its lead and chased Lauren down the beach. By her own admission, she did pretty well to outrun the camel probably because she was competing for her county in cross country at the time, so could run pretty well. Though running on sand was a whole different story.
Lauren’s top hand luggage essentials for trips abroad
(Excluding; phones, purse and documentation)
1: Packet of tissues
2: Travel currency card – (Pre-loaded with £20 just in case)
3: Journal & pen
Croatian beef bags
University trips can be amazing. Taking the chance to travel to Croatia with her society, Lauren, along with a coach full of students embarked on a day long journey. The coach passengers included the University of Nottingham, men’s rugby team, who during the journey all decided to strip naked for no apparent reason, to the bemusement of others.
Arriving at a static caravan park, which could only be described as a very basic version of ‘Butlins,’ there were few highlights:
1: Security guards with tasers
2: Caravans which swayed
3: A gazebo which accommodated the; café, food court and night club in one (as the indoor spaces had been closed)
Meal times were an interesting experience Lauren recalls.
“The beef was carried in a plastic bin bag from the kitchen, then dumped on a table. Then someone would literally put their hand in the bag and give it to you. Worst still, they were not wearing gloves”
The beef was added to their polystyrene boxes, which contained pasta and 2 slices of bread.
Not exactly appetising or nutritious but when you are hungry, you just eat what you get.
Sunset seat
When it comes to amazing views, for Lauren it is watching the sunset from a seat in her garden which never gets moved. It is the advantage of living at the top of a hill in North Wales, with the added bonus of seeing Snowdonia.
Shots in Magaluf
With pre-booked tickets for BCM (a night club with a capacity of 7,000), Lauren arrived just gone midnight with her friend. Her choice of footwear was very logical.
“I wore flip flops because I am tall, so I would not wear heels and I wouldn’t wear trainers as it is too hot.”
Whilst having a drink at the bar, a song which Lauren loved came on and by her own admission, Lauren melodramatically jumped off her bar stool. Slipping due to the foamy wet floor, Lauren’s feet headed in different directions.
Knowing she had injured her ankles, Lauren thought she had paid way too much money to leave.
“I went to the bar and took and obscene number of shots to mask the pain and danced until 5:30 in the morning.”
Waking up drunk the next day, (with swollen ankles) she called a private ambulance and was taken to a private hospital where she was treated. It is always wise to have travel insurance wherever you travel.
Happy explorers
Talking about her ideal travel companion, without hesitation, Lauren enthusiastically said it would be her cousin Benedict (17), who is the happiest kid ever. He is a wheelchair user who loves to talk, smile at everyone and make new friends.
“Benedict is more than happy with anything as long as he does not have to take the stairs.”
It is on Lauren’s bucket list to go on a railway holiday, where you can travel through the night.
“Even if it ruins my marriage or I had to get 17 jabs, I am going on the train experience with Benedict, as he is obsessed with trains.”
Squeeze
Gorge walking, (also known as scrambling) where you walk up stream to find the source of the water from a mountain is a lot of fun. Whilst on a walk, Lauren attempted to squeeze through a tunnel. Though her body managed to fit, the same could not be said for Lauren’s helmet, which got stuck. The situation came to a head with other walkers hooking their fingers on her helmet to pull her up.
Graffiti gazing
Deciding to go on a last-minute holiday to Tenerife in 2013, Lauren and her Father were offered a pair of discounted tickets (as someone had dropped out) for a star gazing experience. The duo snapped up the tickets and off they both went up Teide volcano, which stands at 3,715m tall.
Lauren enjoyed drinking champagne (for the first time) at the top of the volcano as their guide explained all the star constellations. The stars resembled Swarovski diamonds glimmering in the night sky. The handrails around the volcano felt luxurious, which made Lauren feel she was surrounded by wealth. An experience which she was grateful to have had.
The contrast from that experience to seeing numerous half-built buildings in the same city (following the impacts of the 2009 recession) and political graffiti, which lined the streets was stark.
The best way to really experience a city is by exploring it on foot and seeing what the locals see every day. With this perspective, you will get a real sense of wealth, poverty, infrastructure, cleanliness and hospitality.
Milking it
If Lauren could live abroad for the rest of her life, it would be in the resort town of San Sebastian, which lies on the beautiful Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country. As her family reside in the town, Lauren has visited on multiple occasions, enjoying the warmer climate, culture and cuisine.
In San Sebastian, local dairy farmers fill up vending machines with fresh milk every day, where the locals pay a euro and fill up their own glass bottles. Embracing the lifestyle of the locals, Lauren would head over the road to the bakery, after getting milk and get a freshly baked croissant.
Travel tunes
When travelling home for Christmas, Lauren loves to listen to a song she has played since she was 7 years old, ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ by Chris Rea. But at any other time of the year, Lauren loves a theatrical sad song whilst looking out of the window. A favourite being ‘Coming home’ by Diddy featuring Skylar Grey.
Lauren’s top tips
1: Stop spending money on clothes (Unnecessary material items)
2: Buy a ‘bum bag’ (a bag you wear around your waist) and a padlock to avoid getting pick pocketed, especially if you are on your own or something who is easily distracted. You can keep your phone, keys and passport in their rather than in your pockets.
3: Just go and travel the world!