I have stood 5,895 metres above earth at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point of Africa. My face was so cold I couldn't feel it and my fingers were like chunks of ice - so stiff that I couldn't photograph my achievement. It was a glorious moment, my adventurous spirit released at last.
I was the kind of traveller who would book tickets and turn up in a remote village hoping to find a place to sleep; who stopped and talked to locals and got invited into homes; who walked through valleys and discussed local politics and for whom every travel disaster was the prelude to an unexpected story. I was never one to hang out on a beach for a whole week. In fact, I could imagine nothing worse than lounging by a pool for seven whole days.But then, what I didn’t have when standing on the roof of Africa was children, the ultimate party-poopers when it comes to adventurous travel.
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Since I had my children, I haven't been able to travel as freely. This was frustrating because I had enjoyed my freedom and experiences. As a female traveller, I enjoyed breaking stereotypes at home and wherever I travelled to. That's what holidays used to mean. But now, with two miniature humans to feed, entertain and comfort, my previous travelling experiences are now impossible.
I have had to relearn how to travel. First I learnt how to have a beach holiday. The bliss of someone else bringing food and clearing it away again while doing nothing but watching the waves and digging my toes into the sand was – to my surprise – an enjoyable change from the struggles of caring for a newborn. I can confirm that I have now mastered the art of sitting by a pool drinking a mocktail.
But then I became a working mother who also travels for work. I suffer angst when leaving the children. Again, I had to learn a new way to travel. Now I take the children with me. There is a delight in being close to them, having them accompany me and have them enjoy new experiences. But mostly I think it’s important for them to see their parent in action. Their mother is not just the mummy they know at home: she is a rounded person with her own identity. More mothers should do this with their children. In fact, more fathers should do it too.
I discovered something else about travel when it comes to having children. They are in fact just little people whom I can introduce to the art of travel. As a parent, I have realised that instilling the love of adventure and discovery is itself a form of magic. It's a privilege to be able to introduce new cultures, food and people to children and the excitement in their eyes at seeing things for the first time is a reminder of the joy of travel. They say that today we have travelled to all corners of the Earth and nothing is left undiscovered. Except, of course, there is one territory that is awaiting discovery and adventure: the spirit of children.
I look forward to the day when they will be my travelling companions. They don’t need to be adults, just young people with ideas and opinions. And I don’t think that day is too far off. But perhaps the most important lesson I have learnt when it comes to being a parent and travelling is the importance of ensuring we create time and space to be together during our holidays.
On a recent trip, we wove in one magic ingredient – some private relaxation time at the end, just the four of us. We had our own villa, the incredible privilege of our own pool and the luxury of being looked after. All we had to do was concentrate on being together. It’s something we miss out on during our hectic daily lives.
Making sure our travel was an opportunity to bring us closer together through shared experiences paid off. When my two-year-old returned to nursery she was asked what she did on her holiday and she said: "I gave my mummy lots of cuddles. All the time."
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years-of-age
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his/her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30-years-old and able to support the child financially
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
