My oldest clear memory is my brother’s 2nd birthday party which would have made me 3 years and 1 month old at the time. He had a blue bunny ice cream cake with a candle in each of its ears. There were no other children on the 1980s construction company compound just outside Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where we lived with our parents at the time. There were however a number of South Korean businessmen, colleagues of my father, who did a good job of bringing the party “spirit” (yes in liquid form) to the occasion. I have other memories that might have been earlier but the birthday party is the line in the sand. I know exactly when that happened.
It was at this party that I remember hearing the name “Damascus” for the first time. One of our party guests had just returned from a trip. At the time I thought the name sounded so exotic and cool. I still do. The markets full of spices and brightly coloured fabrics, the ancient buildings and modern palaces so shiny and beautiful, and the food. Sitting here writing this I can taste the food I’ve never eaten as if I had a platter of colourful rice and delicious stew right in front of me. I really wanted to go. We lived in Saudi for less than a year. We were in Kirkuk, Iraq for some time too. We visited a number of places that I have no memory of but there are photos in an album in an attic somewhere to prove I was there. But Damascus eluded us. As I grew and we moved continent again, I made a mental note to visit Damascus one day when I was older.
Our next home away from home was Hong Kong in the early 90s where there were so many families like ours. We lived in an apartment complex where there were plenty more children to attend our birthday parties. A Dutch family who we had made friends with gave us their apartment (which was bigger than ours) when they moved to Dubai. The children told us about their next home and showed us pictures. Dubai was nothing more than a few buildings in the sand back then compared to what it looks like today but it was still eye-wateringly amazing to me at the time. I really wanted to move to Dubai too. I kept telling my dad to apply for jobs in Dubai.
Finally my wish was granted 12 years later when I was at university in Leeds, UK and got a message from my dad that he was heading off to Dubai for his next job. I booked a flight to go visit him for Christmas 2002 immediately. Dubai has more than doubled in size since then and I was lucky enough to visit there again with my husband and two oldest children in 2017. It really is a playground for adults. If you have the money you can do anything you want in this dream oasis including skiing. In the desert. All my dreams of what it would be like were true.
That first trip to Dubai cemented my determination to tick off the rest of my list, including the last entry, which got there if I’m being honest via the Wild Thornberrys episode where our favourite remote working Comvee-driving family travel to Zanzibar. There’s an argument to say that a 16 year old should have better things to do than watch cartoons but I will fight any person who makes that case. Anyway, there’s a summary of the episode here. I had of course heard of Zanzibar before and once again just the name conjured up the most perfect image of an exciting far flung destination that people talk about but don’t actually know anything about. We had only just bought a modem and I hadn’t even created my first email address at that point so Googling it wasn’t an option. I went to the bookshelf and pulled out the world Atlas, opened it at the back and skimmed the last page of the index for Zanzibar. Between the promise of shopping for big slippers (IYKYK #thornberrysforever), more spicy, delicious food and pristine beaches, I was sold. Zanzibar shot straight to the top of the list.
So when my husband proposed to me, I knew immediately where the honeymoon should be. Zanzibar. For 10 days. Most people visit Zanzibar as a pit stop on the way to or from a safari but not me. I wanted to take time to really experience it. We spent endless days enjoying the beach and eating like royalty. We explored Stone Town and its hectic markets, old churches and slavery memorials. We snorkelled with Moray Eels (wtf?), posed with giant tortoises, drank in treetop bars and curled up to watch movies on the occasional rainy day. It was perfect. When I took this picture below, I said to my husband, “This is exactly what I thought it would be like” and he replied with the magic words that will guarantee a successful marriage: “You were right”.
My list isn’t very long. I’ve visited many other places and I plan on visiting many many more, but these 3 were the ones I fantasised about. I cut out pictures from magazines and had posters on my walls. 2 down is not bad. And I’m sure it would have been 3 down by now had it not been for events outside of my control. The news from Syria isn’t making the front pages these days. I have to search up the latest developments, clashes and progress. But I’m watching. Waiting for the travel advice to change. I’ll be the first on a plane. Thinking about that future day makes me so happy.
