The first time I ever flew on a plane, I was about 2-3 years old. One of the great perks of growing up as an expat kid means that you're not only instilled with a love for travel from a young age, but also that you do tend to grow up with a certain level of savvy for it. By the age of 10, I had a list of my favourite airports in the world already picked out. Obviously, as a kid, the winner at the time was Singapore's Changi airport - it boasted the best gaming area you could

I can't even remember the first time I learned how to swim. My parents like to joke that they tossed me into a pool and hoped for the best, but what I do know is this: I grew up directly across from the beach (on Sharjah's Corniche Road, to be exact); I was taught how to swim by a stern-with-a-heart-of-gold Finnish woman called Mrs. Turner (I was so young I never knew her first name), a former Olympian who was almost into retirement age lest for the fact that she'd never quit

When it comes to the good life - living in boardies and bikinis by the beach, chilling out with an acoustic guitar, enjoying a cold beverage and a hearty meal after a day spent splashing around in the ocean, feeling at one with nature, being happy with the simpler things in life, and seeing the sunrise or sunset every day - surfers have got the formula down pat, according to many stereotypes anyway. And while to a certain extent, the subculture that surrounds this awesome spo