But you have to be super quick! Remember my article about Langkawi? Well, Holiday magazine has just announced they are offering a 3day, 2 night stay at the Mutiara Buray Bay resort, in Langkawi!! This is the resort that has the very awesome Seashell Cafe I was telling you about, with the giant electric guitar, and the photo above is one I took while at the resort, it is so gorgeous.

To win just be the 25th member to register with Holiday magazine, that’s it, it’s so simple!Click here. Good luck!

yes. you heard me. i can’t think of ANY better way to celebrate all your hard work for My Heart Wanders, nor a better way to help me unwind and rejuvenate. So come on, get your sarong on, take your towel and sun hat, grab your favourite book and I’ll order the capirinhias! It’s holiday time!!!

First of all, do you remember this photo above? I posted about it here when I was on deadline, writing an article. I couldn’t tell you about it then but guess what, I can now! The magazine has just been launched, so it’s time to spill all…

This place holds a very special piece of my wandering heart. And yes, French Boy has everything to do with it.

I will save the love story for another time but for now, I just want to take you to this special place. A few of you have already been, since one of our favourite bloggers beat me to it and posted about her recent trip there last Friday. How lucky she is to live so close by to this magical place! So for those of you who know who I’m talking about, let’s just pretend this is your first time to…

With thanks to my dear friend and editor, Vanitha Krishnasamy, it is an honour to be part of this first, awesome issue of Holiday. Here is the rest of my article below. And even though the text is small, I promise you will want to take the time to read every bit, it is packed with my absolute favourite things to do on the island.

French boy and I adore the menu at Bonton Resort. THIS is the place to have your caipirinha poolside, then wander into the pavillon for an incredible feast. heaven, I tell you…

We spent 10 days here, staying at Berjaya and exploring around, looking for the best restaurants and places to visit. The main town is very touristy so we stayed away, and in doing so managed to find the island’s best-kept secrets. One of the most fun we had was taking the scooter out for the day. We designed our own tour, stopping just whenever we felt something looked interesting and then exploring, finding a whole world within it. We saw a wooden sign pointing the way toward a mangrove jungle, and since French boy had never experienced mangroves before (wow, i know! country boy!), we headed in. I was blown away, it is the most incredible mangrove forest I have ever seen…

Can you see the monkey?

We found this restaurant called ‘The Seashell Cafe’ – it is just a little walk along the beach from Berjaya. It was fabulous – a beach hut covered in fairy lights, complete with this giant electric guitar…

I know, hilarious! We thought we had died and gone to heaven. Oh I could go on and on and on about our time there. I found so much inspiration. It was a time in my life when my heart was well lost. And it was this place, and this boy, who found it again…

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Holiday magazine can be found in travel agents and on airlines all through Malaysia. For overseas interest, please ask your local travel agent. Holiday magazine is also the proud parent of the Help Keep Our Children Safe campaign, read more about it here by clicking on the campaign logo to the right of the page. And to find out more about the magazine, click here.

“…the things that are close to you, are the things you can photograph the best…”

“…and unless you photograph what you love, you are not going to make good art.”

“it’s always been my philosophy to try to make art out of the everyday and ordinary…it never occurred to me to leave home to make art.”

A few weeks ago I watched a documentary. And it took hold of my soul so swiftly, that it has taken me this long to tell you about it. What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann by Steven Cantor is engaging to say the least. It is so raw, Steven manages to take you right into Sally’s world, and even though you are not sure you want to be there, you are captivated, you can’t let go. Working soley with an 8 x 10 large format camera, Sally’s work is beyond words. She captures life and death in a way I never thought possible. I will say no more, but if you haven’t already seen this doco then watch the trailer here, and get your hands on a copy of the dvd here.

Sally’s philosophy about her art resonates deep within me. She is certainly an inspiration for My Heart Wanders. Think about her words above when you capture your wandering heart in the coming days.

For more info on Sally, click here and here.

All images and quotes by Sally Mann.

but wait there’s more!

and then i saw the sign to wagga…

… and I realised I’d been tricked – for all aussies know that wagga wagga is nooooooowhere near the ocean. What wonderful witchery was this? It’s a place called zaandvoort and is one of The Netherlands beaches, complete with beachside cafes bearing Australian flags. French Boy and I took the half hour train ride and hung out here all afternoon, lapping up the sunshine + sea breeze, and sipping wine. It was just what the doctor in me ordered (yes I’m known to self-diagnose and self-medicate on a regular basis). The pipelette in me ran riot, telling sydney seaside stories, and creating crocodile dundee-style legends.

Needless to say a few friends back home got a few late night text messages from me. I’m (sort of) sorry if I woke you guys.

I also spotted this little photo shoot, which I thought was rather magical…

Yep, I am happy now everyone – I know exactly where I can go to get a dose of home. I just won’t look at that strange fomey stuff that wobbles on the shore, and I’ll imagine the water is blue and not brown, and that the waves roll high and that the sand is golden and nice to the touch. Yep, nearly there. Thanks Holland, for creating a little home away from home just for me…

…building sand castles. sweet dreams everyone.

photograph by sarah heinrich.