Carnival Sunday in Trinidad was 🔥

Last night was the premiere All Inclusive fete, held at the residence of world record holder, Cricketer, The Hon. Brian Charles Lara. Several local and international celebrities were present, including Usain Bolt, Lil Kim, Eniko Hart, (Kevin Hart’s wife) and lots more.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Kes, Alison Hinds and Olatunji backstage. It was the best way to end a fantastic carnival season before the masqueraders hot the street for the parade.

UK Xfactor contestant- Olatunji

The question remains, who will clinch the “Roadmarch title”(most popular soca played on the road), would it be Kes with Savannah Gras or, Machel, Bunji and Skinnyfabulous with “Famalaylay.” Time will tell.

In the mean time take a look at last night’s performance from Kes at Brian Lara’s party.

An Unplanned Trip To Qatar

Upon our departure from India, our flight was delayed for several hours, due to a medical emergency with a passenger, who subsequently died. Due to this misfortune, our flight out of India was delayed, and we missed our connecting flight to Atlanta, with Qatar Airways. After learning of the reason for the delay, we felt sad, but it truly put our delayed flight into perspective. Afterall, we were alive and we now had an all expenses paid, unplanned trip to Qatar!

Qatar was everything and more. The ground staff at Qatar Airways made us wish we missed more flights😜. They were outstanding. Someone was waiting to greet us as we disembarked, to put everything in place, and ensure we did not feel dislocated.

We decided to explore the city for the day. I wish we had more time, but one day was enough to impress us. The food was amazing. We visited the Villagio Mall, which gives you the feeling like you are shopping outdoors, with a majestic ceiling, that looks exactly like the sky. There is also a man made river with gondolas at The Villagio.

I also made a friend. I call her “my Qatar friend”, who took us to the Souk or Souq, where they make the finest gold jewelry on the spot. We were able to have them “custom make” a piece of jewelry for us in one hour!

There were other vendors selling art, fabric and clothing. I loved the late evening atmosphere at the Souk. We stopped for tea, as there are several tea shops and restaurants.

It was an unplanned trip to Qatar, but one we certainly would not forget . We missed a flight, made a friend, and discovered another culture, all in one day. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a billboard with one of our Caribbean track stars, Yohan Blake, plastered on Billboards around Qatar.

P.S. We quite enjoyed the early morning entertainment at the airport and we hope to be back soon. There is so much to explore in Qatar. Add this to your bucket list if you have not experienced Qatar as yet. Special thanks to the ground crew and amazing flight crew, Souha and Slyvia, who took care of us🤩✈.

Qatar crew members Souha and Slyvia

Grateful 🙏🏽

Basia💞🌍

Food and Travel Blogger

Instagram.com/basiapowell

Take a look at a short video we made on our short stay in Qatar.

Caribbean Life💕

I grew up in the Caribbean and I took it for granted. My childhood years were spent in Trinidad and Tobago, #love👌🏾❤️, and my early adult years were spent in Jamaica 🇯🇲, where I found my love 😍. During those years I craved life in London and Paris. Fortunately for me, I have experienced it all and I can tell you with absolute certainty that Caribbean life is where exotic lives⛱.

Cheers to Caribbean Life. 🍾🥂

Whether you live in Barbados, Jamaica, St Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago or anywhere in the Caribbean region, you are blessed. Why? Let’s start with our weather. Rain falls and sun shines👌🏾. Our fruits are amazing. I got up this morning and had a cup of tea and ate a “Julie Mango”.

Me and my girls eating a mango while sitting by the pool at Round Hill Montego Bay, Jamaica.👌🏾

Our region is not perfect but remains untouched and naturally beautiful. From the blue mountains, waterfalls, beaches, birds, beautiful palm trees and our food. It’s a “feel good” vibe. The new buzz word in the first world countries is organic food. This where organic food is grown and where organic lives.

Don’t talk about our people, our music, our athletes and our cultures. We have given the world Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, Rihanna, Nikki Minaj, Cardi B, Winston Duke, and lots more. Out of many, we are truly one people. We live, love and laugh. Though some of them hate, love always win in the Caribbean. If one neighbor does not have food to eat, they can go by another neighbor or a friend. That’s how we live.