大开眼界 - South Africa Part 4
(Thursday / 17:24)
(Thursday / 17:24)
31st August
The bus ride took us to Bergkelder Wine Centre & Wine Meseum and we had a tour around the place. Again I regret not paying more attention to my class hehe We tried some of their wine and I had a few sip since I am not a fan of it, except dessert wine. Did not get any wine back although it was cheap.
It was raining when we left the place and while we traveled to our dinner venue, we saw double rainbow stretching widely! I have never seen so much rainbow within a few days before. It was such a pretty sight :)
For dinner, the highlight was the abalone hehe After that we headed to a shopping mall for some free time and together with my cousin, we bought cakes because the cakes look so big and appetizing! However it was not to my liking. Compared to Singapore, it taste like cakes you will buy around your neighbourhood area.
And surprisingly we actually finished all the food we bought there! My aunt actually packed a whole bag of food okay. We gave some away to our guide at Entabeni and finished up the rest despite being really full after our dinners.
1st September
Had our last breakfast at the hotel and we went off to some place that sells diamond. It's not something that appeal to me, yet, so I spent most of my time at the souvenir shop. Bought a couple of cool stuff there while waiting for the adults. And they had a shock of their lives while purchasing the diamonds haha because all along everything was charged in South Africa currencies and our tour guides told us again and again that they do not take anything in US dollars but the diamonds were actually sold in US dollars! And each of the diamond they chose were actually enough to buy a house/car (cannot remember which) back in Malaysia.
After that we made a couple of stops for souvenirs and sightseeing before heading to the airport. And the flight back was slightly longer than our flight there. My ass hurts.
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So there, I finally completed my adventure to SA and only now I realised I had the month wrongly haha
This trip is so enriching to me and it even changed my mindset of South Africa. To be honest I like the place quite a bit. Enough to give me thought of moving there. Mostly because the pace of life there. I dislike Singapore pace of life okay hahaha I think I will move away from this place in the future. Who knows.
Labels: travel
大开眼界 - South Africa Part 3
( / 21:58)
( / 21:58)
30th August
Our room was not facing the sea so when we got to the breakfast area we had a pleasant surprise. The hotel is really situated by the coast! Went outside to feel the beautiful morning (2pm in Singapore) and went back inside within 5 minutes because it was really cold ^^
Throughout the trip at Cape Town, we stopped along the road a lot of times to just look at the beautiful sea. There is absolutely nothing not to love about it - I could even do that for the whole day because it was so awesome. Its an experience you will not get in Singapore.
Took a little boat ride to get to the Seal Island. My first time taking a boat and I think I like it hehe This could be my first favourite thing to do that is related to water. I stood at the front so I was able to see the waves coming close and feel it when it rolls underneath.
Of course I held on the railing very tightly because I do not want to fall into the water. I like boat ride but I'm still not a fan of water. The other hand was used to protect my camera so I had no more hand to hug myself for some warmth because it was freaking cold. The wind was so strong my hair was strangled me. When we got to the Seal Island, it was worth it Hehe I love how throughout this entire trip I looked at wild animals that are not trapped within a cage or enclosure. There were a lot of seals that lepak on the little island but some of them were swimming in the sea and doing stunts with their body and fins ^^
When we got back to the wharf, there was a whole row of local selling their handicrafts. Towards the end there was this man with a seal. We were allowed to take pictures with the seal if we pay him. So we did. Touched the seal skin and it was not what I thought it should be.
Halfway through a woman screamed at our way. She was shouting stuff like we are abusing the seal, giving us thumbs down. It affected me a lot after that. First and foremost I did not realised that we/they/I was abusing the seal. A lot of thoughts went through my head, the angel and devil fought it out and I was feeling really guilty..
Next, we headed to Fish Hoek and had our lobster meal~ Soup and ice cream was great, but lobster was so dry (or I don't know how to appreciate it). Finished up everything still, of course. Some of them left some fries on the plate so they could feed the seagulls outside.
I could not wait to get outside of the restaurant because of the colourful beach huts! It was not anything exceptionally amazing but I just wanted to see it with my own eyes since pictures of it have been floating around the net so much and I love those bright colours I could die happy in one.
After watching them feed some seagulls (I had no balls to do it) and trying to play the see-saw which obviously was not made for us (when one side goes up, we could not get up to the other side because it was too high LOL), we went to see penguins. I think I am in love with those little things. WHEN I SEE PENGUINS I SPARKLE. It was just a few minutes bus ride from Fish Hoek to the Boulder Penguin Colony. We had to walk down a slope to get there, which was not a problem until the older people climbed back up. hehe THOSE CUTE LITTLE SQUISHY ANIMAL OMG but no one else share the same passion as I do so we left the place pretty quickly =/
Table Mountain National Park was next on the itinerary and during the ride there, the tour guide told us that whales come close to the shore during the season and if we were lucky we can spot them. The bus driver and tour guide both spotted whales but I see nothing :( It was quite a distance away and it's like looking for Wally in a sea. Darn missed a good chance.
So at the national park is where the Cape Of Good Hope. Took a lot of pictures on the top of the park and on the large rocks just beside the sea. I realised I am very amazed by the rocks, by the waves, by the sea, everything!
31st August
After breakfast and another less than 5 minutes walk outside the restaurant, we went to the Table Mountain. Although it felt colder than yesterday, Table Mountain was opened so we went there first.
Table Mountain is a landmark at Cape Town and right now, they are hoping to get it into the New 7 Wonders of Nature. To get up there, you could either take the cable car (like we did) or hike to the top. The opening hours of the place depends on the weather because it could get really cold and sometimes, you cannot even see anything from the top because it is so cloudy.
Before the trip we were already warn that we might be able to get up the Mountain due to the weather but luckily for us, it was opened for a morning while we were at Cape Town ^^ (it then closed on the afternoon. haha) I was really excited while we were in the cable car because I could be visiting the 7 wonders of the World!
The moment I got off the cable car, I 'liked' the tour guide words silently in my head. She advised us to put on as many layers as we could and she was right, we all needed it. I wore a long tank top, leggings, pullover, jacket and a scarf and it was still cold I almost dropped my nose. But the view was magnificent. Sorry for the lack of vocabulary but it was really beautiful and breathtaking :)
Spent about half and hour on the top and then went off to the Ostrich Farm. On the way, we tour around the Bo-Kaap area to take a look at the colourful houses built for The Cape Malays. Another places I have always wanted to see because of pictures online :D But too bad I couldn't get a good photo of the place because we were in the bus and I could not snap the whole street but it was good enough!
At the Ostrich Farm, we were first taken to a museum where he gave us knowledge of the big bird, the eggs, the feathers, the meat (low in fats & cholesterol! YAY i'm making it my favourite meat now). Then he took us out of the farm and when the ostrich saw us, some of them ran over because they know we would be feeding them. Hehe funny how the male (black feathers, lips like it has got red lipstick on it) look prettier than the female (grey feathers). Fed the ostrich, saw some really cute young ostrich, met the smalled ostrich recorded on Guinness World Record.
For lunch, we had, of course, ostrich meat and egg as well as chicken thigh, veggi and rice. Man that could be the best meal I had at South Africa if not for the 6star breakfast haha The chicken was so tenderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cantstopthinkingimfuckinghungrynow
They also have souvenir shops selling precious stones and stuff made out of ostrich egg and skin. They say that ostrich skin makes really good bag and stuff and the longer you use it, the better the quality. I would have gotten one if I had the money.
Loiter around the big lawn while the youngest cousin played at the playground. I felt like I lived in a painting again. It was gorgeous! Endless clouds covered the land, different coloured grass all over the places and far away, you could see some farms.
On the bus, I left the window slightly opened to feel the cold wind and enjoy the sight. I wish the bus ride goes on forever at that moment because it felt so carefree and fresh :)
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I wanted to complete writing about my trip but I'm tried after two hours and my mind is blowing up because I want to get back there and I'm really hungry. Hopefully I can finish by the next post :) I have also given up trying to get pictures on my blog so sorry for just chunks of words but I hope it makes you want to go on a enjoyable trip to SA like I did!
Labels: travel
大开眼界 - South Africa Part 2
( / 21:10)
( / 21:10)
28th August
Woke up before the sun was up. Brushed my teeth with the soiled water and washed my face with the little bit of clean water I had in my water bottle. Opening the door was a little scary since I won't know what could be outside waiting for me haha The sky brightened up pretty fast though but there was no 'breathtaking' view. Got onto the jeep and made our way up the mountain. It felt a lot colder than the night before and the road was rocky but Thomas promised that all these would be worth it when we got to the top.
On a side note, I wonder why Thomas don't seemed to feel the cold at all. All of us were almost wrapped from head to toe but all he had was just a jacket.
On the way up, we stopped for a little while and took a 2 minute walk to a tree. Up on the tree was the leftover of a leopard's prey. They say it could be there for probably two days or more but it looked.. fresh to me. tsk Maybe it is because of the weather it doesn't seems to rot as fast.
So we got to the top and it was an awesome sight! Too bad it was rather misty and it was impossible to see how high we were and how beautiful it was. Had a light meal before leaving to look for animals. Didn't see any new animals except that when giraffe :D First time being so close to giraffe it could even see their skin so upclose!
Had breakfast back at the restaurant before going back to our room to pack up and leave. The journey took about 5 hours and then we arrived at The Palace, a famous resort in South Africa. There are 5 hotels and we stayed in the 6 star one woohoo Feel so atas. Took some time to locate our rooms because the place was huge Haha and of course the room was big and beautiful! However we were warned to keep the full length window closed because baboons could just get in anytime.
After settling down, we all met up with the tour guide again so she could roughly guide us around the huge place. We walked through 3 hotels, a man-made beach, a swimming pool and reached the place where we would be having our dinner. We were then given a time off to whatever we want to do before meeting up for dinner. Of course we kids wanted more than anything to visit the man-made beach and the slide~~ Yes I was excited despite of my phobia of water. However when we are going over, the security told us they are closing that attraction in about 10 minutes time -.- So we ended up going to the swimming pool and it was boring. Only the youngest among us had fun.
After a shower in the room we went for another room of Chinese food. Did I mention how sick of Chinese food I was -_- After that we went back to our room and we had a round of cup noodles hehe
29th August
Morning was fabulous! Even the tour guide was telling us to go down early for breakfast because you would hate it if you only had a hour. And she was right.
However, we waited at the lift for maybe 20 minutes because they say one of the lift was down and only one was working and that lift just wouldn't come to my level. And the best thing was when I asked if there is any staircase, I was told there was no staircase.... .... ... HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE (although I couldn't find the staircase by my own too).
They have the largest spread of breakfast I have ever seen. Here's a list of some of the food I can remember -
Fruits, yogurts, a lot of different fruit juice, oysters, sashimi, sushi, waffle + pancake with a lot of toppings you are free to add, cookies, cheese, meat, noodle, rice etc etc etc etc
I'm not even kidding. I eat a lot of different stuff in small portions ^^ I even had 3 oysters! I used to hate eating the raw ones but after the first one I wanted more. That was how fresh it was! And there was a lot of fruit juice to choose from and I loved the banana one because it was really thick. omg I have saliva all over my face now.
Too bad we only spent a night there =/ After checking out we took the bus for 3 minutes before stopping for lunch. HAHA but none of us could eat much so the tour guide told the owner to just make small portion of food for us. They bought a few plates of noodles over. And the plates were a lot larger than Crystal Jade's ramen bowl -.- Most of the food went to our bus driver instead haha
Took a 2 hours flight from Lanseria Airport to Cape Town! On the way there I witness the most fluffy land of clouds~ I wanted to jump out of the plane and just lie on the endless cloud and row and row and row and jump and run..
We took a Kulula flight and their sense of humor really got me. I picked up their copy of 'stuff to do during an emergency' because I was surprised why the people were smiling on the cover. I mean, it is suppose to be an emergency right? Inside the booklet was stuff that was even more interesting like
(fuck my english. Im changing between present tense and past tense so much :'( )
.. Go see my facebook if you will. Blog wouldn't let me upload pictures. When we arrived, the flight captain welcome us to Cape Town and he went on by saying something like "if this is not the place you are suppose to be, then you are in trouble". ^^ Cool.
Another tour guide took over and we took a mini bus to our hotel which is located by the sea. Since landing, the difference between Johannesburg & Cape Town could obviously be seen. Cape town have got houses so colourful and close together it looked like Lego from the top whereas Johannesburg had a lot lesser colour for their buildings and houses; usually brown.
By the time we arrived at Lagoon Beach, the sky was dark and the weather was cold. You know how usually Africa is deem as a hot, hot place but most of the time I was wearing at least 2 layers..
Labels: travel
大开眼界 - South Africa
(Sunday / 20:52)
(Sunday / 20:52)
I was 6 hours behind you all.
25th August
Flight was 13 hours in total. Did a stopover at Dubai and then headed to Johannesburg. Was really tired but I couldn't sleep and neither could I sit down and finish a movie. When we arrived at Jo'burg it was about 8pm. And my luggage was delayed because they forgot it in Dubai hehe Went up to the shops at the airport to get some necessities but there was nothing that catch my eye :( Got some stuff though because I have got insurance and it would cover the cost. Took a 10min bus ride to the hotel, Mondior, in a van that makes me felt like I belonged to the circus hehe
The hotel we stayed in was only a small part of the whole resort. Did our check in and did a little walk around inside. We missed our dinner time but it is okay because we were well fed by Emirates Airline haha And I got a double bedded room all to myself because they did not had any family room so they gave us two rooms instead! For the first time I slept in a hotel alone it was pretty cool. I was pretty cool.
Oh, before heading back to our rooms, my aunt and I used the coupon we had for a free cocktail at one of the bar. Ordered some rose drink because there was no more mojito :( We went back to the room with slight blur vision hehe & I had my very first leg cramp while sleeping.
26th August
Breakfast at Mondior was lovely. I like their tea selection & was amazed by the package. Instead of tea bags, the tea is packed in a shape of a stirrer. Initially I was still trying to open up the packet to pour the tea in when all you need to do was to pour hot water into your cup and put the tea stick into the cup.
inside an used gold mine
the roller coaster that comes down straight
Had awful chinese lunch before heading off to some city viewing at Pretoria (which is one of the capital of South Africa) and then to Voortrekker Monument. Really interesting, take a read if you like :) Went to the top for a breathtaking view before heading back to the hotel for dinner.
Dinner was at the resort itself and provides a large spread of food! Yay nothing is better than a good buffet. After dinner I tried to get in the bar with my cousin but we failed LOL the person first doubt if I was old enough and raised an eyebrow when I told her I'm legal. And then she was like 'no, definitely not her' to my cousin. At that point of time I could only think she really sounded like those woman in movies - the slang and action and all.
27th August
To the Entabeni game reserve! :) We were welcomed with drinks and lunch but sadly the rooms weren't ready yet. Not sure why though. Sat around and had bonding session with the rest of the travel mates haha Also spotted a few animals at the backyard. After almost three hours, I wondered why don't they just take us to see the animals while we wait for the room because the initial plan was to take us to the room before driving around the reserve. And they really did hehe
I became the translator on the jeep (is it call a jeep?) because I was better with both language (i think). The ranger, Thomas, drove up really close to the rhino and other herbivores and shared some knowledge about them with us. At first I was scared to be so close to the animals, especially the rhinoceros, thinking they would attack haha. Next we went for a hell of a ride. He was a damn good driver for being able to drive the steep slopes down the mountain! So steep that I would not be able to see his head if I look straight ahead while he drives. They say it is one of the steepest road there that goes almost 90 degree downwards. No joke.
The game reserve was magnificently beautiful. Most of the areas were left untouched and the mountains and everything fascinates me. ^^ And we saw lions and stayed for a couple of minutes just less than 5m from them. Really cool experience~
During my conversation with Thomas, he told me a little about himself and he basically lived a life I want to have. He travel around with his brothers from England (I think) and they are currently at different part of Africa. So I translated this part to the rest of the people on the jeep as well and my cousin jokingly asked if she could get his email. I laughed and then feel bad if I do not translate it to Thomas so I really asked him. He har har har then stopped for awhile before laughing again (which I assume he really finds it funny) and then he say he can give his mobile number HAHA at that point of time my cousin was already embarrassed because she never thought I would really translate that part.
We went stopped at middle of nowhere for a break and everyone was on high tide. Must be too much tea, coffee & beer before the trip -.- Then we all pee at behind some trees hehe I PEED IN THE WILD. We also had some drinks and tidbits before continuing our trip.
Hopped on the jeep and within 10minutes we saw a crocodile by the river! Watched it being motionless and when we were about to drive off, the other ranger decided to dare Thomas to touch its tail. He did it and came back saying he never did it before ahaha Thought that croc would turn about and snap or something but it just stayed motionless.
By the time we drive up the mountain, it was already dark. He used the same steep road and needed an extra equipment to help climb the mountain. Halfway thru he took out a powerful light/torch/whatever that is and then drive while holding that heavy thing in one hand. I kind of o.o and offered help to take the light. At first I thought it was used to help him see the road better but actually it was to help him spot the animals in the dark. So I held the torch for him but sadly we did not spot anything. My hands were freezing by then. It got really cold in the evening man. I was already wearing four tops but I could still feel it brrr
When we finally got back we kids crowd around the fireplace haha Had dinner and then head to our rooms. The game reserve actually have got four different kind of rooms located at different part and we got ours, called Ravineside, by a cliff. There are four rooms altogether and a common area at the middle but once we went back into our room we never went out. Probably too scared to haha I mean, those wild animals are free to roam anywhere they want to! One of their staying lodge was just tents and you aren't allowed to go outside the tent after the ranger have left. In the morning you can only come out if the ranger says so. So cool right I want to stay there too!
And my cousins and I did not bathe before going to bed despite being really dirty with all the sand and dirt from the ride that day because the water was yellowish in color. Should be the soil but nah, I just went to bed straight after I took off the first jacket I wore on the outside.
Labels: travel