Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Swaziland
It's been a few days since we last posted but as we had no internet or phone connection as soon as we hit the Swaziland border.... We left Kapama Game Lodge at 10am on the 24th with the GPS saying : 3.5 hrs to our destination! 25 minutes into our journey and not surprisingly the popo stops us again!! Yes, we are like Bonny and Clyde!
The cop always very nice explains that we overtook a truck on a full line... Which we know we didn't and gives us a fine of 760 Rands..... That's a middle class monthly salary.... Chris proceeds to question the popo who is surprised by the questions. Chris explains that it is a long truck and that he started on a dashed line but the car is so small ( a Ford Figo 1.4 liters with 650kms on it ) the cop says: we'll you did go back into a straight line and that merits a fine! Now I intervene Nd pull my famous card: are you stoping because we are tourists and it's easy to get to pay large fines? :). The popo now is uneasy and asks us to follow him to the station to pay the fine which is 60 Kms away...
So After arguing a few more minutes and saying okay - le's go to the station, the popo knows we won't offer him a bribe to let us go so... He gives us back our license and let's us go! And off we again again without any fine or harm done!!!
We decide to opt for adventure rather than boring highway into Swaziland and pick a mountain border which was difficult on our tiny car but breathtaking views and cool fresh air - we arrive at the border at 2800m in altitude and it's tiny with a hard sleeping next to the half ass gate. ( Chris insists on describing it as a counter wight pendulum gate )
We proceed through tarred roads and the cops stop us again :) this time checking our car for safety and asking us for a light to the next city.... Not a bribe for once....
The final journey took us almost 8 hrs with a quick stop at Mcdonalds to verify if the quality is the same worldwide : final verdict : same taste, same quality! half the price! We slept two nights at the Malandela's B&B which had basic but nicely decorated rooms with no aircon and a. Dry thin and wirery mattress. Chris got up at 5 from back ache and became best friends with the property guard!
After two days we depart with a feeling that Swaziland is a nice country but only one visit is sufficient, the country is still ruled by a king and they practice active polygamy - each wife. Ousting 17 cows which is still the practice for all the population in Swaziland and Zululand. The wife cooks, cleans, and makes beer for her husband - the husband chooses which wife to sleep with each night and or his new girlfriend. Chris asked if we could move here :)
The cop always very nice explains that we overtook a truck on a full line... Which we know we didn't and gives us a fine of 760 Rands..... That's a middle class monthly salary.... Chris proceeds to question the popo who is surprised by the questions. Chris explains that it is a long truck and that he started on a dashed line but the car is so small ( a Ford Figo 1.4 liters with 650kms on it ) the cop says: we'll you did go back into a straight line and that merits a fine! Now I intervene Nd pull my famous card: are you stoping because we are tourists and it's easy to get to pay large fines? :). The popo now is uneasy and asks us to follow him to the station to pay the fine which is 60 Kms away...
So After arguing a few more minutes and saying okay - le's go to the station, the popo knows we won't offer him a bribe to let us go so... He gives us back our license and let's us go! And off we again again without any fine or harm done!!!
We decide to opt for adventure rather than boring highway into Swaziland and pick a mountain border which was difficult on our tiny car but breathtaking views and cool fresh air - we arrive at the border at 2800m in altitude and it's tiny with a hard sleeping next to the half ass gate. ( Chris insists on describing it as a counter wight pendulum gate )
We proceed through tarred roads and the cops stop us again :) this time checking our car for safety and asking us for a light to the next city.... Not a bribe for once....
The final journey took us almost 8 hrs with a quick stop at Mcdonalds to verify if the quality is the same worldwide : final verdict : same taste, same quality! half the price! We slept two nights at the Malandela's B&B which had basic but nicely decorated rooms with no aircon and a. Dry thin and wirery mattress. Chris got up at 5 from back ache and became best friends with the property guard!
After two days we depart with a feeling that Swaziland is a nice country but only one visit is sufficient, the country is still ruled by a king and they practice active polygamy - each wife. Ousting 17 cows which is still the practice for all the population in Swaziland and Zululand. The wife cooks, cleans, and makes beer for her husband - the husband chooses which wife to sleep with each night and or his new girlfriend. Chris asked if we could move here :)
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Big Game Country
Day 4 - we travelled yesterday from Joburg to Hoedspruit which is situated approx in the middle of Kruger National Park. The drive was good 5.5 hrs with about 1 hr of severely potholed routes - lots of farming land... Who said South Africa was dangerous???
We are staying at the Kapama Southern Lodge and the room is fantastically modern and very spacious. We have our own pool, an outside shower... The hard life!
We had our first game drive this morning - wakeup call at 5am to start at 6am - we saw tons of wildlife: giraffes, pumbas, kudu, water buffalos, large herds of Impalas, a pride of lions that had recently killed a wildebeest - two 5 month old lion cubs.... Ahhhh.... Plenty of birds and elephant dung ( but no elephants yet... ) and the coolest of them all: The Cheetah!!!!
Our next game drive is at 4pm until sunset - we are really looking forward to it.
We are staying at the Kapama Southern Lodge and the room is fantastically modern and very spacious. We have our own pool, an outside shower... The hard life!
We had our first game drive this morning - wakeup call at 5am to start at 6am - we saw tons of wildlife: giraffes, pumbas, kudu, water buffalos, large herds of Impalas, a pride of lions that had recently killed a wildebeest - two 5 month old lion cubs.... Ahhhh.... Plenty of birds and elephant dung ( but no elephants yet... ) and the coolest of them all: The Cheetah!!!!
Our next game drive is at 4pm until sunset - we are really looking forward to it.
Monday, 20 January 2014
Soweto
We knew that by selecting South Africa, we were visiting an emotionally charged country with a history of violence and perseverence... Inequality and hope. I have a feeling that many of our posts will depict what we see and how it makes us feel... Thinking that just 20 years ago, the law required for different races to stay apart... It just doesn't feel right that i was living in Canada completely ignorant to what other kids my age was going through. In a way, we were lucky....
Warning - everyone and every book will tell you that the following place is very very dangerous!!!! - So today we decided to visit Soweto which is 20 minute drive on perfect highways from Rosebank. Soweto is the black township where, starting in the late 40's, many black South Africans were evicted from Johannesburg by law as more and more areas were declared as 'white only' - We decided to not take a planned tour and started with Nelson Mandela's house - we highly recomend you do go on your own and take in the cultural difference South Africa has to offer! Mandela's house was rebuilt but they had many artifacts from when he spent his time here with his two first wives. Bullet holes can still be seen from the back of the house for when police where trying to kill his family.
We then went to the Hector Pieterson museum which explained in audio and visual details the June 16, 1976 Soweto uprising against the use of Afrikaans as the only language in schools. This little dude died in a peaceful protest and became a symbol that helped overturn apartheid.
As we moved on from the museum we decided to visit the different Soweto neighborhoods by driving from street to street and take a few shots, we ended up trying to find freedom square and passed a roundabout that was blocked with a heard of goats :) we passed and turned around 1 km later to go back to Joburg - what we didn't expect is to see a major accident that had just happened right behind us... First we see a car that is completely destroyed, then the car engine about 20m from the car, then 3 bodies of teenagers most likely dead - i was shocked as no one helped them - about 75 people had already gathered around and they were simply staring - we opted not to get out of our car and get involved not knowing how the locals would take it and not having a first aid kit. For those of you who we shared our previous car crash event with, we were first respondants on another car crash scene in Houston just 1 month ago - lots of blood and confusion, head trauma and a man under the influence.... This time, different country - Two cop cars were on site and were busy making a perimeter - but why no one helping the victims? What if they were still alive? I would want for someone to check on me....
So we left the scene as it was now or stay until they clear everything up. We ended up driving back through downtown Johanesburg and Newtown but Monday seems to be when all restaurants and museums are closed, tomorrow : Kruger Park!!!!
Warning - everyone and every book will tell you that the following place is very very dangerous!!!! - So today we decided to visit Soweto which is 20 minute drive on perfect highways from Rosebank. Soweto is the black township where, starting in the late 40's, many black South Africans were evicted from Johannesburg by law as more and more areas were declared as 'white only' - We decided to not take a planned tour and started with Nelson Mandela's house - we highly recomend you do go on your own and take in the cultural difference South Africa has to offer! Mandela's house was rebuilt but they had many artifacts from when he spent his time here with his two first wives. Bullet holes can still be seen from the back of the house for when police where trying to kill his family.
We then went to the Hector Pieterson museum which explained in audio and visual details the June 16, 1976 Soweto uprising against the use of Afrikaans as the only language in schools. This little dude died in a peaceful protest and became a symbol that helped overturn apartheid.
As we moved on from the museum we decided to visit the different Soweto neighborhoods by driving from street to street and take a few shots, we ended up trying to find freedom square and passed a roundabout that was blocked with a heard of goats :) we passed and turned around 1 km later to go back to Joburg - what we didn't expect is to see a major accident that had just happened right behind us... First we see a car that is completely destroyed, then the car engine about 20m from the car, then 3 bodies of teenagers most likely dead - i was shocked as no one helped them - about 75 people had already gathered around and they were simply staring - we opted not to get out of our car and get involved not knowing how the locals would take it and not having a first aid kit. For those of you who we shared our previous car crash event with, we were first respondants on another car crash scene in Houston just 1 month ago - lots of blood and confusion, head trauma and a man under the influence.... This time, different country - Two cop cars were on site and were busy making a perimeter - but why no one helping the victims? What if they were still alive? I would want for someone to check on me....
So we left the scene as it was now or stay until they clear everything up. We ended up driving back through downtown Johanesburg and Newtown but Monday seems to be when all restaurants and museums are closed, tomorrow : Kruger Park!!!!
Sunday, 19 January 2014
And it begins!
Hi everyone, we decided to copy our friend Papick and start a blog to share with you all the details of our trips, starting with South Africa!!!
The trip began with us landing from Mount Vernon, Ohio at 1am on the 17 th to make a 7:30 am telepresence meeting ( live meeting like a skype ) to then running back home around 3pm to eat and leave for the airport at 7pm. We get on the new Dreamliner in our executive class seats (wow) and get an opportunity to speak with the captain who as soon as we tell him we work for Rolls Royce with gas turbines he says and i quote < Yeah.... Wh have been experiencing a few issues of which the most important one being the icing in the core, causing for in flight engine failures, which fire right back up, but we need to avoid thunderstorms....> and that is when i started feeling nervous :) Great! Now these were GE engines so we weren't aware of thus issue... Which keeps proving the superiority of our products! All these things they don't you unless they think you can take it.....
So the flight was extremely bumpy although the captain tried to adjust our altitude Chris and I slept 9 hrs straight and were woken up to basically land in Lagos, Nigeria.
We met two wonderful Californians Fritz and Richard, who flew with us from Houston and they are living THA LIFE!!!! They travel to some of the coolest places on earth about 4 months out of the year and were now starting a 6 week adventure in South Africa, we promised to stay in touch and come and visit them in San Francisco this spring.... A good segway to see Patrice and Samantha in Napa!!!
We get off the plane, and are immediately directed to immigration. As we get to the immigration officer, Fritz and Richard in tow, they hand over our passports to this big, very dark, very mean looking dude. One can only think of the movie blood diamonds with the guy with the machete or the AK47 loosely hanging from his shoulder as he asks us to follow him....
So like ignorant tourists, we do.... He proceeds to take us to a tiny room with 3 flowery couches and locks our passports in an office in the back, telling us to relax and enjoy ourselves before he leaves... he returns 2 hrs later to take us to do our check in and we wait another hour in a smoldering hot packed airport with lots of sweaty, smelly travellers. The officer keeps leaving us in the middle of a crowd, which kept us thinking, will he come back this time??? We then do our checkin with lots of dirty looks as the immigration officer makes us skip the entire line, gets us our boarding passes which he quickly tucks in his shirt... He most likely is expecting some sort of tip at the end...
We return to the tiny room for another hour and he then starts calling us one by one except that when he calls Christopher he looks at me and says: when i call him, you should follow, you are his wife, a wife should follow her husband. I call his name, you should follow. I reply with : yes, you are so right, i do belong to him and i will follow, just know that back home he belongs to me and he follows me, so i will give him this one day! He then gives us a speech of how god brought us together to be married and he is very proud, shakes our hands, hands over our passport and boarding passes and Chris drops a huge 6$ in this hand! Job done, we are now free.
So we landed in Joburg an hour late at 6 am on the 18 th squeezed in an A340-600 middle row between two Africans who found Chris very annoying as for those who know him well, he likes to <pee> alot..... So he made his neighbour get up 4 times for 6 hr flight, literally waking him up :)
We pick up our tiny Chevrolet Spark which as soon as we speed to 100km/hr the wheel starts shaking enought hat we return to the airport, switch for a newer Ford Fiago ( so much bigger.....) and we make our way to the Winston Hotel in Rosebank, a nice, rich neighboorhood of Joburg.
We made a reservation at 500, one of the best restaurants in the world which would only cost us 300$ for the most elaborate 6 course meal and wine pairing... We get to the very exclusive Saxon Hotel, where Nelson Mandela stayed for months once he was freed from Jail and wrote some of his most influencial material, the likes of Oprah and Bill Clinton stay here.... So its grand! We arrive and they cannot find our reservation, which after much dissapointment, Champagne, canapes and a private visit of the hotel to make time pass, ( 3 hrs to be precise ) we decide to eat at their other restaurant, the Qunu Grill and as we are about to order, the manager, Marco Mertens comes and offers us a recently opened table at the 500 restaurant! What a meal, a series of deconstructed elements, textures, flavor paring accompanied by the only master sommelier in South Africa, we feel like royalty.... If you are ever in South Africa, you must reserve a few weeks in advance, do it!!! I forgot to add - the entire evening was complimentory!!! Saxon team, thank you for making our first night in Joburg an unforgetable one!
We leave the hotel around 1 am and not 10 minutes later, the police stops us and wants to verify that everything is ok.... Sensing an imminent bribe question, we both exit the vehicule and i ask one of the popos... Are you stoping us because we are tourists??? They of course say no, no, no... And after questionning us for another 5 minutes and carefully searching our vehicule, they send us on our way... No alcohol, no drugs, no sex, we are good to go!!
The hangover i woke up to was EPIC... And with eveything that comes with a good hangover, like throwing up and loosing the will to live and of course promising to never drink ever again....i was able to move around 4pm.... Chris, woke up fresh like a rose which makes me secretely worship and hate him. Cancelled tonight's gastronomical adventure to recharge our batteries and eat most likely Mcdonalds :)
The trip began with us landing from Mount Vernon, Ohio at 1am on the 17 th to make a 7:30 am telepresence meeting ( live meeting like a skype ) to then running back home around 3pm to eat and leave for the airport at 7pm. We get on the new Dreamliner in our executive class seats (wow) and get an opportunity to speak with the captain who as soon as we tell him we work for Rolls Royce with gas turbines he says and i quote < Yeah.... Wh have been experiencing a few issues of which the most important one being the icing in the core, causing for in flight engine failures, which fire right back up, but we need to avoid thunderstorms....> and that is when i started feeling nervous :) Great! Now these were GE engines so we weren't aware of thus issue... Which keeps proving the superiority of our products! All these things they don't you unless they think you can take it.....
So the flight was extremely bumpy although the captain tried to adjust our altitude Chris and I slept 9 hrs straight and were woken up to basically land in Lagos, Nigeria.
We met two wonderful Californians Fritz and Richard, who flew with us from Houston and they are living THA LIFE!!!! They travel to some of the coolest places on earth about 4 months out of the year and were now starting a 6 week adventure in South Africa, we promised to stay in touch and come and visit them in San Francisco this spring.... A good segway to see Patrice and Samantha in Napa!!!
We get off the plane, and are immediately directed to immigration. As we get to the immigration officer, Fritz and Richard in tow, they hand over our passports to this big, very dark, very mean looking dude. One can only think of the movie blood diamonds with the guy with the machete or the AK47 loosely hanging from his shoulder as he asks us to follow him....
So like ignorant tourists, we do.... He proceeds to take us to a tiny room with 3 flowery couches and locks our passports in an office in the back, telling us to relax and enjoy ourselves before he leaves... he returns 2 hrs later to take us to do our check in and we wait another hour in a smoldering hot packed airport with lots of sweaty, smelly travellers. The officer keeps leaving us in the middle of a crowd, which kept us thinking, will he come back this time??? We then do our checkin with lots of dirty looks as the immigration officer makes us skip the entire line, gets us our boarding passes which he quickly tucks in his shirt... He most likely is expecting some sort of tip at the end...
We return to the tiny room for another hour and he then starts calling us one by one except that when he calls Christopher he looks at me and says: when i call him, you should follow, you are his wife, a wife should follow her husband. I call his name, you should follow. I reply with : yes, you are so right, i do belong to him and i will follow, just know that back home he belongs to me and he follows me, so i will give him this one day! He then gives us a speech of how god brought us together to be married and he is very proud, shakes our hands, hands over our passport and boarding passes and Chris drops a huge 6$ in this hand! Job done, we are now free.
So we landed in Joburg an hour late at 6 am on the 18 th squeezed in an A340-600 middle row between two Africans who found Chris very annoying as for those who know him well, he likes to <pee> alot..... So he made his neighbour get up 4 times for 6 hr flight, literally waking him up :)
We pick up our tiny Chevrolet Spark which as soon as we speed to 100km/hr the wheel starts shaking enought hat we return to the airport, switch for a newer Ford Fiago ( so much bigger.....) and we make our way to the Winston Hotel in Rosebank, a nice, rich neighboorhood of Joburg.
We made a reservation at 500, one of the best restaurants in the world which would only cost us 300$ for the most elaborate 6 course meal and wine pairing... We get to the very exclusive Saxon Hotel, where Nelson Mandela stayed for months once he was freed from Jail and wrote some of his most influencial material, the likes of Oprah and Bill Clinton stay here.... So its grand! We arrive and they cannot find our reservation, which after much dissapointment, Champagne, canapes and a private visit of the hotel to make time pass, ( 3 hrs to be precise ) we decide to eat at their other restaurant, the Qunu Grill and as we are about to order, the manager, Marco Mertens comes and offers us a recently opened table at the 500 restaurant! What a meal, a series of deconstructed elements, textures, flavor paring accompanied by the only master sommelier in South Africa, we feel like royalty.... If you are ever in South Africa, you must reserve a few weeks in advance, do it!!! I forgot to add - the entire evening was complimentory!!! Saxon team, thank you for making our first night in Joburg an unforgetable one!
We leave the hotel around 1 am and not 10 minutes later, the police stops us and wants to verify that everything is ok.... Sensing an imminent bribe question, we both exit the vehicule and i ask one of the popos... Are you stoping us because we are tourists??? They of course say no, no, no... And after questionning us for another 5 minutes and carefully searching our vehicule, they send us on our way... No alcohol, no drugs, no sex, we are good to go!!
The hangover i woke up to was EPIC... And with eveything that comes with a good hangover, like throwing up and loosing the will to live and of course promising to never drink ever again....i was able to move around 4pm.... Chris, woke up fresh like a rose which makes me secretely worship and hate him. Cancelled tonight's gastronomical adventure to recharge our batteries and eat most likely Mcdonalds :)
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