Category Archives: My travels

Colisseum in Rome
Jan 17 2012

Jord’s European adventure

Travelling is such an enigmatic adventure to spoil yourself with.  I have been bitten by the bug, and recently my cousin was bitten too.  He took a European tour and he spoke with such passion of his adventure that I asked him to write a piece so that I could help him share his passion with like-minded people on my blog.  This is his adventure in his words.

Written by Jordan Demirtzoglou

Topdeck tours September 2011

Making the turn to Europe for the first time can be challenging, so a trip there needs to be well run and organised by the right hands. Based on friends past experience in their travels, the choice for someone young and ready for fun was a youth trip organised for like-minded people!

So the choices focussed on popular travel companies like Contiki, Topdeck, Busabout and Travalgar travels. Most cover Europe in the same way, with the same options and pretty similar prices. Contiki is more known in SA, with Topdeck offering similar packages at slightly cheaper prices. But it wasn’t the saving of a couple hundred bucks that made my decision; it’s the flexibility in their tours that helped me make my decision. With Topdeck you can for instance start in London and finish in Rome (thereby doing Western Europe) or you can start there and do just Eastern Europe.

London
London UndergroundI think it’s great to check out London before and after your trip (maybe taking a round-about trip) because there’s so much to see and when you come back, you come back as more of a ‘seasoned’ traveller – knowledgeable enough to do the stuff you miss out on the first time. London’s definitely a world city, always alive and moving – you’ll probably find some of the best underground and ’local’ parties here (especially because of the high number of ex-pats living here). On your first day, maybe do what I did; take a hop-on hop-off bus tour to get a feel for the city and what it has to offer. Mark things down and go check them out later that day or the next, what’s great about these tours is they usually expire a day or two later, so you can still use the busses and info they have to provide.

Big Ben

Paris
After touring London for 4 days, I met up with my tour at the Clink Hostel to start our journey through Europe. By bus we headed off to the white cliffs of Dover, traveling by ferry to mainland France.  The trip between London and Paris took a full day, so by the time we hit the hotel, it was pretty much late afternoon. We went to catch a quick drink before for traveling on a night tour of Paris. Practising our fréenche! It didn’t go down the way we hoped!

On the side – one thing I’ve got to mention about the bigger cities you go to is are the amount of  pick-pocketers and the street sellers – they’re pretty much set-up shop everywhere and can leave in a couple of seconds flat with all their stuff. Reason is, they have a cloth/rug sack lying underneath whatever they’re selling and when they see the cops, they simply take all four ends and run! You get in shit if you’re caught with whatever they’ve sold you and they’re long gone. Don’t let that happen. Or getting tied-up by a string thieves out of the blue! Not cool and embarrassing.

Besides all that first on the list for our night tour was Montmartre. This highlights the whole of Paris and man what a view, if you have enough time check out the church above and Place du Tertre along the market and restaurants below. The overall feel of Paris is chic and elegant. The French definitely have a definitive sense of style and wear it well.

Next day we given a free day – to travel around the city ourselves and explore what it had to offer. The Louvre, Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower are musts when checking out the city. Although the crowds and queues seem long, they move quickly, so it wasn’t too much hassle trying to get into places.
We happened to catch a cabaret show in Paris, as one should (think Moulin Rouge, Pussy’s and all things cabaret). Wine and fine ladies on display (tastefully laid – both wine and lady). It was an amazing to see and experience Paris this way, and definitely a good start to the Eurotrip.

All though 2 days isn’t enough in a place like Paris, we moved on to the serene and picturesque Swiss Alps in stark contrast to what we just experienced.

Group photo in front of Eiffel Tower

The Swiss Alps
Switzerland turned out to be the biggest surprise. I didn’t think much about going to Alps, especially before winter, but we were provided with great experiences in the small town of Lauterbrunnen.

Lauterbrunnen is close to the Jungfrau mountain range and is home to the highest mountain range in Europe. It’s great for buying watches and Swiss army knives at competitive prices, drinking great hot chocolate and buying Swiss chocolate (just don’t carry it around it summer!)

Going up the Jungfrau mountain range was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life! Boasting the highest peak in Europe, amazing views and even an Ice palace, Jungfrau is definitely a must-see!

Jungfrau On top of Jungfrau


Nice
Without a doubt the trendiest and most sophisticated portion of our trip was hitting Nice in the French Riviera.
Most notably used as a resort for France’s rich and famous, Nice provides all the creature comforts and style one requires. From the pebble beaches and sea-side bars to the glitzy casinos lined up along the promenade, Nice and Cannes offer the famous a sanctuary to get away to and relax. Not too far away you can find Nicci beach and of course the jewel of the Riviera: Monaco.
Church in Nice

Monaco
Definitely the highlight of my tour, not only for the glitz it provides, but because of the rich history of motorsport. Monaco’s foundation as a resort to those in Upper France has long since made it a hunting ground for the rich and famous.

On the tour we were given the option of touring the famous Monte Carlo casino (notably used in the Bond pic Casino Royale), along with the restaurants and bars surrounding it. There you’ll find the popular Buddha bar (the original). Prices are pretty high for normal meal (think round €40-50) and the service you get is like a lucky packet. If you’re on budget there’s always a McDonalds down the road (facing the famous F1 hairpin actually).

All in all a definite must see, unfortunate that we only got one day to cram it all in!

Pisa
Included in our tour was a trip to the leaning tower of Pisa, located in Pisa, Italy. The construction for the tower originally started in 1173 and started to lean after the second level, when its foundation sank.

Around 20 years ago a restoration project was undertaken to stop the tower from collapsing and will allow it to stand for the next 100 years. By the way, it takes about an hour to climb up the stairs to the top – not for the unfit or hung-over.  There are number of nice restaurants and bars lined up towards the northern section of the town, some with a great view of the tower.

Florence
After our day stop to Pisa, it was back on the bus and on to Florence.  Many of Leonardo and Michelangelo’s work can be seen in Florence, the city steeped rich in history and culture. In Florence we also received a demonstration at a leather shop on how to spot fake from real leather. I think both in Florence and Rome, there’s a happy hunting ground for anything you want in leather (jackets, bags, accessories and jewellery boxes) at reasonable prices.

Although only there for a day, this was the first time in Europe I could feel the enormity of its history, and what ancient Europe still has to offer!
Rome
Last stop on my Topdeck trip was the Italian capital Rome or Roma. Famous for love, famous for food, famous for shopping, not surprising that Rome’s the third most visited city in Europe. The first truly ancient and historical of the cities visited in Europe; Rome has much to offer any visitor. On my travels through the capital; I managed to see the Vatican and all its art and architecture, the Coliseum, Pantheon and Chariot grounds – and we’re only talking History here!

Perhaps not as synonymous with Milan for shopping, Rome still offers all the major fashion labels. Through Via del Corso (street) any shopper’s paradise awaits! There are also many smaller boutiques and the Chinese version of Italian style.

For nightlife you could go to Piazza di Campo dei Fiori, a square with many bars and trendy restaurants to start the night off. From there you can venture to Piazza di Spagna for a more chilled end to the evening. Rome definitely provides a great mix for tourists and alongside Athens, probably has the greatest historical value of any of the cities in Europe today!

Colisseum in Rome

075
Oct 6 2011

Inner child rescue mission

Fictional characters on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Image via Wikipedia

A memory that I remember very clearly and still think about it often, is one which happened when I was a teenager. I was staring out of the car’s window, on the way to a family get together with my parents,and I remember thinking that I must make sure that when I grow up, I must never lose my imagination, and I must never ignore or forget the child within me. But it happened.  While life was happening to me, I lost my inner child, my imagination, and I didn’t even realise……

When a child watches Mickey Mouse, Disney characters or cartoons, it believes the characters are real, so it forms a relationship with them and they become a child’s friends.  It gets excited when it sees them, interacts with them, even responding to them when they ask it questions, even though it’s only an animation on TV, these characters are real to a child.  And Disneyland was born, where Mickey Mouse and his friends live.

I always thought that Disneyland was overrated and that it was just another way for Walt’s estate and board of trustees to make money (it’s not far from the truth either, but regardless).  I never entertained the idea of going to Disneyland, but I did end up going in November 2010.  I called that trip, “The Inner Child rescue mission”.

The first foot crossed the threshold of Disneyland Paris’s Theme park and it felt like I was a child again.  All I wanted to do was skip and run around and go discovering.  Even when I saw people dressed in Mickey or Minnie Mouse costumes (they were called “The Cast”), I would run up to them and give them a hug.  The great thing was that other adults did not look at me like I was insane, because they were in under the same child-like spell that I was under.  Disneyland helped me find my inner child again and it was a liberating, soul-awakening experience.  Walking through the Theme parks, I relived moments from my childhood.  Flashbacks to moments when I would relate and form relationships with these animated, yet real-to-me characters.  Having innocent fun was a refreshing experience and was much needed.

I rescued my Inner Child, and I have since protected it, entertained it, nurtured it and listened to it.  I highly recommend a Disneyland experience as a remedy to any person searching for the inner child they lost whilst life was happening.

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Sep 30 2011

Dubai-eek

I’ve never had the urge to place a tick next to Dubai on my list of most desirable destinations to get to in this lifetime. But I was given an opportunity that no one could refuse, which included the word FREE.

A 3 day, 2 night trip to Dubai in May, 2009 sponsored by the Dubai Tourism Board
(remember to have a look at the slide show of memories after the story)

Lady lumps in the desert

 

Being in the travel industry, it’s a must to experience destinations first hand so you can sell the product confidently.  Knowledge is key.  Off we went on Emirates Airlines, 5 ladies with a “when in Rome” attitude.  Excitement mounted, keeping in mind that this was not a destination on my list of desirable destinations.  But travelling and experiencing new destinations is addictive.

We arrive in Dubai at the time the sparrow released the said fart, and we were dying to just get to our hotel.  Upon exiting the airport to catch our transfer to our hotel, a wave of heat smothered us.  There are only 2 seasons in Dubai: Hot and hot-as-hell.

Now, as this was a trip sponsored by a tourism board, they had ensured that not a second in their prized city was left without an experience, so that we could go home and confidently promote the destination to our clients with options other than hotel, transfer and flights.  It’s all about the touring of the city, it’s all about the what-more-is-there-to-the-destination, that matters.  Clients, one or more, will request a random tour, and we, the experts, should be able to give the correct advice and information.

We had a few hours in our fabulous hotel rooms to freshen up.  We were spoiled, put up in a 5* hotel in the Deira area, which is a 15 minute drive from the airport.  Huge beds, heavenly pillows that were seductively taunting us to give them a chance (wish I had given these pillows more of my attention during my 2 night stay) and a bathroom that echoed due to its size.

The sun finally rose during our freshen-up-allocated-time, and we met the bus with other travel industry representatives from South Africa loaded in it, in front of the hotel.  Our first tour was a City Tour, taking us to the Museum, the market (for the legendary Dubai shopping experience), a dhow boat ride on the Creek ending up at the Souk for more shopping.  A woman’s dream!

The shopping was magnificent!  You have to plan what you want to buy before you go to a market or a Souk, otherwise you will be swallowed whole into a  frenzied money-spending abyss.  And you have to master the art of hackling to get the right price.  Do not twitch when in the negotiating phase.  The people of the market are seasoned veterans.  They will work on your empathy strings and tell you that the price you’re asking for will not put food in their children’s mouths, but this is their ploy to exploit you of your hard-earned shopping dollars.  Leave your heart in your hotel room when you head out on a shopping spree in Dubai.

From there we toured through Deira, through the Creek area, through Bur Dubai to a mosque for a viewing.  Did you know that 80% of Dubai’s population is made up of ex-pats and the 20% balance of the population are natural residents?  (Now you know).  Even though the majority of the population are not Muslim, the primary religion is Muslim, and this is very prominent in Dubai.  Friday is the start of their weekend, no flimsy spaghetti strap dresses bearing shoulders and knees are permitted to be worn in public, during Ramadhan no eating or drinking is permitted from sunrise to sunset in public, and 70% of the hotels are dry hotels (in other words they do not serve alcohol).

En-route to the famous Jumeirah Beach, we drove past the Burj Tower (Burj Khalifa) which was then still in its building phase.  Dubai is plagued with construction sites.  For as long as I have been selling Dubai, it’s been under construction. But hats off to the architecture and designs.  This is the true definition of out-the-box thinking and creativity.

Arriving at Jumeirah Beach, we saw the infamous Burj Al Arab, where a bottom of the range room in the off-season is R5000 per person per night.  No cars are allowed to drive up to the entrance of this hotel, unless you are a resident of the hotel, a VIP or on a tour.  This infamous building was truly an amazing sight to lay my eyes upon.

A bit of sightseeing and a sweat provoking hour later, we arranged with the tour bus to leave us at Wild Wadi Rum water park and we would make our own way back to the hotel, because we had 3 hours to kill before the hosted dinner that evening.  We caught 2 taxis to Atlantis Hotel on the Palm and had a heart stopping, life flashing before our eyes, prayer filled experience.  OMG!  The taxi driver, whose services we were cursed to use, almost killed us on the road.  He was a Muslim, racist.  Every car on the road driving in front, behind or on his side with an ex Pat or Indian driver behind the steering wheel, seemed to appear to him as something demonic and he was obsessed with the urge to ram them off the road. 30 minutes of torment late, we arrived at the Atlantis Hotel, we flung open the taxi doors and ran inside after we threw the money at him with no tip as a survival method to save ourselves.

Atlantis Hotel on the Palm.  The replica of the iconic hotel in the Bahamas.  We weren’t fortunate enough to do room inspections, but we had a memorable walk around the hotel where non residents were not banned from roaming and the sights were jaw dropping.

An hour later, we made our way back to our hotel and readied ourselves for the hosted dinner.  Thus far, we had not managed to sample any form of alcohol, and at dinner we were offered wine.  When we each asked for a second glass of wine, we were each given a glare-stare that would make you shrink, ashamed that you acted like the ungrateful Oliver Twist asking for more.

With this, we decided that we had to get out and experience the night life with our “when in Rome” attitudes.  We found a local bar where 99.9% of the people in the bar were ex Pats from Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.  Of course we did our best to not pay for drinks, because 1 drink was about R50 and that was just a beer.

Many drinks later, we turned into superheroes and we showed off our talents, made many friends and were offered many drinks.  One of my friends even tried to scrum a guy twice her size.  The taxi ride back to the hotel was a giggle fest and the run up to the hotel room to speak to the toilet bowl, was done in superhuman lightning speed (or so we thought, I’m sure).

3 hours of precious sleep later, we had to wake up, shake up and rake up our “we can do this” attitudes off the bathroom floor and join the tour for day 2 of sightseeing.

Thank goodness we had strong stomachs.  The tour for the day was a desert sand dune safari, followed by a dinner in the desert.  Awesome.  There was a convoy of 4×4′s driving into the desert, and then the fun started, as we were thrown around, up and down, stomachs sinking, hearts skipping a beat, adrenalin pumping, memorable moment of note.  Funny enough, the hangover never repeated on any of us.  We were having too much fun to think of the sickness.

A stop in the desert, and of course we tried to run up and down dunes.  Looks much easier when they do it on TV.

We finally reached our harem-set-up where we were to be entertained and fed for the next 3 hours, treated like VIP’s.  We took in the sunset, and whilst watching it descend on the day, it disappeared before it reached the edge of the horizon.  That’s when we found out that the heat of the desert causes a “smoke screen”, a fiery haze and it looks like the sun just disappears, but it’s hidden by the haze of heat. A first time viewing experience.  Tick!  NOW Dubai was on my list of desirable destinations.

Food.  Food.  Entertainment. Camel Rides. Henna tattoos. Drink. Laughter.  We were ready to go out on the town again.  It was, after all, our last night in Dubai.  We planned to go to the same bar we went to the previous night, because no one could suggest another venue for us.  Back to the hotel we went, revised our going out outfits and got into a taxi prepared to retrace last nights tracks to the same bar.  But as we drove a few kilometres from the hotel, we noticed signs up advertising a “Full Moon Beach Party” at the Atlantis Hotel.  Well.  We had to experience this for our client’s sake, right?  Driver, Atlantis Hotel, please!

The queue to get into the Beach Party was ridiculous, and we were thinking, we were going to have to party sober because the cost of the alcoholic beverages clashed with our wallet’s magical monetary capabilities.  This thought did not even manage to end in a full stop, when we were approached by 3 men asking us to pretend to be their girlfriends, so that they could get in to the party.  That’s when we found out, in Dubai, men are not permitted to enter any bars or clubs without being accompanied by ladies, so we made a deal with them: we would play the role of their girlfriends, in exchange for sweet alcoholic nectar.  Deal. Party was a go, and the hangover-potential was being nurtured.  What a night.  The music, the people, the vibe, the laughter and all that complimented an unforgettable evening was happening to us, there and then.

The party ended promptly at 2am, as all parties, clubs and bars, do in Dubai, and the taxi ride back to the hotel felt like we were on the highway to hell.  The sponsored nectar that we consumed was not sitting well, because we had willingly over-indulged on it.

Finally back at the hotel, we collapsed in a pile on our beds and in a split second, being conscious was not an option.

Courtesy wake up calls rang on the room telephone only 2 hours after our collapse.  The ringing sounded like a banshee in a horror movie.  We had to pack and vacate our rooms in lightning speed, and make our way to the airport.  We moved slow enough to not encounter any hangover-related incidents.

Hell!  We were in hell, because of last nights overindulgence in fun. The longest drive to the airport, the longest check in for our flight, the longest wait in a MacDonald’s queue to grease up our fragile lifeless bodies.  And finally, the long-awaited moment to collapse into our seats on the plane, had arrived, and we were able to close our eyes and sleep right through the 8 hour flight back to our home country.

Dubai made its mark on us in more ways than one, from creative jaw dropping architecture, to fantastic people, to amazing memories, to a pristine desert experience.  We had slept a total of 5 hours in those 3 days, all for the sake of sacrificing ourselves to a worthy cause, which was to become specialists of Dubai, to delight our clients and their travel needs.  Superheros were sacrificed, experience was rife, and memories were a plenty.

Dubai-eek! Shukran!

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@Elismha and @Dezy_d were here
Sep 12 2011

Rednose comic relief Detour haze

 
Those spur of the moment decisions are usually the best ones, and they remain the best if you don’t over analyse and just go with them.
 

The Plan:  

  • To do a road trip to Durban to meet all the fabulous people from Twitter who live there
  • To be a child again and enjoy every moment of our trip

Fast Facts:

 Dialing code for Durban is 031
Distance from Johannesburg to Durban is 588km’s
Time it takes to travel this distance is 6 hours
Actual distance travelled 1080km’s
Actual time taken to travel this distance was 12 hours
Number of laughing fits experienced on this trip were infinite
Number of Tweeps (People from Twitter) met was 20
Number of venues we made appearances at in Durban was 10
#Planking is the art of lying flat on odd surfaces & take a picture of it
#Owling is the art of perching on an object like an owl & take a picture of it
#Koalaing is the art of acting like a koala and grabbing onto an object with all 4′s & take a picture of it
Regrets? NONE
^ sign means see slideshow for picture to this part of the story

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The plan to go on a road trip to Durban to meet fellow peers from Twitter, was a very last moment one.  It seemed a great idea and we’d been wanting to get down there for a while and this seemed the perfect opportunity.  A quick in and out trip.  Durban is only about a 6 hour drive from Johannesburg.

So we budgeted and started the hype by letting people of twitter (Tweeps) in Durban know that they were going to be invaded by us shortly.  The excitement grew and we both felt as excited as kids going on holiday with their parents to the beach.  Butterflies and all other excitement-related emotions were taking their effect on us.

So the night before the greatly anticipated road trip, Elismha and myself start having a giggle at what we were packing for a 3 night trip. We were packing as if we were moving house.  I did a once over and eliminated half of what I had planned to take with and assumed Elismha would be doing the same….. The only possessions I refused to cut down were my CD’s.  Music makes the road trip! I took about 90 CD’s with.  We even had mascots for the trip^ and we named one of them V, after Vonimoller on Twitter.

18th August 2011, 4am,  I arrive at Elismha’s house to pick her up.  All my bags (2 tog bags and a pillow) packed in the car on the left side of the boot, leaving enough space for Elismha’s anticipated 2 tog bags or similar.  Bouncing out of the car, I ran and hugged Elismha and THEN I saw her luggage.  A suitcase and a tog bag.  But not like a miniature suitcase.  No!  A suitcase that a contortionist could fit into.  The words slipped out of my mouth, faster than a wet body on a foofy  slide lathered with liquid soap (too fast), “there better be a hot, naked man in that suitcase!^.   And that’s where the laughing fits began.

We started on the road and we both reminded each other out loud which road to take to Durban.  And that being noted, we started on our merry trip, slipping the first CD of many into the CD player and started singing, laughing, chatting and enjoying the adventure ahead of us for the next 6 hours en-route to Durban.  We laughed more than we had ever laughed, as if the aircon / fan was laced with laughing gas.  At least our stomach muscles were getting a good exercise.  I brought props to make the adventure more innocent and child-like.  One of the props was a set of clown noses^ and a whistle.  As we approached the first Toll gate, we decided that for the entire trip, we would wear our clown noses when we arrived at every Toll gate.  Some would say that this was childish, and I would say, yes, it was childish, but I guarantee that if you were in the car, you would have been swallowed up in the moment and the fantastic atmosphere, and joined in on the road trip fiascoes.

We updated everyone and communicated with the Twitterverse and we felt that they were all accompanying us on our epic journey. I think that they had just as many laughs as we did.  It felt so good to be connected with them, after all, Twitter is our other home away from home and all the Tweeps are like family that we have gotten to know and care for, otherwise we wouldn’t have thought of doing this trip.  We had created a hashtag (#) so that our friends of twitter could follow the conversations and trip easily #GrannyRoadtrip.

The first “highway” necessary toilet stop made it’s appearance.  This proved to be quite an event.  I pulled over under a bridge and gave Elismha some tips on relieving one-self on the open road:  Open the front passenger door and back door, and you have instant privacy.  Of course, this had us both in hysterics (no surprise there) and the need to go possessed me too.  I was just about to run around the car from my side to assume the privacy position, when a thought came to mind.  I realised I would have been standing in Elismha’s river, so I drove the car forward about a meter and then proceeded to smile from relief.  Just then, it came to me,  I had to #owl under the bridge.  My first ever #owling photo^.

Back in the car, satisfied and full of laughter, we travelled the road km by km.  The time it took to do 350km did not even phase us because we were having such a good time, and they say time flies when you’re having fun.

Just then a sign appeared that made alarm bells go off in my head.  But these alarm bells tickled my funny bone and I burst into fits of laughter trying to get out the words “Liz, I laugh we travelled 400km’s in the wrong direction!” Cue Elismha’s laughing fit.  We were laughing so much, I couldn’t drive anymore that I almost stalled the car.  But the dreaded sign appeared again.  BLOEMFONTEIN.  Still laughing hysterically I said to Liz, “Let’s just pull into a petrol station and ask them if we are on the road to Durban”.  We arrived at the petrol station and asked the dreaded question, as if we were trying to hypnotise the petrol attendant to give us a positive response. Well, we failed at being pro-hypnotists.  We knew the answer before he confirmed our fears.  And for the first time in 400kms we were speachless!  We had driven 400kms in the WRONG DIRECTION.

We were angry at each other, just because we didn’t want to blame ourselves.  So we pull into a little town called Senekal and pulled over to ask 2 farmers for directions to Durban.  We wanted to find our sense of humour again, so we put on our clown noses and asked the farmers to look at us seriously and tell us where to go.  We even made them draw us a map^ (turn right in 200m and drive for 3 hours to Harrismith and then we are back on the right road).

The first 2 hours of the detour to get us back on the right road, we were so silent that an outsider would have thought we had a lover’s tiff.  But we started to get our sense of humour back after we stopped for a coffee and a bit of a stretch. We went right back into full laughter mode.

We were finally nearing Harrismith, which was supposed to be our original 400km stop.  We stopped for a bit of a photo shoot, taking touristy photos of the snow capped mountains just outside Harrismith^ and then finally stopped for a bit of lunch at the Spur.  We were now 8 hours into the trip.  Keep in mind that Durban is 6 hours from Johannesburg, if you take the right road.  But we were not phased in the least by our misfortune at this time.  We took it as “Things happen for a reason” because we were thoroughly enjoying our trip, the laughter, the memories and each other’s company.  Oh, I did another #owling picture in Harrismith^  :)

Silliness (or more like delusional stupidity) was starting to set in from the tiredness after being awake since 4am and the way the drive was going, we would only reach Durban by 4pm, so we were looking at a total of 12 hours of driving in total. But we were still motivated for this trip.  The music was still blaring, the laughter and conversation still flowing and the clown noses were still making an appearance at every Toll gate we went through.

Finally, we arrive in Durban, 12 hours and 1080km later.  I think Adrenalin was working it’s magic up until that point, because we did not feel tired in the least (maybe mentally exhausted).  We drove around Umhlanga looking for our hotel, and decided to stop and ask for directions.  

We saw some men on a balcony having a smoke, so we stopped in front of the building and asked them for directions.  They directed us to our hotel and also gave us a little advice on where to go for a little bit of a drink after we had settled in.  The place is called “Cottonfields”.  We thought that this was very nice of them and proceeded to our hotel.

The moment we checked in, the adrenalin checked out, and the tiredness attacked with no holds barred.  We felt limp and delusional.  We flopped on the bed, but we still had a tiny bit of a sense of humour left in us to take a self timed picture of us sprawled out on that bed which we aptly named it “Roadkill”^

We didn’t move for what felt like an eternity.  Everything said and done at that time was mindless and numb.  Shuffling our feet instead of walking.  We showered and felt a little re-energised, so the ingenious idea of going out for some dinner possessed us. So we got up and went to Cottonfields, which was earlier suggested by the friendly gentlemen on the balcony.  We acted like typical tourists without a clue.  Seems like we should have asked our Tweep friends if going there was a good idea.

After seeing all the warnings on twitter from our concerned friends, we scoffed down our dinner in record time, paid the bill and made a runner from Cottonfields, of course taking a few funny pics in the process^.

So we listened to our friends and went to “Luna Rossa”, which is managed by a tweep friend  Rawnis Higgens, to have a few more quiet drinks before heading back to our hotel room for much needed sleep.

This did not turn out as planned, but the whole trip didn’t either from 4am, so you could say that we were true to form.  After a few cocktails, we eventually made our way back to the hotel room at 1am.  Please note, that some of the silly pictures you see in the slideshow were taken that night, like the “stopping to smell the flowers, cartwheels in the corridor, 2 tents, chip on my shoulder, Elismha with a straw up her nose, #owling outside Luna Rosa, oh and Elismha on lap (this was when someone asked us if we were a couple…..^”

We slept like the dead that night.

The next morning we woke up a little later than planned, again, true to form, but we were so excited to meet with Jerome Naidoo for a local spicy Bunny Chow^.  We had officially met our second Tweep on our #031GrannyRoadTrip. We had a great banter and got to realise that Twitter is such an amazing tool which opens new doors in our life and the people on Twitter are truly amazing.  Thank you so much for that spicy Bunny Chow, Jerome^.

After the delicious lunch, we decided to visit another tweep.  This was not a planned visit and we didn’t actually know how to get to Trevor‘s establishment, Europa on Florida road, so we drove and prayed we would arrive there.  He was surprised, not sure if he wanted to hide away though.  But a fantastic tweep with a sense of humour that many would kill to have.

And the fabulous Shanita ^ joined us impromptu as well.  We had fabulous moments of laughter and a great chat over cocktails, coffee, and Shanita had her famous Whoffee (Irish coffee).  Now we were getting excited for the tweetup that night (a tweetup is a meet up with people of twitter).

Fast forward to our shopping spree, and then back to our rooms, we started to dress up and ready ourselves for the much anticipated Tweetup being held at Unity.  We organised a taxi, and made our way to Unity.  We were overwhelmed and honoured by the number of people that were at the Tweetup.  Thank you so much to the following people who were there: Joslyn, Michelle, Liz, Gordon, Nicola, Lyndon, Shanita, Bianca, Matthew, Grant. 

After a few drinks and a delicious dinner, we made our way to House of Curries with Joslyn, Liz, Michelle and Grant.  We then met Willis and Chaunce and that’s where the night went downhill (no other way to explain it in a nice way).  Socialising at it’s best.  I did my first #koalaing^ here.

From there we went to Czar^ meeting Pixie and met Jem Atkins and Glen, a few more drinks there and then back to House of Curries and then we ended the night at Unit11.  We finally made it back to the hotel room by about 2am and passed out.

We didn’t surface until about 11am and the plan was to do as little as possible.  Elismha brought me breakfast in bed, good ol’s MacDonald’s, and then we made our way to News Cafe to meet Genna and Michelle.  I had no voice.  My voice was a squeak, so bad, that dog’s would howl every time I tried to speak. And again, we had great laughs and it was awesome to get to know yet another Tweep of Durban.

All this time that we had been in Durban, we hadn’t seen the beach or put our feet in the ocean yet, so we finished our drinks and went to the beach for a bit of a stroll.  To see the sea was also a part of our plan, and we almost missed this opportunity.  We loved the sand between our toes and the cool waves lapping up on the shore were therapeutic.  We carried on walking down the beach and out of nowhere, a rogue wave attacked us, only dampening Elismha, but drenching me from top to toe, wetting my phone in the process.  So I was phone-less for the last part of the trip, but it was not a problem, because we had achieved what we set out to do in Durban and the last few hours were to be quiet time for Elismha and myself.  Well, at least for me.  Elismha still had her phone.

The day arrived that we had to leave Durban and it’s fabulous folk.  We finally made our way out of the hotel and onto the road at about 11am.  The road home was faster than the road to Durban, because we took the right road.  6 hours in total.

And so the end of the fabulous trip, to meet our extended Twitter family in Durban, had come to an end.  We went to Durban to consummate our friendships with the fabulous tweeps of Durban and the memories will last with us forever.

 Thank you 031.

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One of the 7 man made wonders of the world
Aug 3 2011

The city of life – Rio de Janeiro

A city that overflows with passion.  People that celebrate life.  Culture that oozes with sex appeal. Scenery that takes your breath away.  Music that moves your soul. That’s Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The city of life.

September 2007 (don’t forget to see the slideshow of Rio de Janeiro pics below the post)

It was an 8 hour flight which was delayed on take off from Johannesburg arriving in Sao Paulo 2 hours later than scheduled.  I was travelling alone and I had to catch a connecting flight to Rio, which was originally 3 hours layover in Sao Paulo and now I had 1 hour to figure out where to go to catch the flight to the City of Life.  Running through the airport, I finally arrive at the said departure gate, only to see that the board was not displaying Rio, so disappointed, I naturally assumed I missed the flight.  A friendly Brazilian (thinking back – was he friendly or flirting?) noticed me stressing and sweating from the sprint through the airport and helped me.  I found out that the departure gates had changed, so I thanked him full of smiles and sprinted off to the re-assigned departure gate.  The flight hadn’t taken off, in fact, it wouldn’t for another 2 hours – delayed.  Finally, boarded and arrived in Rio 4am South African time (11pm in Rio, Brazil).

I caught the transfer to the hotel and on the 1 hour drive, I noticed that there were still masses of people roaming the streets, still guys playing soccer on the fields and as I arrived at my hotel on Copacabana Beach front, I noticed people still playing volleyball on the beaches which were lit up with floodlights.

Copacabana Beach sidewalk

The Brazilians truly made the best of the little time they had in this life, enjoying every moment no matter what the time was.  Time is theirs.  They own it.  They are passionate about life and it showed in everything that I encountered in Rio and I could feel the passion consuming me more every hour that I spent there.

The next morning we woke up early to do a 2 hour drive to Buzios, a little fishing village where the locals of Rio escape to on weekends.  During the week, this little town was quiet, barren.  On weekends is when it all happened.  Buzios is an animated little village where art imitates life and by that I mean, they have “scenes” from the history of the village frozen in time by figurines acting out scenes…. Wait… you’ll see the pictures in a moment.

This animated picturesque village was made famous by Brigette Bardot, a well respected, beautiful actress famous in the 60′s.  She holidayed in Buzios and ended up staying there for 6 months.  She was so loved that they froze her memory in time by dedicating a bronze statue to her sitting on a bench on the beach that she used to sit on often during her stay.

The whole town is paved with cobblestones, the streets, the sidewalks, everything.  It oozes with culture and makes the town come alive somehow.  The only thing about these cobblestone streets is that you have to negotiate your way without tripping after a couple of the local authentic “Caiparinhas”.

The buildings match the cobblestone streets and give the village a bit of a romantic feel, with the vines and Bougainvillea of all colours growing wild on the buildings.  There are no chain hotels in Buzios.  It’s authentic.  You would stay in a Pousada there.

They say the sun sets in Buzios.

They say the sun sets in Bouzios

We took a Trolley tour to do some sightseeing.  Buzios is actually a series of islands and it is believed that Buzios once was one with Africa.  It fits like a puzzle with Cape Point.  The geologists say that the rock type in Buzios matches the rock type at Cape Point.  The views on the Trolley Tour are breathtaking. Beaches with red sand from dormant volcanoes, the small boats floating in the coves, the lush vegetation, the fauna and flora and what better way than to stop and have yet another authentic Caiparinhia out of a coconut.  When in Brazil……

An amazing experience, even though we didn’t manage to be there on a weekend and witness the festivities that are said to take place from Thursday to Sunday.

Back to Rio.  Back to the city of life.  Finally, what everyone dreams of visiting one day, my time had arrived to go up Corcovado and see the larger than life statue of Jesus Christ.  We caught a train up Corcovado.  It was a hot day and a public holiday (their independence day) and there were masses flocking to see the statue.  I got my tourist photo.

Larger than life statue of Jesus Christ

On the way down Corcovado in the train, 3 Brazilian buskers boarded the train and started to play Samba music and got the passengers on the train to get up and dance.  Everyone felt so alive at that very moment.  There was a lump in my throat from their passion for the dance and amazing music and culture I had just experienced.

Off to Sugar Loaf mountain we went for some more sightseeing.  The drive to the mountain felt like I had been transported into Cuba, the authentic Cuban style buildings were beautiful.  We finally got to Sugar Loaf Mountain and took the cable car to the top. The views from atop the mountain were just as spectacularly breathtaking.

That night we went to a restaurant.  One of the most famous restaurants in Brazil (I forget the name :( ). The restaurant is divided in 2, on the one side is Carnivore (meat) and on the other is fish.  The concept of the restaurant is like Rodizios.  Eat all you can until you can no more.  The restaurant owner is so entertaining and the decor of the restaurant is absolutely amazing.  He bought Ayrton Senna’s helmet and it is displayed in the restaurant in the open, not in a casing.  He trusts his customers.

Mad Hatters at the restaurant

The last day that we were in Rio, we took a trip to the Favellas (similar to our shacks) where the poorer people live.  It is amazing to hear the stories about the Favellas.  Did you know that if you live right at the top, you are poorer.  The richer of the poor people (?) live at the bottom.  It isn’t safe for a lady to walk through the Favellas on your own.  Although 90% of the crime that we hear and fear about in Rio is actually organised crime, not the crime that we perceive it to be.

The rest of the afternoon we spent on Ipanema beach watching the beached passionate Brazilians.  Did you know that the paving on Ipanema and Copacabana are similar, but there is a difference…. See the pictures below.

The most amazing moment of my life, I experienced on Ipanema beach that afternoon.  A pivotal moment.  As the sun set behind the mountains, the entire beach population stood up and faced the setting sun and started applauding it.  Thanking it for a beautiful day.  This is how much the people of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil appreciate everything in their life.

And the sun set on a magical trip to Rio and I applaud it’s people for the passion that consumed me and has stayed with me to this very day.

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The Landrover experience
Jul 17 2011

T.I.A (This is Africa)

Africa is amazing in so many ways.  When we think of Africa we think of beauty, open spaces, law of the jungle, animals.  And that is what I have experienced on my trips through Africa.

The first trip I would love to share with you in my Africa travels is my “Smelly Wagon” 8 day overland trip.

October 2010.

A good friend of mine from the UK called me one day in June 2010 and asked if I would like to do an overland with On the Go Tours through Kenya & Tanzania.  Who am I to say, “No” to an adventure of a lifetime.  And so the arrangements began… Flights, booking the trip, Visas, Spending Money, Inoculations, oh… and a simple matter of reading the itinerary to make sure I have everything I need to make this trip perfect.  Camera, check. Ipod, check. Suncream, check. Shower paraphernalia, check. Clothes, check. Costume, check.  Itinerary….read read read… ummm… CAMPING?!!??!! For 7 nights?  What had I gotten myself into?  In my entire Travel Industry career, I’ve always stayed in hotels (usually good hotels).  The most I had ever camped was a night or two at the Vaal with mates. Stress!  Stress!

So I ran off and bought myself a blow up mattress and it felt as if the weight was off my shoulders.  Or actually on my shoulders because I had to fit it in my Backpack.  To prepare myself for my first Back Pack experience, I carried it around the house for half an hour at a time and bent over to pick up things and practice balance, only to fall over on my back a few times, like you do in the “Dead Ant” game.

8 Day Kenya / Tanzania trip route

And the day FINALLY arrived.  I didn’t know what to expect.  I was nervous, scared, excited.  An my biggest worry of all was that reality struck me – I was going to be in an Overland Truck for 9 days travelling over 3000kms with 21 other strangers (well 20 less Dan, my friend from the UK).  Oh and the problem that I get motion sickness in cars / trucks / things with wheels where I am enclosed.  Great!

Home for 9 days

So we arrive in Nairobi at the meeting spot at a back packer lodge, where all the other eager Africa go-ers would rendezvous. It turned out I was the only SAFA (South African in Australian speak).  21 people, 1 South African, 2 Kiwis, the rest Ozzies!  Krykie! Ended up actually being a great combination and a great group.

So on the truck we jump, ready for our Adventure into Africa.  T.I.A.

First Stop, The Great Rift Valley.  Of course there were the masses of “sales” people with their fabulous sales techniques there, but after a bit of face pulling and avoidance, we got to see the beautiful view.

 

The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley

Great friendship was formed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This scenic stop was a great introduction to our fabulous adventure that awaited us.  It set the tone and left a taste on our adventure pallet for the ecstasy that lay ahead.

The first few bumpy 100kms or so, we all sat on the truck and got to know each other.  So many interesting people on this trip that I found myself engrossed in all their life stories and after a few hours (oh and a few slugs of the Patron that I brought with on the trip – always an ice breaker that alcohol) we felt as if we knew each other for a longer time than reality.  There were doctors, surgeons, anesthetists, marine biologists and many more impressive learned fantastic individuals.

Tusker - the taste of the wild

 

Another stop for lunch and we enjoyed our first taste of Kenya!

The first day was spent travelling, talking, sleeping, pretty much nothing much happened except getting to our first destination – The Masai Mara. 

We arrived at our campsite and showered in the communal blocks and got ourselves ready for dinner.  Of course, we needed torches, because there was only a generator that switched off at 10pm and after that we needed to create our own light.  Oh, did I mention that this was one of many campsites that were not fenced? Yes, we were indeed food!

 

We smothered ourselves in insect repellent and had dinner around a campfire.  And what better way to have an African dinner under the beautifully starlit sky, than to be entertained by the local Masai tribesmen.  They put on a show for us that was my first pivotal moment on my trip.

Masai Mara tribesmen traditional jumping dance

Joining in and learning the tradition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2′s awakening was a brutal reminder that there was no sleeping in for the next 8 days.  Every morning would be a 5am wake up!  [insert obscenities here]

Breakfast done, tents and back pack loaded on truck and onto the Smelly Wagon we climb.  We drove into the Masai Mara National Park.  The first thoughts I was capable of processing were, “NEED SLEEP!” and “I’ve seen enough animals to last me a lifetime”.  But what was about to unfold from the moment the driver started the truck was not expected and well worth yet another “Game Drive”.

Buck, Zebra, Buck, Buck….. Wilderbeest, Wilderbeest – yes!  The Great migration! We missed it by a week. There were a few left grazing around in the Masai Mara.

Wildebeest in abundance

 

But by few I mean 500 or so at a time.  Even though I have seen these in the Kruger Park many a times, seeing the numbers that I did there and then made me stare in awe. But I had a good laugh at Kiwi’s and Ozzie’s reactions, some of them seeing wild animals for the first time ever.

Our drive through the National Park was fruitful with animals of plenty: Wildebeest, Buffalo, even a Lion.

Lion in Masai Mara National Park

 

 

 

 

We had a lunch stop at the river where we could sit and watch the hippos and monkeys and the beauty that nature blessed us with.

 

 

 

One of the monkeys stole Dan, my friend’s, lunch from his hand.  It scrambled up his leg and swiped the food from Dan’s hand as he was about to take a bite.

Hippo lunch stop

The Monkey suspect

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the truck and another bumpy 50km truck ride, we started to smell something rotten.  Actually a stench! The more we drove, the more the stench became unbearable working it’s magic on your throat reflux.  Crossing the bridge, we discovered the source of the stench.

Wilderbeest migration victims

 

 

Rotten Wilderbeest corpses!  The ones who never made the pandemonium frenzied river crossing.  The corpses were blanketed with feeding Vulture-like birds.

We had a photo-opportunity stop and there was more to be discovered other than the memory of the migration.

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent game driving and there were many beautiful moments that a wildlife photographer would kill to have.

Peculiar looking Lizzard

Giraffe trilogy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peculiar Blue Fly with red face

And back to camp we went to get fed and shut our eyes ready for our 5am wake up call.

Day3 Breakfast done, tents and back pack loaded on truck and onto the Smelly Wagon we climb.

And many bumpy 100′s of kms later we arrive in Arusha.

First thing’s first.  Exchange Dollars for the Kenyan Shilling.

And then off to set up camp for the night and have a few beers.

Arusha Campsite

Couple of get to know you drinking games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few drinks later, lights out and 5am arrives and we welcomed it as we would the flu.  With great dislike (putting it mildly) .  The beer swelled our brains (so to speak).  I was on duty to set up the chairs with my team that morning and as you do when you are a little worse for wear, you become silly and find anything to amuse you.  So we set up the chairs in a shape, and decided from that moment onwards we would set them up in a different shape.

Heart shaped seating

On this morning, we had a different agenda than the usual “tent, back pack, truck” routine.  We each had to take a tog bag with clothes for 3 nights, our tent and our sleeping bags and pack it in a Landrover that fits 6 people.  We were going to camp out for 2 nights outside the Ngorongoro Crater National Park and 1 night in the Serengeti and only a Landrover could get us there.  So off in a convoy of Landrovers we made our way to the Serengeti via the Crater.

The Landrover experience

We finally arrived at our camp site for the night.  We set up, washed up and then we were spoiled with a feast of delicious food that was cooked in a kitchen, not over an open fire and a luxury – popcorn.

That night we bonded better than ever.  We played “I went to the market…”  It all went very pear shaped and our muscles and cheeks were so sore from all the laughing.

Fun times

5am!  Sore head.  But very exciting – we were going to head for the summit of the Ngorongoro Crater.   No words can describe the amazing sight when we eventually arrived.  It’s times like this that I wish I had a panoramic camera.

Ngorongoro Crater

Crater in it's beauty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive down into the crater was the bumpiest ever, so bumpy it lulled me to sleep. And what a way to be awoken, but to the sights that the crater houses.  It was like an oasis.  There were so different types of vegetation, animals and rock structures.  It’s as if we tele-ported into another country.  We even saw Flamingos!!

Flamingos in the Crater

Elephants in the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superb Starling

Male Ostrich doing the dance of love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our trip out the Crater, we stopped for lunch on a hill.  There were Falcons hovering around above us obviously wanting a bite of our food.  One eventually did.  If you look closely at this picture you will see the Falcon swooping over (on the right just behind the girl falling off the log-come-chair in the bushes) it’s lunch victim.

Greedy Falcon coming in for lunch

5am! Breakfast done, tents and tog bag loaded and off we went heading for the Serengeti.   The drive was through a desert type landscape (not with dunes, but arid, savanna, no trees in sight and enough dust to build a pyramid.  This trip took us close on 3 hours – just to get to the main gate and then an hour or 2 to get to our camping site.  I forget because I was asleep half the trip from the Valoids I took for the motion sickness.

Dirt everywhere

Serengeti gate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took another game drive before reaching our camp site we spotted the BIG 5 in one sighting.  Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery just as we spotted the leopard.  But what a majestic animal.  We sat with it and followed it and it followed us for about 2 hours.\\\\

Baby Hyena in the savanna

Wilderbeest fighting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night we pitched our tents and while we were doing this, our guide let us know that there are more leopards and lions than we actually saw on our drive and that there had been a Zebra kill in our campsite a week prior to our arrival.

Well, you know that we didn’t need the bathroom during the night.  And it was a bit of a sleepless night what with the hyena laughing at his food right outside our tent.

5am! Breakfast done, tents and tog bag loaded.  We headed back to Arusha. We had not showered in 3 days, so the first thing we did when we arrived at camp was race to the showers and clean off all this dust and grub and mud off our bodies.  Even though the water was lukewarm, it was the best shower ever, or so it seemed.

That night we all had a few more Tuskers as this would be our last night together as a group.  We played a few card games and chatted and were merry.  Reminiscing over the highlights of our trip  and exchanged email addresses.

Yes, after all the excitement, adventure and spectacular sights, this seems like an abrupt end, but that’s where it ends.  We all went off on our merry ways and most of us are still in touch with each other.  This was by far the best trip I have ever had in my 11 years of travelling.  And YES!  I will do an overland CAMPING trip again!

Relaxation after an 8 day life changing event

Good friendships were formed

The explorers

Dirty Dezy Does Africa

map of where in the world
Jun 19 2011

Where in the world

A dream that I never imagined I would ever live is to travel to other lands.  And it did come true and is still in full force.

Having worked in the travel industry I have been one of the lucky people to travel to many cities in the world at no cost.  I have blessed to experience so many memories of epic proportion and this has made me a better person and enriched my enthusiasm for life and the world’s cultures, sights, people and food.

BEST MEMORY EVER:

After a long day on the Ipanema Beach, Rio, the sun set behind the mountains.  At that precise moment, EVERY SINGLE person on Ipanema Beach stood up and faced the sun where it was setting and applauded at the sun to thank it for a beautiful day.

So here is an insight on where I’ve been to in this world that is amazing and a few Pivotal moments (out of many) that stands out from my trip to this city/country:

 

AFRICA (36 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe White Water Rafting
Victoria Falls, Zambia Bungee jumping of Vic Falls Bridge
Livingstone, Zambia Flying Fox & Gorge Swing
Mbabane, Swaziland Just the beauty and the serenity
Nairobi, Kenya Masaai Mara Nature ReserveWitnessed the great migration
Ngoro Ngoro Crater, Tanzania Breathtaking abundance of animals  and natural beauty in an oasis
Serengeti, Tanzania Not a tree in sight, only Savannah and the wild.  Saw ALL BIG 5 in one sighting
Zanzibar, Tanzania Diving with 25m VisibilitySaw the Red Colobus Monkeys and swam with Dolphins
Stone Town, Tanzania Played Football on the beach with the locals and threw back starfish into the sea that had washed up on the beach
Arusha, Tanzania Sharing a bottle of Patron with the owner of the local back packer lodge
Inhambane, Mozambique The endless beers on a deserted beach
Maputo, Mozambique Taking a drive with the tuk tuk and eating delicious Seafood at Costa Del Sol
Xai Xai, Mozambique Losing my bag at the beginning of the 2 week road trip with R6000 spending money
Ponta De Ouro, Mozambique Diving and seeing a Caepapod emit a blue light out at me at 37m
Cairo-Hurghada-Luxor, Egypt The magical history of Egypt!!  What more!
Mauritius Just a bit of relaxation
South Africa I’ve seen almost every corner of South Africa’s beautiful country and I will do it AGAIN!!Best way to do the Garden Route is a road trip and staying in Back Packer lodges!!!I’ve also done the Bloukrans Bungee

 
Cape TownKnysnaGeorge

East London

Jeffrey’s Bay

St Francis Bay

Durban

St Lucia

Coffee Bay

Messina

 Richards BaySodwanaTsitsikamma

Plettenberg Bay

Mossel Bay

Grahamstown

Bloemfontein

Port Shepstone

Nelspruit

Phalaborwa

 

AUSTRALIA (2 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Perth Drinking at a Back Packer bar and it was called “La Bog”
Sydney Doing the Bridge Climb and getting drunk at Star Bar

 

ASIA (5 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Could not pronounce “Lang Kwai Fong” to the taxi driver, so we said “Lank Kwai Fun”
Singapore, Singapore Definitely the Singapore Sling
Bangkok, Thailand Ping Pong 10 DollaTuk tuk driver that thought he was Michael Schumacher!
Pattaya, Thailand We had an all night work party and we didn’t sleep for 48 hours – just partyingAlso got my first Thai Massage here
Phuket, Thailand Holding a Kimono Dragon and the sea, fun and sun
 

EUROPE (22 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Paris, France Seeing the beautiful history and taking in a show at the Moulin RougeAlso, took about 200 pics of a building thinking it was the Notre Damme – Now those pics are called “Not the Notre Damme”The most romantic city in the world, which will shower you with its Joie de vivre and spoil you with a legacy of memories.
Disneyland Paris, France I became a child again.  What an experience.
Athens, Greece My family and my roots stem deep here.  Culture, people, passion
Corfu-Fira-Heraklion-Kos-Paros-Rhodes, Greece Great to see all the different islands and take in a bit of culture, sun, sea and cocktails and of course, the Greek boys
Mykonos, Greece We hired a car and toured the island and ended on Paradise Beach and drank WAY too much with American Firemen
Santorini, Greece What an amazing island.  As you approach it by sea it looks like a volcanic island with snow caps on only to see that these are in fact houses
Florence, Italy Love Tuscany!!  The culture and the beauty around it.
Milan, Italy Not too much of a wow factor
Pisa, Italy Had to do the Tourist pose with the tower of Pisa!!!
Rome, Italy Taking in all the sights including the Vatican City
Sienna, Italy Sitting on top of a hill overlooking all the vineyards and juggling balls and drinking Chianti
Venice, Italy Going for a night out and taking in some culture.  Got lost in the alleys en-route back to the hotel and the only way to get back was to follow the gong of the bell in St Mark’s square which gonged every 30 minutes – took us 2 hours to get back
Madeira, Portugal Family and beauty.  The sea and the culture and the food
Lisbon, Portugal All the Castles and the culture
Kusadasi, Turkey Ephesus and history and “Genuine Fake” shopping
London, England Definitely everything about London!  Including PRIMARK shopping sprees.
Edinburgh, Scotland The ghost tour and the Castle

 

MIDDLE EAST (2 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Dubai, U.A.E Everything about Dubai – definitely a must once in your lifeFull Moon Party on Atlantis BeachDune Safari and riding a Camel
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. An emerging destination.  At the time that I went it was not tourist orientated

 

SOUTH AMERICA (3 cities/towns)

 

City, Country

Pivotal moment
Buzios, Brazil The beautiful Pousadas!  They say the sun sets in Buzios.  A beautiful little fishing town made famous by Xsa Xsa Gabor
Rio, Brazil The city that never sleeps.  My BEST MEMORY ever!!!
Sao Paolo, Brazil Just a bit busy – more a business destination than a tourist