We have been sorely lacking in Internet in the last month..welcome to Africa!! Needless to say, I will be catching up in chunks! So here goes....
Lol we left Thailand, after a wonderful last day of lying in the sun, Thai massage...yup another one :) and then off to the airport. We stood in line to get checked-in and low and behold...they had no record of us being on the plane! Mad panic!!! We had to go to an office and find out what was going on, only to be told, that the flight payment had not gone through, had stopped at pending, anyways long story short, we managed to secure two of the last 4 spots on the flight, and get us on to the connecting flight from Dubai.Another intensely long flight, did manage to sleep a bit though. Our stop over in Dubai was incredible! What an airport!!! We had to get a train within the airport just to get to the right gate, within the same terminal. Beautiful waterfalls, amazing shops!!! And we were off to my birth land...good old South Africa!
Met at the Cape Town airport by dear friends, Natalie and Peter! The best part of having such good friends, is that it doesn't matter how much time has lapsed, you just continue where you left off! And so we did! Within 2 min of leaving the airport, we saw our first dead body :( he had tried to run across the road and was hit. Welcome to South Africa! It feels weird to be back here, familiar, yet unfamiliar.... Happy , yet sad... So much history here for me....
Saw, Nicole and Macayla, and caught up in their lives. ( always makes you realise just how old you are getting when you listen to your friends children that are the age we were when we were friends!!!) Had a very traditional pap , boerwors and shieba for dinner! Delicious. Had little treats left on our bed, ultramel( ready made custard, ) , droer wors, chocolate and a postcard of the famous Table mountain, very special.
Saturday morning, saw the Bresler Senior Family when we all met at the Spur for breakie! The food here is sooo good! I think everything is cooked in the boerwors fat..lol. Great catching up on all the friendships over the years, so the chatting continued... Shopping in the afternoon at Canal Walk, the third largest shopping mall in Africa, over 1.5 million square feet!!! Lol nothing like that kind of retail therapy! Natalie and I went birthday shopping . Finished off with dinner at Steers. Just in case you are wondering, I went into SA with a list of places and things I wanted to eat and things I wanted to do , nothing like the present to get started!
Tomorrow is both Natalie and my birthdays, so we have a road trip, picnic and visit with more friends planned!
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Friday, 5 April 2013
Diving in the Similan Islands, in the Adaman Sea.
Another early morning tuk tuk pick up, from the Big Blue Diving company. It was nice to have some English couples to chat to while we drove to the boat that would take us out to the Similan Islands. The islands are made up of 9 islands and named as such! Their Thai names starting from island 1 are; Huyong, Payang, Payang, Miang( which is a national park), Ha, Hock, Payu, Similan, and Ba-ngu. We were bound Miang, and west of Eden Rock. On our ride out, the water was like glass it was so calm. It took us a little over an hour in a speed boat, and during that time our guide/ dive master, Craig, went over the itenary for the day, what we could expect to see and we made sure all the dive equipment was working and functional! Always a good idea!
After we dropped all the snorkellers off on Miang for the morning, we headed out to west of Eden Rock! I can never get over the clarity of the water! Visibility in the water was 20 - 25 meters! Temp. Of water...31c!!!!! Lol my kind of diving!!! We suited up and took the plunge!!! Douglas and one of the other girls had a terrible time equalizing, in the meantime the other couple and I descended and watched in awe. I love being in the water... So quiet, peaceful, it takes you into such a different world! We all got going and followed the drift current. Schools of fish, in purples, yellows, orange, angel fish... It was fantastic! The little blue fish about two inches long, come and take nibbles at you...they are commonly known as cleaner fish. The rays swim over to a school of these fish, hovering there while the cleaner fish go to work, cleaning them! Didn't get to see that though...
Saw lots of small, sea slugs, sea warts, sea snails, nudibraches all in spectacular colours and designs. Tons of fish, hiding in the tree-like coral. Again the colours are unreal... And would take forever to describe the sea world we saw. Saw a few Nemo's hiding in anenomes...they are the only fish to be able to do that, as they have a protective coating they doesn't allow them the sting of the anenomes! It fascinates me... Sea eels, over twenty of them, tails buried , while their bodies rise up out of the sandy floor, dancing and weaving like blades of grass blowing in the breeze. You definitely have to look at everything differently down there, as nothing is as it seems. Lion fish, with their beautiful stripes and fairy, wispy fins. Anyways you get the picture... So beautiful...
We were taken back to the Miang island for lunch , traditional Thai food eaten on a white powdery beach. This beach is certainly in our top five beaches. Having said that... There were a few inhabitants that I wasn't too thrilled about.... Fruit bats, hanging there like mini draculars, in all their ugliness!!! Huge things, all furry and ugly, and batty and ugly... Lol. We saw a couple of birds that are very similar to pigeons, apart from the fact that their feather were iridescent blue and green.
Douglas was having major problems with his ears and has now decided to NEVER dive again! And that was that! So he stayed at the beach and hiked up to a look out point that required crossing bridges between bolders, rope climbing..he was in his element , as I was in the deep blue sea. We went to a different site, lots more corals this time as well as plenty of fish..needle fish, tiny fish, schools and schools of them.
Diving done for the day, we picked up the beach folks and headed in.... Got back, had my swim, Douglas refused to get back into the water...lol!! He swears that he drowns through osmosis!!! Hahaha... Had an early night, started packing and organizing , cut Douglass's hair and I coloured my hair!!! :) and a good thing I brought my Colour....because there wasn't a hope in hell of me finding a Goldwell Salon there!!! Lol :)
After we dropped all the snorkellers off on Miang for the morning, we headed out to west of Eden Rock! I can never get over the clarity of the water! Visibility in the water was 20 - 25 meters! Temp. Of water...31c!!!!! Lol my kind of diving!!! We suited up and took the plunge!!! Douglas and one of the other girls had a terrible time equalizing, in the meantime the other couple and I descended and watched in awe. I love being in the water... So quiet, peaceful, it takes you into such a different world! We all got going and followed the drift current. Schools of fish, in purples, yellows, orange, angel fish... It was fantastic! The little blue fish about two inches long, come and take nibbles at you...they are commonly known as cleaner fish. The rays swim over to a school of these fish, hovering there while the cleaner fish go to work, cleaning them! Didn't get to see that though...
Saw lots of small, sea slugs, sea warts, sea snails, nudibraches all in spectacular colours and designs. Tons of fish, hiding in the tree-like coral. Again the colours are unreal... And would take forever to describe the sea world we saw. Saw a few Nemo's hiding in anenomes...they are the only fish to be able to do that, as they have a protective coating they doesn't allow them the sting of the anenomes! It fascinates me... Sea eels, over twenty of them, tails buried , while their bodies rise up out of the sandy floor, dancing and weaving like blades of grass blowing in the breeze. You definitely have to look at everything differently down there, as nothing is as it seems. Lion fish, with their beautiful stripes and fairy, wispy fins. Anyways you get the picture... So beautiful...
We were taken back to the Miang island for lunch , traditional Thai food eaten on a white powdery beach. This beach is certainly in our top five beaches. Having said that... There were a few inhabitants that I wasn't too thrilled about.... Fruit bats, hanging there like mini draculars, in all their ugliness!!! Huge things, all furry and ugly, and batty and ugly... Lol. We saw a couple of birds that are very similar to pigeons, apart from the fact that their feather were iridescent blue and green.
Douglas was having major problems with his ears and has now decided to NEVER dive again! And that was that! So he stayed at the beach and hiked up to a look out point that required crossing bridges between bolders, rope climbing..he was in his element , as I was in the deep blue sea. We went to a different site, lots more corals this time as well as plenty of fish..needle fish, tiny fish, schools and schools of them.
Diving done for the day, we picked up the beach folks and headed in.... Got back, had my swim, Douglas refused to get back into the water...lol!! He swears that he drowns through osmosis!!! Hahaha... Had an early night, started packing and organizing , cut Douglass's hair and I coloured my hair!!! :) and a good thing I brought my Colour....because there wasn't a hope in hell of me finding a Goldwell Salon there!!! Lol :)
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Khao Lak 2
The following day was spent quietly at the resort, after our run in with elephants and ants...lol!! Just kidding!!! We did have a quite day though...relaxed by the pool, caught up on FB :) have managed to Skype with all the family which has been so nice! It makes me feel a lot closer than we are! :)
In the afternoon we decided to go for a hike, down the beach, waded though the lagoon, climbed the embankment of rocks on the other side, in the process ran into an ant convoy, did a major fan dance getting them off me before any of them bit me!!! Lol contemplated go back at this point, but charged on! Started getting worried when I saw elephant dung lying around!!!!! Headed of on a random path...as we got into the jungle we started seeing orange ribbons two foot wide in various shades wrapped around the trees..it wasn't long before we stumbled on a Buddhist shrine and statues, incense and more ribbons in an clearing... Continued on our walk up a million steps onto the ...road! Lol...so much for our hike..hehehe. We walked up the winding roads, saw spectacular views, before heading back again for a refreshing swim. Went to the Lagoon restaurant that evening, nothing like sitting in the open air with the sweet, spicy, exotic aromas surrounding you...pineapple cocktail with an orchid and pineapple piece for decoration...warm , balmy temperatures, my very best friend in the whole world....makes for one very happy girl! :)
The following day we rented a scooter, one of the many million that are available and off we went in search of the " The little sandy beach" , situated in one of their national parks. A hike down to the beach through a bonafide rain forest, across a lagoon on a bamboo bridge, to another beautiful beach where we set up for the morning, reading and swimming. Saw the most beautiful designs on the sand made by tiny crabs as they are digging their holes. Made our way to another beach , which we didn't stay at for too long, couldn't swim as there were stinging jellyfish in the water!!! Enough to keep me out! Did see a big, handicapped spider on his web between two branches, ( he only had 6 legs.. ) . I learnt how to ride a scooter in the parking lot! Lol just went round and around! No, I didn't run into anything, nor anyone! But I did entertain some of the locals! I'll leave the driving to Douglas though!
Made our way into town to check on a few diving companies after we had had a bite to eat. Ended up going with Big Blue, so booked that for the following day! Got info from one of the locals on another beach to go and see...White Sandy Beach...I love the names! Lol so off we went on our trusty scooter, taking our lives in our hands...these Thai's have no rules on the road..it's a free for all! You have to keep your wits about you!! It was a lovely beach, ran into the young Germany couple we had met on the bus coming into to Khao Lak. They were busy studying for their advanced diving course.
Made our way back to the resort, a swim before heading off to the Lagoon restaurant again! A buffet meal, salads, five main meals, fruits, desserts... 200 baht, that is $ 6.66 ! How crazy is that!Went to see a show at the neighbouring hotel. A cabaret of sorts... The whole show was lip sinked and all the performers, lady-boys!!! Ah hahahahahahaha You have never seen anything like!!! And let me tell you..if you didn't know they were guys...you wouldn't have been able to tell! Lady-boys in Thailand are as much part of their culture as ice hockey is to Canadians. A dime a dozen, and no one bats an eye! I don't know how it works..I don't really want to know! But they did a great job!
PS: Bought a new bikini!!! :)
In the afternoon we decided to go for a hike, down the beach, waded though the lagoon, climbed the embankment of rocks on the other side, in the process ran into an ant convoy, did a major fan dance getting them off me before any of them bit me!!! Lol contemplated go back at this point, but charged on! Started getting worried when I saw elephant dung lying around!!!!! Headed of on a random path...as we got into the jungle we started seeing orange ribbons two foot wide in various shades wrapped around the trees..it wasn't long before we stumbled on a Buddhist shrine and statues, incense and more ribbons in an clearing... Continued on our walk up a million steps onto the ...road! Lol...so much for our hike..hehehe. We walked up the winding roads, saw spectacular views, before heading back again for a refreshing swim. Went to the Lagoon restaurant that evening, nothing like sitting in the open air with the sweet, spicy, exotic aromas surrounding you...pineapple cocktail with an orchid and pineapple piece for decoration...warm , balmy temperatures, my very best friend in the whole world....makes for one very happy girl! :)
The following day we rented a scooter, one of the many million that are available and off we went in search of the " The little sandy beach" , situated in one of their national parks. A hike down to the beach through a bonafide rain forest, across a lagoon on a bamboo bridge, to another beautiful beach where we set up for the morning, reading and swimming. Saw the most beautiful designs on the sand made by tiny crabs as they are digging their holes. Made our way to another beach , which we didn't stay at for too long, couldn't swim as there were stinging jellyfish in the water!!! Enough to keep me out! Did see a big, handicapped spider on his web between two branches, ( he only had 6 legs.. ) . I learnt how to ride a scooter in the parking lot! Lol just went round and around! No, I didn't run into anything, nor anyone! But I did entertain some of the locals! I'll leave the driving to Douglas though!
Made our way into town to check on a few diving companies after we had had a bite to eat. Ended up going with Big Blue, so booked that for the following day! Got info from one of the locals on another beach to go and see...White Sandy Beach...I love the names! Lol so off we went on our trusty scooter, taking our lives in our hands...these Thai's have no rules on the road..it's a free for all! You have to keep your wits about you!! It was a lovely beach, ran into the young Germany couple we had met on the bus coming into to Khao Lak. They were busy studying for their advanced diving course.
Made our way back to the resort, a swim before heading off to the Lagoon restaurant again! A buffet meal, salads, five main meals, fruits, desserts... 200 baht, that is $ 6.66 ! How crazy is that!Went to see a show at the neighbouring hotel. A cabaret of sorts... The whole show was lip sinked and all the performers, lady-boys!!! Ah hahahahahahaha You have never seen anything like!!! And let me tell you..if you didn't know they were guys...you wouldn't have been able to tell! Lady-boys in Thailand are as much part of their culture as ice hockey is to Canadians. A dime a dozen, and no one bats an eye! I don't know how it works..I don't really want to know! But they did a great job!
PS: Bought a new bikini!!! :)
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Elephant trekking and rafting continued!
So the fish are in a feeding frenzy every time you throw food in..quite entertaining! :) we paddled down the river for miles, watching the surrounding landscape, watching children with goggles diving for fish, the locals taking a dip to cool down. We stop for a swim in a wider section of the river, not very deep... Raining season has not yet begun, and the water level is very low... The bamboo growing at the sides of the river were close to 50 feet! Massive!! It is apparently put to good use, as later on we saw how they had made rafts with them.
Ice cold water and cokes awaited us once we got to our point of exit...nothing nicer than an ice cold coke, when it is so hot!
Back into our air conditioned minivan, went to a look out point near the Khao Sok National Park before heading on back to the hotel. Had a nice long swim before calling it a night! Enough excitement for one day!
Ice cold water and cokes awaited us once we got to our point of exit...nothing nicer than an ice cold coke, when it is so hot!
Back into our air conditioned minivan, went to a look out point near the Khao Sok National Park before heading on back to the hotel. Had a nice long swim before calling it a night! Enough excitement for one day!
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