Around The World

Smart Traveller listed Zimbabwe as do not go zone for Australians. It is true that no one will hear about Zimbabwe besides the complete mess the country is in. It currency is worthless and a majority of the world have negative opinions of the president Robert Mugabe. Even the tour had to be rerouted through Botswana due to the dangerous situation the country was in. I crossed the border from Botswana and was feeling much better after the food poisoning and felt that a new country bought upon much welcomed health.

We went to the Africa Travel Co office in the town of Victoria Falls and as we crossed the road to the camp saw a string of limousines, security and jeeps drive by. In one of them was the aforementioned Robert Mugabe – perhaps the most unpopular leader in the entire world.

After a quick bite to eat with Alison and Craig I went to Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls are some of the most famous, considered by some to be among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls – which he did from what is now known as ‘Livingstone Island’ in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. David Livingstone gave the falls the name ‘Victoria Falls’ in honour of his Queen, but the indigenous name of ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ – literally meaning the ‘Smoke that Thunders’ – is also well known. The World Heritage List recognises both names.

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres and height of 108 meters, forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. At the time of my visit, the Zambezi was having its biggest flood in a generation and white water rafting was forbidden. This meant the water levels were even higher, but visibility was less. We had raincoats and umbrellas but were still soaked with the water as we made our way to many different outlooks.

My earliest memories of Botswana were when someone in highschool updated their MSN and called themselves Bushpig. Their location was somewhere in the jungle, Botswana. How remote and untouched it seemed. In reality, Botswana is seen as an African success story. A sparsely populated country whose main concerns is not civil war, but the effects of AIDS.

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project, established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhino, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Batswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources.

I was lucky enough to visit the sanctuary on my first day in Botswana. We set out in jeeps through the park and saw plenty of rhino, wildebeest, giraffe and zebra. The rhino got nice and close, which allowed for excellent photo opportunities.

We stayed in the town of Palapye, at the Camp Itumela. We were treated to a nice dinner in the restaurant – Kudo & crocodile. After seeing the camping facilities, on the hard dirt, and the shower/toilet in an outdoor cubicle, I knew sleep would not be easy to get so I headed to the bar. Unlike most bars, the bartender, Mike, encourages intoxication. Iker, Craig and I had vodka shots. These weren’t your regular vodka shots however as in them was widgity-grub like bugs. These are a delicacy in Botswana – they were awful. After some more drinking we ended up on the bar dancing with the girls from Holland and putting up our Australian flag.

We bid farewell to Palapye the next day for Francistown, the second biggest town in Botswana. I was craving vegemite so at the shopping centre I went in mad search of the traditional Australian food. I ended up talking to some people at the supermarket, Gladys and Lenty – we exchanged contact details. Apparently Batswanans like to collect addresses of foreigners. Go figure.

We set up camp that afternoon – this was probably the most boring day in Botswana. Malaria is a big problem in this part of the world and we were advised this was high Malaria area. A few us went to the local Internet cafe and this is when the mosquitoes started out. We got a little paranoid so all went back to camp. At the caravan park was a casino with the old-style poker machines so Alison, Craig and I decided to go and bet our Pula for the night. We didn’t end up winning a whole lot but had a heap of fun with the old school machines.

Elephant Sands is a traditional safari bush camp about 50kms north of Nata in central Botswana. This was where we stayed the next night. We set up camp near a waterhole where elephants and other animals come to drink. The come up close and personal, and here I was, waiting for lunch when three walked not twenty meters from me to have a drink. There was no electricity at this site which was a good idea for an early night as the next morning I woke early to join the walking safari. Here was a good chance to walk by the animals in their habitat. We were all excited as our guide was carrying a gun for protection. Unfortunately, the animals weren’t out an about this particular morning and all I got to see was an elephant maybe 50 meters way. It was pretty cool to be on foot so close to the animals though.

The next town on the list was Kasane, a town bordering Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was a busy little town, mainly full of tourists making their way between the four countries. It was situated on the Zambezi river, which at the time flooding. We were told not to set up camp to close to the water as hippos and crocodiles would not be far away.

The Chobe National Park in the countries northwest is probably best known for its spectacular elephant population: 50,000 elephants today, it is actually the highest elephant concentration of Africa. Moreover, most of them are probably part of the largest continuous surviving elephant population on Earth. The elephant population seems to have solidly built up since 1990, from a few thousand. They have not been affected by the massive illicit exploitation of the 1970s and 1980s. Elephants living here are Kalahari elephants, the largest in size of all known elephant populations. Yet they are characterised by rather brittle ivory and short tusks, perhaps due to calcium deficiency in the soils. I did an overnight safari here one night – not only does it have thousands of elephants, it has accessible lions, crocodiles, hippos, baffallo, giraffe and baboon. We felt a bit uneasy here as an elephant almost charged our jeep at one point and before bed we were briefed on how to understand a particular animal sound and what do should we see or hear one during the night. Alison and I bunked in a spectacular five star tent and at one point had lion’s fifty meters away at the most. It made for one of the most interesting toilet breaks of my life.

South Africa is a kaleidoscope of contrasts. The average person’s image of South Africa ranges from safari suits to apartheid, georgeous Table Mountain to Soweto, modern wines to AIDS. This is a country that needs to be seen to be comprehended. My first taste of Africa went from the five star Bangkok Novotel and Thai Airways first class to a backpacker’s dormitory.

We had booked an African Travel Co tour with On the Go and arrived in Jo’Burg as it is affectionately known, a day prior. The place was the Backpacker’s Ritz. It hardly was the ritz. Jetlag had set in so we slept for most of the day. We did make a small trip to the local shopping centre to purchase a memory chip for the camera and then to the service station that night for dinner.

Not many people have kind words to say about Jo’Burg and the razor wire fences seem to conjure these thoughts. The short walk to the service station had us worried with fear – all through hearsay.

The first full day in South Africa, I awoke refreshed and ready for a big day. My hopes were dashed, as there was a taxi strike on this day. The guy who owned the hostel said two white boys going into the centre of Johannesburg wasn’t the wisest of ideas so we decided to make alternate arrangements. We met a nice driver named Simon who took us to the Apartheid Museum. We arranged with his to pick us up in a few hours so we decided to go the Golden Reef Theme Park next to the museum. It was like a smaller version of the Gold Coast theme parks with ferris wheels, rollercoasters and a zoo.

The Apartheid Museum, opened in 2001, is a complex dedicated to illustrating apartheid during the previous century. One cannot underestimate the effect apartheid had on this history of the country and the aftereffects are still evident in everyday life. It was a stunning visual journey depicting the way of life before 1990.

That night was the pre-departure meeting at the hostel. We met with most people who were going on the tour. Peter, the tour leader; Ivan, the cook; Muno, the driver; Linda, Therese, Marylane, from the Netherlands – Linda and Therese had been travelling through Ghana together for six month prior; Alison, a pharmacist from Canada; Rodney, a bus driver from Coffs Harbour; Iker and Ixus, honeymooners from the Basque Country in Spain; Lee, Patrick, John, three Australian guys who were living in London, they had just done the garden route. Later we would be joined by Susan and Macca from the Northern Territory.

Because Susan and Macca were delayed and we did not know where they were, our departure was delayed somewhat. Once we left Jo’Burg we drove through various shantytowns on our way to the Kruger National Park. Peter reiterated that not even him; a big built Zimbabwean would not venture into Johannesburg centre alone. We were told that Durban and Johannesburg would soon merge into one megalopolis and that the shanty towns would probably never go. The government has tried to assist on numerous occasions but the people thrive on crime and are able slip through the cracks.

Its about a four hour drive to the Kruger National Park – we pass through different communities. One of particular interest was White River – it looked like the epitome of what us foreigners expect Africa to be like.

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Home to all the Big Five (Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo) – it covers almost 19,000 square kilometres. The national park alone is bigger than the whole country of Fiji.

We stayed in 5 star tents just outside the Numbi Gate. The first night we went 4×4 jeep safari. The main aim of the safari, in my opinion is to spoke the Big Five – which were the 5 most, sought after animals by poachers. It is also pretty cool to see other animals like giraffes, zebra, hippo and crocodiles. That first night we spotted Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant and right towards the end of the drive – a pack of lions. The next day the safari took place in the truck and we still missed the elusive leopard.

Corruption is rife in South Africa, as we found out in a small town called Hazyview. We went there to withdraw some money where some people of the tour were scammed at the ATM. The trick for someone to ‘help’ the foreigner withdraw money by asking their PIN to assist. Meanwhile their card is being copied and they can withdraw funds.

The tour made its way through the Blyde River Canyon. The Blyde River Canyon is located in the Mpulamanga region and is the world’s third largest canyon and has an abundance of green foliage. There are potholes, outlooks and ledges. Perhaps the most famous of which is Gods Window, a stunning outlook a short hike up the mountain.

That afternoon we set up camp and a few us went for a hike to see some waterfalls – the water was cold, but I followed instinct and jumped in. Iker and Ixus taught us all some campfire games that night. Interesting to note that I didn’t bring sufficient warm clothing/blankets and didn’t imagine that Africa would be cold. This night was the coldest most uncomfortable night I have ever slept and needless to say I went to buy some warm materials soon after.

In Africa people get paid on the 25^th day of the month and the tour made its way to the town of Polokwane the first Saturday after the 25^th. Here it seemed that everyone in town was out spending their money. The KFC was full and the PicknPay was crowded more than any other store I had ever seen. It wasn’t a big day so we ended the last night in South Africa eating Maize around camp.

So the tour ended its part in South Africa. There are not many other countries in the world where your experiences can go from two opposite sides of the spectrum. Almost getting robbed, taxi strikes and shantytowns vs spectacular scenery, wildlife and people. South Africas charm will continue to draw in a range of different tourists for years to come.

Getting upgraded on a flight is one of the goals of all travellers. Due to flight cancellations, my flight got re-routed and I had to catch a flight from Bangkok to Thailand on Thai Airlines. This flight let me achieve the ultimate – a free upgrade.

I didn’t notice it was an upgrade till half through the flight when I peered through the curtain and saw economy class, with their plastic cutlery, three seats in a row and alcohol rations. Too bad this wasn’t the worlds longest flight.

Now once we landed in Hong Kong, we had 7 hours to kill – not knowing much about the place prior, we looked at a train which took you through the city – the logistics of the city however made this option unavailable. We got out the airport, a bit of mission, and saw there was an expo on in a convention centre about a fifteen minute walk away. The convention centre proved quite boring so we made our way back to the airport. All the stores were closing, and we were starving and thirsty so bought water. It was some sort of replenishment water so I didn’t drink it and remained parched.

We went to check in, the first in line, however due to some mess up, we were not confirmed and had to be placed on stand by. We waited nervously until about two hours later we were told we would be on the plane.

Hong Kong airport is probably bigger than some small countries. I still think there is a lot more to Hong Kong, and to China than this airport – due to my definition on countries being UN recognised I do count this as a visit –eventful at that – but likely to back again.

[THAILAND 21MAR09-22MAR09] 

 Alas, I was back in Thailand, one of the worlds great areas to travel and one of my favorite places to be. I embarked on my first multi destinational trip and had to stopover in Bangkok due to a Thai Airways cancelled flight. Now the first time I was in Bangkok I did not enjoy it as much as I could have. A big culture shock, a bit tired from Chaing Mai and a guess a little home sick. I didn’t really want to stop in Bangkok overnight but as is always the case in the developing world, you can’t be in too much of a rush because you will inevitably have something go very wrong and keep you grounded for a few days. Southeast Asia is certainly no exception but there are far worse places to be stuck, no matter where you are and especially Bangkok, Thailand.

As Lonely Planet eloquently puts it, “Bangkok is the cockiest city around”. This is perhaps true and it is also one of the worlds most exciting cities. Anything can and will happen and as the classic Murray Head 1980’s hit “One Night in Bangkok” says:
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster, the bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a God in every golden cloister, and if you’re lucky then the God’s a she.
I can feel an angel sliding up to me.

One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble, not much between despair and ecstasy.
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble, can’t be too careful with your company.
I can feel the devil walking next to me.

I stayed for one night in Bangkok, free of charge, at the five star airport hotel – Novotel Sukhumvit. We never got to the famous Patpong district the first time we were in Bangkok – for a variety of reasons, one of which was being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city, the second of which was alterior motives of the cab drivers.

Patpong Road is quintessential Bangkok. Whether it be a designer suit, fake ID, any type of clothes, jewelry, massage (legit), lady friends or lady boys, tuk tuk’s, etc., you will certainly be offered by tons of hawkers and enterprising Thai’s trying to pry away your Baht. We first wanted a bite to eat in McDonald’s and had 4 lady boys sitting next to us – preparing for a big Saturday night – casually going about there business. I went to some stalls and had a look with the cries of “please sir, first customer” – I bought some sandals for Africa and some underpants. Then we realised all the bars on the side were full of dancers, trying to make some money with ping pong balls.

By the end of the night I had seen thousands of prostitutes, lots of tourists coming back again and again, male prostitutes coming onto us, illegal DVD’s, an abundance of food and bright lights and neon signs. We went back to the hotel and got ready for our flight to Hong Kong the next day – I don\’t know why but having such a 180 turn around about my feelings of Bangkok have put me in good stead for the holiday.

People say to me it is one of those places you just want to go back to again and again. I am fairly sure it will be on my travel list once again.

Vanuatu is a great place. It is only a two and a half hour flight from Brisbane, it is a tax haven and has been voted the happiest country in the world – as the sign in the customs area of Vila airport reminds us.

Unlike the brochures in a travel agency, the 8km drive from the airport to the city of Vila does not drum up feelings of idyllic beaches and happy locals – rather it made me think that it is more like a third world country. One thing to learn about Vanuatu and the south Pacific is that things are generally done on island time. Places close down between noon and 3pm daily for siesta and Sundays are purely a day for church gatherings.

I stayed at the Sebel, a beautiful hotel on harbour. Vanuatu is not the place you want to come to if you are like to keep busy and as such there wasn’t a lot to do. You can walk from one end of the town to the other in twenty minutes.

As part of the trip we received a free meal or something at the Nambawan Café – also situated on the harbour it is the most popular restaurant in town. They serve drinks, pizza and one night even had an outdoor screening of Kung Fu Panda, which everyone gathered to watch. Of course being on island time, by the time I got my pizza the credit were almost rolling.

As far as food goes, this was one of surprisingly many places you could eat. One night I ate a beautiful steak at Shooters, another had a meal of Chinese food where I became ill. I enquired about a McDonalds and was told a small chicken and rice store was it. They didn’t serve French fries here. My favourite restaurant was one right next to the hotel – we were waited upon by a lady named Nora. The restaurant has a flag for every tourist who has been there. As this was when the Beijing Olympics were on it was easy to get patriotic and see everyone else doing so. Most of the other tourists were Australians.

Vila is situated on the island of Efate – another island in the archipelago is Tanna, which is famous for having the most accessible volcano in the world. We didn’t have enough time to get down there so our tour experiences were limited to Efate.

Hideaway Island is a famous diving spot in Vanuatu and you can catch the bus from Vila – takes maybe fifteen minutes. Hideaway also has the worlds only underwater post office. Here I was able to get certified by PADI as a scuba diver.

Another tour we received was a cruise around the islands. Although the cruise was quite slow we did manage to see some beautiful islands in and around the harbour.

The highlight would have to be an impromptu trip we took to the other side of the island one-day. Accompanied by a couple who were Swiss/American we got to see some turtles in tanks, coconut crabs and big turtles in the pools. We go to feed sharks in another pool – no five star safeties, one slip and we would have been eaten. It began to rain as were greeted with refreshments before we kayaked between the islands.

When were kayaking, one of the locals, Kali got talking to me about Australia. After we were dropped off at the hotel he said he would pick us up in half an hour and show us how the locals lived. He took us to some local bar where we began to drink kava. The bar seemed a bit dingy – Kava is a traditional pacific drink which is made from the roots of the kava plant. After a few of these you are left feeling a little hallucinogenic. Perhaps this is the reason why I decided to try my hand at blackjack at the casino after this!

It was pretty cool though to hang out with the locals. Vanuatu is an interesting place and I think I managed the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure for the place. A lot of people say that Vila is the nicest city in the Pacific – their hospitality makes me want to come back again one day.

St Augustine once said that the world is a book and those that don’t travel read only one page. My first trip abroad made me want to read the whole book – prologue to epilogue. Thailand is a Mecca for the tourist and a great place to set the first chapter– the most popular of South East Asian destination – it blends an exotic mix of culture, food, history and temples.

The national carrier, Thai Airlines, gives an excellent preview into this country – hospitable hostesses, great food and unlimited entertainment. We transited through Bangkok’s main terminal – the escalators echo ‘end of the walk’ – we then caught a domestic flight to our first destination – Chiang Mai. 

We were met at the airport by Aki, who would be our tour guide whilst in Chiang Mai. He transferred us onto the Novotel. Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand and is in the north. Founded in 1296AD the city is separated into two parts – the walled ‘old city’ or the new city. Chiang Mai offers an exciting mix of both the old and the new – a quick walk around the hotel and you can find a modern supermarket, some modern stores, and universities. Up town a bit there were shopping malls. Nestled in the streets were thousands of people on scooters, tuk-tuks, monks and temples. Being my first trip abroad it was amazing to see things like electricity lines wired in a mess, food for sale in carts and what seems like no road rules.

We had a few tours booked for us in Chiang Mai – it was good as it made us do some things we would not have thought of. Here we were feeling completely unsafe – hiding money in the kettle of the hotel room and at the end of the trip we were bartering like we had been doing it forever.

 A Kantanoke dinner and dancing show was one of the tours – I tried a few different foods but it was nothing like the deceiving Thai restaurants in Brisbane. A lot of tourists were at this dinner and the local girls treated us to some traditional dancing…by the end of the night we were up dancing with them.

Shopping is a real treat in Thailand – on the first day we were buying clothes for a real cheap price – little did we know we were getting ripped off – the shop owners must have had a guilty conscience as they ended up giving us a complimentary beer. We discovered a market place is the best the do your shopping and spend some time buying gifts and souvenirs.

I was in Chiang Mai for the local election – in Thailand alcohol is forbidden on election day – Unfortunately I didn’t get an endless supply of Singh beers but it was good because the next day was the highlight of the trip – early start to see the orchid farm and then onto the elephant park about an hour out of Chiang Mai. The elephants were people friendly and put on a show. They were able to paint, play basketball, and do a little concert. I was actually called up the stage to get a massage off the elephant. We fed the elephant’s and then were able to ride them. It went for about half an hour and was bumpy. We saw some really poor kids selling bananas. We went though the park. Afterwards we got to go on a bamboo raft up the river before being taken by bull and cart to a smorgasbord lunch, which overlooked a beautiful setting in the mountains. Hard to believe that only an hour away was the hustle and bustle of the big city

A big draw card in Chiang Mai is the trip up the mountains to see the Karen tribe. The ladies have ‘long necks’ and they are immigrants from Burma escaping the conflict and live in homesteads in the mountains. They speak a dialect that no one around could understand but we did get the idea they were preparing for a wedding that night.

Bangkok is a huge city with high rises for suburbs on end. We stayed in the Classic Palace, which was about 2kms from the city centre and about an hour from the airport.

Bangkok is the capital city and central business district – it is also one of the major hubs of Asia. Tuk Tuk drivers work on commission here and take you indirect routes to your destination – to places like suit tailors or jewellery stores where they try to sell you their products. Unfortunately the traffic is ridiculously bad in Bangkok and getting taxi is not worth it – thankfully, we discovered at the end that Bangkok has an excellent public transport network and the train station was near the hotel.

We did a few tours of Bangkok – the temple tour is a must for any tourist in the city – Thailand has thousands of temples – the Grand Palace being the most famous. My favourite was the one that housed the reclining budda. Our guide, Helen took us to a legitimate jewellery-making store before dropping us back at the hotel. We learned that the king is so revered in Thailand that it is illegal to say a bad word about him.

The night markets we went to were bigger than those in Chiang Mai but had the same sort of stuff. We went to the same restaurant two nights in a row and both nights forgot to pay for the beer.

One the last day we did a tour of the floating markets – these are traditional fruit and veg markets an hour and a half from Bangkok where the locals barter and sell with each other – it is all on the water in a river and must make some tourist revenue. Its worth mentioning that this tour takes you to a snake charmer or something similar on the way where you can put a snake around your neck.

Thailand is the kind of country which wets your appetite for travel – a place many tourists come back to again and again. I highly recommend going and saying Sawdawsee, bartering at the markets and having a Singha or two at the end of a hot day.