going, Goa, gone! (India)

Alo!

The end of the year is excitingly close as another brilliant year awaits us. Allow me to share my experience in Goa with you.

So.... I went to Goa, South/West India to do the yoga teacher training course by an Australian company. We stayed at a stunning tropical retreat center surrounded by beautiful nature, in fact my hut/shack was right next to the river and I brushed my teeth and showered everyday overlooking this (had no window, just a hole in the bathroomhut) and went to bed hearing crickets, frogs croak and sometimes rain, and then waking to the sound of birds. Food was lovingly prepared (onion-and garlic-free) by a Nepalese kitchen team, all vegetarian and healthy, and we drank filtered water from the well. Meals were shared with an amazing bunch of bright and open-minded people sharing a common passion - the love of yoga, health, life and nature. I was in paradise once again! Class started at 6am every morning and the last lecture ended at 20h30. Yes, looong, sweaty, intense days. Sometimes when we got the chance, we would gulf down our lunch quickly and go for a dip in the ocean (which was like a 50ms walk over the slender wooden bridge that crosses the river) We learned so much, my head was spinning and I felt like a beginner in yoga (even though I've been doing yoga for almost 5 years) We were teaching public classes and being assessed already on the 4th day. There were 3 programs, and in the teacher training, we were 8 students. We bonded so well with each other including the teachers, it was all very wonderful! We celebrated the end of the course with a drum circle and dancing on the beach with bonfires. (but the course continues as I am left with lots of assignments and teaching hours before I get certified)

And off I went into the unknown for another 6 days, solo. All I knew is that I wanted to explore Goa. I had a map and an idea. Long story short... I ended up staying in a village in North Goa where there were no other foreigners, just me. The only tourists you saw were the ones riding scooters through this village. I spent my days lazying around, eating, going to the beach, walking and some days my 'driver' (the one whose family house I was staying in) would take me on day trips (i even peeped into Maharashtra, just a ferry ride from Goa, and already the Maharathis were different - dressed differently, different food, different language - isn't India just amazingly endless) Goa feels like another country, not just India. The people are totally laidback, they have a chilled attitude, (like don't worry, be happy), very friendly - they are just different. Goan prawn curry is fantastic, and oh yes, the Goan trance parties are great... even though they are hard to find these days (because the police bans them). I even attended a fashion show party. I did clothing shopping till my money ran out and I had to get some more from my credit card. The clothing there is absolutely awesome, just my style. And very fashionable and stupid cheap. Oh and the architecture is something else, especially the capital city, Panji/Panjim/Paniji - same, same. Goa was ruled by the Portuguese till 1961, so it still has a big Portuguese influence very visible in the architecture and religion. Overall Goa is just absolutely gorgeous, beeeg open beaches, beautiful skies with lots of fluffy clouds, breathtaking sunsets, amazing weather (in November), coconut trees, holy cows, great food and cheap accommodation. I fully enjoyed the experience and am very grateful for attracting such wonders in my life:)

Then instead of going to Madagascar, I popped into Cape Town where I JUST holidayed. I finally went up Table Mountain and Lion's Head again (for sunrise) and spent my days with Pookie. It was bliss. It is always tough leaving that gorgeous city.

And with the ending of this entry, I wish you jolliness in this festive time (although I think it is always time to be festive), I wish you a superlative year ahead or at least seeing the perfection which is in every moment, that you can look at things with a judgeless view and appreciate things for what they just are, that you find success and joy in your days, and that you'll love yourself and feel blessed to be the wonderful beings that you are.

In the happiness of having yummy yogueta lollipops in my kitchen, health and with love,
Alta

the terror goes to tehran (Iran)

Salaam

A quick weekend away to…… Iran!!! (“some people think I’m bonkers”, does this ring a bell??) Yeah, I went to Iran, and it was great, haha!! David, a ‘penpal’ (as we would call it in the old days) whom I’ve never met, was going to meet me somewhere about 2hours away from the airport, sent me a taxi driver to pick me up. I had no visa, and no local address, neither my two phones worked there (Iran is very roaming unfriendly), but hey, I always manage
So, then I met David, who is a very sweet guy.
He took me around the North and South of Tehran, which is such a massive city, yet absolutely gorgeous, nothing I EVER imagined it to be. Hugged by mountains, decorated by long, tall trees, celebrated by
rebellious people, women who are forced to be covered (including me). The traffic is also mad, but the fastest moving I’ve ever seen. People drive soooo fast, even scooters and bikes(without helmets ofcourse) zip through cars as if they’re in a video game.

David and his brother (who is a very skilled driver), took me go-carting. The Iranian girls even go to a place like that in high heels. Wait, let me draw you the picture first. As ‘covered’ as these women are, there are a lot more going on behind the ‘scenes’. Most women had nose jobs done (you’re not cool if you haven’t), their eyebrows are slim and perfectly tinted, thick lipstick and upright postures (well yeah, similar to most Arab countries ie Egyptians, Lebanese, Dubai locals). You might find two cars driving in front of you very slowly, occupying most of the road space and you cannot pass, and find no one hooting at them… David told me this is the ‘dating system’. In those few seconds, this would be where the phone number exchanging takes place. They will meet later that night, and sex is guaranteed. Mmmm, interesting. It is also normal to have more than one girlfriend or boyfriend. Women even made a pass at David while I’m sitting right next to him, haha. There is no party scene, no clubs or pubs, no alcohol. But people find a way to entertain themselves, and it gets pretty wild.

I was really surprised by how beautiful the city is, especially at night. We smoked shisha at a popular peak, overlooking the city lights and listening to classical Iranian music. And I’ve found a vegetarian Iranian dish that blows my mind! (luckily I can get it in Dubai also). So all and all, it was a pleasant experience. Not recommendable to go there without the help and knowledge of a local, as the people don’t speak much English and don’t seem very approachable. A few days before my arrival, there were elections, so the place seemed a bit unstable, but it smoothed out by the time I got there:) And unfortunately for me, on my return back to Dubai, everything worked out fine, until we got stuck inside the aircraft for 7 hours!!! (technical reasons) and therefore I missed my work flight to JNB, had to see my manager etc etc.

Now, I’m off till Dec3, going to Goa (India) for 3 weeks (of which 2 weeks is for yoga teacher training) and then hopefully Madagascar for 10days, if I get a travel partner.

The year is nearing to its end again, wow. I hope you are all healthy and enjoying the interesting weather.

Love to you,
Khuda'afis
A

Simply Asia (Bangkok and Shanghai)

Huhloh

Huan jing

...and as that song goes: "Some people think I'm bonkers!" I know how the singer feels, hehe:) Because what have I been up to again lately?? Mmm...

So,
I only had one day off after Dusseldorf (which I forgot to mention last time - I planned on visiting my dear friend in Amsterdam, but unfortunately the itenary from the metro system was incorrect and it didn't work out, so I just rested. Then the Bangkok-Hongkong trip.. It works like this: We fly to BKK, stay for a day, don't check out (yay, no packing and unpacking), then shuttle to HKG and back. In HKG we leave the aircraft and get to wander around in the airport for 4 hrs or go to our own lounge where we get free snacks, drinks and internet. Back in BKK we stay another day. Throughout this, we keep handing over/being handed over the aircraft to the other crew we saw the day before, the once ahead or behind in the same trip.

Bangkok: What did I do in Bangkok?...mmmm...well...the usual.... massages, shopping and eating like a pig. Went on the skytrain for the first time in Thailand. Excellent!
And.... then I went to Patpong. This is an area... a 'district' I've always wanted to experience. I went to go watch the famous/infamous ping pong shows. All by myself, coz crew were either sick or tired. These places are superdodgy stripclubs, except that they don't strip, they are already naked when you enter and are hanging around on the stage like jellyfish in a tank. Then one comes forward and gives you the 'show' of your life! Now, I've heard all kinds of stories, but I will only share what I've experienced myself. The highlighted is not for the sensitive. (Ma, stop reading, heehee) One girl put ping pong balls up her punani(hahahahaha) then shoots it back while a 'floor'person picks it up with a fishnet. One pulled a string out that never seemed to end, one sucked water from a bottle and transfered it to another and then came to put the two bottles on my table asking for money(gross), one sucked rings with a tube and put the rings over a bottle. It's a freakin sex circus!!!!! After 20mins I couldn't watch anymore and tried to leave. This wasn't so easy. They tried to con me like they do all foreigners, I threatened them, they threatened me and after much negotiation, I left safely. It's all part of the journey. Ok, tick, done!:)

Shanghai: Went to the Jade Buddha Temple (wish I could share the video clips), lots of open praying and chanting going on. Then went walking for 2 hours in an area where I honestly saw NO foreigners, just little Chinese people. Just my style;) Saw many males without their shirts on (it was very hot and humid), saw the usual 'stunts' of families on scooters, crazy traffic and stinky roads. I must admit, I'm not a fan of China. I don't get the 'rhythm', whereas places like Thailand and India etc, I feel I just fit in!!

Hope you enjoyed:)

Ramadan Karim!

Take care Chinas

Alta

free fremantle, Perth (Australia)

Heya!



Whooooosh, my life is a tumbledryer and my head is spinning. LOL! I have been partying way too much and unfortunately alcohol was involved. I had another absent at work (missed my flight), a kick under the butt and now it seems Alta is back on track. So, let me tell you a little bit about Perth.



I successfully swapped my London flight to go to OZ instead and it was good to be back in Australia, even though it was a direct 11 hour flight. It is winter there now and the weather was glorious, stunning. I got up early in the morning and took a train to Cottlesloe... a cute neighbourhood right on the ocean. My map led me to the beach, I sat there for a while and counted about 34 surfers in front of me, around noon on a Monday. Then I decided to go further (bought a day pass train ticket) and went to Fremantle, the last stop. A harbour town. Perth, especially Fremantle has a lot of history with the Dutch and the little town itself looks European. I had lunch at the waterfront and a walk through the park and to my amazement in front of me which I thought were seagulls, on a closer zoom, they were actually white parrots. Everywhere. In the trees, on the grass...




I found the people very friendly, especially the elder ones. Reminded me of the uncle and aunts from my own little hometown:) Had a walk through the CBD and it was so much like Cape Town. It's amazing how much Australia is like SA, just without the crime. I miss hooooome!!!



I'll be coming home the end of the month, finally, after 6 months!! For a few days. Meanwhile, I'm going on a Bangkok trip tonight, then China and a visit to good old Jimmy in Dar E Salaam (another London swap)



Hope you are all good. Am looking forward to meeting up the ones I can:)



Mwah mwah

See ya later

A

Houston, we have a problem (Houston, Texas)

Howdy, how ya'all doing?

So imagine this.... I get up at 05h30 Saturday morning... I get ready for work....I fly...I work...I rest and sleep for 4 hours in our crew rest....I work some more...I wait and stay up while passengers are sleeping....I walk around listening to the cruising of the aircraft....I shit a little in my pants during turbulence...I visit the flight deck crew...I'm tired...I'm being silly with my crew to stay awake and positive....and by the time I sit in my jumpseat and hear the captain say we must get ready for landing, I look on my watch...it's around 2am, Sunday in Dubai...!!!! I have been inside an aircraft for 17hours and flew back in time... it's Saturday, 4pm in Texas, people are still waiting for the evening to come. I should be sleeping... but hey, things to do, places to see:)


So me and the First Officer (an Afrikaner) and a Polish girl hired a car and off we go on our own little roadtrip to the NASA Space Center. It's like a NASA museum and it was awesome to relive the first landing on the moon, see the spaceships from inside... how they lived, ate and showered... the highs, the disappointments (there were a few theatres showing videos - like the explosion of one of the spaceships) etc... We even got to see the real life simulators that they use today.

Then off we went to Galveston.. a little island about an hour's drive. The scenery and everything changed and we found ourselves in a gorgeous little American neighbourhood with white picket fences,
double storey wooden houses with big American flags hanging from it, being a Sunday we saw lots of Harley Davidsons and even a bike gang (yo yo yo American brother style). The weather in Texas is hot and humid. Being used to living in a painful sauna right now, that weather was heaven! We walked along the beach (the water is brown) and had some local Texan beer at a pub and made friends with the locals and ended up at a "Waterfront" style harbour and had a beautiful seafood feast.

The next day (2days layover) we went to the Cheesecake factory (for the ones that don't know me really well..., I'm a sucker for a good baked cheesecake) :) . This was in the Galleria mall which is very well known in Texas (there are TWO Macy's!)

Me and Anna were looking for cowboys (man, this girl is just as crazy and adventurous as me, if not more) and we finally found one in civil clothes. When he asked me where I'm from, and on my reply he ofcourse responded: "You don't look black to me". Don't LOOK black, wtf?? I said: "Sir, you need to get out more often" We didn't even bother to explain where Poland is:)

Overall, the trip was amazing, as I mentioned before... everything in America feels like I'm living in a movie.

I hope ya'll have a great weekend
Take care now
A

overlayed (Dar Es Salaam, Paris and Rome)

Hey!

Hoe gaan dit??

forgot to tell you guys...

I went to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) again last month, and guess what?!? I went to that same island, and I found Jimmy the Rasta again;-) It was a lovely reunion, and we spent a few hours together again, and this time Jimmy gave me his mobile number (he has been keeping in contact with me by sending a sms once a month from a different number, au).

The shells he picked up for me this time, were much bigger, the weather was amazing as always
Oops, and I forgot to mention that I went to Paris again, last month at some stage, or was it the month before? (it was my very first flight/layover with my new career - a year and half ago) and it was good to be back there and fall in love with it all over again. We just went into town again, saw different angles of the city and of the Eiffel Tower and went inside the Notre Dame:)

Then I went to Rome..
and it was a walk through history itself. Rome was definitely not built in one day,

hehe. I did not find the Romans as nice as the people from Venice and Milan, and therefore don't like the place as much.

I am going through a phase of not being too excited about my layovers and therefore it reflects in my newsletter, which I'm lazy to write:) Forgive me. I know you have been waiting for this a while... and yes.. I will definitely still send you photos of the new uniform.

My motorcycle license application is strong in progress, and Wednesday I'm going for my final test. Wish me luck;-)!

I miss Cape Town, and all you beautiful people

Rock on!

Alta

pearl of Africa (Entebbe, Uganda)

Oyotya (aw-yaw-tia -> i struggled with this at first)
(btw. the greetings I use in my letters are actual words that I learn and use onboard or in the country,
and the response from the locals are great!)

And apologies for sending some news only now, thanks for bearing with me - I am going through a silly phase and get lazy to write. Nevertheless, I'm back with little news...

Went to Uganda (swapped my Heathrow for it), Entebbe. Similar to Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana - dirty roads covered in red dust, bikes and crazy taxis (saw an accident between a scooter and a bakkie which blocked our way, so our busdriver went over the pavement to get us at the airport in time, haha), people very friendly, huge Indian community as there were 4 Indian channels on tv, and a Hindu temple in Kampala (the area we stayed in). All I aimed to do in Entebbe, was to see Lake Victoria, and we happened to stay right next to it, haha (it was the backyard of the gorgeous and stunning resort we stayed at), so I didn't leave the resort. We witnessed the friendliest, beautiful and social dragonflies ever! They followed us like curious puppies and even paused for a couple of photos. Wow! At night you could hear birds, frogs and crickets. And there were many horses at the stables. The weather was perfect! The crew was lovely! It was a transit flight, which means we stop in Ethiopia first (where I learned some more words again, lol)

I had 7 days off and planned on coming to Cape Town or at least any other continent, but unfortunately flights were full everywhere, so I am staying in Dubai. I picked up a flight to Rome (yay, finally) also. So, more news to come later

We have new uniforms, which were launched on the 7th of June. I love it!! Makes me feel corporate and sexy at the same time;-)



Best wishes to you all


Werabe
Tulabangane
--
A
Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes - Walt Whitman

little piece of heaven, Zanzibar (island off Tanzania)

Jambo

Habari



Inhale slowly, aaaah exhale even slower. Tons and endless amounts of fresh crispy air, clear headed, tensionfree and no traces of jetlag. An amazing and most relaxed holiday I’ve experienced so farJ I have been dreaming of this and am still fantasizing on the memories of it…



Karibu to Zanzibar! Pookie and I (by the way, we want to be together and still love each other dearly, it is just not possible for us right now) explored Zanzibar Town (Stone Town – a world heritage site) on arrival. Very interesting historical creation of Arabic architecture (old wooden doors), small alleys, many scooters, cats with beautiful eyes, black women in abayas (those black dresses), rastas, old buildings that are peeling, spice markets, fish markets and random people trying to sell random stuff.



Then we went to the North (Kendwa – close to Nungwi) where we sat on the beach as a romantic couple watching the stunning sunsets every evening (stayed there for 3 days), ate good food (I gained some weight), (I) slept an average of 9 hours daily excluding the many times I fell asleep on the beach or a hammock, long walks and generally chilling and listening to music.



We mutually felt it was time to move on and explore other parts of the island, so we went to the East coast to Jambiani. We basically had a beach and lodge to ourselves living in a village (May is low season, apparently the worst time to go – blah blah, luckily I never listen to these things, because we had amazing and perfect weather). Our bungalow was right on the beach (5meters away) and we spent our nights sleeping outside on the stoepbed covered by a mosquito net (they chowed me alive nonetheless). Went for a tour to the village Kizimkazi and into the deep, deep sea where we swam with dolphins!! Had lunch in a local’s home, wow!


Life is slow on the island and we chilled. Content.


Finally back at the airport, I checked my roster online (I’m on standby remember) and saw that I have a rest day the following day, so the Pookies stayed one more day in Stone Town where we experienced the night markets (where they sell freshly catches of the day and freshly squeezed sugarcane juice). Explored a new area and enjoyed our last moments together, the weather was gorgeous.



Back at the airport I had an interesting experience. In my flight to Dar, I sat right behind the captain, haha (smallest aircraft I’ve seen and been on – seats only 12) and no co-pilot, a passenger sommer seated himself next to the captain. A 15-minute flight cruising at an easy breathable 7000ft!!



Aaaaaah, life is wonderful



Upendo,

Alta

Star of Africa (Accra, Ghana)

Atisen

First of all, my head is still spinning from all the traveling I did last month, and now that I'm on standby, my life is turned upside down again... I've been meaning to write this long ago, just never had the time. I never get used to staying up at night, getting up early or forcing myself to sleep during the day, but at least I get used to missing out on sleep. Soon I'll be 40.

So, like I said last time, I was off to London, instead I went on a 4day trip to Ghana. One of my personal goals, is to see more of Africa this year. So far so good:) The trip works like this: we fly to Accra (Ghana), land afternoon, book into our hotel (which we get to keep for 3 days without having to check out). Spend the day and night in Accra (where we went to the beach, ate local food = disgusting, be surrounded by hundreds of people trying to sell stuff to us while we are trying to relax on the beach, play an ancient game with the locals then end up buying the game, smoke shisha AGAIN, look at the many men jogging passed training for soccer or something = creating an entertaining scene of an African Baywatch movieset for women, haha, get a peaceful snake wrapped around my neck and pay for that, then finally get tired of trying to relax and go back to hotel)

Then we work a 'normal' 10 to 4 day flying quickly to Abidjan and back (Cote d'Ivoire = Ivory Coast) and have the rest of the afternoon free again (where we went back to the beach because there was a beach party, drank local fermented palm 'beer' = disgusting, got harassed more, tried to dance to live reggae music while being surrounded by locals, get overpriced on our dinner, then finally give up and go home, screw this)

Have half the next day free, go to mall where we found Truworths, Woolworths, Game, Shoprite, Huisgenoot, Savannahs, Lutzville wine!!! and got curious about the amount of South Africans in Ghana!!?

Felt like a little holiday, easy flight, friendly people. They openly practice Christianity (you'll walk into the clothing shop and the guy in the back is blasting his gospel album)

Average beach, average place, average experience:)

Meanwhile, Rico wanted me back, spent two more weeks as his girlfriend and had a lot of fun, then I had to break up with him last night:( It's the right thing to do:) Pookie is the love of my life!

For my vacation that is finally approaching, I'll be going to another African destination: Zanzibar!!

So stay tuned, watch this space:-)

How are you doing?

Hugs,
A

turkish delight (Istanbul, Turkey)

Merhaba

Heya, hasn't it just been a beezzy month of globaltrotting and entertaining you with it:)!!
Meanwhile I've been to Tunis 3 times this month, no need to tell you much, just that each time I feel the same fresh feeling on arrival. The place is just plain gorgeous and I'm in love with it. I went to England, where it is Spring and the flowers and trees are beautiful and there is actually a bit of sun. Am going there again tomorrow, hopefully can meet an old school friend of mine.

Oh yes, the few curious ones who were asking for the juicy bits from my last letter... about Rico... Well, I have been seeing Rico for a month and a half, blonde haired blue eyed 39-year old who I communicate with in Afrikaans (being half Saffie, half Swiss) who would marry me tomorrow. Ah, life!

And in between I responded spontaneously to an invite to go to Istanbul......
- with Param! I squeezed this in right between two flights of mine, where I had 3 days off... and off we went. Param came from Israel on his way to Cape Town and I met him there.

And Istanbul blew me away. Oh wow! Man, the place is amazing. First of all, the Turkish (most of them) are genuinely, friendly, hospitable people that would stop you in the middle of the road to ask what you are looking for and give you the needed direction and then finish it off by asking where you are from and that you are welcome in Istanbul. Even the cabdriver would direct you where to walk, and then you tell him that you actually would like to catch a ride... Lol.

Istanbul is DEFINITELY where East meets West. Tulips grow everywhere, European trees, cats, shisha, humus, mediterranean food, laundry hanging from railings next to the cute flowerpots, colourful buildings that fall apart, clean streets, underground apartments, shitty sewerage systems (excuse the pun) and being one of the most expensive cities to top it all (we paid around R500-700 a night for a room in a hostel, the cheapest we could find). Param and I didn't plan much and spent most of our time on foot just exploring and getting lost. The Blue Mosque was stunning as well as inside, the Hagia Sophia (AyaSofya) museum was great also - these two were our point of direction, we walked passed them 42 times, haha.
We stood right in the centre of the universe (called the Million Stone - because many many years ago that is where they measured everything from). In the evening (both actually) we ended in a backpacker style restaurant (cushions on the floor and low tables)... where u get beer towers (this long big tube of beer that you pour yourself, draught style, 2.5L) You get a t-shirt with every beer tower. We had TWO of these, hahaha! And a shisha (waterpipe). The place was packed with Australians (it is Anzac weekend) and fish bowls were going from one mouth to the other (filled with lots of cocktails and straws). It was all happening, the music, the vibe. Man, it was awesome. Soon I was shouting: "Been here, done that, GOT THE T-SHIRT!" Hahahaha. We were quite sober for two who had 5L of beer;) Then we had an interesting incident with a guy that became friendly with us, driving us around, offering us (more) beer, and me threatening him with the police at the end of it.(This has to happen, makes the journey so much more enjoyable). Always go with your gut feeling..

And then Rico broke up with me on the 3d day..

Even though it's been a Arabic/Muslim overload for me, and hopefully I won't have shisha for another 6 months, it has been an amazing month.

Next month I'm on reserve again and a bit of holiday in between, so surprises surprises:)

Money unit in Turkey: Turkish lira
Drive on right side of the road

Teşekkür (Tooshekkur)
You guys rock!

Mwah
A

a holy holiday, Jordan

Marhaba!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. I spent mine exploring the Holy Land (in Jordan) a little and was blown away with the amazing experience.

We (Rico and I) landed in Amman, and explored the town a bit. The city is sooo cute (from some photos I've seen, it looks a little like Israel). Buildings are all clustered in the same off-white/pinkish colour and same design, just different heights. And because it's very "hilly", ups and downs, it gives an interesting effect to the image. We had a feast in some local restaurant that night, smoking shisha till it came out of our ears, lol. The traffic is chill and the people are really friendly and helpful (or trying to help at least).

Then off we went to Petra (Wadi Musa). A 3hour drive south through red dry land. South and then west becomes very mountainous. Petra took my breath away. It is such a cute town and the surrounding mountains and roads hugging it, are stunning! We dropped our bags and went to the main gate where we were about to embark on our hiking journey to one of the 7 wonders of the world. Words can not describe this place and neither can photos. It's almost unbelievable. An entire 'city' has been built in rock, about 2000 years ago. It took us about 2-3 hours to reach the top (we weren't aware of this) and once there, we found the cherry on the cake. The aweinspiring Al Deir, a religious meeting place(monastary) in those days. I stood in front of this grand carved rock and struggled to get it all 'in'. It was overwhelming!
Then we had a chat with the Bedouins selling their jewelry over a cup of strong coffee and mint tea. There are donkeys, horses and camels everywhere (including the unfortunate 1000s of people wandering the sites) and so we each grabbed a camel to relief us of a portion of our descent. And THIS was another highlight of my life. I raced on a camel!!! The crazy (yet beautiful Captain Sparrow looking) cameltender listened to my request to go faster, so got on the saddle with me and we went as fast as these camels could go!!!! They listen like horses. So Rico and I were in our own race. This to me was ecstasy!!!!
Then afterwards another feast at a local spot, including Petra 8% beer and local red wine. The weather btw was fabulous!

Then a beautiful drive to the Dead Sea(3hours).
Along the road we saw many goats and sheep with their shepherd and dogs.
We were soon floating and I was trying to do a few moves and flipped over. What a disgusting experience, hahaha!! Take a small glass of water, put 42 spoons of salt in there and throw it over your face. (the water is just to make it splash). If you play with salt again, you might realize salt has an oily texture to it. The water felt like this, a bit greasy. It evaporates fast, leaving a thick white trace all over your scalp and body, and then you begin to itch. I'd rather use a lilo. Covered myself in mud for some free spa treatment and soon I was surrounded by some 10 local men, staring at this woman in a costume (they are not used to it, it's like this in Dubai also, hehe)

Then on our way back to Amman, we saw the Dana Village down in the Rummana Mountain ranges. We drove passed Mount Nebo (where Moses was buried) on our way to Madaba (the town with the most memorable places in the Holy Land) and you could actually feel the Jesus/Bible vibe around these areas. I could just imagine an Arab Jesus, with his long robe walking with sheep through these beautiful farmlike stony yet green bushy fields with an air of Peace, Love, Calm and Joy:) In my mind everything came together, as if I understood the history. Israel is afterall just on the other side of the Dead Sea where we were.
We had lunch in Madaba (which is an interesting Arabic Christian town) at some real skanky local diner. I ate fresh chickpeas for the first time (comes out like peas).

Back in Amman, we stayed in the Old Town, at backpackers. Short and schweet. Rico allowed me take the lead in the trip, but mostly we went with the flow. Oh, how fantastic is it that I go through immigration with just a stamp in my lovely South African passport, and Rico pays 20JD (R200) and wait in a queue to get a visa with his Swiss passport, haha!! In Jordan, everyone has the same habit: "Where are you from?" (reply) South Africa. "Welcome". :)

Bless in bliss
Mwah
A

breakfast in tunis, Tunisia

Salam!

My goodness, I haven't even heard of Tunis before joining Emirates... and how this place took my breath away. North Africa, close to Morocco - Tunisia. Tunis to me was like cruising on Campsbay drive, going to Greece, romantic French and strong Arabic. The people are chill, friendly and seem to be happy (man, our cabdriver was a lunatic, he gave us the most amazing experience). Roman ruins are quite a regular sight, yellow blossomed trees (could only get the name in French), mandarin and lemon trees, winding roads, antique and new cars, mopeds, beaches, pizza shops and just plain beauty. Our driver took us (we were 7) to Carthage (pronounced French - Kar taj), where there is a beautiful mosque and some ruins overlooking the peninsula, to Sidi Bou Said, where you would find markets and little coffeeshops, and finally La Marsa beach.

The hotel was absolutely marvellous! I left my balcony sliding door open, to find myself waking up to the peaceful sound of birds on my birthday. We get a massive breakfast buffet for free for crew. Yes, I had to work on my way back on my birthday, but was blessed with amazing crew.... who reminded me of my birthday every 5 seconds, and right at the end after landing (even though it was 1am and my birthday was actually over), they surprised me with a cake and candles, and a perfume bought from duty free, even including Emirates stationary birthday card signed by all in their respective languages. Bless them:)

I would recommend Tunis to anyone. It's an all-in-one mix of the whole world:) And it's romantic!

Money unit: Tunisian dinar
People drive on the right hand side

Hope you are all fabulous
I love my job!

Hugs to you all
Mwah
Ella Alleqa'a
A

Out of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

Sasa!

Finally I got to stay over in Kenya (had a few flights there before, but they were all turnarounds) and can share another amazing experience with you. We had the late flight, which meant early night landing, so having the whole day to do stuff the next day. That night I couldn't sleep. Why? Fear. Knowing Alta, aiaiaia what will she be up to the next day, with Kenya not being so stable. I knew where I wanted to go, but how would I get there. The tours were superexpensive (and I don't like touristy stuff anyways). All the staff at the hotel, advised me not to go so far, coz there were groups fighting, police everywhere and especially going by myself would be dangerous (I wanted to take one of those minibuses again, called the matato in Kenya). The crew didn't want to go with me. And therefore, I was scared - because I knew that I would go. So I lay awake, praying for safety, for something, for someone. The next morning, I was still in a rut. I asked for a few second and third opinions, and they all said I should rather not go. So I called up crew to try and convince them, and they all made plans to go to the zoo. But when I have this burning feeling in me (like the one I had in Tanzania, in Sri Lanka, etc), then there is no stopping me. I can feel something beautiful wants to be borne..

And so a long story short with a very happy ending, off I went with two crew members in our own private taxi to go to Naivasha. Yes, there were a lot of police on the way (they put these spikes in the road to slow cars down - never heard of beacons or gates?) The weather was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! (They predicted heavy showers). The trip was great, with stunning scenery. Lots of goats, cows, donkeys and sheep along the road and bushveld, which gives it this typical farmlike African style feeling. The sky and clouds were just freakin blissful!


I learned that rafiki means my friend in Swahili (for those who don't know - there is a pub/backpacker style/restaurant/typical Cape Townian hangout place in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town called Rafiki's)

Then we arrived in Naivasha (100kms out).
It's a chaotic African dorpie. I wasn't impressed, but relieved again when we drove through to go to Lake Naivasha and the scenery changed again to beautiful Africa. Once we got there, we were once again taken back by what we were surrounded by. Nature, wildness, silence, trees and then we saw a giraffe just chowing from the trees, 50ms away. It was crazy!! A Masai from the Mara region led the way and we found ourselves sharing a field with zebras, gazelles, waterbucks and giraffes. We tried to get close to them, but they would step back. This was not a zoo. Just open land. I couldn't believe how close we could get to the animals, just grazing around freely. This was true Africa to me. Not some Safari. Then he showed us to a place (a hotel - one that you can't stay at) and there was no one. We were the only people there. How fabulous!! They offered us a boatride, and we couldn't resist. So off we go. And as we approached a bunch of rocks, and as we got closer, we realized shucks - it's HIPPOS!! A whole group.
Man, I've never seen hippos in real life!!! We got so close, the one hippo went under water and came after us. Our boat had an engine (thank God) And wait, it doesn't stop here. There were beeeeautiful beeeg flamingos everywhere. We saw a massive fish eagle (flew away as we got closer, just sitting on a stick coming out of the water - it's not very deep by the way - the hippos were just chilling, basically sitting/lying) There were huuuuuge pelicans (I still thought it were sailing boats from afar, that's why we thought this great place was busy - geez, and I had my eyes done). On land(the lake was pretty big, was as if we approached an island) we saw a big herd of gazelles again, and waterbucks as we made a turn, to find another group of hippos on the other side. We even saw a very big dead hippo laying on its side.

The whole experience was extremely peaceful and wholesome. Our driver took us back into town (Naivasha), and we insisted to go to some shack to have local food.

Back in Nairobi, we were not allowed to leave the hotel because of some demonstration going on. We left anyway. Bought some Savannas at the local supermarket:) and decided to check out the markets. Now, as you know, I've been to a lot of markets, but dear lord, I've never experienced such desperation before. These guys corner you, grab you by the arm to buy stuff, shout above each other and even fight with each other like children over a toy to get your attention. They actually get aggressive. Thank God I had two guys with me. I had to get out of there!! It was awful.

Overall, the experience was amazing, and the feeling is still lingering:) And I put my palms together to thank the universe/God for giving me this journey, for making it happen for me.

I hope you enjoyed reading this

Eish, I must still tell you about Austria (my roster is slammed this month!) Soon

Ok brothers and sisters,
till laters
A

Greetings from Heidi (Zurich, Switzerland)

Zurich, ze beautiful city of Switzerland.
I always thought Zurich was in Germany, heehee, but well... it wasn't far from the truth when I got there. It's like Germany. People speak German, but they are just more friendly:)
Anyhooo, I had fun all the way there... even our trainride from the aircraft. It felt like we were in a carousel... the sounds of cows moooing, those famous cowbells ringing, Heidi yodling in the background and even sending kisses (we could see these images of her as we went passed - a lot of them together makes it looks she's moving) and in the airport we were surrounded by everything Swiss. Swiss army knives (i've always wanted one, so I bought one), Swiss chocolate, watches etc.

6 of us took a trainjourney downtown (including the pilots again) and we were kicked out of First Class. Haha!! We didn't know. Everything is in German.
Guten morgenWe strolled around in the beautiful city, walked all the way to Lake Zurich (not worth a photo - they made such a big booohaaa about it), saw some swans, had something to eat and around sunset (I was mesmerized by the sight of this in a city like that) we went back to our hotel. I met up with Amber in the morning for breakfast (my best friend since 2002, she was on the evening flight by chance)


Before all this, I spent 10 insane days in Cape Town for a 'holiday'. I needed one afterwards. As I'm always open and honest with you guys, I thought I would share that I went through depression. I lost more weight (well, I didn't eat, and didn't sleep), went for therapy (the breakup with Param opened stuff I had to deal with, like the death of my sister). I've committed to Life Strategies for another 2 or 3 months (the wonderful company that takes you towards Peace, Love, Calm and Joy) and I am back on track! Doing good and feeling great! I even planned my year ahead (now, that's an achievement, lol)

So ja, that's all folks

I just came back from a second trip to Zurich. I'll be going to Russia again soon. Damn. I find it funny that only until recent did I see snow for the first time, and now I am being bombarded with it, lol.

Warm hugs,

Tschüss (almost pronounced like Cheers)
A

From Russia With Love (Moscow, Russia)

Doobraye ootro

Whooohooo, so finally I got to see a lot of snow, falling falling freezing!!. Moscow! These guys handle snow as if it's an umbrella. Flights don't get delayed, everything goes on as normal. The traffic was pretty tight, and the cars are dirty, buildings are very visibly connected to each other with wires and our bus driver kept cursing in Russian. There are these big bulldozer snowscrapers that hoot people out of the way at the speed of freakin 80k/h or something. It was awesome to go mission with a big group, including both pilots, in heavy snow and freezing cold in a town that speaks no English. The pilot, being good with direction ofcourse, followed the map and got us to the Red Square on a train.
Even when all 9 of us bought tickets, we just pointed to the map and showed 'return'. Man, it was cold!!! Well -13'C. It almost felt unreal to me, being new to that. The snowflakes were dry and the sound it made underneath my shoes sounded crunchy. I felt like I was on a xmas movie setup.


So, we went for dinner, walked around some outdoor souvenir shops at the Red Square, played in the snow and dodged out of the way of those bulldozers many times;-) We ended our night looking for a bar to have..... VODKA ofcourse!! Even I had some. Too many maybe (sorry ma), we all got drunk. On the way back we even did the snow angel thing in that cold. But by that time it wasn't cold anymore, lol. We had a ball of a time!!

This was actually my London Gatwick flight that I swapped for Moscow, and it was definitely worth it.

Well, that's it for now. Hope I described well, this letter was written in a hurry, coz I'm off again for another flight.

Toedeldoe!!
Da sveedaneeya (Dasvidanya)
Spaseeba

Mwah
A