howzit my china (Shanghai, China)

Wuan,
ni hao

Yet, another crazy adventure I have just returned from.
I was supposed to go to Birmingham, then Beijing, but instead they sent me to Shanghai. The crew onboard was fantastic, and the best teamplayers I have met so far. Most of us went for dinner together at a local restaurant (including the captain and first officer) and feasted on unidentifiable food items and local Chinese beer and it all came down to R40 each (we were about 9 people) China is dirtcheap (no pun). The next day we took a shuttle to town and went to Yai Tai market, close to the big Science Technology Museum, where I almost shopped till I dropped (almost, because they don't accept credit cards in Shanghai). Had some local food in a cafeteria where people stared at me, because I was the only whitie there. Then I missioned all on my own again. Alta drives me a little looney sometimes:) To the Yu Yuan gardens, which is quite far out and with the majority not speaking English, it was quite a toughie. But I made it there (with mostly the help of Chinese speaking foreigners - I was speechless to see a Lebanese man give directions to my taxi driver in Chinese) The gardens are 400 years old (I have no photos, my camera shut down) and the surrounding markets were really gorgeous, although packed with tourists.

Now, returning was a total new escapade on it's own. With a time limit to get back to where the hotel's shuttle will pick me up, I didn't have time to waste. And I was out of town, so the taxi and English speaking situation raised my stress bar and caused me a bit of nervousness. I got dropped in an area, instead of at the subway, so on the way learned to ask directions to the subway in Chinese (haha). I took my sandals off, and was running by this stage. Foreigners again helped me to buy a ticket (as the machine and everything else is in Chinese - and as you might have noticed, does not look like English at all). Got inside the train, and counted off the amount of time we stopped, to know when to get off. And from disembarkation, continued to run with 2 minutes left, and successfully got on the bus back to the hotel. Happy ending:) It was like something out of a movie. Overall, had a good time as usual.

Later in the month, I will be going to Hong Kong.. But that's for another time.

Hope you are all well;-)


Zai hui
Alta

i heart new york (Manhattan)

How yuu doin?

I finally got a flight to New York city, Manhattan. The flight was absolutely horrendous:( 13 hours of flying with Indians that thought we were their personal slaves. Was lucky enough to stay in a hotel that is pretty centered and close to everything. Met up with an old friend, Tony, that I used to work with in Baia restaurant. He and his girlfriend came through from Connecticut and took me for a tour around the city. We went for a walk over Brooklyn Bridge (the one you always see in the movies), walk through Time Square (the busy, busy streets where those big screens are displaying ads and where all the theaters are), Grand Central (it's the most amazing trainstation) and chilled in Central Park (a big park where the ice rink is in the open during cold season - as you see in the movies) It was a beautiful and sunny day. We had lunch at a bar that has been there since the 1800's, a rare thing in New York. I HAD to have McDonald's. It's like having vodka in Russia for me:) The movies on the hotel's tv, were all shot in NYC. I have gained a new awareness now in watching movies, and in a lot of other things. When I watch movies, I see if there is anything I recognize or not, heehee. Overall, I had a great time.

Before the flight I went to the South African Freedom Day Function. Wow, I was impressed. Dubai has been organizing this event for the passed 6 years now. It was huge and pretty well organized (except for only catering for 2000 ppl). Boereworsrolls were free, and also the huge buffet they had later. I mean HUGE. All the South African salads that you're ever heard of, bobotie, Durban curries, etc,etc not even to mention all the deserts. And it was all free. They even had Savannas there, whoohoo! People were langarming on Steve Hofmeyer, had potjiekos competitions etc. For a moment there, I thought I was in SA!


Life is good;-)

Looking forward to hearing from you

Cheers
A

finally we are one (Oxford, England)

A lovely good morning

What a busy, crazy and wonderful month of April it has been.

Pookie came to visit me again in Joburg, and we all - sister and crew (husband and 2 daughters) went for dinner. I had a fantastic time with Param:-)

Meanwhile, I have finally found new accommodation with a 'soulmate' for a flatmate. She's vegetarian, a health freak, does yoga, has these energy bursts when she starts a story. Doesn't this just sound like a twin sister? She's great. South African Portuguese. I love her wit and sense of humour. She loves to cook, and I love to eat. My apartment is beautiful. I'm on the 10th floor of a 30 storey building, on the biggest street (Sheikh Zayed Road - the size of the N1), overlooking the city and on clear days, the ocean. I love my new area. So, the patience paid off.

Just came back from England yesterday, where I met up with Gill in Oxford (hour and half away from Heathrow). What a great time I had with her. She took us on a tour of Oxford (her mom and I) and I was absolutely astonished by all the history and beauty of the place and universities. She showed us scenes from the movies Golden Compass, the door and lamp post from Narnia, etc. Saw the historical library and churches. After a great lunch, we went to the botanical gardens. Ag, it was really awesome and catching up with her again.

Now I am off for 5 days, giving me time to really rest, get some sleep and recover from this past month:)


Have a marvelous day!

Toedeldoe
A

island styling (Singapore)

Hey everyone

Today I appreciate a couple of days in my apartment in Dubai more than ever, after 2 weeks of being on the road and in the air:) All the adventures help me to explore my curiosities, explore Godness, my own spirituality, my emotions and expand my mind tremendously. I feel I am living a full life and living in total acceptance, closer to nature, to God and to it all - the known and unknown.

I was in Melbourne again (the 5 day Singapore/Melbourne trip), where I met up with Rochelle for lunch at a Korean restaurant that served awesome 'bento'. Thanks Chell. And in Singapore I felt it too strange to be in a great place and choosing not to go out and travel. So off I went on another adventure - to the Northeastern tip of Singapore, a little island called Pulau Ubin (after a train ride, busride and then a ferry called a bumboat). Once there, we hired mountain bikes and cycled for about 20 minutes through a jungle. Man, this was FANTASTIC! We (me and Rebecca, from the UK) were aiming for the wetlands called Chek Jawa. Once there, no bicycles allowed, only walking. It was such a journey, of discoveries. Around every corner we would see live creatures including a little crocodile, big lizard (whatever it's called), interesting flora and fauna. It was just amazing. Real jungle life, with the sounds of birds high up in trees that cover the sight of sky when you look up, things moving in the bushes, insects crawling, things jumping in and out of water and trees growing above the surface. It was weird and wonderful;-) It's a very rural part of Singapore, and very untouched. Even around the area (Changi Jetty), the housing looks different, the people are older and you meet locals interested in where you are from. We had some fresh cocunuts to quench our thirst and went back to the city. And everytime I go to Bugis (remember, the markets), I discover something new. A stall that sells fresh juices for one Singaporean dollar - dragonfruit, honey dew, white guava, jackfruit (hey, I saw these on the island for the first time - never knew they come from big trees) and a whole bunch of different fruits and mixtures. At night, we went to Insomnia again for an hour boogying on the dancefloor like no one knows us:)

The crew was REALLY super. We had so much fun, it didn't even feel like work. A lot of action onboard also, including a drunk passenger that sang for us in the galley (how embarrassing, haha), the lights not working (old aircraft), aircon only blew hot or cold air, etc, etc. Everyone was looney on this trip, including the purser. Right up my alley, hehe.

I'm off to Joburg again soon, and Pookie will be visiting me again ;-P

Tell me more what's going on your side
Missing you all

*Peace and joy
A

birthday in paradise (Thailand)

Sawat dii kaaa

Finally back in my cozy apartment after living 2 days (actually 52 hours) on Bangkok's airport because of flights being full (being an employee is not always beneficial), quite an experience - so let me rather tell you the good stuff:)

The beach part of Thailand is everything AND MORE that I've always imagined island style living to be. My aviation college mate, Marcela (remember, the Brazilian?) and I avoided the crowded and commercial areas and headed straight to an island called Railay (Rye-Lay). Very small island off the city Krabi (Cubby) - Thai people don't pronounce the "r" (4months experience in a Thai restaurant helped me in understanding the way they talk and made ordering food easier). East beach is where all the backpackers and funky Thai rastas stay with cool pubs, and West beach has the resorts, swimming pools and rich people and also one of the most beautiful beaches - Hat Nam Phra Nang. This was my first taste of paradise. I floated on these waters and just thanked God repeatedly for blessing me this way. We stayed in Rapalla (Param recommended) where we had our own, gorgeous little hut. I thought I was in heaven. We met 2 French guys on our way from Bangkok (which was a 13 hour busride) and they joined us and even became our neighbours. And here I celebrated my birthday, got drunk on local Thai beer (Chang) and swam in the resort's pools being chased by security. Man, it was fun! People here are so friendly and just out to have a good time.

We got up late and headed to Ao Nang beach where we took a bus to Trang then to Hat Yao (5hours). I was in charge of this entire trip and Marcela just went wherever I decided (the coolest and most laidback travel partner possible). At Hat Yao we stayed at a Nature resort where we experienced the life of real sea gypsies for the first time. These are people (those dark Thai) that live in shacks and make a living on catching fish etc. Little to no English, but as friendly as can be. At night, there was no sound and it was dark, natural and stunning.
Then off we went to the place that this whole trip was aimed for - Ko Lipe (Kaw Lee-Pae) (another 3hours by speedboat). We were going to cancel it because it felt too hard to get to, but Marcela pushed me and we persevered. My breathing stopped for a few seconds by the sight of this island. It is the most beautiful, unbelievable place I've ever seen . If visualization can create reality, then I don't know how I came up with this. It was beyond my imagination. The boat would drop you anywhere on the island, and as we went around, I said - this is it - so we got off at a beach called Sunrise. I left Marcela to go hunt for a place to stay. I met a group of sea gypsies and negotiated their tent. This was the ultimate!!!! We stayed outside on a dropdead gorgeous beach, survived a thunder rainstorm (monsoon season coming), we used their "shower" - big containers of collected rainwater and became friends. I went snorkeling for the first time (another dream true!) Borrowed their gear. Wow!!! I was swimming with fish and couldn't believe all of this. 06h30 that next morning I was doing yoga and thai chi with a 60yr old Malaysian master (another dream true!) and had breakfast with our new family. It was time to leave again. When we said goodbye (kisses and hugs), I was crying my eyes out. These people took us in warmheartedly, barely talking English - they were so hospitable in their cute ways and little that they had. I wanted to stay on that island FOREVER!! I just cried and cried as they waved at us from the island - then the guy from the tailboat (that took us to the main boat) didn't want to accept money. (I paid them generously for the tent though). An emotional and spiritual experience that I will always remember! :)

On our way to Pak Bara, we stopped at an island - Ko Tarutao - an untouched beauty (Ko means island). Not many people go there (as with Lipe) cos it is so far out. And then all the way back to Bangkok. We went to the Chatuchak weekend market. It's freakin HUGE!! There are about 15000 markets where you can just buy about anything - even animals. Went to a buddhist temple that is only open 2 days a year - Wat Itravian. Wat Sampian was also gorgeous.Then explored KhoSan Road. Infested by backpackers, markets and awesomeness. Ofcourse we had Thai and oil massages, drank lots of fresh cocunut juice (out of cocunuts), fell asleep in hammocks while listening to the waves of the ocean, explored caves, ate pad thai and green curries , etc etc and felt blessed by it all. It was our first time backpacking (we even had a crazy budget of R200 per day, incl transport, food and accommodation - yes, Thailand IS cheap) and it was great not knowing what is next, where we will stay - and everywhere we went we heard the song: "Don't worry, about a thing, coz every little thing's gonna be alright" ;-)

Don't think I'll have much news for the rest of the month - saving money to make up for having to buy an unexpected fullfare ticket:) I'm off to Singapore and Melbourne tonight again. But I'll email anyways:)

Hope you enjoyed this. Words can never really describe the experience as the map is not the destination.....

Kawphunka,
Bye bye

*A

the most beautiful city (Cape Town, South Africa)

Howzit!

The most beautiful city, in my opinion, is undoubtedly
Cape Town!

I just spent 12 magical days there and am totally reconvinced. So many negative stories (especially political and criminal) have been associated with South Africa which wanted to make me nervous about my visit - but instead I went in with a positive mind because this way the attraction for positive things are usually much more probable. It paid off well:)

There is SOOOOO much to do in Cape Town. Variety!
I spent most of my time on those stunning beaches (and they are FREE), sunsets I wish I could stare at, having conversations with open-minded, intelligent and creative people whom I wish I could stare at, having cheesecake in Mr PickWicks, going right back into the salsa scene from private- and group lessons to social dancing, to langarm in the Northern Suburbs (and now my eyes are really open enough that "ballrooming on techno music on a babypowdered floor" is actually an accurate way to describe this style of dancing, a Balkonology party (goodness), dinners with loving friends, seeing funny and crazy things happen at times where I think, "only in Cape Town" e.g. seeing a fake fire extinguisher on a tree on the way down the Kloofnek Pass, guys (barechested and sexy) do little magnificent fire shows on the beach after sunset (and they are FREE) and if you didn't bring your candles and bottle of wine to the beach after sunset, you're not well-prepared, me walking with my funky Nepalese pants barefoot and with only a bikini top into Nando's and no one staring (that's AWESOME), spending time with my multi-cultural group of friends, and spending great times with my Indian-turned-South African boyfriend (clothed in shorts and sandals and "bru"-attitude), I realize that this is the place to be. Cape Town is the COOLEST destination (and for those who live there, enjoy it). And the list goes on..... Just look around you!;-)

Now I'm back into the hooting traffic of Dubai, where my building smells of a mixture of stasoft and curries, and I can't think of anything worthwhile to do. Oh well, I'll continue to make the best of my time here.

It was great to see those I saw, apologies to the ones I didn't get to.
Keep rocking,
and remember that the best things in life really are free.

Ok bye dudes and dudettes;-)
*Peace and Joy
Alta

Singapore/Brisbane

Good d'ayy possums,
how ar ya

You have no idea what you have become to me, not only to share my news and my life, not only friends - also a reason to do all these things. Not only for myself...but do it for everyone that has always wanted. Making the best of every moment so that I can come home and have good news:) Making a movie then writing the script. Thank you so very much for all your wonderful feedback and replies. And for those who don't, don't worry - I know you smile.

I have just returned back to Dubai after 9 days - it feels weird. In 9 days we had 6 flights, 4 days in Brisbane and 2 in Singapore. Passengers asked me a question, and I had to think where I am before I could answer, haha. Mind and body freak, all these timezones.

Brisbane is beautiful - I call Australia: European South Africa. Everything happens smoothly, traffic goes orderly, no hooting, pedestrians cross where and when they have to and the whole city, just runs like the Truman Show. I fully understand why so many Saffi's (South Africans) immigrate to Aussie. It is the perfect place to settle down and have a family. In Brisbane I went shopping, from the city to the botanical gardens meets river, all in 5 mins. And it's clean and just stunning. Unfortunately I connected with not one single person on this trip, nevertheless went traveling to the Gold Coast with a colleague (Thai). We also went to the zoo (not a sad one - fantastic though and HUGE, peaceful and sirene) and yes, saw wallabies and emus, cuddled kangaroos and KOALA BEARS!!! My colleague has all the photos tho, my camera died on me.

In Singapore I went to Little India, a nice walk around the city and the Boat Quay (lots of restaurants here) very nice. Went clubbing for the first time traveling. It was GREAT!! After arriving in Singapore, got dressed and ended up in Insomnia (and with a Romanian colleague) - haha, can you believe. Danced till I dropped sober as a woodpecker (not much sleep mentioned here). I have a soft spot for this place. I can find my way around it by now (Singapore's not very big) and ask for certain foods even if it's not on the menu:) The people are so pure. I walked around in my Nepalese fisherman's pants (those waaaaaide ones) Walked into a vegetarian restaurant to find there are lots of pork, chicken, fish and steak on the menu and almost got upset for false advertising. But had to be convinced that the menu is 100% vegetarian - I was blown away (heaven). And the food was so great, I walked around as if on drugs. Just wanting to hug and love everyone. I don't know what they put in their food, but I'm in love with it. Number one on my list. A woman from Bugis market recognized me from last time. Wow!!! Haha. And then I shopped till I dropped....

Now I'm back, it's 11 o 'clock in the morning, and I haven't slept. And don't remember when I did last and for how long. It's the strangest feeling.
So, if you see me - I might look thinner than I used to:) But no worries, I still eat healthy, drink the strongest vitamins and minerals, do yoga and feel salubrious. So please don't stop me when I feel like running around naked on the beaches of Sandy Bay, heehee.

I can truly say now: Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!

Cheerio mates

Ps. I'll be in Cape Town from the 10th;-)

Mwah