ring my bell (Scotland)

Hi ya

"My name is Alta and I'll be your waitress on today's flight". Yeah right. Man, the Scottish can drink!! They emptied the aircraft and left us with no break. My hotelbedroom in Glasgow was the first one I jumped on! Haha. It just look so cozy. I forgot to pack my jeans and looked quite ridiculous with a checkered coat, my funky check boots, scarf and...... and... gymtights. Haha!! But I improvised by purchasing grey legwarmers on my way to the trainstation and just blended right in with the UK's funky fashion style. The train is really awesome, even had a train attendant. Scotland is BEEEEAUUTIFUL!! No photos I took could capture the uniqueness and beauty of this destination. Even though it rained a little, the temperature was great. Green, lush, farms, strrrrong accents, whisky, bagpipes playing in the background, beeeg woman with even bigger calves balancing on high shoes, umbrellas, cleanliness and serious alcohol consumption all made up for Scotland. I went to Edinburgh (which is dropdead beautiful) to go see the Castle, went to a Scottish pub and had Haggis, neeps and tatties (a Scottish dish - mash, turnips and sausages - and surprisingly and pleasantly could have a vegetarian option) accompanied with Auchentoshn scotch whisky from that very same area. I just missed the last tour of the distillery:(

I had a great time.
Next I'm off to Joburg again, was there the other day. Will go visit my sis. Then a few turnarounds. Will probably not have news again for a month, as I'll be leaving the 12th for the trip to India to the Himalayas for two weeks!!

A'raait

Alta

italian iron stallion (Milan, Italy)

Buon giorno

Allora,
so I went to go visit George Clooney in Italy, but he wasn't home. Haha. Apparently he owns a house somewhere around the Lago (Lake) Como, which is a beautiful area about 40mins away from Milan. It was Sunday, the sun was strong, the weather hot and sticky. Many bikes, big scooters, Vespas, Ducatis, and other roaring beauties came passed us every minute as we were strolling the streets looking for a nice ristorante to chow some pizza. We found one, I had some Italian beer, and we finished it off with gourmet Italian icecream. It's so funny to see every different country with their unique style and with their things that make them famous. In Bangkok for example every second corner is a massage parlour and tailor shop. In Milan, it is icecream and a little shop that sells tramezzinis and paninis.

Old bicycles, laundry hanging on balconies, flower pots, shouting in streets, and men eyeing you all made up for Italy:) I loved it. I knew I was there. To finish off my experience, I went into a local supermarket and had a lot of fun. (and as my flatmate Paula would say: I wish I was a local for a day) Ooo, did I mention the men? They are hot! Hot, hot, hot! Even our busdriver and the train attendant were sexy. In the cabins already we had competition who had the sexiest man in their respective area, heehee. At boarding and disembarkation I greeted every person in italian. I always say Ciao anyways, so it was cool doing it professionally:) Going to Milan, we had 33 Afrikaans people on board though, that was funny;-)

We (Kate and Amanda, awesome girls) also went to see the cathedral in Duomo. There was a soccer game on, I think Spain against Italy and there were thousands of people gathered in that area. And it was so wonderful to see the sun still high and hot at 9pm!!

Back at my hotel, I enjoyed the sunset by sitting on my own balcony, trying to feel like a local:)
Looking forward to more trips to Italy

Arrivederci
Ciao
A

Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes - anonymous

thai me up, thai me down (Bangkok and Sydney)

Good day

6 flights, 3 nights in Sydney, 2 in Bangkok in 8 days can drive you slowly into madness. Up and down, 7 hours into the future, 4 behind, 2 ahead, let's go, where are we, what is the time? Aaaargh!!! So I spoiled myself with massages, facials, reflexology, more massages, shopping (clothes, shoes, decorations for the apartment - yes, I have become a consumer) and even a movie, Sex and the City (haha, so not me). This movie will never show in the Middle East because of it's content (well, as if the name already won't give them flushes), so we went to go see it in Sydney. Sydney is gorgeous!! Man, I just LOVE Oz! Our hotel was, as usual, very central and the Opera House was a 10 minute walk. What a beauty!! I walked all over the city, eventually off the map - haha.

In Bangkok, we stayed in Silom. Quite central. Even though my body was still recovering from a previous thai massage, I was ready for another. For those who are not sure what a thai massage entails...it those ones they use their elbows, knees, feet to knead your body (while you feel the need to plead), they stretch you in yoga positions, climb on top of you at times, and roll you on (well, some of my favourite sleeping) positions and massage you some more. I had something called a Modern Thai Massage, and this even included the use of powder and a hot compress. The best I've had in my life!! It's an experience of surrender, mercy, where pain meets pleasure till all you reach is a state of 'aaaaaah'. Thai massages are not recommended for everybody..

The trip felt foreverlong, between crew we played around a lot to entertain each other (laughing openly at passengers sleeping in hilarious positions - be warned. Ya, I know it's sounds cruel, but crew have to survive also and stay awake, heehee) I am still jetlagged, it has been a busy month (only halfway now, geez)

Well, alright then. This is it for now
Till laters
A
.
Ps.
Shopping references:
everything and anything
MBK mall in Bangkok (7storeys of shopping heaven)
Paddy's Market in Sydney (cheapest you'll get in Oz, and up to standard)


--
Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes - anonymous

the fast and the furious (Hong Kong, my sister and the new bike)

......and so I went to Hong Kong (which is like a Chinese New York) and found it fascinating that you have to take a train as you land, from the aircraft to the airport and vice versa. The place is huge!! Your gatenumber will determine at which station you'll have to get off. Well, as I landed I got the devastating news of my beloved elder sister. She passed away:( So, naturally I have no travelnews - as I wasn't in the mood to go anywhere.. I did walk around the city for a few hours.

Allow me to talk about my sister though, Marina.

This woman, an angel in physical form, is the most courageous woman that I have known. And to be able to call her my sister, is a blessing. She is a spirit of pure positivity, she showed us that the impossible was possible. Being told by doctors that she would live till she is 12 (born with a weak heart), she finally laid her heart to rest at 40. She showed us that you get what you put your mind to. It breaks my heart to remove her from this emailing list, she will be greatly missed - and so I dedicate the rest of my travels to her, a true jewel.

My company looked after me really well, and organized my whole trip home from Hong Kong, then Cape Town (in business class, hehe) and gave me a week off. Pookie and I were brought together, and i got to see my mom also. We got a new baby, Woeksie - the Yamaha R6, and the two of us took over the roads on the bikes (me on the Ducati). Param is by far my best biker's buddy:-)

Just arrived back this morning. Am off on a 8 day trip tomorrow. Hope to have some good news then:)

Cheerios
A

guts and god (Sri Lanka)

Ayubowan!

I have just returned from a country I never really thought of before, and was quite surprised to see that Sri Lankans live, talk, drive and look like Indians. I like them, they are friendly and majorly Buddhists.
The flight was GREAT (no one asked for water water constantly), hehe and also the plane was full of honeymooners and holidaymakers (as we made a stop at Maldives first to pick up more people. Can you imagine the feeling, being on the airport of such a beautiful place and not being able to get off. Moohooo!!

Once in Colombo, I packed my little backpack with water and some toiletries and off I went on yet another adventure. We had two days in Sri Lanka, and I left the stability of my hotel to go to a beach town 3hours away called, Hikkaduwa. I was so nervous at first, not knowing what to expect. But the unknown is my favourite territory:) Some of the crew always ask me how I can do these things, and my latest reply is: "I have guts and I have God" ;-) My divine travel partner. When I go on these trips, I enter exciting spiritual journeys and experiences of synchronicity, meeting angels on my path. I learn more and more about the true me.

Sri Lanka is so cheap, it should be illegal, haha. My crazy 3 hour busride cost about R12 and R6 back, accommodation R58 and considering that I had R500 spending money, I was quite rich:) This is ofcourse if you live like a backpacker and are willing to negotiate. They also have the minibus 'taxi' system and shout the destination audibly unclear. I was the ONLY tourist aka whitie in these parts and got used to being stared at, people grabbing each others attention to show this person approaching. I found the most gorgeous guesthouse, with a little garden inside my room, natural sunlight coming in from the roof and that night hearing the monsoon loud and near. The people of the guesthouse treated me like their daughter, it was so amazing and heartwarming. I spent some time at the beach and exploring around. It is as if I have developed a backpacker's instinct, my own travel character. How and what I think and do as a traveler. And I get a lot of time to think. Why do people want to travel? Perhaps in your reply, answer this... Why would you want to see the world?

If I carry on describing details, this news would be too long. It was a wonderful experience, I had people from nowhere looking after me, making sure I get back safe, making sure I take the right directions. And it humbles me..

Ps. the coconuts are not THAT nice in Sri Lanka:)

Stuti (thank you) for being a part of all this that is..
And go ahead and ask anything..

Hugs,
Alta

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