To Sabi Sands and Elephant Afternoon

Our charter flight on Federal Air was a little confusing to find at JNB but once we were on the right path, it was a very nice way to travel. With approximately 1.5 staff people for each passenger this outfit knows how to get a luxury safari off on the right foot. We shared our little Raytheon turboprop with six other safari-goers on their way to various lodges in Sabi Sands. Our airstrip was the first stop and we soon found ourselves in a safari vehicle bouncing across dusty paths on our way to the Exeter River Lodge.

On that drive we came across Matt’s first big five sighting, a pair of white rhinoceros. Yeah, we weren't even to the lodge yet and were 1/5 of the way done! Much to safari-veteran Lisa’s surprise the driver jerked the wheel to the left and bounced over small trees and vegetation to get a better look at the animals. In Sabi Sands, a private reserve, the vehicle paths are apparently merely suggestions. The vehicles go to the game wherever they may be.
At the lodge we were greeted warmly, introduced to our ranger Craig, tracker Chris and butler Christopher and told to go relax until lunch at 2:30. We happily obliged. Lounging on our lodge’s deck overlooking the Sand river we were thrilled when an elephant appeared for a drink.
We were elated when a couple more showed up for same.
We were awestruck a little while later when a 10 or 11 elephants showed up.
We stared in wonder and amazement when an entire large herd of over 50 elephants including many baby elephants showed up and proceeded to eat and frolic and eat and drink and eat and have minor dominance skirmishes and eat and throw mud and eat. This show lasted through lunch and into the afternoon tea. It was simply incredible to behold. And more incredible still, Matt was up to two of the big five without even going on a game ride. It would have been an embarrassment of riches if we were the type to get embarrassed about riches. ;)

FCT and Jo'Burg

Back at FRA we experienced the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, an entire terminal dedicated to passengers flying on Lufthansa international first class. This experience now comes with the Lisa and Matt five-star seal of approval. If traveling was always like this then we’d have to insist on flying every day. More birthday toasts were made over rose champagne, a white tablecloth dinner and after dinner top-shelf whisky (think blue label) and scotch (think 18-year) followed by Matt’s favorite thing ever: a chauffeured Mercedes across the tarmac directly to the airplane. Lisa didn’t notice, but Matt insists he saw other passengers on the plane looking down at us through the airplane windows with faces full of abject envy on as we were whisked out of the limo and up an elevator directly onto the jet bridge.
The flight to Johannesburg is another overnight flight and this time we were bound and determined to actually sleep. And after more caviar and some delicious goose with potato we actually did manage to squeeze in six or so hours of sleep on that 9.5 hour flight. Unfortunately that also meant it was dark over Africa and we missed seeing the Sahara, the jungle and the Kalahari from our airplane window.
We were met by a driver at the airport and taken to the Hyatt Regency Johannesburg. After checking in we wandered over to the Rose Bank mall to find our bearings as well as an ATM to load up on Rand and a snack to load up our bellies.
We had arranged for a tour of Soweto and although the guide arrived late we did manage to spend the balance of the day exploring both the geography of Johannesburg but also the history of South Africa, including of course seeing the preparations so far for World Cup 2010.

Exhausted as we were, we were still dumbstruck by the absolute stupidity that men impose on their fellow man when reason and decency fails them. It’s the sort of experience that is so complex and thought provoking: one struggles to grasp the mindset that leads to formal policies of separation and subjugation and yet throughout the history of mankind it has always been thus.

And, upon closer examination, despite the reality of a black man occupying the Oval Office, the United States still has a long way to go before we are beyond the less formal and yet no less institutionalized policy of separation and subjugation. In engaging our guide on this question Matt asserted that perhaps class and income were more important than race in defining who lived where in America. The guide had a two word reply that shut Matt right the heck up: Ward 8. He asserted that for all of America's grand talk and gestures, Hurricane Katrina demonstrated to many Africans the reality of race in America, ie, we’ve got a long way to go.

That issue discussed we moved on to the FAR more important issue of where Rob and Amber won a Fast Forward during their season on The Amazing Race! :)

Thoroughly spent from the long flights and deep thinking, we nevertheless promised ourselves we’d stay up until AT LEAST…oh, 7pm in order to beat the jet lag. So we enjoyed dinner al fresco at a joint called Europa and had giggle fits as we fought sleep. But eventually sleep won and we went to sleep WAY too early. And paid for it in the sleepless middle of the night. On the other hand, we were easily up in time for our flight to Sabi Sands. So we had that going for us.

South Africa 2009 (written by Matt)

The odyssey began as all decent odysseys should: with champagne at an airline lounge. In this case the newish Lufthansa Senator Lounge at Dulles. We toasted Matt’s birthday for the first, second, third and fourth time (on our way to infinity, it appears) as we passed the time with German pretzels and cheese.
Before too long we boarded our flight to Frankfurt. On Lufthansa 747-400s the first class section is on the upper deck. This leads to a far more intimate feel than some other airlines, but we did comment that we felt right at home after all the time we’ve spent on United Airlines 747 upper decks in business class. The FC seats on Lufthansa are infinitely superior to other airlines that utilize ‘suites’ for First Class seats in that passengers traveling together can actually converse while sitting up…AND while reclined. The IFE was just so-so, but a few rounds of interactive Who Wants to be a Millionaire did distract us for a time, as did a weepy weep-fest called The Time Travelers Wife. The only question was who was weeping more when the credits rolled. Of course, the caviar starter was excellent as were the mains and the service, contrary to many stories we’ve heard, was warm and friendly in addition to being efficient and pampering.
Arrival in Frankfurt was smooth. There was a bit of a wait for the free shuttle to the Kempinski for our day room that was included with the Lufthansa FC ticket since there was a 12-hour layover. But it being Matt’s birthday we took it in (exhausted) stride. The Kempinski is a very, very nice hotel in the forest outside of Frankfurt with, supposedly, some nice walking trails. But German weather conspired against us, and instead of taking a leisurely stroll through the freezing mud we decided to spend the day ignoring the time zone change and then celebrating Matt’s actual birth day (as opposed to his birthday week) by mostly sleeping.

Our Next Adventure

(co-written by Matt and Lisa)

Okay, so will I really blog from Russia?! I guess we all know the answer to that question.

In the off chance that I have fallen completely out of touch with you for the last six months, Matt and I had a wonderful time exploring Moscow and St. Petersburg, and emerged from the trip realizing that perhaps we had potential as more than friends. So….we’ve spent the last six months dating and traveling (to Seattle and Hershey and Houston and Heidelberg and Cologne and Vegas and St. Maarten and Vegas and Seattle again).

But next week we are off on a blog-worthy adventure: South Africa for Matt’s 40th birthday. Of course, it’s a bit of a redo for me from last year but this time we’re doing a luxury safari in South Africa - no need to revisit Zimbabwe. From Kruger National Park we will move on to Cape Town, where we’ll try out the famous Cape Grace Hotel in the V&A Harbor. We have tickets to Robben Island, which I missed last year as it was undergoing repairs. Thus, in addition to this being all about Matt’s first African adventure, the trip will be an upgraded South Africa 2.0 for me as well.

As usual, getting there should be half the fun. And thanks to Matt’s tenacity and perseverance in working the ANA award booking tool we were able to score two first class award tickets on Lufthansa IAD-FRA-JNB. That first class ticket includes a day room at the Kempinski hotel near Frankfurt airport since our flight arrives in the morning and departs in the evening. We’ll also both get to experience the legendary Lufthansa First Class Terminal http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/at_the_airport?nodeid=1771144&l=en&cid=18002&blt_p=DE&blt_l=en&blt_t=Info_and_Services%3eAt_the_Airport&blt_e=Content&blt_n=First%20Class%20Terminal&blt_z=More%20information&blt_c=DE%7Cen%7CInfo_and_Services%3EAt_the_Airport%7CContent%7CFirst%20Class%20Terminal%7CMore%20information at Frankfurt airport for the first time, where international first class customers have an entire terminal dedicated to pampering them. The pampering includes a personal assistant and transfer to one’s aircraft via Mercedes or Porsche sedan. Our transfer day will be Matt’s actual birthday and he could not be more thrilled about how we plan on spending it.

Then we head down to Johannesburg for a day exploring South Africa’s amazingly sad history or apartheid. The next morning it’s a charter flight up to Sabi Sands, a private game reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park where we’ll spend 3 nights at the Exeter River Lodge http://www.andbeyondafrica.com/luxury_safari/south_africa/sabi_sand_game_reserve/and_beyond_exeter_river enjoying game drives and some very serious relaxation.

After that we charter back to JNB and then down to Cape Town. As a birthday present to Matt I’ve booked us into the Cape Grace hotel for our time there. I plan on showing him the sights, including Table Mountain. And of course, wandering the city and finding all the fun that we always seem to find while traveling.

We’ll return through JNB and FRA back to IAD, again in LH first class so that the journey home continues to be a big part of the vacation.

All in all, a pretty exciting way to share Matt’s 40th birthday with him. We leave on Sunday. We’ve gotten our shots, started our malaria meds, bought our safari gear and are counting the hours to lift off! Matt says he’ll help me keep the blog up to date this trip so hopefully I (we) will do a better job of it this time!

Here’s the itinerary:

One more day of work - and then I go to Russia

Will I really blog? I don't know. I tend to be better at writing when traveling alone. I'm traveling with Matt on this trip, which usually means a lot of champagne, a little wine/beer, and a night cap of port...yep, just about every night.

But Matt is a good traveler in that he is up for anything, can walk for miles without seeming to notice, and knows when I'm ready for a drink - be it hot tea or bubbly champagne. He also shares with me a fine appreciation of caviar, which simply has to be a good thing in Russia.

Our flights were strategically booked to ensure upgrade upon booking, so there has been nothing but happy thoughts of lay-flat beds in business class to picture in my mind. I will turn my next age over the Atlantic Friday night at midnight...the plan is to have a glass of champagne in my hand. Given that we'll have been on the plane for a few hours by then, I may promptly pass out.

One more day. Then on to my next adventure.

I'll keep you posted.

videos

For Jordan and Chase :)

Cape Town, South Africa

View from Table Mountain looking out over Cape Town

Cape of Good Hope

There's a baboon on that car...

Zimbabwe Safari

Matetsi River Lodge, Zimbabwe - my patio/pool/view

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Early morning game drive - coffee break

Elephants take an evening bath

Lions get ready for Zebra lunch

Giraffe

Zambezi River Tour

For the love of the game...

The map shows the route of my travels so far this trip.

Thanks Mike - you rock!

Johannesburg, South Africa

October 29, 2008

What a day. What a week. What a trip!

It has been a few days since I last wrote, so by now I’m guessing that many of you who are reading this have already seen the pictures from Siem Reap. Angkor Wat is just one of those places that I really wanted to go experience, and I wanted to do it sooner rather than later. Siem Reap is growing exponentially as tourism to the area increases. Right now it manages to maintain the precarious balance of being tourist friendly and safe – even as a solo female traveler I never felt uncomfortable – and yet not so overrun with western influence that you don’t even know you are in Cambodia. Unfortunately all signs are pointing it in that direction…good for the economy of Cambodia; not so great for the future tourist.

I spent a lot of time touring Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom – hiring a guide the first time and then returning to stroll and enjoy the feeling of being there without someone chattering in my ear. Another morning I went to the Ta Prohm temple, which is dilapidated and overrun by the jungle. It is also where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider, as the locals like to tell you. I spent the better part of an afternoon in Siem Reap, wandering the streets and vendor stalls. I met another female solo traveler from Britain and we shared a few drinks and stories of our travels. And on the last day, tired and hot from my exploration, I spent the afternoon at the pool relaxing with a book.

(Side note – if you watched the Amazing Race on Sunday night…they were racing around the Angkor Wat and Bayon temples at Angkor Thom. I happened to turn on the tv on Monday evening before going to bed, and the Asia run of it was playing. It was actually pretty cool to watch it considering I had been at those very temples earlier in the day!)

Before I was quite ready to leave Cambodia my time was up. Unlike Angie, I left without an adopted child in tow. I had a nice long travel day from REP-BKK-SIN-JNB…and 24 hours later I arrived in Johannesburg this morning. I truly believed I would never see my luggage again when I handed it over in REP, although the agent assured me he had interlined it from Bangkok Air to Singapore Airlines and it would meet me in JNB. Amazingly enough it did show up.

Joburg is not particularly known for being a safe city, so for my piece of mind I had arranged with the Hyatt to have a car and driver pick me up. I also arranged for an afternoon tour of the city, which was set to start at 1pm. There was some pretty significant traffic this morning, so the ride to the Hyatt took almost an hour. I checked in and got showered and then walked across the street to the shopping plaza that I could see from my room. It had nice little courtyard with numerous outdoor cafes and restaurants. I sat down for a bite to eat and relax before my tour.

To be honest, I did not go into the afternoon excited for the tour. I am really spending the day here as a connection point more so than a destination. However, there was no way I was going to go explore Joburg on my own, and since I had the day it seemed like I should go do something. Thus I used the Hyatt on line concierge a few days ago and ordered up a guided tour for the afternoon.

The afternoon in Johannesburg ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip so far – and that is saying a lot on this trip. The tour guide picked me up at 1pm and we set off. I was immediately impressed with the guide’s presentation style. We started near the hotel, stopping outside of Nelson Mandela’s current home. The guide didn’t just show sites, he gave me a history lesson on South Africa. He talked about Nelson Mandela’s personal life – his wives and children – as well as his political life. The running commentary on everything from the South African infrastructure to the roots and animal parts made to use traditional medicines was well structured, interesting and extremely informative. As we drove by Constitutional Hill I learned about the famous prisoners who have gone through there, including Mahatma Gandhi. When I asked questions – ‘why was Gandhi put in prison’ – he consistently had answers (for buying a first class train ticket, which was illegal if you were not white).

The tour through Soweto turned into an emotional journey into Apartheid’s past, culminating at the Hector Pieterson museum. From the Orlando West township – and Nelson Mandela’s former home – we drove through upper class townships and then into the impoverished areas. We walked through a project community and talked to the locals. The picture to the left is inside an actual home – I’m standing in the doorway about 4 feet from the woman on the bed. That is the entire house. To my shock she replied ‘7’ to the question ‘how many people live here?’…her, her 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren. They all sleep either on the bed or the small floor space next to it. I couldn’t stop the tears, although she wanted no pity. Similar to Peru years ago, children surrounded me as I walked and fought to take my hand, smiling happily up at me as they walked along; hugging me with such emotion… I struggle in these situations; I am much more comfortable with adults than children and handling emotion from strangers does not come naturally for me. But I am honored to be here, blessed in my life that I get to experience this world; blessed still more at the world that I grew up in – so different from this.

I am exhausted now. The combination of the long travel day and the emotional history lesson has sapped my energy. Tomorrow I start yet another adventure, as I head to Zimbabwe to begin the safari part of this trip. For now I am going to go eat – I have given in to my exhaustion and ordered a pizza and glass of wine from room service – and then go to bed.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Bayon at Angkor Thom

Beijing to Bangkok

October 24, 2008

I know I didn’t write much about yesterday, but I don’t think I’m really going to. It was a great day, but also very tiring as I walked miles around the city of Beijing. I started my day by taking a taxi north to the Olympic Park. I normally don’t swing by Olympic Stadiums in my travels, but the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube had garnered so much attention this summer that I felt compelled to see them. The Water Cube was rather boring; the Bird’s Nest was actually quite interesting to see up close.

The Forbidden City was second on my list for the day. I walked around exploring it in the early part of the afternoon until my attention waned. My last big sight to see was the Temple of Heaven Park. I should have done myself a favor and hopped in a cab rather than walking…I did enjoy the journey but it was almost 4pm when I got there and I was getting pretty tired. I had been walking for more or less 6 straight hours and this was my fourth consecutive day of some pretty heavy touring. Finally exhausted, I took a cab back to the hotel. Afternoon tea was still underway (it wasn’t over until 6pm, which I thought was a bit late but was quite pleased about) and so I enjoyed a Chinese Jasmine tea with English tea sandwiches, scones and clotted cream. An interesting but thoroughly enjoyable combination.

I decided to simply relax for the evening, and spent some time replying to emails and booking some hotels for this trip that were still outstanding. I really planned most of this trip in the week leading up to it and did a pretty good job of actually booking the majority of the 16 flight segments and 22 or so night’s worth of accommodations. In general I am happy with everything that I booked, but there was one flight that was bothering me – my flight to Bangkok from Beijing. I booked the ticket on Expedia in one of those ‘I just need to book something’ moments a day before the trip started. The flight I booked is on Sri Lankan Airlines from PEK-BKK, obviously continuing on to Colombo. The issues here are multiple: 1) I’m in coach, 2) It is a non Star or OneWorld Alliance partner, so I don’t even have status, 3) the website kept bombing so I couldn’t even select seats and 4) SriLankan isn’t listed on SeatGuru so I didn’t even know what seats I would want if I could pick them. All of this had me a bit out of sorts. Rachel (thank you again!) tried helping me out by calling United to see what Star Alliance carriers had business class available on miles, but they only had coach and first on both Thai or EgyptAir. It is a 5 hour flight, but 80,000 miles for a one way ticket in F vs the $327 ticket I had booked on SriLankan seemed a bit excessive. Then I checked the Sri Lankan website to see how much a one way business class ticket would cost. Upon seeing the mere $600 price tag I was a bit ticked at myself that I hadn’t checked that first. But at this point I’d have to cancel my coach ticket and throw away the $300+ to book a $600 business ticket. I decided I would survive coach.

Fast forward to today. I entered the check in area and really only glanced at the mob of people in line to check in for economy before changing my mind. Not only could I not do the line of pushy people, this is actually a 2000+ mile flight of about 5 hours. I walked straight to the (empty) business class desk and told the agent that I had a coach ticket but would like to buy up to business. She asked if I was going to Bangkok only or on to Colombo. Only Bangkok. Yes, she said, there are seats available...’but it will cost $200’. !!!! Sold. In all of 10 minutes I happily had a business class boarding pass, an invitation to the lounge, and a smile on my face. All for a total of only $525 – at least $75 cheaper than the cheapest one way C class fare on line. And the interesting thing was that she didn’t ever look at my ticket or my fare class/restrictions. I don’t know much about SriLankan’s fare system, but it is clearly much more simple than that of any US carrier. The check in staff wasn’t even from the airline – it was ‘Beijing Ground Staff’ that quickly and seamlessly handled the request.
I’ve done this before…paying for a cheaper ticket and flying coach sounds like such a good idea when I’m still in the US and planning a trip. Then I get to the airport and see the hoards of people and I simply can’t make myself go stand in that line. My ticket from Hyderabad up to Delhi in India was a similar scenario…I got to the airport, saw the line and promptly walked to the ticket counter with my credit card to buy up. Some day I’ll learn.

Anyway, I’m happy. I did some shopping and then enjoyed a snack in the lounge. The boarding area was a zoo, but there was a separate area for biz class similar to the UA red carpet. I’m on the plane now. The service has been excellent. The food was actually quite good, as was the wine. There are only 6 of us out of 18 seats (2 class plane), so it is a nice roomy comfortable flight. I can’t even get near reaching the seat in front of me with my leg outstretched on the footrest. The lesson here is that it really does pay to ask – I’m sure there are a lot of people on this flight who would have happily paid $200 more to upgrade but assumed that it would be really expensive to do.

We land in about an hour – we are just passing over Vientiane now (a city high on my list, but that will have to be another trip…). I am spending the night in Bangkok, although without the usual crowd here I expect it will be a tame night. It would be hard to beat the trip where the 8 or so of us ended up in the Thai brothel, but that is a story for another time…

Tomorrow I fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia to explore the Temples of Angkor Wat. For now I’m going to relax and finish my cheesy chick lit book, have another glass of wine, and generally enjoy my well spent $200 :)

Have I mentioned that I love to travel?

Beijing - Part 2

October 23, 2008

The 'Bird's Nest'

Today was a really busy day...and I'm really tired...and you are just going to have to wait until tomorrow to read all about it! :)

Video tour of the Forbidden City

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven

The Great Wall of China

October 22, 2008

Today started bright and early with a 9am alarm. Yes, that is bright and early for me on vacation, not to mention I was out pretty late last night. The plan for the day is to go to the Great Wall of China. I chose to visit the Mutianyu section which, while restored, is considerably less touristy than the very popular Badaling section.

The tour I chose was small - only 8 people - and turned out to be an excellent choice. The group included me, a girl from Kuala Lumpur (Winnie), an Indian couple, two ladies from Australia, a guy from Sacramento, and a girl from Toronto. Winnie and I started chatting early on in the trip and ended up walking the wall together. It is always nice to have some company, but more than that it is nice to have someone to take pictures for you!

The day was warm but foggy, and unfortunately the view of the Great Wall was not as good as it would have been on a clear day. I don’t know how I had pictured the wall in my mind, but I do know that I was not expecting it to be a series of steep up and down hills with large, arduous stairs to climb. At points the walk seemed downright dangerous, and the fact that it was damp from the fog and slightly slippery did not help matters. But of course, once you got to the top of a climb - which generally meant you were at the next watch tower – the breathtaking view and the sheer magnitude of the wall was breathtaking.

It was about a year ago when I decided I had to see the Great Wall. I actually think I was reading ‘3 Perfect Days’ (a regular feature in United’s in-flight magazine) and it was about Beijing. I hate when the ‘3 perfect days’ article is about somewhere that I haven’t yet been. I also hate when someone says to me ‘have you ever been to….’ and I haven’t been. I know I may never see the whole world, but I am damn well going to try.

Anyway, I have finally seen the Great Wall. I think that the Wall and, in fact, everything about Beijing, has made me feel really small in this really big world. The history here is so amazing and so vast, and yet it is here, in the present for you to see and experience. The Wall was built in 220 BC or something crazy like that (and yes, I recognize that it has been rebuilt numerous times). The Forbidden City was built by the Ming Dynasty, which started in the 1300s. We don’t have this kind of history in the US, and maybe that is why we don’t quite - and this is a generalization about the population of the US – get how our actions impact the world and vice-versa. But I won’t bore you with my political views when, in general, you know them if you are reading this…(see I didn’t even talk about how Sarah Palin only got her passport last year…but can see Russia from Alaska) ;)

Where was I? Oh right…I walked the Great Wall. And then I slept on the 1.5 hour drive back in to the city. When I woke up I had a text from Peter wanting to know if I wanted to get dinner. I had decided earlier in the day that I shouldn’t leave Beijing without eating Peking Duck, and luckily he agreed that sounded like a good idea. We met in the hotel lobby for a drink and then wandered out to find the restaurant that Lonely Planet had recommended as being ‘less touristy’.

I wouldn’t have wanted to see ‘more touristy’. But the duck was really good and we had another fabulous evening in Beijing.

It was about midnight when I started to fade and we called it a night.
And before I knew it the alarm was going off on Thursday morning….time for another day in Beijing.

Beijing!

October 22, 2008

I arrived in Beijing yesterday after an uneventful flight from Shanghai. I am staying at the Grand Hyatt Beijing, which is in a fabulous location just down the street from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is also in a huge shopping center area with everything from Starbucks to Tiffanys in the plaza (yes, I’ve hit both).

It was about 3:30pm before I was settled in to my room. I got changed and headed out down the street toward Tiananmen. I strolled around the plaza and wandered through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. I was too late to get tickets to the Forbidden City for the day, so I retraced my steps and headed south along the square to the Front Gate. There were hoards of people in Tiananmen, and even finding a spot to get a good picture proved to be difficult.

Speaking of pictures…it is very bizarre, but people keep trying to get their picture taken with me. And yes, it is as funny as it sounds. It started in Shanghai – I asked a guy to take a picture of me, which he kindly did. Then he motioned to his camera, and I nodded thinking that he wanted me to return the favor and take his picture. He actually wanted his friend to take a picture of he and I together. Okay, weird but whatever. Then his friend wanted his picture taken with me! At that point I declined and headed on down the Bund. The story repeated itself a few times with both men and women. Fine, I learned my lesson and looked for Western/non-Chinese resources to assist me with my photo journaling. Then yesterday it got really weird. I plopped myself down on a sidewalk curb to take a look at my guide book an figure out what all of the buildings around Tiananmen Square were. As I’m reading a lady came up and hunched down next to me, and I glanced up and saw her husband was about to take her picture. Thinking I was being nice I moved down a little to get out of the way. Oh no no no… the point of the picture was to get me and the wife together. He even motioned to try to get us to put our arms around each other! I tried ignoring them but it was impossible. Finally I looked up and smiled and the man actually clapped he was so excited that I was smiling for him. Thinking it was over I went back to my book (shaking my head and mumbling to myself how weird this was) but then he sat down next to me so his wife could take our picture. For the record, my first thought is always my safety and that of my belongings. There were other people sitting around my laughing, so I felt very safe, and I had my purse hugged tightly to me and knew it was okay… Really, they just wanted a picture. The funny thing to me is what these people tell their friends back home about who exactly is that blonde girl in the pictures - is there some made up story that doesn’t quite match reality?

Anyway…moving on from Tiananmen I walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel. I was getting hungry so I stopped for dinner on the way and then went back to my room to shower and change. At 8:30 I met a fellow traveler Peter in the hotel lobby for a drink. Peter is a Dutchman who recently moved to Washington DC for work and travels internationally quite frequently. He had been to Beijing before and suggested that we head to an area called Houhai. It turned out to be a spectacular choice - lake area circled by bars, restaurants, clubs and shops. Houhai is a perfect place to bar crawl. We tried a few different places and wandered into some shops as we passed them. It was about 2am when we finally called it a night – Peter had to get up for work in the morning and I had a trip to the Great Wall planned. It was an excellent evening and I highly recommend the area to anyone who visits Beijing…in fact I think it would make for a great group trip outing for those of my travel friends that are reading this!

At Houhai next to some of the many bars

Shanghai!

October 19, 2008

Today started early – at about 5am to be exact. My body clock generally has no idea what time zone it should be on - seeing as how I tend to change time zone every 3-4 days - and usually just accepts the latest adjustment without complaint. However, I must admit I was tired last night and fell asleep by 10pm, only to be wide awake at 5am…

I embraced my early morning and spent some time with my guidebook planning my day in Shanghai. I set out around 8am, starting with the Oriental Pearl before wandering over to the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. Oh yes, I actually did that. And if you ever come to Shanghai, under no circumstances should you pay the ridiculous fee to experience such a ridiculously dumb tourist trap. (Okay, it was really only about $7 to take the little train under the river over to the Bund, but it was seriously one of the most inane things I’ve ever done. And a cab would have only been about $3.)

Once I made it across the river I walked down Bund taking in the view and taking some pictures. The scenic skyline of Pudong is visible behind me in the picture that I’ve posted here. From there I went…all over. A leisurely walk down main pedestrian street of Nanjing Dong Lu led me to People’s Square where I checked out the Shanghai Museum. I walked a little further west before turning south to the French Concession where I did some shopping and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at an excellent café.

Checking in with my book I decided that I really only had one big area still to cover – the Old City and Yu Gardens. I personally thought this area was a huge disappointment. It is a huge tourist trap of shops and stalls and hawkers promising ‘best price for you!’. Really…this is where there is a little bit of a jaded traveler in me. I have come to despise the markets that I once so enjoyed. But now I recognize that in general it is all the same junk, just a different place. Want fake bags/shoes/clothes? Special price for you. It doesn’t matter where in the world I am someone will try to sell me a pashmina. I’m not saying there aren’t some unique things, but you actually have to search pretty hard to find them.

But search I did…I roamed and shopped for a little while. The only thing I found that I really kinda wanted was a Chinese checkers set. Unfortunately I wanted a specific design on the leather case, and I couldn’t find any that were in really good shape and scratch free. I’ve got a lot of days left in China, so maybe I’ll find one somewhere else.

It was a long, busy, enjoyable, and very tiring day. My legs walked miles and miles, and they are very happy to be propped up and resting right now.

It is now 9:30pm, and I actually think I could fall asleep pretty easily if I let myself. But alas, my stomach is growling and a nice cold beverage sounds divine. Besides - I need to rally and stay awake for a while so that I’m not up at 5am tomorrow!

Asia and Africa 2008 - the journey begins

October 18, 2008

My journey has begun. I am settled into my business class seat on United 837 from SFO-PVG (Shanghai). The guy next to me is an American ex-pat who has lived in Shanghai for the last 5 years, and he has basically given me so much information that I don’t even need to open the Time Out Shanghai guide that I have tucked into my seat back pocket.

I am embarking on a trip that will last almost four weeks and will cover seven countries: China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Botswana got the last minute axe as I refined the itinerary. I can always go back…it is enough for now.

Today started off early from Chicago with an 8am flight to SFO. The upgrade cleared early, so that was one segment I didn’t have to worry about. Unfortunately the long haul flight from SFO-PVG had not yet cleared as of this morning. I had been keeping tabs on the flight and I knew that it was still showing C9 as of this morning. The agent at ORD told me that I was #3 on the upgrade list, so I wasn’t freaking out quite yet… The upgrade didn’t actually clear until the gate – the nice agent called my name right as First/Business boarding started. I has already checked in with him and the ‘when we clear upgrades we will call your name’ comment given with a smile and a wink had calmed my fear of sitting in coach for 12.5 hours across the Pacific. Still, I think this was the latest clearing upgrade I’ve had since the SIN-HKG-ORD flights back in 2002 that cleared at the last minute to the immense relief of both me and my travel companion.

I will spend two days in Shanghai – the least amount of time that I will spend anywhere on this trip except Bangkok (but I’ve been to Bangkok numerous times, and it is really just a connection point between Beijing and Siem Reap, Cambodia). My seatmate thinks this is not enough time. I tell him I will come back. My trip is about the journey as much as the destinations. We made friends with the people across the aisle and share a glass of wine and, later, a glass of port. I think it is funny how amazed everyone is that I am doing this trip on my own – the underlying comment being ‘as a female’! lol.

This is a completely flexible trip, and yet I have some plans – a drinks/dinner outing with a travel group in Capetown, drinks in Beijing with a fellow wanderer, a delta cruise in Vietnam with friends that I met many years ago in my travels….and of course, there are always the random meetings along the way with other travelers that result in the moments you recall with a laugh for years to come.

For now I am going to recline my seat and read. I have a stack of about 15 magazines that have piled up in my house over the last months that I am going to finally read. Some may be outdated… the March ‘Shape’ I just read was all about making the most of your summer. LOL. I guess that means something different to everyone. I made the most of my summer by racking up as many ‘faster free nights’ at Hyatts as I could to use on my travels. J I also have quite a few chick lit books with me that I have inherited from Bridget but never got around to reading. I have about 30,000 miles worth of travel in these four weeks…that is a lot of blissful time on airplanes to eat, drink, read, make friends, sleep, relax, watch movies….

Have I mentioned that I love to travel?

Time to say goodbye to India for now

After 4 weeks it is time to leave India - my flight is in just a few hours. HYD-FRA-ORD-MDT - will take about 28 hours. At least I get two good 10 hour flights in there to sleep, watch movies, read...some me time :)

Last night we had a team outing for my last night - here is a pic of my team and I (minus a few people who had left, as this was at midnight):