Category Archives: Travel

Home Again!

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I am back home in a sunny Johannesburg.

The rest of my trip to Botswana was very pleasant. I went out for a light dinner with my client on Friday night and we spent hours talking.  Always nice to just sit and chat.

I manged to have a lay in yesterday morning.  It is not often I get the privilege so had a lazy morning.  We then went to see the site where the Toyota 1000 Desert Race is usually held.  The race currently starts in a town called Kumakwane (population 3,100) – yeah, not much more I can tell you about this little town.

I am sure the pic just looks like a huge piece of open land / bush to you, but to me it was amazing.  All of a sudden I could picture the event in action.  It is always hard to imagine that  you can take this and turn it into something that entertains some 30,000 people.   But that’s what we do best in the events industry.

I would like to blog some more about this event as it intrigues me.   Motor Sports is one of the few sporting events that I actually like.  Not to mention the fact that they race bikes as well and you all know how I feel about motorbikes – even if they are not Harley’s!

We caught the late afternoon flight back home and I got home to an empty house with only son no 4 at home.  Hubby was working late at the stadium as they had a Metallica concert on and Son no 3 went to the concert along with T2 (friend of son no 2 who lives with us).  Hubby managed to arrange suite tickets for them and a few friends.

Hubby got home around 11pm and we were asleep in no time after that.  Only to be woken up at around 2.30am by the alarm going off when Son no 3 set it off sneaking back into the house.  (No, he wasn’t pissed!).  The concert finished around midnight and then they had to battle though traffic and take the young lasses home that accompanied them.

I woke at just after 7am this morning – again this is very unusual for me.  I also slept like a log.  Seems like a night away from home is a great stress relief (Shhh don’t tell hubby).

Got to go shopping for some basic Belly Dance gear this morning.  I am supposed to be taking part in the beginners group on World Belly Dance Day on the 11th May and need something to wear.  This is the first time I will be performing in public and can feel the butterflies starting to swarm in my stomach.

Hope you’re all having a good weekend.

Jet Setting

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I am writing this post from Botswana. I was up at 3am this morning, to leave for the airport at 4 for a 6am flight.

I have never been to Botswana before even though it is just a hop skip and a jump from Johannesburg. The flight was 45 minutes on a little plane – with propellers – not the sort where the model no starts with a 747…..

I am here with a client to have a look at the site for the Toyota Desert Race which takes place each year in about June. In case you didn’t know, I work in the eventing industry so I was quite intrigued by this event as it is somewhat different to what I usually work on.

The flight was pretty good. Landed in Gaborone, Botswana. Gaborone is the capital of Botswana and has a propulation of around 250,000 – nothing compared to the 6million odd people in Johannesburg. The airport was pretty deserted so getting through passport control was a breeze.

We then went off to a meeting with the Department of Tourism. The Police Commissioner and various other governmental departments and council departments were also there. The meeting went really well and I was VERY impressed with the attitude of the various departments and how they were all willing to work together to get things done. Not typical where I come from.

We then went for a quick bite to eat and I am now sitting in the Gaborone Sun Hotel and Casino amusing myself (aka blogging).

I haven’t seen too much of Botswana as yet. The atmosphere is very pleasant and in fact I feel very safe here (I know this is a strange thing to say but I come from Johannesburg so safety is always on my mind).

It has a slightly rustic / rural feel to it but everything seems to work and seems to be relatively efficient in its own way.

I am only here for 1 night and will hopefully have some more to blog about tomorrow.

Ciao for now
Lanthie

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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I recently did a post about my 25th wedding anniversary where I mentioned all the countries I have travelled to.  A few fellow bloggers have asked what my favorite country was so I thought I would blog about it.

These are the places I have been to in a bit more detail and I have tried to keep it short and sweet (in no particular order):

Mozambique

Hubby and I stayed at the Indigo Bay Resort on Bazaruto Island a few years ago.  We never had a honeymoon 25 years ago so this was the closest thing to a honeymoon.  We were only there for a few days.  The resort was great and we had some amazing barbeque’s on the beach.  There was not much to do and we spent 3 days reading.  We missed the kids on this trip as they somehow keep you amused.  We took a little plane there from Vilanculos in Mozambique – one of those planes where there are no seatbelts or luggage hold – you just chuck your luggage in behind your seat (and cross your fingers).

Brunei

Hubby, I and Son no 1 and 2 lived in Brunei for 2 years back in 1994.  We were on contract to a company specializing in the development of entertainment venues for the Sultan of Brunei and his family.  It was back to basics here with no entertainment for the general public – not even a cinema.  But they have the most amazing beaches and rustic restaurants.  We had the best food I have ever tasted here.  We met some great people here from all over the world and it all makes for great memories.

Malaysia

While living in Brunei, we had the opportunity to travel to nearby locations.

We stayed at the Tanjung Aru Resort in Kota Kinabalu a few times which was fabulous and we have many fond memories of this resort.  The first time we went, we stayed in the honeymoon suite with Son no 1 and 2.  I remember the first time we used the Jacuzzi with them and they were scared shitless of it.  The honeymoon suite was being offered at a good rate and obviously accommodated the 4 of us very comfortably.  We went scuba diving on a nearby island and I loved it – one of the few occasions Hubby has managed to get me on a boat – as a general rule – I don’t do boats!

We also stayed at a resort in Kutching – don’t remember it much so it could not have been very memorable.  I do remember taking a combi from the airport and it being the bumpiest 45 minute drive ever – and Son no 1 slept through it.

Labuan

This was also a stone throw away from Brunei so we spent a few days in Labuan.  Labuan is a tiny island off the coast of East Malaysia.   I remember taking a very old plane there which was very suspect.  Again I don’t remember much about the resort.

USA

Hubby has been to the USA a few times but I managed to persuade him to take me with him to an exhibition to Las Vagas.  We went to the LDI Exhibition and also did the backstage tour.  This is where you get to do a tour of the backstage areas of some of the theaters in Vegas.  This is one of my best memories.  I spent just over a week with my mouth open in utter amazement at some of the technology.  We also got to see loads of shows as part of the tour.  Unfortunately I did not see or do everything I wanted to do in Vegas so this is definitely on my list of places to go back to one day.  I would also like to see more of the USA. (Route 66 on a Harley is on my bucket list)

UK

I have been to London a few times.  London is not one of my favourite places but it is one of the cities you have to experience.  Hubby and I have stayed in some of the smallest hotel rooms you could ever imagine and been in some of the smallest hotel elevators you could imagine.  In fact we were in London during 9/11.  I remember it clearly as we were in a little gift shop in Leicester Square just before seeing a movie and we saw the twin towers collapsing on the TV’s in the gift shop.  We were stuck in London for an extra day due to the panic which followed.  We will be taking the kids to London sometime soon as I think it is one of the cities you do need to visit – perhaps we will make the effort to go to Paris as well.

Mauritius

We went to  Le Coco Beach Resort (Which has since been revamped into the Long Beach Resort) back in 2000.  I was 7 months pregnant with Son no 4.  Son no 3 was 3 years old and he learnt to swim here.  Son no 2 also broke his toe the day before we left for Mauritius and he was on crutches.  We had an amazing time – but as Hubby says – the world’s most expensive swimming pool.  Kids generally hate the beach and sea so we find ourselves laying next to the pool everyday.  There was very little TV in English and I remember watching The Thomas Crown Affair in French about 20 times (I don’t speak a word of French!).

Singapore

We have been to Singapore many times and this has to be my favorite place in the world.  Everyone is very friendly.  You feel extremely safe.  And there is loads to do.  My sons are all computer geeks so we always spend hours in Sim Lim Square.  The food is amazing.  The last time we stayed on Sentoza Island and went to the aquarium, the zoo (day and night time version) and many other attractions.  Kids absolutely love the science museum and they have a Tesla generator there which is amazing to see in action.

China

World Expo 2010

Hubby and I spent 10 days in Shanghai in 2010 to see the World Expo.  Hubby has been lobbying the South African Government to bid for the World Expo in 2020 so we went to experience it ourselves.  You have never seen so many people in your life.  People queuing for 6 hours to get into an exhibit.  People were all very friendly and eager to communicate – even if there is a language barrier.  Shanghai was very efficient in every aspect.  I would have liked to see more of Shanghai but there was just not enough time.

Hong Kong

We spent a few days in Hong Kong on our return from Shanghai.  I know so many people who have said that Hong Kong is amazing.  I found it very hot and humid and there were far too many people.  We found it difficult to do anything without fighting through thousands of people – all carrying umbrellas!  We went to the aquarium but saw very little – there were just too many queues and in the end we gave up and stayed close to the hotel.

Dubai

Hubby’s brother and family have lived in Dubai for the last 18 odd years so we have close ties with Dubai.  Son no 2 is now also based there.  The first time we went to Dubai was back in 1994 and I remember lots of desert.  Now it is all built up so it is a very different place.  We lived in Dubai for a year in 2008 when we decided to expand our business there.  Unfortunately the economic crisis hit at the end of 2008 and we had to come back home to South Africa. You do feel very safe in Dubai and there are some great shopping centers.  Living in Dubai was an experience.  You only have to read Martin Fullard’s blog to find out what a weird and wonderful place it is.

Hopefully this is not the end of my travels and I hope to have many more countries to add to this list in the future.