Two days in Johannesburg

Hey friends - I just got back from South Africa this morning.  What a trip!  I loved it all, but I was struggling to stay awake at work today.  Came home and took a short nap, and hopefully my internal clock will be ok with the time change!

I'm going to break this trip into two separate posts because honestly, there is just so much to share.  We spent two days in Johannesburg (Stephanie was working there), and then we headed over to Capetown for a long weekend.  The thing that surprised me most was how different the two cities were from each other.. Johannesburg, at least the bit we saw, still seems very much like a foreign country, whereas Capetown could've been any major metropolis.

We flew overnight on Tuesday to Johannesburg.  The flight is about 11 hours, and the time change is six hours, so it was Wednesday morning when we landed.  A quick stop to our hotel (Emperor's Palace, which actually labels itself "The Vegas of Africa"), and we were off on our first tour.  I booked this one last minute because we had a free day in Johannesburg, and I didn't think it was a good idea for us to go "exploring" without a guide.  South Africa, even the major cities, is not known for safety..

Our tour guide, Agnes, was a white woman (born in Holland and raised in South Africa) in a white Mercedes Benz.  She took us to a township called Soweto, which is a large black community in Johannesburg.

These two towers used to be the cooling stations that supplied electricity to neighboring Johannesburg.  Soweto actually didn't get electricity all over the city until something startlingly recent.. in the 90s I think?  Crazy, right?

One thing I've really learned since I started doing all these travels is that I know so so so little about the rest of the world.  I had a friend in high school who was from South Africa, and I actually took a half semester course in college about the white settlement in South Africa, but I was still shockingly under-educated about a lot of the things Agnes told us about or showed us.  Agnes told us that Johannesburg is about 3 million people, and Soweto is about 3.5 million.  Of the 3.5 million people living in Soweto, Agnes estimates about 80 of them are white.  Eighty.  Out of 3.5 million.  Wow.

We also went to a shantytown called Kliptown.  We stopped at some sort of charity youth program thing.  I was a bit surprised by this, since usually when you pay people to take you on a tourist activity, it doesn't include charity stuff.  Is that a terrible thing to say?  I guess Angelina Jolie and all those other humanitarians do this sort of stuff all the time, but I was really surprised that this stop was part of our tour.  Does that make me awful?  Perhaps, ha.

Anyway, the youth program thing was alright or whatever, but what was shocking was the shantytown itself. Apparently, this sort of housing was all erected back during the segregation and Apartheid era, and it still houses a lot of people.

Water sources are all communal.  People come and wash their clothes and chat with one another.

A few families will share something similar to a block

Houses are made of corrugated steel.. our guide told us that people use things like billboards, so long as it is strong enough to sustain the storms.

Really puts it into perspective, huh?

The houses are known as "matchbox" houses because you can line them all up like matchboxes.  Kind of makes me feel badly about thinking my apartment in Singapore is small...

After Kliptown, we headed over towards the Nelson Mandela home, which has been restored to a museum.  Everyone freaking loves Nelson Mandela - black people, white people, everyone!  Interestingly, the street where Nelson Mandela's home is also includes Desmond Tutu's home.  Two Nobel Peace Prize winners living on the same street.  No other street in the world can claim that!

The home itself was small and just full of all kinds of memorabilia.  The part I found most interesting was to learn about his family.. his wives and his children.

After lunch, our day of culture and history continued at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.  This museum was full of information, and I felt like it could have been really, really good, but the layout was totally confusing.  One minute I would be looking at stuff from the 1930s, the next I would be in 1990, and then the next I would be in 1950.  It was confusing.  But still very informative.  No pictures were allowed, so this is the only one I got!

After our day of exploring, we had a pretty low key night since we had to get up early the next day.  We got picked up for our day safari at the crack of dawn, and then our guide (a black man who's name none of us could pronounce) drove us the 2.5 hours to Pilanesburg Game Reserve!

It was really interesting to hear our white tour guide and our black tour guide talk about things.  There were no direct contradictions in the things they said, but it was definitely just.. different.  Hard to describe I guess.

Anyway - check out these animals!!!

Hi!

These might be ostriches with their heads down?  I took so many pictures, I actually have no idea haha.

Cruising through the park

Springboks.. these are the mascot of the SA rugby team

Wildebeasts down by the water

This zebra just stopped and stared at our car for a while.. totally awesome

Straight chillin

Bye!

Giraffe!!!

Mom and baby rhino crossing the road!

More rhinos 

More giraffes

Those lumps along the water are hippos.. too far away to get a good shot :(

We didn't see any elephants, which I was super sad about, and the only lion we saw was waaayyyy too far away and sleeping.  So that was also sad, but the safari was absolutely incredible.  I took a billion pictures, but after a while, it was nice to just sit back and enjoy nature.  The game reserve was incredibly peaceful and beautiful.  So different from the concrete chaos of Singapore!

After the safari, we headed back into town and just had an easy night of beers and Uno to wind down before heading off to Capetown on Friday morning.  More to come on that!  I've got kind of a busy week, and I'm struggling with jet lag a bit, but hopefully I'll get my next post up before the weekend.  Some friends are in town this weekend to celebrate some birthdays, so it should be a good time, but I want to be fully rested before Friday!!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday!

Long haul flight essentials

Hi friends - I'm headed off to my third continent this month tomorrow night.  I'll be in Johannesburg and Capetown over the next couple of days, and I couldn't be more excited.  We've got a great itinerary planned, including a safari, hiking, city exploration, and a bicycle winery tour!  So I'll be staying busy and probably not blogging for about a week or so.

Since moving to Asia, I've gotten really good at taking really long flights.  My general feeling is that once you've done the 25 hour trip between the US and Singapore, everything else seems completely manageable. It's funny how in the US, I felt like anything more than 2 hours was a long flight, but now I think an 8 hour flight isn't too bad!  Perspective is definitely part of the game, but there are also a few things that I consider to be incredibly helpful for a pleasant 8+ hour flight experience.

1.  Status - If you can get status on an airline, do everything you can to get it!  I have most of my miles on Star Alliance, which United and Singapore Airlines are both part of.  Your own check in line, priority baggage, early boarding, and of course.. the lounge.

2.  Airport lounges - I am telling you, the airport lounge totally changes the travel game.  Oddly, you can't get into the United Club on a domestic flight in the US with status, but on an international flight you can.  Star Alliance also lets you into their member lounges when you are flying.  (Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt is the best one I've seen so far!)  Anyway, the lounge is always a really nice place to relax, have a snack or a drink, and easily charge your phone, iPad, laptop etc.  It also tends to be very calm and quiet - not at all like some terminals that have crowds of kids running and screaming everywhere.  A lot of them also have showers etc for you to clean up in if needed.

3.  iPad - If you are lucky, you will have your own television to watch on the flight.  If you are on United, you won't.  An iPad loaded with books, movies, or TV shows is essential!!  I always have at least one book or magazine downloaded, and if I am flying an airline where I won't have my own TV, I usually just rent a movie from iTunes - it only costs a few dollars, and it is well worth it!  Also, don't forget your headphones.

4.  Something warm - I am always cold on airplanes, so I bring something to keep me warm.  Usually it is my favorite American Apparel circle scarf, which can be used as a blanket too, or a hoodie or jacket of some sort.

5.  Socks - I am obsessed with SmartWool socks!  These have quickly become my go-to socks, and that definitely includes travel.  If you're on a plane for 10 hours, you definitely want to be able to take your shoes off and curl your feet up.

6.  Small bag of toiletries - I usually put a few essentials in my carry on, just in case.  (Side note - I always check my luggage on these long flights - it's free, and it is one less thing to carry around.)  I always have my contact case and solution (I wear my glasses when I fly so that I can sleep!), a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste, and maybe some hand lotion and/or face wash just to freshen up.  Sometimes I also put a small shampoo and body wash just in case my luggage doesn't make it.

7.  Other things that I usually have in my carry on - chargers and an international outlet adapter, my work laptop, makeup, extra hair ties, and a random snack (in case the food on the plane is terrible).

Lately

Lately I've been feeling at a bit of a crossroads.  I tweeted the other day "My life is awesome and a total mess all at the same time."

As you might be able to tell from this blog, my personal life is an absolute blast right now.  I am having an incredible experience being able to travel so much.  I love my group of friends that I've made in Singapore and feel so lucky to always have fun people to go do fun things with.  Life is really good these days.

But on the other hand, there are a lot of things weighing on my mind that are giving me anxiety.  My professional experience here hasn't been quite the same amount of awesome as my personal experience.  As someone who absolutely loved her job in the US, it's hard to no longer be so lucky.  Don't get me wrong - work is generally fine, but it is tough, and there are a lot of differences that I'm still having trouble adjusting to, even as I approach the one year mark.  Some of it is me, I realize that, and some of it is Singapore, and some of it is random things specific to my situation.  But I haven't really figured out how to comfortably navigate through all of that.  But maybe that is the point?  To be a bit uncomfortable?

Also, I've alluded to this a bit before, but I feel like some big decisions are coming up for me, and I literally change my mind every other day.  I've often felt that when there are too many options available, I panic a little bit and let indecision paralyze me.  I'm hoping that doors will open and close in such a way that the right thing will be clear to me.  That method has worked well for me in the past, but I also want to be mindful of the fact that inaction is also a decision.

Heavy stuff.  Just thought I should be transparent about what's going on in my head these days.  It's not all vacations and fun ;)  Although I do have some great vacations and fun coming up.  In the meantime, if anyone has any advice or insight to share, please do.  Thanks guys!

Birthday recap and Bintan

After my super awesome trip to London, I got back to Singapore to celebrate my 30th birthday.  And while I had a virtual birthday dinner on the blog, I actually spent the afternoon at high tea!  A few friends and I went to one of the fancy hotels in town and indulged in their awesome afternoon high tea.  (I made sure to bring along a Brit so that I would do it right!)

Tray of treats - top row of sweets, middle row of savories, bottom row of sweets.  This tray was refillable and came with delicious scones and clotted cream and fresh jam!

After tea, we went over to another friend's apartment for a going away barbecue.  My friend Kat is coming to the end of her secondment (last day in the office is this Friday) and is leaving Singapore to head back to the UK.  Kat is the first friend I've had in Singapore to go back home (except for when Lena left the day after I arrived), so it's a bit weird for me to not really know if I will ever see her again!  We aren't incredibly close or anything, it's just weird to think about...

Anyway, I wrapped up my 30th birthday celebration this past weekend in Bintan, Indonesia.  Bintan is only about an hour away by ferry, so it was a quick and easy trip!  A group of about ten of us went over and had a fun weekend at the pool!

We stayed at a fun resort and never left the property.  When the bus from the ferry terminal dropped us off, we were greeted by some Indonesian dancers..

A friendly sign ensured that the resort wouldn't be smelly :)

The resort itself was pretty massive.  It had several restaurants and bars, and a few different types of accommodations.  We opted for a big villa!!

Pool!!!

We spent pretty much all day Saturday hanging out at the pool.  It was nice because it wasn't too crowded.  We had lunch and some drinks in the afternoon, and then we had dinner at a restaurant on the property in the evening.  Stephanie had bought me a "Happy Birthday" headband to wear, so everyone at the resort knew it was my birthday - that was pretty fun :)

Sunday was more pool time before getting on the ferry and heading back to Singapore and real life :(

Luckily, we are half-way through this week already!  I plan to have a pretty low key weekend, and then I leave for Africa next Tuesday night!!!!!

London Calling

Hi friends - just got back from London.  What a great city!!  I got to spend five days there, and it absolutely flew by.  There was so much to see and do and eat!  The weather was incredible while I was there.  Sunshine every day, and temperatures in the 60s for most of the day - I hadn't seen weather so nice since I was in Austin last fall.  I definitely welcomed the opportunity to comfortably walk around the city in jeans and a jacket :)

I landed late Friday afternoon.  There was enough time to do some strolling around (it stays light outside until at least 8pm) before an easy dinner and drinks night.

Saturday, I got to check out Borough Market, which was right next to our hotel.  Seriously - I felt like this place was made specifically for me.  I didn't snap a ton of pictures while we were there because I was too busy drooling over all the food, but seriously, this place was so awesome.  Tons of tasty stalls and shops selling all kinds of delicious things.  I could've spent all day there.

We were there for a couple of hours, and I enjoyed a delicious chorizo sandwich with rocket and roasted piquillo peppers, the best almond croissant I've ever had, a carrot-orange-lemon juice, my first Scotch egg, and tons of samples.  SO DELICIOUS.  Seriously, I can't tell you guys how much this place was right up my alley.  Such a shame that it wasn't open every day that I was there - I would've eaten all my meals there if I could!

As it stands, Borough Market is not open during the evenings, and most stalls are not open during the beginning of the week.  No matter - I still managed to eat very well in London!  Some of the highlights were fish & chips, Sunday roast, caramel biscuits, a smoked hake and tomato salad, and a super charming coffee shop that was everything you could ask for (great coffee, great food, great staff).

Most of the trip was just a lot of city exploring.  The weather was so great, and London is a fantastic place for walking.  We walked all along the Thames and throughout most of central London.

Bridge over the Thames - reminds me of the helix bridge in Singapore

St. Paul's Cathedral.  I love old churches - so beautiful

I loved all the architecture so much.

London Eye!

Tower Bridge

London Bridge

We also ended up walking through a bunch of the parks - Richmond, St James, Green Park, Hyde Park.. they were all so gorgeous.  And tons of people were out enjoying the weather!  It was really nice to be outside and be comfortable.  Singapore is usually pretty sunny, but it is basically unbearably hot, so you never really see people just hanging out outside.  It was such a nice change to be in London and see everyone with their picnic blankets just lazing in the sunshine.

Pathways in Richmond Park.  I really loved this park and was really regretful that I didn't bring any running clothes with me.

Loved all the green spaces

 

Just look at those flowers!!

We also spent an afternoon hitting a bunch of the museums.  I went to the Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the V&A Museum.  All of them were so different.  One of the highlights was actually a little tea break that we took while we were at the V&A. There is a really nice courtyard in the middle of the museum.. the sun was shining.. we had a casual cup of afternoon tea.. it was great.

Tate Modern

Courtyard at V&A

Tea break in the sunshine

 On my last night in London, we saw a show in the West End!  I had never heard of this particular play, but it was absolutely hilarious!!  A great end to a great trip.

One Man Two Guvnors at Haymarket

I seriously loved London so so so much.  After a couple of days at home in Singapore, I'm off to Indonesia this morning!  Hope everyone has a good weekend!