After a two week stint in Hong Kong, the next stop on our planned itinerary was China.  When reviewing our travel plans before departing from home, Rob and I had some long conversations on the places we would like to visit.  The country is so vast and environmentally diverse, the choices are endless.  From huge bustling cities filled with people, to backwater country towns, from sweeping desert in the North, to the towering mountains bordering Nepal on the West, and rolling hills in the South, we had to really pick out the eyes, or the “must-do’s” to fit in as much as allowed by our one month visa.  Considering the Lonely Planet guide book on China is about the same size as the one encompassing the whole of South East Asia, you can imagine that to choose the select few destinations was difficult.

Our journey to China started with an 18 hour overnight train ride to Shanghai.  Before crossing the border, we travelled through Hong Kong’s New Territories.  What we saw from the window reinforced our decision not to travel there, endless and endless rows of concrete housing blocks with no real scenery to speak of.  Each train compartment had six bunks so we had some cramped quarters for the night but we made do!  The train unfortunately stank of stale cigarette smoke, but at least it was relatively clean.  However the squat and dump toilet was not!  I became quite good at crouching over a hole in the floor, trying not to touch anything, while keeping balance on a rocking train!  We had heard on the news that the Chinese were building new high speed train lines across the country, going straight through towns and relocating the townspeople, and we saw that first hand on the train ride with whole abandoned towns and a concrete path going straight through it.  On our various train rides within China we even observed completely new cities, freshly built but standing empty, waiting for their new tenants.  Even the advertising boards were already up.

We arrived in Shanghai and pretty much hit the streets immediately after freshening up at the hotel, a Holiday Inn!  Accommodation was so reasonable compared to Hong Kong we decided to splurge and live in luxury for a few days.  On our wanderings through the city, we saw the major sites, but the experience was a bit unpleasant as a result of the amount of people – lots of pushing and shoving, as well as being knocked with handbags and prams!  We took the underground metro train to People’s Square, and from there spied that the Radisson Hotel was one of the highest buildings in the area.  Hoping for a view, we took the elevator to the top floor, which we discovered was a revolving restaurant.  After some sweet talking to the hostess by Rob we sneaked off a few photos before making a hasty retreat.  Some of the diners were giving us dirty looks!  We walked through the shopping district which wasn’t worth much to us as we are not shoppers by nature.  We were more interested in looking up at the heights of the skyscrapers than looking at what was on offer in the store windows.  We slowly made our way down to the river and strolled along the Bund, the city’s financial district dating back from the 1900’s, gawking at some very impressive old colonial architecture.  From our waterfront viewpoint we also managed to see the Oriental Pearl Tower as well as some other beautifully designed glass skyscrapers, some still in the process of construction, for example the Shanghai Tower which now soars above the other buildings.  We were lucky with the weather on the day we arrived as we were able to get some decent photos, despite the hazy air.  The next day was very misty and gloomy and we could hardly see 10m in front of us.

Following the Bund we walked through the backstreets, sampled some delicious chicken kebabs barbequed on the back of a hand drawn cart, and followed the map to Yuyuan Garden, a classic Chinese garden built during the late stages of the Ming Dynasty.  Beautifully restored after being severely damaged in the Opium Wars, we could have wandered the corridors, pavilions, halls, rockeries and cloisters for ages.  But the masses of people squeezed like sardines into a very small area made us sightsee in double quick time!  As mentioned before, the next day was miserable in terms of weather, but we still headed out and caught the metro across the river into the newer part of Shanghai.  We considered going to the aquarium but changed our minds when we saw the queues.  It wasn’t on our list of must-sees anyway.

The funniest moment for me though was going into a mall to use the public bathroom.  I walked in, and walked straight out again, calling down the corridor for Rob.  He came running in consternation thinking that I was ill, but all I wanted was the camera.  I had to take a picture of the fanciest toilet I have ever seen in my life.  Sitting down I had the choice of rear cleansing, soft rear cleansing, and front cleansing, all with different pressure options.  Did I forget to mention the dryer and powder deodorizer too?  A classic example of Chinese innovation!  We also had a good laugh when taking the so-called Bund train under the river.  Expecting something that highlighted the history on the Bund, it was simply a tram ride through a tunnel filled with psychedelic flashing lights.  What a disappointment.  More recently we were reminded of our time in Shanghai after watching a very stupid movie called “Her”, which was filmed there.  Each time we saw a cityscape or street shot we thought to ourselves, we’ve been there!

After two nights, we departed on another misty morning, Beijing bound on a high speed train – 303km/hr our top speed at one point!  We arrived to a freezing afternoon – the low predicted for that night was -9 degrees Celsius.  After dropping our bags at another Holiday Inn (lucky us!) we headed straight to the Birds Nest, the 2008 Olympic Stadium.  We snapped off a good few photos but it was too cold to stick around, and the sun was disappearing quickly, so we headed back to the hotel via a local restaurant to have the traditional Peking duck.  The meal was delicious, very tender meat accompanied by wraps, raw diced vegetables and various sauces.  We found the skin to be a bit too rich and oily for our tastes, and although we devoured it, it was a bit beyond our budget to have more than once!

The next day was a city sightseeing day.  Our first stop was Tiananmen Square, the site of violent protests in 1989, and was the square where the famous image was taken of a man refusing to budge from his position in front of a line of military tanks.  Following a meander around the Tiananmen Gate Tower, the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the National Museum of China we braced ourselves for the crowds in the Forbidden City.  Located right across the road from Tiananmen Square, it was a short walk but judging from the amounts of people lingering outside we thought we would be waiting for ages to be able to buy tickets and enter the complex.  But after doing some reconnaissance, we found that they were all tour groups and private individuals had a separate queue.  Of course we were accosted by multiple “tour guides” offering their services, which included a discounted entrance ticket and a private tour.  We politely declined, preferring to explore the compound in our own time.  Rob likes to run around all over the place taking photos while I take a more leisurely approach following behind, and we didn’t want to be restricted by a guide.  It was wonderful walking through the old City, soaking up the traditional Chinese architecture.  The compound seemed never ending, moving from courtyard to courtyard.  And the various landmarks are so eloquently named, for example, we entered through The Gate of Heavenly Peace, and we viewed great halls called The Hall of Supreme Harmony and The Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility, just to name a few.  Exiting through The Gate of Divine Might, we walked into Jingshan Park, located behind the Forbidden City.  The park contains an artificial hill made entirely of the soil excavated when constructing moats around the Forbidden City, and the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at the base of this hill.  After the crowds of the Forbidden City we encountered even more people in the old town, or the Hutong as it is known, the next stop on our walk.  The Hutong is formed by narrow alleys lined by old courtyard residences, more often than not designed around a well.  As if we hadn’t done enough this day, we also caught the train to the Summer Palace, the largest and most well-preserved royal park.  It has a huge man-made lake, frozen at the time of our visit, with a beautiful arched bridge across to one of the three islands in it.  The various sites were great in terms of their architecture, but the hordes of people made us want to just get the photo and get the hell out!   If I ever thought that seven cruise liners throwing up tourists onto the Acropolypse in Athens was a lot of people I was wrong!   As we found in Hong Kong, the majority of the tourists seem to be either Chinese or at least of some kind of Eastern descent.  Perhaps this is just our Western perception of common courtesy, but we found that in public places, the locals didn’t have any concept of personal space, had no respect for people and things around them, and had no manners.  For example we had seen two cases of youngsters not wearing nappies so the dad was either holding the child over a dustbin for a pee, or just let the kid pee directly on the floor of the subway!  We were also constantly being jostled and shoved around so we eventually become ruthless and start pushing and shoving ourselves just to get where we need to go, like off a train!

Our absolute highlight of Beijing was our trip to the Great Wall.  We woke up super early so we could miss the crowds.  We chose a less touristy part of the Wall and were rewarded as a result.  What a great day!  It was extremely cold, but luckily we had on our layers.  After an hour’s bus ride to a nearby town, we tried to find out about a connecting bus to the Wall.  Struggling to communicate with the local bus driver, we eventually determined with a help of a young student, that there were no busses headed in that direction (one example of our Lonely Planet leading us astray).  We negotiated with a taxi driver, who drove us to the Wall, waited in the parking lot for us to finish our jaunt, and then drove us back to town in time to catch the next bus back into Beijing.  We bought a combination ticket, getting us up the mountain to the base of the Wall by ski-lift, and down again by toboggan!  Although the horizon was a bit hazy, the general visibility in the vicinity of the Wall was relatively good.  We had a good few hours walking along the top of it, which snaked its way along the mountain ridge and got some wonderful shots.  Who would have ever thought we’d be standing on one of the most famous man-made structures visible from space?!  Looking at the size of the blocks used for construction, it was mind-boggling to think how back-breakingly difficult it must have been to haul all that material up an extremely steep mountain.  We had a bit of a couple’s tiff on the way back down to the parking lot.  The photo of the toboggan shows us all happy, which at the time we were.  Energized by our time marvelling at what we had just done, and excited by the prospect of a different way down the mountain, the toboggan ride started off well.  But me being cautious by nature, I wasn’t going as fast as Rob wanted me to go.  I eventually had to shout at him to back off, as all I heard behind me was “go faster, go faster”.  I think I started talking to him only once we got back to Beijing!  Next time he’s going in front and can go as fast as he wants to!

Shanghai and Beijing were very clean cities although there was a lot of pollution in the air – but it was not as bad as projected on the TV.  The streets are litter free – the only major con was the globules of saliva dotting the pavements – spitting is common practice and the noisy build up and act of it is nauseating.  It was also the middle of the Chinese New Year celebrations so every night in Beijing it sounded like we were in a Beirut warzone with the amount of fireworks and crackers going off!  They also went off unexpectedly in the middle of the night which made us jump!  Our last night in Beijing was spent mostly awake watching the colours light up the night sky, being impossible to fall asleep with the noise.  Eventually the bangs stopped, and we were able to drift off.  We woke the next morning to a white city following a heavy snowfall!  I thought that this was just great, and we headed outdoors to play a bit.  That is until I slipped and fell on my bum.  Thereafter my opinions changed, along with my walking style, moving at a snail’s pace in case I slipped again.

After four days in Beijing, we took an overnight train to Xi’an, the city marking the Eastern end of the Silk Road.  We arrived before 06h00 in the morning, and made our way to the hostel we had found in the guidebook.  No more hotels for us, back to bumming it in a backpacker’s!  Luckily the place had a 24 hour reception, and we were able to get a hot cup of coffee to thaw our frozen bodies.  The snow was heavier here than in Beijing and we were suffering with the cold.  After getting a room sorted, we immediately headed to the bus station and caught a bus to the Terracotta Warriors.  An hour later and we were entering the museum and archaeological digging areas.  Although impressive on a grand scale, we were a bit disappointed in terms of the viewing as the clay soldiers are further away than expected so you missed a lot of the detail which is shown in photographs.  For example, not one of the soldiers looks the same, but from the distance we were standing, we couldn’t tell the difference.  We also didn’t know that the work of exposing the warriors is ongoing, and is a very labour intensive process.  We were very happy to have seen them though.

The next morning was set aside for exploring the old part of Xi’an itself.  The original city is surrounded by a huge wall, which makes for a long walk, and provides wonderful aerial views of how the area has expanded.  After about an hour I had had enough of slipping on the ice, as it had snowed again the previous night.  So this time instead of Rob striding ahead of me, I was the one leading while he followed.  This didn’t happen very often!  After the wall, we walked to starting point of the Silk Road.  With it being one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, we just had to see it.  The area is marked with a small arch and some pretty impressive sculptures, surrounded by landscaped gardens.  We then decided to take the scenic route (read: we got lost) back to the hostel.  Eventually we found the main road dividing the city in half, and popped into what looked like a very upmarket hotel to ask for directions.  Unfortunately it was a place that rented rooms by the hour, and with a slight communication gap in a sense we don’t speak Chinese, and the receptionists didn’t speak any English, they were convinced we wanted a room.  Following some impromptu charades, as well as a bit if Pictionary, with us using many hand gestures, and eventually pen and paper, they understood what we needed and helped us on our way!  One more noisy night in the hostel (it was karaoke night) and we were off to Chengdu, land of pandas.

Xi’an to Chengdu was a bit of an uncomfortable journey for us as we could only get sitting tickets on the train.  We couldn’t adjust the backrest, as the seats are back-to-back benches so our backs took a bit of strain.  What made it worthwhile though was travelling through the mountains covered in snow – postcard stuff!  As we progressed along the way, the carriage emptied out and we were eventually able to lie down and grab some zzz’s.  We arrived in Chengdu at 05h00 in the morning in the freezing cold.  Luckily the Lazybones hostel we were staying at had a room we could crash in for a few hours to try and recover!  We took a local bus, which was made of wood, at about 09h00 to the Giant Panda Research Centre located just outside of town.  We were pretty impressed with the facilities there.  The enclosures are quite large, giving the pandas lots of roaming room, and they were very clean.  The pandas themselves looked healthy and well-kept.  This was definitely another highlight for us to see them up close and personal.  Not close enough for a cuddle although they looked extremely huggable!  We wandered around the centre for a few hours, and also managed to see the Red Panda which we both haven’t seen before.  The next day was a 2 hour bus ride to Leshan to see the Giant Buddha – a massive Buddha 71 meters tall carved into the cliff side.  Arriving in town, we caught a local bus to the wharf.  We had a bit of a mishap in that we missed the stop where we needed to get off in order to get to the tour boat.  But the positive of this was that we travelled on the bus to the end of its route and back again and got better insight into daily town life.  Unfortunately the weather didn’t play ball and it was cold and raining most of the day.  We froze our bums off on the tour boat we took to view the Buddha from the river.  The tour was shorter than expected but it was so cold we didn’t mind too much!   Our other alternative was to actually walk down some very steep steps and stand at the base of the Buddha but from that perspective you can’t see any of it.  Once off the boat we strolled along the streets and stumbled across a pedestrian road lined with dumpling houses, and more dumpling houses.  We needed no encouragement to enter one, and pointing at the best picture on the menu, we ordered two batches of dumplings, one each!  The look of surprise given to us by the waitress should have been an indication that we had done something unusual, but being oblivious we waited in anticipation for our meal.  Out came the two steaming bamboo pots, and they were loaded with dumplings, at least 16 each.  No wonder we got a strange look from the staff.  We later observed an entire family of four sharing just one pot.  Oh well, we were hungry and they were delicious!  The last day in Chengdu was just a stroll around the city and making plans for onward travel.

A short two hour train ride from Chengdu, we arrived in Chongqing on Valentine’s Day.  We wanted to catch a boat near here to see the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River but because of train ticket availability we gave this a miss.  We recently read of a cruise liner actually sinking on the river after encountering some bad weather so we don’t feel too bad for not doing the cruise!  We dropped bags at the hostel and wandered around town a bit – very busy, with very steep hills to climb!  Again we were just surrounded by people.  We noticed tons of hair salons for some or other reason and must have seen at least 20 in a square kilometre, which was ironic as at the time Rob was in desperate need of a haircut!  We caught the cable car across the river and managed to see the city lights too.  We didn’t do anything in Chongqing.  It was more of a transit stop because that was the only way we could get train tickets to Kunming, our next destination.  The most memorable part of Chongqing was that it was the city we first tasted Chinese steamed pork buns, simple dumplings but stuffed with pork filling and gravy.  As we were walking around town, these buns of pure bliss were being cooked on the side of the road and we couldn’t resist sampling one.  One turned into four, and each day after that we took the same trek up the hill to buy more for our lunch!  The downside of Chongqing was the smog and air pollution.  If ever there were concerns about the smog in Beijing during the Olympics, the critics should have moved south to see what it was really like.  The only time we saw blue sky since leaving Beijing was when we arrived in Yuanyang two weeks later.  Funnily enough, the guidebook described Chongqing as being a moderate-sized city.  Well, that’s only if you consider a city of 20 million people moderate!  By our count, we saw at least 30 skyscrapers in the process of construction.

After Chongqing, we started our long journey south to Yuanyang, long being the operative word.  After a gruelling 27 hour train journey, sitting again in what really felt like cattle class, a few hours shut eye in a sex hotel in Kunming (unknown to us when arriving late at night!) and another 8 hour bus journey filled with coughing, spluttering and vomiting passengers, we finally arrived in the small village of Duoyisho outside of the town of Yuanyang to see the famed terraced rice paddies.  Again the weather wasn’t that great – we drove through a lot of mist and rain but when we got higher on the mountain we managed to get some spectacular views of the terraces from the minibus which took us from town to the village guesthouse.  Our first morning there and we woke to no power in the village, and a valley filled with mist.  Later in the day the fog lifted and we could get some photos of the terraces.  The epitome of China – as in being pushed and shoved around – was again highlighted as I got pushed aside from the railing from a scenic spot because I didn’t have a camera and was apparently taking up valuable space!  I was feeling a bit miserable at this point as it seemed I must have caught a cold from somewhere along our travels.  So with watery eyes and a running nose, working my way through tons of tissues, we walked through the terraced paddies and through town to try and get the best photos.  Along with the Great Wall, the terraces are another man-made marvel, with the steep slopes of a 2000m high mountain carved out by hand to make millions of rice paddies.

Our second day in Yuanyang had us travelling by minivan into the main town to book onward bus tickets to the Vietnam border.  That accomplished we wanted to take a taxi back to the guesthouse but the drivers wanted to charge us an exorbitant fee.  We started walking back in the hope of hitching a lift somewhere along the road.  Unlucky for us, we had to walk all the way and as we reached the entrance to the rice terraces, we were stopped and asked for our tickets.  What tickets?  Apparently we had to pay an entrance fee when we arrived, but this was overlooked when we took a local bus to get to the guesthouse.  Now I was completely peeved.  First we had to walk over 10km from town to the checkpoint, me with a streaming cold, now we had to pay extra to get to our guesthouse.  And we still had another 8km or so of more walking.  Next thing we know a very fancy car stopped next to us and the driver offered us a lift.  Thankfully we climbed in, next to two other passengers, and could sit back and relax.  The driver said he would take us to the lookout point nearest our guesthouse.  As we arrived in the parking lot, the security guard at the boom gate suddenly jumped to attention, and saluted us as we drove through.  We later found out that it was the Mayor himself, together with the Chief of Police, who gave us a ride!  Bad mood forgotten instantly!

The morning of our departure from China saw us taking a minivan taxi into town and catching a bus to the border town of Hekou.  The ride started well as we took an alternative road down the mountain and into the valley.  It was slow going with the switchback curves and potholed road, but upon reaching the highway we picked up some speed.  Somehow though, a few passengers convinced the driver to deviate from the main road, and we continued the rest of the journey on the country back roads.  This probably doubled our travel time which was frustrating because we still needed to cross the border into Vietnam that day, and organize our onward train tickets to Hanoi.  The drive was well worth it though because we drove through hundreds of kilometres of banana plantations, and saw thousands of green bananas being loaded up for transport across the country, and we think exporting.  We stopped for lunch at a makeshift roadside cafe, and ordered lunch by looking in the cook’s pots and pointing to what we wanted.  We arrived in Hekou mid afternoon, got ourselves to the border and crossed into Vietnam, country number three on the list.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in China, loved the sights and loved the food.  The people however left a lot to be desired.  Their lack of ability to queue, and their habit of spitting were our pet peeves.  Looking back the queuing situation was actually pretty humorous.  At any public toilet, I had to choose a door and literally stand on top of it, waiting for the occupant inside to finish.  Once the door opened, I had to jostle my way in before the person had fully exited.  If I didn’t do this, someone behind me would push in and take my place!  So we were both happy to leave and head to warmer weather.  Rob was especially happy to donate the guide book to the restaurant on the border, which made his pack at least 1kg lighter!  Three weeks definitely wasn’t enough time to see the country, so we definitely charged through China!  Will we go back?  Well, only time will tell!

Hong Kong

Our 2014 South East Asia odyssey started with many tears on the day of our departure, first saying goodbye to my Mom, and then again at the airport saying goodbye to my brother.  This would be the first time I would be away from my family for so long and to say I was a bit apprehensive was an understatement.  Hands shaking and heart pounding, through border control we went, and after wiping away my sniffles and receiving a loving hug and kiss from Rob, I began to feel less emotional.  I was still nervous though, two flights to get through and I really don’t like flying.  We finally arrived in Hong Kong about midday local time, after a long 10 hour flight to Singapore, a short transit in Changi International Airport, then another four hour leg to Hong Kong.  Both of us didn’t get much sleep but we were much too excited about arriving in a new destination to feel tired.  Watch out Hong Kong, the backpackers have arrived!  We realized very quickly that one of the joys of Hong Kong (as well as China and Singapore) was the extremely efficient public transport system.  From the airport we took the express train to the Central MTR (the underground train network) and caught another line to the area where we were staying (Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island).

My first taste of a backpacker establishment… a cubbyhole of a room, a bathroom where you shower over the toilet (which was to become the norm as we went along) and dodgy bed linen (well, in my opinion at least, Rob can sleep anywhere and on anything).  A quick unpack, including my sleeping bag, as there was no chance of any part of me touching that bed, a short siesta then we hit the streets for a strudge around the neighbourhood to walk off the jetlag.  One picture from our Hong Kong gallery shows me looking like a complete zombie, definitely not a blog worthy shot!  An early night and we were all set to do the tourist thing the next morning.

After two and a half days we had basically seen the whole territory!  We discovered that it was much more expensive in terms of food and accommodation than originally anticipated so we had to watch our spending a bit.  We spent the first couple of days exploring Hong Kong Island, including Victoria Peak (affectionately referred to as “The Peak” by the locals) which gave us great views of the island itself and the Kowloon side.  We also wandered around SoHo, the zoological and botanical gardens and one of the bigger city parks.  The heights of the skyscrapers are unbelievable, standing at the bottom, craning your neck to look up them towering above you, and there is no determining where the top is.  And with space being so limited, the buildings are just getting higher and higher.

The area is also really clean, with signs everywhere threatening expensive fines for littering, and signs explicitly stating no spitting (a really disgusting habit we later saw in China).  Across the harbour, we found Kowloon to be very busy, as a cruise liner had just moored and the streets were teeming with European tourists.  And being a shopping mecca, with just labels and more labels, it was not our scene at all.

A highlight from a family point of view is that we met up with Scott and Matt, the sons of one of Rob’s cousins.  They took us to a great Indian restaurant for dinner on the Kowloon side.  The curries were great, with really authentic flavours, but the sweet milky tea we had afterwards was stomach-turning.  The location was a bit dodgy, with the restaurant located on the upper floors of a run-down mall filled with Indian men just staring at me (I realize now after having travelled through Malaysia that the male Indian population do just stare at white girls, so I eventually accustomed to being gawked at).

After dinner the four of us took the ferry across the harbour, and caught a crazy bus ride back up to The Peak, taking switchback corners at breakneck speeds with us sitting on the upper level and right in front of a double decker bus holding on for dear life.  We wandered around a trail which gave us great nightscapes of the city.  The view is a complete contrast, by day the skyscrapers are veiled in haze, but by night the city comes alive with bright lights sparkling below us, the colours varying constantly with each change of the electronic advertising boards scattered around.  The fact we were able to walk around this trail at night blew our minds.  Coming from crime-ridden South Africa, doing something like this at home is unheard of if you care anything about your personal safety.

My 32^nd birthday was spent on the south side of Hong Kong Island.  It started off very well with us taking the bus to Stanley.  Our route took us up and over the mountain which separates the north part from the south part of the island, and the road seemed to be popular with cyclists.  Why exactly we’re not sure because each time the bus overtook a cyclist, the driver left less than a hair’s breadth of space between bus and bike.  Stanley we found to be very cosmopolitan as it was where we found the expats so it had a very European feel, with a pronounced cafe culture.  With very few tall buildings, it had more of a country town feel than big city life.  I dipped my toe into the freezing South China Sea just to say I’ve done it, but almost lost it from frostbite!  From Stanley we caught the bus to Repulse Bay and walked the coastline to Aberdeen.  Repulse Bay looks to be more like a holiday resort, quiet at the time we passed through but one wonders how busy it becomes in the summer.  Aberdeen was just another mecca skyscraper city.  We took a local sampan boat around the harbour and saw the mega rich playboy yachts moored next to poor fishing boats – quite a contrast.  My birthday deteriorated slightly from this point.  After unsuccessfully trying to find a place for lunch, we ended up walking for ages without really having a known destination.  It was just walking and more walking hoping to come across a place to eat, but ultimately reached a dead end which housed a retirement complex – literally and figuratively the end of the road!  Luckily the buses did a U-turn in their circuits here so we caught a bus back to Causeway Bay.

An absolute highlight was jumping off at Happy Valley racetrack – this is referenced in a Stephen Leather book (The Vets) which we’ve both read so it was great to get to see it for real.  We even managed to stand on the grassy race track at the finish line in front of the owners’ suites in the grandstand.

One thing unique to Hong Kong is that a lot of the buildings on the south side, especially in Aberdeen, have holes built into the design.  We’ve read that folklore says dragons, who are bearers of good fortune, live in the hills behind the buildings and having holes in the skyscrapers allows them access to the water of the bay.  Seems the locals are a superstitious lot!

We hiked Dragons Back trail on the east side of Hong Kong Island which was very scenic, and ended in the villages of Big Wave Bay and Shek-O, a playground for the super rich.  All along the route you could hear the supercars roaring around the corners on the road below us – we’re talking Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati… just some of the cars we saw pulling into the beach parking lot of Shek-O.  The trail was also labelled as a mountain bike route although it looked especially technical in some parts, not for the faint-hearted rider.

We had a bit of a hiccup when trying to book onward rail tickets to Shanghai, but this was partly due to our lack of planning.  We were backpackers remember so pre-booking anything was not our intention.

We had an idea of when Chinese New Year was, but not the exact date.  But as we were to find out on two different occasions, any period before, during, or after Chinese New Year, or any school holiday for that matter, is an absolute no-no for travel in China.  So because the trains were full up until the end of January, we had to stay in Hong Kong for one week longer than we had originally planned.  We were in a bit of a dilemma as to what we were going to do.  Our accommodation was expensive (but one of the cheapest in the city) and we had seen and done everything we wanted to.  What now, we thought to ourselves, as we sat on the Kowloon waterfront pondering our next move.  Should we head to the Northern Territories?  Out came the Lonely Planet, and after reading a few pages, the answer was a definite no.  So after a visit to the Tourism Authority we decided to move to one of the outlying islands called Lamma Island until we left for China.

Lamma Island was a quiet, restful place compared to the city.   Well, except for one night where the locals decided to celebrate New Year a couple of days early and set off a whole box of firecrackers right beneath our room window.  We both got the fright of our lives when we suddenly heard BANG BANG BOOM as the crackers exploded continuously for what felt like hours.  But most of the time, it was very laidback which was a welcome relief after the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong Island.  It also housed a surprising amount of expats, but most looked very hippy-ish.  Accommodation was cheaper here but food was unbelievably expensive in the harbour front restaurants.  Luckily we found one or two local places a bit off the beaten track to have our meals.  We ate the most delicious fried vegetable dumplings almost every morning we were there!

The island is a bit run down and with our exploring we noticed that some of the villages had an abandoned look and feel to it.  There is also a massive coal power station, and a wind turbine to generate additional energy.  A nice place for a few days but we were both looking forward to moving on.

 

Macau

Before relocating to Lamma Island, we took the ferry to Macau, the Vegas of the East, for a day trip.  A former Portuguese colony, it is a trio of islands also filled with skyscrapers and gaudy casinos.  We spent the morning wandering around the old town, with me having to do running repairs to my toes which weren’t enjoying the kilometres and kilometres of walking we had been doing.  It was on the streets of the tourist district that we came across a really tasty snack, but I have no idea what it is called.  Different varieties of ground pork meat pounded into oblivion to form flat sheets of deliciousness.

After exploring the Old Fortress and the remains of St Pauls church, we caught a bus to one of the bigger casinos, The Venetian.  There are only two words to describe this establishment… pure opulence.  The gaming floor was at least the same size as a football field, and the commercial strip even had an indoor canal, complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers clad in the traditional striped shirts and bashers.

After a busy morning, the worms were crawling so we sought out something for lunch.  Sad to say but McDonalds was the cheapest thing we could find, but compared to prices back home, it was the most expensive McDonalds meal we’ve ever had.  I can’t say there was anything Chinese about the burger I had, but then again I’d rather not question what the meat patty was!  The hotels and casinos are top class, but extremely expensive and unbelievably busy.  There were very few Westerners – all the tourists seemed to be from mainland China.  Most of the locals were a strange mix of Portuguese and Chinese ancestry, and it was disorientating to hear Portuguese as the spoken language.  The town was also filled with lots and lots of motorbikes and scooters (but this didn’t even compare to what we saw in Vietnam a month later).

Our experiences in Hong Kong were a great introduction to the mannerisms of the Chinese population, and after two weeks we were ready to hit the road (or in this case, train) bound for Shanghai.  Keep your eyes on our blog – China post coming next!

While having a late night texting conversation during our long-distance dating phase, the idea of backpacking South East Asia was born.  Having travelled internationally often in the past few years for work purposes, I had racked up a few hundred thousand frequent flier miles and was pondering on how to use them.  Rob came up with the idea of South East Asia… fly into Hong Kong and work our way around the continent over a few months, ending up in Indonesia, from where we would fly home.  Me, backpack?!  I considered this with some trepidation as all my previous travel experiences had been limited to package tours and good quality hotels.  I wasn’t so sure about the whole youth hostel scene, assuming that all backpacker and budget accommodation were filled with hippies, strange bugs and dirty linen!  I’m over 30, Rob is over 40, aren’t all these places filled with kids on gap years more interested in getting high, I thought to myself.  At this point I was still working, so I think my real fear lay in having to resign from my job and source of income, and leaving my comfort zone of my 9 to 5 Monday to Friday (sometimes Saturdays too), and enjoying my weekend with my family.  Packing up and heading into the unknown also meant me having to leave my two dogs, although my Mom is an ever-willing dog sitter, having looked after (and spoilt) them each time I’ve travelled for work.  Rob had no hesitation in wanting to go.  He had been to South East Asia before, but only Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, and was really keen to take me there so I could experience it for myself.  I think I procrastinated for about a week, doing some research into flight availability and reading up a bit more about the various countries we would visit if we had to go.  After a few serious conversations with my Mom, who is one of my confidantes and a great sounding board, the idea of heading into the unknown became more and more appealing.  The real turning point in cementing my decision came after a conversation with my manager at the time.  She was talking to me about wanting to buy a caravan so she and her husband could take their two young children camping.  Her husband was a bit hesitant, and she countered by saying, “If not now, when?”  This really struck a chord with me, and got me thinking… If I don’t do this now, when will I do it?  Case and point: my parents had been talking about travelling around South Africa when they retired, but sadly my Dad passed away unexpectedly before reaching this milestone.  This was another reminder for me to take advantage of opportunities as and when they present themselves.  And backpacking around South East Asia with my life companion was definitely an opportunity not to be missed…

I really thought that once we had finished the Kili climb, we were done with mountains.  However that was not to be.  I know these mountains don’t exactly compare to what we accomplished by climbing to 5895m above sea level, but some are ticks off my bucket list, and others are “wow” for us in terms of their location.  So below is a log of our climbs so far… as I commented to Rob coming down from Mount Talau, the summits are mounting up (pun intended, hee hee)!

Table Mountain (1075m) – Cape Town

The Helderberg Dome (1137m) – Somerset West

Dragon’s Back (277m) – Hong Kong (known as the best urban hiking trail in Asia)

Bukit Timah (163m) – Singapore (the highest point in Singapore!)

Sierra Negra (1124m) – Galapagos

Mount Talau (131m) – Vava’u, Tonga

Following our successful climb of Kilimanjaro, Rob and I decided to undertake our first road trip together.  I still had a week of leave following the Kili trip and Rob was at loose ends, so to the Garden Route it was!  We spent a night with my mom in Johannesburg after returning from Tanzania, and then early the next morning, as in 06h00 to be exact, we had a flight down to Cape Town.  After some quick helloes and regaling of Kili tales to Rob’s family, we hit the road in good ol’ Bakkie, an Opel Corsa Utility and Rob’s sturdy steed for the past couple of years.  Up and over Sir Lowry’s Pass from Somerset West, on past Caledon, destination for the night yet unknown. About 400km later, we arrived in George and the weather started turning a bit nasty.  We had been munching on some padkos (direct translation for our international friends: road food) but decided we were starting to feel a bit weary and made the call to head to the small village of Wilderness a little further down the coast.  Rob had done a solo road trip along this stretch of South Africa a few years back and told me about this great place he stayed in called The Pomodoro.  Well The Pomodoro was the restaurant but the accommodation was called The Old Post Office Lodge.  Located right in the centre of the village it was a perfect stopover for the night.  Unpacked our bags and headed right for the beach, a long expanse of white sand stretching for ages on either side of us.  The sand between our toes and salty air was a great rejuvenator before enjoying a dinner at The Pomodoro.  Now I have to warn you, I don’t really remember much about this trip as at this stage I wasn’t keeping a travel journal.  However what both of us do remember is the great food we had along the way so this post is going to be one for the foodies!

So the first night in Wilderness was a night of pizza.  Who goes to an Italian themed restaurant and not orders Italian, right?  My limited food boundaries were tested slightly after not seeing any traditional toppings, so I opted for a ham and artichoke pizza, while Rob had an anchovy one.  Although normally a fan of a thick base, these were delightfully thin and crispy, and I must say, really tasty.  And the bacon and cheese omelettes we had for breakfast the next morning were out of this world – light, fluffy and creamy and overflowing with filling, it set us up for the rest of the day.  We decided to stay another night in Wilderness so that morning after breakfast, we headed off further East to the Storms River Mouth.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking along the coast.  We saw the bridge for bungee jumping but there was no way we were stopping there… I’m not a good flier at the best of times, willing the time spent in any metal bird away as quickly as possible, so jumping out of planes, or jumping off buildings or bridges are definitely on my “Not Going To Happen” list.

At Storms River Mouth we spent a good few hours wandering around the day trails, and spent time on the famed suspension bridges.  We spied the start of the Otter Trail (one of the best hiking trails in South Africa), and our exchanged look said it all – another thing to add to our list of things to do together.  This list is getting longer and longer every day!  We then took a slow meandering drive back to Wilderness, popping into Knysna to have a look-see at the Knysna Heads, which is a break in the mountains providing an entrance for boats into the lagoon.  We got some great views up there, and saw a small sailing vessel waiting for the opportunity between swells to make its approach into the lagoon.  We found a great lagoon-side restaurant where we enjoyed deep fried fish and calamari for lunch – scrumptious!  On our way back to our lodgings we intercepted the famed Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe train, a steam-powered train running along the Garden Route, but couldn’t get pictures unfortunately.

An early night, followed by another wonderful omelette and we were on our way to our next stop in Bredasdorp.  Instead of sticking to the National Highway we took the back roads, hugging the coastline and popped in at Witsand to do some whale spotting as it was the season that the Southern Right Whales are in the area to breed.  We managed to spot a few quite a way off the coast and were happy with the sightings.  At that stage we never thought that two years later we would actually be swimming with whales (but more on that in another post!).  The closest I got to a whale here was a replica model on the shore!  We had a minor but panicky delay after leaving Witsand as I couldn’t find the camera, and was convinced it had fallen out of my lap and onto the road when climbing out the car at one stage.  So off we race back to the last place I remember having it, searching the whole area where we parked, even asking some of the locals if they had by chance seen it and picked it up.  No camera… and at this stage we hadn’t downloaded our Kilimanjaro pics yet.  I had another rummage around our stuff lying underneath the cubby hole and lo and behold, there was the camera pushed way back into the depths covered by the map book.  Huge sigh of relief!

Our lunch stop for the day was in Malgas located on the banks of the Breede River a little bit inland from the coast.  Rob’s parents used to have a house here so we decided to pass through so I could get a feel for the place, with the possibility of us buying property for ourselves.  To cross the river to get into the settlement we had to drive onto a pont, and two men literally pulled us across the river.  Malgas isn’t a town as such, it consists of about 20-25 houses lining the river, with a hotel and bush pub.  It’s a very pretty area, the only thing putting us off about the place is the amount of poisonous snakes around… I’m not sure about having to look out for King Cobras and the like coming into my house!  After a lunch of toasted hamburgers and chips, we headed along a great dirt road into Bredasdorp about 50km away.  We found a very quaint bed and breakfast located in the centre of town and by luck they had a room available for us without a pre-booking.  Up the stairs we lugged our bags and found ourselves in an old Victorian style room, complete with four poster bed and free-standing Victorian tub in the middle of the room.  After wandering around town for a bit we came across a kitted-out Land Rover that had travelled from the UK down through Africa to Cape Town.  An idea popped into our heads… another potential trip?  But only sticking to Southern Africa?  On to the list it went – Southern Africa by Land Rover.  Keep posted on this one.

Now before I mentioned that this was going to be a food post.  And the best breakfast by far on this road trip was in the chic little cafe located on the ground floor beneath our bed and breakfast.  Having free choice from the menu as breakfast was included in our room rate, we both decided to try something unusual.  Toast with tomato, scrambled egg, bacon and cheese.  What’s unusual about this you may ask?  The toast was smothered in pesto which we had both never tried for breakfast before.  Our mouths water at the memory of this meal – and perhaps it is the only thing in Bredasdorp worth going back for!

After filling our tummies we headed back to the coast and to Cape Agulhas, the most southern tip of Africa and saw the meeting points of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.  Another scenic coastal drive and we landed up at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve where we stopped for a very fancy three-course lunch.  It set us back a bit, more than we would normally spend on a meal but was so worth it.

There after we drove into Hermanus for more whale watching and found a place to stay for the night.  Hermanus was a bit of a disappointment for us.  The whales decided that the bay wasn’t where they wanted to be so we didn’t have any more sightings.  To add to this, the weather turned foul with lots of rain and wind, and our room in the bed and breakfast we found had a very, very squeaky bed!

Last day of our road trip and we headed back to Somerset West via Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay.  We were a bit quiet as in a couple of hours I would be leaving to fly back home to Johannesburg.  After a quick lunch gathering with Rob’s mom and brother, real life started to interfere and we had to make the airport run.  Parting at the airport gate was extremely difficult, as at this stage we had no idea when we would be seeing each other again.  But clearly we made a plan or else I wouldn’t be here writing this blog today!  One of the many positives of this trip was it was our first trip travelling together in “normal circumstances and it was a great introduction to the many others we would be taking together.  More stories coming soon!

Before even knowing that Rob existed, I had signed up for an expedition to climb Africa’s highest mountain as part of a fundraising activity for a local branch of the SPCA.  During our long distance emails, I told Rob about it and he thought to himself, wow, this would be a great accomplishment for his life CV and decided to sign up with me.  I have to admit that I had my reservations about us doing something so challenging so early on in our budding romance.  Those of you who thought travelling internationally together, or camping together, are challenges on their own, put those two together and add a 5895m high mountain to the equation.  Talk about a serious relationship test!  Tent mates we were to be, so we would find out very early on who would be the snorer and who would be the farter.  2 September 2013 dawned and we left Johannesburg, bound for Tanzania with 23 other animal enthusiasts.  After a couple of hours travel time we arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport, only to find that half of our bags were still sitting in Nairobi because there wasn’t enough space in the baggage hold of the plane.  The advice of “wear your hiking boots on the plane” rang very true in this situation.  “Not to worry,” we were told by Sean Disney, our expedition leader, “this happens all the time.  Your bags will arrive on the next flight and you’ll have your stuff in the morning.”  Luckily his experience proved right and we were able to set off for the park gate after only a few hours delay.  Our hike started well, and by 17h00 had reached Camp One for the night, at an altitude of over 2000m above sea level.

Nights on the mountain were restless affairs.  We were both taking Diamox to help with altitude sickness, and one of the side effects is frequent urination.  Although this only seemed to affect me (Rob didn’t experience a single side effect, not from Diamox, nor from the altitude itself).  So this meant me having to dig around my kit for my head torch (because despite you putting it in what you think is an accessible place you can still never find it when you need it), wiggle my way out of a warm sleeping bag, try and get some shoes on, unzip the tent and stumble my way to the toilet tent (toilet being generous to describe a bucket with a toilet seat placed on it), stumbling back trying to find the right tent, and then trying to get warm again, only to repeat the process at least another two to three times before morning.  And man was it cold, and it would only get colder as we climbed higher.

Washing every morning was done with a bowlful of treated water, enough to wash face, underarms, and girl and boy parts.  So you can imagine the bliss of a hot shower once reaching the hotel after 5 dirty days on the mountain.  Two washes later and the water going down the drain was still brown!

Day Two we set off and headed further up the mountain, walking at a very slow pace as to allow us to acclimatize faster.  So we had plenty time to stop, take pictures, soak up the scenery and whenever Uhuru Peak was in view, take a moment to think about the enormity of what we were undertaking.  Our route wasn’t direct and we headed away from the summit base camp and took a more circular trail to give us more time on the mountain.  At this stage we had already climbed above the cloud level.  This day was a relatively long one walking wise, trekking the entire morning with a couple of rest stops, having a long lunch break on the trail, and then walking into the late afternoon before reaching camp.  Throughout the day (and this occurred every day for that matter) we were constantly on the lookout for our train of porters.  We were extremely lucky to have a whole team who carried our main kit bags, as well as our tents, sleeping mats, mess tent and food supplies, so by the time we arrived at camp each evening (and sometimes our lunch stop) everything was set up and waiting for us.  Every day we had warm breakfasts, lunches and dinners with great snacks on the table while we waited as well as hot coffee, tea and Milo.  These little creature comforts helped make the experience so memorable.  Our porters were a really special bunch.  Aside from carrying our gear, these young (and sometimes old) men would also be hauling their own kit with them, each carrying a load of up to 15kg, but the pace at which they walked with their loads would put most fitness enthusiasts to shame.  As we wandered up the trails, you would hear a freight train of footsteps pounding the dirt behind you, with calls of “PORTERS, PORTERS”, and a group of 10 to 15 porters came steaming past you, not once breaking their stride and they were able to shout a greeting of “JAMBO”.  They weren’t even out of breath while here the rest of us were panting our way up the mountain.

Over and above this, our head porter Edwin was tasked with carrying the SPCA mascot, Tanzanite so the entire journey he had a furry stuffed dog in his arms (and he was 65 years old at the time!).

The highlight of Day Two would be one of Rob’s comments.  We were in the tent setting up our mats and sleeping bags, and I mentioned my back was feeling a bit sore so Rob offered to rub an anti-inflammatory cream on it.  At the time I was busy blowing up my sleeping mat, and without blinking an eye, Rob said: “Once you’re finished blowing, I’ll do you”.  I think any one walking past our tent would have been bowled over and given us a wide berth that night, but the comment was made in pure innocence!  Night Two’s camp was set up on a gentle slope overlooking a local town, with darkness bringing spectacular stars in the sky and blinking town lights on the horizon, something to appreciate on my numerous pee trips!  Day Three we headed to the blown out crater of another extinct volcano.  Although only a short morning hike, we enjoyed lunch at Day Three camp, had a short rest in our tents then headed out for an afternoon acclimatization hike.  At this stage we were already above 3000m and a few climbers had begun to experience mild signs of altitude sickness, with a few headaches and feelings of nausea reported.  Here we trekked up the side of the crater, and spent about an hour at an altitude of above 4000m to help us get used to the thinner air.  Down we came, with a few stumbles on the loose gravel, enjoyed an early dinner and hit the sleeping bags.

Day Four was considered to be an easy day, as we trekked over the crater edge and across the “flat” saddle of the mountain to base camp.  All I can say is that this was probably my worst day on the mountain.  Although the trail was relatively flat, you still encountered a very gradual slope as you made your way along the path.  Being an alpine desert, you could see your camp for the night miles ahead of you, but as you slogged along, the camp just didn’t seem to get any closer.  Added to this we were walking into an icy headwind, all of which made the going that much tougher.  Reaching camp late that afternoon, I literally cried as I waited in line to sign the register.  Worst of all, looking up we could see the ascent we had to make the next day, and it was monstrous compared to the flat walk we had just done.  At this point I had some serious doubts about my capabilities, and this is when Rob stepped in for an intimate pep talk in our tent. Everybody’s bodies were taking strain now at this altitude (base camp is over 4000m above sea level).  For example, we all measured our oxygen saturation on the start of Day Two to get a baseline reading.  My initial reading was 97% with a resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute, which is pretty normal.  On the eve of our summit attempt, my oxygen saturation was 72% with a resting heart rate of 120 beats per minute.  After sharing this with a paramedic friend upon our return, he told me if we were in normal circumstances, those kinds of readings would call for immediate assisted breathing on a ventilator!

Summit morning dawned dark and very early, 01h00 to be exact when we set off for the summit, wrapped in at least seven layers, head torches only illuminating the path three meters ahead of you.  This was probably a good thing because if you could see what you were up against, your mind would completely work against you.

We were lucky to have a guide, Daniel, who took a liking to us, and he latched himself to me from day dot and stayed by my side the whole journey.  It was between Daniel, who eventually took my pack to ease the load on my back, and Rob, who behind me was constantly encouraging me, who got me up that ascent.  On and on we climbed in the darkness, feeling we were making no progress walking on loose shale, so each step forward felt like we were slipping the same distance back.  Every now and then we would stop for a quick rest, not too long or else we would start to freeze (we had a recorded temperature of -13 degrees Celsius with added wind chill that day).  I was so tired and cold I couldn’t even unscrew my water bottle for a drink, Rob was the one who took off his gloves to help me.  One of the most amazing moments though was stopping to watch the sun rise over the clouds, and it was a huge morale booster to one, see how far up we had actually climbed in the darkness, and two, hear my pal Rene shouting down encouragement from the ledge just above me (we had fallen off the main group in the darkness because I couldn’t keep pace).  Upon reaching the crater ledge, it was a huge sigh of relief as at this point we knew the real hard part was over.  Our guide, Sean, told us in the briefing the evening before that if we managed to reach Gillman’s Point on the crater edge, we must not give up, the rest of the climb was flattish along the rim to Uhuru Peak, and he and his team of guides would make every effort to get us to the summit.  With those words reverberating in my ears, I bucked myself up, literally said to Rob, “Let’s do this because I’m not paying any more money to do this shit again”.  That got some laughter out of both of us, and we headed off again knowing that the goal was in sight.

Yes, the crater rim is the “easy” part of summit day, but you were still walking uphill, and it took us a good few hours to walk that last kilometre, with us eventually catching up to another small group of climbers who had fallen off the main pack.  What was wonderful is that we were seeing some of our group who had already made the summit and were heading back to camp.  Seeing their joy and hearing their encouragement was enough to push through the pain to get to the summit.  We were so close!

And next minute we were there, next to the sign proclaiming we were on the peak of Africa’s highest mountain, with many hugs and kisses going around.  It was a really special moment for Rob to build a small shrine behind the summit sign, under which he placed a photo of his late father.  We wonder if it is still there today.  Photos taken, and 20 minutes later we were already making our way back to camp.  With all the excitement of reaching your target, and now you realize it’s literally “all downhill from here” we set off quickly, only to realize after 100m that we were still extremely high and therefore still had to stop every now and then to catch our breaths.  The really fun part is when reaching Gillman’s Point again, Daniel took my hand and literally ran me down the sandy shale part of the slope.  Rob got such a fright behind me, seeing me take off like a bat out of hell that he came screaming down with us.  It was like we were kids on vacation running down a sand dune!  And it felt like we were going to the beach because with every step we took down, the air got thicker and the temperature got warmer so we could start shedding our layers.  Eventually we got to camp and could enjoy a well deserved rest and warm lunch.  All in all, it took us about eight hours to walk a total distance of about 4km from base camp to the summit, climbing over 1000m in altitude over this distance.  Conversely it only took us about two and a half hours to come back down!  Wait a minute, you may say, tell us more about the summit.  Well the sad part of the whole thing is that we were so tired upon reaching it, the weather started turning foul with cloud moving in, and it’s dangerous to spend more than half an hour up there without supplemental oxygen, that we only really took in the magnitude of our accomplishment that night, after the day was over.  But take note that that night’s camp was not at the base of the mountain where we had spent the previous night.  After reaching base camp round lunch time, we had a short rest then had to walk an additional 10km to another camp a little bit lower in altitude.  Needless to say we were absolutely exhausted when reaching camp.  In the tent, struggling to set up our mats, I realized that we were slap bang on a bunch of rocks which would be digging into our backs and hips while we slept.  Great, I thought, another restless night after a seriously long day.  But as mentioned we were so exhausted, when we woke up the following morning, Rob asked me if I had felt the rock.  “What rock?” was my reply!  For the first time, I slept through the night, not even needing to get up to go to the loo!

Our last day started with much celebration.  After breakfast it was the guide and porter payment ceremony and again photo opportunities with the men who helped us through it all.  This day’s hike was probably the best in terms of scenery.

We didn’t use the same route down so our path took us through natural rainforest and we were fortunate to encounter a Colobus monkey sitting right on the edge of the trail.  It was a long slog to the park gate, walking 25km from camp to gate.  By the time we reached the Land Rovers taking us back to the hotel our legs were in serious pain, and after a cramped car ride, we could hardly walk from stiffness!  After a wonderfully hot shower (with soap!) all enjoyed a well deserved beer before a delicious barbequed dinner.  It was an early night for most of us since we were flying back home to South Africa early the next morning.

All in all I describe the Kilimanjaro adventure as one of the best, worst experiences of my life.  We both say it’s an experience of a lifetime, but never to be repeated.  I am so proud of myself for having accomplished one of my life’s goals, and ecstatic that in the process met and cemented the foundations of mine and Rob’s relationship.  We were forced to learn things about our personalities very quickly, and in stressful circumstances, and were able to get through it unscathed.  I learnt that I will cry if put in extreme circumstances which are completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  Rob was completely blown away with the fact he travelled from sea-level to an altitude of 5895m within the space of a couple of days, and had no effects of altitude sickness.  In fact, Rob was an anomaly compared to the rest of the group.  He walked in tracksuit pants most of the time, not fancy wet weather gear like the rest of us.  His water bottles didn’t freeze like everybody else’s despite our bottles being insulated.  His chocolate snacks stayed gooey when mine were as hard as rocks.  He even wanted to walk the first few days in flip-flops, but received an emphatic NO from Sean on that one!  I discovered that in Rob I had found an incredibly supportive and motivated individual who would literally and figuratively push me up any rock that was in my way.  And as to the snoring and farting, well, we were both so tired at the end of every day that we didn’t find this out until much later in our travels, and no, I’m not sharing!