Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Pictures from Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong
Singapore Airport and Airlines
Hey,
Just a quick post this time followed by hopefully pictures if I can upload them.
I flew Singapore Airlines from South africa to Singapore, Singapore to Malaysia, and Malaysia to Hong Kong.
Honestly, it is the best airline I have ever flown and I'll explain why. I was in economy. They let you choose your seats. They give you a hot towel to wipe your face and wash your hands. There are free cocktails. About 100 channels of movies and tv that you can REWIND. They give you more leg room than any american airline except maybe Jet blue. They give you an actual meal instead of scraps from the kitchen for international travelers and, check this, you have at least 3 or 4 choices. Free pretty much anything you can ask for.
The airport is just as impressive. They have a free movie theater for people waiting. A free butterfly garden to visit. A free lounge. Free wifi. A free Kinect to play on (the xbox thing). I'm sure there is more but those were the things that caught my interest.
Signing out
Nick
Just a quick post this time followed by hopefully pictures if I can upload them.
I flew Singapore Airlines from South africa to Singapore, Singapore to Malaysia, and Malaysia to Hong Kong.
Honestly, it is the best airline I have ever flown and I'll explain why. I was in economy. They let you choose your seats. They give you a hot towel to wipe your face and wash your hands. There are free cocktails. About 100 channels of movies and tv that you can REWIND. They give you more leg room than any american airline except maybe Jet blue. They give you an actual meal instead of scraps from the kitchen for international travelers and, check this, you have at least 3 or 4 choices. Free pretty much anything you can ask for.
The airport is just as impressive. They have a free movie theater for people waiting. A free butterfly garden to visit. A free lounge. Free wifi. A free Kinect to play on (the xbox thing). I'm sure there is more but those were the things that caught my interest.
Signing out
Nick
South Africa part 2
Hello Everybody,
Today instead of uploading pictures I've been trying to figure out how to share South African House with you. I've fallen in love with it. It's everything that's good about house with roots from the motherland. Anyway's with this track playing in the background, hopefully I can set the mood for South Africa part 2.
So after a rough night of cow intestines, I slept in at 2B happy the backpackers lodge. During this time I became really good friends with another Sam, Smu, and Patience. The second Sam hailed from Ghana and let the world know it, practiced polygamy and Judaism , fervently believed in the institution of marraige ("You cannot have a home without a woman"), and loved to talk. Smu, a self proclaimed bachelor, a wanderer and a chef. Smu was going through some troubles, but he bought me a South African hat. I also cannot forget the lovely patience, a nurse in training and the main night shift lady. She was studying to be a nurse if I remember correctly. We would stay up, play pool, and discuss life. Thursday night we all got into an argument about marriage. Sam versus all. Though I won't bore you with the details, eventually we all became known as fatta figyas and moetta figyas. Whenever we would see some fine female we would point out the potential moetta figya.
Anyways, on friday a cool dude named Jade DeVega came to the hostel. He designed logos and commercials for fifa during the world cup. He was pretty cool. We all decided to go out to a bar called times square, and another reggae bar. That night was fun, especially because Jade liked UFC and MMA, so we saw some pretty good fights.
The next day I met up with my friends from Exeter - Gaciru and Liam. They introduced me to Julia, their friend. Together, we all went to an Amusement Park and Casino. Let me tell you, while the theme park in itself was pretty fun, watching Julia and Gaciru panic on the rides was hilarious. We rode one of the rides for pre-k kids, the one where the longest drop can't be more than 10 feet. Julia screamed like a hyena, crying out for Jesus to rapture her away; of course, Liam, Gigi, and I were crying with laughter. Later, we got on the anaconda. While I admit that this ride shook me up a little, Gigi started breathing heavy, cursing, and I swear she was foaming a little. I swear I could have called the catholic church and they would have performed an exorcism. I can only make fun of her because she knows she turns violent before she rides roller coasters. "I like the scare," she says.
But sunday was by far the best night. Having failed to go out on saturday night when the clubs had all the chicks, Sam, Smu and I all decided to go out to the Alexandria clubs. While I would love to explain what happened, what happens in Alexandria stays in Alexandria. Just kidding. Alexandria was sort of like a slum and when I say sorta that is giving it a lot of slack. If rats scared me, that place would have either been a nightmare, or therapy. Everywhere I walked a spotted about 5 different types of rats scurrying away at once. But the parties were excellent. They played R&B, a few hip hop songs, but mostly South African house music (above). When you have about 8 or 9 Smirnoff spins in you and a few castle beers, it sounds really amazing.
Anyways that was the extent of my trip to South Africa. A friend has brought it to my attention that I don't take enough pictures of where I live and the cities I visited so I will be uploading those soon. Also, even though I'm just at south africa, I am in real life going to beijing, land of the banned blogspot blogs. So unfortunately, my posts will not happen until at least february 13th, unless i can find a proxy. But, of course, that's why I give you such meaty posts.
Friday, January 28, 2011
South Africa part 1
Sorry for the lack of posts. I will get on my game as much as possible but I have been busy. I also have written down most of this in a journal, so once I get started it shouldn't be too bu
So first things first, in South Africa, the people in the pictures below are the people I made friends with. Anyways, honestly Johannesburg was my favorite place to visit so far. People told me that when I visit South Africa, I should visit Cape Town; Johannesburg (Joburg) really impressed me so I can't wait to visit Cape Town. Anyways, my trip to South Africa started out with all kinds of adventure. I rode a plane from Kenya to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Joburg. The flight from Kenya left at 3 in the morning; if you haven't flown at 3am in the morning you don't truly know the meaning of a red eye. Anyways, I'm notorious for falling asleep in any moving vehicle, so the flight put me to sleep better than Lunesta ever would; I might have even seen that fluorescent green butterfly. I only woke up to a guy tapping my shoulder telling me to get up.
As I walked through the Addis Ababa airport, I wasn't quite sure if I was dreaming. At six in the morning, the sun created a pink glow against the tiles, and I could have sworn I saw the unknown pokemon (for those unfamiliar with pokemon, the unknown are a hieroglyphic pokemon, and a pokemon is a creature that you must catch). Upon further inspection, I realized that the unknown were actually the Ethiopian alphabet. If I ever make it back to Ethiopia I would just want to learn the letters. Unfortunately, as soon I realized I wasn't dreaming, my body shut down, and I fell asleep on a bench next to my gate to Joburg.
I next woke up to shuffling and people lining up at my gate. I often wake up at random hours and wonder what time it is and where I am. Following the herd, I lined up at my gate. A chipper guy, about 25, tapped me on the shoulder. He introduced himself as Herman. He was lean, pretty fashionable, had glasses and a curly mohawk. We started talking about life, and talked about some pretty interesting conversations. He told me he lived in Pretoria, told me about his faith, told me about his business, and his recent trip to China. I told him about my trip and why I was doing it. About an hour or so passed and we boarded the plane. While flying we talked some more, exchanged contact information, and agreed to meet after we got off the plane.
When the plane to Joburg was about to land, I got a tap on my shoulder. My neighbor, a jolly Indian man with a radiant smile, handed me a note. "Please Help. I don't know English. My name is Pretesh. Please take me to the nearest Indian embassy." I looked up and saw him grinning nervously, a right incisor missing. Taken over with a sense of duty and brotherhood for this man I just met, I grinned back and flipped him a thumbs up sign; however, I didn't catch that he needed a wheelchair, and when he made it up to the flight attendants to ask for one, they relieved me of my duties. Sadden by my loss, partially because I was genuinely worried and pitied the man, and partially because I wanted to feel a sense of heroism, I trudged ahead to meet up with Herman.
Herman and I started making plans to hang out in Pretoria. He had a place there and he had plenty of girl friends, and the knowledge of reputable clubs. Sadly, our conversation got cut short seeing that the South African customs did not play games, and he had come back with "too many souvenirs" from China. Actually, that is part of the reason why I'm sending post cards, though I forgot to buy some in South Africa. Customs doesn't like people bringing in stuff into their respective countries and nobody want to declare things. Again, I grudgingly trudged ahead to rip off a taxi driver who thought he could rip off the American.
As I drove out of the airport, I immediately noticed the lack of trash along the road, much different from Nairobi. I noticed the technology of the stop lights, they called them robots, that were essentially a timed spike trap. I noticed that I wasn't gripping my seat; I don't usually grip my seat, and, even in Nairobi, I rarely gripped the seat, but some cars, especially taxis, in developing worlds have a unique way of finding roads in the gravel on the sides of the roads, between two incoming cars, in the opposite lane, and pretty much anywhere else they can fit the car; in Joburg, my taxi put on the blinker and changed lanes. I noticed the lack of honking usually accompanied with aforementioned crazy taxis. I also noticed the lack of a particular aroma, the sewage aroma, mixed with perfumes, spices, foods, and car exhaust. But most importantly, I noticed my stench of three days without a shower in humid Africa (kenya was in the midst of a drought). Fortunately, when we arrived to Yeoville, the hood as Herman called it, though definitely not as strong as nairobi, the aroma returned. Unfortunately, it did not ease my discomfort.
Yeoville is a wonderful place. Before apartheid ended, it was a Jewish settlement. After apartheid ended, most of the whites moved out because they were too nervous. Though it may be considered the hood, it could also be considered a hub for culture. Nigerians, Ghanaians, Zimbabweans, Jamaicans, etc all lived there. The food was delicious. But because it was the hood I couldn't take out my expensive camera. Sorry! I stayed in a place called 2B Happy Backpackers lodge. The people there all accepted me like family. It was amazing. I wanted to take a shower, but I met a guys named Sam and Nixon. Sam taught me how to cook Zimbabwean food. My favorite was their staple food, pop (pronounced pup), known as ugali in Kenya. Sam also took me to his in-laws house to meet his family and watch music videos. On the second night, we went to his flat, and he cooked cow intestines... not the most appetizing meal, but i still ate some of it. So instead I had ox.
Speaking of meats, I didn't get to try bush meat in South Africa either because it was illegal. Part 2 Coming soon.
So first things first, in South Africa, the people in the pictures below are the people I made friends with. Anyways, honestly Johannesburg was my favorite place to visit so far. People told me that when I visit South Africa, I should visit Cape Town; Johannesburg (Joburg) really impressed me so I can't wait to visit Cape Town. Anyways, my trip to South Africa started out with all kinds of adventure. I rode a plane from Kenya to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Joburg. The flight from Kenya left at 3 in the morning; if you haven't flown at 3am in the morning you don't truly know the meaning of a red eye. Anyways, I'm notorious for falling asleep in any moving vehicle, so the flight put me to sleep better than Lunesta ever would; I might have even seen that fluorescent green butterfly. I only woke up to a guy tapping my shoulder telling me to get up.
As I walked through the Addis Ababa airport, I wasn't quite sure if I was dreaming. At six in the morning, the sun created a pink glow against the tiles, and I could have sworn I saw the unknown pokemon (for those unfamiliar with pokemon, the unknown are a hieroglyphic pokemon, and a pokemon is a creature that you must catch). Upon further inspection, I realized that the unknown were actually the Ethiopian alphabet. If I ever make it back to Ethiopia I would just want to learn the letters. Unfortunately, as soon I realized I wasn't dreaming, my body shut down, and I fell asleep on a bench next to my gate to Joburg.
I next woke up to shuffling and people lining up at my gate. I often wake up at random hours and wonder what time it is and where I am. Following the herd, I lined up at my gate. A chipper guy, about 25, tapped me on the shoulder. He introduced himself as Herman. He was lean, pretty fashionable, had glasses and a curly mohawk. We started talking about life, and talked about some pretty interesting conversations. He told me he lived in Pretoria, told me about his faith, told me about his business, and his recent trip to China. I told him about my trip and why I was doing it. About an hour or so passed and we boarded the plane. While flying we talked some more, exchanged contact information, and agreed to meet after we got off the plane.
When the plane to Joburg was about to land, I got a tap on my shoulder. My neighbor, a jolly Indian man with a radiant smile, handed me a note. "Please Help. I don't know English. My name is Pretesh. Please take me to the nearest Indian embassy." I looked up and saw him grinning nervously, a right incisor missing. Taken over with a sense of duty and brotherhood for this man I just met, I grinned back and flipped him a thumbs up sign; however, I didn't catch that he needed a wheelchair, and when he made it up to the flight attendants to ask for one, they relieved me of my duties. Sadden by my loss, partially because I was genuinely worried and pitied the man, and partially because I wanted to feel a sense of heroism, I trudged ahead to meet up with Herman.
Herman and I started making plans to hang out in Pretoria. He had a place there and he had plenty of girl friends, and the knowledge of reputable clubs. Sadly, our conversation got cut short seeing that the South African customs did not play games, and he had come back with "too many souvenirs" from China. Actually, that is part of the reason why I'm sending post cards, though I forgot to buy some in South Africa. Customs doesn't like people bringing in stuff into their respective countries and nobody want to declare things. Again, I grudgingly trudged ahead to rip off a taxi driver who thought he could rip off the American.
As I drove out of the airport, I immediately noticed the lack of trash along the road, much different from Nairobi. I noticed the technology of the stop lights, they called them robots, that were essentially a timed spike trap. I noticed that I wasn't gripping my seat; I don't usually grip my seat, and, even in Nairobi, I rarely gripped the seat, but some cars, especially taxis, in developing worlds have a unique way of finding roads in the gravel on the sides of the roads, between two incoming cars, in the opposite lane, and pretty much anywhere else they can fit the car; in Joburg, my taxi put on the blinker and changed lanes. I noticed the lack of honking usually accompanied with aforementioned crazy taxis. I also noticed the lack of a particular aroma, the sewage aroma, mixed with perfumes, spices, foods, and car exhaust. But most importantly, I noticed my stench of three days without a shower in humid Africa (kenya was in the midst of a drought). Fortunately, when we arrived to Yeoville, the hood as Herman called it, though definitely not as strong as nairobi, the aroma returned. Unfortunately, it did not ease my discomfort.
Yeoville is a wonderful place. Before apartheid ended, it was a Jewish settlement. After apartheid ended, most of the whites moved out because they were too nervous. Though it may be considered the hood, it could also be considered a hub for culture. Nigerians, Ghanaians, Zimbabweans, Jamaicans, etc all lived there. The food was delicious. But because it was the hood I couldn't take out my expensive camera. Sorry! I stayed in a place called 2B Happy Backpackers lodge. The people there all accepted me like family. It was amazing. I wanted to take a shower, but I met a guys named Sam and Nixon. Sam taught me how to cook Zimbabwean food. My favorite was their staple food, pop (pronounced pup), known as ugali in Kenya. Sam also took me to his in-laws house to meet his family and watch music videos. On the second night, we went to his flat, and he cooked cow intestines... not the most appetizing meal, but i still ate some of it. So instead I had ox.
Speaking of meats, I didn't get to try bush meat in South Africa either because it was illegal. Part 2 Coming soon.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Pictures as Promised
As promised here's my pictures. When I get to better internet I'll upload more, and tell about south africa.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Kenya
Hey everybody,e
Kenya is awesome. I love it.
The end.
But in all seriousness, I did not expect Kenya to be so cool mainly because I didn't come into the trip expecting much. I only really had three or four days in Kenya, so of course I couldn't come in expecting the world. And to be quite honest, at first I was a little disappointed. I found out that I couldn't go on a safari because I didn't have enough time, I came a day too late, and a safari for a singe person ran for about $300. I also learned that the carnivore heaven or something like that, which boasted game meat (zebra, antelope, crocodile, wildebeest, etc) only had ostrich.
Luckily, I met some pretty cool people at the hostel. Shout out to Dan and Jesse from the UK. Together we went to the giraffe center on Sunday. I got to pet, feed, and kiss a giraffe (yes, sounds like the zoo, I know). Afterwards we explored the outskirts of Nairobi, went to a bead factory, and ate raw sugar cane. Afterwards, we returned to the hostel and, while munching on sugar cane, I saw my team (the steelers) win.
The next day I met a Sudanese girl named Mai (pronounced may) who showed me around Nairobi and let me read this Sudanese book. She also showed me Kenyan and Ethiopian food.
Finally today I visited a place called Hell's gate. This is where some of the recent Tomb Raider was shot. And let me tell you... That trip was an adventure and a half.
Basically, It is a 3 hour ride from the hostel to hell's gate. Hell's Gate is about an hour outside a village called Naivasha, and my hostel is in Nairobi. My options were either taking taxi for about 150 bucks, or taking a Matatu (mini-van bus) for 170 Kenyan shillings (78 to the dollar). Obviously I chose the second option. Unfortunately that meant I got lost in Kenya three or four times. One time they took me to the wrong village, and another time, the wrong side of hells gate. Then, after I finally got across that I wanted to go to the tourist version of Hell's gate (because they assumed I lived there), the Matatu driver dropped me off at a random posh hotel that was about 5km away from where I wanted to be. So I biked. By the time I got to the Laura Croft Hell's gate, it was time for me to leave. I wanted to leave early so that I wouldn't be trapped in Kenya in the dark.
Of course, however, the moment I arrived back in Nairobi, the Matatu got stuck in a traffic jam so bad that there were literally two inches between every car on the road; and for a lane that was supposed to hold two cars comfortably side by side, three max, five cars crammed by each other. So after I got dropped off in the wrong place again, I decided to walk back to my hostel, which at a good estimate is about 3-4 miles away.
One thing I should mention is that my hostel is next to the most notorious Kenyan slum, known for murder, robbery, etc. During the day, this isn't a big problem, but during the night, I have heard to stay away. Long story short, I got lost once again, and found myself in the middle of the slum at dark.
Anyways, this time I promise, pictures to follow.
Kenya is awesome. I love it.
The end.
But in all seriousness, I did not expect Kenya to be so cool mainly because I didn't come into the trip expecting much. I only really had three or four days in Kenya, so of course I couldn't come in expecting the world. And to be quite honest, at first I was a little disappointed. I found out that I couldn't go on a safari because I didn't have enough time, I came a day too late, and a safari for a singe person ran for about $300. I also learned that the carnivore heaven or something like that, which boasted game meat (zebra, antelope, crocodile, wildebeest, etc) only had ostrich.
Luckily, I met some pretty cool people at the hostel. Shout out to Dan and Jesse from the UK. Together we went to the giraffe center on Sunday. I got to pet, feed, and kiss a giraffe (yes, sounds like the zoo, I know). Afterwards we explored the outskirts of Nairobi, went to a bead factory, and ate raw sugar cane. Afterwards, we returned to the hostel and, while munching on sugar cane, I saw my team (the steelers) win.
The next day I met a Sudanese girl named Mai (pronounced may) who showed me around Nairobi and let me read this Sudanese book. She also showed me Kenyan and Ethiopian food.
Finally today I visited a place called Hell's gate. This is where some of the recent Tomb Raider was shot. And let me tell you... That trip was an adventure and a half.
Basically, It is a 3 hour ride from the hostel to hell's gate. Hell's Gate is about an hour outside a village called Naivasha, and my hostel is in Nairobi. My options were either taking taxi for about 150 bucks, or taking a Matatu (mini-van bus) for 170 Kenyan shillings (78 to the dollar). Obviously I chose the second option. Unfortunately that meant I got lost in Kenya three or four times. One time they took me to the wrong village, and another time, the wrong side of hells gate. Then, after I finally got across that I wanted to go to the tourist version of Hell's gate (because they assumed I lived there), the Matatu driver dropped me off at a random posh hotel that was about 5km away from where I wanted to be. So I biked. By the time I got to the Laura Croft Hell's gate, it was time for me to leave. I wanted to leave early so that I wouldn't be trapped in Kenya in the dark.
Of course, however, the moment I arrived back in Nairobi, the Matatu got stuck in a traffic jam so bad that there were literally two inches between every car on the road; and for a lane that was supposed to hold two cars comfortably side by side, three max, five cars crammed by each other. So after I got dropped off in the wrong place again, I decided to walk back to my hostel, which at a good estimate is about 3-4 miles away.
One thing I should mention is that my hostel is next to the most notorious Kenyan slum, known for murder, robbery, etc. During the day, this isn't a big problem, but during the night, I have heard to stay away. Long story short, I got lost once again, and found myself in the middle of the slum at dark.
Anyways, this time I promise, pictures to follow.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
World Travels
So, for everyone who doesn't know, this blog was originally started to get me used to writing blogs... obviously that didn't work out the way I wanted to. However, I am starting it again. Right now I'm in london, and it's pretty awesome. I saw all the touristy london things: big ben, parlement hall, the eye, all the shopping centers. All of that was pretty cool. I also bought an all day tour which looks like its going to be a waste of money because I haven't gone anywhere on the tour. Fortunately the tour card activates the first time I use it so theoretically if I don't use it now, it'll be good for the next time I visit london.
The only downside that I see to london so far is the weather. It's kind of miserable here. Its 40, cloudy, windy, and almost raining. Its doing that little misting thing that nobody likes. But regardless of the weather, I do wish I could stay for longer.
Pictures are soon to follow.
P.S. For some reason even though we speak english in both America and the UK, the keyboards are kind of different.
The only downside that I see to london so far is the weather. It's kind of miserable here. Its 40, cloudy, windy, and almost raining. Its doing that little misting thing that nobody likes. But regardless of the weather, I do wish I could stay for longer.
Pictures are soon to follow.
P.S. For some reason even though we speak english in both America and the UK, the keyboards are kind of different.
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