Travel Blog Posts
LONDON TOWN!!!
Published: April 2nd 2009Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » London City
April 2nd 2009
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." -- Samuel Johnson Oh the broad and varied culture of London life! We've been here for nearly 6 months and have already decided that 1 year in London is far too short to truely enjoy what this great city has to offer. When we first arrived in October 2008, we pretty much hit the ground running with job interviews, finding accommodation and finding a flat. We were very fortunate in that we were able to house sit for Vicky's aunt in Welwyn Garden City for the first 3 weeks which helped us find a place to live. Despite the economic climate, Jan was offered a role after 3 days and Vicky found a rolling ... read more
April 2nd 2009
It's been almost 6 months since our 2 day trip to Dubai, however it was a trip definitely worth a mention on our Travel Blog! After our 2 week trip through South Africa, we arrived in hot Dubai around midnight. Because accommodation is so expensive, we'd booked into a 3-star hotel (which was really a 1 or 2 star!) which was located directly above a night club where, as one of our taxi drivers explained, the "call girls hang out". Not really what I expected to come across in Dubai! We only had 1 full day in Dubai so decided to do a 4x4 Safari in the afternoon which would give us time to do some exploring in the morning. Our explorations were uneventful, but the Safari was pretty awesome. We were collected from the hotel ... read more
October 23rd 2008
The main purpose of our stay in Johannesburg was to visit my brother, Michael. However it was a good opportunity to revisit some old stomping ground which we left 10 years ago due to the level of crime. People in Jo'burg will maintain that the crime is really not as bad as the world makes it out to be. In the same sentence they would advise us not to drive at night, and if we do, to not go by the directions of our GPS as we may not come out alive! I guess the best way to some up Jo'burg is that it's a city of many ironies. We didn't manage to go on a Soweto tour (which is highly recommended), however we were able to see some traditional African dancing at a funky African-themed ... read more
October 12th 2008
After a great reunion with the Greeffs, we flew back to Johannesburg and made the 4.5 hour drive to the Drakensberg Mountains for Tammy's wedding. After making our way through the thickest fog and a long windy road through a shanty town (where I might add the African people walk in the middle of the street ... drunk ... or drive cars without head or tail lights), we arrived at the stunning Didima Camp. Due to the fact that we only arrived at 7pm, we never realised we were beside beautiful mountain ranges. The wedding was another grand reunion with Vicky's crazy Durban friends. (And anyone from Durban will agree we are a breed of our own!) Many shots of Jagermeister were to be had, much dancing was to be done ... it was a great ... read more
Krugar National Park
Published: October 4th 2008Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park
October 4th 2008
So we arrived at Mpumalanga / Krugar airport after a whopping 12 hours flying and 10 hours of total stopover hours!!! (7 of those stopover hours were spent at a Starbucks cafe). Huge contrast from Singapore / Kuala Lumpur. From concrete buildings as far as the eyes can see to dry grasslands that span all the way to the horizon. Vicky's uncle leant us his "bakkie" (aka ute) and sent us off to the Krugar Park (after a tour of the Greeff plot - it's been amazing for Vicky to get back to her roots!) Krugar Park is only about 45 mins from the Greeff clan digs. Krugar Park has some Jurassic Park action going on with electric fences surrounding the areas where you are allowed to get out of your car. Actually on our way ... read more
September 30th 2008
Singapore - yet another city that never seems to sleep! We were fortunate enough to be in Singapore for the first Formula 1. Huge buzz and heaps of tourists. We managed to get ourselves walkabout tickets for Friday night which was great! I (Vicky) know nothing about Formula 1 racing but it was still a lot of fun - very loud but fun :) Spent most of our time here catching up with Jan's whanau ... eating and shopping. So incredibly hot here, I think more so than Malaysia. We've been staying with some of Jan's famly friends - Uncle Phillip and Aunty June. Aunty June is originally from Australia, one of the first pioneers of inter-racial marriage in Singapore. She's done the hard yards to make it easy for us - in fact she lived ... read more
September 24th 2008
Kuala Lumpur - the city that (apparently) never sleeps. It's been tropical here to say the least ... the kind of heat where you want to stop at every shop just so you can enjoy the air conditioning! Have to admit Kuala Lumpur is quite different from my first impression of Malaysia. Last time I was here I had just crossed the border from Thailand and it seemed like "third world central". If Singapore is the ultimate first world country, and Thailand is the ultimate third word country, then Kuala Lumpur is somewhere in the middle. Starbucks and Gloria Jeans coffee shops are on every corner, the restaurants are super trendy, and service is fantastic. But then every now and then you catch a glimpse of scummy old buildings and alley ways and perhaps a window ... read more
September 21st 2008
31 degrees C, Sun is up, Surf is up and millions of people everywhere We drove 25 kms from St Ives to Manly to catch up with Louise and her man for brunch. Its was very cool as the weather was just Stunningly hot, so much so we even had to buy some sunscreen from the chemist. Brunch was good and Lou and BF was cool. We caught a Ferry from Manly to Circular Quay so that we can go shopping for a jeans for Vix. Vix got some jeans from the Pitt Street Mall. Service was fantastic and we ran back to catch the ferry back to Manly. Caught up with Daniel my cuz at a sushi bar in the city and then we were off back to St Ives for the sleep as we ... read more
September 19th 2008
Welcome to our blog site! We're staying at the Greeff digs in Sydney. So far we've been soaking up the Australian sunbeams and scooting around the streets of Sydney in Vicky's mom's Barina. Today we're on the hunt for a new pair of jeans for Vicky (why is it always so hard to find the perfect pair of jeans?!) and we're catching up with friends for Brunch and then Jan's cousin for dinner. Thank goodness we're running the Sydney Half Marathon tomorrow otherwise we'd turn into butterballs! Love Jan and Vix ... read more
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