I decided against the ever popular Baz Bus (a bus that goes from Cape Town to Durban and allows people to get on & off at all major cities along the way) and instead decided to take a shot at public transportation and hitchhiking. The Garden Route is the stretch of South African coastline that extends from Mossel Bay to Storms River. It features beautiful beaches and warm water of the Indian Ocean and ends with the Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park region. My first leg of the trip is from Cape Town to the beach community of Wildernes. I bought a [View Full Entry]

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We caught a quick puddle jumper flight from Kruger back to JoBerg and then a proper jet aircraft over to Capetown. My parents chatted up a nice lady on the place who was nice enough to lead us in her car (we followed in a rental) down to the waterfront where my parents had arranged to rent an apt from friends back in the States. Well, would'nt you know it but, after asking my mother if the apt had TWO rooms, we show up and it only has one room for use (and the place was a bit dank and musty). [View Full Entry]

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We were shuttled from Jackalberry to the Ngala lodge, the final game lodge of our trip. And as luck would have it, the best was saved for last. Ngala, meaning "Lion" in the local Shangaan language, is the only private safari reserve in the world-famous Kruger National Park. Ngala Private Game Reserve is host to two exclusive properties - classic Ngala Game Lodge in the north and contemporary Ngala Tented Safari Camp in the south. Ngala has exclusive traversing rights over 14,780 hectares (36,506 acres) of Kruger's two million hectares (4,940,000 acres), one of the richest and most strate [View Full Entry]

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Upon leaving the Bongani lodge, once again we were met by a driver who took us in an air-conditioned mini van to Jackalberry, another luxurious lodge in a private game reserve located about 2 hours from Bongani. Unlike Bongani, this lodge was situated in a large flat area. Upon arrival, I took a dip in the pool and enjoyed he blazing sun. Once again our day would include two game drives (another 5am wake up call...). And as I predicted, we came upon a pride of lions during our first drive. Unfortunately, all these "king of the jungle" do is lay [View Full Entry]

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I touched down in South Africa at 6am local time and was glad to find the hotel my parent's had booked was only 60 meters from the terminal. I quickly entered the room at the luxurious hotel and headed straight for the hot water shower (my first in weeks). I laid down on the soft bed in the hotel room and pondered the fact that the Asia portion of my Round-the-World trip had concluded. I was now on the Dark Continent and new adventures awaited me. A few hours later, my parents arrived. We only spent the one night in JoBurg [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in the Patong area of Phuket around 5pm with no place to stay or even a line on a liveaboard program for the Similan Islands. But I had no worries. I walked the streets of the very touristy town for a bit until I came across Warm Water Divers. The lady was very helpful as she not only signed me up for a 2 day/1 night liveaboard program but they also had a spare room in the back I could use for $8 per night (again, no hot water but a clean room). I walked the streets of Patong [View Full Entry]

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Caught the overnight bus from Bangkok down to Phuket and then jumped on a ferry to the island of Koh Phi Phi. Once I arrived, I walked the narrow paths of the island (no cars allowed) and bumped into my Irish friends from Mu Nei, Vietnam. I settled into the Island Guest house (once again, no hot water!!!) and immediately set out to sign up for a scuba dive the next day. Having not slept much on the overnight bus, I called it an early night after taking a short stroll around the island and beaches. The next morning I awoke [View Full Entry]

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As predicted (and told by many other travelers), the bus trip from Siem Reap to Bangkok was filled with disasters. First, the bus scheduled to leave at 8:30 does not leave until almost 10am. So myself, along with 30 others are left to stand next to the highway for 1.5 hours waiting for the bus to arrive. When it finally comes, it is a beat-up jelopy that is so uncomfortable and un-airconditioned (even though we all paid for the aircon bus). The 5 hour journey to the Thai border is a bumpy, dusty road that plays havoc with my lower back. [View Full Entry]

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Grabed the afternoon bus from Phnom Penh up to Siem Reap (I decided to pass on the boat trip which I heard was long and costly). For some reason there were a lot of mozzy's on the bus so I spent the 6 hours killing them as they flew by my window. I arrived at Siem Reap as the sunwas setting and I grabbed a scooter ride to the Happy Guest house as recommended by Beatrice (from Sihanoukville). I did not know at the time there were two Happy Guest houses but oh well. After dropping of my stuff, I headed [View Full Entry]

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I can not believe a week has gone by......but that is the gift of Sihanoukville. The days are slow and peaceful and the nights are long and cheerful. A four-hour bus ride (which felt like seven) landed me at the scenic coastal city of Sihanouville a bit tired and cranky. Maybe it was the small seats, the bumpy road and the baby which kept peeing in the aisle. But once I settled into a guesthouse (once again $5 per night with TV but no hot water) and laid my eyes on the beach as the sunset into the Gulf of Thailand, [View Full Entry]

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