Cruising Vancouver

After a monstrously decadent seafood meal with all the family members in town, we split up into groups and did a little sightseeing, napping and movie-watching. Since this was my first trip to Vancouver as an adult, and since it was such a beautiful day, I wanted to see some sights.

My parents, an uncle and I went to Stanley Park where we walked around for an hour, admiring the redwood trees, the totem poles and the skin-bearing residents. We then hit the downtown area and made our way through the crowded streets, walking around and window shopping.

It then was time to feed again, so the larger family group re-assembled at a Chinese restaurant. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the newlywed couple and I had to do my best to respond diplomatically to questions from the bride such as, "What did you think of my maid of honor?" and "Did you like my wedding colors?" The colors, by the way, were fuschia and neon orange.

And we capped off the night by visiting the local casino, where we smuggled my 18-year old cousin onto the gambling floor and installed her in front of a slot machine. Uncles and aunts placed bets on the horses (races simulcast from Hong Kong) and others played poker and roulette. Since I have an early flight home tomorrow, I returned to the hotel, but everyone else seems to have their gamble on.

Khaki sacrifice

Tonight I lost a pair of khakis to the wedding gods, thanks to my lust for red wine and other alcohols at family events. I guess that's one of the dangers of sporting a frat-boy chic outfit. After reaching across my dinner table to take a photo of some cousins, another cousin asked if I needed a tampon, thanks to the generous splash of red wine that had collected in my crotch. I guess I took the place of my sister as most embarrassing cousin since she couldn't be here herself.

But throughout the ceremony and reception, we all had a good time laughing at the officiant who squeaked throughout and making sure we were the loudest table present (at least when our parents' table failed to do the job).

The wedding DJ played a skillful selection of muzak, including instrumental versions of Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys and Celine Dion (We are in Canada, after all!). Despite the gorgeous day and incredible view, the shmaltzy wedding was cheese-a-rific and my poor cousin seemed whipped into submitting to all the minute (pink) details than he would have really preferred.

Add to that a maid of honor speech that verged on rude and inappropriate, our table had nothing to do but spell out (and draw out) death threats for messing with la famiglia.

Casual Friday

I just returned to my hotel from a meeting in one of our offices in Richmond, BC, which seems far superior to our HQ building in SF, out of which I work. Maybe it's because it's such a beautiful day, or maybe it's because my work day was approximately 2 hours long today, but I really felt jealous of the office here.

First of all, there's a cafe! I miss days of having a cafe in the building. And apparently, all the employees get bagels every Friday morning! Bagels may be too carby for me, but I still like the idea of it.

It's a technology-based business unit, so there is a game room (pool table) and I saw some folks with fun desk set-ups and toys. But the best part was ... casual attire!

I asked if it was just casual Friday, but my co-worker said it's pretty casual every day. Not only were people sporting jeans and t-shirts, but I spied some employees wearing shorts! In the office! I was totes overdressed in my woven shirt and my smart pinstriped jacket.

Northern lights

Internets, it's past 9:30pm and the sky is just now hitting a dusky phase. Why? Well, because I've traveled north to Richmond, just outside of Vancouver, BC.

I left the office early, pet Stefano DiMera goodbye and journeyed to Portland, OR before boarding a little prop-plane to Vancouver. While the little plane was a bit slow for my taste, we flew low enough that I had a rather stunning view of Mount Hood and other breathtaking scenery of the Pacific Northwest.

As I waited in line for Canadian customs, a gaggle of Chinese tourists got in line behind me, with about two-thirds of them wearing masks over their noses and mouths. Were they afraid of swine flu? Maybe they're still living in fear of SARS? Perhaps they just have jacked-up teefs.

And now I'm in Richmond, which is filled with strip malls that boast Chinese characters on their signs. It's like being in little Hong Kong, minus the flashing lights, the fast-paced lifestyle, the cutting-edge fashion and the incredible energy.

My family is at a nearby aunt's house where they're busy with some sort of pre-wedding ceremony for my cousin whose nuptials I'm here to celebrate. In lieu of seeing my extended family tonight, I decided to stay at the hotel and work on a presentation I'm making tomorrow at one of our offices nearby. Work first, play later!

To boldly go

BoomKat and I finally saw Star Trek last night, after several weeks of planning and rescheduling, and we loved it! Growing up, I was enough into the Star Trek mythology that I could catch some winks and nods to the original series here and there. The movie was much more lighthearted than I expected, in a very refreshing way that hearkened back to the '70s television show.

And knowing that JJ Abrams was at the helm of the movie, it also has clear antecedents in LOST and in Alias, which was kinda cool. I can't wait for the next one!

The healthy lesbian cookbook

During her 2009 visit to the Bay Area, Frannie stopped by my home for a little dinner with Puppy, Stefano DiMera and Puppy's friend Buttons. My recipes (salmon cakes and a cilantro-based salad) came from the lady on the Food Network with short, dark hair who makes healthy options. I like to think of her as the "healthy lesbian," though she evidently isn't a lesbian, despite her appearance.

Anyhoo, to up the unhealthy factor, I threw in a ham and cheese puff pastry deal as an opener and closed with ice cream sandwiches featuring salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite.

It was a fun time and I got to see Franny's expanding pregnant belly. We joked that The Healthy Lesbian Cookbook might make a great title for a book, but that it probably would be confusing and unpublishable. In any case, I enjoyed my unhealthy ham and cheese pastry leftovers this morning for breakfast!

Celeb sighting: A little respect

On Sunday night, at a super-packed and super-fun Fresh, we were treated to a surprise performance by Andy Bell, half of Erasure! He took the stage, belted out two hits from the '80s and the party resumed.

Kitten apparently met up with him later and confirmed that he was, indeed, tres drunk.

Hiss

Puppy and I are trying to introduce Stefano DiMera to a beautiful Siamese lady kitty with killer blue eyes but so far she's just hid under furniture and made hissing noises at him. Poor baby.

I'm Beyonce, I ain't no Kelly Rowland

Puppy and I caught up on the series premiere of Glee last night and I loved it! This, of course, should come as no surprise to anyone.

It had elements of Freaks & Geeks, Ryan Murphy's other high school dramedy, Popular (Does the quarterback who just wants to sing trope get old?), Election and High School Musical all rolled into one. Plus, there was an abundance of Journey songs!

I'm so sad I have to wait until the fall to see the next episode.

Pigging out

After a few months, Dyson, GarGar, Gerbil and I resumed our monthly dinners last night at a gastropub in the marina with a porcine theme. Upon arriving in the neighborhood, we remarked that we very, very rarely come to this area of San Francisco, despite the cute stores and the active nightlife.

San Francisco has a tendency to be a segregated city where residents stick to their usual stomping grounds. I'm a Castro/Mission kind of panda, with occasional visits to Hayes Valley. The marina has a reputation to attract beefy, straight-edge frat boys and made-up, well-heeled, girly girls, which hasn't really been my scene since ... well, ever. Nonetheless, we dined here last night because Dyson is doing some work for the owner and got us a very deep discount on our meal.

And thank goodness for the discount because the four of us couldn't contain ourselves. In addition to several rounds of beers and cocktails (naturally), we had a very delish mac & cheese (with extra bacon!), some pulled pork sliders and I, of course, opted for a pot pie! We topped our meal off with some very fancy ice cream sandwiches that boasted some interesting flavor combinations.

Also notable about the establishment is that it was decorated by Christie Clark, the erstwhile Carrie Brady from Days of Our Lives!

Classic TV

At Periwinkle's very delicious birthday celebration dinner last night, his new, younger suitor mentioned how his family made sure to discuss very sensitive issues that beamed into their living room, courtesy of the television. One such topic came courtesy of the show Will & Grace.

As he described what it was like to "grow up" in that environment, it struck me that Will & Grace began its run on television after I graduated from college. In other words, as he was sitting down with mom and pops to discuss "a very special episode," I was already a full-fledged adult!

Man, I'm getting old.

I clone

I've finally joined the rest of the 21st century and bought an iPhone this weekend. Me likey.

Laguna redux

I think I'm unhealthily excited for next season of The Hills. Maybe someday I'll grow up.

Adios muchacho

Blanca is one of the latest casualties of this "recession" and has lost his lucrative job. His solution? Move to Hawaii to be with his fella!

Beetle organized a small farewell dinner last night, so I met up with him, Mattress, Roommates A&J, Mahogany Sparkle and Lucy Ricardo to bid Blanca adieu. We went to a Mexican restaurant with an easy-on-the-eyes waiter where they gave us a round of tequila shots for free.

I'm not a big fan of tequila, but I managed to choke it down and I didn't end up very messy! Even after a few margaritas and a visit to the bar for Juanita MORE's Booty Call party, which I hadn't attended in months.

I guess these days it takes a special occasion to get me out on a school night. I'm not a young panda anymore.

Impromptu family dinner

Since Lil' Sis Panda!!!! is in town, she came over to my pad to meet Stefano DiMera and to spend some time with her dear ol' bro. We extended the invitation to our local cousins and brother, and we ended up feasting on some Chinese take-out and watching American Idol.

Two cousins arrived bearing wine, a gallon of Mitchell's ice cream and some cookies, while Puppy and I entertained the cat with his favorite toy. Fortunately for the five of us, I ordered a ton of food, including two orders of delicious steamed wontons. I suspect I ate an entire order by myself.

Thanks to my jet lag, I started fading toward the end of the evening, so it was a relatively uneventful gathering, but it was nice to catch up.

Escandalos de menor importancia

One thing about leaving the country for a period of time (especially when you have no television or internet access), is that you return woefully behind on pop culture. So, I've been catching up with the following (obviously very important) news tidbits:

Lindsay Lohan may be pregnant! And she's very worried because she has no idea who the father is.

Those Jon & Kate Plus 8 whores are both having affairs! Thank goodness I don't watch this show.

Katie Price and Peter Andre are getting divorced! Does anyone in the US care about this or know who they are?

Miss California was in danger of losing her crown! Because she's a topless Newt Gingrich or something like that.

Jessica Simpson can't tell the difference between a shark and a killer whale! No surprise there.

I'm sure glad I returned from my African safari to keep up with the important news of the world.

Fuku

My little African adventure and its associated plane rides offered up plenty of time to read. In the past two weeks, I polished off several magazines, a book for work, a few good books and a few terrible ones.

The highlight of all these books was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which I cannot recommend enough. It's superbly written and terribly engaging, from the first description of the Dominican family's multi-generational curse to the contemporary references to science fiction.

I picked it up as a last-minute purchase at the San Francisco airport before I boarded my first flight, and I'm so glad I did. It's a beautiful novel and a very entertaining read!

Farewell ZA

Charlotte York and I are packing up at the Sleepy Gecko Guest House (Bullet Tosser's wonderful recommendation for lodging), feeling sad that we're about to board planes for our return trip home.

We spent our day in Joburg at the Apartheid Museum, which was fascinating and quite moving. I wish we'd had more time there, but I'm glad we got to go before meeting up with friends for a delicious al fresco lunch at Cilantro, in the cute Parkhurst neighborhood. It's been a very nice day and a good way to end our adventure.

But after traveling for the next 30 or so hours, we'll be back to the real world. Sigh.

Mpumalanga mess

May 8, 2009

Charlotte York and I just spent three-and-a-half hours at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport – an airport with a thatched roof and only one departure gate. We were waiting for our 40-minute flight from Nelspruit back to Joburg, when about 15 minutes before our scheduled boarding time, we heard thunder, saw lightning, and the sky opened up and let loose a torrent of rain. It was abundantly clear that our flight would not be leaving on time.

All the other passengers at our gate (the one gate) were understandably concerned and there was no one addressing the situation. Then, a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced, "All passengers on SA flight 8846 to Johannesburg, please come to the ticketing and sales counter." Then, as expected, all hell broke loose.

More than 100 passengers rushed the ticket counter, where a South African Airways representative tried to speak in her very softest voice and whispered something about cancellation, weather and buses. Then, all the passengers started asking each other what was going on, but no one could hear the explanation. Charlotte York and I were very confused and wondered why they didn't just announce the information over the loundspeaker.

We pushed our way to the front of the mob and learned that our plane was grounded in Joburg due to weather and that the flight would be cancelled. Furthermore, the next flight out would also be cancelled and they were trying to order a bus (for 20 passengers) to drive people to Joburg (a six-hour drive). More chaos ensued as passengers scrambled to get their names on the bus list.

Other passengers ran to the rental car counters to try to rent vehicles to drive themselves to Joburg, but not all were successful in getting cars. Charlotte York and I decided to try to hire a car to drive us to Joburg, and when that led to a dead end, we decided to look into hotels for Nelspruit.

As she called hotels, I went back to the ticket counter to get us booked on the first flight out tomorrow morning. By this time, many people had cleared out, either on buses or by car. Several very kind South Africans and one American living in Nelspruit offered us rides or otherwise tried to help the obvious Americans out. It was very, very nice, but we hadn't really figured out what our plan was, so we forged on.

While I was trying to get ourselves booked on another flight for tomorrow, I overheard one of the agents say something about a plane flying out of Joburg after all. I stopped the woman who was helping me, as she was booking our tickets, and asked her about this other option. She said, "Yes, we have a plane coming over tonight. Would you rather I book you on that flight back to Joburg?" DUH!

Anyway, we ended up waiting for several hours, but a plane did make it to Nelspruit and we got on a flight to Joburg, arriving 3.5 hours late, but arriving nonetheless! It was such a ridiculous amount of chaos that could have been very easily avoided, but I guess that's how things are done here. And since the majority of the passengers on our flight found another way to get to Joburg (or resigned to spend the night in Nelspruit), our flight was comfortable and not full!

Wild wild dogs

May 8, 2009

I’m really sad that today was our last game drive of the safari, but we had a great time and apparently had an unusual and special sighting. After last night’s storm, today was much cooler than previous mornings and the bush had a fresh, clean feeling to it.

We caught up with our pride of lions, spotted the ubiquitous impala, ran into a few zebra, avoided running over a tortoise or two and glimpsed another elephant. We also got a chance to view a pack of wild dogs, which our ranger explained is one of the rarest animals in the reserve. Apparently, there are approximately 3,000 of the endangered animals left in the world, and fewer than 200 in Kruger National Park. We had the great fortune of seeing a dozen, running along, then plopping down to rest.

They looked like normal dogs, with interesting spots on them, but we were told that they’re close relatives of wolves and can be extremely vicious. They’re efficient hunters and merciless killers. All the rangers were thrilled at the sighting and no fewer than six jeeps waited around to give their guests a chance to glimpse the rare creatures.

Thunderstruck

May 8, 2009

Last night, we were joined by an older English lady who works for a tour agency and was conducting a site visit. It became immediately clear that the managers were pulling out all the stops to impress her, including preparing a very delicious, very fancy meal.

One of the managers who used to be an executive chef in the wine region created a meal to send us out in style. We had an upscale version of eggplant parmesan, an incredible truffle risotto with “chicken supreme” and a lemon tart with orange sorbet.

After dinner outside on the deck, we retired to the bar area and conducted a fairly reserved and polite conversation – much different from the previous night’s Britney-fueled antics. The English lady retired first, followed by the French honeymooners. Again, it was just Charlotte York, our cute ranger, one of the gay managers and me, enjoying some wine and discussing South African culture and politics.

We also teased the cute ranger about how the annoying Frenchy was so overt about her crush on him. Charlotte York caught her gently placing her hand over his during the morning drive and we enjoyed ribbing the cute ranger about the way she tried to entrap him with her red lipstick and her chunky-heeled shoes.

And earlier in the day, I found that the annoying Frenchy had left her camera behind. After doing the right thing and turning it into management, I had the brilliant brainstorm of taking the camera and deleting all her pictures of our cute ranger. Oftentimes, I wish my brain worked just a bit faster.

While we were hanging out, an impressive thunderstorm rolled in. With each flash of lightning, the entire night sky lit up in all directions and it began to pour hard. Being from San Francisco, Charlotte York and I just enjoyed the weather and took in the African rains. Most amazing was the strong, clean smell of the rain.

When the storm let up a bit, we went to bed. While Charlotte York was still ready to party, I was fading fast and had to play the role of party pooper. In the end, I think it was for the best since we again had to wake up at 5:30 this morning for our last game drive.

Circle of life

May 7, 2009

Throughout our safari adventure, one thing has been consistent: The Lion King is a great point of reference. For example, when we first saw a hornbill, our ranger said, “That’s the kind of bird Zazu is from The Lion King” and everyone knew what he was talking about.

When we were having lunch with the annoying Frenchy, we came to an impasse when we couldn’t translate the word “hyena.” It took a while, but she finally helped us understand what she was trying to say when she referred to the movie’s bad guys.

And earlier today, when we spotted a warthog, instead of explaining what type of animal it was, our tracker said, “Pumba!” as he pointed it out.

Thank goodness we have Disney, the universal language.

Interesting uses for poop

May 7, 2009

During this morning’s game drive, under gloomy and gray skies, we stopped for coffee and learned of an interesting South African tradition. Our cute ranger and our tracker found some impala droppings, put them in their mouths, and held a contest to see how far they could spit it!

Disgusted, we tourists couldn’t understand how they casually put poop in their mouths. They insisted that it’s hygienic, that it is essentially only grass and explained that it’s a tradition among South Africans. Also, they picked up a larger piece of poop (not impala) and told a story about how they once cut it in the form of a cake, covered it in icing and tricked a woman into trying a piece on her birthday.

They also once took impala pellets, covered them in chocolate and replaced the candy in a dish with the chocolaty poops for a woman in the office where they previously worked.

I explained to the cute ranger that these are some of the reasons why he finds himself single.

Nightlife in the bush

May 7, 2009

Last night after dinner, Charlotte York and I were coerced into bringing our iPods to the bar and playing DJ for an impromptu dance party. We learned that the hotel managers are a gay couple who moved here from Cape Town about a year ago. So they, our ranger, the three Frenchies, Charlotte York and I started guzzling wine and listening to Britney.

The annoying Frenchy had clearly dolled herself up to lure our very cute ranger back to her room with her and made it painfully clear that she was sweet on him. In fact, she pulled Charlotte York aside to remind her which of the two ladies is single. Cute ranger, however, was much more into Charlotte York and he made it obvious that had she been single, he would have tossed aside any no fraternization rules for a chance to “get to know” her better.

By the end of the night, after many glasses of wine and a complimentary bottle of champagne, only a drunk quartet of Charlotte York, cute ranger, one half of the gay management couple and I remained at the bar, discussing sharing stories about ourselves and discussing life in the bush. We also learned that people in South Africa have never heard of the band Journey, but they love Def Leppard.

It should come as no surprise that cute ranger was late to pick us up this morning and that after only four hours of sleep, Charlotte York and I were nodding off during this morning’s game drive.

Safari stargazing

May 6, 2009

Tonight we learned that when the animals aren’t out and about on a game drive, the ranger pulls over to teach passengers about stars and constellations. We didn’t see much on this evening’s ride. More deer thingies (impalas, water bucks), another buffalo, some hippos, scared zebras running away from us…

We did see a cute little owl and a big chameleon that our ranger plucked from a plant and plopped onto Charlotte York. She was brave enough to let it climb up her arm and onto her face. Me, not so much.

Jazzercise

May 6, 2009

Charlotte York and I just spent about 45 minutes on our outside deck, running in place, doing jumping jacks, sit-ups and using her resistance bands. I think we scared all the wildlife away, but it felt good to move around a bit.

Pips

May 6, 2009

On our first game drive yesterday morning, we made the acquaintance of two South African couples who are staying at the lodge with us. They’re from Durban, in their fifties and clearly well-to-do. I gathered that one of the men owns a helicopter business, the other is a pilot of some sort, one of the women runs a coffee shop on the beach and the other woman is a trophy wife. The two women are an absolute riot and I’m sad that the group is leaving today because they were so entertaining.

When we first met them, they kept joking about “pips” and cracking themselves up (Clearly, they’d been drinking a lot during this trip.). None of us were following, but they didn’t care. We learned later that “pips” means “seeds,” or something like that. Understanding this cleared nothing up.

Last night, as we were on the hunt for rhino, we encountered another jeep of tourists and the coffee shop owner (who’s super skinny, has clearly smoked her entire life and sports deeply tanned and wrinkled skin) asked the other ranger if they’d seen a rhino. He said that they hadn’t and she exclaimed, “We have!” as we drove off. Our ranger had to radio to the other jeep and apologize for her lie!

And today, as we continued our rhino quest, the blonde trophy wife became frustrated and said very slowly to our driver, “We’re looking for a large, gray animal. It has a single horn on its nose…” This led the other woman to conclude that she had a future as a game ranger.

The foursome were very entertaining and clearly were enjoying their vacation together. When we weren’t on a game drive, they were guzzling wine and beer, smoking their cigarettes and laughing up a storm. If it weren’t for the smoking, I might guess that I just caught a glimpse of my own future.

Animal kingdom

May 6, 2009

Like yesterday, we woke up at 5:30 this morning and headed off into the bush. A new French couple on their honeymoon have joined us at Chitwa Chitwa, so we had a full jeep.

We were lucky to see a group of giraffe and zebra, all enjoying their morning meal and grazing peacefully before we tracked down the pride of lions we followed yesterday. They were done with their 30-hour feast and were lazily walking about.

The entire group of them – three grown females and about nine cubs – would walk a bit, stop, lie down, play with each other, then continue. Suddenly, one of the adults started off with a purpose and the rest followed in the tall grass. We looked over to where she was heading and we saw a few impala: dessert after the zebra meal!

We stayed silent and watched the lions stalk the unsuspecting impala, but the prey realized something was amiss when one of the lions refused to stalk in the camouflage of the grass. Once the impala spotted the lazy lion, they started snorting, warning their friends that predators were near. It was just like watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the serious narration or the bloody kill. So we went on to find other animals to watch.

At the insistence of one of our South African friends, we continued last night’s hunt for a rhino, only this morning we were successful! We saw a large male rhino, slowly walking along, marking its territory with sprays of urine as it went. It actually moved quite quickly and once it was out of sight, we were on the hunt for a pachyderm.

It wasn’t long before we came upon a relatively young male elephant who was terrified of the jeep-bound tourists who were following it. It kept trying to hide from us (unsuccessfully), and after we got a few good pictures, we were on our way.

We saw a few wildebeest, more zebra and a warthog during our journey, then returned to the lodge for another tres yummy breakfast.

Franco-vile

May 5, 2009

Usually, I enjoy meeting French people because it provides me a chance to try my French and reminisce about my semester abroad in Paris. That being said, when I encounter a particularly whiny and annoying Frenchy, I’m really not that keen to spend more time with him or her.

Also staying at our lodge is a French woman who is checking out African safari lodges as part of her travel agent job (By the way, who works as a travel agent these days?). She doesn’t speak English very well and insists on not speaking French to me, even though I offered multiple times to make her life easier.

And since it became clear that Charlotte York and I are not a romantic couple, she somehow managed to snag a seat at our table for lunch and for dinner today, thereby annoying the crap out of us.

I feel bad for the poor woman because she’s traveling alone, but this is her job! Plus, she only asks questions about travel (What airline did you fly? What boutique hotels do you enjoy in San Francisco? How does this lodge compare to others you’ve stayed at?) or complains about the weight she’s gained on this trip (Well, I live by the beach – you know how it is.).

And tonight, she had the audacity to answer her cell phone while at our table and she lit up a cigarette after making a big deal about how she quit smoking … last night. Furthermore, she accidentally blew out our table’s candle, yet insisted on bothering another table for a lighter. And on top of everything else, she wore a turquoise scrunchy in her hair.

She basically drove Charlotte York and I back to our room as soon as we were done with dinner. I think it was pretty obvious that we both were having an excruciating dining experience, but we didn’t care.

Safari sundowner

May 5, 2009

After a taxing afternoon of reading by the pool and listening to hippos, it was time for our evening safari into the bush. We departed just as the sun started to set, lighting the sky on fire and creating beautiful silhouettes of the African flora.

We were on a mission to find a rhinoceros – the final member of the “Big 5” we had yet to see. But first, we decided to check in on our pride of lions and watched them continue to polish off the zebra from earlier today. Vultures perched above in trees, waiting for the lions to leave some scraps.

As we hunted for the elusive rhino, we had the chance to see a zebra (alive) and another giraffe. We saw some more deer-type creatures and a few rabbits. But no rhino in sight.

So, we drove around for a while until our ranger decided it was happy hour. He took out a little table and poured us some wine and unpacked some hors d’oeuvres. It was kind of strange to be standing around, nervously waiting for wildlife and enjoying a beverage. In fact, it was kind of annoying because I wanted to continue on our game drive.

Shortly after we broke for drinks, it was pretty dark and our tracker pulled out a high-powered spotlight to shine into the bushes, hoping to catch reflections from animals’ eyes. We managed to see a few more deer-thingys, some hyenas, a whole bunch of zebras and an impala that was dangling from a tree! Apparently, a leopard had dragged its dinner up a tree to keep it from other preadators. It was kind of a weird sight.

Overall, we had fewer animal sightings than in the morning, but it was a beautiful night and driving through the bush in an open jeep was really quite a treat. The African bush was amazingly fragrant (except for the area around the zebra carcass) and the warm air was very pleasant. Not a bad way to spend an evening, indeed.

Elephantitis

May 5, 2009

So, it’s mid-morning on our first day and I’ve just taken a shower. I joined Charlotte York on our outside deck to get some sun while she admirably jazzercised with her resistance bands.

I was taking time to transfer the more than 150 photos I’d taken this morning from my memory card, when I suddenly spotted an elephant, slowly making its way toward us! We watched it come by, take a drink and spray itself from a nearby pool of water, then continue. It must have been a mere 20 yards away from us!

Into the bush

May 5, 2009

Our ranger woke us up this morning at 5;30am for our first game drive of the week. The two South Africans, Charlotte York, our ranger, a tracker and I piled into an eleven-seater jeep and headed into the wild.

As we ambled along, we first came upon a giraffe, apparently an old guy, just munching on a tree. We also happened upon some impala and a fugly-looking hyena.

Our tracker and ranger kept their eyes on the road, examining the dirt for animal footprints and identifying the different poop, in the hopes of finding some lions to track down. More than once, our intrepid tracker alighted from the jeep and went off into the bush himself, before rejoining us to lead us toward a potential pride of lions.

Once the ranger learned of the lions’ whereabouts, we went into overdrive, bursting through the bush, and clearing our own path. We came upon two female lions, sipping from a little pool of water and understood that the rest of the pride must be nearby.

When the lions were refreshed, we followed them into the bush and found the rest of the pride: several additional females and about a half dozen adorable little baby cubs! They were feasting on a freshly killed zebra, pulling at its meat or lounging content and full to the side. We stopped for a while, watching the lions enjoy their meal and snapping a million photos before we continued.

We were on our way, back in exploration/tracking mode in the bush, when we suddenly chanced upon a female leopard, walking down the road. She kept walking a few paces, rolled on the ground, got up, and continued walking. At one point, she was approximately a foot away from me, alongside the jeep! Fortunately, she didn’t seem interested in eating panda meat.

Our ranger followed the leopard for a while, with us in total awe. Apparently, the leopard is the most elusive of the “big five”: lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo.

By this time, our three hour game drive concluded and we returned to the lodge and enjoyed a hearty breakfast.

Luxury lodge

May 4, 2009

Charlotte York and I flew from Joburg to Nelspruit airport this afternoon, before taking a three-hour car ride to the Chitwa Chitwa Lodge in the Sabi Sand private resort. Even though it was night, we managed to see a zebra on our way!

Little did we know that the lodge was super luxurious and our suite may well be intended for honeymooners. Our king-sized bed under a gauzy mosquito net dominates the room, but there are plenty of couches, coffee tables and other areas to rest. We apparently have a private deck with a pool, but it was tough to see what type of view we have in the dark.

When we were led to our suite, we were instructed not to leave unless accompanies by a ranger because wild animals pass through the grounds at night. So we waited for our ranger to collect us, and we were escorted to a very lovely al fresco dinner with 10 other guests, two South African couples, an Italian family and one French lady.

We sat in a semi-circle and our chef explained the evening’s menu. We started with a nice filo dough pouch with some sort of creamy vegetable, then were treated to some lamb, potatoes and cabbage. For dessert, we enjoyed a honey custard, which was kind of unusual, but very nice.

Instead of sitting around with the other guests and enjoying more wine, Charlotte York and I decided to retire early so that we could be well rested for our 5:30am call tomorrow for the morning safari!

Fashion or function

May 4, 2009

Today I learned something about African women. Sometimes, if you see one walking alongside the road, it may not be a jug of water she’s carrying atop her head. Instead, it may be a very big, very red hat.

Catch up time

I'm back in Johannesburg, after several days on a safari trip in the African bush. We were in a pretty remote part of South Africa that ... didn't have internet!

But I still captured all my bloggie thoughts on Word document, so now I'm going to paste them here, for all to read.

Downtime

According to our original itinerary, Charlotte York and I are supposed to be enduring a four-hour drive from Ladybrand to Johannesburg, before boarding a flight to Nelspruit airport where we are to be picked up for a three-hour drive to our safari lodge.

Fortunately, we changed our plans and made the hike to Johannesburg last night. We booked a last-minute room at the Silverwood Manor and we're spending this morning in lounge mode. It's a beautiful, sunny day in Johannesburg, but we've been warned that it's a pretty unsafe town so we're just reading and lying around.

Sadly, the current renovations have robbed us of the chance to use the gym or to borrow a DVD (We're not quite sure what the renovation has to do with the DVD library, but we decided not to push it.), but it was nice to use the very luxurious shower after our refusal to get clean while in Semonkong.

Toasty

This morning, I was introduced to Beefy Bovril, a savory meat and vegetable spread that South Africans spread on their morning toast. I was a bit apprehensive (mostly because of the substance's name), but it turned out to be quite delicious!

The mountain kingdom

Yesterday morning we woke up early and made the nearly four-hour drive from Ladybrand to Semonkong, Lesotho. Our destination was the Semonkong Lodge, a rustic little lodge high atop some of the most magnificent mountains I've ever seen.

Lesotho is often called the "mountain kingdom" and for good reason. It wasn't like there was a single mountain range to cross, but we kept going over mountain pass over mountain pass, along a very rocky unpaved road. You can imagine how my back felt after the rickety journey.

Along the way, we passed many little tiny villages of thatch-roofed huts and corrugated tin shacks. Men and women walked alongside the roads with beautiful, heavy wool blankets pinned across their chests and boys herded sheep along to find new grass upon which to graze.

The people of Lesotho, the Basotho, are very peaceful and we encountered one little boy, approximately four years old, who tried to hold a conversation with us. He spoke to us in Sosotho, and we explained that we couldn't understand him, but he continued to hold his end of the conversation until he got bored of us and walked away.

We made our way to the Maletsunyane Falls, a very spectacular waterfall that is apparently home to the longest abseil drop in the world. I can't really describe how spectacular it was, feeling like you're on top of the world, gazing across a huge gorge at a stunning waterfall.

At each of our meals in Semonkong, we had the most delicious bread, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. They used it as toast for breakfast, to accompany our soup, as a bun for a cheeseburger and as a pita for shwarma. But we didn't get tired of it and I really couldn't get enough.

Because of the altitude, it got very chilly at night, but fortunately we had some of those local blankets to keep us warm at night. And night came early because the lights cut off at 8pm, thanks to the unpredictability of the region's electrical supply.

While at the lodge, we met a few American Peace Corps workers and all were shocked that we chose to spend our vacation time in such a remote part of the world. But this past weekend was much more like the Africa I looked forward to visiting. People who live simpler lives, untouched natural beauty and spectacular skies for miles and miles.

Where everybody knows your name

We're spending the night in Ladybrand, a tiny town in South Africa near the Lesotho border, where our friend lives. It's a tiny, dusty little town and we're told that it's in the heart of Afrikaner country, the equivalent to "redneck territory" in the States.

After a very lovely dinner at a Chinese dinner (I might add that it was a very good Chinese meal in the middle of nowhere, Africa.), we headed out to one of the local bars. It was still early in the evening, so there weren't very many people out, but all of the other bar patrons were speaking Afrikaans.

Our host was the belle of the ball and she made her way around, saying hello to all the other locals. The bar's walls were adorned by a few liquor and beer advertisements and the three flat screen televisions were tuned into a cricket match. Under the fluorescent lighting, there was an interesting lighting effect that sprayed red and green dots all around the bar and an adjacent room had three pool tables, one of which we quickly took over.

It was actually a really interesting experience, being in the middle of nowhere, in a divey bar that played Eurotrash dance music (with a fun "Poker Face" remix thrown in for good measure). Our host's friend told us that if we were to walk in five years earlier, with our same eclectic group (two white South Africans, one black South African, an Indian woman, a Chinese American and a two white Americans), it might not have been a pretty picture. You really can't escape the ghost of apartheid in this country and it creates a tension that I am certainly not used to in San Francisco.

Brick shit house

This morning, we travelled to Lesotho, a tiny country completely surrounded by South Africa. It's a beautiful, mountainous country where 50 percent of the population is unemployed and HIV/AIDS rates are alarmingly high.

We met up with a former colleague and some of her friends and traveled to Maseru, the country's capital. There we joined some volunteers from Tzu Chi Foundation in helping to build a bathroom for a children's day care center.

At first, it was difficult to help out, and I largely felt useless, moving cinder blocks from one pile to another pile, closer to the structure. But eventually, I got into the groove and was troweling cement, laying bricks down and shoveling cement to different areas of the structure.

I can't say that I worked terribly hard, but it was nice to get into the community, work alongside some Basotho men and work toward building a needed structure in the community.

Farewell Cape Town

For our last meal in Cape Town, Charlotte York and I checked out the trendy restaurant, Beluga, where Prince Harry's girlfriend celebrated a recent birthday. It was a fun restaurant and I had the chance to try kingklip, a local fish that came highly recommended.

Now that the Cape Town portion of our vacay is over, I have mixed feelings about the city. It certainly does have natural beauty, but the disparity between black/white, poor/rich is very startling. Furthermore, the fact that it's not safe to explore on one's own was pretty disappointing.

I think I'd go back and experience the beaches and nightlife during the summer, but it doesn't feel representative of the African experience I'm looking for during this trip.