Back in The Saddle Again

Home Sweet Home. I'm finally back in Calgary, and as per usual, it feels like I've never left. I got back about a week ago, and it's been pretty hectic since. I had one day of rest before having to work at the Calgary Unconventional Oil & Gas Forum for two days. It was two days of mingling with high-profile oil executives at the Hyatt Regency. Not bad. My friends from Ontario and Belgium arrived the day I started work, so things have been busy. I love showing people around cities. We saw pretty much everything that Calgary has to offer. We did day trips to Banff and Drumheller, went stampeding, saw chuckwagon races and the Grandstand show, and Mike even made friends with a stripper at a patio on 17th avenue. The boys headed out to the west coast, while I chose to relax at home for a week. They're coming to pick me up on Monday, and then the big drive out east will start. We're planning to see Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York and Boston. This is fairly ambitious for the time we have allotted (just under a month), so we'll see how things go. I am excited to see more of the United States. They're our next-door-neighbors and so far I've only seen California and New York.

Yes Ma'am

In five hours I fly out of Dubai, and this adventure officially ends. Everyone here calls me "Ma'am." Even girls working in clothing stores. It makes me feel a lot more important than I actually am! I can't believe it's been a month since I left New York. It's been a whirlwind of a trip. I couldn't have been more delighted by Africa, and I'm surprised that I fell in love with it as much as I did. Before I left, I really let the talk about how "dangerous" Africa is get to me. I was certain that either Peter or I would be robbed or mugged. But, the most frightening part about this entire journey was when Uncle Mike, Mom and I got lost in Newark, New Jersey at 11 pm. There are dodgy areas everywhere, but people are most frightened by what they don't know. I feel like the media has inserted a false "world vision" type image of Africa in our brains. Many people think Africa is full of starving people living in mud huts who are uncivilized and impoverished beyond hope. I realize that I've only seen a small portion of that beautiful and extensive continent, and that my experience in South Africa was altered due to FIFA, but it still opened my eyes to a new perception of Africa. The more I travel, the more I realize that people are fundamentally the same no matter where you go. There are good and bad people everywhere, and although we may lead different lifestyles people still experience the same needs and wants no matter where in the world one happens to live. But enough ranting. I'll talk about my last few days in Dubai, because they've been quite something.

I spent my first full day here in malls. That's all there seems to be to do in Dubai at the moment. It's wayyyy to hot to do anything outside, but conveniently all activities imaginable are squeezed into malls. I took the metro down to the mall of the emirates. The Dubai metro is brand new, and spectacular. There's a compartment for women only, so that's really nice, because you don't get stared at by men. The Dubai mall is the largest mall in the world, and has a skating rink and gigantic aquarium that you can go scuba diving in. There's even sharks inside, and they do cage diving there. I sat in a cafe and watched people ski in the indoor ski hill. Even though it seems absurd to have a ski hill in a place like Dubai, I think it's actually really nice. This way even people who live in the middle of the desert get to go skiing if they wish, and when it's 50 degrees in the shade, the idea of snow for a few hours is very appealing.

Yesterday we drove to Abu Dhabi for the day. It's only about an hour drive. We went particularily to see the Grand Mosque, which is stunning and spectacular. I have been in countless churches throughout Europe, and even to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, but I've never seen anything as stunning and opulent as this mosque. I had to wear an abaya to get in, which was worth the experience in itself. It was way too hot to do anything else in Abu Dhabi, so we just went for sushi and drove back to Dubai.

Today was pretty eventful. First thing in the morning we went up the Burj Khalifa... tallest building in the world. I've got loads of pictures to show Noah. You're only allowed up to the 124th floor, but there are apparently 200. After the Burj, Nic dropped me off in the old part of Dubai, where I went to the Dubai museum. It was really cool to see photos of Dubai twenty years ago, and NOTHING was here. Now there are skyscrapers, cranes and artificial islands galore. I walked from the museum to the river, where I took a boat for 25 cents to get to the famous gold souk. This was by far my favorite part of Dubai. I love the chaos and energy of street markets. I love the narrow winding roads lined with shops and eager vendors trying to hustle you into them. I went into just about every gold shop, just for the air conditioning. I got a little pashmina happy, and spent all of my cash. When I got to the ATM, I tried to withdrawl money three times, but it didn't go through. I was getting a little frantic at this point, since I didn't have enough money for a cab home, and no cell phone to call Nic and Ruth. Also, trouble with debit and visa while you're travelling, can be very stressful. But luck was on my side, and the man behind me actually gave me 50 dirhams (about $12), which was more than enough to get back. Thank god for him! I couldn't get a hold of my bank to figure out what the problem was, but hopefully it's just something to do with the ATM. We ordered Indian take out for dinner, and it was delicious. I have to go and finish packing up now, and I suppose this is my last entry for this trip. The month went by really fast, and I'm sad that it's over. Thank you to Uncle Mike and Mel for highly subsidizing this trip! And thanks Mom and Dad for letting me do these things. I'm excited to see you all soon!

The Last Leg

I landed in Dubai a few hours ago, and I'll be here until Monday. I feel like I stepped off the plane and into a sauna. It is HOT here... and apparently these temperatures are cool for this time of year. It's 35 degrees celsius! My flight was really nice. It was 8 1/2 hours overnight, and the plane was more than half empty. I had an entire row to myself, and actually got a bit of rest! I brough in three bottles of wine from South Africa, and was worried that I'd have trouble at Dubai customs. But they scanned my luggage, and didn't question it at all! I landed at five in the morning, and jumped into a cab to get to Nicole and Ruth's place. There was a line up to get into a taxi, and all single female travellers are ushered into a seperate line for "ladies taxis." The cars are pink, and the women drivers wear a matching pink burka that has "Ladies Taxi" embroidered onto it. I wasn't expecting that, but I can't say I'm surprised. There are some crazy laws here. If you show your middle finger to anyone, you could end up spending some time in jail. Holding hands in public is forbidden, even for married couples. The taxi driver some time being "lost." She actually called Ruth three times to ask for directions, even though I had a clearly marked map for her. We spend some time driving around in circles, I felt like I knew the way better than she did. But of course, she was just trying to squeeze some extra money from me. It was a bit frustrating, but I'm not too upset about it, because it only cost about $12. Ruth and Nicole were so kind to wake up so early to greet me, and drink some tea. We all went back to bed after. Their apartment is really nice. I have my own room, with a luxurious queen sized bed. I'm really going to need some rest after South Africa and before stampede!

I was really sad to leave Cape Town. I'm glad we spent as long as we did there, because we actually got to know the city. It's so beautiful and charming there. I really need to go back someday, because there's still so much to see. We also had a false impression, because of FIFA. I really wanted to go shark cage diving, but it was all booked. So I'll have to go back and do that some day! I think I'm hooked on the world cup. I really got into it toward the end, and was upset to leave before the final. Germany won't be playing in it, and I'm really disappointed about that, but if they were I would have hated not being there. I normally despise tourists that do nothing but go to bars while they travel, but that's kind of what we did in Cape Town. We coulnd't help ourselves. It was too much fun. Bars on Long Street were packed every single night of the week, even if there was no game that day. It was really cool to see everyone decked out in their soccer paraphernalia. Word cup is the only time you'll go out to see people in face paint, crazy head gear, and blowing vuvuzelas on a nightly basis. We were at an Irish pub one night, and the Argentinian fans were so loud that the band actually walked off stage, because they couldn't compete with the noise the fans were making. I've never seen anything like it before. Soccer truly is the international sport. I love that you don't need to be rich to play it, and I love the passion it evokes in people. I'm definitely going to Brazil in 2014. I can't wait.

Table Mountain!

Today we took the cable car up cable mountain, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I know that a lot of things on this trip have been breathtaking, but table mountain has certainly been a highlight. Peter and I seem to be a very good travel team. We've been putting off table mountain, but today was a very clear and sunny day, so we decided we needed to seize this opportunity. Sure enough, students get half price on Fridays (my card is still valid), so we certainly lucked out. The top of table mountain is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. In terms of mountains, I've been spoiled, because I grew up in the rockies, but the mountains here are so different and unique. Apparently stupid tourists fall off table mountain frequently, because it's so jagged and vertical. I've never seen anything like it. Once you get to the top, it's a sheer fall to the bottom. I actually experienced vertigo. However, if you walk, out a bit, it's completely flat. It's amazing. On overcast days, when clouds envelope the mountain, they call it the "tablecloth," isn't that cute!

Yesterday, we completely lucked out and were invited out to a really posh dinner with two American guys that we've been hanging out with. Jack and Rob, have been going to all the world cups for years! We know them, because they've been staying at Carmen's hotel, and have come to some tourist sites with us. Last night was their last night in Africa, and we were lucky enough to be invited out to a really posh restaurant with them. We went to a restaurant called Beluga, and had champagne, wine, appetizers, steaks (veggie sushi for me), and dessert. For two broke students that have been travelling for over two weeks, it was heaven. We treated them to a drink afterward, (it was the least we could do), and stayed out at an Irish bar all night witnessing Argentinian riots... (even though it was still two days till game day). Tomorrow Germany plays Argentina, and it's going to be wild. We're gonna get to the waterfront as soon as we can wake up in order to get a good spot at the beer gardens.

"Eminem seems like inappropriate music for a wine tasting"

We got back yesterday from a lovely tour of the vineyards just outside Cape Town. We were lucky enough to have Mark and Carmen as guides, so we spent very little money hopping from wine tasting to wine tasting. The wine is really good, and it's really cheap. We started at 11 a.m, and after the second vineyard, you can't really taste the wine anymore. Normally, you get to sample five wines. Some places offered the tastings for free, and others you had to pay 20 rand or something (about 3 dollars). Mark has family in the area, so we went to their place after the wine tastings, where they urged us to try more dessert wines, brandy and liqueurs. Mark's uncle arranged for us to stay in this rustic yet luxurious cabin on a mountain, and for free! The place was gorgeous. I wish I could post pictures. We had an authentic South African braai (barbecue) on the patio, and a really good nights sleep. The next morning we did more wine tastings on the drive back to Cape Town, as well as an olive oil, and olive tasting, and a brandy tasting. The brandy tasting was tough. They should really give you some coke to chase it with! When we got back into Cape Town we went for some Mexican food and margaritas, and partied on Long Street, with the overly excited Spaniards chanting "Yo soy espanol, espanol, espanol"... all night.

Jaaaaaaaaa Deutschland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last night we were in Vic Falls, we stayed up with these two British guys and waited for the sunrise. We had heard that watching the sunrise from the posh Victoria Falls hotel was spectacular. The sun peaks out from the mist of the falls, and goes over the bridge. It really takes your breath away. Even though we were completely exhausted, it was worth it. We would have gone to bed if only we had an alarm. No one in the hostel was going to do a wake up call, so staying up was the only option! We had to be up early for a flight from Zambia -Jo'Burg-Cape Town anyway, so we slept on the plane!

It was so good to see Carmen and Mark again! They are both South African, and I met them in Berlin. Mark's family is Afrikaans, and Carmen is originally from a place called East London. They moved to Cape Town just under a year ago, and their place is amazing. Carmen kept on telling me about how small it was, but it's not. It's a bachelor apartment, but I'm pretty sure it's the size of my two bedroom in Ottawa. You can see table mountain from the window, there's a mall across the street, and Long Street (the big party street) is only a few blocks away!!! The location couldn't be better. I was certain that we would spend Friday night resting, but after a few glasses of wine, and catching up with Mark and Carmen, we decided to go out. We went to this place across the street from their apartment. It was eighties night, and we ended up talking and dancing with these two American brothers staying at the hotel that Carmen works at. Apparently they go to all the World Cups. They were in Germany and South Korea, and will be in Brazil in four years! I love the passion involved in soccer. It's unparallelled in any other sport. 3000 fans from England weren't allowed into South Africa during world cup, due to charges of hooliganism. Hockey fans get rowdy, but 3000 people banned from a sporting event! Now that is passion.

Anyway, yesterday we spent lounging and relaxing. We went for tea, had delicious Ethiopian takeout for dinner, and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

This morning we did a tour of one of the townships. It was called Langa, and is one of the oldest townships in Cape Town. I have always had a fascination with poverty, so the township tour was a must for me. I was honestly really surprised as to how positive the overall experience was. One would expect a tour of a shanty town to be very depressing, but it left the reverse impression. It was probably one of the most uplifting things I have ever experienced. The first thing we did was go to a baptist church service, which felt more like a party than anything. The church was in a building that looked like a tin can. There wasn't a single crucifix, stained glass window or virgin mary statue, but the service was full of life. The music was amazing. People were dancing, and everyone was smiling at each other and very friendly and welcoming. After the service we visited with some families, and interacted with the locals. We were in this one home, where three families shared one bedroom. There were only three single beds in the small room, and each family had a bed. 15 people total shared this tiny room. There was a small market set up in the township, where I spent way too much money on a piece of artwork for Uncle Mike and Mel. I thought it would be better to buy something from there, than from downtown. The people there could really use the money. Our guide said that the locals in the township are really open to tourism, because it gives them hope. Everyone said hi to us, and all the children wanted their picture taken. It was definitely a highlight of this trip, and I think it's a must for anyone who ever comes to South Africa. I want to go to another township in Durban once I'm back there next week.

After the township tour, we went to an Irish pub to watch the Germany vs. England game. We got to the fan center by the water front two and a half hours before the game started, and tickets were already sold out. So next time, we'll have to go even earlier. Either way, I'm very happy that Germany won. Those 3000 English hooligans that weren't allowed in the country must be losing it right now. There's a few hours until the Mexico vs. Argentina game. We're going to a Mexican restaurant to watch it. It will probably be crazy. I can still hear German fans honking their horns and blowing into those vuvuzelas!

Hakuna Matata

Victoria Falls is spectacular!!!! I don't even know where to start. We were originally only going to stay for one night, and then head to Namibia. But due to infrequent buses, and our lack of planning we ended up having to stay here for a few extra days, which is completely okay by me. We've met some very awesome people, and have done a lot. I even had a job interview for an internship in Sao Paulo. I called using a bartender's cell phone. The connection was horrible, there was loud music in the background, and I was feeling a little tipsy. I highly doubt that I will get a second interview! Later that evening, we ended up going to a local bar (and we were the only white people there), in the cab on the way there we saw an elephant on the side of the road! In the middle of the town! Yesterday we went on a sunset cruise which had an open bar. We took full advantage. From the boat we could see hippos, elephants and warthogs. Today we went to the falls, and got absolutely soaked. I must say, Victoria Falls makes Niagra Falls look like a bathtub. It is stunning. In the afternoon we went rode elephants. It wasn't nearly as horrible as my experience riding camels in the Sahara. Elephants are way better than camels! We're leaving for a dance show now, so I'll write more about Vic Falls later!