South Africa

Finally managed to get broadband connection here at the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg!! Maybe my room LAN connection during my previous stay was defective. Bummer.

My hotel is sooo upper class I could not sleep properly : http://www.westcliff.co.za/web/ojnb/ojnb_a1a_splash.jsp


Here's what I did in South Africa :

Sat, 14 Jan
Welcomed at the airport by my good buddy Nolan. Met his fiancee Tina at their home in Pretoria. Fantastic couple. They really made my stay very special.

With Nolan and Tina at the South African Administrative Building in Pretoria

Chatted for a few minutes then they took me around for the "admin stuff" (exchange money, buy prepaid mobile, etc). Checked out some really cool spots within the Pretoria and neighboring areas. Had my first taste of African cuisine and my first exposure to souvenir bargaining.

Dinner at Menlyn Mall in a resto called "Baobab" (named after a massive local tree) with Tina, Heinrich, Frank. Wayne (formerly online buddy) followed shortly after we checked out the menu. Coffee at Nolan's home.

With Tina, Frank, and Wayne (Heinrich missing in the photo). Had to ask the waiter to take a few shots to get the perfect clarity... to no avail !

Sun, 15 Jan
After visiting a garden expo, Nolan, Tina and I went to the Univ of Pretoria for "braai" , Afrikaans for "BBQ" . Great food, grilled the Afrikaans way. Met De Clercq and Madel (De Clercq is Nolan's buddy from high school).

Assorted meat during our "braai". That long thing circling the grill is the local sausage.

Coffee at Nolan's home, nap, then dinner at a coffee shop. Wonderful pizza and dessert.

I then prepared for my transfer to Jo'burg the following day.

Mon, 16 Jan
Nolan and Tina arranged a private car (can't take the cabs here as they say) which took me from Pretoria to Johannesburg. While waiting for the official check-in time, a shuttle took me and a few colleagues to a nearby mall (Sandton City). Walked around in a "let's get lost while in the mall" manner until I got so tired I treated myself to a movie "Brothers Grimm". Guess how much I paid... PHP 360 (equivalent to two Dolby Digital movies in Manila).

Jason and his GF Nicole met me at the hotel and took me out to a nice resto (forgot the name) at Rosebank Mall. Also had the chance to check out his office for a few minutes to view his party and travel photos in his laptop.

With Nicole and Jason in the latter's office in Rosebank Mall.

Tue, 17 Jan
Work officially started. We talked about how we can transform HR and add value to the company within the next several years. Good stuff but the jargon might not interest you.

Company dinner at Moyo at Melrose Arch. Initially briefed to serve South African food, I learned later that night that it could have been Morrocan that we munched on. Nice native atmosphere but service was rather slow. Anything free is great though!

Lamb and chicken curry. I was terribly hungry when these arrived.

Wed, 18 Jan
Day 2 of work.

De Clercq and Madel, whom I met from the Sunday braai, picked me up from the hotel and brought me to a great Italian resto. I also met Leon, De Clercq's flatmate. Interesting man who has a passion for the movies. After dinner, we had coffee at Melville, a street lined up with cool bars and restaurants.

With De Clercq, Madel, Leon. Turns out that the resto experienced power failure earlier that night so they had candles all around.

Thu, 19 Jan
Day 3 of work (final).

Denis (online buddy for about 3 years) and his friend Jean picked me up from the hotel and brought me to a Portugese resto in Melville. They are both originally from Ukraine so my interest in visiting their country increased. We hit a few bars/clubs in nearby areas and ended around 1 am.

With Denis and Jean at a Portugese resto. First time to meet Ukrainians.

Fri, 20 Jan
Shopping at the African Crafts center near Rosebank Mall. It's amusing that the store assistants wouldn't give up. Wonder how many "first customers" they've had that morning! Lunch in the area with Willy, a colleague from work.

Checked out from the hotel and hit the road for Pilanesberg National Park, a game reserve where visitors can see Africa's "Big 5" : lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and buffalo. Stayed at the Bakubang Lodge ("Bakubang" = People of the Hippo) with Rupert, Van, and Willy.

Did an evening game drive (430-800 pm) aboard a Nissan truck specially designed for safaris. Saw heaps of animals including lions (too far away though), elephants, giraffes, hippos, deers, and a hyena -- thanks to Peter (ranger) who had excellent vision! Also met Ken and Tamsin from the UK, Neil from Canada.

Good ole mini-tripod at work for this evening game drive group photo. L-R: Ken, Tamsin, Van, Neil, Willy, me, Rupert ; kneeling : Peter (ranger)

Sumptuous buffet dinner which I did not do much justice to. Then off to bed.

Sat, 21 Jan (updated Mon, 23 Jan)
Woke up at 430 am to prepare for a morning game drive (530-830 am). Saw a lot of rhinos, zebras, and gazelles. Also spotted a jackal (I almost blurted out "jackass" when I saw it!) Ended the drive with a sighting of a leopard sitting majestically on a rock. Glad we didnt look too attractive for breakfast.

Look at the center of the photo (leopard). We saw this a few minutes before we hit the exit. Amazing.

In this morning drive, I met a lady named Jenny from Cape Town and Rentia (ranger).

Travelled 400 km, dropped off Willy, Rupert, and Van at the airport then booked again at the Westcliff. Did some shopping at Hyde Park Mall and met Xander a guy who works for a bookshop there. He originally comes from Holland but has been based in Joburg for several years. He gave me some tips on which clubs to visit. Cool guy, will probably keep in touch with him (just like all the friends I met in this trip).

I was supposed to meet up with Grey and Scott for dinner for that did not push through. So I chilled out in the hotel until I got picked up by Jean (my Ukrainian buddy) at around 10pm.

Met up with Denis and his two other friends Daniel and Yuliya (both from Russia) at News Bar in Rivonia. Had a few drinks including a flaming one which almost killed me (but not quite hehe). We were supposed to hit a club but decided it was a rip off (Rand70 = PHP360) for a one-hour scan.

Sun, 22 Jan
Nolan and I had complete Continental and English combo breakfast at the Westcliff (Unfortunately, Tina could not make it as her mom was in town). Good convo as usual then he drove me to the airport for my flight to Singapore.

It is cool that the person who met me at the airport almost a week ago was the same person who sent me off. Complete cycle indeed.

Here's a breakdown of the people I personally met in South Africa (non-work):

Initally met online (well, I've finally met them!) : 5
Formally introduced: 8
By chance / random friendly chat : 6
Online friends whom I was hoping to meet but didn't get to : 3

South Africa is like Australia in many ways. It is a country worth visiting again -- for sights unseen and for the wonderful friends I met the first time around. Hopefully, I will attempt to obtian my VISA long before my flight next time!

More photos on my Fotopages site (link on the left side) in the coming days!

Back in the Driver's Seat

Turn on the Engine

Our driver decided on his own to take an extended leave without due notice so in my family's view, he has put an end to his employment. This is the last behavioral issue we could tolerate so we were happy to let him go. And with such half-expected exit, a few adjustments had to take place. What an unusual way of welcoming the new year.

So I am back in the driver's seat (literally) now having a heightened awareness of what needs to be checked in the car regularly, which roads shall get me to my destination in the least possible time, and yes my dreaded driver-related task, strategically finding the right parking slot and battling it out with individuals who have great peripheral vision for cars backing out of the parking area!

It's a cool situation. Believe it or not, I am beginning to love driving. Praise God for cars on automatic transmission! If only I could get the undisciplined pedestrians and bus drivers off the streets...

Now that I have full control of the wheels, there are two (2) 2006 goals at risk : (1) heading back to the gym (though the accelerator-brake combo in driving to Makati + parking slot hunt shall be my warm-up) and (2) my newly-discovered passion : hosting overseas travellers. Too early in the year to worry about these; I should find a remedy at some point.

The Pseudo-Backpacker

Friday night... Pao and Shelly, one of my most favorite couple friends from uni, are heading back to the US this weekend so they invited us to a gimmick at Metrowalk. Go figure what was on my mind when I got their SMS. Wide gap between work and gimmick time, long drive to the north and back home, sleepy or tipsy or both.

In a posh moment, I decided to book myself at one of the popular condo-hotels in Ortigas for the night. I've never paid for accommodation beyond my home while in Manila (only when overseas). No violent reaction from my ever-conservative family (what's a guy to do when sleeping on his own in a booked place overnight).

My room was similar to the 4-star hotels I've stayed in Singapore. Comfy bed, good entertainment system, though cramped T&B. Had dinner there and the food was nothing great (still better though than driving to El Pueblo). Slept for a while then prepared myself for a night of catching up. The irony of it all : Never even had a sip that night.

Stayed here until 1030 am / Sat, 7 Jan 06

2006 - Last Reviewed 23 April 2006

• Learn German. [to be done in Singapore; could be replaced by another skill]
• Travel outside Asia. [Done 14-22 Jan 06 , South Africa ; though I still plan to go to North America this year]
• Host at least ten (10) overseas travellers for free. [As of end-Feb 2006 : 3]
• Meet people from North and South America (of course, make friends with everyone else!). [As of March 2006 : 3]
• Maintain a blog. [On-going]
• Head back to the gym. Walk fast. Lift weights. [to be done in Singapore]
• Buy a new digicam with zoom (conversion) lens. [Done 07 Jan 06 - Panasonic Lumix 6.0 mp with Image Stabilizer ; opted not to get one that's conversion lens compatible]
• Further increase your involvement in Church.
• Invest more on oral and skin care. [Already had a trip to the dentist in April]
• Move into a new job/role (hopefully still within the same company). [Moving to Singapore, still same company, in mid-May]
• Revamp line-up of gimmick and gym clothes. [to be done in Singapore]
• Save for the rainy day. [On-going]