AFRICA!!!

Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls are one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. While we could not stop taking pictures of the beautiful rainbow over the 108 m deep "Rainbow Falls", we were a little disappointed that the water level of the Zambesi river had not reached its peak in order to create the famous uninterrupted 2 mile long water curtain which made it look less impressive than the Niagara Falls. The atmosphere in Zimbabwe was a little depressing and we can not really recommend this as a vacation destination. The stores are empty, no food in the super markets and artists are willing to barter used shoes and socks for beautiful little stone sculptures. (Inflation in Zimbabwe is running at 11,000% ! - no kidding)

Luckily Botswana was not far from Victoria Falls which allowed us to escape for a one day safari to the beautiful Chobezi National Park. We can highly recommend the beautiful Chobezi Safari Lodge at the Chobe River with direct access to river wildlife viewing (lots of Nile crocodiles, Hippos, water monitor lezards, red litchwe antelopes and beautiful birds). We enjoyed a half day boat safari and could even witness how nature works according to the "survival of the fittest" rule when a little slow swimming red litchwe (similar to an antelope) was swallowed by a crododile while crossing the river with the rest of the herd. The highlight of the afternoon Jeep safari was watching a big group of African elephants during their bathing rituals. We can definitely recommend Botswana for Safaris and we would love to come back to see the Okavango Delta.

After lots of rain in Zimbabwe, we found strong winds and stinging hot temperatures in Cape Town, South Africa. Our Ten Star Guesthouse was spotless clean, modern and very comfortable directly situated at the foot of table mountain - not far from the city center. The Cape's beaches are white and fine and the water is very cold but beautiful turquoise blue populated with little Penguins from Antarctica. We visited Cape of Good Hope and Africa's most south-westerly point where famous European explorers like Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias landed on their way to India.

(Sorry but we had problems with our flash drive and are not able to post our zimbabwe and botswana safari and cape of good hope photos)

(Table Mountain at sunset)

(Nordhoek Beach as seen from Chapman's Peak near Cape Town)

Very moving was our visit of the shacks of Cape Town's townships where still 3 million people live in poverty.

(Shop owner preparing lamb's head for sale to the local township)

(First B&B in the Township)

We found a beautiful gem in South Africa's wine country: Franschoek with its cute little town center and the beautiful winery gardens where Chamonix, Boschendal and La Petite Ferme serve gourmet lunches to accompany their wines.

(La Petite Ferme Winery - Franschoek)

After 8 short days in Africa we are heading to Brazil to spend Christmas in Rio de Janeiro!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of you!

Bali Spirits

Thanks to Hilton Honors rewards we were able to stay five nights for free in the 5-star Conrad Resort on the Tenjang Benoa peninsula near Nusa Dua, South Bali where Tony enjoyed early morning Yoga work out in the beautiful landscaped gardens, Bettina Aquacised in the large Lagoon pool and both road bikes along the beach to temples and seaweed farms. Nusa Dua was hosting the UN World Climate Conference and security was everywhere which made us feel very safe. However, after days of pampering we rented a car and made our way to the ricefields, woodcarvers and painters of the royal city of Ubud in the middle of Bali. After a rather scary first night in a dark room at the Bali Spirit hotel (overlooking a river gorge with gardens full of demon figures...) we explored the town's museums, palaces temples and cafes in between rain showers. The highlight of the day was our monkey encounter.

(Our room (top level - AlamShanti) in Ubud)


While walking off the beaten path through beautiful ricefields we found a little paradiese, at the Alam Shanti boutique hotel which was just finished and designed by a local famous painter who also owned the best bakery in town (we just loved our breakfast and afternoon tea cakes served on our private veranda). Since we loved our room so much, we decided to stay for three nights and enjoyed the best food and local dance performances. Tony found a great meditation center just down the road where Tini joined him at the evening community meditation class (she was shining white in between the local crowd.....).




Well we could have stayed for weeks but wanted to explore more of the island and moved on to the North of Bali to the black sands of Lovina Beach. Highlight here was the sunrise outrigger boat cruise to see dozens of dolphins jumping right next to us. From Lovina we drove over tiny little roads through the fishing and salt panning villages of the East Coast back to Bukit Island to see the Uluwatu temple on a majestic rock overlooking the rough see. Our Bali farewell dinner was at sunset on Jimbaran Beach where local fishermen serve affordable lobster on nice romantic cancle light lit tables set directly on the beach next to the Four Season's hotel. Next destination: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Cape Town, South Africa

(Tony and Tini get a flat in the middle of nowhere. It is a good thing that the locals had a car jack.)

T^4

- Bali, Indonesia: a) find art, tradition, great food, spirituality, yoga and mediation in the middle of the picturesque rice fields of Ubud (try to stay at the 8 room Alam Shanti Boutique hotel with Alam Wangi Spa and associated Wayan bakery and Laka Leke restaurant). b) For great ocean views, stay at Blue Moon Villas near Amed Beach. c) Find a Paul Bocuse trained chef and hidden luxury villas above Lovina Beach at Damai resort and hire an outrigger boat for a sunrise cruise to see the Dolphins making flipper jumps right next to you. d) enjoy sunset on the beach while eating affordable lobster at Jimbaran Beach. e) Visit famous Uluwatu temple before sunset and enjoy the traditional Kecak and fire dance performance at 06:00 p.m.

Good Morning Vietnam !!

Many Vietnamese start their day at the crack of dawn with exercise (Tai Chi, Aerobics, Martial Arts) in the local park. This is a tradition which started when Ho Chi Minh ordered the country’s citizens to exercise back in the 50s - and they're still exercising today.




Tony and Bettina tried their best to indulge in the local culture by drinking tea and a smoking from the shared (Tobacco) water pipe in the morning.

Tony and Bettina’s budget is being depleted at a faster rate than expected so they had to work a bit.

Tony worked with the Red Zhao, weaving textiles, for a few days in the northern rural area called Sapa located only 2 km south of the Chinese border. (Rice paddie fields in the mountains of Sapa)

Bettina did a great job selling fruit on the streets of Ha Noi despite having difficulty understanding what her customers were asking for.

To get away from it all Bettina and Tony decided to take a long trip. How long you ask?
Well they spent 2 days in the quiet, serene, natural wonder of the world nominnee Ha Long Bay.
It was quite nice, especially "surprise" cave with all of its stalactites and stalacmite.
(Stalacmite in Surprise Cave ?)

So far Tony and Tini have been healthy except when they got food poisoning from something they ate either in Vietnam or Singapore. Luckily they had already checked into their resort in Bali and were able to recover within a day.

(P.S. Bettina and Tony are still "workin' it," having been inspired by the hard wood carvings at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi)

T^4

- Ha Noi, Vietnam: a) take the soft sleeper 4 pax berth overnight train to Sa Pa, stay at the new Green Bamboo hotel and hire a H'mong girl to trek with you to her village and try even one night Homestay at Tan Van village. b) Take a two night Halong Bay cruise on a new Deluxe Junke (stay two nights on board while cruising this world natural heritage site).

G'day from Australia

Cheers ! Howyougoing? It is all about the people. We met so many people in Australia who were interesting to talk to, very helpful in making our stay so enjoyable.


We were also fortunate enough to be picked up from the airport by our friend Steven Perez. Steven took us on a nice private sightseeing tour up the northern beaches all the way to Palm Beach and Newport Beach. A very special treat was the afternoon cruise on his Whitecap power boat in the Pittwater.

(Good to be back in Newport Beach for the day)

Sydney welcomed us with sunshine - we could even see the famous opera house and harbour bridge during landing. Sydney felt a little like California. A morning "coffee cruise" (which was generously given to us as a gift by another very kind Australian....) around the whole harbor served as a very enjoyable first overview of greater Sydney.



Not having enough from the harbour, we boarded a ship once again in the evening - this time for a Salsa cruise. It was a great way to see the Sydney citylights at night. The salsa performance was pretty weak and we were not able to dance much. However, we did find another dance opportunity at the fancy bar called The Establishemnet on glitzy George Street (every Tuesday evening Salseros...).

We can highly recommend the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney's oldest pub (pubs are called hotels in Australia) and brewerylled with its real B&B-style friendly sandstone rooms. It is situated in the historic district called the Rocks with lots of nice cafes, bars, restaurants and art shops and in walking distance to the Circular Quay (main terminal for harbor ferries and city buses).

After visiting the beautiful Chinese Gardens in Chinatown, we took a 45 minute bus ride to one of the south Sydney beaches called Coogee. From our hotel in Coogee we jogged along the southern coast to the famous Bondi beach. The scenery was quite spectacular. There are tons of wide soft sandy beaches not only within the harbor but also all along the sea coast, hidden in protected bays. Bettina's favorite beach was Bondi (as you can see from her favorite shot).

Our excursion to the Whitsunday Islands in the inner Great Barrier Reef was a little dissappointing due to the heavy rain and stormy weather. Whitehaven beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, did not look quite spectacular in the rain but we could still see and feel the fabulous white super soft coral sand and turquoise blue warm water. The ride to Whitehaven on the yellow Ocean Rafts was very bumpy and wet but fast and fun wave riding. Ideally we would have liked to come with our own seaplane.....

The Whitsunday coast's main town is Airlie Beach where we met tons of Germans and Australian college kids on "spring" break (Australia's Daytona Beach...). Magnum's Backpacker hotel's Double rooms are a great deal, clean and equipped with a/c and fridge. If we were to visit the Great Barrier again we would fly to Port Douglas since so many other travelers recommended this cozy town north of Cairnes.

Hayman Island Resort (one of the Leading Hotels in the World) welcomed us with a great local rate but did not quite live up to the standards of a real LHW. Hayman's huge signature hexagon shaped pool is unique.

After a strenious hike to Blue Pearl Bay I off Hayman Island and snorkeling for 2 hours (roundtrip) to Blue Pearl Bay II to see the rich coral covered underwater world, we enjoyed our lunch on the beach.

Now we are looking forward to our flight in the upper deck of the first A380 (largest passenger airplane) in service.

Aussie notes:

- flys (really stick to you) – brushing off the flys from your face is known as the Aussie salute

- Words: Trainers = Running Shoes, Barbie = BBQ, Howareyougoing?, Bathers = swim suits

T^4

Sydney, Australia: The Rocks rock, stay in this part of town at the Lord Nelson Brewery Pub & Hotel (pie night on Mondays), go salsa dancing on Tuesdays at The Establishent on George Street, take the Coffee Harbour Cruise with Captain Cook, jog/walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach along the scenic coastal walk (have $7 Steaks at the North Bondi Veteran's club on Wednesdays after 06:00 p.m.).

Itinerary

Dear friends,

While posting our travel experiences, we would love to keep hearing from you!

Here is our itinerary for those that are thinking of joining us at a certain destination.....

Australia: November 12 -22, 2007
Singapore: November 22/23 and 29/30, 2007
Hanoi, Vietnam: November 23 - 29, 2007
Bali: November 30 - December 11, 2007
Zimbabwe-Victoria Falls: December 12-16, 2007
Cape Town, South Africa: December 17-20, 2007
Sao Paulo, Brazil: December 20/21, 2007 and January 25-26, 2008
BRAZIL: Rio De Janeiro (December 21-25, 2007), Manuas/Amazon (December 26-30, 2007), Salvdaor de Bahia (December 31, 2007 - January 3, 2008), Natal (January 4-6 and 9-10, 2008), Ilha Fernando de Noronha (January 6-9, 2008), Foz do Iguacu/Caratas/Cascadas de Iguzu (January 11-14, 2008)
ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires (Jan. 14-16 and 20-22, 2008), Perito Moreno/Calafate (Jan. 16-19, 2008)
URUGUAY: Punta del Este (Jan. 23-25, 2008)

Finally on Fiji Time

Things do not always go as planned - especially when you are on Fiji time. However, things always workout in the end.

We were bumped from our flight from Nadi and arrived one day late in Suvasuva. This caused us to miss our traditional earth oven Lovo dinner at the Bula Re cafe in Savasavu. Bettina and I did make it to the Bula Re the following day for a coffee where we met the cafe owner, Tanda, who happened to be an ex-patriot from Wasserburg, Germany, near Bettina's hometown. We also met Tanda's Swiss ex-pat friend Beat who, incidentally, is the owner of the Naveria Heights Resort. This was one of the resorts Bettina and I were considering staying at. Beat took us up the hill to his little hill top paradise, accessible by 4-wheel drive only. The two guest rooms are in a separate wing of his home, and were very private, clean, stylish, modern and quiet. The ocean view from his hill top terrace is just unbelievable. Beat, his two adorable boys and the Fijian housemaid made us really feel at home.

On November 9th, Beat invited us to his friend Arvind Kumar's humble home in the middle of the tropical forest for an authentic Hindu Diwali celebration. We had a good selection of Indian food and saw lots of fireworks. Diwali is a national celebration in Fiji like our New Years.

The following day we visited the posh Cousteau Resort (rooms starting at $900.00 per night !!), to watch the local musicians perform in the annual music festival. At the end of the night we hopped on the bus with the student musicians who gave us a lift to our hotel (Hot Springs Hotel - modest hotel with a great view of Savusavu).

We enjoyed Savusavu just as much as the Yasawa Islands. Although the beaches and snorkeling were not as nice in Savusavu , we felt at home in this cozy village. Despite having many European and American ex-pats the small town of Savusavu does not feel as touristy as the Yasawas.

Despite missing our flight and not having a Lonely Planet guide with us we'd say things worked out quite nice. Off to Sydney via Auckland !


Tony and Tini Travel Tips (T^4). 1) Leave yourself plenty of time when taking the domestic air carriers in Fiji. 2) Take lots of mosquito spray, 3) Avoid spending too much time in Nadi and Suva, 4) Do not waste time Island hopping in the Yasawas, go directly to the Octopus Resort using their direct boat transfer from Denerau - instead of buying the expensive Awesome Adventures "Bula" pass, 5) Visit Savusavu and Naema Island (for snorkeling) off Vanau Levu

Fiji, Yasawa Islands, Octopus Resort (make your PADI certificate here and stay a whole week, also great house reef for snorkeling, swimming pool and great healthy food - try the roasted pumkin salad)

Fiji Part II

After three days on the resort Island Denerau (near Nadi, Viti Levu) and two fun sailing experiences we left on a six day backpacker Island hopping trip with the Yasawa Flyer. The Yasawas are tiny volcano islands with lush green rain forests, palm tree lined white sandy beaches, turquoise blue waters and coral reefs just outside our thatched roof bures. Very simple accommodations and cold water showers, lots of mosquitos, but papayas, mangos, and coconuts fresh from the tree and fish from the oceans. Lots of beautiful colorful fish, navy blue sea stars, and small sting rays - just to name a few. Highlights: snorkeling in the famous Blue Lagoon, hiking the peaks of Nacula Island, Octopus resort on Waya Island (best coral reef, most clean and comfortable bures with open air showers, swimming pool, and the best food in the Yasawas). Next destination is Savusavu Bay on Vanua Levu (second largest island in Fiji).

Bula (Hello) from Fiji

Our 11 hour flight from LAX to Nadi (Viti Levu, Fiji) seemed to go by surprisingly fast. I suppose this is because Bettina and I were working frantically to pack our storage container and we were extremely exhausted. We placed the lock on the container at around 8 pm and drove directly to the LAX from Newport Beach to catch our 11 pm flight. We call it Just In (Tony and Tini) Time - JIT^3. We could not have completed the packing on time if it were not for our friends (You know who you are. Thanks again). It was refreshing to take a break in the VIP Air New Zealand lounge prior to departure.

This is our second day at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa. It is quite hot and a bit humid with clear skies. We will stay here at the Hilton for a few more nights. In the meantime we are planning our next excursion to the Yasawa Islands, north of Viti Levu. Did you know that Fijian Indians make up approximately 40% of the population (Native Fijians: ~ 53%; European, Chinese, and Pacific Islanders: ~ 7%). We will be in Fiji until November 12^th and then head for Australia. Moce (goodbye) for now.

T minus 1 day

It's about 10:46 pm and we are only 80% packed. Our plane leaves tomorrow at 11 pm for Fiji. Luckily, we have much of tomorrow to finish packing.