Flunky and the Fishbone

After my grueling first full day in Angola with missing luggage, fly swamped lunch and a broken down vehicle, I thought the next few days would be uneventful with boring meetings in safe office buildings. This flunky clearly had no gift of foresight.

At one of the business lunches, we were seated at a massive table and multiple plates of appetizers were laid before us. I looked at the menu for the day and the sheer excess of the meal amazed me. While the appetisers alone could have fed a village for a day, there were still 2 starters, 2 main courses (1 steak and 1 seafood dish), 1 pasta and a whole array of desserts, that were still in store for everyone. Just as I was happily chomping on a potato croquette which came by the basket full, I felt something in my throat. 

A fishbone was stuck. 

After trying in vain to wash down the bone with water and more croquettes, as well as having my boss peer down my throat, we finally had to interrupt the meeting and inform everyone that this flunky had a fishbone stuck in her throat. An Angolan flunky was immediately ordered to send me to the doctor. I was terrified. The car soon pulled up at a little bungalow. And I was thrust into a narrow corridor which served as a waiting room. Surrounded by sickly Angolan children spewing all manner of bodily fluids, I was convinced I would catch a exotic African virus for every minute that I sat there. So I tried my best not to breathe or touch anything. When it came to my turn, the doctor found my throat scratched, but there was no fishbone. So I was sent away with some some pills which were supposed to be some sort of antisceptic. And USD$100 was collected from me.

When we got back to the restaurant, the lunch was over, but the Angolan flunky was left with the task of settling the bill. As he counted out his stack of US dollar notes, I caught a glimpse of the bill. It cost a whopping USD$300 per person. My eyes widened in shock. And they had charged for the meals of Angolan flunky and I which we didn't consume beyond the booby-trap fishbone filled croquets. I could not believe they didn't even pack our lunch for us.

Thankfully kiasu Singaporean flunky had brought along muesli bars so Angolan flunky and I gobbled them down sullenly on the silent car ride to join the rest of the delegation at the next meeting.

Till today, I have not figured out why a fishbone was in a potato croquette. But this episode secured me a special mention in the retirement speech of the leader of the delegation. And I lived to tell the tale of my African Adventures. 

0 comments

at 11:58 PM

Traveling Solo Is So Overrated

Recently, traveling solo has been trending.

The virtues of doing so have been glamourised- finding yourself, absolute freedom, meeting amazing people, falling in love. Sounds absolutely wonderful right? It tempts even the most homebody, group-loving souls to grab their passports and catch the first flight out to start their solo adventure.

Well, I've been there, done that, and I really don't think traveling solo is all it is made out to be and here's why.

1. Lost photo ops. When travelling alone and wanting to be part of a photo, the solo traveler has several options:

ONE: Take a selfie. Result- big face and small background. Something like this. Not too pretty.

That's me at Tian An Men Square on a stormy day

TWO: Use a selfie stick. Result- Well, smiling at a stick. 'nuff said.

THREE: Search the area for a person who hopefully will not run away with your camera, look friendly and approach said person to take photo, try to pose in a non-awkward manner, hope the person is decent at taking photos. Most of the time, they aren't. Result- Lost photo ops like these.

Random stranger probably thought the shadows were beautiful

Sigh. The only photo of the Lady Liberty and I...

2. Freedom from friends, bondage to bags. Traveling solo means that your bags follow you everywhere you go, or you risk losing them. The number of times I have had to squeeze my luggage, duffle bag, handbag and shopping bags into tiny toilet cubicles while trying to ensure nothing touches the grimy floors is depressing. How I longed for friends during those times.

Forever chained to my luggage

3. Sharing is caring. Traveling with others means you get the benefit of economies of scale. Splitting cab fare, tour/audio guide costs, and accommodation costs with a fried would definitely save a pretty bundle which could be used on sharing a good meal which you can share and be able to sample a range of different food with all in the party.

Individual Portion

Shared feasts

4. Strange bed/seat-fellows. There have been too many times I have had to sit next to inconsiderate people who seem to spill over onto my already tiny economy class seat, resulting in terribly unbearable flights. Thankfully, I'm small. But it gets worse when they insist on talking to you with their mouthful of bad breath. Yup, too many unfortunate solo flights. And then there are the strange people you have to share a room with at hostels. I agree that some may be pretty cool. I've had the benefit of meeting a Syrian refugee in Armenia and a climate change activist in China, but my list of cool people I've met at hostels is pretty short, compared to the number of hostel roommates who are noisy, smelly, hostile, or just plain unfriendly. In those times, I always remember that some people travel solo for a reason. Maybe they just don't like other people, or maybe other people just don't like them.

5. Facing the big, bad scary world together. Like the night my best friend and I were hopelessly lost in a residential neighborhood in China with no taxis, or any other public transport in sight, even after walking for an hour, apart from a boat operator promising to take us back to civilization on a boat that did not even have any lights on it. Getting on the boat, we were convinced that we would end up as illegal immigrants somewhere 3 weeks later. But at least we were together.

The dodgy boat. My nervous hands don't take very good photos

6. Finally, I think everyone would agree, that any travel adventure is always a gazillion times more incredible when shared with people you love.

With all that said, every opportunity to travel is a privilege. So go forth and explore!

0 comments

at 1:40 PM

Counting Our Blessings

Mr Kwek and I are back from our 1 week of adventures in Ho Chi Minh. Before we left, I was uncertain about the decision to stay in Ho Chi Minh for a whole week. Most of the people I spoke to that have gone there for a holiday told me a weekend was enough. After all, all the main tourist sights were in walking distance of each other and could be covered in a day.

But now that our trip has ended, we are so glad we went for it, 1 week was just enough. And we are thankful for all the blessings that were showered upon us:

1. For journey mercies.

Surviving Saigon traffic is no small feat. We saw a number of motorbike take a tumble in 1 week.

2. For friendships...

 ...to enjoy the journey with...

... to introduce us to their world (you guys went above and beyond hospitality)...

... that transcend borders.

3. For all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes we were able to enjoy.

4. For the person that we can enjoy being with 24/7

Even squeezing oil out of lard is fun when we do it together

Several times during the trip, Mr Kwek and I just stopped and marvelled at how richly blessed we are. It's pretty amazing. And so we praise God from whom all blessings flow :)

0 comments

at 11:27 AM

Days 124-127: Blessed Beijing

I spent 5 days in Beijing last week for a workshop and those days were filled with blessings. 

The day before I left, my Mom called her friend, who opened her beautiful home to me, which was closer to my meeting venue than the hotel I had originally booked. So I just had a 15min stroll in the cool (but polluted) Beijing air to my workshop everyday.

At the temple of heaven in my jeans, tank top and 10RMB ($2) scarf

Bright blue skies and lovely weather (apparently a rarity in Beijing) surrounded me for 2 out of the 5 days.

The trip to Beijing was also an opportunity for me to meet with old and new friends in the climate change circuit. 

With my friend from the Chinese negotiating delegation who treated me to a yummy dinner, in my tai tai jacket, grey shift dress and black tights

Crashing a gallery opening with the Brazilian delegate in my arty farty scarf, furry black jacket and brown shift dress

 I also had the chance to see a bit of the city in the free time after the workshop :)

In the "traditional" Chinese uniform

Cool shops in town

Watching the flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square at sunrise

 I thank God for blessed trips like these, for creating such a wonderful world for us to discover and for brining me home safe to loving arms :)

0 comments

at 5:01 PM

The Mountains of Sapa

Sapa is only 380km north of Hanoi. But to get there, our journey started with an 8 hour overnight train from Hanoi to the town of Lao Cai. Being the long national day weekend, many Vietnamese were also travelling and we had trouble getting our train tickets. Thankfully, our Sapa hotel hosts managed to find us 2 "soft-sleeper" tickets on one of the tourist carriages. I wouldn't describe the beds as "soft", but the rocking of the train along the tracks lulled me into sleep soon enough.

Boarding the train at night from flat form 5

The narrow walkway on the train

Upon reaching Lao Cai, we found our bus and took a picturesque hour long drive to Sapa Town. We were soon at our hotel- Sapa Unique Hotel, run by 2 young, ambitious, and extremely nice men Hung and Viet. Since our room was available, they let us check in early (7am!!!) at no extra charge. While the room was basic. The view from the balcony was one of the best views I have ever had from a hotel room- rolling mountains slightly covered by mist, plunging into a gorgeous valley, with every slope manicured by rice terraces.

That's me on our balcony

Jan and I, with our amazing hosts Viet and Hung

 After a shower, Hung set us up with a map and simple instructions on how to walk to the nearest village and other sights of interest. And we were off.

Cat Cat Village was just several minutes by foot from Sapa Town, and after surviving some of the most persistent touts (young girls from the nearby villages trying to sell us handicrafts), we were there. The village was not quite the authentic experience, but it gave us a good introduction to the black Hmong people who lived in the area.

Shops selling almost identical handicrafts lined the paths

Weaving and embroidery of traditional Hmong clothes

We thought the views from Cat Cat Village and our hotel room were amazing. But we stood in awe of God creation when we went for our guided hike to Ta Phin Village. Our guide was a young lady from the Hmong tribe who brought us on a trek through paddy fields, streams, vegetable farms, and several villages.

The journey begins

Crossing gentle streams (getting our shoes very muddy since we were slipping all over)

Photos don't even begin to capture the majesty of the mountains

The crisp mountain air, cool weather and gentle paths made for a nice easy trek. While the stunning views of the mountains in a million shades of emerald and gold left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of us 2 city girls.

Cradling the very useful plant which provides hemp for clothes, marijuana, and lovely smelling flowers 

Unlike Cat Cat village, we saw no other tourists around and the villagers were all just minding their own business in their farms. We were joined by 2 ladies from the Red Dzao tribe who followed us throughout our journey helping us along the more difficult paths and pointing out interesting things to us. But we were of course obliged to buy some handicrafts from them at rather marked up prices at the end of the walk. They were a tad too pushy for my liking and I would have been much happier with the arrangement if I was forewarned, but well, that's the way the wind blows.

Joined by many more Dzao tribes people at the end point of the trek

After the trek, we went back to our hotel and prepared for the long journey back with complimentary use of an empty room to shower. Our wonderful hosts were so apologetic for the noise from the nearby temple the night before that they packed 4 packets of food for us to take along on our train journey and supplied us with many bottles of water. They really went above and beyond the call of duty.

Unfortunately, due to heavy rains resulting in landslides the night before, there was a backlog in trains leaving Lao Cai for Hanoi and the train station was chaotic. Our wonderful hosts called several times to make sure we were safely on our train. So sweet right?

 Finally, we boarded our train and were back on the hard beds, back to Hanoi.

 The day we left Vietnam was a rainy rainy day. We were so thankful for the wonderful weather, journey mercies, amazing people and stunning scenery that we got to enjoy during our stay :)

Beautiful memories to treasure

0 comments

at 11:14 AM