Day 2 in South Africa

Day 2! Sun City. March 14, 2007

Woke up at 7:30 am and went for a run around the Lost City Golf course beside our hotel....and YES DWIGHT , I WAS DEFINITELY THINKING ABOUT YOU ...and how I can kick your butt again this coming Sun Run! lol!

We then had another big breakfast that included duck eggs, peking duck, and champagne. They even had an oyster bar for breakfast but we decided to stay on the safe side since we still have the whole day ahead of us.


At 10 am, we had a safari/horseback-riding adventure.
Eric was given a fine stud with an African name that was hard to pronounce, while I was given a mere pony named "Rambo".

We rode inside a game reserve park and saw some interesting animals such as the impalas, buffalos, antelopes, and kudos. They were not very easy to catch on camera since they ran once they saw Eric….hehe☺ Except for one brave female kudo who looked like it was high.

After another buffet lunch, we had a private drumming lesson with the locals inside a huge gazebo.




We were given a brief history about the African drums and it’s purpose. After the lessons, we jived with the locals as they sang and danced to their own tribal music. Mom had a blast dancing with them.....what a sight. The music sounded so beautiful and it felt so relaxing. We were so into the rhythm and Eric even took of his shirt so he could really feel that he was one with the motherland.

Check out the girl with a blue headband "feeling" Eric. hahahaha! I think she's never seen such brightness.

We then headed for a dip in the grand pool of our hotel....







Finally, our day ended with a show called “Let There Be Rock”, which was a musical journey of rock and roll from the 50’s to the present.

Day 1 in South Africa

Day 1! Johannesburg/Pretoria/ Sun City March 13, 2007
We’re finally here! We arrived Jo’berg (short for Johannesburg) at 5am. A representative from Thomas Gateway Travels came to pick us up. I forgot his name but this is what he looked like:



He introduced us to our driver/tour guide, Rudolf, who drove a 12-seater Mercedes bus.

So we started the tour right away. Since we arrived too early, Rudolf decided to drive us around Jo’berg first.

Since after the fall of the Apartheid, the peace and order of downtown Jo’berg has deteriorated and a lot of the businesses have moved out of the city. You can even see empty commercial buildings with very modern designs just sitting there wasting away. Unfortunately we couldn’t make a stop to take pictures because we had a schedule to follow.

We then drove around the area where Mr. Nelson Mandela resided. Below is a picture of his mansion.

It seems like Mandela commands the value of his neighbour’s propery. The closer your house is to Mandela, the higher the value of your house.

Rudolf then took us to the Voortrekker Monument, where we saw sculptures of the lives of the early Dutch pioneers. The word “Voortrekker” is African for early pioneers.

View of Pretoria from the top of the Voortrekker monument

Then we went to the center of Pretoria where we visited the Church Square which consisted of important buildings such as the City Hall, the Post Office, the Mint, First National Bank, and parking lot that used to be a very nice theatre.


We also visited the Union Buildings which is also the site of the inauguration of President Mbeki and Nelson Mandela.

We had a Chinese lunch at the Lai Jing Restaurant in Pretoria. It was surprisingly delicious too! After lunch, we headed out to Sun City. It was a quiet 2 hour trip because everyone was so full from lunch that was also full of MSG.


This is kinda what our view looked like enroute to Sun City.



But once we got to the Sun City, everyone was wide awake. The place itself is magnificent! Our hotel, the Palace of the Lost City, is truly AMAZING and definitely a work of art. No hotels in Vegas can rival it’s details…..that’s for sure!





We had dinner at the Palm Terrace at the Cabanas Hotel…also inside Sun City. We thought we could still go to the casino after dinner but we were all too tired. I couldn’t even post this blog on time because my eyes just refused to remain open!

Aloha Doha!

Our day started with a wake-up call at 3 O'clock in the morning for a 6am departure to Johannesburg via Doha, Quatar.

After flying for 9 hours and 55 minutes, we finally arrived at Doha International Airport at 11:15 am for a 10-hour stopover!


For some people, this is the vacation of a lifetime, but for some, it's business as usual.

Luckily, we were able to get out of the airport and stay at the Merweb Hotel with lunch and dinner included....all compliments of Quartar Airways.

While walking around the city, we met alot of Filipino overseas workers practically working at every corner of Doha that you'd think you were still in the Philippines!
This guy's flip:)

Finally the shuttle picked us up again from the hotel at around 7pm. We were all able to get inside the business lounge and eat lots of dates and nuts.

one more day....

It's Sunday.....and for those of you wondering.....yes we did go to church. We went to the New Millennium Evangelical Church after another big breakfast. So naturally we had a hard time keeping our eyes open during the sermon.

Anyway, our activities today mainly centered on FOOD.......and Eric could hardly believe his luck or his eyes when he saw what awaited him.......




Buffet Breakfast: Circles Restaurant .....AGAIN!





Japanese Buffet Lunch: Inagiku Restaurant in Shangrila, Makati




Thanks for the lavish feast, Susan!


French Dinner: Les Souffles...compliments of Bec and Simon....thanks guys! We were stuffed!

We also did more shopping at the North Bonifacio Center. There was a big bazaar going on inside a mega huge tent. My bargaining skill was tested to it's limits but in the end, I prevailed....mwahhhahaha!

Hello Manila!

We arrived Manila pretty early this morning ...4:15am. The flight was so-so....we didn't get upgraded this time around :( I guess Eric's charms are fading away. The food was horrible and the reading lights for the entire "economy" class were busted! The in-flight movies were also not working properly ...highly embarrassing for PAL actually....so I ended up listening to my ipod the whole time.


Here's Eric just waiting outside PAL's airport for driver, Boh-ning. Thanks Boh-ning for waking up so early to pick us up!






We got to Shangri-la Hotel in Makati around 5:30am but were told that our room won't be ready 'til 10am. Mom and dad were still asleep when we knocked on their door so we just decided to come down to the lobby...and so now we have like 3 more hours to kill.

Is he really watching the video or is he asleep?

Thank goodness for FREE internet access!

This was taken at 5:45 am. Sunrise is in the background with a fuzzy haze due to the smog. Restaurant's still closed so we can't have breakfast yet.

We had breakfast/brunch/lunch at the hotel's Circle's Cafe at 9:30.....loved their biko and bibingkas! Eric was hesitant to take pictures of the food close-up so he came up with a rather lame one that doesn't do justice to the creative array of delicacies.


We were finally able to get into our room at around 10:30 am. Pretty modern.....I love it!

....and this is the view outside:) We are within walking distance to a bunch of malls and restaurants so this is the perfect hotel to stay at if you like to shop and eat.




We we're so jet-lagged after our morning meal so we decided to take a catnap before going to the parlor where Eric had a haircut and I had the works...hehe:) We then went around the malls for a short time only but I managed to go crazy shopping when I saw all the cheap stuff at the Landmark Dept. Store. The only thing is, you have to wait a really long time to be able to buy something since the sales people need to itemize every single freakn' item on a sheet of order slip before you pay for them.... and then there's like 3 people double/triple checking the codes! So much hassle!



We were so hungry after that so I decided to buy some bread from our hotel's bakery.



Too bad for Eric....no carbs allowed:P








We had dinner with Eric's sisters and the gang at the Circle's Restaurant again. The kids have grown so big.....some of them are even taller than Eric!







To end the day off, we went for a relaxing foot and body massage after dinner at the "Island Massage and Spa" ......10 minutes away from the hotel. Very cool:)

Goodbye Vancouver!

Goodbye rain in Vancouver that will last for days and days!

Goodbye, Indy (who will miss her mommy more than her daddy!)