Bet you'd wanna use the loo (with a view)!

Guess what? I have been busy. And it's a good thing.

Designing and doing layouts, designing, layout-ing... That's why it's been 6 days since my last post. And that's just why I feel the need to blog right now.

But... blog about what?

In our everyday list of things, the most critical "to-do" is probably to use the loo, CR, banyo, washroom, W-C, however you want to call it. During our 12-day vacation, we've had our share of loo experiences: from airplane toilets, airport toilets, camp toilets, bush toilets, to no toilet at all. There never came a day that Tita Bic and I didn't need a "bush break!"


What's a bush break?


You'll here the guides say, "I need to mark my territory" when they need to p-e-e. And we, the two girls from China? Singapore? Taiwan? Oh yea, Philippines!, have marked our territories in numerous places all over the wilderness. 


We've pee-d on African ground, behind some bushes... once near elephant dung, and another time just a few seconds after some people on a walking safari passed some 20+ meters from where we relieved ourselves.


THAT'S A BUSH BREAK!


+++++


Now, of all the toilets we've used... nothing beats the loo with a view.


Yeap, you heard that right! 


It's just like a regular toilet, except that it's not so regular at all. See, instead of 4 walls, there are only 3... Giving you a great view of the wilderness. 

I was by the doorway when I took this picture. That's the sink and mirror.

The point is being able to see and appreciate everything all around: the fauna, the flora and everything in between, while nobody sees you (doing your thing). Unless, of course a Rover with binocular-equipped people happen to drive by, or a boat, if you're facing the channel. Just kidding.


But seriously, there might be a slight chance of getting seen, but in Africa, they don't care naman. It's no big deal. Just like when we changed into our swimwear armed with nothing but a piece of towel. Different story.

Two of the camps we visited were also equipped with outdoor showers, where you can bathe under the stars, under the watchful eyes of monkeys and owls. I tried it once actually, but what a silly thing to do in the early morning! It was freeeeeezing.

What a nice, creative way to enjoy nature while "relaxing", isn't it?


Pee in peace, everyone!
Beat :)

Ola, Simonga!

Whilst at Livingstone, Zambia, Tita Bic and I were able to visit a local village and learn about their ways--how they go about with the everyday. Pretty interesting, actually!

Hello, Simonga Village.

We came from a tour of Victoria Falls, and arrived at Simonga Village during midday.

Translation = 40 degrees = nakakabaliw na init! 

So, most, if not everyone, were having siesta inside their houses. It too, was a Sunday and a holiday in Zambia, so we weren't able to see children at school. And the people were busy preparing for the holiday celebrations.

A local guided us around, explaining the usual happenings in the Village.

A family fetching water from the pump.

I don't recall how big the Village population is, but if I remember correctly, all families of the Village get their water supply from this water pump. (Is this the same as our poso?)

There's no plumbing nor electricity in the village. And, I can't imagine their winters. :(

Agriculture is a major source of income for the community.

Our guide recounts how they finally solved the problem of elephants ransacking their crops. Fences didn't do any good--their trunks could easily get thru; they eventually found out that peppers do the job!

And, I quote Miss Rebecca McNeese, "The people burn elephant dung and peppers in a circle around the village at night to keep the elephants out."

Here are locals walking under the African 12nn sun! I wonder where they're off to?

This pretty girl sharing her smile and a thumbs up! :)

I think this structure is supposed to be their version of our sari-sari store.


+++++

There's a head lady who oversees the Village. I researched a bit and found this picture of her. Meet Inonge, who has been faithfully taking care of the Village for a long time already!

Photo taken from Ms. Rebecca McNeese (Typepad).

Inonge's in-charge of almost everything. She allots land for families in the community, and when people need more land, they have to ask for her permission. In a nutshell, she makes all decisions concerning the village.

In a piece of land, each family has a house and a kitchen, depending on how big the family is. When the kids turn 7 years old, the parents have to make a separate room/house (within their piece of land), for the boys and for the girls. They also eat separately, the males with their father; females with their mother. This is because they sit on the floor while eating (does that explanation suffice? Use thy imagination.)

Basically, their houses are made from wood, mud clay and leaves. The husband is in-charge of building the skeleton of the house, and then, followed by the wife who makes the clay walls, and collects leaves for the roof.

Because the children help in food preparation, all of the cooking is done outside to prevent fires. And as for the toilets, about 5 families share a bathroom. They just dig a hole in the ground, once it fills up, they cover it and dig another hole.

Here's somebody's piece of land. :)

A new kitchen roof is being made.

+++++

Now, in the Village is a school: Simonga Basic School. 

They have 300+ students, with 13 teachers doing the job.

Here are the school buildings.

What struck me most about the importance of education for them is the fact that it helps increase awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDs. 

Since most of the grown-ups did not receive proper schooling, and most are unaware of such diseases, there is greater initiative to teach about these in school. And it is the children, who help increase awareness in their homes.

Just to give you some statistics:

1. Zambia has a population of 10.2 million, and the average life expectancy is only 37 years old.

2. Sixteen percent of their children die before the age of five.

3. The national HIV prevalence rate of 17 percent among adults ages 15 to 49.

4. Only 43% of the population have access to safe water.

+++++

I always forget how blessed I am, and that sucks. I can't imagine the how diseases like malaria and AIDS have killed the population. Since 1982, 30 million+ Africans have died of AIDS. 12 million children were left orphaned. How many of these kids have HIV due to mother-to-child transmission? It's crazy.

I would like to end with something positive. But, as of the moment I can't.

Life goes on, and this is our reality.

Be safe,

Beat :)

Baked Fresh, Daily.

Bread Talk.

Who doesn't know Bread Talk?

Yummy bread baked fresh daily. I am particularly fond of Fire Floss, their ma-hoo topped bread.

Know what? Found out their's ma-hoo bread in Africa too! 

Lots and lots of them! Baked fresh too, every single day!

No joke. Ma-hoo bread talaga ito.

++++++

Meet your African Bread Talk team!


Oh, alright. Those up there are elephant droppings...

Elephants by the Zambezi River.

"Elephants have three distinctly different forms of bathing; in water, mud and dust."

With their skin still wet after water bathing, we saw the elephants start spraying themselves with dust.

According to Mike, our guide, this makes the cooling effect last longer,

as elephants have a "natural difficulty in temperature regulation."

The way I understand it is, the dust or mud prolongs the evaporation of water from their skin, relieving them from heat for a longer period of time. (Please correct me if I am wrong.)

Cool no?

Beat as Kuya Kim :)

Quotatioms above taken from Envrionmental Graffti at http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-elephants-bathing.

Muffins and Pumpkins

First of all, I miss you Core and the cookies! Hugs :)

Now, consider this: If spending a single day at the Cookie (and Cake) Castle [@Tin Yao!] is sinful enough, can you imagine eating almost non-stop throughout the day for 12 days?

Here's our general schedule throughout the safari:

5 am wake up and try to look decent

5:30 am eat breakfast

6 am leave for AM game drive

9 am morning tea

11:30 am brunch

3:30 pm afternoon high tea

4 pm leave for PM game drive

6 pm sun downer

7:30 pm pre-dinner drinks

8:00 pm dinner

It's real funny, how I tell myself, "All this eating's insane. I'm going to skip dinner. I have to." I even tried foreseeing my ptrainer's wrath to convince myself not to grab another muffin. (By the way, he was like, "Tumaba ka anoh?! Pero, tsaka na kita pahihirapan, baka may jet lag ka pa eh.")

But when food's right in front of me (and smellin' really good!)... say, it's roasted lamb and pumpkin with cush-cush or bbq-d antelope or traditional baked pizza (with everything on, except the chili!)... it's hard.

It's hard... not to eat. I wish, I can plug in an external HD for added capacity... eat now, digest later. But, but...I just had to make space, after all... It's not everyday I can eat antelope meat!

Here's a photoessay on the edibles:

It's my cup of coffee, Tita Bic and the Rover.

We drive around in the morning, looking for game, stop for a morning snack about 9 or so, then back on the road.

This is the best! I actually ate like 5 slices, at least!

Not that I didn't want to finish it whole. Nahiya nalang ako kung maubos ko yung pizza, super takaw naman.

But really. Sarap!

Pizza at Toka Leya Camp.

Now, this one's memorable!

It was buffet for lunch. In front of the chafing dish, I asked, "Is this beef?"

"Nope. That's antelope meat."

WOW.

Barbecued antelope meat with pumpkin and cush-cush at Savuti Camp.

Cold coffee or home-made iced tea?

The usual set-up for afternoon tea before the PM game drive.

Our sun downers.

After some afternoon driving, we'll stop for a while and wait the sun to set and just chill.

Lumevel up narin kami: from Fanta and Coke Light to Gin & Tonic.

HA HA HA. Their favorite drink in Botswana. Umuulan ng G&T doon.

Some jamming before dinner proper. They love their music and they love to dance!

----------------------

Considering this outrageous surplus of food. We really didn't need no energy bars. So, thanks to Mr. Squirrel for doing us a favor!

PS. My poor constipated self suffered many days of... well, constipation.

Beat :)

Hello, White Box!

This was a sight -- at least for me.

Where: Livingstone, Zambia Airport CR

Now... I wonder if they'll do this technique when the RH Bill's passed. Then again, maybe not.

Baka nanakawin lang at pagka-kitaan eh?

Oh, my dear Philippines.

One, Two, Three

When it comes to Math, count me out.

I have never really excelled in this subject,

contrary to the popular belief that Chinese are good with numbers.

(Oh, except for Geometry in HS 3 when it was more visually appealing.)

Nevertheless, I think it'd be cool to kick start this blogging with some 1, 2, 3s...

So, here's our African adventure (partially) summed up in numbers.

Ready?

ONE

(2 + 13 = 15) x 2 hours

That's the length of time my body was locked in chair position.

Manila to Hong Kong = 2 hours

Hong Kong to Jo'burg = 13 hours

And I had to come home right? So, double it.

TWO

12 plane rides in a span of 12 days

Manila > Hong Kong > Jo'burg, South Africa > Livingstone, Zambia > Kasane, Botswana > Savuti Airstrip, BW > Kwetsani Airstrip, BW > Maun, BW > Jo'burg, SA > Cape Town, SA > Jo'burg, SA > Hong Kong > Manila

I can't believe it either.

Wasn't that bad really, except for the case of the missing luggages

(that's a different story for a different blog).

We rode big planes, medium planes, small planes and teeny weeny planes...

Yes, that's the teeny weeny plane right there. Parang mas malaki pa ang Montero eh.

Our first ride was crazy.

I was so excited video recording our take off and taking pictures of

the ground below, that when I came to my senses...

OH NO!

Cold sweat was dripping down my forehead, I was crazy dizzy, heart palpitating, palms sweating... everywhere sweating actually (yes, super baskil or jabar, whatever you want to call it).

I was holding on to the vomit bag like crazy, trying hard to keep breathing steadily.

But, hey... I survived and the succeeding 6-seater Cessnas rides were a breeze.

THREE

11 game drives

It was one heck of a ride, especially with Tank (our Savuti Camp guide) on the wheel. He's probably the craziest driver in town! We were driving through bushes, branches, shrubs... and more tree branches.

To give you a more accurate picture, imagine a demolition team of 3 people:

2 girls (from China? Taiwan? Singapore?) and a super cool guide driving like mad after a leopard.

It's Tank right there. Three Rovers were stalking the leopard.

Shhh. They're napping. 3 lions: 1 mom, 2 cubs.

It's pretty amazing actually, to see all these animals in the wild. Elephants, antelopes, giraffes, rhinos, buffalos... Turns out, they're not really animals to fear, just as long as you're sitting quietly inside the Rover (standing is a no-no!), and as long as you do not do anything to provoke them. Well, with the exception of course of the bull elephant that attacked us. (Saving that story for later!)

++++++

That's most of the important numbers.

I've forgotten how much Gin & Tonic I drank. And didn't bother checking how many pounds I gained. But to sum up all the beautiful sunsets, the chilly boat rides, the warm greetings, the incredibly delicious food, the bottles of insect repellant we used up, the squirrel/s that ate our energy bars... and so much more... Well, can't sum them up cause they're not numbers.

But, seriously, I'm serious. It was all good!

Later, beat :)