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 :)