One Thousand Six Hundred Pandas!

On Sunday we went to see the Panda Exhibition at Central Embassy!

The 1600 Pandas have been touring the World and finally made it to Bangers! They are super cute and having never seen a Panda before I was super excited to see 1600 of them!!! 

The little Pandas are made from paper mache (all recycled paper!) and are part of a global project to raise awareness for the little dudes! Besides being a great selfie opportunity, I was shocked to learn that there are actually only 1600 Pandas left in the wild!!! Something to think about!!!

   

 

The little dudes were up for adoption and you could also make your own mini version by signing up for the 'make your own baby panda workshop'.  A brilliant idea to raise awareness! 

The little dudes will be fininshing off ther Bangers Tour in the next few weeks and jet-setting to their next destination to pose for selfies. 

Save the Pandas!

http://www.pandasinternational.org/

Sunny South Africa!

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to go to South Africa for a whole month! 

I headed to the Airport, travelling very light -  I had a case inside a case inside a case - my aim was to fill the cases on my return. I was so excited...I got to the airport 5hrs early - too early to even check in my 3 in 1 case! Anyhoo - when they eventually let me check in I headed through for a well deserved Subway Sandwich ( I'm soover chicken and rice/ noodles!) and some retail therapy.

Since moving to Thailand I've become quite casual, out with the office attire and in with the whatever keeps you cool - shorts and t-shirts! I also had a 'mad attack' during packing got rid of most...all actually... of my sensible warm clothes. I only brought one pair of jeans, one hoodie and one pair of trainers to Thailand! So I headed off to Jo Burger in my chillax pants, a t-shirt and flip flops! Not too sure what i was thinking... but take note - It's NEVER a good idea (even if you have an amazing pedicure to show off), unless the air con is not working on the plane (and you know this for sure before hand) to ever wear flip-flops on a plane...ever! My feet were freezing, I was freezing.
Also a good idea i suppose to take a jumper, or in my case the only hoodie i own! That would have made such a difference en route and especially having a 4hr stop over Hong Kong - where it was freezing! So i froze and looked somewhat like a ho-bo all the way home!

Decision made on the place to shop even more and improve wardrobe for return flight! 

Mom, Dad and Grandpa collected me from the airport! Yes - there were tears! Happy Tears! I was so happy to be back on home-soil! And so happy to be back home again. Always good to touch base at home. After a quick shower and ransacking my mom's wardrobe for some decent attire, we headed to the mother ship - Cresta Shopping Centre! Ahh Cresta! Home to one of my favourite meals (Crispy Bacon Cheesy Treat! Pretty self explanatory and delish! Mmmm), lots of awesome shops and welcoming sales! So, besides shopping and making sure i filled those 3 bags , I had a few other things on the agenda for my trip. 

My mate Katie got married the following weekend! It all go with the Hen Do, Pamper Party, Rehearsal dinners and so much excitement! We went to a place called 'Beefcakes' for the Hen Do - Fun times indeed! Crazy Cabaret show from stunning drag queens (i so wish i had a pair of pins like that!) and gorgeous gorgeous waiters (the beef in beefcakes!!) The Pamper Party was a relaxed afternoon affair spent with lovely ladies, cakes and yummy savoury treats!

The Hen Do!

The Wedding was on 6th Feb at Leopard Lodge, stunning venue and stunning day for a wedding! Everything was just fantastic and seeing my friend so happy and gorgeous was just so special! Always such an honour to witness something so magical!

  

Selfie with the Parentals!

My buddy from the UK came to visit for 10 days. It was so good to see her again and spend time with her in SA! The vino shop up the road especially enjoyed having us close by - Tall Horse is out fav and we couldn't get enough!  We shopped till we dropped (Helen actually had to buy another suitcase too), had manicures, pedicures, massages and ate amazing food! 

Helen, Me & Mum!

We headed to Balito for a few days to get some beach sunshine! Unfortunately the sun was MIA for the trip - but we still had an awesome time! Super special too that Gramps (96 yrs old by the way) came along too! We wined and dined on the beach, had a cheeky midnight swim...(good times), shopped some more and chilled out!

All in all it was an AMAZING trip! I got to see all my buddies, the aunties, the fambo - just wish I didn't live so far away so I could see them more often! 

My Awesome Family & Friends! xoxo

So - with all that shopping...I did fill the bags! All 3 till they were popping! My bag was very overweight at the airport, but luckily the check-in lady must have know how much I needed everything in the bag so she let me off!! Wheew!! 

I'm also pleased to report that I travelled back looking like a normal person, in shoes, jeans and a jumper too! hehe!

Miss you SA! 

See you soon xoxo

Day Trip to AYUTTHAYA

On Saturday we visited Ayutthaya.

We got the Skytrain to Asok, then the subway to Hua Lamphong then got the 09.35 train to Ayutthaya. We wanted to visit the Temple Ruins and have a daytrip outside of Bangers and start exploring this amazing country!  Armed with reading material and my Dunkin Donut Breakfast, I settled in for the 2hr train trip. The train was packed with tourists heading on day trips and backpacking, luckily we got seats and the heat of the day was not out in full force so it wasn't too bad! There is no aircon on the overground trains here - so finding a spot under the fan and near a window is essential!

  

We arrived in Ayutthaya at 11.30 and headed to the river crossing, (most of the sites are on what they call 'the island') it cost 5 bht each to cross (i would have paid more!) - saving us from a long and very hot (it had reached 37 degrees at this stage) walk across the bridge! Loads of us crammed onto a very unstable looking boat and took all of 2 min to cross, once on the other side we stocked up on an ice frappe and headed toward the temple ruins. 

 

Ayutthaya was the capital city of the old Kingdom of Siam, it was destroyed in the late 1700's by the Burmese and in doing so they cut off all the Buddah heads from the statues and Temples. Some have been re-attached but most are still missing so you have endless rows of decapitated Buddhas - creepy - yes!  We visited the Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Phanan Choeng and Wat Phra Mahathat ruins, entry was 50 bht per person. There are quite a few signs around the sites for Do's and Don't and guards  are present to make sure that no-one climbs or disrespects the temple or Buddah ruins.

 

    

     

The Buddha head in the tree is probably one of the most famous images from Ayutthaya. Believed to have been hidden in the roots by a thief trying to steal the head, the tree roots then grew around it. Its considered quite sacred amongst the Thai people... it's quite amazing how the roots are entertwined around Buddha's face A security guard sits close by to ensure no-one touches it and if you pose next to it you are under strict instructions to kneel so your head is not higher than that of Buddha.

Buddha Head in Tree Roots - Wat Mahathat

    

Yoga Practice with Buddha!

After visiting the ruins we headed into the Temple to have a wonder and pay respects to the the 17m bronze Buddha that apparently gets struck by lighting quite often! We then got a tuk-tuk as i was not walking anywhere - it had gone up to 40 degrees, i was melting and in no state to walk the 10 min back to town. We had lunch at Tony's Place - a Guesthouse that also serves food, western and thai! After a few ice-cold cokes and delicious chicken phad-thai we headed back to the train station and back to Bangers! Again the train was packed, hot and uncomfortable, but after such an awesome day out it was really not a biggie. We've still so much to explore - must plan a day-trip every few weeks to make sure we see as much as possible.  Watch this space for more day trip adventures...

Keep Calm and Stay Vigilant!

I'm loving Bangers and feel super safe and confident in my surroundings - but I suppose with anything when you get too comfortable and stop paying attention... that's when something happens!

Walking home from Yoga today, I was half asleep after an intense post-stretch relaxation, I was Facebook stalking and thinking about what to order from the local for dinner. I suddenly became uneasy and out the corner of my eye I noticed a dodgy guy. I don't like to judge - but when you see a dodgy guy you know it! Unfortunately it was a bit too late and before I knew it he was way too close (anyone who knows me knows I'm big on spacial awareness and don't like space invaders!) Anyhoo, next thing I knew his hands were all over me and he was tugging at my bag! I was flooded with a sickly feeling and screamed immediately and ran like I never knew I could! Luckily my bag was over the shoulder and and only contained water and my Yoga membership card so that would have been a pretty useless grab for him! But still... how dare he! 

After rushing home and having a massive crying session I eventually calmed down! While not a major incident (i was unharmed and still had my bag), it was to me as nothing like this has happened before. Have I become too comfortable in my environment and eye-ball attached to my phone that I'm not really aware of my surroundings anymore? I mean I'm from SA - it's in my DNA to be aware and suspicious if anyone in my vicinity!!

From now on when walking home or anywhere for that matter - phone away and eyes up... if not only for safety reasons to just notice what's going on around me, be present and take it all in.
Also thinking about taking up Muay Thai Kickboxing...hmm!

Sorry for the rather grim post but i needed to vent!

Stay safe.

Eyes up.

Do your Facebook stalking at home!

xx

Lounging in Laos

I am in love with Laos - It's definitely one of my favourite places I've been fortunate to visit so far! 

It's just beautiful... the pictures really don't do it justice! Luang Prabang is a quaint little town on the Mekong River, it's full of travellers, monks, baguettes and gorgeous little guesthouses. It's so green and lush and really makes you feel like you have travelled back in time with no Starbucks or McDonald's in sight. 

      

We left bright and early on Kevs Birthday morning for Luang Prabang (I'm gonna just call it LP going forward as my spell check is going mad!). We got the BTS, Metro and Airport Train - took about 45 min then checked in for an Airport Birthday Coffee.

I was thrilled and terrified when the transfer bus pulled up next to a dodgy 'old school' plane - the adventure had begun! There were about 40 of us on the flight and took just over an hr before we landed in Laos.  LP has the smallest Airport I've ever seen with only about 6 flights arriving everyday. It was slightly chilly when we arrived - a warm welcome from the 36 degrees in Bangers! We got a shared taxi from the Airport to our Hotel - which should only take about 5 min, but the driver thought he's take us on a bit of a tour.  We stayed at Villa Loadeum Guesthouse which was just lovely and right in the middle of all the action. Once settled in we headed out for a little wonder and the promise of lunch.

 

 

 

 

After a walking around LP and crossing the Bamboo Bridge - which links the old and new town - we headed to Baguette Street! Yep a street with Baguette Vendors that entice you to their stalls with competitive prices and each one offering one more filling than the next! Laos makes Baguettes better than the French and they eat them all day everyday! Mmm....my kinda place...It was delicious and I decided to go back everyday! My favourite was the chicken, cheese,avocado, tomato, cucumber and lettuce combo washed down with a chocolate shake!

 

After an afternoon nap / Baguette and Shake Coma - we headed out for a wonder in the Night Market - OMG what a market! The whole main street transforms into a never ending row of market spectacular! Stalls selling paintings, bags, shoes, clothes, trinkets and yet more trinkets! I was a bit overwhelmed the first night so decided to save the actual purchases till the next evening!

  

We then headed to a restaurant near the Guesthouse for dinner - who would have thought that Buffalo was a popular food in Laos?!Buffalo Dumplings, Buffalo Sausage, Buffalo Bacon, Buffalo Bolognese...you name the dish and the buffalo roams! We ordered the steamed dumplings, buffalo sausages (I'm still deciding if I liked it or not - it was slight spicy and tasted...grassy!) papaya salad (I left that all to Kev as it was super duper spicy!) and chicken fried rice (You can never go wrong with that)

The Breakfast Baguette

The next morning after a breakfast of champions- The Breakfast Baguette - we headed out in search of a Tuk Tuk driver to take us to the Kuang Si Waterfalls. It took about 45 min to get there, the view along the way was just gorgeous making up for sitting in the back of an uncomfortable and rather bumpy ride. It cost 20 000 Kip - £1.72 (which is the cost for all tourist activities in LP!) to get into the park, this also covered a visit to the Laos Bear Sanctuary which is on the way to the falls. Bears saved from life of torment are now happily chilling in the park and posing for pics.

 
 

The waterfalls were stunning and a must if you are visiting LP - again the pictures really don't do it justice!!  There are swimming areas along the way up so you can just pop in and have a dip, I decided to be brave and have a little swim - OMG - it was freezing!! But really glad i did it as it's supposed to bring you many years of good health!  

 

  

The Butterfly Whisperer

On day 3 we woke up at crazy-o'clock to go and see the Monk Procession called Alms Giving Ceremony. It takes place at sunrise on the main street, locals offer rice, fruit and cookies to the Monks.  About 200 Monks make their way to the main street to collect their food for the day, it was quite something to see. The ceremony is meant to be spiritual and peaceful, unfortunately the poor monks get harassed by mental camera happy tourists who feel the need to get a little too close up in their faces for selfies! I don't think the Monks send any good Alms their way! 

                

Later that morning we headed to the PaK Ou Buddha Caves via the Whiskey Village on a River Boat! We got into an old beat up river boat and headed off. The tour was 4hrs and stopped off the the Whiskey Village where locals make their own Whiskey from rice and snakes! Hmm! I tasted the normal one and it wasn't too bad! Wasn't prepared to try the snake one though - it had the extra 'bite' to it! The caves were further up the river and quite something to see, it homes over 3000 statues of Buddha. The way back was quite a ride down the river - our boat driver had polished off half a bottle of whisky - so it was full speed ahead! 

 
 

 

 

   

Kev has an amazing ability to find a pub that will be showing football and in LP he did not disappoint! After some retail therapy for me at the night market we headed to the Aussie Bar to watch footie and sample the Laos Beer! It turned out to be a pretty good evening - the beer was good and we met a man who knows Mick Jagger (Kid you not! And apparently Mick is a frequent visitor in Laos!) I had no idea who won the football tho - or who even played! LP has a curfew of 11.30 - so at 11.15 you are packed up and sent on your way!  

With luv from Laos xoxo