What do you imagine when you hear "Zanzibar"?
1. A place you've never heard of before?
2. A place that sounds like it is almost in the middle of nowhere?
3. A place full of culture and food?
4. A place where your donation, whether monetary or voluntarily, goes a long way?
Most people tell me that they have never heard of it. Others just simply ask "where is that?". Once I say it is an island that is in east Africa,
an island that is part of Tanzania,
their eyes pop open wide! Believe it or not, not many people know that Africa has places that have white sandy beaches with clear blue water, giving that Caribbean Island feel (for us who live in the West). I also decided that I wanted to somehow, start making my feet touch the motherland, at least 1x a year, with the first visit being one where the accommodations would include a relaxed vacation feel. With those ideas in mind, I began to contact 10 friends and began requesting quotes, through my agency. Let's just say planning for a group of 10, is tough! We are now a group of 4.
To prep for the trip, I did some research as far as the history of the island, the culture, as well as, if further documents are needed. Once I was able to clear that, I felt like "Ok, I got this!". I was wrong. I later learned, travel vaccine shots were required. Since this seemed to pop up more during my research, I began to speak with other travelers and Africans, including my doctor who is Nigerian. THE LIST KEPT GETTING LONGER! I also discovered while reading, that some of these shots, I was SUPPOSED to have had, before I went to Southeast Asia. BUT GOD!
He laid a hand on myself and my friend, and we were super fortunate to not have gotten ill. I have also learned, these shots have been requested for parts of Europe as well, due to Hepatitis outbreaks.
With the discovery of more travel vaccines, I found that some are not covered by health insurance. GREAT! With that discovery, I had to start calling certain places about the cost for the vaccines, if they have it, and learned that each place has a "consultation" fee. BLAH! I lucked out where I found a decently priced travel clinic, still costly, however, they were less than most places and, the consultation fee included Malaria pills, IF your insurance was one that they accepted. SCORE! Some of the vaccines ranged in price from $120-$220 per shot, consultation fees ranging from $50-$75. BUT GOD!
I made sure I did more research, because the cost was going to just increase my debt.
I reached out to my medical insurance department, to find out if it was covered, because the admin for the Benefits department at my current job, stated that if the doctor who is issuing the shot, is part of our network, the shot will be covered, as hers were for when she went to Ghana last year! Ok so bet, I found out I needed the billing code for said shot. I got that code from the hospital
that I was going to since they had the vaccines in stock, called my insurance back with that code, they did a search, and BAM, my shot was covered! Because one vaccine was covered, it also meant that my other ones were as well. I just saved myself $400! WHEW! Just know I spent 2-3 days calling around for quotes and finding out if my insurance was accepted, to minimize my spending. EXAUSTED!
I ended up with one of the best Infectious disease doctors, that I could find in the Bronx, at a major hospital. Dr. Menon! GIIIIIRRRRLLL!!! A world traveler herself, she was very informative with the information she provided me about my travel. I finally understood why there was a consultation fee for those outside travel clinics. We chatted for an hour before I was issued my shots. She was impressed with the research I had already done, and once I said I was a travel agent, she was even more excited. I told her about all the past countries I had visited, the one that did get me sick because, I had not known better back then. It made me realize I should've met with someone like her first! My best-friend ended up scheduling her visit with her as well. WE RAN INTO EACH OTHER IN HER OFFICE!
In addition to our shots, Dr. Menon created a list of things we should bring, as precaution, and some things we should avoid, due to health issues.
I do highly suggest, before seeing a travel vaccine doctor, you know what vaccines you have already, and to get blood work done prior to your visit as well, to find out if you need to re-up on any, like Hep A and B, which you can easily get from your primary care doctor.
Let me just say that, the Motherland is not cheap! For those who see how it is displayed on television, being a "developing continent", it is not cheap to visit. The cost of this trip keeps going up, however, I am certain, it will be worth every penny, per usual. Anyone who knows me knows, I have yet to have a trip where I did not enjoy myself and make the most of it!
If your interested in visiting Africa or any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com
Wednesday 7am Phuket, Tuesday 7pm NYC
We shed tears leaving Phuket, however, knowing that we were headed to another place was awesome! This time, we made sure we were super prepared, like packing at least 2 outfits in out backpacks, just in case our luggage was lost again. Definitely learned our lesson.
Of course, nothing goes perfectly. Our flight to leave was a little delayed, but still landed in time in Malaysia for our transfer. We made sure, we had our good shoes on ready to have to run again like we did in Dubai (-_-). On this flight, we managed to sit next to an Australian woman who, basically scared the shit out of us as well as, put more nervousness in us than needed.
She asked us where we were going in Bali, and great places to party while there. But then, she started to talk about how to watch out for ourselves:
1. She stated that we should make sure we keep everything close to us. To watch our purses and pockets very closely, to prevent anyone planting anything on us, like drugs. Apparently, there is a thing where police or military personnel on duty, would plant drugs on people, set them up to be caught, and basically have them take the blame for carrying and "trying to sell drugs". It's more like they are using people as their mule, or a way to confiscate and sell the drugs themselves, but need the cover-up. Some real shady business going on. Just corrupt. Drugs, over a certain limit, which is a small limit, is punishable by death, according to what we were informed about.
2. She further explained to not tell anyone it was our 1st time to Bali. She stated to basically say, "this is out 3rd time". I found it funny because, our tour guide who was retrieving us from the airport, booked through my agency, sent me an e-mail with detailed instructions about how we exit the airport. A portion said the same thing this Australian woman was saying to us! I was like "what's really going on in Bali?" Why is there this hysteria? The e-mail also stated, there will be many drivers outside the airport, do not stop to talk to them. Boy were they telling the truth. It was a bit much. Some even followed us, even though they were informed we had a ride already. I started to get nervous because of course, I have a friend whose friendly (-_-), and was surely chatting it up more than I wanted her to. In NYC, we just keep walking. She just felt this need to keep saying over and over with a smile, "no, we have a ride"..
It kinda took me back to growing up in the hood, late 80's early 90's. I just kept saying in my head, "I'm too tired to exert the same energy I do at home in NYC. Constantly watching my back and front.". Well I had no choice, because the warnings continued.
Wednesday 6pm Bali, Tuesday 5am NYC
We drive through the busy nighttime traffic in Denspasar, which to me, was just overwhelming. There are rarely any stoplights or stop signs, so it's every man for themselves. There are many motor bikes to get around, as it's the most affordable way to travel. I just prayed for a safe arrival to the hotel, as we had a 30 minute ride to it.
Let me tell you, pulling up to this hotel was something out of a movie for us girls from the Bronx. Security is super tight at our hotel, The Double Six . Our vehicle is searched for bombs prior to entry and our tour guide is questioned and shows our itinerary. We get looked at as well, in the back seat.
Let me just state that, when my travel agency assisted with my booking, I barely paid attention to the hotel itself. I barely read reviews, because in my Google search, it comes up as a 5 start hotel. Boy, was it! We arrive in sweat shirt hoodies, stretch pants, I have my scarf on my head, and my Converse sneakers. The staff is dressed to the damn nines! OK! The front desk clerks are in fitted black dresses and heels, while the men are in paperboy 1920's themed uniforms, greeting everyone in this off white, super clean, illuminated, tiled floor lobby. We didn't fit in at all, at that moment that is, LOL.
The night manager greeted us as our luggage was checked in and taken upstairs to our room. She briefed us on all amenities, location of restaurants, and gave us a tour of the hotel. She was talking, but we were still in such shock at how chic this place was. She guides us upstairs to our room through these mirrored automatic doors (again something you see on tv), and opens our room door. Let me first say our room, had a hallway :-). That right off the back, was my selling point. I didn't care for anything else. The same tiled floor we saw in the lobby, was also in the room. I was scared to wear my shoes inside. The bathroom tub, once we saw it we ensured ourselves, we shall make use of it before we leave! UGH!!
We were then informed that we have a butler. A BUTLER! Who wishes they get one in their own home nowadays? And he walked in, with hand towels and drinks for us on hot ice. I wasted no time finishing off mine!
We took our time to get acquanted with our room, setting up our phones for wifi, searched the tv for something to watch, and began to look at the in room menu to order room service. Although we heard music outside playing, and we were jammin, again, like old ladies, we decided to stay in and just relax in the plush bed and food.
Thursday 8am Bali, Wednesday 7pm NYC
We were informed that breakfast included with our stay. We were expecting a fancy, buffet breakfast. We were so wrong! This breakfast menu was so lit, I had to ask "so, we get to have whatever we want from here?" Our waitress confirmed that yes, you can, and even more. I went to town! Ordered juice, tea with brown sugar, and a staple with my breakfast while we stayed was their starter, a Watermelon salad. Simple bowl, which was covered a little with Pomegranate. DELICIOUS! I decided this day, because I was familiar with it back home, to go for their version of Pollo Ranchero. OF COURSE IT WAS DELICIOUS! Then a girl popped up behind us with a tray of pastries. I didn't really need it but, I surely did grab me a mini croissant. Our table, was covered, do you hear me! UGH!
We made a pact, we would try something different each day we were here. I discovered later, they had Avocado! In the recent months prior to this trip, I have fallen in love with just a few slices of Avocado, with almost any meal. Pollo Ranchero came with like, and mush Avocado topping, not quite Guacamole, but close. I wanted my side Avocado. For the remainder of the trip, I indulged. We would each so much at breakfast, that we wouldn't need food until either dinner or at least a late lunch, followed by a snack.
Our tour guide was waiting for us in the lobby, so we met with her. We organized activities we wanted to do while in Bali, but at the same time, guess what she talked to us about? The same thing, the woman on the plane that warned us about. I just kept saying, "what the hell is going on out here?!" This time, it was coming from someone who lives here and is Balinese. I started getting nervous again. We were reminded to watch our purses and pockets, if anyone asks, no this is not our first time to Bali, and not to talk to many people. Basically, watch your back. Overwhelmed.
With that, we decided to trek outside the hotel to see what was in the area. Of course, as soon as we get out, we are surrounded by taxi drivers, where one continues to follow us as we walk to the convenience store, because my friend, is friendly LOL. Smiling and holding a convo with a person that we just told, we did not need a taxi. I just kept on walking because, I don't trust no one at this point. We purchase some juice and try to walk back to the hotel as fast as possible. The humidity slowed us down a little.
Since we had hours before our first activity for that day, we decided to check out the pool and the beach. Although there is a small road that separates the hotel from designated beach area for hotel guests, it was super close! The view was breathtaking. It just looked like sand went so far out before you reached the water. It was huge, compared to other beaches I have been to. The waves were crashing hard, but that didn't stop us from going in. We said we were not going to get our hair wet, but that's hard to do when the waves are coming over your head. The swim was worth it! Water was warmer than we expected and, where we swam, we were the only ones in that area :)
The hotel has a designated area for its guests, which beach towels, umbrellas, chairs provided. No need to carry any towels from the pool to the beach, as well as, from the room to the pool. The pool itself, extends the length of the hotel, with security in that area as well! They are watching, but not watching, if you get what I'm saying. So swimming in the pool was still relaxing.
We paid for a full body massage and body scrub session, that was taking place at Nadia's Spa. We thought we had an awesome deal through the hotel however, once we saw not only the price comparison, but, the additional hour, we said hell yea. The experience was awesome! The women who massaged us, were really strong, it felt like. Got a lot of our kinks out. We rinsed ourselves in a tub that was stone and tiled, filled with real flowers. I had to grab a few to make sure I wasn't imagining the large amount of real flowers, whichever they were, in this tub! My skin was not only soft, but well moisturized. They ended with giving us small tea glasses of ginger and lemon tea, made from scratch. THE BEST!! I love tea! Again like grannies, we went back and ordered food and went to bed LOL.
Friday 9am Bali, Thursday 8pm NYC
Today, we finally set out on a full day filled with multiple stops throughout Denpasar and Ubud (the city) areas of Bali, but first, I had to indulge.
Man ol man, the traffic on the road made me nervous again. It was worse in the daytime! Our first stop was the Barong and Kris Dance. This dance included traditional Balinese dancing, musical instruments, while telling the story about the fight between Barong (a good spirit) and Randa (a bad spirit).
Although they are not speaking in English, we still understood what was going on, with the use of the English pamphlets guiding us through the acts, as well as laughing at parts that were truly funny. I loved watching their orchestra play on the traditional instruments, and my face part was the women who came out to dance. The movements were so subtle, that you had to have a keen eye to notice the eye and shoulder movements that were part of the dance. Pretty dope.
After the show, we proceeded to drive to our next stop, the Nadisuari Batik Factory in Ubud. Here, all paintings and garments are made by hand with traditional sewing machines and painting styles that take days to months to make! Watching the women at work, it made you realize, we have it easy! Also know, price wise, their items, because they are handmade, do not come cheap, but are still reasonably priced. Made me realize as well, I need to really get my sewing skills in order! The gift shop layout is clean, with all hand made items for purchase, from Balinese sarongs down to hand carved wooden statues and even very nice affordable ties for men. I ended up purchasing some handmade house slippers for my mom and a few key chains.
Along the route to our next stop, we were informed that each little village area we were passing in Ubud, each specialized in some type of specialized craftsmanship. One village specialized in handmade stone statues. Turns out, a lot of orders come from Australia and the USA, for those who live overseas and want genuine hand work. Another village specialized in woodwork, and our stop, specialized in silver and gold: jewelry, plate settings, statues, anything you can make. Once we arrived at Nadia's Silver Collection, we were told if we purchase any jewelry, to negotiate, as this village is known for negotiation. We went on a mini tour watching the men and women hand make jewelry and even the bells worn for the traditional Balinese dance I negotiated for a nice silver ring, 95% silver, 5% copper to make it sturdy, with a yellow citrine stone, for $50. I have yet to wear it since I have returned to NYC lol. I will eventually. My friend purchased 2 silver and gold thumb rings that she obsessed over. We negotiated like real New Yorkers do!
Our 2nd to last stop was to the Luwak Coffee Plantation. Now, our guide kept asking us how much we liked coffee, over and over. I didn't get her excitement until she stated, that it is the most expensive cup of coffee in the world, as the bean comes from an animal called a Luwak. My face still confused, I ask, "well how does that happen?" In short, the Luwak "cat" defecates the coffee cherries that it has eaten, which comes out as a bean. The bean is then extracted from the feces. Gross as it sounds, the man roasting the beans, had us smelling good roasted beans! The cost for one cup? $50usd and in some other places, close to $100usd. No thanks. Not that thirsty LOL. However, because it was a plantation, they had other coffees and teas that we could taste test, and even purchase to take home. I tell you, I tasted almost everything they gave us to sample and all in all, they all were good! Even the coffee! I came home with Mangosteen and Rosella Tea.
Our 3rd stop, with a gorgeous mountain view, was lunch at Rondji Restaurant. Our tour guide informed us that we would be eating crispy duck for lunch. Can I say my stomach, turned a little. The last time I had duck, I did not like the texture of it. I couldn't understand then, who pays so much money for something where the texture is not the best! Well today, I was shown, its all about how it is cooked. With a tasty vegetable soup with a hint of spice to start, followed by this crispy duck, this meal was the BOMB! It tasted like chicken. My first few bites, I picked at it lightly, nervous about the texture. I was proven wrong! I downed it so quickly! My friend and I were both shocked! A must stop by and try, with breathtaking views.
Our final stop was the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Before we even walked in, the monkeys were climbing the ticket booth! LOL. It made us nervous. There are a list of rules you must read before paying to enter into the forest. Basically, you are owned by the monkey's if they land on you, and there is nothing you can do about it.
These monkeys are sacred animals, so any harm done to them, will get you in big trouble. If they land on you, you have to basically wait until they are ready to get off of you. But the one rule that stood out to me was one that said to "not make eye contact with the monkey". They see it as you are challenging them to a fight and take it as a threat. Do you know how hard that is, especially when you are there to observe them? I promise, I made it my best effort to not make eye contact with them whenever they looked my way.
The Sanctuary is actually built around a temple that was there prior to the sanctuary.
Perfect place for a sacred animal and sanctuary to be. You get to see these beautiful trees, an enormous temple that was built, and feed the monkey's as you pass by. You even see some drinking water from water bottles that they stole from people's backpacks. The funniest thing to see. The walkways are covered in greenery with vines, and humidity with heat making it feel like your in a Bikram Yoga class LOL. Very moist! The experience within itself was amazing. Leaving the sanctuary, we saw a baby monkey who managed to sit on this woman's lap, and attempted to try and take her purse. Again, like the rules say, your basically owned until they are ready to move so, unfortunately, this woman had to continuously protect her purse, and her hair being pulled LOL.
We finally head back to our hotel. On our way, through one of the villages, we passed a rice terrace. I have constantly seen pictures of these terraces and was curious to see these beauties in person.
Boy oh boy! Nature and just natural greenery is beautiful. What I liked most about it, the silence. Just peaceful. I must say, I was disappointed in my tour guide because I knew what we paid for, but she gave us an excuse as to why we wouldn't make it to the rice terraces where most tourists go. However, because I am who I am, I spotted with my keen eye, one :-). I made them pull right on over to the side of the road so we can take in the view, which is all I really wanted. BEAUTIFUL!
We topped off our day with drinks at the bar at the hotel :-), then bed LOL, in true granny fashion.
Saturday 9am Bali, Friday 8pm NYC
It's our last full day in Bali. So today, we went on a water excursion, on another island, Lembongan Island. With this excursion, we had a 45 minutes boat ride from the mainland, to the island, where we would be putting our items in a locker at one of the local hotels. This excursion included food and light alcoholic beverages. The 1st activity was kayaking. Joke is, 2 brown girls from the Bronx struggled with this activity. It was quite funny and tiring. It also didn't help that the weather to start, was rain, with some sun coming through, so we rowed ourselves in the clear water, in the rain LOL. A little hard to see.
The next activity was our Banana boat ride. We had to clutch for dear life while the speedboat pulled us through the water. But the joke is, we had to take a boat, to get to the banana boat. LOL.
From there, we hopped back on the main boat where we would wait for our turn to do the "Marine Walk". Your basically walking on the bottom of the ocean in huge oxygen helmet. Once you climb down to the bottom, you walk over to a section that has ropes for you to grab and hold on to. The photographer gives you bottle filled with fish food. As he is taking your picture, your squirting the fish food out, and before you know it, your surrounded by so many fish, that it does, shortly, become a little overwhelming.
But you have to stay calm, because also at the same time, you are trying to unplug your ears, as they keep popping, and continue to breathe through your nose, to prevent the helmet from fogging up. Man, I tell you, so many different things going on at the same time! If you are claustrophobic, this excursion is not for you, as the helmet will be a bit of a challenge. I was happy when it was over. Once done, we hopped on the boat to bring us back to the island mainland, where we got a chance to view the photos taken of us. I wasn't too pleased as our tour guide, selected for me without me agreeing, so I walked away pretty pissed, at the above photo. He later took us on a quick tour of the island, where we ended up at a top peak, to oversee the island, where I snapped a dope photo. BEAUTIFUL! The people who lived on it were as well.
Our boat ride back was a little rocky, again, a storm was leaving the area. Getting back to the room was awesome and sadly, reality set in, because it was officially our last night. So we organized as much as possible, showered, and headed out to see what was outside of the hotel nearby, as we were grannies most nights. To our surprise, the bars across from our hotel were not only super affordable, but offered everything that we were used to in the USA. We were so pissed LOL. How cheap drinks were, and how good the food was. My friend was super siked about this bar on the beach, having hookah. We just just sat on these large bean bags on the beach, stared at the stars with music in the back ground. Waves crashing in front of us, just an awesome ending.
Day of departure, the hotel offers an area where guests with flights leaving after check out, can go to and wait. It's called the "Owner's Louge". Within the lounge, it is almost as if you are still in your room, minus the bed, but a plus, for the free unlimited beverages and snacks offered! We surely did go hard on wine! WHEW! With our drunken selves, we realized, we needed real food to sober us up. So we headed back to the same bar we were at the night before. I had an awesome steak, for only $13 bucks I believe, possibly less. THE BOMB! We returned to the lounge to shower and get ourselves dressed in our travel gear for our 24 hour flight return home. THE LONGEST FLIGHTS EVAR! But the trip is sooooooooo worth it!
Next stop, Trinidad for Carnival 2017!
If your interested in visiting Asia or any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com
The days leading up to my vacation, I was super excited. I felt like I was prepared, but at the same time, became super nervous right before I departed. I did not know what it was, but something said, "watch something go wrong, but try to remain leveled, because you have all the items and documents you need for this trip". Of course, something would go wrong, later panning out to be a great experience.
This trip brought on much anxiety, prior to my departure, which later was heightened. I was worried about home life, that something bad would happen to me while traveling to the other side of the world, not speaking any of the languages in either country. I would like to thank God, for making English, the universal language of the world! I also would like to thank him for the Google Translate app on my phone 😊. Turns out, whether it was broken English, or bare minimum of understanding one another, myself and our hosts understood each other. I would finally like to thank Him for keeping us safe, all the while.
Friday Morning 10am NYC
We departed from JFK late! Folks who know me, know that especially when there is a schedule involved, I HATE BEING LATE! If I knew how to fly a plane, I think I would've taken off, just to make my connecting flight in Doha, Qatar. The frustration of our delay was irritating. But guess what calmed my irritation: the luxe look of our plane and the FOOD AND ALCOHOL! Man, can I tell you, after riding mostly domestic flights in the USA, and USA branded airlines even to the Caribbean, to be able to have unlimited food and alcohol on my flight, was the bomb! It seemed to be the trend outside of the USA. Even our shorter flights, we got food and drinks! I'll explain more about that later. Just know, your girl ate and drank her heart out. I am certain I gained a few pounds.
Care pack on our seat
Dinner: Tofu Tikka Masala
Tired of Flying
I barely slept on the flight. One reason was I had a man behind me who was super rude and kept pushing my seat up, without asking nicely about raising it, until I finally had enough and waited until we were well in the air, to turn around and give him the nastiest stank face hailing from the Bronx, NY. He got the hint and finally said please. I raised it a little, however, I later realized, I paid too damn much for my 12 hour, 1st leg flight so, I rolled it right on back to where I was just as comfy as he was. I couldn't care anymore. Please note by this time, I am still awake, only on 4 hours of sleep.
The second reason was of course, the FOOD AND DRANKS! Yes, I made sure my eyes opened wide once I heard the carts. I even gently woke my friend up. Not by any means, was I going to miss anything "included" on this flight. The fact that I saw bottles of Hennessy, Johnnie Walker, wine, big bottles, not nips, made me excited. They even have a few cocktails where they shook it up and nicely poured in glass for you. No need for a business class seat! BRAVO! The meals were PHENOMENAL! I mean really tasty meals, that catered to all types of diets.
Saturday 11am Qatar, Friday 3pm NYC
We finally reach into Doha. Looking at the time, we were praying that, just like our flight was delayed leaving JFK, our connection would be delayed also, as I was informed via Facebook, the airline has a tendency of not leaving on time 😑. Surely enough, our connection, was gone. GRRR! A man with a sign for those connecting to Phuket, was waiting for us at the top of the stairs. He explained that the next flight was at 7pm, Doha time. We landed 11am, Doha time. No. I'm not staying here sir. Anger began to rush to my face, blood is boiling, and tears of anger are coming to my eyes. He asks to see our tickets and that the airport offered a complimentary hotel stay if we liked. We were thinking he was just wanting to see. Nope. He slickly, swapped our tickets, for the 7pm flight. All names and cuss words for when we noticed the ticket swap, began to flow. He's nowhere to be found for a few minutes. Finally, a nice girl told us to just go to the desk because, there are usually other flights available, with other airlines. We said awesome! I still wanted to fight that dude though.
We were able to get on a new flight, same airline, however, we had to fly to Dubai, then from Dubai, switch airlines, to Phuket. We were just happy that either way, we were still landing on the day we were supposed to arrive, or at least we thought. Our stop in Dubai was an experience all within itself. The airport is like a mall, supermarket, hotel, museum, and anything else you can name, all in one. It was a combo of "really ya'll?!" with "this is so cool!" It looked like one of the corners of the world. All types of people were rushing to their gates or in and out of stores and spas.
We ran to catch our connection in Dubai. Connections however, like in Doha, there is bus at the gate, that takes you to the plane. Very annoying, as the gates are not close to the planes at all. If your not on that bus in time, they will not allow you or will not have another bus to come for you to make your flight. We almost didn't make our connection. A woman at the gate was refusing to let us on the bus that just pulled in, for what reason we didn't know, as we were on the line like everyone else. With her petty smile, she just said, "sorry, doors are closing". My friend finally had her moment of anger 😊. By the grace of God, I looked at the screen, and saw our flight was delayed an hour. YYYYAAAASSSSS! We still had time to make this final leg. I shouted "stop talking to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about because, right here, it says our flight is delayed, so we're good!" The attendants petty smile began to disappear, as ours, appeared ☺️.
We have a whole row, and semi empty flight on this last leg, with Emirates. It looked as though most of these people, missed the same connection we were originally supposed to have. The drinks and food flowed nicely, and I finally got some shut eye. It was swell. Sunday 1am Phuket, Saturday 1pm NYC
We land in Phuket, immigration took about 1.5hours, to later discover, our bags never made it to Phuket with us. How was that even possible, considering we left Dubai late. It was most of my flight, whose luggage was missing. Tears just flowed. I'm tired and angry and now, I'm in a place where the English language is a struggle to understand fully. We fill out a form for our luggage and now have to find a taxi to drive us 45 mins to our hotel.
We share our taxi with a man visiting from Mali, I believe. Solo traveler. We chatted some and at the same time, I was monitoring on Google Maps on my phone, how far we had to go before we got to our hotel. He gets dropped off first, us next. We finally pull up to our 4 star hotel, Banthai Beach Resort and Spa, ready for bed, only to find out that our solo traveler, grabbed my friends book bag, and not his. It was like, "could this get any worse!" With the use of Google Translate, we asked the driver to go back to retrieve my friends bag. We lucked out, as the solo traveler, was the only black man who had just arrived, so the locals pointed us to where he had walked into. He comes out smiling "oh my goodness, man this is funny and crazy, I took the wrong bag". Our faces to him 😑😒. We told him to pay the driver, as his place wasn't all that close to where we were staying. The excitement of rolling up to our hotel again, was now gone. Beautiful site to see but, now at 3am, I had no energy left to even take it all in, again. At the same time, I was emailing our tour person, about the excursion we booked for the morning, begging to have it moved to the following day. By chance, they were awake, and responded and nicely said "Christina, get some sleep, we will figure it out". Talk about understanding!
Sunday 11am Phuket, Saturday 11pm NYC
We slept about 4 hours, because we didn't want to miss the buffet breakfast. With only the clothes we had in our book bags and the nice flip flops provided by the hotel, we went to breakfast, looking a hot ass mess! I mean, our faces looked so tired and drained. It was like, we weren't supposed to be in that hotel! We indulged in almost everything they had to offer, which was yummy!
We rushed through it however, because we had a 9am meeting with our travel agency tour guide
Delirium with a touch of anger sets in.
Since we didn't have any clothes readily available and ended up booking a different and later excursion for the day, we said we would venture out in the rain
and pass the local shops along the way, to see if we can find some type of clothing to hold us over at least 2 days. While on the search, we found a spa that had Garra rufa fish, those fish that eat the dead skin off your feet
We said lets try it! It was the picture that we took while experiencing this weird sensation, that I realized we looked a hot mess. LOL. The experience brought some cheer to us however. We had to make the most of the day.
We have limited cash, the shops only take cash, so the use of my credit card was limited. What was also limited: the sizing options of clothing in the area. GGGRRRRR!! My friend and I are far from skinny girls. Everything we picked up a the shops that we liked, we asked if they had a large and all the responses were, "one size fits all". That one size, looked like a small. We just continued to let out big sighs. We decided to walk inside a maze like building, with more shops, to find a girl who was opening up and GGLLOORRAAAYY, she had shirts that were one size fits all but however, they seemed to lean more towards the "large" spectrum. We purchased 2 shirts. We later found a swimsuit store that had suits that would fit us as well. They weren't cheap that's for sure. We later proceeded to hustle a man at shop we had already passed, for underwear. When we returned to our hotel, my friends luggage arrived however, mine didn't. GGGGRRRR!!
It's 2pm and its finally time for our pick up for our safari tour. The rain, thank goodness, finally subsided and the sun made its attempts to come out. Our Tour was hosted by Siam Safari Tours, which, not only included an Elephant trek,
which made you feel like you were about to fall, but also included a full afternoon of showing how the people who live there, live off the land, while raising their female elephants
. From making coconut oil
, growing rice, tasting traditional Thai food (plenty coconut milk)
, coffee, tea
Thai Tea with Condense Milk
to how they make rubber from their rubber trees,
ending with dinner being included with a beautiful view at the top of the mountain
It was a day that actually made us cheer up more. The elephants were beautiful!
We head back to the hotel and believe it or not, we finally just decided to go to bed. We were grannies. We had an early morning start for the next day, so had to rest up. But, at 2am, we woke up and sipped some cocktails in our room. So, not as much sleep as we wanted, was attained. Monday 8:30am Phuket, Sunday 8:30pm NYC
We get picked up for our full day tour for...PHI PHI ISLANDS! WHOOOOO CHILE!! Listen, nothing beats being at a place that you have stared at on your vision board for about 2 years. Knowing that I was about to see what I have seen online in videos and photos, made me forget, that my luggage was still missing. I think I cried enough that I said, "welp, make the most of this trip!"
We chose the 1 day speedboat tour, as it would leave our other days for other things to do. We were in a group of roughly 30-40 people. All ages from many different countries. This is where we made new friends, a newly wed couple from Australia, via Fiji Islands! Both places are now on my list.
The ride was a little rough, as rain was leaving the area
We stopped at one of our most anticipated islands, Monkey Beach.
I got warnings on my phone to stay away from the Monkey's, which we did. Our operator kept us on the boat, for safety but, we got close enough. We visited most of the islands, not all, which I was fine with. I just mainly wanted to snorkel (which, my friend got scared once the fish surrounded us and even came the surface) and snap whatever pics I could, thanks to my GoPro 4.
Each island was a site to see, even one where we had lunch with an ocean front view
The caves we saw, where there were actual people who lived in them, were phenomenal to see. The water, even with overcast, was so blue, green in color. It was just like, wow, I'm actually here in this water from online! Unfortunately, the sun did not quite come out the way we would have hoped but, fortunately, I was told it was best that it didn't because, there's not much shade, so you pretty much want to be able to enjoy the sites, without having to deal with serious dehydration and sunburn later. Perfect. We ended the tour on one of the islands that seems to be like the party island with all the boats pulling up and lining up. Folks were drinking cocktails, eating local bbq food from the people who lived there. I of course, brought my own special drank :-) .
On our boat ride and bus ride back, I just prayed that my luggage would be there, because in 2 days, we would be leaving to a different country and also because it was now going to be a different airline, I was sure it was going to be lost. I prayed hard. We arrived at our room and I just went for it: asked the front desk about my luggage and it was surely there! YYYAASSS GOD! The staff knew us as room 1124. When she said "yes 1124, your bag is here, from early morning" I was just super ecstatic.
It was then, with clothing, we freshened up and looked like real people. I called it "Luggage Glowed Up" . When we left to hit the streets, the front desk girls said we looked nice. I thanked them. One proceeded to say "yea because, before, you guys looked bad". I wasn't sure if I should have taken it as a compliment or insult. But it was obvious why we looked bad for a day and half. No clothes and stressing about not having clothes!
We linked up with our new friends from our tour, to book our following days excursion. To say the least, night life in Patong Beach is very busy. Very similar to NYC Time Square, in the summer. It's the party central city, on the beach. Actually, it's a little similar to South Beach, just with more traffic. It was a little overwhelming but we managed. It turns out we all were super tired. Again, we were grannies, and went to bed lol.
Tuesday 11am Phuket, Monday 11pm NYC
We booked a visit to the controversial, Tiger Kingdom. Many people asked me not to be involved in any events with the animals. Many people warned us that the tigers are sedated. Many people gave their point of view about the tigers, and others had no comment at all and just encouraged us to go. I wanted to see for myself.
We paid to be with the large and small tigers. Please note, there are extra large Tigers as well however, our large tigers, I believe they said were 6-8 years old. To me, they looked like they were more 15, 16 lol. Large tigers appeared to look like adults, at least the ones they brought us to. The cage with the large tigers had 3. One was sleep, totally knocked out, while the two others were right behind us, playing in the pool. I could hear them. The next thing I knew, I heard one growl at the other, as they were playing. I almost pissed myself. I was sweating bad! The growl to me sounded intense. What was crazy was, the trainers, for one, were not scared, and two, was encouraging them to play while we were in there. I just kept my eye on the electrical fence and said "if anything, run towards it if possible".
We were given specific instructions and rules on how to pet them and how to behave while in the cage. The tiger that was sleep, made me feel a way. He almost appeared to look like he was dead. We were encouraged to take pics with him but I felt, that his state, took away from the whole experience. We proceeded towards the other two tigers that were playing. Here, we were able to get up and close to a tiger that was awake, calm, and allowed us to pet him. I was sweating bullets!
It was like it wouldn't stop or slow down. I was encouraged to pose a different way and do other things for pictures but my gut said nope, keep your eyes on this big cat! To say the least, I was super excited that our 15 minutes was up and we could proceed to the small tigers.
The small tigers cage, had three, if my memory serves me well. I know one for sure, was sleep heavily. We posed with that one but again, I just wasn't feeling the vibe. On the other side however, there was one that was awake and loved it when people pet its belly.
Kinda reminded me of a dog. I wasn't as scared of her, as she was a medium sized tiger, who was friendly. Again however, I was happy when it was over. We had to freshen up after because we all were sweating bad lol. To take the edge off, we had a shot of Jack with frozen drinks, while we waited for our pick up.
We again had plans to walk around and buy trinkets, which we did. But we remembered we had to freshen up because we had a show to attend in the evening. But first, because the weather had been sucky, except for this day, we decided to bless the pool that sat right outside our room. Not only that, we rushed to make the happy hour special before it was over 😊.
I was told by a few friends on Facebook as well as our tour guides, that we needed to see at least one of the two Broadway like shows while here. Boy was it definitely worth the money! The whole set up of where the show takes places, is actually set up like a theme park. These awesome lights, souvenir shops, and even a sample of traditional Thai dancing was on display.
The Theater
Their main attraction: the elephants! We had and opportunity to get up and close to elephants again, who, were also part of the show with other live animals.
The fact that they had them trained so well was unbelievable. They are only used for a small portion of the time however, their presence was and awesome site to see . Unfortunately, due to the strict policy of no pictures within the show, they require everyone to lock up their cameras or phones before entering into the show. I made a big deal about this as:
1. I do not trust anyone with my electronics
2. I saw no policy stating that if it went missing, they would replace my phone so with that concern, I received my own key for my own locker that only I could access, which calmed me down. It's also a ploy to get you to purchase photos inside of the theater with the other rare animals on display along with not revealing the show to non-ticket holders. We said our final good-bye to our Aussie crew, and spent the evening packing and just taking in the last evening.
Wednesday 7am Phuket, Tuesday 7pm NYC
We get picked up for our ride to the airport. Along the way, we got a chance to see Phuket's rush hour, kids going to school, side villages and roads, as well as, a man casually walking his elephant on the side of the road, like someone would their dog, minus a leash. It was awesome. I believe it was just his morning walk for breakfast, the elephant tearing from the side of the mountain, plenty branches and tree leaves to eat. I now, want an elephant. Totally in love!
We came across more frustration at the airport however, thankfully, we didn't miss our flight. We have definitely learned, outside of the US, communication of gate and time changes is not something that is clear or happens often. You have to stare at the screens and ask about 5 different people before you finally get the right answer. Blood begins to boil.
Next stop, Bali, Indonesia.
If your interested in visiting Asia or any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com
Do you have a vision board? What do you have on it? For me, I have many different things, but most include places that I want to visit, some actually not pasted on it. I have Greece on there. I have Thailand on there. I have to add parts of Africa, Cuba, Haiti, and many others on there as well.
Due to so many different things going the past few day, I totally forgot that I am leaving soon to Asia!! Not only am I going to Phuket, Thailand (vision coming to life),
but I decided that it makes sense, since on that side of the world, I might as well go to Bali, Indonesia!
Yup, your girl is going to Asia...the other side LOL. Two for one deal! This sleepless trip will be well worth the constant movement.
When the new year started, I said I wanted to go some place tropical, however, someplace not the Caribbean. A friend of mine, who went to Thailand alone for about a week, a treat to herself for her 30th birthday, inspired me to just go ahead and book, whether I was going alone or with someone. Deep down, I wanted to go with someone because...I have a fear of flying, and it's just soo far to travel alone! I don't know how she did it but, I said to myself "go for it, even alone". I did, through my agency. I even lucked out, and have a friend coming along, that could afford this trip, as we are going during peak season. Every coin spent, is well worth the experience.
I recently got back from Miami for carnival and realized, the next few weeks are going to fly right by and I need to get organized for my Asia trip. I saw where we were booked to stay in both countries, at the initial booking however, I didn't pay close attention to them. I finally looked again, after making my final payment in early October: I CAN-NOT WAIT!!! Both hotels are super dope! I feel like "man..this is how you vacation!" Don't get me wrong, I know there are possibly even better hotels, however, for what my budget was, the 4 and 5 star hotels selected, at the suggestion of my CEO of TropicalTravel.net, was perfect for us.
Luckily for me, my friend whose going with me, likes what I like. We do intend on branching out and trying to see local attractions and the local people. I am currently organizing each day for us. We are in both places for 4 days each, I believe. The time will go quickly, watch! UGH! Especially since one of the days in Thailand, will be an all day trip to the Phi Phi Islands.
My friend is hell bent on this hike in Bali (-_-).
Our chance to be with the locals
Let us pray, the weather is good for my asthma. We are going for leisure and exercise (-_-). I will look into some type of Yoga, specifically hot Yoga, while in Bali if possible.
My next post, I will include photos, videos, and more detail on my experience.
Have you been to Bali or Thailand? What did you do out there? What attractions did you see?
If your interested in visiting Asia or any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com
An independent travel agent for TropicalTravel.net - We don't only book to the Caribbean
