Thailand

We arrive on the other side of the world after a rather long trip—4 hour drive, 8.5 hour plane ride back north of the Equator, 3 hour layover in Abu Dhabi (I bought Siena a cinnamon roll for 11 of whatever the currency is there. I have no idea if this was expensive or a deal, as I neither learned what currency they use nor what the exchange rate was—hey, I was jet lagged!), 5 hour plane ride. During our walk to customs, we notice a distinctive aroma in the airport: Thai food. Our “hotel”
that I booked online ends up a bit lower than low budget in the heart of the hippy, backpacker world. It is like a combination of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and spring break week at Daytona.

Our first day in the city, we make our way to a floating market.
It’s more like a floating food court, as all the boats sell cooked foods. There are no tourists here and the prices and food are remarkable. There are small tables and we sit cross-legged on the ground. We gorged on barbequed fish with green chili sauce, chicken satay, and some bizarre but delicious noodle dish, washing it down with several beers and waters for a whopping $6. Although early yet in our time here, the Beattie Beer Index reports exceptional levels in Thailand. We have tried Chang (aka Elephant) Beer, Singha, and Leo. Interestingly, Singha is our least favorite, and the only one I’ve seen imported to the US. It is a bit bitter for me, but the other two are wonderful, and, at $1.70 at a restaurant for half liter, even better.

There is food everywhere you turn. Pushcarts are set up on either side of the street, selling noodles, pancakes, odd soups, barbequed frog, bugs (grasshoppers, grubs, crickets, etc), stirfry pots of vegetables and meats. You could literally eat on a single street for weeks without ever actually entering a restaurant.

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? This is the spiritual heart of the country, and in the absolute heart of the capitol of Thailand: Bangkok. The complex was initially built at the beginning of the reign of the current dynasty. This is the Grand Palace. The chedi (tall, hat shaped structures) and the Wats (Buddhist houses of worship) are unbelievable. The colors are so vibrant, all jewel tones of red and blue and gold. The buildings literally sparkle in the sunlight. This seems like a very religious country. We see shrines everywhere, with people on street corners lighting candles and praying. The smell of incense is as prevalent as that of garlic and coconut milk. The orange robes of the monks not only pervade the wats, but accompany us on buses and boats. While we sightsee at these shrines, it is evident that these are very much still places of worship. We are trying to work meditation and enlightenment into our daily lives, too.

Today is the start of the Lunar New Year so we take a tuk-tuk to Chinatown. A tuk-tuk is a three-wheeled cross between a scooter and a motorcycle with a surrey attached behind the driver. It is a bit cramped with the four of us, but fun to be outside, zipping through traffic and through tight spots (sometimes on the wrong side of the road). Chinatown is wild. There are thousands of people, all milling around, with firecrackers, and noise makers all contributing to the din. We even see our first Asian elephants at the celebrations. Asian elephants, if you didn’t know, differ from African elephants both by having smaller ears and by being much larger. The elephants were trained, and we were treated to seeing them dance, demonstrating better rhythm than some people I know. Remarkable how light on their feet these behemoths are. We pet the elephant’s trunk and marveled at the dexterity of this appendage as it received money, which it deftly swung up to the man riding on back, or bananas, which quickly disappeared down the hatch.

Today, we train up to the north of Thailand, to visit a friend of the family who recently moved to Chang Mai.

Shun! (cheers, in Thai)
The Beatties

South Africa, part III-Garden Route and onward

I know we have sounded enthusiastic about other countries before, but we have absolutely loved South Africa. What a magnificent country! We finish our tour of South Africa with a ride up the eastern coast, along the region called the Garden Route, then turning north to see the tallest mountains in the country before heading to the airport in Johannesburg.

Our first stop along the way was here. Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? Well, this town has the wild distinction of being the ostrich capitol of the world. Did you even know the world needed an ostrich capitol? Siena had asked if she could ride an ostrich for her birthday, and, as we were within driving distance of this town, how could we resist? This is Oudtshoorn, and don’t expect me to be able to pronounce it. We took turns standing on the huge eggs—each one the equivalent of 20 chicken eggs, before Siena, Ethan and I climbed aboard for a wild ride. Siena summed it up best: “I rode a bird.” There was no controlling the beasts once on their backs, but it was exhilarating, for sure!

We had met a friendly couple in Santorini who invited us to come visit them in South Africa. The Ruperts entertained us in high style, taking us to various beaches, riding tubes, hiking around the coast and sampling many of the wonderful wines of the Western Cape. Our children loved playing with Sabrina and Erin. Traveling is great, but being in a home is the best.

During our trip to South Africa, we visited about 10 national parks. The parks here are fabulous, with beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife and traditional architecture in their lodges. In the northern game parks, they talk about the “Big Five”, lion, leopard, buffalo, cheetah and elephant. In the south, they have the “Big Seven”, all of the above as well as whale and the great white shark. We were thrilled to see a whale, a finback whale surfaced hardly a half kilometer from where we stood watching. We were equally thrilled NOT to see any shark, especially whilst swimming. In addition, we saw lots of dolphin and a huge group of seals. Seals are great to watch and listen to, but less great to smell. Try to stay upwind of their colonies.

Our last national park before leaving South Africa is in the Drakensburg mountains. Royal Natal National Park is home to the second highest waterfall in the world. We had no idea! We hiked 7 kilometers to the base of the falls, crossing on boulders back and forth over the river as the location of the cliff face dictated. This is one of the most beautiful places we have seen. They call the semi circle of mountains The Amphitheater, and we had this as our view from the backyard of the rental cottage.

This country has it all! The natural beauty, delicious foods and wines all combine to make this a worthy travel destination. We had the added pleasure of meeting friends in Cape Town and on the Garden Route, and meeting friendly, helpful people everywhere we turned. Our two months in Africa have flown by. Tonight, we depart for Bangkok.

Cheers
The Beatties

South Africa-part 2 Cape Town and environs

We fly to Cape Town. Cape Town might be the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. It is set on this peninsula, with ocean on three sides, mountains on three sides and the mountains are right in the city so they are visible from everywhere with lovely gardens and interesting architecture. It is hilly, like San Francisco, sandwiched between ocean and mountain, like Laguna Beach, has lots of cheap parking, unlike any city I’ve ever visited, and, bonus, it’s pretty inexpensive.

There are even exotic animals in the vicinity. We see baboons on the side of the road. There are elands (very large horned, hoofed mammals—like an elk, I guess) and dassies (rabbit sized rodents supposedly related to the elephant). They even have penguins here. We swam with the African penguins at a great beach. Sort of. The penguins were there swimming, and so were we. What a strange animal—so awkward and ungainly on land, but magical in the water. They move like missiles.

The largest and closest mountain to the city is Table Mountain. One day, we took the cable car up. Table Mountain rises 1,200 metres above Cape Town. The cable car is wild—it rotates as it rises, making a full 360-degree rotation during its rapid ascent. The views from here are unbelievable. As the name implies, this mountain is rather flat on the top. There were trails around, and some major steep drop offs.

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? This is a trick one. They are at the point where Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape. This is where most people think the Indian and Atlantic Oceans collide. But, scientists say this is not so. Nor is it, as most people will tell you, the Southern tip of Africa. This is the Cape of Good Hope. Enough of what it is NOT, it is beautiful. The waters surrounding us are littered with shipwrecks. There are warning signs telling us not to swim, and a fellow hiker cheerily informs us two people got swept to their deaths last week. I guess it’s called the Cape of Good Hope because you need to Hope you have Good weather in order to survive.

The next day, we drove to Cape Alguhas, which is both the southern tip of Africa and
where the two oceans do meet. It isn’t as impressive a location, and the name doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same manner, which might explain why it is never mentioned in the history books. The other fact we learned is that de Gama wasn’t even the first to round the Cape. Another Portuguese explorer named Dias made it through the treacherous waters about 20 years earlier. He did not make it to the Far East, though, and so his name languishes in obscurity.

South Africa has a completely different feel to it than Tanzania. In Tanzania, we knew we were in Africa; here, we have to remind ourselves as the roads are great, English is spoken, and there are modern conveniences everywhere you turn. The South Africans are outgoing and friendly. The barbeque, or braai as they call it here, is almost a religion. The wine is fantastic—we drove into the vineyards region of the Western Cape and sampled some. The food has been excellent. Lots of grilled meats and fish, wonderful oysters, and Siena’s new favorite, ostrich steak, which has the texture of the best fillet you’ve ever tasted, with a strip steak taste. Lekker, or delicious, in Africaans. And, all at reasonable prices. Lunch yesterday was particularly cheap, where we spent 70 rand, or about $7 for the four of us, including drinks and a tip that thrilled our server.

So, it is no surprise that the Beattie Beer Index is at almost an all time high. The beer, Windhoek, Hansa and Castle, are all good lagers. At a restaurant, we are paying about $1.50 for a draft, but we can buy it at the supermarkets for the equivalent of 75 cents each. The wine is also cheap, and the pinotage and cabernets are world class.

We had a wonderful time exploring with my brother and it is with sadness that we drop off the last person scheduled to join us for part of our adventure. We would love it if we could arrange to meet our friends or family during the trip. Let us know if you are interested…

Hsuntite! (Health! In Africaans)
The Beatties

Tanzania Climb and Safari

Impressions on Tanzania Safari

By Ethan Beattie

We were off on a six day Safari through four different reserves. Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tangerie. We left the hotel at around noon when saying we were supposed to leave at 9:00. It took less time to get everything ready than Kili because there was much less gear and there was a car instead of porters.

Driving through Lake Manyara we pass an elephant about five feet away, eating away at a tree. The little tree was no match for the elephant’s big strong trunk. The animal used its trunk like a lawn mower clearing everything in its path. The elephant ate everything including the sticks, twigs, leaves and branches unlike a giraffe, which only eats leaves. After a couple of minutes the elephant walked, behind our car, looked at us, and then kept on walking. It was unbelievable the size of this creature and how close he was to us. This was an amazing moment because it was a first day, so we had never seen a elephant before, and he was really close too. You could tell the elephant was younger because the size of the tusks weren't as big as when full grown. It seems crazy that someone would kill an animal just for the ivory from the tusks. The tusks were bright white and got brown as you got close to his face. Rounded and reflective, the tusks gleamed in the setting sun. The elephants must not have many predators because of the size and weight of just one elephant. After five to ten minute stay, we moved on to see what else we could see. On the way out we saw another elephant, a little farther away, but it crossed the road right in front of us again. It is amazing to see animals in the wild so close with no fence. This was one of many great experiences on our safari. There are so many different types of animals. It would be great to go on another safari in the future.

Kilimanjaro

By Siena Beattie

Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa at 5895m. It is in Tanzania near the border of Kenya. You are not allowed to climb the mountain without a guide so companies can charge a lot more than it should cost. It usually takes three to five days to climb it but the fastest was in eight hours. Some people have to turn around either because of the altitude or because it was too cold. The chance of not making it to the top is 1 in 5 so you have a pretty good chance of making it. But if you don't make it you won't die like you do on Everest, you just turn around and go back down. And even if you don't make it to the top, it is a beautiful and fun climb.

When we, my mother, father, Ethan, Ross and I, climbed Kilimanjaro, we had twenty people taking care of us we had 13 porters to carry our bags, one cook for them, two cooks for us, two assistant guides for the last day (the cooks and the assistant guides were also porters) and two guides. The guides were great. Their names were John and Thomas. They would help us up big steps and pull me up small cliffs. They were great fun to talk to and taught us a few words in Swahili like Pole Pole, Slowly; Jambo, hello; Pole, sorry; Asantay, thank you; Karibu, you're welcome and a few others. When we were on our final assent day we had to split into two groups because I was getting cold and stopping often. Dad, Ross, and Ethan went ahead with John and one of the assistant guides, William, while mom and I went slowly with Thomas and the other assistant guide, Guidian. We walked for another hour after they left us before I started to feel lethargic and extremely cold so we had to turn around and go back down. We found out later that it was probably hypothermia so it was a good thing

we turned around or else I might have died. One the way down, Thomas could not have treated me better if I was his own child. He gave Joseph my hiking poles so that I could ball up my hands to keep them warm while he held my arm ad served as my hiking poles. He held my hand all the way down and tried to warm me up when I sat down even if it did

n't work. At the camp again my mom and I lay down for a while. When the boys got back we heard that they had made it to the top and John had helped Ethan a lot pulling him up the last part of the way. When we got back to the hotel that was included in our climb we had to tip our entourage different amounts according to what they did for us: the guides

got the most, porters the least etc. We mosts have given them more than normal because John and William joined us for dinner and took us around Moshi.

When we were on the mountain we had some excellent

food. Our cook made wonderful soups. The only thing we didn't like was the sardine sauce that he made with the pasta on the night before we would go to the summit because we do not like sardines. Also the chicken we had for almost every lunch was over cooked and dry. The chickens in Tanzania are skinny and tall. They don't look anything like the chickens in Europe or the US. One day we asked William if he made the soup when he came to take away the bowls. He said yes and we told him it was delicious. “Asante sana,” he said. On the trail William told us that

he was going to some technical school. We told him no, that he should become a chef. We went for four days thinking he was our cook until John told us that it was Joseph was the one who made the soup and William was just our waiter. We laughed about it then gave Joseph our compliments about the soup. William thought we meant: Was the soup made by one of you?

Over all, the climb was great. We met some people from Finland who were going through the same company as we did. We ended up seeing the again in the middle of the Serengeti. We also talked to a woman from Canada who was studying in Tanzania at the time. There were people from all over the world but we were the only children on the mountain at the time. The climb itself was also great. Every day was a different experience and we climb over different terrine. Someday I will go back, but next time I will make it all the way to the top.

An Unexpected Country

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? Well, we had no idea we were going here. We decided that, although our stay at Kruger was stupendous, the park was too big to see the rest of it (hours and hours of driving) and it would be nice to see a bit more of the surrounding area. We headed into another country. This country is surrounded on three quarters of its almost circular boundary by South Africa, and by Mozambique on the rest. It is the only absolute monarchy in Africa. It is mountainous and lush, the major industries here consisting mostly of logging and mining, and minimal tourism (no one appears to have “discovered” this gorgeous place). This is Swaziland.

We read in the guidebook that the biggest concern we should have in Swaziland is the roads. Although the road conditions were excellent, the drivers here are notorious, and they are very lax with drinking and driving. The scariest statistic we heard is that 2 of the last 4 Ministers of Transport for Swaziland died in traffic accidents. 15 minutes into the country, we were stopped by an accident. We couldn’t figure out where the truck involved was trying to go. We proceeded with caution.

Our first stop was to see ancient rock art, painted on the wall and ceiling of a cave. The short hike to the cave was through beautiful wild flowers, with vistas of an azure river running through a tropical valley. Our guide, Gabby, told us the paintings were 4000 and 400 years old. She was unable to understand our question asking which parts were 4000 and which were 400, replying that they were all very old. Did this mean they were unclear about the actual age of the drawings? Carbon dating is a bit more accurate than that, right? Upon reading the literature, the 4000 year number was repeated, so it might just have been a problem with translation. When we signed the guest registry, we noted we were the only visitors for the day or the proceeding day. A total of 11 people visited in January of 2008. Yep, Swaziland is apparently not swarming with tourists.

Next, we arrived at Malolotja National Park. We paid the absurdly low entrance fee and proceeded into some of the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen. These blesboks were everywhere, but much more wary of us than the animals we had encountered in either Kruger or in Tanzania. But, judging from the registry at the park, this may be because they may never have seen a car in their lifetime. We described the views as either jaw-dropping or OMG moments. The most amazing thing was it was entirely ours. I mean, the whole national park. Not another car, not another hiker, not a building in the distance. No sounds of humans anywhere. Well, we did have Ethan with us, so it wasn’t like it was quiet or anything. These mountains are some of the oldest in the world, over 3.6 billion years old. The grassland covered even the peaks of these mountains, with waterfalls cascading into the valleys. Absolutely a fabulous place. . We ate dinner at the Hwane Resort, just outside the park. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay here as we had a fairly early flight from Johannesburg, and the border didn’t open until 7 a.m. They literally close the country down between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. That was at the main border crossing. The others were much more limited—like 8 to 8. We made it out before closing time, and regretted we hadn’t planned on more time in this lovely country.

Love, (we weren't here long enough to learn anything in the local language)

The Beatties

South Africa Part I Kruger

We fly down to South Africa, with almost no problems. Other than the airline we were supposed to fly had stopped flying. Problems with capital. And, who owns this airline? The Tanzanian government. We were able to find different flights, though, despite being the busiest travel day of the year (2January, end of Christmas holiday). Unfortunately, as Air Tanzania was looking for investors, they had no cash to refund our flights. And, the other airlines we took only accepted cash. Do you have any idea what the wad of cash looks like for 4 tickets in Tanzanian shillings, where the largest bill, the 10,000 Tsh note, equates to about $8??? We thought we were going to need a wheelbarrow to carry the money.

We met Mark in the Joburg airport and drove to the northeastern border of South Africa. Gluttons for punishment, we arose at dawn (5:15am) to see the park during the early morning hours when the cats are most active. We were lucky. Here is a rare cheetah, who enthralled us by crossing the road several times in front of us and behaving most cat-like—scratching the tree, rubbing against bushes and stretching languidly.

We also saw the elusive leopard. This is the most beautiful animal I’ve ever seen. Its gait combines grace and power, barely contained.

One evening, Mark and I took a short drive through the park. After a fairly uneventful 90% of the drive, we rounded a corner to find 20 elephants blocking the road. This was a herd of females with their young. We sat watching them feed and interact, until something spooked one of the females. She, along with 2 of her friends, started towards us, shoulder to shoulder, ears flapping madly, as they appeared ready to charge. Mark backed up slowly, while I, shaking, took this out of focus shot. Finally, the girls decided to dine instead of attack, and we were able to drive passed. Then we had to talk our way out of the closed park, as the ranger felt we were too late to exit.

The 5 of us spent a day exploring a large canyon nearby. The river has created beautiful scenery. The valley below us must be 4000 meters down. Spectacular!

There are 11 official languages in South Africa, English being one of them. We learned “cheers” in Zulu, but when we used it at the bar that evening, the bartender had never heard of it. So, either he didn’t speak the same language as our first friend, or we were massively mispronouncing it. Since it is unlikely that most of you will know the difference anyway, we sign off with

Yambu (cheers, maybe, in Zulu, maybe)
The Beatties

Zanzibar

Zanzibar

It is such a magical name. Zanzibar is actually an archipelago (word of the day) located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania. Zanzibar, although nominally part of Tanzania, is fiercely independent and has a completely different feel from the mainland of the country. Historically, the islands were controlled by immigrants from India and then from Turkey. 90% of the population is Islamic, although those we spoke to did not adhere to the no alcohol tenet. And, there was a lot of drinking on this island.

Zanzibar is known not only for its beautiful beaches, but also for growing some of the best spices in the world. We were fortunate to take a wonderful spice tour. We saw cardomon, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, curry leaves, pepper, vanilla beans, and cacao (chocolate), as well as pineapple, coconut, jackfruit, and bananas. We tasted everything. Notes to others: Turmeric really stains (Siena had yellow lips from the turmeric for the rest of the day) and freshly picked ginger is quite a bit spicier than the roots you buy at the grocers (wow, was that hot!).

We snorkled in the Indian Ocean, where we were saw lots of clown fish, which is the kind of fish Nemo was supposed to be. They were hanging out in the anemone and the fire coral, but, overall, the visibility was only mediocre which is a real drawback to good diving.

Zanzibar has wonderful food and we ate very well here. The fresh fish, including ocean perch and king fish (neither of which we had ever tried before) were fabulous. There were curries and coconut milk sauces, and lots of interesting spices. There was a distinct Indian flavor, but with an African/spiced twist.

After 5 days of resting here, we fly down to South Africa and meet my brother Mark.

Jambo! (Hey, or what’s up in Swahili)

The Beatties