Welcome to Dubai

To Dubai, United Arab Emirate -- Day 1

We managed to get to the airport by 6:45 this morning. The inevitable panicking started as soon as we got into the check-in line and realized we couldn’t find the paper tickets.  That, however, was soon overshadowed by the fact that Meg didn’t have her phone and had apparently left it in the Uber taxi. Arrgh! Fortunately, the driver answered the phone, agreed to return it, and I was able to pick it up a few minutes later.  When I got back to the line, Dex, Kylie, and Meg had struck up a conversation with a South African woman on the same flight to Dubai. Once there, she would be starting a seven month cruise, though, unlike us, this would be for work and not leisure.  

The Emirates Air plane turned out to be super new and fancy. Dex and Kylie were really excited since everyone had USB ports, headphone jacks, a personal TV / touch screen, and a pop out game controller.  What’s more, there was 500 Mb of WiFi access during the flight for only one buck. That made Dad pretty excited. However, once we realized Finding Dory was available, that became the top priority.  We all synchronized our videos recordings and were fully occupied for the next 90 minutes. Dex declared it even better than the original.

Once in Dubai, we went through the usual activities when arriving in a new country -- waited in line at immigration, picked up our bags, made sure our phones were working, got money, and then focused on how to get to our hotel.  The money step, however, thwarted us this time as none of the ATMs we tried would hand over any money.  We eventually called our bank to find that a hold had been placed on the cards.  We had used them at the post office yesterday to pay for shipping, and apparently that had raised some red flags.  Fifteen minutes later, it was all taken care and we set out to find the Metro station. Unfortunately, Dex was intent on letting us know how thirsty he was and not very happy when the bills we got from the ATM were way too big to use in the vending machine. Soon thereafter, we gave up on the whole idea of using the Metro after criss crossing one particular building for the third time.  Uber it would have to be, but not before yet another panic session when, upon getting into the taxi, Dex realized he didn’t have Nipper!  Thank goodness, Kylie remembered seeing him outside the terminal.  Whew. Tragedy averted.

My first impressions of Dubai is that it's something like a Las Vegas on steroids (except no gambling).  Everything is giant sized and brand new.  There are huge groupings of amazing skyscrapers, each seemingly trying to outdo the other in terms of its design and scale.  We could just see the twinkling lights on the Burj Khalifa -- the world’s tallest building at 828 m (2715 ft), more than half a mile.  Oh, and it's hot.  Though well after dark, it was hovering around 90 degrees. Talking to the Pakistani driver on the way in, we learned the weather was pretty typical.  In fact, during the summer, temps can reach 45 to 48C (113 to 118F)!  

Apparently, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is pretty accepting of other cultures -- dress, religion etc -- as there are huge numbers of expats living here.  In fact, the only way they’ve been able to build such an amazing infrastructure is through the labor of foreigners -- oh, and of course, with lots and lots of money from crude oil sales. Of the 9.2 million people here, only 1.4 are Emirati citizens while the remaining 7.8 million are from other countries.  I also learned on the plane that the UAE is comprised of 7 separate emirates, all of which are absolute monarchies.  Abu Dhabi, only fifty miles or so away from Dubai, is the capital.

The Abidos Apartment Hotel where we were staying is a nondescript high rise not far from the Emirates Mall and JBR Beach -- the beach near the iconic Jumeirah Beach Hotel shaped like a huge sail.  Although it was only a single bedroom apartment, there was a spacious living room with a couch that, with the help of a matching padded chair, would easily accommodate Dex and Kylie.  Not surprisingly, no one felt like going out for dinner, so I found a Quiznos on the map and trotted down the twelve flights in search of a couple ham and cheese sandwiches.  Although our track record with Google has been awfully good, in this case, there was no Quiznos to be found, nor the Subway shown just a block away.  Just on the ride from the airport, we spied McDonald’s, Hardee’s, and Five Guys with signage in both English and Arabic.  My backup plan for dinner was a stop at a corner market for cereal, milk, juice, and ramen noodles.  Not particularly fancy, but it would definitely do the job until morning.

A Proper South African Braai

To Sandton, South Africa -- September 28-29

I’ve been feeling increasingly out of shape lately, so made a point of getting outside for a couple runs.  When I do, it’s always nice to see a little bit of the town and what people are up to.  In South Africa, there is usually a fair number of folks walking around, either on the partially constructed sidewalks or the well-worn paths along the roads.  I felt better about being so totally out of breath when I learned later that the elevation in Johannesburg is actually quite high at over a mile (5750 ft).  One thing that definitely seems different from the big cities in Europe is there are very few people walking around with earbuds... and I haven't seen a single kid playing Pokemon Go.  

The drive back to Sandton was uneventful. After spending so much time in parks tooling around at 30, 40, or 50 kph, we really felt like we were covering some ground at 120. We did have to reinstitute the seat belt policy, though, since we had all gotten pretty lax inside the park.  

It was great to see Philippa again, and this time we got the chance to meet her husband, Andre, who had been in Washington D.C. when we had first stayed a week ago.  We unpacked the truck and tried to put their camping equipment back in the garage as best we could. It was super nice of Philippa to lend us their camping stuff, so we really wanted to do something for them.  We selfishly offered to take them out or bring dinner in, which would give us a little extra time to get to know them. In the end, we settled on a proper South African Braai (barbeque) at home. With Andre being an avid hunter, there was sure to be plenty of meat to go around.

The main goal for Thursday was simply tackling our to-do list: send a few little miscellaneous items back home, pick up an India guidebook, get some cash, look for a swimsuit for Kylie, buy a few groceries, and finally, fill the truck with fuel and return it to the rental agency.  Dex and Kylie, as usual, were not particularly thrilled with our list as “play the whole day” was not on it.  They, instead, really wanted to stay at the house. Since they had already spent a good chunk of the morning working on math, and we found out the housekeeper, Thumani, would be around, we eventually agreed. At 11:00, we jumped in the car leaving them Meg’s phone and instructions not to go in the pool and only to stay in the tree house or up in our part of the house.  

We did get most of the things done that we wanted, though it took quite a bit lot longer than we expected. On the plus side, Meg and I got the chance to have a nice lunch alone at a mall while trying in vain to check in to the next day's flight. The only bummer came when we noticed a text that there had been a little mishap back at the house -- the tree house hoisting bucket hit Kylie in the eye so she wasn't feeling so great. By the time we got back, she was doing much better and when Richard and Nina got home from school she seemed as good as new. The kids all jumped in the pool and then played an energetic game of cops and robbers.

Downtown Sandton

Richard: cop or robber?

Dinner was incredibly nice.  We ate outside on the patio between the fountain and brick barbeque drinking a variety of South African wines.  Andre did the grilling with proper South African charcoal -- not the briquettes we use but actual charcoaled pieces of wood.  The warthog sausages were a huge hit, along with the steak and lamb chops. It was a real pleasure to have time with the whole family.  Andre works for an animal healthcare company called Elanco, and every year, one full day is dedicated to local volunteer work, company-wide.  Today, the local team worked at a food bank sorting and organizing donations.  It took a while to download, but Andre finally got the video queued up highlighting the day’s activities.  In it, he spoke very eloquently about the significant need in the Johannesburg region and countrywide for donated food and other supplies.  

The night was capped off with raspberry and lemon cheesecake while the kids watched the Lion King on the couch.  This was yet another fortuitous meeting for Family Hoornaert.  Amongst well wishes and hugs goodbye, we made sure to extend invitations if ever the Westerveld family makes it’s way to the Bay Area. Our accommodations may not be as nice, but we’ll try to make up for it with an extra helping of California hospitality.

At Your Own Risk...

To Nelspruit, South Africa

Well, our time has come to an end here in Kruger. It's been pretty cool roaming around this huge place looking for animals -- kinda like being in a gigantic zoo. On the way out of the camp, we stopped at the store to pick up a few things and then noticed the restaurant and deck overlooking the river.  It was beautiful; I don’t think I even knew there was a river here.  In the distance, we could see monkeys jumping through the trees and a Water Buck here or there.

We weren’t in any great hurry, so Meg and I went for a short stroll while the kids played at the small playground, hopping around the wooden pylons.  It makes sense now why Philippa was disappointed when she visited Etosha in Namibia. It just doesn't have the same amenities, picnic spots, restaurants etc., that Kruger does.

We finally got on the road around 9:30.  After a short stop at an overlook, Dex spotted a huge elephant way off in the distance.  As often happens, you stop and watch and watch, and before you know it, you’ve snapped fifty pictures because every few seconds the animal is just a little bit closer than it was a minute before.  

In this case, the elephant ended up crossing right behind us and then proceeded into a clearing where a lone rhinoceros was standing.  It was really awesome to see the two face off.  The elephant looked like it was going to chase off the rhino at first as he tossed dirt up at it with his trunk and shook his head.  The rhino started backing up, but then moved forward.  I guess the elephant had been bluffing because he threw in the towel, turned around, and took off.  By this point, however, the rest of his herd (technically, a “parade”) was crossing the road and the whole episode repeated, this time with the larger group and two rhinos, but with the same end result -- the elephants left the rhinos in peace.

The next cool thing we came across was a croc right next to the dirt road with its mouth wide open, just waiting ... for some unsuspecting motorist to come by.  Yikes.

Joe and Christina from Germany

Lunch stop outside the KFC

We didn't have a clear destination for the day, but mostly just wanted to get down the road toward Johannesburg (Sandton). Once we got to Nelspruit, however, we decided to call it a day and get out of the car.  Meg found a room at the Mercure Hotel, which turned out to be pretty dang fancy with its huge main lobby open to a beautiful outdoor pool.  The security guard, high walls, electric fencing and warning signs, however, made us wonder whether we should be worried.  The sign by the parking spot read: this parking area is at your own risk and the Mercure hotel does not accept any liability or responsibility for any death….

In any event, the heated pool was a big hit.  Afterwards, Meg and I started working on our Indian visas since we'll be there in less than a week.  Fortunately, the process can be done online. There were plenty of questions to answer: employment details, education level, parents names, grandparents ethnicity... plus we needed a few attachments -- jpeg passport photos and pdfs of our passports.  

After five nights of camping (and with WiFi access to boot), it felt pretty nice to be indoors again. We were too lazy to cook or even go out to eat for that matter, so we just ordered in from a nearby restaurant. Dex and Kylie took baths and then turned on the Minions.  Hmm, we’re not really slavedrivers, though I’m pretty sure they did some math in the car today.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

Skukuza Camp, Kruger Park, South Africa

We were on the road this morning by 6:30. I think we were all still excited about the lion and leopard sighting yesterday.  Every time we stopped by the dry river bed, we were convinced we were going to spot something.  Actually, we did see a couple lions way off in the distance, but that was it for cats today.

Despite the lack of predator sightings, we still saw plenty. Even though the baboons can be a nuisance when around people too much. It was cool to see them interacting with the baby baboons.

Just for fun, we drove out to Lower Sabie Camp.  In addition to the "normal" stuff, we saw lots of birds, hippos and  alligators by the river and also had our best meal in ages at the lodge restaurant overlooking the river.  Pretty cool.

Kory Bustard - strutting its stuff

Egyptian Goose 

When we finally got back to the Skukuza camp, we decided to take a break from the car for a while. We let Dex and Kylie play, Meg went to wash clothes and later we all went swimming. We just got there when a man and woman showed up announcing sixty teenage kids would soon be joining us. It was a bit of a mad house, though we didn't mind the splashing, jumping and general commotion.

I chatted with the woman, Claudine, before I left and learned this was a group of 7th year students from the town of Barberton, just finishing up their term before a week off in October.  I commented on the group of six or seven boys (all black) who interestingly decided not to swim and were instead just standing or “posing” nearby watching everyone else.  Apparently, the students normally wear school uniforms, but for this trip they could wear street clothes. This group of boys had chosen to flaunt their expensive threads and conspicuous labels. One wore dress shorts, fancy white shoes, a Puma shirt and a hat. Another sported plaid golf pants, a Ferrari branded jacket and a glove on one hand!  Claudine explained that rival gangs sometimes get together and burn their clothing; the gang burning the higher dollar amount, wins. Well, at least that's a lot more civilized than shooting each other.

Although Meg and I had talked about visiting Swaziland, after reading a bit about it, we weren’t that excited.  Poverty, high Aids affliction rate, an absolute Monarch with 70 wives and a habit of spending lavishly. He apparently chooses a new virgin each year.... It probably would have been interesting nonetheless, but the new plan was to get back to Johannesburg a day earlier than planned, and spend a free day organizing a few things before starting the next phase -- a three day stop in Dubai and then a month or so in India. Besides, the kids would like nothing better than to spend time at the B&B playing in the cool tree house in back.

Just as the sun was setting, Dex and Kylie came running up having once again found a Monitor Lizard. In fact, this time it was two. Wow, I had no idea these oversized reptiles could climb trees. Actually, they didn't look particularly secure or adept at negotiating the maze of branches, and I was afraid they were going to fall on my head as I took pictures.

I'm not sure what other people see when they come to the Kruger, but it seems like we had been pretty darn lucky. Wild dogs, hyenas, lions, leopards, alligators.... The lizards were pretty cool too, but definitely have a face only a mother could love.