xMas in Kuala Lumpur

Christmas in our favorite city in Asia. What else can one want in life?

Decorations were even bigger than the last time, but less party on the streets: weather didn’t co-operate and it was mostly raining in the afternoons. But that did not stop enjoying ourselves, as always. Some absolutely amazing food, cinemas and retail therapy.

We did have a hard task to do here this time. It was time to say good-bye to our old diving BCDs… well, temporarily really. We shipped them back to Cyprus (with about half the stock of local Crocks shop – they had a really good Christmas special).

But all is not bad – we bought new dive gear. It is amazing the progress producers did in the last 20 years! New dive jackets have pockets. And additional straps (that we are not using for diving really – old school). And you don’t have to kick as a lunatic to move ten meters with new fins. There is definitely something to replacing gear every now and then. We are thinking of being bold and actually reducing our normal time of never (well, it takes 20 years for plastic to start breaking) to about 18 or 19, but let’s see how it goes….

As Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, alcohol is pretty expensive and we decided to spend New Year Eve in Singapore. They are supposed to have the best fireworks in Asia anyway...

If you are missing xMas already just click here for some more festive feel pictures.

Mozambique

When we planned the trip, the idea was that as we are in SA it just makes sense to quickly hop over to Mozambique to do some diving. Now we know it would be the same to say, if you are in Paris it would be nice see Moscow as well, right? It is a LONG, LONG way! Especially as Mozambique national air carrier LAM (Late and Maybe in local terms) is unreliable, a bit dodgy and blacklisted by European authorities. So, bus it is…

All in all, to answer your question: 3 days. That is how long it finally takes to get from Cape Town to Tofo beach in Mozambique. But let’s start from the beginning…

Cape Town to Joburg was absolutely fab: plane – train combo to bus station. Works like magic. Topped with dinner in Irish pub (getting desperate here…). Johannesburg to Maputo part was fine as well. Modern(ish) bus, filled with people only. But not to forget we are after all in Africa, we had to wait for border to open, get off the bus, cross the border on-foot (about 2km walk) and wait for the bus to pick us up. Yup, we are in the real travelling business again.

One night in Maputo passed quickly. Town is nice, but nothing really to write home about. What makes this country special is people – happy and so warm and hospitable. You have a feeling that whatever life throws at them they take it in the stride. And life was pretty cruel to this African country – they are just recovering after 13 years of civil war. 

Maputo to Tofo travel was a bit more entertaining experience. Local mini-van starting at 5 am and taking anything between 8 and 12 hours (depending on how it goes). Story is following: bus will not start until it’s full (and that means 31 souls (people, animals and every sort of luggage you can think of) in a tiny van – we counted. And stopping at every corner to pick up new customers. But it was actually nice, we enjoyed it (in a sort of masochistic way, I suppose).  Our van was full of kids travelling for holidays (hey, it’s Christmas here as well!). They were absolutely cute, looking at us and smiling and waving all the time. And it took us “only” nine hours in the end. And this is counting police checkpoint stop (read: Christmas bonus to local police force) every 20km, flat tyres (seems like people in Africa know their business around tire changing!), shi-shi breaks (when local toilets allow it, some of us preferred dehydration)… Not bad, hey?

Tofo beach was what we expected really – a proper paradise… once you get there! Diving, however started as a completely different experience. When we arrived we had a cold shower – almost literally: some weird local current shift dropped water temperature from doable 26C to arctic 19C. Visibility is realistically abut 10-15m and water is not really blue (damn underwater camera filters!). Add to all that statement from local dive guides that they haven't seen much of a larger marine life (remember, this is why we are here in the first place!!!) in weeks combined with self-inflicted alco detox and we felt like crying ourselves unconscious. And we did. And then we woke up and cried some more. Our nice Egyptian sheets (on a positive, B&B was really nice) were completely drowned in our tears…

Pretty desperate we jumped into the sea the next day. Water indeed was cold (although it got a bit warmer during our trip to drop again in the last two days), visibility pretty poor and we didn’t see any mantas on the first day. Another thing added to our misery – we brought our 20 years old dive gear with us based on don't fix it if it ain't broken mantra, only to have it all fully break apart in middle of Africa. Guessing already? Yes, more tears on crisp, white Egyptian sheets… Add total existential crisis of missing Ireland, friends and work already (it is December, best month ever!) and life was not looking that good. Thank god for lovely cakes in the B&B (told you it was really nice) – we drowned our sorrows in sugar. Not as good as alcohol thou.

But our luck changed – we really liked the dive center and people there and had a jolly time with them. Also, after first day and initial manta-less dives we saw these beautiful creatures almost on every dive! Even the guys in the dive center could not believe our luck (for a change). It was amazing experience topped with our last dive that was really special – we saw a school of mobila rays (or devil rays) that stayed with us for quite a while. Rays are only half the story. With whale sharks just waiting around to be harassed by hordes of snorkelers life was definitely improving. So we joined the masses to see the beasts, but also to test our swimming stamina as these guys don't really stop much. Or so we thought... With nutrient rich water the whale sharks didn't mind us that much swimming with them. To everybody's tired limbs endless delight they even stop at times to just such the water. Absolutely amazing!!! 

Tofo in the end: great dives, met some amazing people in a really great diving center, had some fab food. And the place has a perfect post-card beach. Even Nives didn't moan as much about the sand here. Ten days passed quickly (all good things don’t last) and we were on our way to Maputo again. This time with semi-private transport. Yes, we are wusses indeed. Are we planning to go back? DEFINITELY!

Next stop Kuala Lumpur. Nives cannot wipe the grin off her face.

This time we even got a video among the pictures.

South Africa

This part of trip was less travelling and more reuniting with our good friends Caroline and Ewart (think we may now be on the way to pronounce his name kind of right every tenth time or so…). It was great to be together after a long time! Guys have also proved to be perfect hosts, they planned so many great things to see and do, so that this was our best SA trip ever!

So, first Cape Town. Such a lovely place – has everything: mountains, sea, city life, history… Definitely our favourite city on this continent. Obviously, we did what the tourist do – walked the sea-front, Long Street, city centre… Living in Ireland for the last decade or so, we thought we knew what strong winds are, but boy were we surprised. It can blow here is all we are saying!

Table Mountain is a must and since we missed it on previous occasions it was definitely on the list this time. It was really a special experience doing it with Ewart, who is a mountain rescue volunteer. And this is not just a posh name people, his phone keeps bleeping! Even had to go on a mission to rescue somebody in practically middle of the night. Anyways, we learned about all the nooks and crannies and best climbs as well as all the stories and history. After all this, lazy as we are, we took a cable car. And it was all concluded by a majestic sunset… Yup, life does not get much better than this… Ah sorry, it does – with a nice glass of red and braai (that would be a bbq for non-initiated) to conclude the day later on… 

They must have confused imperial and metric measurements here is the only explanation for food size (2kg steak is the norm) and, as expected we averaged 2kg weight gain per week per person (same as on all our previous visits really – nice to be consistent).

Next stop was wine touring in Franshoek and Stellenbosh. Reached via one of the most beautiful roads in the world on a perfect sunny day. On a motor bike! Yes, baby… We were there in no time with slightly numb butts (are we losing touch here?).

Can you even pronounce Franschhoek? We couldn’t neither before sampling the good stuff in this gourmet South African village / wine region. The place is littered with 5 star retreat lookalike wineries (we figured it’s a lot like a retreat – you leave happy and relaxed – and that’s the point, right?). Try as much as you can, but short of having AA on speed dial, there are just too many to visit them all… but you know us, tried our best. With six months of Asia and scarce wine availability at the very least ahead of us, we imitated a camel before heading into the desert. And yes, all stored in fat (hey, same as camels with water!). We truly believe that we made a serious dent of local stock. And they even have trains and buses to take you from one winery to another starting at 10 am and finishing at 5 pm! No we haven't died and gone to heaven - this place does exist! Town is lovely as well, although we cannot really say we remember everything crystal clear. Not to mention the food – some of best steaks ever! Thank god we planned only four days or we would have needed a new wardrobe!

Final place we had on the list was totally something else – Tankwa Karoo. Bet you never heard of it? Well, we didn't either. Remote is the name of the game in this part of the world – took about 200km of dirt roads and 2 tyre punctures to even reach the gate of the park. You better come here with friends who know how to fix tyres, as there is a very sketchy mobile reception as well. We wouldn't be writing these word without Ewart‘s off-road know how.

Idea of Tankwa Karoo is to try and live like the early settlers did… well sort of (our first panic was when Nives realized that she forgot the mosquito repellent – so much so for early settlers state of mind). We indeed did not have the electricity, but did have a solar heated hot water, fridge, pool, braai (and if you are wondering, Dejan did burn a small forest in those few days)… kind of roughing it, if you catch our drift? Park is on the north-west of SA, not that far from Namibia (well, this would be in African terms, we are sure you could put a few Slovenias in-between). It is basically a desert, with some bush vegetation and quite a bit of life. And this would include snakes and such. So, no electricity and snakes in one place at the same time. Let’s put it this way, Nives was not the most enthusiastic about this idea from the start. But the promise of some of the best star-gazing in the world (and it really was!) we were on the way. Such a good decision! This was one of those experiences you just never forget, absolutely amazing scenery, views, and really unbelievable stars at night (we were on schedule here – either staying late or waking up early in the morning). So special!

Very quickly, it seemed, our SA time came to end. Caroline even prepared a Christmas dinner (start of December) for us when we were leaving – with decorations and all! Neighbours probably thought we really lost it with all those empty bottles of wine in the bin…

For us, time to move to Mozambique and finally do some diving!

To build up some wine thirst and rest your eyes on beautiful landscape click here.

Travel to Africa, through Africa

You will be relieved to hear that we actually made this flight. And without ANYONE checking for visa. Nives felt like having a fit (well, actually had a small one, but let’s move on…). Instead of originally planned flight with Quatar, this one was with Ethiopian with a long stopover in Addis Ababa (serves us right we thought). We were prepared – food and water in the backpacks – to face an African airline. And were totally surprised! New plane (Dreamliner), lovely food and wine on tap (actually good South African one). Flight was great, although a bit in a haze. We believe it could be the altitude, possibly helped by the few (well, technically more than two, but who’s counting?) bottles of lovely red… Flight to Addis Ababa passed in no time.

Customs passed in the regular manner. We dutifully declared all the cheese we had on us in sandwiches. To utter dismay of customs officers, of course. Think they probably had money or diamonds in mind. On the other hand, judged by our past experiences, there is probably a circular between customs officers of the world with pictures of crazy middle-aged couple (well, her really) who are declaring various types of food products. What can we say? Scarred in Australia and New Zealand for life…

Anyway, bad news was that we had 16 (yes, you are reading right!) hours stop-over. Getting books and phones ready and bracing ourselves for the worst we were shocked again. Lovely people in Ethiopian not only provided us with free hotel, but also free food and complementary visa! Goes without saying we felt a bit sheepish carrying all that vasa-brot, cheese and water with us….

So, Addis. Not a lot to say really, city is a dump. Seriously! Two hours in, we had enough and retreated back to the hotel to have few beers (at extortionate price of €1 per bottle). And surprise, surprise – encountered another St. George. But really liked Habesha more. Talking about beer if u happen to get all religious on us. Hotel was cool, we kind of thought it was two, maybe lower three star, but after talking to our friends in SA who travelled in Ethiopia, we were told it was a four star (apparently real luxury is confirmed if windows have glass – yeah, we know). All in all, sixteen hours was enough and we were happy to leave (with two hours’ delay, of course – this is Africa!).

Didn't really fancy taking pictures of severe poverty, so only a tiny amount of pictures here.

Skiing in Austria… and the F*ck-up(s)…

OK, c’mon, you all knew it was just a matter of time before we succumbed! After a week of eating and drinking too much, we decided it is time for some physical activity before we hit the road and what better to do in central Europe, but to go skiing? Beautiful glaciers of Austria, here we come!

After serious consideration we decided on Hintertux, Pitztal and Stubai (nicknamed the Lady glacier). Austrian Tyrol glaciers now offer 10-day pass and you can ski on any of them. Like they had us in mind. So, plan is set, three days Hitertux for start, three Pitztal, three Stubai and then Hitertux for the last one. They look close on the map, but nope, they are not. It takes hours to drive between any one of them. But well worth it, we want to ski them all.

After three glorious days in Hintertux we moved to Pitztal. Wake up at 6 am, as per usual, and drive from our room to the funicular and stand in the queue until it opens (yeah, we know…). After nice 30 mins wait we are ecstatic to be on the first car of the day. Life is good… Until the machine bleeps red instead of green. Few tries later we turn and still alive (not if the looks of people behind us could kill) go talk to the staff. Yup, you got it. We f*cked-up – bought the wrong ticket and the only solution is to drive 3 hours each way to Hintertux where we bought the tickets in the first place. Picture and no sound is the norm during the drive. Luckily we have our ticket exchanged. In normal circumstances we would not have been that angry as they made a mistake and gave us a fresh new ticket for 10 days. But in this case, we have our flights booked. Damn!

It felt so good to be on skies again, just admiring mesmerizing views over the Austrian Alps. We think these are one of the most beautiful views in the world (regardless of what NZ tourism board will try to tell you about Southern Alps; or any other part of NZ for that fact; as Nives probably have told you already…repeatedly…). Warmed up by log fires and good hazelnuss-snaps (nectar of gods, for sure) we had some of the best skiing ever. Singing Tux, Tux, Hintertux (helped by jaeger-bombs) we were saying goodbye (some of us with tears in our eyes… no naming names, but it was the male part of this duo) to the snow and carving for the season. Or so we thought …

Anyway, after a quick, but lovely reunion with family, Matej and Sanja, in Vienna, we were ready to go. Woke up at 4 am, schlepped 50kg or so of luggage to the airport to have a proper shock. Lovely ladies at the Quatar desk told two wide eyed stupefied speechless morons that they need a visa for South Africa. Yup, we f*cked-up. Again. But this one was truly and really one of best. Ever! Anyway, we were absolutely sure that previous time we went to SA we got visas at the airport, but seems the economical and geo-strategic position and importance of Slovenia (we are in EU and NATO now, people!) warrants a visa for all African countries these days. They probably can’t find us on the map (remember, not same as Slovakia!), so to be on the safe side decided that visa is a good option… Shell-shocked and aghast we went back to Vienna to South African consulate. It is going to be up to ten working days to get a visa!!! Luckily, the consul took pity on two eejits and we got it in a day. But out flight was gone and as we were unable to reschedule we needed to buy another ticket (do NOT go there! EVER!) a week later. So, what can one do in Austria in November in the midst of snow storms?

Yup, got it – we hit the ski slopes. Remember those three extra days of skiing that we thought we would not be able to use?  Seems now was as good time as any. Hintertux, here we come again! And it definitely was the best skiing in Tuxer ever – fresh real snow (not that artificial stuff), ideal temperatures and mid-week (i.e. empty pistes!). Just perfect!

After three days of pure pleasure we also had some extra time to spend in Vienna with Matej and Sanja who showed us the real beat of the town. We even managed to go to the Viennese Christmas market (just opened!). Like a fairy tale…

And then we packed (again) and schlepped 50 kg or so of luggage to the airport (again). South Africa, here we come!

Click here, but only after you tone down the brightness of your screen or put on some snow glare eye protection.

Italy

Courtesy of Ryanair cancelling most of flights from Pafos, we had to go through Italy to get to Slovenia. Such a disaster, we can tell you! One has to endure all that fabulous food, wine, art and good weather.

First stop was Rome – The Eternal City. Or the tourist trap (13eur for a small Guinness, which we obviously didn’t have!), whichever one you prefer. Number of tourists are only matched by a number of illegal street sellers. It felt unreal, especially at first when we though they were actually attacking us – literally! – with poles!  Only after a good second look did we realise they are actually selling selfie sticks. We know, seems we missed the whole new fashion… 

So, Rome. It definitely is something special and deserves a place in the big league. Seems every building has a history and painting or two by Rafael or Caravaggio (seriously!). So, obviously, Nives got obsessed to see them all and Dejan spent some quality time on different steps, pillars, chairs... streets... doing some bonding with his phone. We also managed to have some absolutely amazing food and wine – hey, one of the things to do in Rome is eat, eat and eat; so we indulged in a big way. In restaurants, bars, on the streets…

Being good tourists, we visited Vatican as well. And saw the Pope – for real, in flesh! Happened to have a some special ceremony (don't ask for more detail) on that day. We decided to stay and endured few hours wait in the sun (we didn't realize this particular point in the beginning and there was no way back) and joined the local madness (not so local actually, there were people from all over the world). The new Pope is supposed to be unpredictable and he proved it once again, changing the route of his car in the last minute to go directly into the crowds. It was really funny to look at his security guys trying to cope. Now we are talking real stress people!

Few kilos heavier we boarded one of new super-fast trains towards our next stop – Venice. Only on the way did we realize we were actually passing through Florence without stopping – disaster! Well, we’ll have to rectify that next summer.

If we thought Rome was touristic we didn’t get to the big league yet. Venice feels like Disney Land, not a normal city any more. Seems locals share this view, as most of them are moving out to suburbs, due to high rents and inability to get to shops without fighting hordes of tourists (most of them seem to be Chinese). But it is still absolutely fabulous and beautiful! Needless to say some more sightseeing for Nives and phone bonding for Dejan (true love at this stage for sure). 

We also discovered Venetian version of tapas – chicketas. Absolutely fab! You just move from bar to bar and have a few bites of lovely food (well, drinks as well) everywhere. Such a great concept! We also had a proper reality check in Venice: dressed in our travel gear (no designer clothes here, people!) we were actually not let in in one of the restaurants. After the first shock, we were unable to stop giggling. Travel Jugs are really back! Africa, Asia, here we come in full force. But before that short stop-over in Slovenia and Bosnia to see friends and family. And a few more European spots. Have you guessed already?

Some more pictures from this gorgeous country here.

Cyprus

We spent the whole summer in Cyprus doing, well, pretty much nothing. We were busy all the time, don’t think otherwise. A lot of beach (Nives’ option most of the time, which means no sand), swimming, riding motorcycles, a little bit of diving… and the constant bbq activities, of course! Takes it out of a person. Not even copious amounts of frappe (iced coffee) could help with the exhaustion.

We did however do a few things we didn’t do that much before. First would be visiting wineries and tasting some lovely wines (Cyprus is definitely improving in this area over the years!) and second is a newly acquired addiction in a form of a jigsaw puzzles. We got totally hooked and literally spent one week doing nothing else! So, what can we say, we had a hell of a summer!!! Summer in the sign of St Georges: our favorite beach, restaurant, sailing bay, few villages… more restaurants…dozens and dozens of churches… If you want to be on the safe side in Cyprus, just say a prayer to St George (one of them, really).

When the time came to leave, it felt way too early, but we were ready for our next chapter. Africa (with a few detours), here we come (again)!

Plenty more pictures from Cyprus are only a click away (not advisable to people adverse to bikes, wine, sun or the sea).

Prologue

Yes, it is that time in our lives again. The Year of the Pelican! Time to quit jobs. Do nothing. Time to travel. Do plenty. Check out how retirement will feel like. For the third time.

For the new blog followers, we did this before. Started with Pelican (blog here), followed with Pelican – The Sequel (blog here), and now (probably) conclusion with Pelican – The Trilogy. If you are asking where the Pelican came from, there is no answer. Just seemed a good name ten years ago. After few bottles of red…

What is it all about? In short, Jugs are on the road. Again. Doing what we like, when we like it. As an example, it took us almost a year to start this blog. But it is allowed – it is the Pelican year! No deadlines.

So, fasten your seat-belt (grab a seat on a bus), put the table in the upright position (get that head-set on) and get ready for a take-off (enjoy the commute). Hope you find it as enjoyable as we do…