“The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home — and the slow nuanced experience of a single country is always better than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.”
― Rolf Potts, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living… Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.
I enjoy traveling and recording far-away places and people with my camera. But I also find it wonderfully rewarding to see what I can discover outside my own window. You only need to study the scene with the eyes of a photographer.
Alfred Eisenstaedt
Windows of Shanghai
Cherryblossoms in Shanghai
Local neighbourhood
Windows of Shanghai
Looks like drying meat out in the open just is the norm here in Shanghai.
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody.
Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
― Anthony Bourdain
Bike of Burden
Longhua pagoda
Mending clothes on the sidewalk
Explorimng Yuyuan garden area
The quiet streets of Shanghai
Qibao old town, part of Shanghai
Alleys are filled with clothes drying and other odds and ends of daily life
“The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown..”
― Paul Theroux
The other side of the river looks completely modern and lights up at night.
“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
― Christopher McCandless
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”
― Pico Iyer
“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.”
― Patrick Rothfuss
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. ― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
Walking through yuyuan garden alleys
Old bar
Walking through the back streets of Shanghai
Everywhere there are people taking photos
Tanziafang alleys
Memories from Old Shanghai
Huge appartment blocks that look neglected are all ober the city
“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen
The lioness and cubs after the rain
They live in groups called pride, and are the only social animals of the big cat family, with the African lions the most social of them all. They seem to enjoy being together in a group and show lots of affection to each other by playing, touching, licking, purring, and head rubbing each other when resting
. Lions belong to the cat family of animals known as feline (Felidae), they are the second largest of the big cats behind the tigers.
A pride usually consists of 15 lions with most of them females and their young. One or two to three males may join a pride for up to three years if they are not replaced by other lions.
A female lion (lioness), which is smaller in size than the male, leads a pride.
The two cubs are not looking very happy after the rain
Little one notices us nearby
Lions mate all through the year. The female carries a pregnancy for 110 days (gestation period) before giving birth to 3 to 4 babies called cubs.
Mother watching our every move
Young lions begin hunting from 11 months; however they remain with their mothers to avoid being attacked by black-backed jackals, hyenas, and leopards which prey on them. When they become 2 years old, they become independent and strong enough to protect themselves.
Female lions are nocturnal and are therefore able to hunt at night. They hunt in a team which makes it easier for them to get their prey
Timbavati Private Game Reserve
In Africa, lions are now only found in the South Sahara desert and in some parts of South and East Africa and not the whole of Africa as it was before.
Lions are carnivores, meaning they eat the flesh of other animals they can hunt. They hunt several kinds of small to large animals for food, including hares, reptiles, giraffe, zebras, impalas, wildebeest, and buffalos.
The population of lions in Africa has been reduced to about 21,000 from twice this number that it was in the 1950s, making lions one of the world’s most endangered animals.
A lion can leap to about 36 feet, run 50 mph over short distances, and when it walks, its heels do not touch the ground.
Lions may have different colors; however, they are usually light yellow-brown with the mature male having a thick brown or black mane around its neck. The lion’s mane protects it from injury during fighting and makes it unique among other big cats.
You can guess the age of a male lion by the color of its mane. The darker the mane, the more mature the lion is.
“The journey not the arrival matters.” –T.S. Eliot
A beautiful sight, having this beautiful creatures drinking water a couple of meters from the camp.
Doing wildlife watching from Shindzela camp. Elephants require a huge amount water on a daily basis; about 18 to 26 gallons but they may consume up to 40 gallons.
The elephant’s trunk contains an estimated 100,000 muscles and tendons.
Traveling alone can be very daunting for most people and I do agree that it is not the easiest thing to do. I have been traveling solo most of the time and have learnt a couple of things through my travels. You always end up meeting lots of people while traveling alone, and I have often enjoyed a big collection of fun temporary friends throughout my trips.
Exploring Green Point, Cape Town
Green Point, Cape Town
Green Point, Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
The building where I lived for two years in cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Traveling solo has its pros and cons — and for me, the pros far outweigh the cons and here are some of the pros.
When you’re on your own, you’re independent and in control of the when and where of your travels.
You can travel at your own pace, spend as much time as you want browsing through shops or sitting at a cafe enjoying a cappuccino and a good book. You can spend hours in an art museum or at the market getting to know the people of the city.
You can do the things that interest you and dont have to come to a compromise with your travel partner.
You’ll meet a lot of people as you’re seen as more approachable because you are sitting there all alone. If you stay in hostels, you’ll have a built-in family and there will always be someone who would like to join you.
Me at the Castle of Good hope
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Lazy Sunday walk in Cape Town
Colour of Cape Town
You can eat where and when you like and nobody is going to make you feel guilty about having chocolate mouse for dinner.
Another benefit is that your mistakes are your own, and your triumphs all the more exciting. There’s no worrying that your insistence on trekking all the way across town to a museum that was closed ruined your partner’s day; it’s your own day to salvage or chalk up to a learning experience
A lovely advantage is that you can splurge where and on what you want. You can spent the afternoon looking for the perfect souveneir or bag in the market and not feel as if somebody is willing you to hurry up.
You don’t have to wait for your partner to pack up, which while traveling with my mom I learned can take quite a while.
There is no need to negotiate when to call it a day or feel guilty about wanting to take a midday nap.
Traveling on your own allows you to be more present, absorb your surroundings and indulge in the new culture without distractions.
Solo travel is intensely personal. You end up discovering more about yourself at the same time as you’re discovering more about the country your traveling through.
Traveling on your own is fun, challenging, vivid, and exhilarating. Realizing that you have what it takes to be your own guide is a thrill known only to solo travelers.
Street Art, Cape Town, South-Africa
Streetwires, home to a shop and working artist’s studio in the picturesque Bokaap, Cape Town.
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town Minstrels
Of course, there are downsides to traveling alone and everything is not always roses and sunshine.
When you’re on your own, you don’t have a built-in dining companion. I usually spend my meals dividing my attention between my food and my book. I have found that good book,or even just postcards to write or your travel journal to jot in – are all legitimate activities at a bar or restaurant if you get to feeling a little bored/lonely/exposed, so carry one of them with you at all times.
You’ve got no one to send ahead while you wait in line, or stand in line while you go to the bathroom. Believe me that can be torture.
You have to figure out the bus schedule and train times on your own and this way end up at some very strange places.
There is nobody to help you when things go wrong or someone other than yourself to blame for taking the wrong bus or train.
Traveling by yourself is usually more expensive as you have to pay a single supplement in hotels. The supplement can range anywhere from 25 to 100 percent of the trip cost, meaning that you could end up paying twice as much as someone traveling with a partner.
Mom and I in Greenmarket square when she came to vitit me in Cape Town.
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Colour of Cape Town
Colour of Cape Town
Other things become cheaper too when you’re splitting costs, such as groceries, guidebooks, taxis, storage lockers, and more.
In much of the world, solo travellers – and single people in general – are seen as strange, even a bit unfortunate.
Sometimes, especially in more hospitable and foreigner-fascinated cultures like Egypt and Turkey, I’ve found the attention I got as a solo traveller to be a little intense. I had to learn how to say “no, thank you” in the local language, as well as “absolutely not” – plus the local nonverbal gesture for no, which was often more effective than both.
You are on hardly any of your holiday photos unless you ask a stranger to please take a photos of you. So definitely get a camera with a time delay setting as that way you at least have a couple of photos with you on them.
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Walking through Cape Town
Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
The beautiful buildings of Long Street, Cape Town, South-Africa
Long Street, Cape Town, South-Africa
I can imagine what you’re thinking. You’ll be lonely, isolated, it’s dangerous, and only the young Birkenstock types travel by themselves. Think again. If I can travel solo, anyone can. I’ve never been lonely, bored or felt threatened. Traveling solo is not necessarily more dangerous than going to the movies and dinner by yourself in your home town.
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca
A female lion (lioness), which is smaller in size than the male, leads a pride.
Lions belong to the cat family of animals known as feline (Felidae), they are the second largest of the big cats behind the tigers.
A lion can leap to about 36 feet, run 50 mph over short distances, and when it walks, its heels do not touch the ground.
Lions in the wild have a lifespan of between 10 to 16 years, while those in captivity or zoo can live for up to 30 years.
Lions mate all through the year. The female carries a pregnancy for 110 days (gestation period) before giving birth to 3 to 4 babies called cubs.
When lions roar, the sound can be heard over a distance of 5 miles.
Female lions are nocturnal and are therefore able to hunt at night. They hunt in a team which makes it easier for them to get their prey.
Lions do not always hunt for food; sometimes they steal food from hyenas and wild dogs using their higher strength and number to chase the food owners away.
Female lions do most of the hunting, but surprisingly, it’s the male that eat the prey first before the female.
At birth, baby rhinos, which are called calves, are still quite big, at40 to 64 kg. And only 10 minutes after it appears it can already stand upright, a couple of hours later it begins to suck. The rhino calf is born without a horn. Its only protection comes from its mother, who seems to delight in caring for her new addition. At around 3 years old, the calf will set out on its own.
These brilliant beasts are known for their awesome, giant horns that grow from their snouts – hence the name “rhinoceros’, meaning “nose horn”.
The white rhino is the largest rhino species and can weigh over 3500 kg (7700 lb) and is the largest land mammal after the elephant. Elephants can grow to be 7,000 kg (15,000 lb)
Rhino skin maybe thick but it can be quite sensitive to sunburns and insect bites which is why they like wallow so much – when the mud dries it acts as protection from the sunburns and insects.
Despite their huge size and strength, these bulky beasts don’t prey on other animals for food. They’re herbivores, and instead like to munch on lots of grass and plants at night, dawn and dusk.
Once they leave, they will go and find a territory of their own. This is not always easy, since rhinos do not share their territory with others. Therefore, the young rhino needs to be able to look after itself as it searches for territory, and to defend itself against other rhinos that want to compete for space.
The rhino’s horn is not bone and is not attached to its skull; it is also not hollow like elephant tusks. It is actually a compacted mass of hairs that continues to grow throughout the animal’s lifetime, just like our own hair and nails.
When a greater one-horned rhino is threatened it slashes and gouges with its long, sharp incisors and canine teeth of its lower jaw.
A group of rhinoceros is called a ‘herd’ or a ‘crash’.
Males will leave the herd as they become adolescent, around the age of 12, and live in temporary “bachelor herds” until they are mature enough to live alone.
An elephant can use its tusks to dig for ground water.
Elephants can get sunburned, and protect themselves by throwing sand on their backs and their head.
No matter what the movies taught you, elephants don’t like peanuts.
An elephant uses its trunk to lift food and suck up water, then pour it into its mouth.
Elephant brains weigh 5 kg, much more than the brain of any other land animal.
Elephants can swim – they use their trunk to breathe like a snorkel in deep water.
Male elephants are normally solitary and move from herd to herd.
Our First White Rhino spotting at Shindzela within the Timbavati Private Game Reserve.
The white rhinoceros or square-lipped rhinoceros is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species.
We hardly started our drive when we came across our first rino.
These massive animals can measure up to 4 metres long and weigh up to 2.3 tonnes, making them one of the largest land mammals in the world, only behind the three species of elephants.
Isn’t he just stunning?
Despite their name, white rhinos aren’t actually white, but grey. They get their name from the Afrikaans word for wide, which describes their mouth which is designed to graze on grass.
Shindzela tented safari lodge
Rhinoceros horns are made from a protein called keratin, the same substance that fingernails and hair are made of.
My first Rhino spotted at Shindzela tented safari lodge
Rhinoceros have thick, protective skin.
These guys are the most social of all rhino species. A group of rhinos is called a crash and they can live in groups of up to 14, mostly made up of females and their young.
They have two horns, with the front horn the longest, growing up to 1.5 metres long. The males are very aggressive and territorial, and use their horns to warn other males away. The males also mark their territories with large piles of dung called middens.
During our Portugal trip we spent a night in Coimbra, a riverfront city. It is home to a preserved medieval old town and the historic University of Coimbra which was built on the grounds of a former palace.
What a beautiful University!
The aquaduct behind me
Leaving Coimbra, on our way to Porto
Glimpse of Coimbra, Portugal
Glimpse of Coimbra, Portugal
The city is made out of steps!!
Glimpse of Coimbra, Portugal
Conímbriga is one of the largest Roman settlements excavated in Portugal, and was classified as a National Monument in 1910.
