Guess where I am..again :)

Yes..for those of you...*Aubrey*... who may have guessed correctly :) I am sitting in the First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International airport..again :)

This time though I was a little bit more sneaky..*insert little snicker here similar to Dr Evil in Austin Powers*

I still had my boarding pass from when I flew to NZ in December, that was stamped with a re-entry stamp for the lounge..so, all I did was waltz past the front desk and wave my stamped ticket.....lucky for me the lady there was busy with someone else, so she didnt check the ticket too closely.....mwahahahahaha.... :)

So, i just had a shower and since I only have 2hrs till I take off for Johannesburg, I had better be heading off soon!

I have ANOTHER 10hr + flight ahead of me now..then another 1hr flight to Durban.. Right now its 22.00pm Hong Kong time on the 8th Feb..but my body is still on the Kiwi clock, and right now its wondering why Im still awake (and showering?) in the early hours of the 9th?

Im starting to hold thumbs from now that I get the new plane now as I can here on the old plane and the movie system was like something off the Ark...so...hold thumbs.

I still cannot believe that I will be on the Seabourn Spirit come Saturday..madness...

I think I should mention how CRAZY NERVOUS I am right about now...but also how excited I am!

Well, till I next have time to blog, inbetween cleaning things such as toilets and making things such as beds...Im off to the Boarding Gates!!!

Plans...

Wow.

Ok, this seriously feels as though its happening to someone else and Im just telling you their story.

I get on a plane in New Zealand next Sunday (8th Feb)
I get to South Africa on Monday (9th Feb)
I fly to Singapore on Thursday (12th Feb)
I arrive in Singapore on Friday (13th Feb)
I start working on the Seabourn Spirit on Saturday (14th Feb)

I work for 4 months aboard it, going to Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Turkey, Greek Isles and Venice...just to mention the ones I remember from the itinerary I was sent yesterday.

Wow.

Just to fill you all in... :)

Im back...

Hello!!

Yip, its me.

Yip, Im ok.

Yip, it still hurts, but not like it did in my previous post.

Before I start, I need to say thank you.

The support and love you sent my way was truely something that I didnt expect. I am completely amazed and in awe of the people I have gotten to "know" through this blog.

You have become my friends.

No. Really.

This is not just something Im saying to make you all feel warm and gooey inside.

When I sit down at the computer and log into my page and see the comments there, I cannot help but smile at the wonderful people who "live" in my computer. I go onto each of your pages and carry on smiling as I read of whats happening in your lives..often on the other side of the world.

**I do however have to insert an apology here though. I havent been commenting as regularly as I should be. I am being so darn sneaky. I am reading, and then I am leaving. I am sorry. Buuuut, if you scroll down on your little mouses, you will find a post about the joys of dial-up on a farm in the middle of New Zealand and you will see what I have to go through to open an internet page. Sooo, Im sure that you will forgive me for just reading your stories...as it takes an immense amount of time for me to even open them!**

Now that thats out the way, I will tell you what I have been up to the last few days. Im not however going to be able to post pics. However..they will be on Facebook real soon, so if you would like to add me..go ahead :)

My sister (Colleen) and I decided to do a little road tripping!

So, we set off on Wednesday morning and after a little stop in town to pick up some much needed supplies (snorkel sets, baby fish marshmallow chocs, a pie for breakfast - terrible, I know!) and some other things..we set off!

I had made the road tripping cd, we had the tent and the air mattress in the boot and we were off until Friday night! I must say here that we actually had NO idea where we were going. Just that we were going "Up North"

We drove for a few hours and then got to Goats Island. An AMAZINGLY stunning, beautiful Marine Reserve that we spent the rest of the day at, snorkeling. It was awesome! Its a Bay with an island in the sea thats protected from fishing ect, so there are heaps of fish and they are all really tame! I got seriously sunburnt (as usual) and had an amazing time.

Towards the end of the day, we packed up and headed furthur up north to a place called Russel. It was the first capital of NZ and although it took us 4hrs to get there (through winding dirt roads!) it was worth it. We ate in a gorgeous little restuarant next to the water and headed back to a night in the tent.

We woke the next day to another sunny, sweltering hot day (I could just see the sunburn now..) and we drove down to a place called Matheson Bay. Its beyond stunning and when you see the pics on Facebook, it will take your breath away.

We lay in the sun and read our books and soaked up the rays...not that I needed any more sun!

After that we headed furthur down to Waiwera. We camped there for the night - RIGHT next to the sea! It was amazing...you will just have to go and have a look at the pics!

We spent today at the Waiwera Thermal Pool Resort, in pools of water that were about 40 degrees Celcius. Seriously Flippen Hot!! (Just for the record, my sunburn SCREAMED at me when I climbed in!!)

We spent until about 1pm there, then headed home, back to the farm. We got here a little while ago, dead tired and sunburnt, but really happy with the trip and ourselves for finding our way to almost the top of the North Island of New Zealand with just 2 girls and a map!!

Ps: Pics should be on Facebook in the next few days!

Ryan and I broke up.

I honestly didnt know that a person's heart could hurt so much and still be able to beat as normal.

It hurts to breathe, it hurts to think, it hurts to wake up in the morning and realise you no longer have your best friend.

It just hurts.
Everyday.

The return...

Its been 2 weeks since I last blogged.

Feels like forever!

I have missed checking in on all my friends blogs and must apologise for this.

I must however fill you in on a little something that would help to explain why I have not left tons of love-filled comments as per usual.

We have dial-up here on the farm.

Yes, I just said dial-up.

Yes, you are probably groaning in sympathy.

Thank you for your care.

Just to explain furthur...it took me 10 mins to open this blog. My blog. 10 mins.

So, I double clicked on the little Internet Explorer icon that brings up all my friends that live in my computer.

Then I went and poured myself a glass of coke.

Came back.

Still no action on the precious computer.

Got a little anxious, but saw that the little green lines were loading at the bottom of the screen, so that meant at least there was progress.

Went and saw what was on the tv.

Came back and Google was there! Typed in my blog address.

Drank more coke.





Drank more coke.





Ate a cookie.




(At this rate Im going to put on weight everytime I want to blog)




Success!! My blog page was open.

Me: Click "sign in" on blog page.
Drink coke
Me: What! Still no sign in page?
Drink Coke
Me: Ok, this is beginning to slightly annoy me.
Drink more Coke
Finally! Blog sign in page open.


You can probably guess how the rest went. No need to torment myself furthur.

But..I am now here and Im going to do the unthinkable..Im going to try and load pictures! This might take awhile..at the moment, the date on the top of the page says 17th December. If you only however read this on the 18th or 19th you will know why.

I left SA on a bright and sunny Saturday morning on the 29th November. Leaving Ryan and my little flat and all my friends was heartbreaking. But, I had to concentrate on the fact that the ship was delayed, I had already given up my job and couldnt stay in SA for very much longer with no work. So, I packed my bags, gave notice at my flat and got on a plane to come and see my family that I havent seen for the past year.

After way too many hours of being in the air, (10 to be exact) I landed at Hong Kong Airport. This is where the fun starts because I had a 19hr wait at the airport to catch the next 12hr flight to New Zealand.

I did something very smart in my books.

I went and waited outside the doors of the First Class Airport lounge and asked everyone who went past if I could come in as their guest!!
I am sneaky I know. But every First Class passenger can bring a guest into the lounge, completely free of charge! So, in my opinion, why did I have to find a hard bench to lie on and try and sleep/watch that my luggage doesnt get scooped, when I could go into the lap of luxury.

After being there for a little while, I did get in!

Oh Joy! Happiness! Absolute elation!

Why am I so happy do you ask?

Is it maybe because they have HUGE showers and bathrooms, equipped with everything you need to feel better after such a long flight?

Answer: Yes

Is it also maybe because they have computers with FAST internet that you can stay on for hours for free?

Answer: Yes

Is it maybe because while you are on these amazingly fast internet machines, they bring you coffee and biscuits?

Answer: Yet again, yes.

There were also rooms that you could go and lie down in, complete with sleeping chair-thing, tv, music and aircon.

And of course, a buffet (Elastic...are you reading this? You would be proud) I ate 3 times at the buffet. Before you all shake your heads in disbelief, I was there for 19hrs remember?

While I was in the bathroom, I thought about my blog and what I could say on the next one (this one!) I then took these "cool" and "not so cool" things about my trip:

Cool: Buying a new bag before I left to use as a super-big-can-fit-the-kitchen-sink-bag for my travels.

Not so cool: Having the handle break when getting off the plane in Hong Kong.

Cool: Getting a box of yummy chocolate covered Almonds as a present from someone at work.

Not so cool: Having the above-mentioned Almonds all fall out into the bottom of the above-mentioned broken bag filled with too much stuff to find them until I got to NZ and could unpack.

And 2 very cool things I discovered once I got onto the plane to come to NZ:

We got the new plane! With cool seats and new audio visual equipment!!

And lastly..something that really is very cool indeed..being with my family...

Going for a bare-back ride with Ian, my little brother

Out in the city with Colleen...

So, thats about all from me for the time being..

ps: In the time it took me to upload these pics, I ate a choc bar, went and fetched somewarm warm to wear, put on socks and warm item of clothing, checked the tv guide and watched 5 mins of Pursuit of Happyness.

Thats all.

:)

Hello

Im in New Zealand.

I got here on Monday afternoon.

I miss Ryan.

Until I feel a little better, I will leave the "leaving, flying, landing" post for another day.

Just dont forget about me ok?

Thanks.

Last day...

Today I feel sad.

No, change that, I feel very sad.

Today is my last day at work, my last day in South Africa and my last day with Ryan.

I feel completely miserable.

I get on a plane tomorrow morning at 09.50am. As much as I was looking forward to going to see my family, Im feeling so heartsore to leave everything behind here. It always seems as though I am leaving somebody behind, with the love of my life in South Africa and my family in New Zealand.

Why does this have to be so hard? Why couldnt they just both be in the same place?

If you're reading this and you pray...pls pray for me for strength.

Ps: If you read this blog, please can you leave a comment so that I can follow through to your blog through the comments, as I dont have any blogs saved on any sort of reader, so when I leave here, I wont know whose blogs I read... :(

Pss: As from today, my new email address is lolli_ka_bolli@yahoo.com.au
I have changed it on blogger, so if you reply to a comment, it will come to that address...