Brunner Mine Site Bridge, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Brunner Mine Site Bridge, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Lyttelton, Christchurch, New Zealand

\

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Lake Pukaki, New Zealand

"Vintage" Queenstown

"Spring" Queenstown

No sheep-shortage in NZ! :)

"Vintage" Dunedin Railway Station

I can hardly contain my excitement for this EPIC Journey in West Africa that I can't stop researching and reading about it! My friend and I decided to travel within the ECOWAS Region. ECOWAS, meaning Economic Community of West African States, is a regional group of West African States, namely - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It was founded in order to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" and to serve as a peace-keeping force in the region.

We decided to travel overland on this trip. No flights. Just driving and enduring the rugged roads. Nice! :) Our itinerary isn't finalized yet but we have a rough idea of the route we want to take.

West Africa (Push-pinned = ECOWAS Region)

Route (Rough/Tentative)

1. Nigeria

2. Benin

3. Togo

4. Ghana

5. Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

6. Liberia

7. Sierra Leone

8. Guinea

9. Guinea-Bissau

10. Senegal

11. Gambia

12. Cape Verde

13. Mali

14. Burkina Faso

15. Niger

then back to Nigeria :)

My travel partner is originally from Nigeria but spent a lot of time here in NZ studying. He just finished his PhD. He can speak a lot of the languages and dialects in West Africa which I reckon would be very helpful in our trip! :) Almost all of the countries on this list requires a pre-approved visa, well for my case, since I'm still holding a Philippine Passport. But with what I've researched, it's not as pedantic as applying for other types of visa. It just needs careful planning! :) There are 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the ECOWAS Region, a few already endangered, the more reason to see it before it's gone. It's gonna be a good journey! More posts to come! :)

Happy travels for everyone who's on the road and Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers out there! :)

Dancing has introduced me to an amazing life I never thought I'd have.  I've met amazing people who eventually became good, life-long friends. I partied like a Latina in places I never imagined I'll be. Moving to Christchurch early this year brought me closer to the dancing shenanigans I travelled for when I used to live in Blenheim. Three and a half hours each way just to dance for less than 6 hours and sleep for even less.

Sometime in February, I met someone whom I thought was only a product of my flatmate's imagination. I remember her telling me "Tin, you have to meet this guy. You will love the way he dances! He's African but I don't know where in Africa he's from. I can't remember his name too. But you've got to meet him! He is sooooo fun to dance with. Really. Believe me!" So yes, I believed what my flatmate told me and attended the Salsa Social Dancing Night though I'm still jet lagged and about to die. Bahahahha... Guess what? No African guy on the dance floor. Yes, not even one brown guy there. Ok, so yes, maybe he's sick or something. My flatmate told me, "Maybe tonight is an 'off-night', next week, for sure, he'll be here." Ok, flatmate, forgiven. Following weekend, next party, still no black African guy. Ok, I told my flatmate, "Are you sure you didn't just imagine this 'Amazing African dancer'? You don't even know his name!" 

So yeah, I eventually forgot about my flatmate's "dream" and just continued dancing every thursday night at Salsa Latina. Then after around, maybe 3 weeks, it happened! Only African amidst a sea of western dancers. He wasn't hard to spot! My flatmate wasn't with me and I finally saw this guy whom I thought was only a product of her imagination. :) Bahahahaha We ended up dancing and chatting and he eventually asked me my email. (Yes, my email and not my number! I'm impressed! hahahaha)

Merengue beybeh!! :)

So yes, another beautiful friendship began and a lot of parties and roadtrips and shenanigans. We're passionate about almost the same things - dancing, travelling and photography. We discuss travel plans while dancing salsa. That's fun! He takes photos of me but doesn't like his photo taken! :s Oh and take note, he's a PhD student, well he's officially a doctor now! Anyhow, he talks about Africa a lot. How happy the people are, how much they love dancing and how insanely awesome the parties are! You know what that means? A VERY HAPPY TINTIN! :) 

Yeah, I know, I know... West Africa doesn't really have the best record when it comes to impressing the world. Well, I think every country in the world has it's bad side. From what I've heard, read and know, kindly correct me if I'm wrong, not a lot of people wants to visit or travel this part of the world. A lot say it's dangerous. People are cunning and I read one website describe it as - generally terrifying and inhospitable. Stereotypical description based on what we hear and watch from TV (mostly) and how exagerrated the media can be. I reckon, being street smart and ample planning will make a traveler safe enough from the "dangers" and still enjoy the beauty of West Africa and be fascinated by it's people and it's culture.

So yes, I'll officially announce it, I'm going to West Africa. When? I have the dates but will make you wait a bit. Considering that every country in the ECOWAS list requires a visa (some with pre-approval) others upon arrival, my friend and I really need to plan our West African Odyssey very well. He's back in Africa now and currently located in Ghana. He's started his research on the best places to dance and to prepare Accra and myself for what we have instore for each other! LOL :) I can't wait to be there. At the moment, I've started my bit on all the visa applications. This is just the beginning my friends... It's gonna be a great journey... come and join me as I prepare for my journey with my super amazing travel partner, Dr. STO! :) I will share with you our step by step successes from our planning to visa applications and when I'm gonna land there! Around 14 countries! Ooohhhh gonna be awesome! Can you feel my excitement?! Ahhhh I'm definitely supah excited!!!!!! Dance, Travel and Photograph, in West Africa!!!!

We're gonna stay here! :) So nice! :)

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Living in New Zealand, specially in the South Island deprives me of the tropical weather, warm waters and powdery white-sand beaches that I grew up with. New Zealand is a beautiful country, no doubt about that, but one thing Kiwiland can't satisfy is the longing of an island girl for some quality beach time! Even during summer, I still find the water to be cold! :s So yes, every opportunity to get out and about of Kiwiland, I make sure I spend several days at the beach - playing in the water, swimming, drinking cocktails (yay!) and getting (ehem) a tan! Yes, I do get a tan after several hours, I even get sunburnt sometimes! Despite my already hhmmm mocha-licious color, I do get "tanned"! LOL Here are some of the beaches in Phuket that I hung out at during one of my shindigs in Thailand. :)

Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand

I'm a water baby. I love the sea. I love beaches. I love tropical weather.

Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Naithon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Bamboo Island - one of my favorite islands in Thailand

Tan lines beybeh!  :) see?? I told you! :) 

Happy Beach-ing! :)

Monkeys. A lot of monkeys. Ahhhhh my backpacking shindig in SouthEast Asia involved a lot of monkey encounters. In Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and most of South East Asian countries, it's highly improbable for someone to not at least see a monkey. In Indonesia, in the island of Bali, there's a place dedicated for monkeys in Ubud - The Sacred Monkey Forest. (This place is considered sacred because it represents a "Sacred Balinese Hindu Site") But don't be fooled by this place being "sacred", the monkeys are very NAUGHTY! They will try to lure you, look cute and then *snap! they will take something from you! Some cheeky little buggers! :s

Sacred Monkey Forest (Ubud, Bali, Indonesia)

If you've read my previous posts, like my Encounter with Chiang Mai Tigers, you would now be used to my fear of animals. Yes, it's true and I've never had a pet in my life. So this visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest was another challenge for yours truly. :) 

Cheeky little buggers! Snob! LOL

So there I was, in Ubud, about to pay the entrance fee, half listening to the person assigned at the gate, half contemplating what the heck I'd do if a monkey ever get near me. First 5 steps from the gate, BOOM! A monkey jumped onto me! Yes, a monkey jumped and landed on my chest. My shirt was covered with mud and I'm not sure what else, but it didn't smell nice. I screamed, of course. One Balinese guy ran to my rescue and told me to relax while trying to push the monkey away. Guess what? I continued screaming! The bl**dy bugger was pulling my hair and the strap of my camera. I was screaming and gripping my camera while the monkey continued to pull the sanity out of my morning. So the guy threw something in a plastic towards the trees and the monkey got distracted. I was almost running out of breath when the monkey left me alone. Don't even want to imagine if more than one monkey attacked me! Super nice way to start my day. I wanted to go back to the hostel and just hide from the monkeys but then realized, "No, I won't let these buggers defeat me!" Bahahaha!!! So the Balinese guy showed me where I can get some clean water to wash away the dirt and thank goodness I had an extra shirt in my day backpack. 

So yes, I continued my walk through the forest, but I was always less than 2 meters away from the Balinese guy who saved me and the girl I met at the hostel. I was always following them, just in case another monkey jumps onto me. I eventually calmed down and sort of enjoyed looking at them. They are quite funny. I don't spoil them with attention though as too much time looking would have probably given them the chance to attack me again.

My wee attempt to be in the same photo with a monkey. :)

Monkey, monkey!! :p

The forest doesn't only house these cheeky monkeys but inside it is a temple, the Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal. Of course, in the temple, there are still monkeys lurking around! :s

Inside Pura Dalem Agung

Well, you would definitely have a fun time there if you're not a scared chicken like me! I remember some people even trying to feed them with bananas (of course! lol) and carry them and take photos with them!

Happy travels!!! Have fun with the monkeys! :) :) :)