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The moment I had been waiting for—we finally revisited Vietnam! After enjoying our first visit so much in the summer of 2023, I had high hopes for our return. It did not disappoint! The first day, we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City and drove to our Airbnb, where we spent the night. The next afternoon, we took a walking tour to learn more about the city. Unfortunately, the tour group was quite large, and our guide had a strong accent, making it difficult to understand him. It was still a good way to get introduced to the central downtown area of HCMC. After the tour, we had our first meal in Vietnam, and it was delicious. Vietnam has a wide range of dishes, but some of the best we tried included beef noodle soup (phở bò), bún chả, and spring rolls. My personal favorite is bún chả, which consists of vermicelli noodles, grilled pork, fresh herbs, and a sweet-and-sour fish sauce. Vietnamese food is one of my favorite cuisines, and I love it every time. A few days later, we visited the War Remnants Museum, which showcased various aspects of the Vietnam War. However, the museum felt one-sided—it didn’t provide much insight into how or why the war started, nor did it give details about its end. Most of the exhibits focused on American troops committing atrocities against Vietnamese civilians. One of the most striking exhibits was the Agent Orange exhibit, which displayed the devastating effects of the chemical used by the U.S. to clear the dense jungle foliage that the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists) used as a method of camouflage. Not only did it destroy crops and forests, but it also caused severe birth defects and long-term health issues that continue to affect generations today. We also visited the Củ Chi Tunnels, a remnant of the Vietnam War and a vast underground network that allowed the Viet Cong to move undetected. It was fascinating to see how soldiers fit into these tiny tunnels, often with barely any room to move. They would measure the shoulders of the largest VC fighter (who were generally much smaller than the American soldiers) and that was how wide they would make the tunnels. The site also demonstrated the traps and tactics used by the Viet Cong against American/South Vietnamese troops, which were both brutal and ingenious. After Ho Chi Minh City, we flew to the island of Côn Đảo, known for its pristine beaches, warm weather, and the infamous Côn Đảo Prison . My favorite part of the island was its small town, which had many excellent and affordable restaurants—far better than those in Ho Chi Minh City. While we were there we also visited the Côn Đảo Prison, which was originally built by the French when they controlled Vietnam. It was used to hold political prisoners, prisoners of war, and later, Viet Cong members during the Vietnam War. One of the most shocking parts of the prison were the Tiger Cages—tiny, cramped cells covered in barbed wire where prisoners were trapped in awful conditions. The cages were extremely small and the prisoners were often chained down. Guards would pour dirty water or even chemicals on them as punishment. It was really disturbing to imagine people actually living like that. The whole prison felt eerie, with dark, airless rooms where prisoners were kept in isolation. Today, the prison is a historical site that honors those who suffered there. Walking through it was intense—it made us think a lot about Vietnam’s history. Walking through the prison was a sobering experience, as it highlighted the harsh conditions and suffering of those who were once held there. The rest of Côn Đảo was incredibly peaceful. You would never imagine that it was known as “Hell On Earth” to the Vietnamese people. Now it is a beautiful, quiet place with national parks, memorials, and slow pace of life. Overall, I loved our time in southern Vietnam, but I think the northern part of the country was even better—it had superior food and more activities to do. I hope to come back soon to continue to explore!
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After our time in India, my family and I flew to Oman. When we arrived, the airport was surprisingly empty except for the passengers on our flight, which made getting through it super easy. We picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel, taking in the scenery along the way. The landscape was a mix of rugged mountains, colorful flowers, and a lot of construction, showing how much the country is growing. The next day was a slower one—we mainly caught up on work. The main reason we chose Oman for our next stop was because of a “world schooling hub” , an event where traveling families meet up so kids can socialize with each other. I was looking forward to it, but when we got there, I was disappointed to find out that most of the kids had already formed their friend groups at a previous hub, so it was a little hard to connect. Still, the hub took us to some cool places, like the Nathalie fort, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the National Museum, some other cultural museums, and some wadis. The first wadi we visited wasn’t as impressive as others I’d seen, but it was still a fun experience. The water was as warm as bath water and there were tons of little fish that would come and nibble on your feet if you stayed still. We also stayed at a desert camp and did some dune bashing. It was exciting, though I have to say, the dunes in Egypt were much bigger and steeper, making that experience a bit more thrilling. The highlights of Oman for me? My absolute favorite was Wadi Shab. To explain, a wadi is a dry riverbed or valley that fills with water during heavy rain or seasonal flooding. Even though it wasn’t raining while we were there, there was still plenty of water to swim in. Getting there took some effort—a two-hour drive from Muscat followed by an hour-long hike through a mountainous valley. The walk was beautiful, but the rocky terrain was slippery, and the sun was intense. After about 30 minutes, we reached the first pool, which was like a smaller preview of what was to come. The water was way too inviting to just walk past, so we took a break and jumped in. The second half of the hike took us over a dry riverbed and through narrow rock paths until we reached the second pool. The water was cold—around 68-70°F—but once we got used to it, we swam for about 20 minutes to reach the best part: a hidden cave with a waterfall, a cliff jump, and beams of sunlight streaming through gaps in the rocks. To get inside, we had to squeeze our heads through a narrow crack between the rocks, which was a little nerve-wracking but totally worth it. On the way back, I couldn’t resist jumping off one more cliff, which might have been the highlight of the entire wadi for me. After our long trek back, we made a quick stop at a sinkhole, which was pretty cool, but honestly, nothing compared to Wadi Shab. Throughout our time in Oman, we also explored forts, museums, and souqs (markets), which were interesting, but for me, the wadis and natural landscapes were what made Oman special. The only downside? The hotels. Most of the ones in Muscat felt really old and outdated—some were over 100 years old with stiff beds, retro wallpaper from the 1960s, and carpets straight out of a vintage furniture shop. However, even with that, Oman stood out from the other Arab countries we have visited because of its beautiful, easily accessible natural environment. The wadis, mountains, and deserts made it feel unique, and I’d definitely love to visit again. As my plane touched down in Cairo, I felt a rush of excitement. Egypt—a place straight out of history books, filled with legendary pyramids, ancient temples, and miles of desert stretching in every direction. From the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Valley of the Kings, it’s like a place frozen in time. For the first five days, we took it easy—sleeping in, eating good food, working out at the gym, and hanging out by the pool. But after those days of relaxation, it was time for adventure. Our guide, Muhammad (and then the other days Ahmed), picked us up for a 16-day deep dive into Egypt’s past and culture. We kicked things off at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where we got an incredible overview of Egypt’s history. The museum itself was shaped like a modern pyramid, with a huge open interior. But the highlight? Seeing the Royal Mummies Hall, where the preserved remains of 18 kings and 4 queens rested. It was insane how well the ancient Egyptians had perfected mummification—some of the mummies still had hair and teeth! The next day, we finally visited the Great Pyramid of Giza—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Walking up to it, I couldn’t believe how massive it actually was. We also saw the Great Sphinx, which looked even more mysterious in person. One of the coolest parts was climbing inside the pyramid itself. The passageways were narrow and steep, but at the end, we saw the stone container that once held the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Khufu. It was surreal standing inside something built over 4,500 years ago. One of the best things about Egypt? The food! My favorite was Koshary, a wild but delicious mix of pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, crispy onions, and spicy tomato sauce. It might sound random, but trust me—it’s comfort food at its best. Fun fact: Koshary started as a street food for workers in the 19th century and became Egypt’s national dish! If you ever visit, grab a bowl from a local street vendor—you won’t regret it. After Cairo, we took a long (8-hour!) drive to Siwa Oasis, a remote paradise in the middle of the desert. We spent three days there, floating in cold salt pools where you barely have to move to stay afloat. We also went on a Sahara desert tour, racing up and down massive sand dunes in a 4x4. At sunset, we climbed one of the tallest dunes and watched the sky turn shades of orange and pink. That night, we had dinner at a desert camp, where they cooked chicken in an underground pit—it was one of the best meals of the trip. Back in Cairo, we checked out the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum, which had just opened a month before. This place was huge. You could spend days exploring every exhibit, but since we were short on time, we only got a quick look. After that, we visited some of Egypt’s lesser-known pyramids—the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. The Bent Pyramid was the hardest to climb inside because of how steep and narrow it was, but it was totally worth it. Inside, we even saw ancient wooden beams that had been holding up the structure for over 4,000 years! Next, we left Cairo and flew to Aswan, where we boarded a Nile cruise—which, by the way, is the best way to travel ever. For the next few days, we stopped at some of Egypt’s most famous temples, like Philae Temple (which was actually moved piece by piece to save it from flooding!), Edfu Temple (one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt), and the Temple of Sobek (dedicated to a crocodile god—yes, ancient Egyptians worshipped crocodiles!). In Luxor, we woke up before sunrise for a hot air balloon ride, floating high above the Nile, temples, and tombs. Seeing 4,000-year-old ruins from the sky? Absolutely unreal. Later, we explored the Valley of the Kings, where we climbed deep into the tombs of Ramses I, III, and IV—some of the walls still had bright colors and carvings, even after thousands of years. We finished our exploration of Ancient Egypt with a few hours at Karnak Temple. It felt like stepping straight into history—like the ancient pharaohs had just been there yesterday. After all that sightseeing, we needed a break. We drove four hours to Hurghada, a resort town on the Red Sea, for two days of relaxing at an all-inclusive resort. It wasn’t the best resort we’ve been to, but chilling on the beach and hanging by the Red Sea was a nice way to wrap up the trip. Finally, we headed back to Cairo for our flight to the next country. Egypt was an unforgettable experience—seeing places I had only read about in history books was incredible. But after visiting almost every major site, I think I’ve checked Egypt off my list for a long time. Greece has it all, from the snowy peak of Mount Olympus to the dazzling beaches of the south coast—there’s something for everyone. Not only do they have amazing views and phenomenal cuisine, but they have ancient archeological sites and tons of museums as well. The time I spent in Greece was very special, not only because of the good food and cool weather but because my Grandma got to come with us for a very short 2 weeks. Athens was fine; it was a little dirty and old, but most of the cities in Europe were. While we were in Athens, we explored many neighborhoods around town since we stayed there for 2 weeks. My favorite part of Athens had to be the Plaka neighborhood, the old town. I enjoyed Plaka because there weren't many tourists there since we visited during November which is during the low tourist season. Despite being the “old town”, it was actually clean and tidy. The old town also had lots of places that served traditional Greek yogurt which you could top with various fruits, candies, and nuts. This was delicious! When walking around the Athens area, you won't be surprised to find hundreds of excavated areas sprinkled around the city with ancient ruins inside. At every turn, there is something to see and read, which is very cool and way better than learning about this at my desk at school. Our first meal in Athens really surprised me. I always thought I knew what Greek food tasted like, but eating it in Greece was a whole different experience. The flavors seemed fresher, and the ingredients tasted so much better—probably because everything is local. Some dishes were a little different from what I was used to, like the tzatziki being thicker and the souvlaki being shaved meat/chicken instead of chunks of meat/chicken. Even the feta cheese tasted stronger and thick slabs were served with the Greek salads. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it was just as good—maybe even better! While in Athens, we got to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis, which was definitely a highlight. The Parthenon is this massive ancient temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. It was built over 2,000 years ago, which is crazy to think about! What’s really cool is that even though it’s super old and has been through wars, earthquakes, and weather damage, it’s still standing. The builders even designed the columns with a slight curve to make them look perfectly straight—pretty amazing for something built so long ago. Also, it wasn’t always just plain white marble; it used to be covered in colorful paintings and statues. After our time in Athens, we took a 5-hour train to Thessaloniki. Once we arrived in Thessaloniki, we took a very overcrowded bus from the train station over to our Airbnb, where we stayed for the remainder of our time in Thessaloniki. When we were in Thessaloniki, we enjoyed local Greek life instead of going to tons of museums and monuments. I was glad for the break! We had fun exploring the city, shopping, eating, relaxing, and spending time with Grandma. On our 3rd day there, we celebrated my 14th birthday at a nice Asian restaurant close to our Airbnb where they served us a delicious soufflé chocolate cake and sushi. Our time in Greece was some of the best few weeks of the trip so far, and I was so happy to see one of my Grandma after so long. Greece was one of my favorite locations so far, and I would go back. After 2 weeks in Italy, we returned to the African continent, this time to explore the North African country of Morocco. Upon arriving in Morocco, I was excited to try a new and different cuisine. Italian food was good but not much was new to me. The most exciting part was that I knew absolutely nothing about the Moroccan cuisine. We arrived at the Casablanca International Airport, where we got an Uber to our hotel. On our first week there, we did not do much. Instead, we took the time to catch up on school work and relax. We walked around the medina (old town) and took a day trip to Rabat. Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, was much smaller, cleaner, and more beautiful than Casablanca. It was too bad that we were only there for a day! After our first week, we took a train to Fes, where we were taken to the old town to spend the next 5 nights there. After trekking through the cobblestone streets, past local vendors and transport donkeys, we arrived at our riad( a riad is a traditional Moroccan house), where we were ecstatic to find out that we could pay around 48 dollars for a freshly cooked dinner to be brought to the riad to be prepared and served. The food was delicious, but my favorite dish was definitely the kefta tagine. Kefta is a traditional Moroccan dish of spices, onions, and herbs similar to meatballs. The next day my family and I went out and explored the old town, which has over 9300 streets in total, which is the largest medina(old town) in northern Africa. On our second to last day inside the Fes medina we got to see the tannery, the tannery smelled pretty bad but getting to see how animal skin gets turned into leather. We discovered that the smell was so strong because they still use ingredients such as pigeon poop to process the leather. We were given fresh mint leaves to hold over our noses and that was very helpful. After we left Fes, we went on a 5-day tour of the Sahara desert on our way to Marrakech. On this tour, we got to ride camels, sandboard - like snow boarding but in the sand, drive ATVs, visited Berber nomads, hiked in the Dades gorge, etc. The coolest part of the desert tour was when we stopped to scavenge for fossils. Our tour guide drove us to a field of rocks, where we found over 20+ fossils, too bad we couldn't keep them! After a long 5 day trip, we stayed in Marrakech for a week, where we relaxed and finally got to eat different foods besides the Moroccan cuisine. Our last week in our month-long trip to Morocco, we traveled to Taghazout to enjoy the beach and pool, which turned out to be very cold. I think this destination would be great in the spring or summer when the weather is a little hotter. At least if you want to swim! In conclusion, our trip to Morocco was definitely worth our time, and seeing the Sahara desert was definitely a plus! Throughout our travels in Italy, my family and I road tripped to Rome, Reggio Emilia, Cinque Terre, Venice, Pisa, Lucca, Salerno, and visited the ancient ruins of Pompeii. After traveling to all these locations in Italy, my favorite was definitely Cinque Terre. While we were in Cinque Terre, we stayed in Levanto, not technically inside Cinque Terre, but close enough to take a train from around 5-20 minutes to see all 5 of the cities and Bonassola. Levanto didn't have much to see, but was much less touristy than the Cinque Terre, which made it a good place to stay when visiting them. We stayed in a home exchange so it was nice for all of us to have our own rooms, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a large terrace overlooking the sea. Although Cinque Terre is a very touristy area, we still found decent food. Most of our time there we cooked food inside our Airbnb, but when we were traveling to each city we ate out. Throughout Cinque Terre we had lots of homemade pasta, ranging from seafood pasta to pesto pasta. All of the towns were very beautiful, with hundreds of colorful houses and lots to see! Anyway, Cinque Terre is a tourist attraction for anybody visiting Italy! Out of all 5 towns,(Vernazza, Monterosso, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore.) We spent one day hiking from Vernazza to Corniglia, enjoyed lunch, and then took the train to Monterosso. Monterosso was my favorite. Monterosso had beautiful architecture as well as stunning beaches. I really liked how much bigger it was than the rest of the cities, which gave us a break from all of the tourists. Even though I didn't get to spend a lot of time in Monterosso, it was definitely better than the other tourist-packed cities. The most disappointing part of Cinque Terre was definitely the Via dell'Amore(Trail of Love). The Via dell'Amore was closed for nearly 12 years due to landslides and an astounding 24 million dollars was poured into restoring it. Unfortunately, I thought it was garbage. First of all, it costs a staggering 17 euros a person, which is already ridiculously expensive. The Via dell'Amore is around a 15-minute walk,one way, for 17 euros a person, which is absolutely a robbery. I couldn't believe they would charge this much for a 1-way 15-minute walk. Besides the ridiculous pricing, the walk was alright. The view was beautiful, with seas views of the crystal blue water…but you can get the same view for free if you just hike for 5-10 minutes in the opposite direction. The Via dell’Amore could definitely improve if they charged less, and let you walk through it as many times as you wanted. In total, Cinque Terre was fun, but I recommend not seeing the Via dell'Amore, due to its expensive pricing and short time period.  Of all the countries I’ve visited so far on this trip, Poland has been my favorite. I didn't think Poland would be memorable, but it has proven me wrong. First of all, Poland had amazing food. From pierogi to stuffed cabbage, I loved all of it. Poland was also relatively cheap and had amazing public transportation. With the temperature ranging from around 14-20 degrees Celsius, it was very cool and comfortable. The first city we visited was Krakow. In Krakow, we saw Wawel Castle, Krakow's old town, and most of the city around it. My favorite part of Krakow was our hotel location. It was only 10-15 minutes from the city center yet it felt like a different place, going from old buildings to lush green forests, which made it all the more enjoyable. Out of all our activities in Krakow, the pinball museum was my favorite. We got to play tons of vintage pinball, as well as the newer ones too. After Krakow, we visited a small town called Wrocław. Wroclaw was a smaller city a bit further north from Krakow. There were not many tourists even though the city was beautiful and quiet. However, Wrocław was not nearly as good as Krakow, with Krakow having much better food as well as a better hotel location. Our time in Wrocław was short, with us only staying 4 days there, which was probably enough. My sister became sick with a cold so it slowed us down a lot. Most of our time spent in Wrocław was rainy and dark, which made it miserable to go outside. We didn't do as much in Wrocław, mostly we explored the old town, Cathedral Island, and looked for the 100’s of gnome statues throughout the center. I thought it was a massive downgrade from Krakow, which was a shame. The last location we traveled to in Poland was Gdansk. Gdansk also did not live up to Krakow, which was disappointing too. We did visit two museums that were really interesting, but very long - The Solidarity Museum and the World War II museum. The Solidarity Museum was alright. I assumed the museum was about WWII but I was wrong. The Solidarity museum was about a post WWII port strike that was organized in Poland to protest against communism and resulted in large scale peoples protests and resistance to the communist government. This resistance spread throughout Poland and was important in ending the communist regime. I liked the message it was sending, they stood for freedom, democracy, and workers rights. The WWII Museum was also very interesting. The WWII museum gave a comprehensive understanding of WWII from the start to the finish. My favorite part was the interactive area where they let you pick up the soldiers bags and feel how much weight they had to carry every single day. Finally, the coolest part of our visit to Gdansk was our hotel. We stayed at a hotel that had an international food hall underneath. The hotel building was a repurposed submarine manufacturing factory as well. The food at the food hall was delicious and was probably the best food we had in Poland. From Greek, to Georgian, to Japanese, to Indian, to Polish food they had it all. We ended up eating most of our dinners here in Gdansk. Poland was one of the best countries I have visited, and I hope we go back!  When my family and I first arrived in Istanbul,Turkey, we were ecstatic. We couldn't wait to see all that the city had to offer! The next day upon arriving in Istanbul, we immediately went outside and headed to the Old Town area to explore. Unfortunately, when we went to the Blue Mosque, there were so many tourists it was unbelievable. In addition to the abundance of tourists, we arrived only 5 minutes before one of the mosque’s prayer times, during which it is closed to the public for an hour and a half. Instead of going back home, we went to get a nice cold drink due to the summer heat of Istanbul. We walked all through the Old Town and visited the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Bazaar (“spice market”) before heading back to our hotel. Later in the week, we eventually went back to the Blue Mosque but this time we made sure to check the prayer times before heading out! During our two weeks in Istanbul, we visited many other important cultural and historical places. One of the most famous places we visited was the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) , originally built as a Byzantine church under Emperor Justinian I but is now a mosque. To be honest it was a bummer. Until recently, entrance to the Hagia Sophia was free but it is now 25 euros per person. The audio tour was a disappointment and the information on the signs was pathetic. I would not recommend visiting the Hagia Sophia if you are on a budget. My favorite part of Istanbul was the Basilica Cistern. The Basilica Cistern was an old water storage unit that supplied water to the Great Palace of Constantinople and nearby buildings. The Basilica Cistern was also built in the 6th century under emperor Justinian I, just like the Hagia Sophia. The reason that the Basilica Cistern was my favorite isn't because of its history, it was because of the atmosphere and overall feeling to the place. The cistern has cleverly placed LED lights that illuminate the cistern to look nice, peaceful and beautiful. In addition to the LED lights, it is also underground so it provides a fresh break from the heat of the summer. Even though Istanbul has many interesting and cool historical places, I would not recommend the country to anybody under any circumstances. Istanbul is full of tourists wherever you go, it is insane, the prices in Istanbul are also absurd. Every single meal you eat out will just be trash food with a ridiculous price tag on it. I felt hopeless and powerless when every single meal that I ate tasted terrible. The amount of smoking in this city is also ridiculous. I was eager to leave to breathe fresh air again. I could deal with this until we were leaving and we arrived at the Istanbul International airport. This could have been the worst airport experience I have had and probably will ever have. We arrived at the airport a staggering 4 hours earlier than we were required to be. After, we figured out that our airline didn't even open their check-in counters until “3 hours” before the flight. When we arrived at the check-in counter exactly 3 hours before the flight, the employees were not even there. We ended up waiting in line for 1 hour and 45 minutes longer than the original 3 hour rule. We rushed to the passport control the lines and they were now filled with people that had not been there during the past 3 hours. As soon as we got through security, we were trying to get to a lounge to grab some dinner before running to our flight, but as soon as we got there we were faced by a line extending out the door. We ended up eating bad burgers for over 60 euros instead. This was the worst thing about this airport - the prices. You can safely expect all of the normal prices to be multiplied by 10. You also had to give them your passport number for the wi-fi which seemed unnecessary . Just as you thought things couldn't get worse, we received a notification that our flight started boarding 20 minutes before it was supposed to. We ended up having to run through the airport, which is absolutely way too big, just to get to the gate where we figured out that they hadn’t even start boarding yet. At least we didn’t miss our flight! Overall, I really didn't enjoy Istanbul,Turkey and I wouldn't go back even if I had a free ticket. After a swift 2 months in South Africa, we finally arrived in Qatar! When we first stepped out of the Doha international airport, it felt like we were in a sauna. The average temperature in the summer for Doha is around 39 degrees celsius/102 degrees fahrenheit with high humidity. After the temperature shock, we hopped in an uber and drove to our hotel, the Grand Hyatt Doha. The hotel was beautiful and the manager realized that we were tired and hungry from our overnight flight. He offered a free breakfast and I was happy when my parents accepted it! The breakfast was delicious and had everything including Asian dumplings, chia seed pudding, and even Indian foods. The next day we began our site seeing. We knew we would need to keep our activities indoors due to the crazy high temperatures and humidity so our first stop was to the Museum of Islamic Art. We observed ancient Islamic artifacts and read about them as well. As a result of going to the Museum of Islamic Art we bought a 3 in one ticket for the next 3 days, giving us access to all 3 of the museums we visited in Qatar.. After going to the museum, we returned to the hotel and ate a delicious dinner. The second day, we went to the National Museum of Qatar. In this museum, we learned about Qatar as it was millions of years ago and how life was back hundreds of years ago and before the discovery of oil in Qatar. In my opinion, this museum building had the coolest design. The design of the building was based on a desert rose. A desert rose is a rocky, delicate rock which is formed when minerals crystallize into rose shaped rocks. It was a unique design and unforgettable. The following day we visited one of my favorite things we did in Doha was the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. The sports museum had many interactive and informative games that made going to a normal boring museum much more fun and hands-on. When we finished the museum displays, we walked down the stairs to find more games that tested your agility, reaction time, strength, etc. One of the best games was definitely the zip wire, where you had to grip onto the bar for as long as you could to test your endurance and grip strength. The last location that we visited on our tour of Qatar was a 100 year old bazaar called Souq Waqif. In this bazaar we saw many different kinds of Arabic clothing, food, and animals. We stopped to buy Qatari candies which were great. The market even had a whole section dedicated to selling birds! In the end, Qatar was a good place to visit, just not in the summer! After over 1 month in South Africa, we have finally made it to our safari! How was it? Well to start, we drove for over 3 hours from Durban to a luxury game resort called Makhasa Private Game Lodge. When we first arrived we were treated with warm towels and welcome drinks. After we drank up, we were anxious to see lots of African wildlife but only small deer-like animals, called nyalas, were currently by the lodge. Next we were taken to our rooms to relax and wait for our lunch. I was starving! Our lunch on the first day, which was a salad and pita. I thought it was really small and weak and did not fill anybody up for more than 2 hours. After that was the moment we were all waiting for, our first safari! When we went into our safari vehicle at 3:00 pm, we immediately observed loads of hoofed animals like zebras and nyalas, but the most interesting animal we saw on that game drive was a large male leopard. The leopard was really cool to see up close and was also on our list of animals we were hoping to see as apart of the Big 5. As a result of the lack of lunch, we had to stop in a wide open field to snack. When our guide told us that he had snacks we were surprised, but when he had a whole drink bar in the truck we were even more impressed. My family and I enjoyed drinks and sitting watching our first African safari sunset. After our afternoon game drive, we came back to nice warm towels as well as more welcome drinks. We enjoyed nice dinners every single night with delicious, homemade meals. As for the game drives, following the first day, it was pretty boring. Every single day we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to freezing weather and a wave of weariness. To be frank, I passed out for the 3 other days each morning, but luckily we didn't really see much and I was disappointed. .On our last game drive we had a scary encounter with a rhino that almost hit our vehicle. We were driving back to the game lodge after our evening drive and unexpectedly came across a herd of rhinos on the road. They were impossible to see in the pitch black but luckily our experienced guide stopped in time to avoid hitting the rhino. I think we scared them as much as they frightened us! Our mistake was going to a national park before we went on our safari, so we were used to all of the elephants, zebras, warthogs and other animals. On our 3rd day we also saw 2 cheetahs, a mother and child, just relaxing by the road. In all, our safari was fun for 1-2 days and that was about it. I would recommend this place for about 1-2 days and I would definitely not recommend staying at Makhasa game resort for any longer. **Disclaimer: this is the opinion of the author and does not speak for the rest of his family:)** |
