Jan 5, 2010. First flight out...

Jan 5th, woke up at 8am and spent the next few hours packing and repacking my bag. I wanted to travel light so I’ve decided to go with just a carry on size backpack. I had to leave behind my beloved Swiss army knife, pout!

After making some sacrifices, I managed to fit everything into my pack and it weighs in at around 5-6 kg. My pack contains the following items: 1 T-shirt, 2 collared shirts, 1 pair of Capri shorts, 1 pair of basketball shorts, 7 pairs of underwear, 5 pairs of socks, 1 fleece jacket, 1 windbreaker, 1 hat, 1 balaclava, 1 pair of flip flops, 1 pair of sunglasses, 1 regular size towel, 1 face towel, 1 sleeping bag liner, 1 camera, 1 foldable bowl, 1 spork, 1 ziplock bag of first aid, 1 ziplock bag of bathroom items, 1 ziplock bag of electronic cables and 1 ziplock bag of lady stuff (tampons...)

I was really stressed out because i kept thinking that there was something that I forgot to do, then I was annoyed at myself for being stressed out. Then I felt emotional when I realized that I’ll be travelling solo for the next few months.

The flight out of Heathrow was over 11 hrs. I couldn’t sleep very well on this overnight flight, even after taking the motion sickness pills. Those usually act like sleeping pills for me. The seats on Virgin Atlantic were really cramped, even for someone my size. I was able to dose off 30 mins to an hour at a time but not able to fall asleep for any longer. I had a stopover at Jo’burg and I didn’t know how I got through security because I was severely impaired by the motion sickness pills.

My stopover was only 1.5 hrs (it was scheduled to be 3 hrs but my flight in was delayed by 1.5 hrs) however passing through customs and getting the boarding pass to Cape Town took less than 30 mins. I had time to go to subway and found that my credit card failed to work. So I stuffed myself with sour cream and onion Pringles instead.

The 2hr flight to Cape Town via South African airlines was much more comfortable. The seats were wider, it had more leg room and I had two seats to myself. Alas, after 16 hrs, i’ve arrived in Cape Town and was greeted by Sandre (Sandi and Andre). Then we drove back to their abode in Hemel en Aard (it’s about 1.5hr from Cape Town)

For the next few hours, I was like a zombie. It took a while for effects the motion sickness pills to wear off. I got a tour of the massive house and the garden. My room is roomy and the bed is very comfortable. I tested it almost immediately and was out instantly. I awoke to the smell of steak. Andre’s parents (the grown ups) made us peppered steak with stir fried vegi and roast potatoes. It was delish. We will take turns on cooking dinners, so tomorrow, the ‘kids’ will prepare the evening meal. The weather was lovely so we ate outside.