Trip date: 18 Nov 2011 to 20 Nov 2011
(yes, i had reverted back to the south african/british way of dates.... - i say so because that's how i learned dates in HK when I was a kid...)
My dear friends, because of my backlog of materials that needed to be written from my dream stay at the game reserves (yes yes, I still can’t get over it), this post totally got shafted.
I thought it's a good time (now that I've finally blogged about an animal) to move this post up a bit, so that it gets published.. I promise, more animal experiences to come, but for now.. I want to share with you about my road trip to the kingdom of swaziland
Swaziland: I’ve been there before
If you might recall, I’ve actually done a short day trip to this neighbouring country of South Africa in the middle of September. The drive takes about 3.5 hours to 4 hours from joburg. Needless to say, a long drive and a short day trip means that I haven’t spent much time there the last time I was there.
Even though the trip was short, I really liked what I saw of Swaziland. As well, I thought it would be really cool to visit Kanya’s and Maita’s parents in Swaziland (the place where they grew up). With a bit of logistics planning, we managed to make the trip over the weekend of the 18th-20th of November. And in order to have good company on the road (and to make the drive a bit safer), I invited my co-worker Thembi and her sister to come with me (Lunga was celebrating her 21st birthday!)
About Swaziland
Swaziland is a small landlocked country bordered by South Africa to the north, west and south and by Mozambique to the East. According to wiki, some 75% of the population are employed in subsistence farming, and 60% of the population live on less than the equivalent of US$1.25 per day. This country also has the highest infection rate for HIV in the world (which is why they give out tons of free condoms at the washrooms at the borders).
This country is also one that has polygamy, with the king himself having 13 wives.
The drive
So on early Friday morning (actually we should’ve probably left earlier), I drove the other volcon to work, and then headed southeast towards Spruitview to pick up the sisters. At around 9:30am, we set off on our 3.5 hour journey towards Swaziland (after picking up some last minute snack for the road, a bottle of wine as a gift, etc).
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| Check out the mine deposits, they look like white and black sesames ;) |
The drive itself was not too bad, there was a lot of road construction in johannesburg which causes major traffic issues (I guess it is summer, and that’s when you’re supposed to do road work). We entertained ourselves by learning Christmas carols (I was asking Thembi about the Zulu culture and whether they sing carols). She was going to be performing in a concert for Christmas and she’ll be singing “O Holy Night”. Surprisingly I still remembered some of the lyrics, so she began learning the song from me (Thanks to high school choir and with the help of a blackberry to get the right lyrics for the second and third verses).
The drive towards Swaziland was relatively simple (after we got extremely great directions from Maita and help from Kanya). There wasn’t much traffic once we got outside of Johannesburg as we were heading east.
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| the landscape got increasingly rockier |
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| ...and mountainous |
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| as we got closer to swaziland |
Unfortunately, when we got closer to the Swazi-border of Oshoek- Ngwenya, there was a part of the road that was reduced to only one lane for two way traffic. Hence we had to wait over 10 minutes for the other direction to clear before we were allowed on. As we got closer to the border, the landscape also changed quite drastically. You get a lot more changes in elevations, views of the mountains and a lot more rocks. It was quite pretty.
The border
The border again was not too crowded (because it was not month end). No one even asked us for our permit to drive the rental car out of South Africa (we had to go to Avis the day before to ask for permission just in case we get stopped at the borders – if you ever try to take a rental car out of South Africa, please remember to get the paperwork – just in case). It was a bit confusing to figure out where to go. Leaving the SA side was a bit more straight forward, you go to the first window and then declare things like your camera, then the 2nd window where they stamp your passport and the 3rd window to stamp your car/exit ticket and you’re off. The swazi side was much more confusing. You start with a queue that leads you to officials that does the passport formalities. Then you’re required to head over to the custom area (where there was just a lot of ppl and no clear lining up). We found out you had to pay the border fee of R50. As well, there’s a “temporary import” form you have to fill out for your car. Ultimately we managed to collect and finish all the formalities and left the border.
Ngwenya glass complex
It was almost 2pm by that time and we were quite hungry. So the plan was to stop at Ngwenya glass (a cute complex where there is a glass factory and other swazi handicraft shops and a café) for a late lunch. Ngwenya glass and some of the other swazi crafts were a TNS success story where TNS helped them built a strong suite of international level handicrafts.
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| The sisters |
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| map of swaziland |
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| The cute cafe on top of ngwenya glass |
We stopped at the café and ordered some food, then went for a walk around the complex (mainly just the glass factory). I loved the glass animals, but they were for decorations and will be difficult to carry home and find a place to display.
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| Chicken quesadilla with salad - delish |
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| These were made in the glass factory |
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| Swaziland is famous for their chili sauces (but that's swazi fire, not these ones) the green one is not bad.. apparenlty mamba is a snake! |
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| such cute glasswork |
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| a pair of peacocks roaming about |
Mbabane
Because we had a lot on our agenda that day and I didn’t want to arrive at Brenda’s too late, we decided to save the walking around until Sunday on our way back. With further navigation and instructions, we found ourselves in Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland, to visit the TNS office there.
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| on our way to Mbabane - a shield shaped fence |
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| the crow at the TNS office.. staying away from the rain from the thunderstorm |
It was a short stay in the office, but I met the person that I wanted to meet, Alexandra, who’s the program manager of the craft program. (ex-mck, ex volcon). We managed to hide from the rain storm while inside the office. And then off we drove towards Manzini to Nkonyeni golf estate (in light rain).
Nkonyeni golf estate
Nkonyeni golf estate is located about 24 km south of Manzini and according to the Swaziland “what’s happening” papers, it is the scenic drive in Swaziland. It is a real golf estate that was very well kept but with plots of lands inside where people can buy and build their houses.
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| the drive in a light rain storm |
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| entrance to the golf estate |
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| the gates |
The Taruvinga’s was a very beautiful house with a gorgeous yard. When we arrived, we joined Brenda for some tea at her balcony overlooking the garden. Then we had the tour of the house. It was a very very beautiful house.
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| the back of the house |
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| brenda's garden |
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| the front of the house |
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| the dog - lady |
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| the cat - tom |
Brenda then shared with us her creations of “shway-shway” skirts. They are skirts that she creates using 100% (3 kittens?) cotton and inspired by one that she had made and trekked through Africa in in the 70s. Thembi, Lunga and I were trying them on and wearing them as dresses (as inspired by Maita and Kanya). I ended up picking up one for me and one for my mom. I think she’ll appreciate the material and the simple design. And ultimately, it is a piece of Africa that can be worn in other parts of the world!
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| modelling brenda's creation |
Then Ranga arrived just as the power went out (the power outage was caused by the storm, we think). So we had to light candles and do introductions by cell phone lights. The lights did eventually come back and we sat around, had a few drinks and had great conversations.
Because the Taruvinga’s were off to Zimbabwe early Saturday morning, we went to the club house inside Nkonyeni and had dinner there and called it an evening. Dinner’s highlight was when Brenda and Ranga were socializing with their neighbours that their neighbours asked if we were their girls (Brenda is Caucasian and Ranga is Zimbabwean. ) Then Brenda pointed out that I was Chinese and the other two girls were Zulu (black). And the neighbours were like, oh right.. nevermind ;) It was quite funny.
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| dinner at the club house |
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| my dinner a curry |
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| the taruvingas and "the girls" |
Manzini Market
The next morning, we woke up to a beautifully prepared breakfast (Brenda is so lovely and made us some of the Kale she grew in her own garden). Then she recommended that we head to Manzini market to pick up some little wooden key rings for souvenirs to bring home.
So we said our goodbyes and drove to manzini market. It was a bit more run down and less touristy which actually translated to better prices. We made a beeline to the store that Brenda told us to go to which is run by a Mozambican guy named Ceasar and made our orders of key rings with carvings in them. While we waited, we walked around the craft level, and thembi and Lunga proceeded onto picking up a few other gifts. Apparently I got a lot of compliments on the dress that I was wearing (I was wearing one of Brenda’s creations) and well.. also just a lot of attention in general cause I was Asian. (I might potentially miss this attention when I get back to Canada and when I move to Singapore – not sure)
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| a shop called "hong kong shop"! in swaziland!!! really?!?! |
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| steps to the 2nd floor of the market, didn't want to take out my camera in the first floor |
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| we were waiting for the carvings |
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| so they pretended to be selling things |
We had to extend our parking time because Caesar was taking awhile to carve our large order. When we were walking back from the a car, a random guy came up to us and said “1, 2, 1,2, I choose I choose” (while pointing at all 3 of us and walking backwards, since we just kept on walking forward). Then he proceeded onto saying a bunch of stuff which included “I’ll show you China”… being very good at not entertaining strangers, I just walked on by. Eventually he lost interest and continued his way. Once he was out of earshot, all 3 of us bursted out laughing. I must say, that encounter provided us with endless entertainment for the rest of our trip.
I must say, even though you get some good prices at this market, you have to be a bit careful visiting it. Even though people are generally quite nice, some were quite sketchy.
Touristy craft markets: Swazi Candles, Malandelas
After we left the Manzini market, we proceeded towards the Ezulwini valley and continued our visit to the touristy craft places. (Most attractions in Swaziland are craft complex, there is a falls area where you can go visit a cultural village – but I think Thembi and Lunga won’t get as much out of it as me, so I have to save that for another trip. Of course, there are also game reserves – which I can’t really go to anymore, since it won’t be the same, and other activities like ATVing – which I’ve also somewhat done in on the bumpy roads of Rural south Africa). So we decided to take it easy and visit the craft shops and eat.
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| a lot of the attractions were summarized in the what's happening map |
Our next stop was the Swazi Candle Complex where we looked at some very beautifully crafted candles (including animals!) and watched one of the workers makes candles. It was largely the same as all other candle making operations (like the one at Niagara on the falls) but the animals were made very well.
We then went to the Malandela’s - House on fire complex where I was last time for a nice and relaxing lunch.
After lunch, I went to Gone Rural to pick up some grass work for Christmas presents. It was a bit difficult to choose the right colours but I figured them out with some advice from Thembi. I really wished I had my own place such that I can have a set for myself. Unfortunately, the next year of nomad lifestyle will not permit for it. Regardless, I hope the giftees will enjoy them.
A relaxing evening
We didn’t want to spend too much time outside and want to make sure we drive back to the golf course while it’s still light out. Hence, we went to pick and pay at the gables and picked up some groceries for dinner. Brenda mentioned that the gables was quite new and it was indeed quite a sight. The modern mall looked extremely out of place in Swaziland’s rural style landscape. Regardless, we were able to pick up enough materials for a stir fry (I brought rice noodles with me) and a salad.
It was a bit too early for dinner by the time we got back, so we went for a relaxing dip in the pool and lounged. Then we cooked dinner and had a relaxing evening watching movies. We watched the proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds(I’ve seen it already, Thembi loves Ryan) but it was still quite enjoyable. Then watched another comedy that Lunga picked up called “She’s the man” which reminded me a lot of the Taiwanese show with Ella and Wu Zun in it about a girl that poses as a boy at a boy school. It was actually quite cute. We destroyed another pack of Cheese Curls (they are like Cheetos – the non-crunchy kind – love them to death).
Morning Allergies & the rest of sunday
The next morning, I woke up with even worse sinus than usual and a pink right eye. It must be something in the house that I was really allergic to, hence I was pushing us to get ready and get out asap.
Lunga and Thembi were already up and was watching an inspirational movie called fireproof my marriage. I think it is a bit of a religious movie, but nonetheless I really enjoyed it. It talks about marriage being a commitment and followed the main character in his journey to win his wife back.
We quickly ate the leftovers from dinner for brunch, cleaned up and went back to Manzini market so that Thembi and Lunga can buy the cloth (traditional cloth with the King’s face, very swazi) for their mother to make a dress out of it.
That was actually when I realized the “shield and the spear” that one of my friend back home (Woo sir) wanted me to find a souvenir of for him. Unfortunately most of the shops were closed on the Sunday and they were selling decorative shield and spears that were super big (no key ring sized… gah) which was unfortunate. Apparently that shield and spear was actually very swazi and not South Africa. Since most craft markets sell the same thing, I should see if I can find an alternative in Joburg in the last few weeks.
We were then off towards the border and Ngwenya glass for a last look around and lunch. I ended up ordering the exact same Quesadilla (apparently South Africans don’t come across this word often hence they always pronounce the two “ll’s” and not “case – a – deee-a”). And when the sky threatened for more rain and a thunderstorm, we decided it was time to head home.
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| this was a jewlery store.. but for some reason also the finnish consulate... |
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| wooden horses for sale! apparently he can make it with a time capsule in them |
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| threatening sky |
The border was a bit more busy than when we crossed over the first time but the traffic was alright (except for that 10 minute stop thing). We ended up getting home at around 8pm.
Afterthoughts
It was quite fun to travel with thembi and Lunga. We did end up getting pulled over by a few cops along the way (for no particular reason), but once they saw my Canadian license, they usually just let us go. One cop thought it would’ve been funny to talk to me in Zulu even though I clearly did not understand. Thembi got a bit annoyed, but I was trying to convince her that it’s prob not worth it. It was also interesting to note that even though the traffic laws are stricter in Swaziland, their speeding fine is much less than south Africa (R60?).
I am very glad we were able to do this trip together as it gave me a chance to learn more about Thembi’s culture (by asking questions), to hang out with Brenda and Ranga and also to see Swaziland again.
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swaziland currency: emalangeni (or i've started calling it "E- money" which has a cool ring to it, like electronic money) it's 1:1 to the south african rand and you can use rand in swaziland...
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