Travels with Zenaida

South Africa: Tenikwa Center for “Lesser Cats”

zda — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:52:34 +0000

Do you, like most people who speak Spanish, think that “caracal” is a misspelling for “caracol” (snail)? Well, it isn’t. A caracal is one of the endangered wild cats of South Africa, about the size of a cocker spaniel dog, with beautiful face markings and big, dark ears, very shy and, unfortunately, fast becoming rarer [...] Related posts:

South Africa: Addo National Elephant Park

zda — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:15:34 +0000

It is 5:15 a.m. when I get in my little grey Micra Nissan rental car. The pre-dawn sky is laced with clouds showing just a pale tinge of pink around the edges. The weather forecast said it will be 32 degrees today. I set off on the dusty dirt track from my guest house, direction [...] Related posts:

Malaysia: Blue Mansion Hotel in Penang

zda — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:27:15 +0000

Stepping inside the cool front hall of the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion is like stepping into a bygone era. It is easy to imagine the soft padded footsteps of wives, concubines, children, relatives, servants, and hangers-on scurrying in long silk gowns through the high-ceilinged rooms, most likely whispering intrigues behind intricately carved ivory fans. The [...] Related posts:

Malaysia: Tropical Spice Garden experience

zda — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:00:37 +0000

Have you actually ever seen the tree from which the cinammon bark comes? Or tasted fresh nutmeg juice (deliciously refreshing, by the way)? These and many other delights await the visitor of the Tropical Spice Garden on Penang Island. At the main gate, you are given an organic citronella insect repellant to rub on any exposed [...] Related posts:

Malaysia: Beautiful Penang Butterfly Farm

zda — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:11:52 +0000

One of my main reasons for coming to Penang (other than meeting up with a cousin who is sailing around the world), was to visit the Butterfly Farm. I had read about it back in the 90s and now my dream has come true. This live-butterfly sanctuary has been in operation since 1986 [...] Related posts:

Bangkok to Penang: 24 hour International Express Train

zda — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:28:36 +0000

Nowadays, the internet is the source of instant information and this is especially true for travel news. I forget how I found www.seat61.com but in no time, I was intrigued by the very detailed account of how to get from Bangkok to Butterworth, which is the railway station to get to Georgetown on Penang Island [...] Related posts:

China: Beijing’s Song Tang Zhai Museum, a taste of hutong history

zda — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:59:47 +0000

Everywhere, including Beijing, the saying “one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure” is true. Li Songtang, now in his 60s, started collecting architectural details of houses being torn down mainly during the 70s modernisation push. He now has a collection of over 10,000 items of carved lintels, gates, screens, garden statuary, etc., of which about [...] Related posts:

China: Life in Beijing

zda — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:44:19 +0000

One of the great megalopolis of this world, Beijing never ceases to surprise me. Even though the number of skyscrapers has easily quadrupled since the first time I visited in 1995, you can still find quiet corners where it seems as if time has stood still. But believe me, it hasn’t. Not here. If anything, [...] Related posts:

China: The eternal Forbidden City

zda — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:01:25 +0000

As disenchanted as I was with the visit to the Great Wall, the thrill of visiting the Forbidden City for the umpteenth time is always there. For all its vastness, there is always a nook or cranny that can be discovered anew; always an around-the-corner detail that enchants the eye. Especially this time, after the Olympics [...] Related posts:

China: Great crowds at the Great Wall

zda — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:50:42 +0000

No matter what one is going to say about the Great Wall, it all sounds like a cliché and the facts are so easily researched that it would be stating the obvious. So what is there left to say? At Badaling, the most popular of the Great Wall stretches for tourists, there is a gondola that [...] Related posts: