As some of you may have noticed, I have changed my profile picture. I think that avatar looks more like me, right? :-p Plus I do have the red halter top which I dressed my "alter ego" in. A pity the profile only shows the top half, the bottom half is dressed in a pair of hipster jeans, which I have worn that combination numerous times.
In any case, another big budget project my friends and I are planning end of this year is a trip to South Africa. This is a place that will cost quite a bit, a place which I have always wanted to go, but my parents never go because they deem that as a dangerous place. My aunt's family went last year, and I was told they spent about S$4,500.00 per person, all in, as it was a package tour.
However, we will not be going on a package tour. Thus when I tried sourcing for air tickets to get the information, I got a shock of my life. Air fare there is very expensive! More expensive to go to Cape Town than Johannesburg! Can anyone imagine the air fare costs more than a whole package tour? In the end, I figured I rather get my tour agency to get the cheapest ticket for me.
Our proposed plan is as follows :
1. Cape Town - Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, Aquarium, Nature Reserve, Boulders Beach (for penguin sightings), Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), Shark Diving, and maybe squeeze in a winery tour. After all, what is the use of going to South Africa without tasting South African wine?
2. Kruger National Park - lodgings and tour at a real safari, perhaps we may even get a chance to walk a lion cub! :-p
3. Victoria Falls - how can I ever miss out the famous icon of Livingstone and Stanley?
We would be self-driving, so it gives us the flexibility to weave our own itinerary. We would not be going to Johannesburg as the place is too commercialised, but still, we have to take the plane to Johannesburg as in the end, we would be taking a flight from Victoria Falls back to Johannesburg.
Thus, I am thinking of getting a return flight to Johannesburg, then taking a train to Cape Town from there. The train will pass by the whole of South Africa (since Johannesburg is at the eastern end and Cape Town is at the western end), so I may be able to catch sight of all the beautiful scenery out there! If there is time, I may even tour Johannesburg as well!
It is still too early to come up with any concrete plans, but for exotic places like these, it is best to plan early so we can book everything in advance to ensure places. But knowing how things are, there will always be last minute changes, especially with the airline industry being such a mess now.
Which means I have to cut down on almost everything else and save all my money in order to enjoy the trip! What is the point of going on a trip if you have to calculate every single cent you spend? That takes the fun out of it!
I am not saying I will spend millions, (in which case I do not even have millions), but just that when I am on a trip, I much rather enjoy and have fun instead of calculating every mere thing. Afterall, if one is to go on a trip, one should have set aside enough, and not start calculating only then.
So after my Phuket trip, I have to start scrimping and saving again, all the more so since we are going to have three days deducted every month from May onwards! Three days means ten percent, which is a lot!
In any case, another big budget project my friends and I are planning end of this year is a trip to South Africa. This is a place that will cost quite a bit, a place which I have always wanted to go, but my parents never go because they deem that as a dangerous place. My aunt's family went last year, and I was told they spent about S$4,500.00 per person, all in, as it was a package tour.
However, we will not be going on a package tour. Thus when I tried sourcing for air tickets to get the information, I got a shock of my life. Air fare there is very expensive! More expensive to go to Cape Town than Johannesburg! Can anyone imagine the air fare costs more than a whole package tour? In the end, I figured I rather get my tour agency to get the cheapest ticket for me.
Our proposed plan is as follows :
1. Cape Town - Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, Aquarium, Nature Reserve, Boulders Beach (for penguin sightings), Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), Shark Diving, and maybe squeeze in a winery tour. After all, what is the use of going to South Africa without tasting South African wine?
2. Kruger National Park - lodgings and tour at a real safari, perhaps we may even get a chance to walk a lion cub! :-p
3. Victoria Falls - how can I ever miss out the famous icon of Livingstone and Stanley?
We would be self-driving, so it gives us the flexibility to weave our own itinerary. We would not be going to Johannesburg as the place is too commercialised, but still, we have to take the plane to Johannesburg as in the end, we would be taking a flight from Victoria Falls back to Johannesburg.
Thus, I am thinking of getting a return flight to Johannesburg, then taking a train to Cape Town from there. The train will pass by the whole of South Africa (since Johannesburg is at the eastern end and Cape Town is at the western end), so I may be able to catch sight of all the beautiful scenery out there! If there is time, I may even tour Johannesburg as well!
It is still too early to come up with any concrete plans, but for exotic places like these, it is best to plan early so we can book everything in advance to ensure places. But knowing how things are, there will always be last minute changes, especially with the airline industry being such a mess now.
Which means I have to cut down on almost everything else and save all my money in order to enjoy the trip! What is the point of going on a trip if you have to calculate every single cent you spend? That takes the fun out of it!
I am not saying I will spend millions, (in which case I do not even have millions), but just that when I am on a trip, I much rather enjoy and have fun instead of calculating every mere thing. Afterall, if one is to go on a trip, one should have set aside enough, and not start calculating only then.
So after my Phuket trip, I have to start scrimping and saving again, all the more so since we are going to have three days deducted every month from May onwards! Three days means ten percent, which is a lot!
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