Because travelling is everything.

I sometimes think i was born with this great travel bone or maybe it is something a Gemini has naturally. I find i cannot resist an opportunity to pack up my toothbrush and go where the wind takes me. Spring of 2008, a wide eyed 15 year old me took a road trip to Manzini, Swaziland with my mother and my two favourite aunts. Initially it was supposed to be a trip for the older ladies but me being me refused to hear any word of me staying behind. Camera, warm clothes packed and wanderlust itching to be fulfilled I was sitting backseat of my aunt's car with excitement oozing everywhere. The trip was to the capital city Manzini for a church conference. Traveling to Swaziland meant driving across South Africa but i wasn't as excited about that as i was in reaching my destination. It took us a whole 12 hours to get to Swaziland and South Africa's Oshoek-Ngwenya boarder post. Having not taken a nap during the long drive i was excited to have finally set foot on Swaziland. One man tried to talk to me in Swati but i just shrugged and responded in English that i did not understand, only for him to mutter something i assume was rude and walk off. That altercation didn't damper my mood though,passport stamped and i was in SWAZILAND!!! The drive into Swaziland from the boarder is one that i will never forget, it was as if i was entering some promised land of serene peace and happiness. Maybe that feeling came from being welcomed by the smell of grilled corn-on-the-cob being sold by street vendors just outside the boarder. I used my winning puppy face to get my mum to buy me some. My puppy face was on it's A game as i walked back into the car not only with grilled corn but with grapes and bananas too. The week i spent in Swaziland was absolutely the best. It is one of my treasured trips. During church lunch times we would drive into the city and buy African attire and jewellery and indulge in Swazi cuisine, which was my favorite as i find food helps me warm up to a place. I learned from our drives that in Swaziland avocados, bananas and other fruits grow on the streets and that you can pick as much as you want. This left my avocado loving mother trying to fill the boot with as many avocados as she could carry. I thought i was going to be sick from the avocados on toast i was eating everyday. Swazi people are kind and love foreigners, the food is wonderful and the market stalls got me broke by the end of the trip but it remains to this day one of my favorite road trips.