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NAMIBIA

The End of A Beginning (Part Eight)

By Carolyn Chon

February 21^st, 2021

The first person I met when I arrived in Namibia was Andre. He works as a freelancer with the car rental company I got my rental from and was there to pick another couple and myself up. While waiting for the couple at the airport, we got to talking, naturally.

He was obviously the first person to ask me why was I traveling alone. So, here's why I travel alone, the answer is definitely not to Eat, Pray, Love. Although, towards the end of the trip I did eat, I definitely did pray and I most definitely fell in love.

The answer is simply self-indulgence, so to speak. I told Andre I enjoy traveling alone because sometimes I just do not want to talk to people. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, with my own playlist (on repeat or not), wake up whenever I wanted (which was always too early for a holiday) and do whatever I want to do. I supposed it's wanting an immersive experience of being completely foreign, the feeling of being lost and the sense of wondering and wandering is indeed one of my favourite feelings.

The Nice Folks

There was Raymond who drove me to Sesriem, whom I had wonderful conversations with. He told me he sussed me out when we first met, by seeing if I would have sat on the passenger seat or in the backseat. We talked about current affairs of our countries, we talked about the wildlife issues in Namibia, the land issues, the climate change, the best and worst tourists/visitors, we talked about God and he was more than happy to listen my aptly named Trinity playlist. †

Before we parted ways (at the car rental), we exchanged numbers because he wanted to be sure I had someone to call should I encounter any problems during my drive around Namibia.

Then there was, I think his name was Christian. I hope I remember his name right. He was at the front desk of the hotel I stayed in Swakopmund. On my first night, unsure of where to get myself some decent food, he gave me a recommendation and even walked me to the restaurant, just cos it was already dark. In repaying his kindness, I bought him dinner from KFC via the drive-thru while pretending we were in a car on foot. We even had make believe roll-down manual windows. He offered to take me to visit proper residential neighbourhoods in Swakopmund the next night, but alas there were some last minute changes to his shift, so I didn't get the chance to do so. Before I left Swakop, he gave me his number and insisted I call him if I had any troubles to my next destination, and told me he had friends where I would be passing so I wouldn't have to worry.

I suppose that is the perk of being a lone Asian girl traveling through Namibia. You get genuine care from complete strangers.

The Sleeps

From the no star rating, to five stars and even to under the stars, each of the accommodations I had my sleeps in all brought me various memories.

i. The Desert Grace , (Sossusvlei): Sexiest and most luxurious place I slept in, the next time I go back I'm definitely going to book in two nights at least to truly enjoy the ambience of the place.

ii. Prost Hotel , (Swakopmund) : A simple hotel located a short walk away from the waterfront. Nothing fancy, but great location.

iii. Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, (Twyfelfontein) : Nice looking place, but was the worst sleep for me as it was also the hottest sleep. Hopefully, they've sorted out their air-conditioning problems already.

iv. Palmwag Lodge, (Palmwag) : Stayed here for only a night, but would recommend two nights at least so you could go for the Rhino tracking excursion. Love the lodge I slept in, which was permanent tent. This was also where I had my first wild elephant sighting.

v. Purros Campsite, (Purros) : One of the many highlights of my trip, where I slept in the rooftop tent surrounded by Camelthorn trees and wild elephants roaming. Enjoyed sitting underneath the Milky-way around the campfire.

vi. Hoada Campsite, (Hoada) : A brief but pleasant stay at this place. Though I had the rooftop tent, the agent booked for me a large tent which was definitely a warm welcome. Shower view was the Milky-way.

vii. Etosha Village, (Etosha) : A comfortable lodging that's situated just outside the entrance to the Etosha National Park.

viii. Namutoni Resort, (Etosha) : An older more basic lodge that's situated within the national park at a different entrance.

ix. Okonjima Plains Camp, (Okonjima ) : Situated within a nature reserve, this was my last pleasant stay. Squeezed in my last two guided safari drives where I saw leopards and cheetahs. Definitely wished I also saw the Brown Hyena. Next trip I suppose. :)

The Unforgettable(s)

Needless to say, there were many unforgettable moments during the entirety of the trip. Doesn't matter if they were good or bad, nothing is more boring than a trip with no highs or lows. But here are some I'd like to share.

Obviously, many of the highlights involved wildlife sightings but I think these two were the main for me. Tracking after a small family of elephants by my campsite in Purros, as well as seeing the Electra the mama leopard spending quality evenings with the cubs.

The last photo of me, well...

I was on my way back to Windhoek for my final night in Namibia, from Okonjima. Finally, on a smooth tar road all the way back, when suddenly I couldn't change gears with my car. I still remember I was over taking a truck, when suddenly after stepping on the clutch the gear refused to budge. Thankfully, there was no car from the opposite direction so I managed to pull up to the side of the road with ease.

I called up my agent, Memory and told her my problem. A couple of minutes later, a mechanic called me up and I talked him through the problem, he tried to troubleshoot for me at first but realised it was best he came and get me and the car. So, I was to wait for my rescue. Thankfully, I was only about 1.5hrs or so away from Windhoek then.

It was also during that wait for my rescue, where I finally got to use my pee cup. Ha. Being stranded on the main highway on the way to the city, with no bush in sight for me to attend to my when nature calls moment, I had no choice but to use the pee cup. Funny enough, I bought it some 6 years or so prior to this Namibia trip, I had bought it for my overland trip to Russia and was worried I'd happen across one of those horror public toilet stories I've heard about China.

After emptying my bladder into an empty bottle, I texted my travel buddy, Jules and told her about what happened, hence the sad face selfie. Which by the way, I thought was a perfect ending to my trip because really, what is an adventure without any misadventures?

When my rescue car came, out stepped Andre, the first guy I met when I first arrived in Namibia. It was such a pleasant surprise to see him then. I walked up to him and gave him a big hug and told him how glad I was to see him. The mechanic drove the car I was driving back to Windhoek, how he did that with the gear problem I don't know, but I was so happy to be with Andre again.

The End

Our drive back to Windhoek was like two old friends catching up, we still text each other up till today. Exchanging Christmas and New Year's greetings every now and then. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo with him. The one habit I should cultivate, really is to take photos with the wonderful people I meet.

It's a few months short of two years since I took this trip, and well into one full year of the pandemic. I guess there's no better time to finish up the Namibia series.