29 December

29 December

Livingstone

0 Miles

Steph:

It's true, I have a cold. Waaah. It stinks but I'm glad that we're here while it's happening.

It was another uneventful day. The sun is out and it's beautiful so we spent a good portion of it out by the pool. Will and Leah are a little beat up from their white water adventure.

We did take a taxi to a place called the Royal Livingstone. It is a five star hotel located right on the river about half a mile before the water drops down the falls. Leah told us it was an absolute "must" to go have a drink by the patio and watch the sunset as the mist from Victoria Falls drifts into the sky. It sounds silly but it was absolutely breathtaking. Of course, I forgot the camera so we'll have to wait to steal the photos from Leah when she uploads them. Sorry :/ We had an excellent time though. It was also interesting to see how the "other" side lives. Let's just say the people who stay at this hotel aren't exactly "roughing it". I automatically felt like I had to stand up straighter as we walked in. Everything is white, marble and shiny. It has a very colonial feel. You know, the type of thing you see at Disneyland in Adventureland. The beige safari outfits with the safari helmet and safari boots. The perfectly Victorian tea tray served in the midst of monkeys playing in the trees while people talk about how "ghastly" hot it was during their exclusice game drive today (I'm sure they were served cold drinks and champagne for their lunch in the bush). The perfectly manicured lawns and cobblestone paths with tamed impala frolicking around. The gigantic pool that looks like it was designed to go in the Versailles gardens. The gift shop selling exquisite souveniers directly from the "Heart of Africa". The same souveniers you can get of LITERALLY 1/10^th of the price at the open air art market in town. I wonder if the people who made that stuff see any of that profit. Hmm. What else... oh yeah, the children BORED out of their MINDS playing on their computers in the lobby while their parents have their whiskey and a cigar at the lounge. People wearing brand new Colombia clothing meant for hard core outdoorsy activities that have clearly barely ever seen the light of day. That one is particularly amusing because Erik and I are wearing REI and Colombia stuff that you can barely recognize anymore, that's how dirty and faded everything is :)

I know I sound slightly bitter when I say these things but I'm really not. I just find it fascinating how different kinds of people travel to the same places and have complete opposite experiences. I doubt that they ever talk to a local who isn't bringing them their 5 course dinner or cleaning their room. They have no idea what the local food tastes or even looks like. The Royal Livingstones (that's what I'm calling them now) come to see Victoria Falls and the animals. They arrive via plane to the major cities that offer the amenties they expect all over the world, get private transfers to their hotels, do their activities and then go home and say they've been to Africa.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with all of this. If you have the means, then by all means! Go all out and enjoy yourself! It's great that there are places like this all over the world where you can get a taste of the glamorous. I'm just saying that it's not my kind of travel.

Once the sun went down and we finished our drink (we could barely afford one), we called our taxi and had it take us back to our backpackers (that's what hostels are called here btw). Our beautiful, cheap hostel where we've met tons of awesome people who don't look at us weird because our clothing is slightly worn out. You're right in the middle of everything here. You become friends with the staff who tell you their life story and help with everything. You get the local feel while you talk to people who have gone to the places you're still planning on taking a chicken bus to. Or hitching or whatever. You meet people that are going the same direction and decide to travel together to save some money and to have new company. Adventurers (young and old) walk in every day with a different background, a different story, helpful advice about where to go and where not to. You go into town to explore the night scene or the local markets. You're forced to try the food and you're forced to talk to locals for directions and advice. Whenever you step out the door you're practically attacked by some vendor trying to sell everything under the sun. You learn to talk your way out of it or to bargain. It's the real travel experience.

It was nice to see the beautiful hotel, enjoy the view and to steal some hand lotion from the incredible smelling restrooms. I think it was even nicer to go back to our temporary home, buy a $1 drink, sit under the mango trees and joke around about how broke we all are.  

Stock Photo. The view from the deck. Beautiful!

One of the suites

Entrance to the lobby from the garden