An Oxymoron!!!

A phantasmal dream

In the still of the night

One day on a pedestal

Another in a cloud of confusion

A nomad all the way

Yet, that which never wavers

In freezing chill or a ball of fire

Is the feeling of ecstasy

  

A smile on the lips

The heart that aches

The eyes wide shut

The silent yearning

  

A ballad in the making

A romance in languid whispers

A river of  joy

A quiet turmoil

  

Written down in history

Cut down by words

Side tracked by habit

A dot on the canvas

  

The love lingers

Etched on stone

Rising and falling

Like the sun and the moon

The heart loathes

What’s on the horizon

Knows it’s not meant to be

Like the tide of certainty

  

Life waltzes along

A picturesque boulevard runs parallel

No end to potential

The sweet smell of success

Yet, a trail frequently embraced

Free spirit and a life of solitude

A mirage of new and few

A phantasmal dream indeed!!!

An open secret!!!

I am 2 and am loving it!!!

I wake up to a string of morning wishes

From mummy to daddy to grandma

Can’t wait to get my mojo on

With milk, and a basket of toys

It’s time to sparkle my pearly whites

How I dread the time on the potty

Love my mummy for that hot bath

She lets me play with soap and water

Glued to my favourite nursery rhymes

A whiff of my piping hot breakfast

My favourite meal of the day

Can I have my fork and spoon???

Mummy is ready for work

I shriek out my good-bye

Daddy goes with her too

Will return soon enough though

Daddy works on his computer

I sing and dance to the mirror

Love my time on grandma’s bed

Must see, to believe

Hear grandma call my name

It’s time to talk to her plants

Little does she know

I just want to spray around water

My eyelids start drooping

Have had a lot to do

A short nap should suffice

To re-energise the bunny in me

A big glass of milk for energy

While I pick out toys to play with

My favourite is the drum

It’s cool when the stick hits it

I love reciting ‘ABC’ and ‘123’

Grandma listening intently

Swiftly move on to ‘Teddy Bear Teddy Bear’

Grandma and I laugh ‘Ha Ha Ha’

I sense my lunch time

Empty vessels make much noise

Nanny gets into the act too

Can’t I play with them instead???

I push away in haste

I’m too busy, I remind

They don’t seem to heed

I don’t get to decide

Time for a nap, says nanny

If I want to go out after

I wake up all refreshed

More energy from my banana porridge

A glimpse into my wardrobe

Am dressed to the tee

My friends downstairs waiting for me

Love the space, open and free

Back home, nanny says bye-bye

Another glass of milk, toys strewn

Mummy and daddy still away

Grandma and I rehash our day

I eye some spicy snacks

While I go merry go round

Grandma spilling the beans

Mummy and daddy making sense of it

Meal time it is, grandma standing by

Familiar clatter from the kitchen

Oh Lord, I just don’t understand

Why can’t I just skip it???

I sing and dance

To my favourite jingles

Mummy, daddy and grandma looking on

They laugh, egging me on

It’s time to bring the curtains down

On my very eventful day

A few minutes of playtime on my bed

And, Manasi is sleeping, goodnight!!!

Happy Birthday Naannu!!!

On the opposite side of Beauty!!!

Am cold and weary

Pessimism striking hard

Numb and jaded

A cloud hanging over

I feel anguish

Emotional and physical

Losing optimism

Fast and furious

Happy-go -lucky I was

Bright and buoyant

Vibrant and venerable

Safe and secure

Life would be a breeze

If I knew not to care

And wear that look of apathy

A reply with just a glare

Wouldn’t have felt betrayed

If a hedge stood in-between

 If I knew it were coming

Wouldn’t have taken its toll

Loneliness in its candour

Friendship at a price

Trust not easily conferred

Green eyed and doe faced

Where’s that sunshine???

I was promised every day

Where’s that gaiety???

I went gaga for

Am sapped of all energy

Misery, an episode of no value

Exploitation not a fiction

Appalling, yet not remorseful

Wish we were on an even keel

Wish we had broken the code

 Wish we weren’t just a piece in a puzzle

Life wouldn’t be this complicated

Am cold and weary

Pessimism striking hard

Numb and jaded

A cloud hanging over

Lubumbashi on a cloudy day...

In the palm of your hand!!!

Out of the blue

Laid bare by the ebb

An empty life in a shell

 Amidst the earth and debris

I lay there motionless

Glistening under the blazing sun

Soaking wet under the thundering showers

Immersed in memories of life gone by

I watch you dive into the ocean

And come up like a soaring bird

Laughing aloud drenched to the skin

Will I be that fortunate???

I can’t stop wondering

If you will ever embrace me

I want to be one with you

A place in your beautiful home

I wake up to the sunrise

And a few fitness enthusiasts

A few flippers twittering up above

And an occasional ally out of the blue

Sunset on the threshold

The light fading

My day nearing its end

Where are you???

The world around me is boisterous

Glee and romance all around

A handful on their own

The cool breeze shaping an aura

I want to feel your fingers

I want to be carried away

To a place I can call my own

For a life in the palm of your hand

I see you curtsy for me

I see you are mystified by me

I feel a ray of hope

I feel the rhythm in my heart

Hold me up, I pray

Take me home

I promise to be loyal

I will never leave you alone

I feel secure with you

I feel beautiful

Am falling in love

The future looks so blissful

Life is a peach

No more lemons

And the big bad ocean

I dream, lying on a bed of roses

One crazy day

Something’s amiss

I feel the chill

A shiver down my spine

Am out in the woods

Terrified of the unknown

Left to fend for myself

Out of the blue

Am just a Seashell !!!

One of a kind - Trip to Victoria Falls/Livingstone

View of the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side, from Zambia

All work and no travel unquestionably make for a dreary life in our home.  Travel in my opinion gives us a panoramic view of life outside, lets us experience firsthand what life holds for people in other parts of the world, how much the environment influences  people and vice-versa.  As mentioned in my blog on our trip to Tanzania, we love the road less travelled but it is enjoyable sometimes to take the road frequently travelled, especially when hard-pressed for time. I have a bucket list of places to visit in Africa and  I constantly hear from friends and family of those beautiful places nestled quietly around us. It is a difficult task to set a time frame for these voyages but I love the fact-finding exercise and the idea of planning these trips as a hobby. For the time being P and I seem to be  in-sync about that mile long list, I can’t begin to think how tricky it would be otherwise.

A 23th hour design to tour Victoria Falls in Zambia ensued last month. In terms of travel, DRC posts a lot of hurdles, we are not pampered with many flight connections to other parts of Africa, our neighbour being one of them. Zambia is about an hour from here, yet there is no direct flight to its capital Lusaka from Lubumbashi, the 2nd largest city in DRC. We had to drive down to the border and across, to the nearest airport city at Ndola through the copper belt, which certainly gave P much delight. At the end of the day, we were thoroughly entertained by the drive, albeit arduous, for the diverse experience, the border protocol, the roads, the landscape, and the presence of mining companies along the way, incredible few hours I must say.  More than 24 hours, a road trip and 2 flights later we arrive at Livingstone, quaint and queer, the home of the Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (translated  as  ‘the smoke that thunders') is situated on River Zambezi, the 4th longest  river in Africa, neatly dividing Zambia and Zimbabwe. Dr David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and doctor is the 1st known European to view the Falls from the only piece of land that is accessible on the Victoria Falls, now called the Livingstone Island. He named the breathtaking sight Victoria Falls after the Queen of England. Victoria Falls is twice the height of Niagara and 500metres wider; Niagara is  however 1.5 greater in terms of the mean annual flow rate.

We stayed at the Zambezi Sun, a resort placed idyllically in the midst of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and only 500metres from the Victoria Falls. A few terracotta coated  array of suites  adorning the manicured lawns and plenty of greenery all  around, impalas, zebras, giraffes and monkeys going about their routine within the resort without a care in the world, this place makes for a perfect setting for relaxation and rejuvenation.  On the other side, their Activity centre provides us the most wonderful menu in an attempt to  bring out the 'adrenaline junkie' in each one of us.

A perfect holiday, short and sweet, tranquil yet adventurous, a visual treat most of all, hopefully the picture postcards ( some have turned out more elongated than their originals, post upload ) that follow will tell the story as beautifully as our experience was.

Road to Kasumbalesa, DRC-Zambia border

Flight from Ndola to Lusaka

View from Lusaka Airport, a wet day

On our way from the Livingstone airport to the hotel

Located 500metres from the Victoria Falls

My favourite place in the room

View from the balcony

An array of suites

The first glimpse of the Falls

The Knife Edge bridge

Lovely view from the bridge

Dr David Livingstone

The restaurant

Poolside

Impalas within the resort

View of the mist from the Falls from the helipad

Ready for the flight

Bird's eye view of our resort and the Falls

The Victoria Falls bridge connecting Zambia (left) & Zimbabwe (right)

River Zambezi flowing into the gorge

The Victoria Falls bridge again, Zam on the right and Zim on the left

A rainbow, adding to the spectacle

Local musicians adding flavour at the portico

The Reception

Souvenir stores hidden away

Watching a horde of monkeys arriving into the resort

A sunset cruise

A Hippo having a splash

Sunny, serene, sunset on the horizon, one with nature

And an in-house bar

Lovely!!!

Busy bees...no hippos!!!

A patch of land bifurcating Zambezi

On the widest part of the river

Shore on this side

Sunset on the other

Waiting to be transferred to Royal Livingstone, the sister hotel

A corridor at the resort

Waiting at the pier deck of Royal Livingstone, the misty Falls at a distance

Approaching Livingstone island

A 'Treasure island' moment at Livingstone island

On the edge

Fierce

Zambezi all serene...

...before it plummets down the gorge

A 5 course lunch awaits

Back for a walk by the Victoria Falls

Beautiful pathway

Green and misty

Absolute edge

Inbetween Zambia and Zimbabwe

Cannot get closer

A sight to behold

Following the rainbow

On the Knife Edge bridge

By the Reception

Still and dark, the restaurant

A Zebra walking past us at the resort

A giraffe doing the rounds

Microlight flights waiting for us

Am taking off

Like a bird in the sky

Over River Zambezi

P getting strapped in

Waving out to me

Over Victoria Falls

Zambezi changing course, from the road

An invitation to High tea at Royal Livingstone

An awesome spread

Starting with mini quiches

View from the verandah

Lounging in the garden

View of the pier

Atop the Victoria Falls bridge

Double rainbow, can it get better???

The gorge between Zimbabwe and Zambia

Steam engine train tranferring passengers between the 2 countries

The placard says it all

The sun sets on our wonderful holiday

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" - Henry Miller