ZachnLucy - tee heee - thanks for the giggle. I am the strange friend that you either have over for a laugh while I empty your liquor cabinet or you hide behind the couch when I knock on your door.
Well, not that bad. You know, I'm going to be on the Travel Channel on the 28th so everyone can see me work up close and personal. It's called Fred Willards American Festivals and it comes on anytime between 5pm and 8pm depending on time zones. Its not on TiVo yet so I don't have details. There is no way to miss me, I am the chick with red hair wearing purple - I play Queen Elizabeth 1.
OK - here is another piece since you heard me ramble.
Now that we have been liberated from Grumpy we try to find the buses. This was a CHORE! They really arent well marked. We finally got in line and waited and waited and waited and waited. It was the only time that we waited this long for a bus. It was awful! We waited at least 25 30 minutes. I kept praying to various Gods and they kept spurning me. O great (insert Gods name here) please send us a bus as we have been baking out here in the sun for so long and I promise not to say any more naughty words today or have any more drinks if you dont like drinking and if you do then Ill have extra drinks in your name, amen Finally Zeus came through after 30 minutes and sent a bus. You GO Hercs Daddy!
Knowing what we know now, we should have gotten off at any of the resorts and caught their bus to Animal Kingdom. AVOID T&TC if at all possible.
Once we arrived at Animal Kingdom we made straight for the tea place. It is in the new Tibet/Nepal section and it is a GEM of a place if you like real tea vs. Lipton. They have wonderful loose blends that they make into tea bags right there. They also have coffee drinks as well. If you like tea PLEASE check this out! It is on the way to Everest on the right hand side. It has lovely seating areas. I would hate this to go away because people don't come.
When we were there, most people just asked the CMs for "tea" or "hot tea" and were given most probably their mild house blend. When we asked for "Silver Needle" or "China Jasmine", first they just stared and then broke out into smiles figuring out that we were asking for SPECIFIC teas and were overjoyed.
I can't sing the praises of this enough. Also if you are one of these people from Starbucks - "I want a low fat, soy, dolce latte with hazelnut" - go home. I know - harsh - but true. I had this lady in front of me that was like this: "I want a grande capp with chocolate syrup". The guy stared at her like she was from Mars and said "You want a Mocha?" which is what she asked for and she says "do you have chocolate syrup that I can put in AFTER" and he is like "no" and I just want to hit her in the head with a lemur and feed her to the Yeti because I get that way when confronted with pretentious coffee bar freaks. Don't be one of these people. Have the wonderful teas. Enough said. GO HERE!
OK - for everyone that likes tea and Animal Kingdom.... there is a little secret. There is a secret place to sit. After you get your tea, walk back towards Africa, away from Everest. On the river side of the street (left) there is an entrance to a smokers gulag, then a soda stand. Now turn to your left towards the river right after that stand. Walk straight. There is a lovely hand carved pavilion with 3 stools in it that have butt grooves and are sooo comfy. Now shhhhhh, don't tell anyone else. We don't want this to turn into a "Wake Tink" fiasco. You can watch the river through the lattice panels,
or watch the smokers (but we can't smell them because we were up wind). It's almost like another animal exhibit.
"Watch the wily smokers as they savor their morning ritual. HEY! You! Do NOT throw packs at the smokers! They are on a special diet and other brands can upset their stomach." Smokers - please don't kill me.
We started calling these smoking corrals the smokers gulags. Here is where you go to be isolated from the rest of the population. Just as a note, if you have a problem with smoke, then STAY OUT OF THE SMOKERS GULAGS! They are for smokers. Deal. The reason I say this is that as we were observing the smokers in their natural habitat, a woman came down into the gulag with her child. It was down by the water and I guess she wanted to check it out. There were about 10 smokers, all lit up, when she arrived so it was OBVIOUS what this was. She was trying to tell everyone that they needed to put out their cigarettes because her kid was here and she didnt want to breathe it.
Ummmm, Dumberella this is a SMOKING AREA, where people can SMOKE! Just shut up with your agenda and self-righteous whanking for 3 minutes. Now before people start setting me on fire let me say:
a) I use to be a smoker
b) I quit cold turkey many, many moons ago
c) I really HATE being around cigarette smoke and it makes me ill
d) I support a smokers right to feed their habit in their own home, car or designated area while in a publicly controlled place i.e. Theme Parks
e) The area was marked as being a smoking area
f) The lady KNEW it was a smoking area because when a smoker politely pointed this out to her to which she replied I know that but
There is no but. You have every right to complain when someone lights up next to you in a non-smoking area. You have NO RIGHT to demand they put out their cigarettes in an area set aside for their use. Does everyone have that concept down? OK, thank you moving on
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We take a leisurely stroll through Nepal and appreciate some of the really cool details like this:
NEXT: School in Harambe, what is up with that tree, the slllooowww safari guy, what Grumpy did all day
I love it! I can't wait to read more!!
NOW...on with the trip report, dear!
. Now it is past my bedtime and I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow. The cat, used to my usual 10pm bedtime, is already in bed asleep. Thanks for the laughs! I can't wait to read more!
