Modderfontein reserve

 Taroko Farm, Modderfontein, a trail so flat I call it a walk not a hike, heck I once walked the eleven kilometres with flip-flops. 😂. Yes, you read that right, flip-flops, it was not by choice, I have forgotten my hiking shoes on that day. Do not try this at home. Hehehehe. Eleven kilometres later, I lived to tell the tale.

This was a long soulful stroll. I’ve always said hiking isn’t just about burning calories or pretending you like granola bars or carrot sticks. It’s a full body experience, mind, body, soul, and occasionally, questionable footwear.  A glorious, chat filled, soul nourishing walk. I am time stamping this one 26.07.2025, we walked and talked for eleven kilometres. At one point, our amigos had to remind us that we were surrounded by nature, apparently, we were so deep in discussion we forgot to look up. Sorry, trees. LOL We’ll admire you next time. Not going deep into what we talked about; we talked about things we grew up hearing and doing. Some of it we are applying in our lives today. This conversation sparked beautiful memories of things my grandma used to give us and made us feel better, that being either having a headache or tummy ache. She was a legend. I wish I documented them because I have forgotten most of it.  We talked about the myths, truths, and how it will be forgotten 100 years from now because most of it is not documented. We truly went down memory lane, we had many AHA moments.

When I got home my brain was buzzing with ideas, reflections, and a desperate need to document it all. From that day on, I have been documenting what I remember for my kids and how it ties into my life now, That’s a start right…. Who knows, this podcast might just be on the cards. Bra Gab you will be my first guest!

Let’s talk about the magic of writing things down, even if you’re just rambling. Whether it’s a blog post, a journal entry, or a scribble on a paper, documenting experiences is like bottling time. It’s a gift to your future self and a breadcrumb trail for future generations. Imagine your great grandkids stumbling upon your post and thinking, “Wow, grandma really walked 11km in flip-flops? Or grandma grew doing one two three…  Your thoughts today might be someone’s inspiration tomorrow. Okay I’m done being a TED talker.

Oh, and Taroko Farm is evolving! Trailwolf Padel coming soon; Yes please.  Theres options for everyone, cycling, fishing, bird watching farmers market, ceramic painting experience and more.

To my loyal readers, thank you for sticking around. To the new ones, welcome to the chaos. I never usually date my posts, but this one needed it. Some walks are just too good to leave undated. And while I won’t spill every detail (got to keep some mystery alive), I hope you feel inspired to walk, talk, and maybe even write about it.

So go on document your flip-flop moments. Your Bra Gab conversations. THANK YOU, Bra Gab. Because one day, someone might read it and smile, or laugh, or walk 11km just to see what the fuss is about.

Until next time Fabtastic People!

Stay tuned!

Moira

OLD TOWN, ISLAND HOPPING, BEACH and 7-ELEVEN

Welcome back to Part 2 of our Thai saga, If you did not get to read part 1, here is the link. https://fabtasticyou.wordpress.com/2025/05/25/phuket-unfiltered/

This part is about soaking in Phuket’s beauty and making you rethink your life. (winning the lotto and retire). LOL.  When I say we were at the beach every free moment we had, I mean every free moment. We arrived, checked in, showered and went to the beach, jet lag, what jet lag!. We frequented the beach to watch the sun set, it felt like we were in paradise.

For me and Bobo, it is not a holiday if we do not see the ocean. We have an unspoken pact that everywhere we go for holiday, our accommodation must be a walk away from the ocean. My family on board as well, LOL. That sand felt amazing under your feet and between the toes, best feeling ever. OMG the weather was amazing, hot and humid the water was warm. I don’t mind hot weather, especially when I am on holiday. We were wearing flip flops most of the time, the only way to survive the heat. Thai people understand that their place is hot, so air conditioning everywhere was on point. Patong beach had an amazing vibe. It was loud, bold and full of energy.

Old Town Phuket:

Old Town Phuket is full of history, Colourful, quirky cafes, and markets selling everything. Ok I must admit I have never seen so many beautiful crochets swim wear, at every corner. Souvenir shops everywhere, Thai people understand the assignment. We walked around, ate and shopped until we dropped. We even tried social media influenced food, drinks. LOL. We had the best driver, he was amazing, he would take us around places only locals know to get good food. He took us to a place called Wangtlang Gems International. It was lovely to see gemstones and handmade jewellery and how they are made.  We were overwhelmed by the size of the store, What I loved about the place is that no cameras/phones were allowed inside, so you get to take in the full experience without any distractions.

Phi Phi Islands: The Highlight of our trip

This was the part of the holiday that we wished we won the lotto and be on holiday forever. LOL. My friend and I splashed on this one, we took the best package. By far the best experience and bucket list moment ticked. We took a speedboat out for a full-day island hopping tour, and I’ve never felt so HAPPY. What a treat, the water was crystal clear and unreal, the views were out of this world, we felt like we were in a movie. The boat took about 2 hours to get to the first island. That two hours we could not stop saying “Wow” beauty everywhere, we were content. The service was top notch, from the transport that took us from our resort to the Royal Phuket Marina. The service in the boat was fabtastic, we were treated like royalty. First Island was Bamboo Islands. When we got here it was so hot you were better off in the water. Some experiences are better off lived, this was one of them. No matter how much I try to explain what we experienced, it’s never going to be enough.  This whole experience was insane.

Phi Phi Don Island, where we had great lunch on the beachfront restaurant. We felt like royalties, we were welcomed with open arms. As we were about to leave for the next Island, we experienced low tide, our boat had to move further into the water and we had to walk through the water to get to our boat, I was so excited like a child on Christmas morning, it was FABTASTIC. It’s the small things right! Off we went, headed to the Monkey beach. It was lovely experience, and again on to the next one, Viking Cave. Viking Cave is notable tourist attraction known for its unique paintings and birds’ nest of salangans. The cave is protected, and tourists can’t go inside, but even seeing it from the boat was amazing. This cave is known for two famous things:

1. Ancient drawings of ships that look like Viking boats.
2. The harvesting of bird’s nests, which are used in this fancy soup that’s apparently worth a fortune.

 On to the next one, Phi Phi Leh, others snorkel, others including myself, kayaking and others chilled on the boat and soaked in the beauty. Last stop was Maya Bay, the famous beach where “The Beach” movie was filmed. Walked through the spectacular nature reserve and again you need to be there to understand the EXPERIENCE that we had. After this even if we packed up and came back home, we would have been okay with it. LOL. At the end of the day, we were very satisfied customers.

7-Eleven was our playground. I kid you not, every time we were chilling, we were thinking about what we must go buy at 7-Eleven. We were like kids in a candy store, I blame social media influence😊. We were buying anything and everything we heard is good and cheap at 7-Eleven. From the famous toasted cheese to the face masks.

Would I go back? Absolutely. Would I pack lighter and shop in Thailand? Also, yes.

Until next time Fabtastic People

Khop Khun Ka, Thailand!

Moira

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SCOOTERS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, AND A WHOLE LOTTA SMILES

My friend and I visited Phuket, Thailand for a holiday over a month ago. When I travel, I like putting on the hat of a traveller and that of a tourist. This way I get to experience the place in two different ways. It can never be enough to explain experience in a blog because as people we experience things differently.  I am here to share my experience nothing else.

Let me tell you, it wasn’t just a vacation; it was a plot twist. When people say we going to Thailand, and you think, “Okay, beaches, night life, night markets, pad Thai, cool”. There is more to it than that. We ate the most delicious Pad Thai and tasted the best vegetable stew, yes you heard me, vegetable stew!. We truly enjoyed Thai cuisine. Our breakfast buffet at our resort was food you eat for lunch and dinner. We were in heaven😻. Phuket is a full-on sensory event, and it comes at you fast, especially if you’re not ready for it, and I wasn’t. LOL) I didn’t get to hike, but boy did we walk! I guess that’s what one does when on holiday…  I love Thai culture and traditions, I was intrigued. It is so rich and vibrant.  Quick lesson 101 about Phuket Province: It is one of the oldest cities in Thailand, with population of over four hundred and fifty thousand. It is one of the 77 provinces in Thailand. We were in the West Coast of Phuket; Patong. Patong is a centre of night life , night markets and shopping, let alone amazing shorelines.

The First Impressions:

Phuket is clean. Like, confusingly clean. I walked through busy markets expecting a bit of chaos; maybe a stray chicken or someone yelling over a fish head, but nope. The place is spotless. Even where you expect grime, like the little alleys behind food stalls, I saw zero trash, and that confused my inner Joburg instincts. The scooter invasion, I was not prepared for so many of them. Phuket has scooters like Joburg has potholes (I love my city even with potholes): everywhere and unapologetic. At one point, I was convinced every man, woman, child, and probably a few brave cats had their own scooter😃. I saw a family of three on one scooter. Not even kidding. I clapped. If balance was a sport, these people are in the Olympics. The confidence while riding was on another level. I saw most women and teenagers riding without helmets. Those not driving not holding on, busy on their phones. I remember myself and Bobo we looked at each other with the disbelief. Anthony Bourdain said” travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living”, I totally agree. Theres few traffic lights, so we relied on pedestrian crossings, I can tell you this much, if you fear jay walking like me, you are in trouble. I relied on my friend Bobo to lead me just taking a leap of faith and cross because those scooters were hardly stopping for any pedestrian to cross. She’s always been the Queen of jaywalking 🤣. I remember at some point she shouted , let’s go now and I froze , she crossed. The next thing I see her on the other side of the road, and I was still standing still. She had to cross back to me and held my hand. LOL you get the picture right!? LOL

Something that really stood out to me; every single business I saw was run by locals. Just Thai people, doing Thai things, with such pride and professionalism it warmed my South African heart. Coming from a place where jobs are a huge deal, this hit different. Respect.

😊 The Friendliest People on Earth?

Listen, South Africans are friendly—but Thai people? Next level. I’ve never said “Khop Khun Ka” (thank you) so many times in my life. And each time, I got a genuine smile back. It’s almost suspicious. Like, how are they this consistently nice?

Part 2 is where things get sandy, sunburnt, and mildly spiritual. Beaches, Old Town Phuket, and my new obsession with island hopping (shoutout to Phi Phi). But that’s a story for another day—or probably next week, after I recover from my post-vacation existential crisis. I figured let me write two parts to this story; the traveller part and then part two would be the tourist part.

Until Next time Fabtastic People

Moira