In recognition of International Customer Service Week we would like to take this opportunity for you to read a heart warming testimonial from just one of our valued travellers, a young boy named Simeon, in his own words after travelling to Lagoon Beach, Cape Town with VIP Express Tourism Limited.
Like a little child with a sealed package, my heart was racing fast at the thought of the unknown. The excitement was so much that it seemed like the day of my journey would never come until it did.
Day1 & 2 (31st July and 1st August 2014) – For our trip to Abuja from Jos, we started the trip at about 8:30am. The journey went well. The police men at the checkpoints did not delay us in Abuja, we offloaded our bags. After collecting our boarding passes, we were then checked in and we waited to board the plane while we ate food.
When we got to Lagos, we quickly found our way to the International airport, which was rather close. At the airport, we immediately noticed the counter for South African Airways. It had the longest line of people waiting. When we were up next in the line, they collected our tickets, had a look at our passports and checked our bags. They also gave us a form to fill before being directed to where we would wait for the flight. At about 10:00pm, we boarded the plane. The flight duration was obviously the longest I had ever experienced. During the flight, they provided us with food, water, drinks, pillows, blankets eye folds and magazines and even a tooth brush and toothpaste. After about 5 hours in the air, it was time for us to land.
The date while in transit had changed from 31st July to the 1st Aug and the South African time was 1 hour ahead of the time of Nigeria. When we landed, we were once again searched and we submitted our passports at the counters to check before we were allowed to pass. By the time we came to the arrival hall, we saw Willie and Denzil who were our tour guides. They took us to Monateng Lodge. They stopped for grocery shopping before taking us to our lodge. They left us to rest but we took the opportunity then to familiarize ourselves with Monateng during the remaining hours of that day. We saw a mini golf course, a large chess table, a restaurant and a game room. That night we ate rice and coleslaw with meat and also drank fruit Juice.
Day 3 & 4(2nd and 3rd Aug in Monateng Safari Lodge) – The following 2 days we rested because of jetlag. We travelled from Jos to Abuja by road, Abuja to Lagos by Air, Lagos to Johannesburg by Air and then Johannesburg to Pretoria by road.
Day 5(4th Aug Monday in Monateng safari Lodge) – We woke up by 8:00am and we prayed. There wasn’t anything much to do so we just “relaxed” indoors. For breakfast, we ate hot dogs and Cornflakes. For lunch we had yesterday’s leftovers. Mummy and I decided to take a walk through the streets. We rested for the rest of the day. For dinner we had macaroni, meat and fruit juice.
Day 6 (August 5th in Monateng Safari Lodge) – This day we were very happy because we were finally going to have some activities to do. For breakfast we had bread, eggs and tea. By 2:00pm we went to the car park to proceed on our safari drive. During the drive we saw Waterbucks, Bulls, Jackals, Impalas, Nyalas, Buffalos, Warthogs, Zebras and others. That night we ate rice for dinner.
Day 7(6th August in Monateng Safari lodge) – This day was very nice. By 9:00am we were expected to go to Sun City, so we waited in the parking lot before that time. After some time of waiting, nobody came so we suspected that they probably went to pick us up at our apartment. Macy and I went back to check and Mummy stayed back. True to suspicion, we saw that they had been waiting there for us. So we got in the fan and went to pick up Mummy. The drive to Sun City was quite long but it was worth it. The place was so nice. Our guide took us around to see the palace. We saw their pools, animals, the shops, the hotels and the inside of the buildings. We went on a lot of escapades, I really enjoyed that. The day was so nice and we took lots of photos. Everything in Sun City was made to look natural. The part that really caught my eyes was the palace (the 5 Star Hotel there). There was a man-made beach which also had artificial waves. It was truly amazing. On our way home, we went for grocery shopping once again at Spar. When we got home, we were too lazy and too tired to cook for dinner, so we just snacked
Day 8(7th August in Monateng Safari Lodge) – This day must have been the most exciting day of all the days because we went shopping. I bought a lot of stuff but I was keeping in mind that I needed to save money for Cape Town. At the end of our day our neighbors, Marilyn and Clive, invited us to eat dinner at their place. They really entertained us. We ate chicken, grilled potatoes, grilled pork, and some other funny spices that tasted funny. We had a lot of fun. They even informed us on how to switch on the heaters in our room.
Day 9(8th August in Monateng Safari Lodge) – In the morning, we had bread and eggs for breakfast but I left mine for later. By 9:00am as usual, Denzil picked us up to start off the day’s journey. He took us to Soweto for our day’s tour. We saw the slums in Soweto. We also visited Nelson Mandela’s house. When we got back to Monateng Lodge, we went to the restaurant for our farewell dinner. I ate rice and pork. After that, we went to our room and packed up all our stuff and put them into our boxes.
Day 10(9th August) – Early in the morning at about 4:00am, we woke up, took our bath and waited for the tour guide to come and pick us up. He arrived around 6am and took us to the airport where we boarded our flight to Cape Town. Our tour guide Philip was there to pick us when we arrived.
He took us to our apartment in Lagoon Beach, where we stayed during our trip in Cape Town. On our way there we passed the Table Mountain. When we got there, we unpacked. Mummy and I took a walk by the beach for some time and later Macy and I took a walk by the beach again.
Day 11, Sunday August 10th – This day Philip told us that there is an open market close by that we could go to if we want and we decided it was a good idea. We took our time to check out the things there and we were able to get some things we needed. When we were done, we went home and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Day 12, Monday, August 11th – This day we went to Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront .While we were there, we had the opportunity to go on a roller coaster, had a boat ride and went to the Aquarium .While we were looking around, we even got lost a few times.
Day 13, Tuesday, August 12th – On this day, we went for shopping at Canal Walk shopping. We were able to get a few things to buy there. While we got lost in the mall, Wim waited for us that he can take us back to the apartment. On this day, we also had our welcome dinner so we ate at Wang Thai (Chinese Restaurant) close to the hotel. After we had the dinner we went home.
Day 14, Wednesday, August 13th – It was a memorable day! We were allowed to go for our last shopping trip. Wim told us that he would be coming to pick us between 9:00 and 9:30am. So before that time, we were set and waiting for him at the reception. We had the whole day for shopping and we bought lot of things. During our shopping, mummy was trying to get on the escalator and she slipped and injured her knee. After what happened, we quickly went to buy some plasters for her leg. By 3:00pm, Wim came back and picked us up and took us home to spend the rest of the day. When we got home, we rested. For dinner we ate chips and eggs before we slept.
Day 15, Thursday, August 14th – It was a day of rest, we stayed at home and relaxed. Philip brought a video recorder to record us expressing the excitement of our week in Cape Town. Afterwards Macy and I took a walk to a small shop down the street to buy bread for breakfast. At dinner we cooked all of the remaining rice and sausages we had bought. After dinner, we put together all our clothes, shoes and things we had bought and we fitted them into our boxes.
Day 16, Friday, August 15th – We woke up at about 06:15, took our bath and packed our bags for the trip back Home. By 07:26, Philip and Wim came and helped us to take our bags to the car. We couldn’t finish all the food we had so we left some for the maid (who comes to clean the apartment). We also left R30 as a tip for her. Wim took us to the airport. We processed and paid VAT for bought items in the shops in Cape Town. We then got our boarding pass, and began our flight to Johannesburg.
The flight to Johannesburg wasn’t long at all. It lasted only about 2 hours. When we arrived, we went to gate A18 to board our next flight to Lagos. We were given pillows and blankets as usual. They gave us lunch to eat on the plane.
We arrived at Lagos at about 8:45pm of 15th August. Mummy called a taxi driver who took us to University of Jos Council lodge Magodom. We ate pounded yam with okro soup for dinner.
The next morning, Saturday 16th August. The driver picked us up and took us to the domestic wing of the airport for the last lap of our trip back home.
It’s been a wonderful experience all the way. All thanks to God and to our loving Daddy.
Thank you so much again for giving us such an opportunity.
I also want to say thanks to VIP Express Tourism Limited and the wonderful tour guide for facilitating the trip.
– Simeon
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