The phrase “work hard, play hard” carries a lot of weight at Flow Communications. So, come vacation time, it’s go big or go home.
From discovering Europe to partying up a storm in Asia, the world truly is Flowstars’ oyster.
Web developer Darren Caboz recommends a visit to Thailand “in a flash”. One of the highlights of his trip there earlier this year was the Full Moon Party – a famous all-night beach party on the island of Ko Pha Ngan mostly attended by foreigners like him. The party is held the night of, before and after every full moon.
“The festival atmosphere is crazy, epic and lekker. There are friendly people, and everyone is there for the same reason! My friend asked, ‘Why go to the Full Moon Party?’ and I told him to just come and see what it’s like.”
Designer Kiril Velkov did Greece and Bulgaria recently. Visiting the National Archaeological Museum in Athens was one of his biggest highlights.
The museum is considered to be one of the greatest in the world, and is home to prehistory to late-antiquity artefacts from various archaeological locations around Greece.
“The museum was amazing. Seeing sculptures like the Jockey of Artemision, which dates back to 150-146BC, was unbelievable. The mountains of Bulgaria were also incredible,” Kiril says.
Design studio manager Lorraine Gumede also experienced Europe and she sees travelling as the best way to reward oneself.
“Pick a country, any country ... just travel! It's the most remarkable experience and best way to reward yourself for working so hard. For me it's the different way of life, change of scenery, food, history, and architecture that I enjoy the most during my travels,” she says.
Her trip had many highlights: “The cyclists in Amsterdam dominate the roads; they have their own lane and perceive themselves as lords of the street.
“Switzerland was the best leg of my Euro trip. The scenery was breathtaking, the cows were fat, Lauterbrunnen had magnificent waterfalls and I spent half the day up Jungfraujoch in the snow,” she recalls.
Flow's CEO, Tara Turkington, has been lucky enough to travel to England, Ireland, Russia and the Maldives this year, as well as many local places such as Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, the Kruger National Park and the Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West province.
"Every time I have a chance to go to a new country, I feel like I'm getting another whole degree in my education," says Tara. "I love travelling – it makes me even more enthusiastic about life and my work."
For her, the Maldives were breathtakingly beautiful: "The blues of the Maldives are so exquisite, no appropriate word yet has been invented to describe them."
She also loved Russia: "It is completely different to what I expected. I was thinking it would be all Communist hangover, with dark alleyways and agents in trench coats with their collars pulled up. Actually, Moscow and St Petersburg are sparklingly clean, upmarket, and the people are very chic. There are also more layers of fascinating history in Russia than I ever imagined. I definitely want to go back!"
