DAY 1 - CROSSING THE EQUATOR INTO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Overnight: Protea Hotel Fire and Ice, Cape Town
Bombay to Johannesburg to Cape Town For the first time in my 27 years, I crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere. After an overnight flight from Bombay, I reached Joburg airport at 0800 hrs local time. My onward flight to Cape Town was scheduled for 1200 hrs. Peter from South African Discoveries received us at the airport, handed our tour tickets and got us a mobile phone recharge from Vodacom. I then went to change $200 to South African Rands. At $1 = 7.81 ZAR, it looked like a sweet deal. However, 50 rands for transaction charges and another 45 for admin charges plus the tax didn't leave the deal sweet anymore. I lost about 100 rands on 1550. Too bad. Next time, I should remember to just withdraw money from an ATM. It was pleasantly cold inside the airport. It must have been single-digit degree centigrade outside. The tag lines of ads in restrooms did catch my attention - 'Better Sex Naturally' and 'Beat the Babalas' - but did not convey what products they sold. South Africa's domestic airline Mango had the best colored planes I have ever seen - bright orange! At 1200 hrs, I boarded the plane from Joburg to Cape Town. Note to self: Never ever change money at the airport or hotel. Pay using credit cards or withdraw cash at an ATM.
"We have landed in Cape Town. It's a beautiful day out there." After a 2 hour flight across the South African country, the aircraft began its descent from 10,000m towards the blanket of clouds that covered Cape Town city. As the plane plunged into the clouds and emerged on the other side, a scintillating array of tiny houses shone back at us. The city was in no hurry. The townships looked neatly arranged with vast stretches of green scattered between them. As we moved closer to the ground, I could tell the colors of homes - green, blue, red, white, but mostly ochre and brick-red. Some townships were concrete gray - still under construction. The townships were laid out on a green plain that gently sloped up and down - which, I later learnt, were the Cape Flats. A vast deep blue ocean washed the shores of this green plain; it's borders laced with white surf. And on one side lay the majestic Table Mountain, squatting mightily at the edge of the city. Our aircraft flew over the townships and now onto the ocean. And with one giant swoop and u-turn, provided breathtaking views of the bay, coast, city and suburban townships. The plane dived for the runaway, and a thud later, the flight captain announced, "Ladies and gents. We have landed in Cape Town. It's a beautiful day out there." Faldi from Cape Caper Tours picked me up at the airport and drove to the city. Cape Town had impressive roadways. I looked out of the window and asked, "Is that the Table Mountain?" "No, that's the Devil's Peak. Everyone new to the city thinks it's the Table Mountain. You'll see Table Mountain from your hotel." After a short drive from the airport, Faldi dropped me at Protea Hotel - Fire and Ice. The reception knew my name before I stepped in. They put a nice little personal note (with my picture!) in the lobby. My room had another personal note and many small little gifts. I thought the staff was courteous and warm to me because I was here on an invitation from SATB. Later, I figured that all their guests had similar personalised touches to their stay. I really liked the R bracelet (Respect, Recognition and Responsibility) the hotel left for me in my room. In the evening, I walked along Long Street. Long Street is the night life hub of Cape Town - a sort of must-do-for-tourists thing. In a little mosque on Long Street, I met two gentlemen - Lyes Kadem, a young Algerian muslim living and working as a professor in Montreal, and Louis-Gilles Durand, a French speaking Canadian heading a research lab in Montreal. We struck up a conversation outside the mosque and later had dinner at Nyoni's Kraal.
"Will this guy wake up at 5 am to kill a student?" At dinner, Lyes talked about life in Algeria and how a right wing political party would campaign for elections saying, "You must vote for us or else face the wrath of Allah." As simple as that. "The right wingers would one day declare 'No universities' and no universities it is. Anybody attending university is threatened with life," Lyes continued. "In such situations, life becomes strange. You have to think about it and take a call -- 'I take the 5:30 am train to the university. Will this guy wake up so early to kill me? If he does, then he deserves to get me.' -- There is nothing you can do about it. And life thus continues." Lyes' hypothetical dilemma about identity was engaging. Who was he first? A Muslim. An Algerian. An African. A Mediterranean. A French speaking immigrant in Canada. All of these? None of these? There is no doubt that man's identity is the single biggest source of conflict in history. Our occidental vs. oriental conversations continued and ranged from Indian zero, Arabic numberals, the American civilization, life in Algeria, the cultural baggage in India, the language split in Canada to the problems of the Muslim world. Nyoni's Kraal had a nice touch of Africa both in decor and menu. It served a lot of braai meats. Each portion served here could easily serve three! Lyes' chicken was manageable but Louis-Gilles mutton chops and my T-bone steak could as well serve two people if not three. "Enjoy your meal, you are in Africa!" our waitress smiled on our surprise at the large portions. After the meal, I walked back to my hotel. It was 7:30 pm, but the roads were completely deserted. By the end of the uphill walk to my hotel, my heart began to pound inside my chest. And exhaustion was not the only reason. Note to self: There must be a reason why I was the only person walking on the road at that hour. Next time, just take a cab.
Home · Day 2
Tags: Adventure Sports, Africa, Wildlife
Overnight: Protea Hotel Fire and Ice, Cape Town
Bombay to Johannesburg to Cape Town For the first time in my 27 years, I crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere. After an overnight flight from Bombay, I reached Joburg airport at 0800 hrs local time. My onward flight to Cape Town was scheduled for 1200 hrs. Peter from South African Discoveries received us at the airport, handed our tour tickets and got us a mobile phone recharge from Vodacom. I then went to change $200 to South African Rands. At $1 = 7.81 ZAR, it looked like a sweet deal. However, 50 rands for transaction charges and another 45 for admin charges plus the tax didn't leave the deal sweet anymore. I lost about 100 rands on 1550. Too bad. Next time, I should remember to just withdraw money from an ATM. It was pleasantly cold inside the airport. It must have been single-digit degree centigrade outside. The tag lines of ads in restrooms did catch my attention - 'Better Sex Naturally' and 'Beat the Babalas' - but did not convey what products they sold. South Africa's domestic airline Mango had the best colored planes I have ever seen - bright orange! At 1200 hrs, I boarded the plane from Joburg to Cape Town. Note to self: Never ever change money at the airport or hotel. Pay using credit cards or withdraw cash at an ATM.
"We have landed in Cape Town. It's a beautiful day out there." After a 2 hour flight across the South African country, the aircraft began its descent from 10,000m towards the blanket of clouds that covered Cape Town city. As the plane plunged into the clouds and emerged on the other side, a scintillating array of tiny houses shone back at us. The city was in no hurry. The townships looked neatly arranged with vast stretches of green scattered between them. As we moved closer to the ground, I could tell the colors of homes - green, blue, red, white, but mostly ochre and brick-red. Some townships were concrete gray - still under construction. The townships were laid out on a green plain that gently sloped up and down - which, I later learnt, were the Cape Flats. A vast deep blue ocean washed the shores of this green plain; it's borders laced with white surf. And on one side lay the majestic Table Mountain, squatting mightily at the edge of the city. Our aircraft flew over the townships and now onto the ocean. And with one giant swoop and u-turn, provided breathtaking views of the bay, coast, city and suburban townships. The plane dived for the runaway, and a thud later, the flight captain announced, "Ladies and gents. We have landed in Cape Town. It's a beautiful day out there." Faldi from Cape Caper Tours picked me up at the airport and drove to the city. Cape Town had impressive roadways. I looked out of the window and asked, "Is that the Table Mountain?" "No, that's the Devil's Peak. Everyone new to the city thinks it's the Table Mountain. You'll see Table Mountain from your hotel." After a short drive from the airport, Faldi dropped me at Protea Hotel - Fire and Ice. The reception knew my name before I stepped in. They put a nice little personal note (with my picture!) in the lobby. My room had another personal note and many small little gifts. I thought the staff was courteous and warm to me because I was here on an invitation from SATB. Later, I figured that all their guests had similar personalised touches to their stay. I really liked the R bracelet (Respect, Recognition and Responsibility) the hotel left for me in my room. In the evening, I walked along Long Street. Long Street is the night life hub of Cape Town - a sort of must-do-for-tourists thing. In a little mosque on Long Street, I met two gentlemen - Lyes Kadem, a young Algerian muslim living and working as a professor in Montreal, and Louis-Gilles Durand, a French speaking Canadian heading a research lab in Montreal. We struck up a conversation outside the mosque and later had dinner at Nyoni's Kraal.
"Will this guy wake up at 5 am to kill a student?" At dinner, Lyes talked about life in Algeria and how a right wing political party would campaign for elections saying, "You must vote for us or else face the wrath of Allah." As simple as that. "The right wingers would one day declare 'No universities' and no universities it is. Anybody attending university is threatened with life," Lyes continued. "In such situations, life becomes strange. You have to think about it and take a call -- 'I take the 5:30 am train to the university. Will this guy wake up so early to kill me? If he does, then he deserves to get me.' -- There is nothing you can do about it. And life thus continues." Lyes' hypothetical dilemma about identity was engaging. Who was he first? A Muslim. An Algerian. An African. A Mediterranean. A French speaking immigrant in Canada. All of these? None of these? There is no doubt that man's identity is the single biggest source of conflict in history. Our occidental vs. oriental conversations continued and ranged from Indian zero, Arabic numberals, the American civilization, life in Algeria, the cultural baggage in India, the language split in Canada to the problems of the Muslim world. Nyoni's Kraal had a nice touch of Africa both in decor and menu. It served a lot of braai meats. Each portion served here could easily serve three! Lyes' chicken was manageable but Louis-Gilles mutton chops and my T-bone steak could as well serve two people if not three. "Enjoy your meal, you are in Africa!" our waitress smiled on our surprise at the large portions. After the meal, I walked back to my hotel. It was 7:30 pm, but the roads were completely deserted. By the end of the uphill walk to my hotel, my heart began to pound inside my chest. And exhaustion was not the only reason. Note to self: There must be a reason why I was the only person walking on the road at that hour. Next time, just take a cab.
Home · Day 2
Tags: Adventure Sports, Africa, Wildlife