So. India.
If you’ve ever been to India, you’ll understand that it is impossible to explain. The thought of completing this blog makes me a little sick to my stomach because I know there is no way I can even come close to giving you all a real taste of this country.
Day 1: Our ship was docked in Southern India, in Chennai. Chennai is the dirtiest place I’ve ever been. Everything is dirty, from the ground under you to the sky above you. Some friends and I went shopping courtesy of a rickshaw. Never ridden in a rickshaw? You should—see how the rest of the world drives. Our driver kept taking us to expensive stores that would give him kick-backs if we bought something. Finally he understood that we were looking for cheap market shops, and he took us to a great store where many of you will be getting gifts from! My friends and I also went to two temples. The Hindu religion is so complicated, ornate, beautiful, strange. I prayed to some cows in an enclosure/altar!
Then, we went out to dinner at a nice vegetarian restaurant where the waiter assured us that the food is “Not Good!” Hmmm… Then our rickshaw drivers said they would take us to a cool hookah bar. Forty-five minutes in a rickshaw later, we were in a residential area where the drivers said we could buy hookah from the man in one of the houses! We wanted a cool bar where we could hang out; they were trying to sell us hookah among other drugs, I’m sure.
Day 2: Well, technically this was still part of Day 1? After dinner in Chennai, I stayed up all night packing for my trip. After no sleep, at 4am, I hopped on the bus for the airport to fly from Chennai to New Delhi in pursuit of the Taj Mahal. I slept through the entire flight, from before we took off until landing. Then, we toured some forts in Delhi before boarding the train for Agra. The train was delayed over 2 hours and due to some sort of confusion we didn’t have seats on the express train. This train ride was almost 5 hours long and was “first class.” I really hope that is enough said because I truly don’t even want to remember that train ride ever again. We got to the hotel a 1am. That day I ate breakfast at 3:30am, lunch at about 2pm, and then had dinner at 1am. Not my favorite day. To say the least.
Day 3: Is this still part of Day 2? I certainly don’t know. After 3 hours of sleep, we woke up to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. I don’t think I could or should describe the Taj Mahal. It is not something words, photographs, or films can accurately replicate. Go to the Taj Mahal. Nothing has ever taken my breath away with such magnitude.
After the sunrise, we went to the Red Fort at Agra and then went shopping at a local market. The aggressiveness of the sellers and hawkers in India makes Morocco and Ghana’s street markets sound like a cake walk.
Then, we went back to the Taj for the sunset. Sunrise was better because the Taj was virtually empty. By sunset, it was so crowded one could barely walk. My pictures from the evening are littered with other tourists, from other parts of India and from all over the world.
We took the express train (thank god!) back to New Delhi. Waiting in the train station was the hardest part of the entire trip. We were sitting ducks for beggar children. “Slumdog Millionaire” may not accurately represent a great deal of India, but it sure got it right in its depiction of the beggars. Many had deformities that were obviously self-inflicted. Well, one can hope they chose to have limbs cut off. The truth is, many of those children’s limbs were mutilated in hopes for their parents or guardians or gang-leaders to make more money.
Then, we settled into the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Flat screen TVs in every room, two queen size beds, huge shower with a seat, etc. If I could have even processed anything at that point, the contrast between the children beggars and my hotel room might have bothered me. But India is so overwhelming, it’s literally impossible to even make connections like that.
Day 4: We left New Delhi for the ship in Chennai, but not before stopping at an amazing Hindu temple. It was built in the 12th century and had been built and re-built as Islam reigned, then various families took over the land. I’ve never been in front of anything as old as these captivating ruins. Our flight was inconsequential, and we finally, finally, finally made it back to the ship.
Day 5: Today I went to an Indian Film studio. India produces more films than any other country in the world, including the USA and China. They know their movies. Still, their cinema is not reputable in film studies outside of India and many of their post production techniques use antiquated technology. I enjoyed our tour and discussions with Indian directors immensely.
Now, I’m back on the ship and we’re about to sail away, headed towards Vietnam. One cannot even begin to grapple India in only six days. I certainly will not pretend to know India. It is a wild beast. I loved it and I hated it. I never want to come back; I need to come back. Maybe in a few days I can better describe my trip. This may just be my least descriptive blog yet, which is ironic because India is the most complex country I’ve been to yet. There’s nothing really to say though except maybe that you all need to see India for yourselves.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Update From Mauritius
Just off the Eastern coast of Africa, near Madagascar, lies that country you've never heard of: Mauritius! Mauritius is sort of like the Bahamas of Africa. Resorts, private beaches, villas, and water sports make up for the main activities on the island. No complaints here!
Day 1: We got right off the ship and took the $2 water taxi from the ship to the Waterfront of Port Louis. Mauritius is a weird combination of Africa, India and France, and their "downtown" certainly represented these three cultures' coming together. After some shopping, my friend and I took a taxi from Port Louis, which is in the West of the island, up to the North side of the island, to the beach. I can't even explain how amazing this beach was. There were maybe fifteen other people on the beach. I have had dreams, or more like heavenly fantasies, about beaches like it, and suddenly I was standing with my toes in the sand! We ran into some people from the ship and had some drinks and laid on the beach, the warm Indian Ocean water crashing around us.
My friend and I took the taxi back to ship where we met some more friends and went out to dinner. We ended up at a steakhouse where I ate a much needed hamburger. Then, we went to this fantastic sports bar! It was so perfectly decorated; things like tennis balls in the ground and basketballs for bar stools. Of course, they did not seem to know what American Major League Baseball was and certainly had no idea that it happens to be the playoffs so I didn't get to watch any of the game! Oh well, I still had a great time. How could I not, surrounded by my friends in the bar, standing on a balcony and looking out at the Explorer, docked in the harbor of an African country I literally had not heard of until weeks before we embarked?
Day 2: I got up bright and early to head to the bus for an SAS trip called Blue Safari. We headed for the Northern part of the island to... the exact beach I had been at yesterday! I was back--and so soon. Dreams do come true! ; ) After a delicious chicken sandwich with french fries inside the bun off of a lunch truck, we headed to the dock where we would enter the submarine that would take us under the sea! The pilot joked that we have seen the ocean's surface for so long now on the Explorer that now we of course wanted to see what was underneath it! Five of us got into the submarine. It was completely clear glass so we could see all around us as we descended 30m under the ocean! It was surreal, claustrophobic, exciting, and a little bit scary! As we chugged along the sea floor, I saw so many different kinds of sea life! Most excitingly, an octopus (a very rare sighting on these tours!), an eel, sea cucumbers, and a HUGE sea anenomne! It was so incredibly cool. They gave us these cheesy and awesome certificates at the end that say how far we dove under the water.
My friends and I hit the markets after we re-gained our land-legs. I loved buying souvenirs with the Dodo bird on them. (Mauritius is the only known place in the entire world where Dodos were known to have existed before their untimely extinction!) Later, my friends and I hit the town again, enjoying the great food and the Friday night live music at the sports bar! It was one of my most enjoyable nights out thus far, because I am really starting to know who I want to spend my time with in terms of my ship-friends. Ever since you called them my "ship friends," Ashley Panella, that is the term I most prefer to use!
Day 3: Today may have been one of the best days of my life! We jumped on a catamaran and sailed to an outlying island where the water was blue, the sky was blue, the WHALES that we saw barely a few yards from our boat (!!!!!!!!) were blue, and, I am red. Oh so red. So sunburned. So badly. I even have the dreaded sunglasses tan. Embarrassing. But, seriously, I laid on the catamaran, inches above the water, soaking up the sun (and a lot of it!). Then, we snorkeled! I saw blue-finned tunas, clown fish, angel fish, etc, etc. It was fun and really rekindled my love for snorkeling. I hope to be able to do a lot of it when I get home. I just love being among the sea creatures! Then, on the catamaran, we had a barbaque lunch that was SUPERB. When they brought out coffee and brownies as the dessert, I was 100% sure I had died on gone to heaven. I mean between sunbathing, BBQ chicken for lunch, snorkeling, and being in Africa, when you add in COFFEE, my god!
Mauritius is one of those places that we just don't pay enough attention to. It is incredibly diverse, filled with Indians (mostly Hindu), African people, Creoles, and many more. Mauritius is the epitome of the legacy of colonialism; the country is a strange and exciting mix of aboriginal and European and Indian. Because of its extreme distance from the US, I truly may never return to Mauritius. I would hope to come back to truly explore more. The trip was like a spring break for us voyagers, and I feel like we didn't learn enough about the country to appreciate it on any other level than as a resort island. Think about it, if you were taking a trip to China, you would do a great deal of research before you left. If you were going to the Bahamas, you might go shopping for a new bikini. But, of course, the Bahamas is an individual and intricate country, too, just like, say China! And I certainly didn't research Mauritius, and I did, in fact, buy a new bathing suit in South Africa in preparation for the beach! Hmmm... a lot for me to think about, and I better do it fast--I'll be in India in a few days!
Day 1: We got right off the ship and took the $2 water taxi from the ship to the Waterfront of Port Louis. Mauritius is a weird combination of Africa, India and France, and their "downtown" certainly represented these three cultures' coming together. After some shopping, my friend and I took a taxi from Port Louis, which is in the West of the island, up to the North side of the island, to the beach. I can't even explain how amazing this beach was. There were maybe fifteen other people on the beach. I have had dreams, or more like heavenly fantasies, about beaches like it, and suddenly I was standing with my toes in the sand! We ran into some people from the ship and had some drinks and laid on the beach, the warm Indian Ocean water crashing around us.
My friend and I took the taxi back to ship where we met some more friends and went out to dinner. We ended up at a steakhouse where I ate a much needed hamburger. Then, we went to this fantastic sports bar! It was so perfectly decorated; things like tennis balls in the ground and basketballs for bar stools. Of course, they did not seem to know what American Major League Baseball was and certainly had no idea that it happens to be the playoffs so I didn't get to watch any of the game! Oh well, I still had a great time. How could I not, surrounded by my friends in the bar, standing on a balcony and looking out at the Explorer, docked in the harbor of an African country I literally had not heard of until weeks before we embarked?
Day 2: I got up bright and early to head to the bus for an SAS trip called Blue Safari. We headed for the Northern part of the island to... the exact beach I had been at yesterday! I was back--and so soon. Dreams do come true! ; ) After a delicious chicken sandwich with french fries inside the bun off of a lunch truck, we headed to the dock where we would enter the submarine that would take us under the sea! The pilot joked that we have seen the ocean's surface for so long now on the Explorer that now we of course wanted to see what was underneath it! Five of us got into the submarine. It was completely clear glass so we could see all around us as we descended 30m under the ocean! It was surreal, claustrophobic, exciting, and a little bit scary! As we chugged along the sea floor, I saw so many different kinds of sea life! Most excitingly, an octopus (a very rare sighting on these tours!), an eel, sea cucumbers, and a HUGE sea anenomne! It was so incredibly cool. They gave us these cheesy and awesome certificates at the end that say how far we dove under the water.
My friends and I hit the markets after we re-gained our land-legs. I loved buying souvenirs with the Dodo bird on them. (Mauritius is the only known place in the entire world where Dodos were known to have existed before their untimely extinction!) Later, my friends and I hit the town again, enjoying the great food and the Friday night live music at the sports bar! It was one of my most enjoyable nights out thus far, because I am really starting to know who I want to spend my time with in terms of my ship-friends. Ever since you called them my "ship friends," Ashley Panella, that is the term I most prefer to use!
Day 3: Today may have been one of the best days of my life! We jumped on a catamaran and sailed to an outlying island where the water was blue, the sky was blue, the WHALES that we saw barely a few yards from our boat (!!!!!!!!) were blue, and, I am red. Oh so red. So sunburned. So badly. I even have the dreaded sunglasses tan. Embarrassing. But, seriously, I laid on the catamaran, inches above the water, soaking up the sun (and a lot of it!). Then, we snorkeled! I saw blue-finned tunas, clown fish, angel fish, etc, etc. It was fun and really rekindled my love for snorkeling. I hope to be able to do a lot of it when I get home. I just love being among the sea creatures! Then, on the catamaran, we had a barbaque lunch that was SUPERB. When they brought out coffee and brownies as the dessert, I was 100% sure I had died on gone to heaven. I mean between sunbathing, BBQ chicken for lunch, snorkeling, and being in Africa, when you add in COFFEE, my god!
Mauritius is one of those places that we just don't pay enough attention to. It is incredibly diverse, filled with Indians (mostly Hindu), African people, Creoles, and many more. Mauritius is the epitome of the legacy of colonialism; the country is a strange and exciting mix of aboriginal and European and Indian. Because of its extreme distance from the US, I truly may never return to Mauritius. I would hope to come back to truly explore more. The trip was like a spring break for us voyagers, and I feel like we didn't learn enough about the country to appreciate it on any other level than as a resort island. Think about it, if you were taking a trip to China, you would do a great deal of research before you left. If you were going to the Bahamas, you might go shopping for a new bikini. But, of course, the Bahamas is an individual and intricate country, too, just like, say China! And I certainly didn't research Mauritius, and I did, in fact, buy a new bathing suit in South Africa in preparation for the beach! Hmmm... a lot for me to think about, and I better do it fast--I'll be in India in a few days!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Getting Down in Cape Town, part II
The next day in Cape Town began at an ungodly hour as we headed to the Aquilla Private Game Reserve for an all-day safari. The reserve was so luxurious, complete with swimming pools, amazing food, and animal decor in the restaurant. After a much needed breakfast, we divided up and got into several game vehicles (open-air 4X4s). On completely rugged and thrilling terrain we rode through the reserve. Although on the longer, overnight safaris many students went on were more "authentic" in that the reserves were huge and the animals were in a more "natural" setting, the animals in Aquilla were all free and in their natural habitats. They just happened to have those habitats in convenient places for our viewing! I saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, springbok, antelope, wildebeest, buffalo, zebras and rhinos! We also had to change to view several lions, although their area was fenced off. If the reserve let the lions roam free, they would eat the other animals that the reserve tries so hard to protect! There was also a pen that held cheetahs, but sadly I didn't get a glimpse of this big cat. Overall, I had the time of my life getting to experience these animals in a safe environment, but without the restrictive and isolating bars of a zoo.
After my safari I, of course, went shopping. It is hard to stay away when a fantastic mall is but a few steps from the exit of the ship! I was so glad to be able to call home for a few minutes from the international pay phones in the mall.
The next day, some friends and I had tickets to go to Robben Island. Unfortunately, it was raining and windy, and we got all the way to Nelson Mandela Gateway, where the ferry to the former prison leaves, only to find out it was canceled due to the weather. Luckily, my friend Rachael and I were able to by tickets for the next day, but some of the other girls in our group were not going to be able to go to Robben Island at all.
So, graced with rain and a change in plans, a few of us decided to head to the Jewish Museum in downtown Cape Town. We took a taxi and explored the Company's Garden (complete with cute little ducks wading in the pond!) before going into the museum. South Africa had a rather large influx of Jewish immigrants in the same way that the United States did, and I personally had no idea about this history. The museum was very well done. It was striking to me to think that many Jews came to South Africa to escape Nazism, only to find that their new home would elect the Nationalist Party in 1948 who deeply sympathized with the Nazi's idea of a pure, superior race of people. Interestingly enough, in South Africa, the Jewish were on the other side of this racism, because instead of being the hated Jew, they were the part of the superior race of the Whites. What a phenomenon to completely switch sides of the same issue by traveling only a few countries over!
Later that day my Rachael and I headed to the movie theater in the mall. We are both in "World Cinema," and we are supposed to see a movie in a foreign country during the semester. We couldn't find a theater playing any South African films, so we ended up seeing the American remake, "Fame." It was fun being back in what I might call my natural habitat, the movie theater (LOL), smelling that familiar popcorn smell, but the movie was pretty much nothing but terrible. After the movie we went out for one last hurrah in Cape Town. The streets and bars were littered with SAS students, as it always seems to be wherever we go. It becomes like "real college" when you go out at night and recognize a lot of your friends and classmates. We don't really get that social part of college, the party scene, on the ship, and our time in port is a weird sort of substitute for that.
Thank goodness the weather was nice today because I was able to go to Robben Island. I'm not quite sure how to describe it in words. This seems to be my biggest problem in my trip so far--relating my experiences in ways others might understand. I have never in my life been witness to anything so powerful as being toured a political prison by an ex-prisoner. Our tour guide blew up a governmental building working for the militant wing of the ANC. No one died and a few military personnel sustained minor injuries, and our guide, at 19, was sentenced to 18 years of incarceration. He was beaten, tortured, and humiliated regularly. He told a story of how when his father applied to visit him (as this was difficult to do), security officers came to his father's home and shot him eight times. To this day our guide's father resides in a wheelchair because of his wish to visit his son. The most sickening part of the whole story was that the very men who tortured and beat the prisoners have been pardoned completely, many running successful private businesses that sell products to their former prisoners. I saw Nelson Mandela's cell, and places in the prison I have only seen in photographs before. It was so important to me to see Robben Island, to experience this dark part of this beautiful country's past. On a lighter note, leaving the prison for the return ferry I saw the penguins of Robben Island that live and play on the beaches of this beautiful island. It was quite and ending to a powerful experience.
Now, we're headed away from Cape Town, on our path to Mauritius. I could stay in South Africa for another week, another month, for a whole year. I know I am coming back here. Walking the streets of Cape Town, I feel a strange sense of connection to this nation. The only other time I have felt such a sense of belonging was when I moved to Santa Barbara. Is it possible to have two cities where your whole being completely and wholly belongs? Can I split my time between Santa Barbara and Cape Town? With the same weather and the most beautiful beaches, respectively, I think I could make a life of it! Now, to prepare for the real world again--tests, midterms, so many papers, reading, and continuing to press onward with Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Truly, though, this is not a bad place to be at all.
After my safari I, of course, went shopping. It is hard to stay away when a fantastic mall is but a few steps from the exit of the ship! I was so glad to be able to call home for a few minutes from the international pay phones in the mall.
The next day, some friends and I had tickets to go to Robben Island. Unfortunately, it was raining and windy, and we got all the way to Nelson Mandela Gateway, where the ferry to the former prison leaves, only to find out it was canceled due to the weather. Luckily, my friend Rachael and I were able to by tickets for the next day, but some of the other girls in our group were not going to be able to go to Robben Island at all.
So, graced with rain and a change in plans, a few of us decided to head to the Jewish Museum in downtown Cape Town. We took a taxi and explored the Company's Garden (complete with cute little ducks wading in the pond!) before going into the museum. South Africa had a rather large influx of Jewish immigrants in the same way that the United States did, and I personally had no idea about this history. The museum was very well done. It was striking to me to think that many Jews came to South Africa to escape Nazism, only to find that their new home would elect the Nationalist Party in 1948 who deeply sympathized with the Nazi's idea of a pure, superior race of people. Interestingly enough, in South Africa, the Jewish were on the other side of this racism, because instead of being the hated Jew, they were the part of the superior race of the Whites. What a phenomenon to completely switch sides of the same issue by traveling only a few countries over!
Later that day my Rachael and I headed to the movie theater in the mall. We are both in "World Cinema," and we are supposed to see a movie in a foreign country during the semester. We couldn't find a theater playing any South African films, so we ended up seeing the American remake, "Fame." It was fun being back in what I might call my natural habitat, the movie theater (LOL), smelling that familiar popcorn smell, but the movie was pretty much nothing but terrible. After the movie we went out for one last hurrah in Cape Town. The streets and bars were littered with SAS students, as it always seems to be wherever we go. It becomes like "real college" when you go out at night and recognize a lot of your friends and classmates. We don't really get that social part of college, the party scene, on the ship, and our time in port is a weird sort of substitute for that.
Thank goodness the weather was nice today because I was able to go to Robben Island. I'm not quite sure how to describe it in words. This seems to be my biggest problem in my trip so far--relating my experiences in ways others might understand. I have never in my life been witness to anything so powerful as being toured a political prison by an ex-prisoner. Our tour guide blew up a governmental building working for the militant wing of the ANC. No one died and a few military personnel sustained minor injuries, and our guide, at 19, was sentenced to 18 years of incarceration. He was beaten, tortured, and humiliated regularly. He told a story of how when his father applied to visit him (as this was difficult to do), security officers came to his father's home and shot him eight times. To this day our guide's father resides in a wheelchair because of his wish to visit his son. The most sickening part of the whole story was that the very men who tortured and beat the prisoners have been pardoned completely, many running successful private businesses that sell products to their former prisoners. I saw Nelson Mandela's cell, and places in the prison I have only seen in photographs before. It was so important to me to see Robben Island, to experience this dark part of this beautiful country's past. On a lighter note, leaving the prison for the return ferry I saw the penguins of Robben Island that live and play on the beaches of this beautiful island. It was quite and ending to a powerful experience.
Now, we're headed away from Cape Town, on our path to Mauritius. I could stay in South Africa for another week, another month, for a whole year. I know I am coming back here. Walking the streets of Cape Town, I feel a strange sense of connection to this nation. The only other time I have felt such a sense of belonging was when I moved to Santa Barbara. Is it possible to have two cities where your whole being completely and wholly belongs? Can I split my time between Santa Barbara and Cape Town? With the same weather and the most beautiful beaches, respectively, I think I could make a life of it! Now, to prepare for the real world again--tests, midterms, so many papers, reading, and continuing to press onward with Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Truly, though, this is not a bad place to be at all.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Getting Down in Cape Town
I know I've said this about every port thus far, but I mean it when I say that I'm moving to South Africa. This is a country that has its problems, to say the least, but I feel so at home here. I have never felt like I belonged anywhere more, except maybe Santa Barbara. Life plan: a home in Santa Barbara, a home in Cape Town?
I still have another three days in Cape Town, but so much has happened already that I figure I better blog about my adventures now before I forget them all as more adventures occur!
Arriving in Cape Town was mind-blowing. I got up at 6am (yikes!) to see the sunrise over Table Mountain. (If you can't picture it, Google it--it is the most beautiful and strange mountain I've ever seen!) Then, after the sunrise, we docked at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. It is like a mix of the Victorian Era and Pier 39 in San Francisco. It is not the genuine South Africa, but there is a HUGE mall and after a month without the comforts of home, a mall is FINE by me! : )
After walking around, grocery shopping and running some errands, I hopped on an SAS bus headed for the District Six Museum. District Six was an township that was declared a "white area" during apartheid. This ruling displaced hundreds of thousands of "non-whites." Now, near the area where so many lost their homes, and subsequently part of their culture and part of their lives, stands a beautiful and personal museum where locals have commemorated this tragedy. It was very beautiful. Then, we hit the bus to visit a few Cape Town townships. I don't believe I can quite put into words what it is like to be in a township in South Africa. I can say that although apartheid is over, in some areas, things have barely changed. In the townships there is poverty, crime, severe, severe alcohol abuse, and hopelessness. At an illegal pub, we tried homemade beer made from corn. It looked like milk and we all had to drink from the same giant, metal jug! It was disgusting to say the least, but I don't regret for a minute trying it. When in South Africa, right?
I would just hope that everyone in their lives, if they truly want to be aware of the condition of the people of our world, will visit South Africa and experience, if even for a few hours, as in my case, life in a township. I don't even think many South Africans have experienced township life, especially the white South African population. This fact became strikingly clear when, that same day after the township visit, I hopped on another bus with one of my theater classes to see a play at a local theater company. Suddenly I was thrust into a world of opulence and wealth. And, might I add, this world was mostly white. It was shocking for me, coming from Southern California, where every street corner showcases any given ethnicity at any time. This country is one that is just on the verge of change, of shift, and it is remarkable to experience now what the US went through after our own civil rights movement in the 1960s.
The next day, yesterday, I hiked Table Mountain. What a hike! The vegetation was surreal--Africa looks NOTHING like America! We rode an amazing cable car down the mountain once we reached the summit. The cable car rotated and reminded me of the glass elevator in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. After the hike (and a shower!), some friends and I took a cab to the Greenpoint Market, which only happens on Sundays. Let's just say I bought a FEW things! After some resting, I hit the town for dinner and some nightlife with a large group. South Africa gets a little scarier after dark, sure, but it also comes alive when the sun goes down.
Today I woke up bright and early to hit Stellenbosch for a day of wine-tasting. Liz and I hired Stephen, a registered tour guide, to tour us around the wine lands. He picked us up from the ship in an Audi (!!!!) and we hit the road! From 9am to 5pm all I did was drink wine, eat food, and taste chocolate. Not a bad life, to say the least! Liz and I splurged on ourselves for this luxury tour and we both agreed it was worth every penny. We learned, first of all, how to do a wine-tasting (LOL), how they make wine in South Africa, and a lot about the different, South African wines. I'm an expert now, of course. After a long, hard day of drinking wine, Liz and I returned to the glorious waterfront mall and did some more shopping! I just can't be stopped here!
Now, I'm off to bed early because I have to be up at 5am for my Safari tomorrow! Wish me luck--I hope to see the "Big Five of South Africa": lion, elephant, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe. Cross your fingers that I see all these animals!
I'll write more when I have more stories to tell! Miss and love everyone!
I still have another three days in Cape Town, but so much has happened already that I figure I better blog about my adventures now before I forget them all as more adventures occur!
Arriving in Cape Town was mind-blowing. I got up at 6am (yikes!) to see the sunrise over Table Mountain. (If you can't picture it, Google it--it is the most beautiful and strange mountain I've ever seen!) Then, after the sunrise, we docked at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. It is like a mix of the Victorian Era and Pier 39 in San Francisco. It is not the genuine South Africa, but there is a HUGE mall and after a month without the comforts of home, a mall is FINE by me! : )
After walking around, grocery shopping and running some errands, I hopped on an SAS bus headed for the District Six Museum. District Six was an township that was declared a "white area" during apartheid. This ruling displaced hundreds of thousands of "non-whites." Now, near the area where so many lost their homes, and subsequently part of their culture and part of their lives, stands a beautiful and personal museum where locals have commemorated this tragedy. It was very beautiful. Then, we hit the bus to visit a few Cape Town townships. I don't believe I can quite put into words what it is like to be in a township in South Africa. I can say that although apartheid is over, in some areas, things have barely changed. In the townships there is poverty, crime, severe, severe alcohol abuse, and hopelessness. At an illegal pub, we tried homemade beer made from corn. It looked like milk and we all had to drink from the same giant, metal jug! It was disgusting to say the least, but I don't regret for a minute trying it. When in South Africa, right?
I would just hope that everyone in their lives, if they truly want to be aware of the condition of the people of our world, will visit South Africa and experience, if even for a few hours, as in my case, life in a township. I don't even think many South Africans have experienced township life, especially the white South African population. This fact became strikingly clear when, that same day after the township visit, I hopped on another bus with one of my theater classes to see a play at a local theater company. Suddenly I was thrust into a world of opulence and wealth. And, might I add, this world was mostly white. It was shocking for me, coming from Southern California, where every street corner showcases any given ethnicity at any time. This country is one that is just on the verge of change, of shift, and it is remarkable to experience now what the US went through after our own civil rights movement in the 1960s.
The next day, yesterday, I hiked Table Mountain. What a hike! The vegetation was surreal--Africa looks NOTHING like America! We rode an amazing cable car down the mountain once we reached the summit. The cable car rotated and reminded me of the glass elevator in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. After the hike (and a shower!), some friends and I took a cab to the Greenpoint Market, which only happens on Sundays. Let's just say I bought a FEW things! After some resting, I hit the town for dinner and some nightlife with a large group. South Africa gets a little scarier after dark, sure, but it also comes alive when the sun goes down.
Today I woke up bright and early to hit Stellenbosch for a day of wine-tasting. Liz and I hired Stephen, a registered tour guide, to tour us around the wine lands. He picked us up from the ship in an Audi (!!!!) and we hit the road! From 9am to 5pm all I did was drink wine, eat food, and taste chocolate. Not a bad life, to say the least! Liz and I splurged on ourselves for this luxury tour and we both agreed it was worth every penny. We learned, first of all, how to do a wine-tasting (LOL), how they make wine in South Africa, and a lot about the different, South African wines. I'm an expert now, of course. After a long, hard day of drinking wine, Liz and I returned to the glorious waterfront mall and did some more shopping! I just can't be stopped here!
Now, I'm off to bed early because I have to be up at 5am for my Safari tomorrow! Wish me luck--I hope to see the "Big Five of South Africa": lion, elephant, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe. Cross your fingers that I see all these animals!
I'll write more when I have more stories to tell! Miss and love everyone!
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