We did it .
Table Mountain, reached the top. Bright sunny day, minimal wind so off we went, huffing and puffing we used the " easy " route. The views were absolutely worth it and we were thankfully not mugged. Used the cable car for the downward journey as we had a lot on for the afternoon.
Well those plans went down the drain as our camera stopped working and we spent the time trying to find a place that would repair it in a day, Friday afternoons are not the best time for such things. Now plans for tomorrow have to change too. Initially got stressed but we sat in a garden and chatted and felt much happier after that.
All part of the experience.
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cape Town- Day 2
Tired, surprisingly more so today than yesterday.
Planned to hike up Table mountain with another girl ( met at the tourist information centre) but thanks to the wind it was unsafe to climb. Fingers crossed there is a non windy day before we leave.
Hop on hop off bus took us all around the place. The open top deck was a good way to see the town and the audio accompanying it was very entertaining. There is so much history here and funny folk tales too( the devil' peak- named after a man who beat the devil in a pipe smoking competition and it is the smoke i.e. the clouds that hangs over Table mountain).
Passed District 6 , after having watched District 9 was expecting a similar area but it's 85% grass and weeds ( had read that it had been bulldozed down but thought it would have sprung up again).
Walked around Camp Bay ( the beach area, at the bottom of the mountains), it is picture postcard perfect. Supposedly Prince Harry & Robbie Williams visit the area, disappointingly didn't see either( ! ) , though saw Alan Border at the Brisbane Airport.
Lastly, in every relationship there is always one a bit more responsible than the other. In our case the balance is highly tipped towards Jeevan, at the Brisbane Airport I lost something, very insignificant, but got a talk about vigilance. Today he lost his 2 day pass for the bus and had to buy another one, needs to be vigilant, ha ha.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Planned to hike up Table mountain with another girl ( met at the tourist information centre) but thanks to the wind it was unsafe to climb. Fingers crossed there is a non windy day before we leave.
Hop on hop off bus took us all around the place. The open top deck was a good way to see the town and the audio accompanying it was very entertaining. There is so much history here and funny folk tales too( the devil' peak- named after a man who beat the devil in a pipe smoking competition and it is the smoke i.e. the clouds that hangs over Table mountain).
Passed District 6 , after having watched District 9 was expecting a similar area but it's 85% grass and weeds ( had read that it had been bulldozed down but thought it would have sprung up again).
Walked around Camp Bay ( the beach area, at the bottom of the mountains), it is picture postcard perfect. Supposedly Prince Harry & Robbie Williams visit the area, disappointingly didn't see either( ! ) , though saw Alan Border at the Brisbane Airport.
Lastly, in every relationship there is always one a bit more responsible than the other. In our case the balance is highly tipped towards Jeevan, at the Brisbane Airport I lost something, very insignificant, but got a talk about vigilance. Today he lost his 2 day pass for the bus and had to buy another one, needs to be vigilant, ha ha.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Cape town-day 1
What a day!
On arrival there was a man holding a placard with Cape Town written on it , as well as screaming it aloud, this was to segregate the passengers into two.Just the way he was saying it and the smile he had on his face made everybody laugh as they came in and that set the mood for the day.
Spent the morning trawling the tourist information centers as well the waterfront, beautiful place. Live music and relaxed happy people all around.
The afternoon, not as per initial plan, was spent visiting Robben Island. I read Nelson Mandela's autobiography last year and was keen to see the island where he spent 18 years of his life. His cell was tiny( a bit like my hostel room in year 12).
The initial tour of the island was by an ex prisoner( 10 years there) , he was quite a jolly chap,humored everybody by cracking jokes about their respective countries. He was also quite a name dropper and seemed to have taken every famous person around the island. The ex prisoner who showed us the actual prison was more subdued and slightly depressed( taken the job due to lack of employment opportunities). It was very windy and sand got everywhere. The ferry journey back was like a roller coaster and the whole boat was initially laughing and then the sea sickness kicked in, lots of queasy people around.
Talking about the wind , never seen anything like it. It is a force onto itself. The trees in Robben isle were practically growing horizontal , at one point of time we had to stop walking and sit as the wall ( literally) of wind would not let us move forward and another time we were running due to the wind behind us !
Saw a penguin for the first time as well as a super well groomed unibrow( not on the penguin).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On arrival there was a man holding a placard with Cape Town written on it , as well as screaming it aloud, this was to segregate the passengers into two.Just the way he was saying it and the smile he had on his face made everybody laugh as they came in and that set the mood for the day.
Spent the morning trawling the tourist information centers as well the waterfront, beautiful place. Live music and relaxed happy people all around.
The afternoon, not as per initial plan, was spent visiting Robben Island. I read Nelson Mandela's autobiography last year and was keen to see the island where he spent 18 years of his life. His cell was tiny( a bit like my hostel room in year 12).
The initial tour of the island was by an ex prisoner( 10 years there) , he was quite a jolly chap,humored everybody by cracking jokes about their respective countries. He was also quite a name dropper and seemed to have taken every famous person around the island. The ex prisoner who showed us the actual prison was more subdued and slightly depressed( taken the job due to lack of employment opportunities). It was very windy and sand got everywhere. The ferry journey back was like a roller coaster and the whole boat was initially laughing and then the sea sickness kicked in, lots of queasy people around.
Talking about the wind , never seen anything like it. It is a force onto itself. The trees in Robben isle were practically growing horizontal , at one point of time we had to stop walking and sit as the wall ( literally) of wind would not let us move forward and another time we were running due to the wind behind us !
Saw a penguin for the first time as well as a super well groomed unibrow( not on the penguin).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Holiday Inn
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Malaysia-truly Asia
Arrived at 0530, since then it's been go go go till now. Presently sitting at a salon getting my hair done, important way to start the holidays.
Visited the Batu caves this morning, God's blessings for the year ahead. 320 or more stairs got us to the top, the caves are pretty but the changes made by human hands are pretty obvious .
Had breakfast at a pure vegetarian restaurant(felt like I was in India) - idli and coconut water, my regular breakfast in college.
Shopped at a massive mall filled with electronic goods,ask for any good and the question is - original? Even the antidiarrhoeal I bought for our camping trip in Africa was sold to us as original. Never seen before , being sold at the drug store was anti flatulence tablets.
Now my hair, then the towers, the hotel and then the airport.
More from South Africa tomorrow.
Visited the Batu caves this morning, God's blessings for the year ahead. 320 or more stairs got us to the top, the caves are pretty but the changes made by human hands are pretty obvious .
Had breakfast at a pure vegetarian restaurant(felt like I was in India) - idli and coconut water, my regular breakfast in college.
Shopped at a massive mall filled with electronic goods,ask for any good and the question is - original? Even the antidiarrhoeal I bought for our camping trip in Africa was sold to us as original. Never seen before , being sold at the drug store was anti flatulence tablets.
Now my hair, then the towers, the hotel and then the airport.
More from South Africa tomorrow.
Location:Hair salon
Leaving on a jet plane
At the airport. The day is finally here- planning , saving, waiting.
The last week has been a blur of activity, we started with a bag each 5 years ago, accumulated a houseful of things to sort, trash, sell and store.
Walking to breakfast today Jeevan said-we are like two jobless people- that is semi right, out of the workforce for a year but not without things to do. Rough plan formulated and it seems like a pretty full on year ahead .
Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning-here we come.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The last week has been a blur of activity, we started with a bag each 5 years ago, accumulated a houseful of things to sort, trash, sell and store.
Walking to breakfast today Jeevan said-we are like two jobless people- that is semi right, out of the workforce for a year but not without things to do. Rough plan formulated and it seems like a pretty full on year ahead .
Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning-here we come.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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