I'm BACK!!! And this time round, I'm not leaving for anywhere, anytime, FOR NOW.
Well, just got back from Cape Town, South Africa, this morning. Wanted to puke on the flight. It's the 4th flight trip in a month and enough is enough! I can't take anymore flight, even to KL! But if I'm going BKK, that's another issue all over again. *grinz* (
of coz i'm not going to BKK but my mum is, in August! Argghhh....)Anyway,
I fell in love with Cape Town! I really did!!! What's not to like there???? Beautiful sceneries, great & friendly pple, yummy (and i really mean it) seafood, cooling weather and I lived like a Queen for a week there (in comparison to Europe). To EuroGang: Everyone SHOULD BE THERE!! well, not as though Europe sucks but man the sights in South Africa!!! WOW x1000!!! To all those who actually thought Cape Town's some
ulu pandan place, hideouts for refugees and cannibals, dirty & filthy streets, carnivores running around eating pple, animals running aside the cars.
EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!! I've got photos to prove you guys wrong!!
This's the Waterfront. It's about 5 min walk away from the hotel that we were staying. It's a touristy place with lots of seafood restaurants.
Sis and I walking along the waterfront on the 1st day.
Mummy enjoying her fresh oyster on the 1st night when we were there.
To the winelands! This's the 1st wineland that we went to. There were 3 winelands that we went and we drank 5 glasses of white and red wine at each wineland. you can imagine how a good night sleep I had that night. haha...
We had lunch at the 2nd wineland and this's the view from my table. Lovely, isn't it?? abit chilly though.
This's inside the 3rd wineland. The wines are really cheap!!
It's easy to sight animals while driving along the roads. Here's a real close-up encounter with a male ostrich.
and there's zebras...
We were at the flea market on Sunday morning and we went back again on Sunday noon. Too much stuff to see. alot of interesting authentic African stuff.
We had lunch along the coast on Sunday noon when Caltex's external Officer brought us around. Delicious Fish & Chips.
This's the small restaurant that we went to.
I just can't get enough of taking pics at this place. haha
The strong current along the beach in Cape Town. Oh and the prices of these appartments are ridiculous. But there's nothing much to complain about if you're filthy rich.
I brought my mum to Robben Island on one of the weekdays. Here's at the Museum, waiting for the ferry to bring us across to the Island.
I thought this's a real interesting and meaningful coke vending machine found in the museum. A real testimonial...
Mummy and I on board the ferry. The sea breeze was really cold but I insisted on sitting outside.
The dock at Robben Island.
Alright, for those who are as clueless as me about what Robben Island is, it used to be a prison. and what's so special about this prison is coz Nelson Mandela, South Africa's President spent 18 out of his 27 years of incarceration on this island. To quote the brochure: Robben Island is known the world over as a places of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. Robben Island came to symbolize, not only for South Africa and the African continent, but also for the entire world, the triumph of the human spirit over enormous hardship and adversity.
This's one of the oldest prison that you can find on the island. The grey row of houses are actually for dogs! The brown house on the left is where the 1st prisoner was kept for 6 yrs. While he's there, he's not allowed to speak a word. And of coz at the end of 6 yrs, he had to brought to another prison on the mainland coz he had become mentally disturbed and suffered from a disease.
Here's at the coldest point on the island.
Shipwrecks are common on the island, actually for the whole of Cape Town esp at Cape Point. Here's the remains of one of the 29 shipwrecks that happened on the island.
This pic's taken at the lime quarry where many of the ex political prisoners were forced to work at the quarry for 13 yrs. Nelson Mandela worked here too. You see the cave? it's no ordinary hole, they called it the University of Robben Island. And there's a good enough reason to call it that name. But it's too complicated to explain it here. haha
This's the maximum-security prison where they housed all the ex political prisoners
This's the tour guide for the max security prison. He's no ordinary tour guide coz he used to be one of the political prisoners and he was imprisoned for exactly 6 yrs and 6 mths. Somehow, I can still sense the sadness and feel the sufferings that he had been thru. I think it's all in his eyes.
This's Nelson Mandela's cell.
And this's the whole row of cells.
We finished the tour on Robben Island after visiting the max security prison. When I 1st read the brochure b4 visiting the island, I didn't think that it would have such a great impact on me. I think this place deserved a visit from everyone who's going to Cape Town. It taught me a great deal on racial discrimination and left me with loads of lingering thoughts and lots of reflections upon myself. A deserving World Heritage Site.
This's the end of the 1st Part of my South Africa Trip. There'll be more to come! What's Cape Town without the infamous Cape Point and Table Mt?
I wanna travel around the world to take beautiful photos.
Adel
