SOUTH AFRICA
Johannesburg
So, I'm about two hours late arriving to our hotel in Johannesburg, which was absolutely NOT my fault. A late plane and ridiculously long customs line were to blame, but I don't think those excuses were of any comfort to Emma and Ime who had been waiting for me in the lobby for those 2 hours. When I finally get there, we make our way to the Apartheid museum which was serious and sombering and all the things it should be. It was also the spot where I got my first glimpse of the picture whore Ime turned out to be. Just imagine, you're walking through exhibit after exhibit, all dedicated to the injustices imposed on anyone whose skin was not as lily white as mine, and this is what w
e do:
I can feel your shame through the internet and yes, I share it.
After that, we took a tour of the Soweto township which is huge and much more diverse than you realize. There were parts of it that could pass for any middle class suburb in the US, with the exception of an electrified fence around them all. The nicer ones looked like this:
The not so nice ones were more like this:
That was definitely an interesting experience. It was this weird mix of wanting to go into these areas because they're so different from anything I've ever seen, a bit of fear as a total outsider, and hesitation to take pictures or stare too long for fear of treating the people who live here like they're some exhibit at the zoo, rather than people living their lives.
And then our tour guy tried to shake us down for an extra $25 but Ime stayed strong at the price we agreed on. (Quick tip for you women traveling to Africa: put away your feminist sensibilities and let the men in your group do any of the negotiating, paying, etc.. It helps if that guy is like 6'5" and 220 lbs, but work with what you got.)
It's bright and early for us the next day as we head out to Pilanesburg, about two hours outside of Johannesburg, for our safari. The drive there was memorable for two reasons: 1. We were having tea in the hotel when the tour guide arrived and was all "take your time" so we lingered another 5 or 10 minutes over the tea while he himself had a cup. As we get out to the car, there are three other people waiting while we were just chilling inside! I would have been so mad if I were them. and 2. We stopped at a gas station and I went in and got what I thought was a cheese pie (throwback to my time in Greece) and as I bit into it, I got a mouthful of gross, greasy sausage. It was so unappealing even Ime wouldn't touch it. I swore vengeance on that Quick Stop and if I'm ever there again, I'll have it.
Anywho, we got to the national park and to be honest, I didn't think we were going to see much wildlife. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised. It was the second safari for Emma and me but it was Ime's first, so he was taking twenty pictures of every animal we came across. He got pretty testy at the end when his battery died and he wasn't able to take pictures of the only giraffe we saw on the safari as well as the "elusive black rhino" that crossed the street right in front of us. Adding to the wound were all the pictures of warthogs and wildebeests he had taken, which are a dime a dozen out there.
The highlight of the safari was getting surrounded by elephants in the middle of the road. They were seriously about 5 feet from the car. And HUGE. See, look:
That's not on zoom folks.
Just after this picture was taken, they started staring us down and our awesome tour guide, Cromwell, told us all to sit still and not move; an order most of us obeyed because Cromwell clearly knew his stuff when it came to wildlife. Ime, on the other hand, decided to stick his head out the window and take some more pictures, at which point Emma, fearing death by stomping, yelled "Sit down, THIS IS NOT A ZOO!!" A chastised Ime did sit back down and luckily the elephants left without incident, but there might have been the tiniest bit of urine under our seats.
South Africa, part 2 coming soon. I gotta go watch Flavor of Love. I mean, C-SPAN.
Johannesburg
So, I'm about two hours late arriving to our hotel in Johannesburg, which was absolutely NOT my fault. A late plane and ridiculously long customs line were to blame, but I don't think those excuses were of any comfort to Emma and Ime who had been waiting for me in the lobby for those 2 hours. When I finally get there, we make our way to the Apartheid museum which was serious and sombering and all the things it should be. It was also the spot where I got my first glimpse of the picture whore Ime turned out to be. Just imagine, you're walking through exhibit after exhibit, all dedicated to the injustices imposed on anyone whose skin was not as lily white as mine, and this is what w
e do:
I can feel your shame through the internet and yes, I share it.
After that, we took a tour of the Soweto township which is huge and much more diverse than you realize. There were parts of it that could pass for any middle class suburb in the US, with the exception of an electrified fence around them all. The nicer ones looked like this:
The not so nice ones were more like this:
That was definitely an interesting experience. It was this weird mix of wanting to go into these areas because they're so different from anything I've ever seen, a bit of fear as a total outsider, and hesitation to take pictures or stare too long for fear of treating the people who live here like they're some exhibit at the zoo, rather than people living their lives.
And then our tour guy tried to shake us down for an extra $25 but Ime stayed strong at the price we agreed on. (Quick tip for you women traveling to Africa: put away your feminist sensibilities and let the men in your group do any of the negotiating, paying, etc.. It helps if that guy is like 6'5" and 220 lbs, but work with what you got.)
It's bright and early for us the next day as we head out to Pilanesburg, about two hours outside of Johannesburg, for our safari. The drive there was memorable for two reasons: 1. We were having tea in the hotel when the tour guide arrived and was all "take your time" so we lingered another 5 or 10 minutes over the tea while he himself had a cup. As we get out to the car, there are three other people waiting while we were just chilling inside! I would have been so mad if I were them. and 2. We stopped at a gas station and I went in and got what I thought was a cheese pie (throwback to my time in Greece) and as I bit into it, I got a mouthful of gross, greasy sausage. It was so unappealing even Ime wouldn't touch it. I swore vengeance on that Quick Stop and if I'm ever there again, I'll have it.
Anywho, we got to the national park and to be honest, I didn't think we were going to see much wildlife. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised. It was the second safari for Emma and me but it was Ime's first, so he was taking twenty pictures of every animal we came across. He got pretty testy at the end when his battery died and he wasn't able to take pictures of the only giraffe we saw on the safari as well as the "elusive black rhino" that crossed the street right in front of us. Adding to the wound were all the pictures of warthogs and wildebeests he had taken, which are a dime a dozen out there.
The highlight of the safari was getting surrounded by elephants in the middle of the road. They were seriously about 5 feet from the car. And HUGE. See, look:
That's not on zoom folks.
Just after this picture was taken, they started staring us down and our awesome tour guide, Cromwell, told us all to sit still and not move; an order most of us obeyed because Cromwell clearly knew his stuff when it came to wildlife. Ime, on the other hand, decided to stick his head out the window and take some more pictures, at which point Emma, fearing death by stomping, yelled "Sit down, THIS IS NOT A ZOO!!" A chastised Ime did sit back down and luckily the elephants left without incident, but there might have been the tiniest bit of urine under our seats.
South Africa, part 2 coming soon. I gotta go watch Flavor of Love. I mean, C-SPAN.
posted by staca at
9:31 PM
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