In Namibia....

We have stopped over in the heavily influenced German town of Swakomund in Namibia en route north. It's a nice break from the early morning starts, camping food and long, bumpy truck rides. The overland tour is pretty good as some of the parks are quite inaccessible unless you go by a tour and everyone from Germany, Belguim, Korea, Japan and Canada are generally getting along. I am pitching a tent with a Japanese traveller who has been gone for over a year and is slowly making his way through Africa and the Middle East towards Japan. We are sleeping at mainly camp sites that are quite comfortable with running water. Watch out for the occasional scorpion crawling by though.

We left South Africa earlier this week and entered Namibia. It's one of the most underpopulated countries in Africa with a population of under two million. There are hardly any cars or trucks on the highway which constantly change from tar roads to gravel and then back to tar. I have not seen any bicyclist or motorcyclist touring here as the settlements are quite a distance from each other and the sun is strong. Swakomund is suppose to be one of their most popular cities and it feels more like a small town or a weekday in New Westminster. The coastline is extremely inhospitable and there is only one port in the whole country. The main coast known as the Skeleton Coast has a history causing ship wrecks. However, the people are all very friendly and there isn't edgy feeling to this country as in South Africa.

One of the highlights of visiting Namibia is definitely going out to the red sand dunes in the Namib Desert and watching a sunrise. I particular like the way the light changes the colour of the sand every few seconds. The sand is extremely fine and the colour is caused by its' iron content. The Namib Desert is not expanding as the winds blowing from the north and south are of equal strength but the dunes are constantly changing shapes. Speaking of sand dunes, I went quad-biking nearby Swakopmund and the coast.Initially, I was skeptical but it's a lot of fun going over the dunes and at times feels like skiing. Going around the bends in tight turns and down steep inclines was a blast.

We leave tomorrow and head northeast towards the Etosha National Park. It's known for the water holes where you can see the elephants, lions, onyxs and other wildlife come for a drink of water. Talk to you later.

Capetown and Roasted Chicken

After a late night ferry ride, bus ride, an uncomfortable sleep at Heathrow Airport, and three flight connections totaling five meals and six movies, I arrived in Capetown. It's a beautiful city nestled in a valley with the surrounding Table Mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean, and Lion Peak jutting right in the center. Capetown very scenic from the air as the airplane swings around the city and you are greeted by Table Mountain, named by a British captain because it looked like one.

Capetown and from what I guess, South Africa puzzles me, interesting but full of paradoxes. On the one hand, Capetown feels like any developed Western country. There's safe drinking water from the tap, clean streets, familar brand-name shops like the GAP, Espirit and yes, Cash Converters. I even get hassled by the police for not wearing a helmet on a scooter. Contrasting this is feeling of poverty. Coming by the airport, you pass townships where the houses are made of rusted sheet metal on dirt ground. There are plenty of people begging and the unemployment rate is very high. People who find work, usually make as little as 5-10 rand ($1.50)/ hour and the social welfare system is pretty simple... You don't have work, you are screwed. No unemployment benefits or social assistance here.

You have to get buzzed into most shops through gates and there are unofficial car guards (usually wearing something yellow) who watch your parked car. All the expensive houses have walls topped topped with barb wire. It's funny but when you rent a car, you are told it is legal for you to run a red light if you feel threated.

Capetown feels pretty safe in the main city center, especially down Long Street which is their main street. I've avoided going to the outskirts, and definitely not the Cape Flats, or walking between certain districts at night, especially with a backpack. Unfortunately, safety is a real concern in these areas. I spoke with a pleasant cleaning lady at the hostel who lived in a township half an hour away. She described it as "a nice place except for the robbers." She related how her neighbourhood gang put a machine gun right up to her stomach demanding her cell phone. Another time, I hiked up Table Mountain with a baloon entertainer who had major scaring on his face and arm. Only later did I find out the work man he had hired committed a home invasion by throwing battery acid on him. The robber got ten years jail.

At other times, Capetown feels remarkably like Vancouver with a nearby local mountian to hike up although I think it more adventurous as it's a unsheltered rock face and the weather is very unpredictable. I hiked up, climbing up the rock face and suddenly a strong south easterly came and it changed from a sunny, muggy day to a windy, cold, and mist filled condition. Easy to get lost. The cable car will suddenly announce it is closing due to a strong wind condition and you are stuck to a wet trudge back down. There is also an impressive series of bay and beaches nearby with cold sea water. In addition, Capetown has the Victoria and Albert Waterfront area which is similar to Granville Island but bigger with more shops and restaurants and a good place to spend a relaxing afternoon.

From this wharf area, I took the tour to Robbin Island in which the political prison is located that held Nelson Mandela for his first sixteen years of imprisonment beginning in the 1960's. The tour is devided into a bus tour of the sites of the former leper colony, military base and prison. The second half of the tour is in the prison with an ex-political prisoner but it seemed rushed as we were shown Nelson Mandela's cell and two areas in the prison. Maybe it has to do with the sheer number of tourists visiting there and the relative small size of the prison. I thought the District Six Musuem gave a better impression how apartheid affected people. District Six is an area of Capetown (initially on the outskirts of town) in which a thriving community of Blacks, Asians and Indians was declared suddenly as a "whites only area" and their homes and businesses were bulldozed between 1960 to 1980's.

I never knew Nando's Chicken came from South Africa and low and behold,the South Africans love their roasted chicken. It's considered fast food here and you can pick a whole chicken for under four bucks. Food is great in Capetown as the influence of the Indian, Cape Malays, Portuguese can be tasted in their curries, fish and game meat. Where else can you pick up a tasty ostrich pie for under a buck.

I'm off to twenty-two day overland tour from Capetown to Victoria Falls through Namibia, Botswana and Zambabwe. Hope you are all doing well.

Some Jibber Jabber about Traveling

I find that after traveling a bit, and talking with other solo travellers, you have to be wary of becoming a "bitter and jaded traveller".There are symptoms of this condition and I think if you catch all of them, it´s time to go home:

First, you start to become extremely critical of places and begin to compare one site to another... a mountain, beach, show, museum, etc. and immediately write off a place, saying cynically ¨but it´s better at...¨ You forget to appreciate these places and people for what they, at that moment.

Second, you start to brag about how many countries you´ve seen or how long you´ve been gone. You begin to check off countries like it was some kind of personal list of conquest or it´s a big accomplishment to be away from home for so long. It´s funny to see some travellers who seem to gauge themselves or others on these two things and it´s some kind of weird competition to see who is at the top of the hill.

Third, you begin to have a short attention span. Travelling can be like an addiction, and if you get bored with a place, you just pick up your stuff and go to another city, country or continent. You tend to hit all the sites at once and once you see one thing, you try to see a bigger, better one the next time. As staying in one place cost time and money, there is less opportunity for that sense of exploration and discovery to slowly develope and that being bored is part of life.

Fourth, you start to talk to yourself alot, occasionally having one or two arguments. On the positive side, you always win. On the negative side, you always lose.

Fifth, you find it difficult to form long-term relationships. Since most of time your thoughts are your only company, or you have these short-term and intense friendships which usually last for a few days and as you head one way, your ¨friend¨ heads the other. Traveling is very transitory lifestyle in where you eat, shit and sleep and who you meet.

Sixth, you expect to pay what the locals pay (especially in developing countries). You become extremely frustrated when the locals (who significantly make a lot less than you) pay less and you think it´s unfair that you´re getting ripped off. Guess what, you´re not a local and life isn´t fair. The vendor may determine the price but you determine what you are willing to pay.

Seventh, you travel to avoid going to home and face the ¨real world.¨ Traveling is a very unnatural thing as you are not in a state of rountine and you constantly put yourself or are put in situations, locales, etc. that you would normally not be in at home. In some ways as a traveller, I feel I´m just a vagrant with money.

Eigth, you start to play funny games with yourself like... how many days you can wear the same T-shirt (13 days, how many consecutive meals of gyros I can eat (6) or how long you can fake being Japanese (3 hours).

As I´ve only developed three of these symptoms, I think I can travel a bit more. I'm off to Capetown tomorrow.

The Last Taste of Spain

Back in England and I am staying with my good friends in the small town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. When you fly the low cost airline carriers, they tend to fly into airports barely in the cities they advertise. Milan and Barcelona are over an hour away on the highway by bus and flying into "London" usually turns out to be the Stanstead airport which is just under a hour north of London by express train. Great in the afternoon (when I landed) but a real hassle at night or in the early morning when the flights usually take off. The taxi ride often costs more than the price of the plane ticket. Most travellers usually elect to sleep overnight at the airport.

Having spent almost the last two months in the sun, beaches and semi-arid landscape, seeing the English green countryside was a nice change. Can you believe, I don't even mind the rain (for now). It's a real treat to have home cooking, clean laundry, and great company again, and not having to move around for a while. Traveling feels like work at times and it can get tiring as every place I go, I have to find a place to sleep, eat, shop for groceries, internet, etc. and oh yeah, sight see. By the time I know my way around, it is usually time to leave and I pack up and onto the next village, town, or city. Now, I'm enjoying just watching a DVD, cooking pasta sauce or Chinese food, or walking my friends' son to his kindergarten class.

Before I left Spain, I visited Cordoba and Granada. Cordoba is still one of my favorite cities in Spain and for me the best one in Andalucia. Not overly touristy with plenty of good cheap accomdations in the old quarter, which is a pleasant maze of twisting lanes, plazas and old Jewish and Muslim architecture. The remains of the city wall and bridge can also be seen, as well as the fabulous Mezquita. The Mezquita is a great mosque built in 785 AD on an old church site and when the Spanish defeated the Moors, and entered the mosque, intending to destroy it but decided to make it into a church after seeing how beautiful it was. It's the second largest mosque outside of the Middle East. For me, it's one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. After you pass the main gate, the lined orange court yard and enter the church, there are rows and rows of multiple coloured stones arches and columns, and tiles of geometric Islamic designs which nicely compliment the Spanish Baroque artwork. You can admire both the great eastern and western art forms in one place. Try to come early in the morning before the bus tours come, and walk between the columns as the choir sings during an early church service. You can enter the church for free on some Monday mornings before 10 am and save yourself eight Euros.

Granada is a hilly city surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountain range, so you can really get those leg muscles to work. The old city is in the bottom of a small valley as the rest of the city is built along two hillsides. Granada was the last holdout for the Moors who finally surrendered in 1492. The Moors left behind the Alhambra, a fortress, palace, garden and patio complex built at the height of their power. The exterior palace is simple and functional but the Muslim rulers focused the artwork in the inside. The Alhambra is best known for the highly decorated and carved stucco and wooden walls and interiors full of Islamic writings and designs and symetrically peaceful gardens and fountains. Don't forget to look up on the roof. The Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain and only a limited number of 6000 tickets are sold a day. Save yourself some headache and buy the tickets ahead of time and avoid lining up as I did for an hour or so for one of the 1000 tickets sold that day. You can spend a whole day there and despite the large number crowds, the palace is beautiful and the garden's peaceful. It's kind of ironic that back then, the Moors were hated but it is only because of them that the tourist come now to this city and spend money. Granada is probably the most Moor influenced city in Spain as you can sip in tea houses, hear Arabic in the streets and barter with Moroocan shop keepers over some glass lamps.

Granada is also one of the last cities in Spain where you get free tapas with every drink. You can get a little sandwich of pork, cheese and tomatoe in one bar, fried octopus or french fries and rice in another. It's great fun just wandering from bar to bar trying the different tapas in each one.

Time for a little snooze. Good night all.