Last View of SA

I am spending my last day in South Africa in the city of Durban before heading northward to Swaziland for some hiking in the mountain regions. Durban is the third largest city in this country and reknown for it's beaches and strong surf of warm water from the Indian Ocean. The city seems a bit run-down though but there is a big East Indian population. Great curries and somosas!!!!! There is also a cheap meal for about $2 you can get around here called the "bunny chow," which is essentially half a loaf of fresh bread scooped out and poured with lamb, mutton, or chicken curry. Delicious as the bread absorbs the sauce. I haven't tried the other South African culinary invention yet... the cheese burger pie.

Before I left Harare, I decided to visit the National Botanical Gardens of Zimbabwe. Don't bother around this time of year. It should be aptly re-named the National Burnt Grass of Zimbabwe. The place is a bit past it's hey-day and not well-maintained. I least I argued my way into using the bathroom without paying a fee. The "gardens" are located near the Presidential Palace as the the road takes you past the high walls, cameras, and impressive number of soldiers. I guess president Mugabe believes in the ol' motto of "keep your friends close, but keep your heavily-armed soldier bodyguards even closer!" Don't wander around the streets surrounding the palace between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. as the soldiers have orders to shoot first and ask questions later.

I took the overnight bus back to South Africa to Johannesburg or Jo'burg as the locals call the city. The ride was uneventful except for two things. At the border, the immigration officer tried to extort some money from me. I was surprise this occurred on the South Africian side. One of the officers took me aside to a room with a few selected passengers. He demanded to see my passport and all my money on the pretext I was hiding drugs in them. He wanted to count how much I had in my money belt but I insisted I would count infront of him instead. I was a bit taken back when he sweetly suggested, "Wouldn't I like to give him some US dollars" in a room with two other passengers and officers. I refused and put my money away.

Then the bus driver got lost in Jo'burg for a hour trying to find the bus station with the other passengers arguing and telling him which way to go. It was pretty funny as I had already anticipated arriving late. Unlike Capetown, the city center of Jo'burg (and to much extent Durban)is pretty sketchy and daylight armed muggings are not uncommon. The area around the main bus station is pretty bad and you are almost guaranteed to get robbed if you walk out of the station. The hostel owner has picked up travellers on numerous occasions from the police station after being robbed because they decided to have a look around. I find that in the city bus stations and on inter-city buses you will hardly ever see any non-blacks. The public transport system in Jo-burg is pathetic and definitely needs to improve before the World Cup in 2010. And as much as I hate to admit it, in South Africa, I gauge how safe an area is by how many "Non-blacks" I see walking around.

I will always associate Jo'burg with strip malls and shopping complex. I stayed mainly in the safer suburbs of Jo'burg for grocery shopping, cooking and watching movies at hostel. I took a tour of Soweto, probably the most famous township in South Africa. The tour was expensive and felt a bit rushed, but I got a passing glimpse of life in the township. Soweto has homes that range from brick buildings that look like they are from an average suburb to shanty shacks with tin roofs and wooden walls where the one room acts as a kitchen, dining room and bedroom and running water is non-existent. Soweto also has the Hector Pieterson Museum, near the site where the eleven year old boy was shot in 1976 during a protest march against being forced to use the Afrikaan language in school. The anti-apartheid movement gathered momentum after this occurred.

The bus is here.. got to go.