INTO AFRICA: CAPE TOWN

I realize that I haven't posted in some time, not that anyone's waiting with baited breath, but I'm back again. I suppose I never intended for my trip to be slave to constant blog posts, and I just caught with travelling and then some stuff back home. That said, I probably write most when I miss people back home. If you get a chance, hit me up and let me know what you're up to!

So let me bring you up to speed (skipping some portions of course). Between June 12 and June 23, I was exploring Cape Town. A few things struck me about city. First, I read somewhere that cape town was the gastronomic capital of South Africa, and I am a complete and total believer. First, my sister and I diverged from a PBJ type diet to go to Aubergine, which was described by the nytimes, lonely planet, and just people in general as one of the best places in town. There was a pre-set menu with two options per course, and we each ordered a different three course meal. And destroyed it. Actually, my favorite part wasn't even a course, it was the inter mezzo (thank you Michelle for this term): a sweet and spicy plum sorbet. Then, there's the seafood. For those of you who read Michelle's post, bar for seafood here is pretty high. We bought some fresh snoek (apparently, this is barracuda?), and Michelle and I bought what would later become a mean Tandoori Kingclip. Third, the wine. About an hour outside of Cape town, in Stellenbosch, is some of the best wine in the South Africa. I went on a wine tour with my sis, and then later took a two-day trip with Michelle that was both stainful and epic. We ate at a place called 96 Winery Road, highlights were the Crocodile Kabobs and ask me for a picture of my Duck and Cherry main course--it was art.

Although I wouldn't say we were party animals, Cape Town definitely has some diverse nightlife. When I was staying for the first few days with my family, I went to a place with my sis called Cafe Ganesh in a suburb outside of town. In one room with the bar, people were watching Euro 2008, in another others were listening to Mozambiquan jazz. Ami and I polished off a bottle of wine and one of the best desserts I've ever tasted in my life (the lemon meringue). I'm not exaggerating, and I dragged Abhay and Michelle back there for a bit the next Saturday to prove it. On Saturday, to commemorate the party's arrival (and by the party, I mean my friend Abhay), we got on some list at a club called Hemisphere through a hostel. The club was on the 31st floor of a skyscraper in Cape Town, and though the view was not as amazing as expected, the music and experience was pretty sick, or "luxury" as one might say. Last call is also 4 am. Nice.

Otherwise, we've just been doing the quintessential Cape Town things. When I think about Cape Town, I have always imagined it as a port city, which it is, but it is also a city nestled in a mountain. The streets are hilly, and the view driving into the city is downright imposing every day. The crazy thing about Table Mountain is that, although it is commercialized and close to the city, even the easiest hike was a tough 2 hours and a lot of people have to take the cable car up. The view at the top was amazing, but the different angles and scenery along the way was equally impressive...definitely worth the sore quads. Michelle, Abhay, and I also rented a car (yes, I was driving again) and took a day trip to Cape Point. Besides the assorted detours involving chasing penguins and jumping around boulders, the Cape of Good Hope was the highlight. I went to a boulder out on the very edge on the rocks, and got hit by a wave of water so tall I honestly thought I was about to get swept into the ocean. Abhay watched the wave hit me as if I was crazy, until he decided to join me and we got soaked again. Michelle and about ten other skeptical onlookers stood farther back, as if preparing to call 911, but I needed to feel the ocean water to be convinced that I was literally at the edge of the earth. Finally, we toured Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept for decades before the end of Apartheid. The tour was only two hours, but it was compelling. I've read Mandela's autobiography, but 17 years in this place is pretty damn real. For some reason, the hole in the limestone quarry was what stuck out to me the most. It must have been at least 20 meters tall and the size of a football field, and the thought of how many days it would take the political prisoners to chip away a hole that big was humbling.

Okay, well I can't seem to keep these things short, but I can promise that my next post will not be as long. Actually, I can't.



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Amar Shah
Somewhere in Southern Africa
+27 72 901 9840