I write my posts in Word frst, and for the first time, that bit me in the ass, as I forgot to save yesterday's and lost it. I don't really feel like writing the 3.5 pages again. This day wasn't all that interesting. I went to see some of the more outside parts of the Angkor complex, like the Bolous Group and the Preah Temples, which were all quite nice. The weather was better. Dinner at Touich Restaurant was lovely; another intimate outdoor restaurant. All in all, a nice last day in Siem Reap.
So, what I'll do is post something I meant to post earlier. I wrote an overall recap of my time in Cape Town when I was leaving. Since by the time my flights out of Africa ended I was sick all over, I forgot to post it. Anyway, I've put it below.
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So, what I'll do is post something I meant to post earlier. I wrote an overall recap of my time in Cape Town when I was leaving. Since by the time my flights out of Africa ended I was sick all over, I forgot to post it. Anyway, I've put it below.
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Now that I have finished the tourism aspect of my trip to
Cape Town, it is a good time to look back at what I saw in my time here. Before
I came, my extremely well-traveled Uncle told me that Cape Town is one of the
best cities in the world, a place that anyone would love. Now, he has said that
about a lot of places (St. Petersburg and Paris, to name two), but he was
absolutely right. Like many special places, it is kind of hard to describe, but
I’ll try. There aren’t too many cities I can think of that are as notable for
their natural beauty, especially natural sights that are close by like Cape
Point or Table Mountain (or even Kirstenbosch). Cape Town’s greatest asset is
its location, tucked in behind the mountains and inside Table Mountain and in
front of Hout and False Bay. It is hard to accurately describe just how
stunning the views are on the way to the Cape of Good Hope, and it is even more
amazing given that none of these mountains are particularly high (for instance,
Table Mountain’s highest point in 1,087 metres), and this isn’t close to any real
mountain range, nor does it have any of the activities you normally associate
with mountains (skiing, etc.). In fact, just below these beautiful mountains
are beaches that easily could be taken right out of the Caribbean.
The city of Cape Town itself is probably as European a city
as you will get in Africa (I’m willing to bet on that, despite spending just
one day in any other part of Africa), with long, open streets with nice, old
architecture, and open markets. But add to that an almost San Fransico-ized
waterfront (or London-ized), and you get the best of both. For a US traveler,
it is relatively cheap, other than the transport around the city. I kind of
splurged (at least compared to what I usually spend) on meals ordering an
appetizer and entrée on most of my meals, but I did that knowing that I would
rarely ever do that in Vietnam & Cambodia (my next two spots), which have
cheaper and less stylized cuisines. I also ate at only reputable restaurants,
and in the case of Sevruga and City Grill, high-end restaurants, and never
spent too much had I been someone with the budget that I really don’t have
(what I’m saying is I better start having more ‘Irish’ meals in Asia), so
anyone with more money than a person coming out of college with a decent amount
to spend (me) would find Cape Town extremely affordable. I was lucky, in terms
of weather, that it didn’t ever rain, was only cloudy for one half-morning, and
the breeze was light enough to make the temperature drop into the ‘perfect’
range, without the breeze ever becoming a nuisance. I’m no meteorologist, but
from all accounts, Cape Town is some crazy anomaly. In a country with terrible
summer rains, it rarely ever rains in summer in Cape Town (but does in Winter).
After the visual brilliance, the weather might be the second best part of Cape
Town.
Out of the sights, they were a little hit and miss. Table
Mountain and the Peninsula (the Bays, Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, Chapman’s
Peak, etc.) were incredible. Each stunning view begat more stunning views. The
more active sites were slightly disappointing. On the wine tour, the best part
was probably conversing with the Scandinavians or the natural beauty of the
Stellenbosch region. The wine itself was disappointing, but I’m not too much
into wine in general, and many of the other people on the tour seemed to like
the wine more, and their opinions are most likely based in more previous
experience. Robben Island is what it is, a prison. It is definitely meaningful
and thought-provoking to see the squalidly simplistic conditions Mandela lived
in, but if you just imagine what a cramped cell would feel like, you can easily
get the picture. I didn’t go to many of the museums, but the two I did go to I
would recommend. The District Six museum might have been a more impactful look
into the Apartheid era than Robben Island, because it focused on the real
victims, the thousands that were forced out of their homes and saw their
neighborhood destroyed. The aquarium was one of the best designed aquariums I
have been to, if a little expensive. I can’t .speak to Kirstenbosch, but given
my experience with other sites selling the natural beauty of the Cape, it is
probably amazing. Add it all up, and Cape Town is a beautiful city with good
people, great food, good drink, great weather, and sites that alternate between
incredible and decidedly average.
On the whole, it fits in solidly behind Madrid/Barcelona
(Madrid has more to see and do, Barcelona has better weather and is probably
more fun) and Singapore (the most incredible city to spend a short period of
time in) on my personal rankings of best international cities to visit (random
point, I can only think of one US city that I would put on that level, and that
is Chicago, only during non-summer, just because of the ridiculous amount of
things to do). I honestly feel that Cape Town deserves its place at the #4 spot
and the only cities I could see challenging it on the rest of my trip are
Melbourne (a Barcelona where the people speak English), Cairns (has its own
variety of natural beauty with the reef that could challenge Cape Town) and
Tokyo (probably not, but I really have no idea what I am in store for in
Tokyo). I will never forget my working week (Monday through Friday) in Cape
Town. I’ll be sad I couldn’t go to Kirstenbosch, or eat at Miller’s Thumb, and
the next time I come, I will definitely rent a car – parking is plentiful – but
I came here with high expectations, and Cape Town exceeded them
