South Africa Part 4

And then I took the train to Cape Town. A fancy train for tourists. On this occasion I declined the cheaper option and went in style. Sort of.

Some of my favourite pictures from the entire trip came from this journey. A lot of people pass through South Africa and don't see the vast arid interior. It's not your typical tourist attraction admittedly, but the desert has a different kind of beauty that I didn't want to miss. And I wanted to feel the heat too. A lovely dry heat which made the frigid temperatures of Korea a forgotten memory. (Is that an oxymoron? Should I go with the cliched "distant memory" instead? I think so.) The dry heat of Africa turned the frigid temperatures of Korea into a distant memory.



New pal and chess connoisseur Ben and I passed the time with a few games in the lounge while waiting for our delayed train.



Smashin'!



Planes fly so high that they propose a far more detached experience for the traveller. On a train you get to see the landscape change, sometimes in increments, and sometimes with a sudden drama. Train travellers in Africa heading south first get to witness the gradual emergence of new flora on approaching the cape. The aridity of the Karoo gives way to some hesitant farms, the train then takes roughly 10 minutes to pass through a tunnel, and emerges into the Cape Winelands; the explosion of colour rousing passengers out of their daytime ennui. Everyone is excited to arrive in Cape Town.









Mountains also return to the landscape down here. We choofed into Cape Town station after a long right hand turn which slowly exposed the magnificent Table Mountain. That afternoon, it was adorned with the iconic "tablecloth" - the clouds which periodically billow over the crest.

Attempting to find my hostel in the dusk was at once stirring and disquieting. Cape Town is a remarkable city and I was immediately captivated by its ambience, created by its landscape of dramatic hills and proximity to the sea, coupled with the turbulent history of the place. But once again I had misjudged the distances on the map and I convinced myself I'd be walking around in cirlces half the night trying to find Cape Town Backpackers. In the end I was fine, and was calmed by the presence of security guards on almost every inner city street corner.

Friends later said they are the ones you need to look out for. As the SA police motto goes, "Welcome to South Africa - where crime does pay."