It's the Day Before the Trip to Dubai

 

Day 041 of Our Winter: This morning I walked around the house and snapped a few photos before 7:00 am. This seemed only right as tomorrow we will be up before the sun. The airport's close and we don't have an early flight but have to check in pretty early for our 9:55 am flight to Dubai. A van will come to take the four of us and the luggage and carry-on bags.  For four people it will require a lot of room. 

Then, on Saturday morning, we will awake in the desert. Well, not exactly. We booked a hotel we never really noticed during all of our years living and visiting Dubai. This is a hotel that was actually standing back in the early 90s when Jay and I lived there. In fact, it may have opened in the 1960s already making it old during the Dubai of our era.  

In 2025, of course much of the country is completely different.  We like the authenticity of the 'real' city.  However, when living in a city one doesn't pay much attention to the local hotels. This was true when we lived in Karama from 1991 to 1996.  We' booked to stay the initial night in the Riviera Hotel right along the original creek. After our cruise, we'll return to the same location for a week of shopping and sightseeing. 

So, today was about packing. Two weeks somewhere doesn't require much planning and it proved a breeze for Jay and me. However, Jay's sisters take packing just as seriously as the shopping! It took them longer. Today though, a few other things happened. The image below is a truck that came with Nazir. Some of the junk in the back shed needed to move on. The last wide screen TV still in its original box went away with assorted junk in that truck.   

A Day of Departure

Day 125:  We spent our last hours in South Africa at the hotel today.  We had to repack a bit. Everything we've been carrying since November of last year are in two, full-size suitcases and two backpacks as carry-on. The Holiday Inn @ Rosebank let us stay until 2:00 pm gratis although they usually like guests to leave by 11:00 am.  They consider this a late check-out.

Our flight from Johannesburg leaves at 7:10 pm.  We will fly for eleven and a half hours to Paris on Air France. We have to wait around four hours before boarding another Air France that flies to Vancouver directly.  The second flight is scheduled to last around ten hours.  So, we should arrive pretty exhausted in British Columbia around noon on Sunday. This schedule is subject to change without notice, but I hope not by much!

Tomorrow's journal entry should be published from the comfort of our apartment in New Westminster!  So this is expected to be the 125th and final with the topic label: Winter 2024-25.

Trip to the Lesedi Cultural Village

Day 124: Jay was clever to look on Viator yesterday and book a trip for us today. A car arrived at our hotel at 10:00 am. We spent about an hour travelling to the Lesedi Cultural Village.  It was out of the city, close to the mountains that are are considered the Cradle of Humankind.  We were welcomed at the gate and ushered into an area with five traditional villages from central and south Africa.  

To start things off, all of the visitors who arrived, close to when we did, went in for drumming lessons.  Then, our guide took us on a walk to each of the villages and explained some basics.  There were folks in each who said hello and were working on some traditional craft or work.  

The following showcase the traditional way males dressed in the five tribes represented in the villages.

    

We enjoyed the walk and the chance to see the type of architecture traditionally used by each of these peoples.  By 1:00 it was show time!  We entered an auditorium for some traditional tribal dances.  The backstories for each dance was explained.  The dancers were so active and appeared so happy in showing them to us!  The presentation was quite a workout.  At the end, we joined them and felt like part of the community.

Lunch was included with our tickets, so we ate lunch and finished about 1:45 pm.  It included African food.  Although I ate a dried caterpillar served at one of the villages, I was still quite hungry.  We had ostrich, crocodile, and chicken for meats.

There was a large school group from Atlanta, Georgia.  Jay was clever and got his dessert at the beginning.  By the time, I had finished my meal, they had not left me much.  I had a beer though.

Our driver ate lunch with us and brought us back to our hotel after the meal.  What a great way to spend the last day in South Africa and the final day of our winter of 2024-25!

Joberg Tourist Bus - Chapter II

Day 123:  We sort of repeated the morning from yesterday all over.  However, this time we got out in the actual Johannesburg Central Business District.  We hopped back on another bus when it showed up after around 40 minutes.

The streets we walked today were the actual areas where gold was first dug up.  This is what started this lovely city in such a geographically difficult location.  The CBD dates back to the 1860s but it was probably a muddy mess in those days.  Now, however, there are a number of monuments to remember the city's beginnings.  Main Streets in most cities are crowded with businesses and cars but not Joburg's.  I sort of get the idea this place is quirky for a whole lot of reasons.

We enjoyed our walk to Gandhi Square and a statue showing him as a lawyer in his younger days in South Africa.  If you cannot recall Mahatma Gandhi's biography, he spent a total of 21 years in South Africa.  In fact, you might say his time here is where this political views and ethics were birthed.  We enjoyed the exercise and the second day on the hop-on, hop-off bus.

Another accomplishment today included eating lunch in a Nando's.  Somehow we have never done that although this chain of restaurants are common in many places we stay and visit.  

Also, we just got back from buying some small food items to give to friends upon our return.  We frequently do this in far-away places.  Although we have found that South Africa produces a large percentage of the items in supermarkets, we wanted something light and cheap.  Ah ah, we now have five small packs of rooibos tea bags.  By the way, that name means 'red bush' in Afrikaans. And for me, I got a couple of bottles of South African produced Shiraz.  It's too bad wine bottles are so heavy.

Joberg Hop On/Hop Off Bus

Day 122: We didn't know just how convenient our hotel choice would be!  Yesterday, we noticed that the city's hop-on, hop-off tourist buses start from exactly in front of our hotel's entrance.  So, after a huge buffet breakfast, we bought tickets.  Each ticket cost us around $US 21.  But for just $5.50 each more, we extended our one day tickets for an extra day.  So, we know that these buses will undoubtedly part of our day tomorrow too.

We plugged in our earphones and listened to the running commentary with many useful bits of information about Johannesburg.  Although I knew this is one of the world's mega-cities of over six million people, I wasn't aware it was such a relatively new town, dating only back to a gold mining town in 1886.

I was impressed by what I saw during the two and a half hour bus ride.  We didn't even get off at any of the stops today, but will choose where to go tomorrow by what we saw today.  I was also impressed by just how beautiful the area is. 

I didn't have such positive impressions about this city, until seeing it.  I most definitely could live around here.  See, the problem about prejudging a location is that unless you actually get to see it, you carry around incorrect information.  

The present political divisions in many parts in the developed west is because so many people are ignorant about the world in which they live.  They live in their own little bubbles of the like-minded.  This affords politicians leverage to mislead and peddle misinformation to their people for personal gains. Ignorant people cannot think for themselves and willingly queue up to follow any new wolf in sheep's clothing.

This is why I feel blessed by actually having had a chance to travel extensively.  I wish it were a gift that more people could access.

We arrived back at our hotel after 1:00.  We finally walked around the extensive upscale neighbourhood mall that has grown larger over the decades with extensions and addons.  

We ate lunch in a type of restaurant I only saw in Cape Town.  It is like a food court but also has a large segment of supermarket type prepared food by the weight.  They are great places to eat an interesting selection of food at grocery store type prices.

After a little afternoon rest, we may go a cineplex to see a movie.  It's been a long time since we went out to the movies.

Durban to Johannesburg by Bus

Day 121: We were packed and just had to do a bit of final checking and a bit of breakfast this morning. We got up at 6:00 am but didn't order an Uber to take us to the Durban Bus Station until a quarter to eight. The day went smoothly.

 

We expected to travel the 570 km in the scheduled eight hours. It was mostly pretty routine. There was quite a climb as we travelled on Highway 3 through Pietermaritzburg. There was one stop for food and just several for passengers. 

The bus was comfortable but we hit a torrent of rain as we were approaching Johannesburg. Some of the windows leaked a bit but not much on Jay or me.   

We made our way out to the street from the bus station.  We got a really friendly Uber driver who got us from the bus station to the Rosebank area. We checked in at around 6:00 pm. The hotel is next to the Zone Mall and we went there for dinner.  I wish earlier in our months here, we'd used the South African restaurant chain called, Spur.  They use a native American Indian with feathers as a logo.  It provided plenty of food and service for a very reasonable price.

 

Trying to Say Goodbye

Day 120:  Oh my!  The number shows that today is the 120th of our winter away.  I checked back in this journal and confirmed that although we left a day earlier, we landed in Dubai on the evening of November 10, 2024.  Imagine that!  Here it is March 10, 2025 already and we're still on vacation. 

So it seems a little fitting that we have to pack this evening.  Tomorrow, we hope to be on an 8:30 am bus from Durban to Johannesburg, South Africa.  It is supposed to be an eight-hour trip.  We have reservations for four nights at the Holiday Inn in Rosebank.  

We will have a little time to check out the city before flying back towards Vancouver on the 15th.  First we fly 11.5 hours to Paris and after a four-hour layover, we hope to board another 10 hour flight directly to YVR.

So although the final day count will be over 120 days, this is our final day in Durban.  It feels like the beginning of the process of returning home. We've been in South Africa since getting off our cruise ship in Cape Town on January 17th.

This morning was windy and a bit overcast but as Mitchell Park Zoo is right in the neighbhourhood, we walked up to say goodbye to some of the animals we met on a previous visit.  As seniors we had to pay an entrance fee of US$0.50 per person.  We figured it was worth it to day goodbye to the cockatoo and parrots.  None seemed to know how to say goodbye, so we had to actually say hello to them. They replied with a hello, perhaps knowing we most likely will never come back.

Oh, and the marmoset screamed but the tortoises didn't say much of anything.  The latter remain rather stoic when parting.

South Africa's Lack of Summer Electricity Supply

Day 119: The weather was warm and sunny today. I didn't expect to have electrical power between noon and 2 pm.  In Durban, we've taken to checking the 'load shedding' schedule for the following day.  The days have been hot and the grid cannot supply enough power for demand.  Here's what MS Copilot says about the situation: 

Load shedding in South Africa refers to the deliberate and temporary interruption of electricity supply to certain areas. This is done to prevent the entire power grid from collapsing when the demand for electricity exceeds the available supply. It's a controlled measure implemented by Eskom, the country's primary electricity supplier.  The main reasons for load shedding include:

Aging Infrastructure: Many of Eskom's power plants are old and prone to breakdowns. 

Maintenance Backlogs: Delayed maintenance has led to reduced efficiency and reliability of power stations.

Coal Supply Issues: South Africa relies heavily on coal for electricity, and disruptions in coal supply can impact power generation.

Increased Demand: Growing electricity consumption has outpaced the capacity of the grid.

Corruption and Mismanagement: Poor governance and financial mismanagement have also contributed to Eskom's challenges.

Load shedding is scheduled in stages, with higher stages indicating more severe power cuts. It has significant economic and social impacts, affecting businesses, households, and essential services. 

 

Our Airbnb does have battery backup for essential electricity.  That keeps the fridge running and the Internet up.  However, lately it hasn't been completely charging and we're left wondering if we will have power during the designated hours.  As it's Sunday, there's still a chance of an evening shut down.  We'll just have to wait and see.

The Aquarium at uShaka Marine World

Day 118:  What a great day to go to uShaka Marine World.  It was about 31C (88F) so I guess summer in Durban isn't in any rush to leave.  Our primarily goal was to visit the famous aquarium here in Durban.  However, it was a great Saturday for families to have water park access.  

The entertainment complex is at an interesting location at the Point and near the harbor.  The free public beach is right there too and one could walk the entire length of the city towards the stadium we see from our Airbnb.  The 40-acre complex has shopping, dining, and the various water features.

We paid around $US 6 each to visit just the aquarium.  It was extensive, educational, and fascinating.

We probably spent around an hour and a half inside.  The various thick glass viewing locations allowed us to see an enormous variety of marine life.  The inside areas were designed to appear as actual, local ship wrecks.  We watched a scheduled feeding as a employee explained the procedure.  Interestingly, the staff add garlic to their diet as it is a natural antiseptic for the fish.  We enjoyed the small exhibits and everything was labelled and self explanatory.

It really wasn't time for lunch when we exited but we walked to a McDonalds with premium seaside views.  We had milkshakes.  I really don't know how many years it's been since I had one of those!

By the time we had walked back out to the main entrance, Uber had peak pricing in effect.  Still, it cost less than $US 5 to ride back to our Airbnb.  We had lunch at two o'clock today.

Slow Day in Durban / Future Travel Planning

Day 117: We were knackered today. Outside the weather is humid and with a grey haze. We stayed mostly inside puttering around and in the back of our minds, we're aware we will be heading to Johannesburg next Tuesday. 

However, we keep adding future travel plans for 2025.  One graphic I can include is a few of the places we will see during Jay's birthday this year.  There are plenty more journeys before the fall though.  You'll be able to read about those as they happen.  Remember, this journal as been active since the fall of 2003.  That adds up to a whole lot of pictures and words!