South Africa, standard. : Adventures before Cape Town Part One: Durban

When I started this blog I was so far into my trip that I tried to focus on writing about what was currently happening, which means I've completely left out very important parts of my South African adventures. As my time here is winding down I've found myself reflecting on my first few weeks of my journey, the experiences I had that provided me with the context through which I would see the rest of my time in South Africa. In honor of these wonderful memories and my trip coming to an end, the next few posts will be a recap of my first two weeks in South Africa.

I left New York on a hot day and was accompanied by Tracie (who is in my program), we had planned on flying out together not only because we would be traveling together for the next two weeks, but also in hopes that the 15 hour flight would seem slightly less horrible. We had a direct flight to Johannesburg and then a connecting flight to Durban, where we would be spending the first four days of our trip, and where Colleen (another fellow student) would be joining us the next day. Durban is located on the East coast of South Africa in a province called KwaZulu-Natal, the largest population of people there are the Zulu. Durban is known for many things including: the largest population of Indians outside of India (aka an abundance of great Indian food), swimming, beaches and art. It seemed like an ideal place to start our trip. We also decided to first go to Durban in hopes of experiencing at least a few days of summer before venturing to the Cape Town winter. Because Durban is located on the Indian Ocean it tends to be warmer year round and the forecast was calling for a week in the 80's, perfect for us, the locals however thought this was chilly and while we were tromping around in sun dresses and shorts they were wearing winter hats and jeans.

Feeling severely jet lagged we arrived in Durban to a beautiful sunny day and headed to our hotel where we promptly napped for the next 4 hours trying to get rid of as much of the jet lag as possible. Once we woke up Tracie and I showered, got done up and went out to a fancy 'first night in Africa' dinner. At the suggestion of my guide book and following the cautionary advice of multiple people, we decided to grab a taxi and head to the local casino (yes, we ate at a casino). While the meal was really great, this night was a first of two eye opening experiences for Tracie and I: 1) the exchange rate means that we can eat meals that we'll never be able to afford in New York 2) as women in South Africa, in general it isn't safe for us to travel alone or to certain areas.

The next day we ended up sleeping in and awaking to Colleen arriving at the hotel, now it was her turn to nap for hours trying to get over jet lag, so Tracie and I decided we best head to the beach and leave Colleen in peace. It was in the cab ride to the beach that we met Thuly, a local female cab driver who not only became our semi-chaffeur for the rest of the time, but also was a source of trusted advice and in many ways acted as a protective mother to us. We arrived at the beach mid-afternoon, just enough time to sun bath and go for a dip in the Indian Ocean. By sunset we decided to get drinks at a bar that was on a dock and watch the skyline of Durban light up. We went back to the hotel, woke up Colleen, got ready and headed out to the Britannia Hotel to experience a true Durban dish for dinner: 'Bunny Chow'. Bunny Chow is literally half a loaf of bread with the insides pulled out and filled with an Indian stew of your choice. Tracie ate hers like a champ barely reacting to the level of spiciness involved, Colleen and I however were literally sweating and ended up not being able to eat much because our Irish tastebuds wouldn't allow it.

Our third day in Durban started off with a morning trip to the Durban city hall which also houses an art museum with arguably the best South Africana art in all of South Africa. After we ventured around the museum we made our way to Florida Street, an area known for its cafes, restaurants and crafts. There was a pit stop at the African Art Center to pick but some locally made jewelry, lunch at a cafe along Florida road and then coffee at a combination coffee shop/clothing store/bar/lounge. In the evening we went into town to get drinks at a bar near North Beach before heading to a club in the downtown area of Durban. While I'm not an avid 'clubber' this place was unlike anything I had ever experienced, first off, it was in a parking garage that was actively being used. Not only that but this parking garage/club had a pool and walls of fish tanks, truly an once in a life time experience. After being told repeatedly that I wasn't allowed to swim in the pool, the bartender (who couldn't have been older than 14 years old) compromised and told me that if I came back the next day around 5pm he would let me swim, unfortunately I didn't take him up on his offer.

The last day in Durban was spent detoxing from the night before by laying on the beach and soaking up the sun and eating prawns (the seafood of choice for the area). After a few days of sun, seafood and touring the city we headed back to the hotel to pack for our 5am flight to Port Elizabeth the next day and plan for the next week and a half ahead of us. We were sad to leave the sun and beaches behind but exceedingly excited to start our trek from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.

Durban was an interesting experience, it was the first time in my life that I was a minority (something that would be experienced throughout my entire time in South Africa), I realized how as a woman my activities in South Africa (especially after dark) are greatly limited and we encountered the Zulu language and culture, something that wouldn't be experienced in Cape Town as most black Africans in Cape Town are Xhosa speakers. Durban was also our first encounter with the vast disparity in resources and income in South Africa. While Colleen and Tracie had both previously been to areas of the world where this was common, as someone who has only traveled around Europe this was much more foreign to me. While we didn't go into any townships in Durban, the vast differences in homes from the 'white' neighborhoods to the downtown area where many black Africans live was shocking. While this was something that certainly made me uncomfortable and challenged me, it would provide the framework for many of the things I would see when I got to Cape Town.