Welcome Ms. Spring

Hello Everyone,

After 4 months of not-so-bad winter, the sun has finally started to come out nice and bright.

The room heaters are crying that they also need some rest.

We are being reminded that there is a "A/C" button in the car.. The full sleeve shirts are telling me to fold them..  The deodrants are jumping out of the cupboards..

That parachute coconut oil which remained frozen for 3 months, is back to the liquid state..!

The juice bottles in the shops are yelling "buy me now"..!

Yes.  The winter is finally done (touch wood..  pls. don't prove me wrong..!).

There was a day of snow.. then a day of hailstorms with "golf-ball" sized ice stones falling ..

Then a couple of days of rain.. with decent lightening and thunder..

And after much contemplation, confusion, arguments, and debates, Ms. Spring has managed to find herself a way to sneak out in the middle..!

Below are some pictures I could take, around our house, in Sandton.

Hope you will enjoy them.

This was how most of the plants looked during winter.

Seeing these thorns, I remembered the lines "முள்ளோடு தான் முத்தங்களோ, சொல் ..... சொல்" from the movie "Roja" ..!

The birds were also tired of the winter.. They wanted to enjoy sitting and moving around the lush green branches as they like to do..!

And here comes Ms. Spring ..

I like love this combination of Green and blue.. Unbeatable "natural" combination..!!

And guess what ? the birds are back..to their favorite green habitat..

Let's look at some of those little flowers that have come up now..

And now, let's get back to the birds..

Oh..they are busy weaving a cute little house for them...!!

Still busy constructing.. ??? Okie.. carry on..

Ah.. now I see.. you've brought some more materials to thicken the walls..!!

Hmm.. busy with interiors and final supervisions ??

Oh.. I missed to notice that you have already constructed 4 houses.. so soon..

unbelievable..!! you guys should be in BDA or BBMP or metro works..!!

Can we have a quiet look at your constructions, please...

Wow.. That looks very 'welcoming'..

May I come inside, please ?

Oh.. you are still busy with the final touches..

Alright, carry on..  And make sure you do a quality control check in the end..

If any eggs drop out, they are sure to become spicy omlettes..!! hmm.. well then...

Ok guys.. that's all I wanted to share..hope you enjoyed the pictures..!!

Biascope

Vanakkam reader.. As usual, for people who cannot read Tamil, i've tried to translate in English within brackets.. carry on..

Recently one head movie released… அதாங்க, நம்ம "தல" படம்.. [ Ajith has a nick name "Thala" , literally meaning "head"]. While I was walking aside Rakki cinemas , Ambattur, on a Wednesday evening, I was observing the cut-outs and banners that were placed in and around the theatre. An energetic fan even told me that there would be பாலாபிஷேகம்  (milk-bath-ceremony) on Friday morning. I duly enquired if any new temple was going to be opened, or if it is the routine “Friday-amman temple-yellow saree” customs. But he quickly denied that and saw me like an Alien and said “தல படம் release'ங்க.. பொங்கலுக்கு அவங்க (விஜய் ரசிகர்கள் : நண்பன் ) என்ன ஆட்டம் போட்டாங்க.. இப்போ நம்ம பண்ரோங்க அட்டகாசம் .. "  [ Meaning: Vijay fans celebrated too much during Nanban movie release and that Ajith fans were going to celebrate more than that by doing milk-bath-ceremony"… நா அப்பிடியே ஷாக் ஆய்டேன்..  I wanted to ask “ you mean Aavin paal.. ? “.. Why.. .. நா என்ன  “Thirunelveli  Vivek”’ஆ  ? message சொல்லி புரியவெக்க ?

For those of you who don’t know what a paalabhishekam (Milk-bath-ceremony) is, read further down and you will know in the end..

But, seeing a few of those cut outs, I could not stop laughing. Let  me share a few of those with you..

Firstly, see below example of a movie cut out:

                                                                             

 

தில்லா வராண்டா பில்லா .. Poster Bill'அ கெட்டறது  எவண்டா  ?



இந்த போஸ்டர் அடிச்ச காசு  இருந்த ஒரு சைக்கிள் வாங்கி அத இந்த Parking Area'லையே விடலாமே !!

Ok ok .. Sorry “thala thalabathy” Fans. அட, கோச்சிகாதீங்க பாஸ்...

This is not to hit out at any particular actor. Right from Superstar (Rajni), till young star (Simbu), every one is having a fan club and there is a usual customary cut-out at theatres during their movie release.

The matter is that : look at the photo of the fans in these posters – sometimes it will even be larger than the actor’s photo itself.

And sometimes, the banner is prepared jointly by a team, either an Auto sangam or Bike mechanics association etc.,, and all their “heads” find their way into the banner.. like what we have above.

What is this kolaveri for ?             “Publicity” / “Visibility”

I don’t know about you.. but for me, it resembled a different thing..  Look down:

This is a common banner we see in the month of June / July when the exam results are out.  A few schools, mostly newly established school, put out banners in front of their gate showcasing their “100% passout” to attract new students ( can also say customers). But thank goodness, they don’t atleast do Paalabhishekams..

And this kolaveri is also for the same “Publicity / Visibility”

But, the faces inside these cut outs have done enough hard work, and they deserve to be in the cut-outs as school toppers or state toppers. And these kids are not putting up these banners at their own cost!

“மாபெரும் சபை தனில் நீ நடந்தால் உனக்கு மாலைகள் விழ வேண்டும்” - a line from a Kannadasan song.

[ Meaning: you must get good names such that when you walk on a bigger stage, people will garland you ]

So, the people in case 1 above have just found an easier way to place their faces on public display.

Now, Let’s do a small calculation:  சில புள்ளி விவரங்கள் ..

From an online forum, I learnt that the total number of theatres in Tamil nadu is about 2160.

With an average of 4 shows per theatre – we have 8640 shows per day (minimum).

With an average of 200 people per show (sometimes could be 1, sometimes 500 – just for a calculation) – we have 8640*200 = 17,28,000 people watching movies every day.

How many hours does that mean ? 17,28,000 * 3 hours = 51,84,000 hours per day.

If you convert these hours into mandays, we are looking at 6.5 Lakhs Man days… This is one day of cinema’s out put.

The above is only a rough calculation, and this excludes the multiplex theatres that run 10 shows per day, Online movie watchings, Internet downloaded movies, and TVCD’s (அதாங்க, திருட்டு VCD's)

And this is only an example I’m giving with Tamilnadu. The same story applies to other states like Andhra pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc.,

Ambattur Industrial estate, once famous for the line-up of manufacturing industries, and now famous for IT companies, have seen lot of small-scale factories closing down because of lack of man hours.  For that matter, take any industrial estate throughout India..

I remember reading an article way back in 2000 where a small factory got a life-saving deal  of 9000 man hours, whereas the company was able to supply only 6900 odd man hours and the owners decided to lock out the factory.

Cinema is for entertainment, and I’m not saying that one must not watch cinema..  There are crazy fans who watch movies first day, first show.  And there are die-hard fans, who watch the same movie 10 to 15 times.   When the movie “Shivaji – the boss” released, I remember my “PG mate” who drove all the way from Bangalore to Hosur to watch the movie as he could not get first day tickets in Bangalore theatres.

I can’t quite digest the fact of watching a movie more than once.. I just watch the thrilling / famous scenes of a movie and the comedy clippings, that too as part of some comedy programs... not the whole movie as such.

The complaint is however on the pre-movie and the post-movie build-ups.  In my opinion, it is totally an  unproductive time, which they could have used for their own family (if no family – atleast to try and create one..!)

 oh.. and yes.. i promised you to tell you what a Paalabhishekam means... look down:

Milk Bath Ceremony

Yes. It is the same "Nandini milk - blue cover" and i think the second guy is using "Thirumala milk / curd"..

During Enthiran movie release, i think, half a litre of milk costed around 10-12 rupees.

I'm not going to touch up on the poverty.. people starving for a drop of milk when it is wasted like this bla bla bla.. Any human being will know that..

If the youths of today are keeping themselves occupied with such things, the youths of tomorrow can’t get any better. Maybe, they will digitalise these things.

If things like these are continuing, India will not be a “Vallarasu”.. it will only be “Dull'arasu”.. (Thanks to Mr. Santhanam for this nice punch)

[Vallarasu means Super power country';  Dull'arasu means Dull country ]

என்னிக்கு இந்த போஸ்டர்கள் கட்-அவுட்'கள் ஒழியுதோ அப்ப  தான் நாடு கொஞ்சமாவது உருப்படும் ..

ஏன்ன சார், அழறீங்க .. Beer கசக்குதா? 

Ooh.. ரொம்ப Serious'ஆ  எழுதிட்டோமோ?

Its’ OK.. for a change..   அட சில்லற இல்லைங்க. "மாற்றம்"..  A Very important one for the society..!!

[ The last lines just say that we must get rid of these posters and banners.. and that this change is very essential for the society.. Boss, please learn to read Tamil.. atleast to read my blog.. it is a torture to write the samething in English and Tamil.. i feel like Major Sundar rajan or that Vijay TV fellow who speaks the same thing in English and Tamil..]

A unique travel experience

Traveling by Bike, Car, train, Bus, Flight is something that most of us do very often. But Ambulance ??

என்னடா, போயும் போயும் Ambulance'அ பத்தி எழுதறானேன்னு  உங்க mind voice கேட்டுது. ( direct translation: what ya, going going, he is writing about Ambulance - your mind voice I heard).. but for me, it was a unique experience.



This is not our Ambulance; but just that nowadays people are not reading blog if there is no picture in it. :-)



Recently, my father was hospitalised at Vee Care Hospital, Koyambedu, Chennai. He was diagnosed with Sepsis and was in quite a critical stage. I’m very glad that he won the battle against the deadly disease and came back home. Thanks to the doctors who treated him at the ICU for a week and gave him a second life after all the early tension.

As he had close to 10 rods from his thigh to calf, the only way he could be taken home, was through an Ambulance. Several times in the past, my dad was taken in the ambulance to the clinics for dressing the wounds, but I wasn’t there with him, making this my first such experience.

My memories of first seeing an Ambulance dates back to the late 1980’s when I did not even know which vehicle it was, and why it had to make such a huge noise. After knowing about its purpose, I use to tell my dad that the hospital people didn’t even know how to paste the sticker, as the word “ambulance” appeared in a reversed way. ..!

I never had the opportunity to read “ambulance” on my “bicycle” rear mirror, as I hardly used main roads those days. Even while driving a “two-wheeler”, I did not get the opportunity, as by the time I hear that sound, I only look for a way to get to either side of the road.  I also observed that some of my fellow bikers adopted a trick where they pretend like giving way to the Ambulance and nicely jump the signal following the ambulance. Street Smart..!! (but they fail to understand one thing – behind every bush / tree on Bangalore roads, there is a traffic cop hiding to catch you - fact, fact, fact, fact).

 For the first time, early this year, I read the word on my rear mirror while driving a car in South Africa and felt relieved that something I learnt in childhood came to use.!!

There was yet another occasion where I would have boarded an Ambulance, for my wife, when she had some complications during her pregnancy. The Ambulance service guy politely told me that it will take a minimum of 1 ½ hours to get one for us. You can relate this to the comedy from the movie “3 idiots / Nanban” where they say that Pizza comes in 30 minutes but not ambulance”.!

But this time when I saw the Ambulance in Vee Care hospital, the first thing that came to my mind was the famous dialogue by comedy actor Vivek in the movie “Shivaji: The boss”, where Shriya Saran serves red chillies to Rajnikanth, and Vivek says “aaha, this is kumbibaagam.. shivaji, please call an ambulance now only.. oh my god, our people will not give way to ambulance in this traffic…”.

I really wondered how this driver is going to drive that vehicle.  We chose to leave the hospital by around 3 pm so that we don’t mess up the traffic a lot.

Koyambedu – Ambattur was some distance, that takes one hour for a bus journey and easily 30 minutes and above for a biker. This guy reached our home in about 20 minutes, which I thought was a great drive, as he had to slow down at several places due to poor roads.

It was important that I maintained a serious face expression, as all the by-passers in the road were trying to peak into the ambulance to see what was happening inside. My father was on a stretcher locked on the floor of the ambulance & wasn’t visible to most people. If they had seen me with a smiling face browsing my iphone, we wouldn’t have got the co-operation that we managed to get. !

It is also an interesting thing to observe the people on the road, and see how they behave when they know that an Ambulance is behind them.

There were still some lazy cartoon characters on the road, who do racing along with the Ambulance.  And some people are busy overtaking other vehicles when an Ambulance is behind them. The task of overtaking heavy vehicles was cut out because of the metro work going on in Chennai. With 60% of the roads consumed for metro work, only 30% was available after discounting the street vendors.

While going back to the hospital after a couple of days, for dressing the wounds, the driver took the one-way road (near Anna Nagar – Thirumangalam junction) which saved us a good 20 minutes.

It was a bigger version of the ambulance (not the Maruti Omni converted Ambulance), so there was space for 3 people to be seated inside, along with seatbelts. Air condition, first aid boxes, a wash basin, an IV stand, and several other compartments with some medical names labelled - செத்தாலும் புரியாது (direct translation - dead also no understand.!).

Overall, it was different kind of experience, where we are seated inside a vehicle, and the entire city move to either sides of the road and give us way to proceed. (I felt tempted to ask the driver to come on a sunday to vist T.Nagar Rangathan street. !! நோட் பண்ணாதே , நோட் பண்ணாதே ) The only other similar situation will be when you are some minister or police commissioner. But in most of the former cases, people will not be in a relaxed state to observe all those moments.

I really hope that neither you nor your loved ones will get a need to travel in an Ambulance. But if you get a chance to assist or accompany someone (hopefully not critical) in an ambulance, then do help them and experience it. (சாரி பாஸ், இத வேற எப்பிடி எழுதறதுன்னு தெர்ல)

“கருத்து கந்தசாமி” Corner also called as “Message corner”:

Our house in Vivekananda Nagar , Ambattur was big enough, but the roads weren’t. Most of the houses on the way did not have parking space, which meant that plenty of cars and bikes had to be parked on the roadside, making it tough for the Ambulance to reach our home. We had to honk for the public to come out and remove their vehicles and give way. What if those houses  were locked ?

You might be living in a 60*50 Villa, but you cannot expect the Ambulance to pick up the patient from the bus stop. Whether you are in a rented house or own house, make sure you have at least one good wide road from your door to the nearby main road, such that an Ambulance or a Fire brigade can reach you on time.

Rahul Dravid retired - what for me ??

Almost a month back, Indian Cricketing Legend Rahul Dravid announced his retirement. Ok, Ok, Don’t assume that this blog is something about Cricket that only cricket fans will enjoy.. Infact this is my own story, sad story.. (சொந்த கதை, நொந்த கதை, சோக கதை). My Colleagues started speaking of how they will miss seeing Dravid’s batting. I pressed the “rewind” button of my life to the day when I came to know about Cricket.

It was mid 80’s, when I had started to read and write alphabets, that my grandfather held me on his laps, and sat right in front of our old Black & White Solidaire TV, introducing the game of Cricket to me. We sat so close to the TV that any mistimed hook shot would come to us. I can’t recollect which teams / players were playing that day. All I knew was that those men in white were playing a game called Cricket.

After a few years, when I grew taller than a cricket bat, I started knowing some names like Ravi Shastri, Vengsarkar etc.. There entered my child-hood enemy “guest uncle & guest aunty”.. By the time the Toss is over, they perfectly enter the house. Seeing my puzzled face, they ask me if I'm able to identify them ("என்னடா, நான் யாருன்னு தெரியலையா ?" ). Very soon, my father would say “Vivek, Switch off the TV and go inside and study”..This must be a dialogue that most of us would have heard during our childhood. That time, many thoughts were on my mind including this one “who told that TV should only be in the Hall ?” Most of the cricket matches in that part of my life had only one result “match washed away due to Guests”.!

Few more years later, 3 young cricketers (who went on to become legends in a couple of decades) made their debut – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid & Sourav Ganguly. That was the time when cricketing satellite rights were sold to ESPN. We were not so well to do at that time, and that Solidaire TV only had DD1 and DD2.  A cross connection of cable lines resulted in some channels appearing with 50% visibility , where the only players you can identify were the West Indian players, that too not in specific. At that time, there was also this Hindi Commentary in radio for matches happening in India. Being in Chennai, and being mostly amongst Tamil-speaking crowd, my Hindi was just at a beginner’s stage. So, 50% Video + a commentary in a stranger’s language were what Cricket was for me. Thankfully, it atleast improved my Hindi to an extent. And for matches happening abroad, it was just the highlights from next day’s Hindu newspaper.


When Sachin batted in 90's..I used to get ready and wait ,so that i can leave to college once he hits his ton. But he never does that. The moment I leave my house and walk in the streets, i hear my neighbours celebrating his ton.. Why this kolaveri, Mr.Sachin ?

This continued for a few more years, by which time I had completed college. Now, I’m in Bangalore, working at HP and staying in a PG closeby.  This “Paying  Guest Accomodation” was a good experience, but not for cricket-watching.. With the common TV in the dining room, one fellow wanted to watch Malayalam movie, one will want to watch Cricket, one will want to watch MTV and the common channel that we ended up watching was “Cartoon Network..!!

By this time, conditions at my home in Chennai had improved and now we had a Dish connection. When I went back to Chennai for Convocation, that was the day of 2003 World cup finals. By the time the convocation ended, all of my college friends vanished from the spot without even wishing their ex-classmates.. all because of Cricket..!  And what happened that day in the match, all of us know..!

That's when my colleague introduced cricinfo to me.  Sooner, I vacated the PG accommodation and rented a house to stay of my own. The first thing I bought ??? yes, a 29" TV with a cable connection.. And that was a quiet time when not much cricket was happening.  And finally when action was lined up, there comes another obstacle – Star Cricket. Most cable operators did not have this channel as it was new, and all further matches would be broadcasted on Star Cricket.

I had to fight with the cable operators, swap the connections, and somehow got that channel. But because of the work timings & match venues / timings, I could not see that also. Back to Cricinfo.com.

Years passed by like this, and when a good domestic season started, I had one more obstacle – Neo Sports.  Seems like all domestic cricket satellite rights were sold to Neo Sports and I had to again fight with the cable operator for tuning to that channel. Ufff.. what more to come ??

What continued was a series of events that kept questioning me – is Cricket important than anything in your life ?  Frankly speaking – No. I have never been a Hard-core cricket fan, neither do I play cricket so actively. It’s just that I prefer spending my leisure time – An evening, a weekend or a holiday, watching a good close cricket match..  Ok. Who was the first one to raise this question ? Any guess?? Yeah.. it was my wife..During our courtship, I asked her for a "day off from roaming around" to watch a cricket match.. So, what special match was that ??  - That was the last test match for Sourav Ganguly, who announced his retirement during that series…!! Just in the fourth paragraph of this blog, I had mentioned about his Debut, and before even I could observe him closely, he retired. Ok, not a problem, I atleast have two more legends still around in the team.

Within a few years, I became a father – not a “Church-father”.. But, a father to a beautiful baby girl. With her initial days, medical needs, shopping, convincing her when she cried etc., I didn’t have any leisure time where I could watch cricket.

This was when the IPL dominance started.. With each match longing for a little more than 3 hours, I could allott some time for it, and with most matches starting by 8pm IST, I was able to start watching cricket.. But this time, 90% of the players were new to me. Then came the next dialogues – “arae yaar, this IPL is full of match fixing, Why you are watching it”. It’s unbelievable how few people believe that all close matches are definitely fixed. Some of them give a running commentary as if they got the end-score card by SMS..!!

These IPL matches mainly happened during April-May, peak summer in India, and whenever we have a close match, there is mostly a power cut, whether Chennai or Bangalore.

And yes, I have also faced the same problem that most of the married men face in India.. fighting with wife over Remote control: TV Serial Vs Cricket.. I always fought for justice with my punch dialogue “If you have the rights to cry over a TV serial, so do I to cry over a cricket match..”

In 2011, I moved to South Africa for my project assignment (where I’m currently living), and from here, even the matches happening in India were untimely because of the time difference. But still a day-match happening in India would end by 8 Pm SAST. By the time I rush to home through the Jo’burg traffic to see the final few overs, the post match presentation ceremony will be going on. And who is hosting it ? Ravi Shastri - the name i first knew in Cricket, the name i first mentioned in this blog. . That shows how time has travelled..!!

I tried going to the stadium to see a cricket match India Vs South Africa, twice, and it was rain-affected. Why this kola-veri, Mr.Varun ?

In the middle of this, I see the news headlines that “Rahul Dravid has retired”. And I keep asking myself, did I ever watch him play his trade-mark cover drive ?

Now, (April 2012) when I sit in front of the TV in the evenings to get a glimpse of the IPL, my daughter comes and stands right inbetween me and the TV and asks to teach her some rhymes, or to help her in fixing some puzzle. (அப்பா, பாபாவோட தொப்பி அவுந்து போச்சி, போட்டு குடு..Or அப்பா, எனக்கு hot-cross-bun rhymes சொல்லிகுடு ”); And even before I think of convincing her, my wife repeats that question which she started asking 3 years back.

By now, it is time that the first enemy of my cricket-watching is going to appear again. Those guests uncle and aunties.. But this time, after facing such situations in my life, I’m not going spoil my daughter’s childhood memories. I will switch on the TV with whatever channel she wants to see, and will quietly pull the guests to the garden or terrace or balcony ..!!

There is no better teacher for us than life itself.

It seems cricket-watching was always an out-of-syllabus item in my life.

இந்த கொடுமை எல்லாம் ஏன் சார் எனக்கு மட்டும் நடக்குது ?

(why such unfortunate things happen to me only ?)

ok ok.. time for toss.. CSK Vs KKR.. catch you later..

Boss..Criccinfo boss..!!

Cape Town - One of THE BEST holiday spots

It's been an year since i wanted to create a Blog but never really got time to do it. But this Cape town trip has motivated me to a larger extent to blog my experience and to share it with a wider audience. I have tried my best to explain how the trip was, what we enjoyed the most, what we missed to see etc.,


Planning: It was just me, my wife and our 2.5 yr old daughter that travelled and so we did not want to enquire about any cost-reducing services. I simply booked a holiday deal from Kulula for 4 nights 5 days which included 5 days car rental from Europcar, 4 nights stay at Protea Hotel Cape Castle , returns flights with British Airways operated by ComAir and a complimentary GPS rental from Tom Tom - all for ZAR 8524.


Places we covered (I'm not arranging it in any order, just the way i remember)


1) Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope: 

I can't remember how many times I marked this place incorrectly in my secondary school geography exam and got scoldings from the teacher...!

The beach as such, at the cape of good hope is too dirty and is not fit for anything except fishing. All the branches of the shore side trees/plants get piled up here and you need to jump over a few of those to get to the water.  You can find a few ostriches roaming around in that place. Nothing much.


Cape Point Light house (old) is another attraction and you reach there through a Flying Dutchman (i.e., a funnicular train) in less than 2 minutes.  The train doesn't take you all the way to the light house, but to a curio shop and a flat surface which has a number of spectacular view points. You need to climb a further 50-60 steps to reach the light house where you find the distance tree for various international ports. You can also walk to that level, without the train, which takes 1.5 hrs. Most people go up by the train and walk down. But, having the kid, we din't want to walk that much.


There is also a 20 minute long beautiful hike trail (one way) to the Dias beach view point which is worth considering.


Two oceans restaurant: If you are a vegetarian - you only have 3 options. If not, the entire menu is yours. The sea food items are fresh and it is most likely that you will end up being there for lunch (if you are not cooking during the holidays, that is).


There were a few other places within the campus but not so attractive as these two.


The curio shop has some interesting and nice stuffs including a certificate (ZAR 20) where they will write your name on the cape point map.!

Cost:
Entry ticket: ZAR 85 for adults and ZAR 30 for kids from 2-11.
Flying Dutchman fares: ZAR 47 for adults and ZAR 20 for kids from 6-16 (return). ZAR 37 and ZAR 15 respectively for one way.

2) Table Mountain:


A very prominent landmark that overlooks the entire cape town. We reach on top of the table mountain through the cable car and then on, its a flat surface that has steps and are also weelchair friendly. There is a pathway that takes you alongside the mountain's borders where you can have a very good view of the entire cape town.  On a clear day, Robben Island, Water front, Camps Bay, Hout bay are all visible clearly.  There are more than 15-20 view points and each of them offer different views. It's a must-visit place.

Table Mountain Cable Car

There is a Cafe on top of the Table mountain serving snacks and cool drinks.


Cost: The cable car costs ZAR 175 for adults (return), ZAR 85 for kids from 4 - 18, and free for kids under 4. Tickets are available both at Table mountain office and online. In case of weather spoiling the cable car operation, you can postpone the ticket upto within 14 days. If not possible within 14 days, money will be refunded less some admin charges.


3) Robben Island:


A historic landmark that was made a world heritage site not long ago. Many political leaders, noteably, Mr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 20 long years. It is similar to how Andaman was for India during Birish rule.


The cell in which Mr. Mandela was locked in, is the only worthy place to see. Tours to Robben island are operated only by the government and tickets are available both at the counters in Waterfront and online.

One of the cells in the Maximum Security Prison.

The 3.5 hr long tour includes a 30 min *2 = 60 minute boat ride, a 45 - 60 minutes bus tour on the island and a 1 hr tour inside the Maximum security prison. The prison tour will be be anchored by an ex-prisoner who was jailed there along with Mr. Mandela.


As I have seen a lot of freedom-fighting related movies and read few books on it, the narration din't have much of an impact on me. But Mr. Mandela's cell was worth a visit.


There is also a Penguin colony on the island but there is a better place in Cape town for that. I some how felt that the tour was overly priced for what the island offers.


They have a small Cafe that sells soft drinks and sandwiches.


Cost: ZAR 220 for adults and ZAR 110 for children below 18.


4) Boulder's Beach / Penguins beach:


This place is near Simon's Town and is on the way from Cape Point  to Waterfront / False bay.


There are 1000's of Cape Penguins in this area , on the beach, and sometimes on the main road too. You can enter the beach and play in the water / swim along with Penguins or you can use the walkway to view the penguins from a distance.  Kids will love this place. At any given time of the day , you should be able to see atleast 50-60 of those tiny penguins.

Penguins marching their way at the Boulder's beach.

Cost: ZAR 45 per adult and ZAR 20 for under 18s.


5) Camps Bay:


This is where I touched the water from Atlantic Ocean for the first time in my life. and the water was really really colder than what we feel in the Indian Ocean. It's a very clean beach and ideal for any water related activity, if you can surive the cold water.  Parking is available in the roadside marked areas and is free to use.


Try and be here for sunset. With the beach being clean and with white sands, you will enjoy seeing the sun go down the sea.


6) Seal Colony:


The official Seal Island is on the False bay. But we had been to a Seal Colony that is near Hout Bay. There are around 14000 cape fur seals on that island and is reachable by boat. When you get a stinking smell, you know that the island is nearing. Several boat companies operate that tour from Hout Bay. Its a one hour round trip by boat and the tour also gives you a good view of the chapman's peak. They take you very close to those harmless creatures and you can see plenty of them doing all sort of things like diving, crawling etc.,

Cape fur Seals resting in Seal Island

Cost: ZAR 65 for adults and free for kids under 5.


7) Chapman's peak drive: (my favorite)


This is one of the scenic routes in South Africa and one of the world's best roads to drive in.  It is 9km in length and has more than 100 curves, with  beautiful beaches on one side and gigantic mountains on the other. There are plenty of view points along the road in corners, where you can park your car to have a 180 degree view of the gorgeous landscape. The drive streches from  Noordhoek to Hout Bay and it is wise to cover this route on the way from Cape Point to Waterfront.

A view of the spectacular Chapmans peak drive

Cost: There is a toll of ZAR 31 for Cars.


8) V & A Waterfront:


The most lively area in capetown. There are plenty of boat companies offering variety of marine tours , couple of big malls, lots of restaurant offering different cuisines, small bunches of road-side musicians and dancers who keep entertaining the public during day and mainly night.  There is also the giant Cape Wheel located here. All in all, it is a very lively place and a must-visit during late evenings / night.

The distance tree at V&A Waterfront

Cost: Free entry for waterfront. ZAR 80 for Adults and free for kids for the cape wheel.


9) Waterfront Craft market & Wellness centre:


This is a good time-pass place where there are more than 100 stalls selling variety of crafts  including those made out of wood, sea shells, paintings etc.,  The wellness centre have few spa's as well. If you want to buy anything as a memory, this is the place. There are a couple of Cafe's inside the market.


Entry is Free.


10) Ostrich Ranch:


This one is off N7 and is called the West Coast Ostrich Ranch. They have a 45 minutes tour where you learn about Ostrich, their body parts, their life style, feed them and sit on them (with table mountain in background).

Australian Ostriches at the West Coast Ostrich Ranch

The guiness record holding smallest living Ostrich is from this ranch. If you interested to know more about Ostrich and to see them very close, this is the place.


They also have a restaurant where you find some Ostrich dishes. I was told that an Ostrich egg omlette can serve 4 people for lunch..!!


Cost: ZAR 60 for adults, ZAR 45 for children between 6- 16 and ZAR 15 for children below 6.


11) Wine tours:


Cape town is famous for its vineyards, as more than 95% of the South African wines come from Cape Town.  There are plenty of vineyards in and around Cape town and most of them have a tour on wine-making where they explain the processes involved in wine making and the tour also includes wine tasting where you can taste varieties of wine like red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, port wine etc.,


We had been to Groot Constantia vineyard where they had a 45 minutes tour and 15 minutes wine tasting where they even teach you about assessing a wine, holding the glass, and in reading its flavours.


If you are wine drinker, then you must make it a point to visit one of the vineyards in Cape town.




Wine barells during maturation

 Cost: R38 per adult (Groot Constantia vineyard).


12) Red Bus city tour:


The Red bus city tours are available to almost all major attractions in Cape town and the buses start from Waterfront bus stop. The frequency is pretty good. If you find it difficult to drive and enjoy the views at the same time, you could use this bus so that you can sit on the open top and have a 360 degree view all the time. They also operate package day tours like sunset tours. When you book a tour, you will be given an earphone by which you can listen to a recorded commentary about the history of the various places that you see during the tour.


We picked up the Sunset tour to Signal Hill for 2.5 hours.

Cost: ZAR 80 per adult and free for kids below 5.

The Red City bus during our sunset tour to Signal Hill

13) Activities:


There are also a wide range of activities that you can indulge in. Examples - Sunset Cruise (with & without Champaigne), Whale watching, White Shark cage diving etc., which you can pick as per the season. 


What we missed:


It is perhaps a little lesser known fact that Cape point is not the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, but it is the Cape Agulhas. It is around 220 kms from Cape town, and takes around 3-4 hrs drive with all cliffs and bends. If you have some space in your itinerary, do fit this in.


Stellenbosh is a very beautiful town and also has its famous vineyards. If you get a chance to visit the city, do cover it.


The Valley of birds, Kirstenbosch botanical garden & the Two oceans Acquarium were a few places that we deliberately missed as we had covered similar places already in other cities and we did not consider that to be a speciality of capetown as such.


Food:


There are plenty of good restaurants in and around cape town, but you don't need to go in search of one. Near most of the prominent attractions, you will find a good restaurant. However if you are a vegetarian, your options are very less. It will be advisable then to choose self catering rooms. You can also find plenty of Indian Restaurants like Bhukara, Jewel of India, Taj etc., and you also have the Eastern Food Bazaar where you will find the cheapest Indian food if you dont want to spend much.


Tips:


Do not travel to Cape town between April to July as it will be very cold. You will not be able to get the best from the view points. Try and be at the mountain tops like Cape Point, Table mountain, Signal Hill, and at the beaches for either Sun set or sunrise whichever appropriate.  If you can be organised, you can consider the online ticket bookings for Table Mountain and Robben Island, and I believe you get some discounts too, while booking online.


And of course, GPS is a must if you want to navigate, although plenty of sign boards are placed alongside the roads.  Before planning your trip, do check for the Cycle tours happening during that period. Most of the important roads will be closed if a cycle race or tour is happening.




Overall, it was a very memorable experience and Cape Town is definitely a "must-see-place-before-you-die".


I sincerely hope that you get a chance in your life to visit this lovely place.