Cape Town in Thumbnails

I know it has been a while since I wrote anything. I wish to write more often, but yeah there is always an excuse. To update you real quick: I am done with India, well as in I finished my degree and moved back home. Otherwise, we all know I am going back for a visit very soon. While I was back there, I was introduced to Worldpackers and WorkAway– volunteering in a hostel in exchange for accommodation and maybe food, etc. One of the economic ways to travel and explore different places, so of course I jumped at the opportunity! Long story short, I am now volunteering at TheBackpack in Cape Town- learning so much and loving it! I have been here for almost two months now, and boy have we done a lot. Going into details about all of it is not practical, but I will share just enough for you to get excited and book your holiday.

Generally, when traveling, first thing I check out is the city centre. Cape Town is always buzzing with tourists. So you can imagine there is always something to do, and some of which you do not need to spend a dime, completely free! It totally balances the idea that Cape Town is expensive. From the free walking tours, super cute and cozy coffee and pastry spots, to the monthly events such as BeerRouteOnKloof and FirstThursdays (this one had me! Gallery hopping has never been cooler, trust me). And then of course there is Long Street nightlife, I am not even going to go into it. You either going to love or hate it, no grey lines.

 

One other major reason we admire the Cape so much is because of its marvelous beaches. Walk along the beach from Clifton one towards Clifton four, then The Glen, and end up in Camps Bay just in time to catch the most beautiful and breathtaking sunset (provided there are no clouds on that day). And if you still have up for it, plenty of restaurant/bar options in Camps Bay. Muizenberg, Bloubergstrand, and Long beach also come highly recommended. If it weren’t for the wind, and the super low temperature of the water, I would say beach-perfect!

 

 

Bloubergstrand beach.

Long beach as seen from Chapman’s Peak drive

Somewhere between Cliftons and Camps Bay

Muizenberg beach

 

You cannot say I have explored Cape Town if you have never conquered the three peaks. I am such a big fan of hiking I probably did all three within my first week here if I re-call correctly. You get a great view of all three from Bloubergstrand. And if you not a fan of climbing, you can always use the cable car to at least check out Table mountain. And well, Lions’ head is fairly  easy and a great spot for sunset or sunrise. Kasteelport trail is by far the best one so far, you know why, spotted a Cape Cobra one time! To say I was excited would be an understatement. While people were freaking out around me, I just couldn’t believe how close we were, I mean I have only ever read about it in my textbooks, to see it live in its natural habitat, damn!

If there is one other thing that Cape Town does well is food markets- bless whoever came up with the concept. When they said a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, they weren’t wrong. Food is love, let’s not argue. V&A Waterfront and Mojo markets are open everyday of the week. Then there is Oranjezicht on Wednesday night, Old Biscuit Mill on Saturdays and then back to Oranjezicht on Sunday, it is truly a whole week’s affair. The only reason we are not balls of food right now is because we have the hikes to burn all the calories, and every now and then we subscribe to the original mode of transport- walking.

 

I know some of you might not have the luxury of a 3 month holiday and may want to do as much in a short space of time. In that case go for the mix and match tours such The Cape Peninsula Tour by BazBus or DayTrippers. And so quit over-thinking the details, you don’t need a plan, Cape Town already has one for you and guaranteed you gonna love it! I am still around until mid Dec, maybe I will share my full volunteer experience if you guys are keen, let me know…xoxo

I left my heart in Jaipur!

One of the other things following the why and the how come I chose to study in India, people would always ask if I have been to the Taj Mahal- yes it is that popular. I have been in India for almost 2 years, and with my first visit I did not visit the Taj, it did not bother me that much simply because India has a whole lot more to offer trust me. I am not disregarding the grand standing that is the Taj Mahal, I mean just the story behind it will get you hooked. And when you read about Agra, you most likely to stumble upon the “Indian Golden Triangle”, which constitute Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur cities, the three of them kind of form a triangle when you map them out. And so I figured, if you gonna visit Agra, might as well complete the whole triangle right, see what all the fuss is all about yeah. Anyone I told about this plan over here thought we were being crazy because it is summer and all those cities have temperatures above 40 degrees during the season. Typically, everyone travels to the north of India during the summer vacations because we have awesome cool weather up here. And here was me and my friend planning for the deserts of Rajastan and humidity of Delhi. I did not care, I just wanted to feed my curiosity, and so off we were- RoadTrip! RoadTrip! RoadTrip!

By the time we reached Delhi, our last stop, my finances were running somewhat low and so our plan to visit the monuments in this city didn’t realize- at least not yet. Anyway Delhi is so close it can always be done, and perhaps deserves its own post- so much out there. We did pass by the markets- Sarojini and Chadni Chowk tough- soo crazziiiee! Fast-paced! Loud! Crowded! Everything everywhere! Sarojinin was a little more organized though, as in it was easier to navigate. Chadni Chowk on the other hand is a hell of a maze, so good-luck figuring it out! Both are great spots for shopping, they very cheap and if you are a good negotiator, you can get a hell’a good price.

Before Delhi we were in Agra, because, hello! That was kind of the whole motivation behind the road trip in the first place right. Different people had mentioned that there is not much to see or do in Agra besides the Taj Mahal. That is not true! It is only that Taj Mahal is the most popular one and the centre of all the attention, much like how the last born of the family is treated- you follow? It is a beautiful sight with a lovely story behind it- which I’m not going to go into because I see you Google it already:). But there are other sites worth a visit too-Fatehpur Sikri, which by the way was my favorite spot in Agra, and “baby Taj” (Itmad-Ud-Daulah), Agra Fort, etc. (the locals are your best source of information). And these are less crowded in comparison. Oh and Mehtab Garden, which overlooks the Taj Mahal, because you know, all roads lead to Taj Mahal right…

 

When we left Shimla on this trip, we were headed towards Rajastan, Jaipur. In the midst of all the detailed royal architecture and welcoming spirit of the Rajastani people, I left a piece of my heart. Over-looking the Hawa Mahal that was initially designed to allow the royal ladies of the palace to experience the city through the little windows (as I hear) with a view that falls directly onto the buzzing markets in the street, a true Rajput architecture! I fell in love. Taking in the history of the life that existed before us in the scorching heat at Amer Fort and Nahagargh Fort, I tasted royalty. Somewhere between Vidhyadhar Garden, City Palace, and Albert Hall. I left a piece of my heart in Jaipur. Words would not do justice as to what a beaut Jaipur is, why don’t I leave some (lots!) of the pictures so you can at least partially grasp what I am trying to portray…

 

HawaMahal from the inside

Rajastan Thali dish

Albert Hall

Entrance to Sisodia Rani Palace

The wildlife of the forts. PhotoCredit: Marima (insta: @mijn_fotootjes)

Amer Fort. PhotoCredit: Marima (insta: @mijn_fotootjes)

Hawa Mahal front view at night. PhotoCredit: Marima (insta: @mijn_fotootjes)

Temple near Panna Meena Kund stepwell. PhotoCredit: Marima (insta: @mijn_fotootjes)

Birla Temple

City of Jaipur from Nahargah Fort

Panna Meena Kund stepwell

Jal Mahal. PhotoCredit: Marima (insta: @mijn_fotootjes)

Amer Fort

Inside Amer Fort

Hawa Mahal front view during day

Magnifica deco walls inside Amer Fort. PhotoCredit insta @dinastylie

In the end the full experience lies in the state of Rajastan, the Pink City! India. Go get it!

Bummer! Its not a fairytale…#AfricanInIndia

First of all, this blog post might seem to have a negative tone. However, remember that the intention of #AfricanInIndia series is not to discourage you in any way, it is merely to share the experiences regardless of how raw they are. It is my hope that the blog posts can help everyone considering applying to Indian universities and the ICCR scholarship to be well informed and hence make an informed decision. So here goes…meet Refiloe Khali of Lucknow University, state of Uttar Pradesh.

“The initial reason that drove me to apply to study abroad was the high unemployment rate in my country. Finding a job was increasingly difficult, and so the moment I heard of ICCR scholarship and gone through the information, I applied. Lucknow University was my third option, but that did not bother me much, I was more excited about getting my life started in a new place. And once I got to know that there were other students en-route a similar journey, I was completely at ease. Moving from one continent to another you expect there should be challenges of course, however, I must say, I might have underestimated how difficult it was going to be. The little things that you take for granted and hardly ever give them a thought suddenly become a thing. Getting a cab from airport to your destination, student registration, buying bread, all these are simple and easy tasks, but an extreme sport if you are not familiar with the local language. Even my lectures are conducted in Hindi even though the university agreed to accept international students. I already arrived late to the university, catching up with the work already done was tricky.”

On paper, all these university agree to conduct lectures in English, but the reality is different. I too had one Prof. who would utter English sentences only when our eyes met, the rest of the time he would sail off with Hindi.

“I am not going to get into the hostel situation because I literally do not have anything good to say regarding that. The conditions are bad and rules are super strict. We have lizards and all sorts of insects as our pets. My friends and I joke about it, try to keep things light and try to embrace the positives to keep sane. Others were not strong as we are, they left the program almost immediately. If it is not the hostel conditions or the registration process, then maybe it is the food, the heat, or pollution, something is likely to trigger you. Expect the extremities and constantly stretching your comfort zone. Perhaps if my situation were different and I had other opportunities at my fingertips I too might have left for home. I do miss my family a lot, my friends, the food back home, and most importantly speaking my own mother tongue. Forget English, “ke batla ho bua Sesotho”. Any other language will always be somewhat limiting. After weighing all the pros and cons, I would not encourage anyone to apply to my university. It is simply not yet ready for international students, a lot has to be done. I do believe that other university in the country are better. However, there is still much to consider, prepare yourself, especially mentally. Prepare to be independent and work extra harder. On the positive, the scholarship is pretty good, and life in India is relatively inexpensive. If I had to do it all over again, I would, perhaps with a different university though.

Truth is, I have been so pre-occupied with trying to find my place here that I have not had the chance to actually go out and about and see what else Lucknow has to offer, let alone the rest of India. I did however attend a friend’s wedding in Kampur, and I had the whole traditional saree thing going, it was one of those moments I would cherish always. Indian weddings are fantastic! Trust me, nothing short of royalty. And hell, I looked so good in the saree don’t I?!

Hopefully after all this, you will come to Lucknow much more prepared than I was. “

There are so many fabulous things about Lucknow and I do certainly hope that Refiloe will get to experience them eventually. Ultimately, if you want to see just how awesome a study abroad venture can be, just do it! Happy Easter Holidays!

#AfricanInIndia

HPU #AfricansInShimla

I have been toying around with starting this blog series for almost a year now. See in the last couple of weeks I have been picking up such great material unintentionally so. I have been a student of HPU for a year pursuing my MSc degree with the Biosciences Department. It is an extremely small university with very limited resources regardless of being a Grade 1 university according to Indian standards. So the first question I get asked is why the hell did I not stay in ZAR, I was already a student of one of the best, University of Pretoria. Couple of reasons really. 1. I have been a student of Tuks for 6 whole years, see I am one of those people that took double the time to complete their degree. I am not going to blame this on anyone really, there was a year or two where I was not interested in anything academic. I took on an adventure once and lived in Namibia for year, which is a whole other blog posts of its own. 2. I have always wanted to be a research scientist, though the first time I said it out loud I was not aware it is such a journey. Given that I had already “wasted” so much time trying to complete my degree, I figured I can jump into MSc and skip the Honours year. And lastly, I wanted to study abroad and of all the scholarships I applied to ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) was the first to reply. And since I had been here before, I knew I could easily take on the culture shock and thrive in pursuit of my MSc, and plus the scholarship is good.

And so here I am, one year into the program and the Himachal lifestyle. It is has been one amazing experience, I mean sure there are some hard days where home sickness prevails and results in tears, but then I boil a cup of water and prepare the South African rooibos tea with rusks and move on. Everything is better with Rooibos!! My goal with this series is to share my experiences as an African student in India, which means I will write about the education system, what it is like being African in Shimla, the culture shocks, the awesome moments and of course the tough days too. I will also be sharing stories of other African students that are living here. My university-HPU has a couple of Afghani students but as far as I know I am the only African student they got. However, one nearby university has over 200 African students, mostly from the West region. I am super excited to hear and share their stories. Let us explore my first month and the visit to Manali in the next post. Stay tuned #AfricanInIndia #MatIndiaSeries

 

Took these few days after I arrived while visiting a nearby Art Gallery. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside the gallery, but man the art! Obviously I fell in love with the stone sculptures, few days in and I had already made such cool friends 🙂