Doing nothing...
Trip Start
Feb 14, 2006
1
25
104
Trip End
Ongoing
Durban,
South Africa
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Since Kelly and I are really trying to stick to a budget, we are camping everywhere we go. This includes backpackers. Just so you know, a hostel in South Africa is called a Backpackers. For the most part, these have been very nice. Much nicer than any "hostel" that we encountered in South America. Anyway, we tried a few backpackers to see if we could camp there. No dice.. the city council had just declared all backpackers to be B&B's whether they offer breakfast or not.. We were told that we could stay outside the city and camp on the beach if we wanted. I was a bit bummed at the time, as Durban seemed like a really cool place and I was looking forward to hanging out in the city for a while. As it turned out, this was one of the best misfortunes we could have had.
We were directed to a place called Anstey Beach. It was just south of the capital and is known as being one of the best surf breaks in Africa. I can believe it... these waves were averaging about eight feet and had that Point Break curl that made Johnny Utah and a much younger and more ruggedly handsome Pat Swayze go ape shit for. For the next few days Kelly and I took a vacation from our vacation. You may not believe it.. but traveling is kind of hard work. Not digging ditches hard work, but it can be kind of stressful constantly being on the move. So for four days, we didn't go anywhere. We didn't do shit. We got up, ate breakfast, drank gallons of coffee, went to the beach, read books, talked with other backpackers, played pool, drank beer and box after delightful box of tasty red wine, and generally had fun. It was very nice.
The few times we did go out we had really good times. One night, we decided that we were going to go to a club. I don't really like clubs, but when in Durban, do as the... what... Durbanites? Durbainians? Who cares... So we ended up in this ridiculously swank old mansion on the cool street in Durban. Ironicly, this street was called Florida street. When we walked in, we noticed right away that we were WAY under dressed. I only have four shirts and two pairs of pants. So I was there in my finest, which is like if I beat up Cooter from The Dukes of Hazzard, stole his duds, and then went out to The Viper Room. The good news though is that everyone else was so into themselves that they didn't even notice us. Now, I must tell you that I detest electronic music. I just don't get it. I guess maybe I'm getting old... So, I was surprised to find myself enjoying the spins and even dancing to that shit. Kelly and I eventually ended up outside and talking to a couple of trust fund kids. Not kids really as they were our age. We had to set them straight on a few misguided ideals about the USA. First of all, they were convinced that all white kids in the states have trustfunds. Au contraire, mon frere... they were shocked. You would have thought that my outfit would have tipped them off, but evidently they thought that we were slumming or something. These guys were cool though, and insisted on buying us rounds of drinks and shots of vile Tequila. This would precipitate our staying one extra day, as we couldn't really move the next day. I think this was all a ploy. This dude kept commenting on my necklace. I got in in the Amazon from some little girl who made it out of seeds and lived in a house on stilts without walls. I'm not really the jewelry type, but hey.. the kid needed to make a sale. Anyway, I ended up giving this dude my necklace, in exchange that he promises to tell people that Americans are nice. I imagine that this cat woke up and found this around his neck and just wondered what the hell happened last night. We ended up the night getting a cab back to our hostel (110 Rand.. ouch). The cost was justified in the fact that the cabbie and I sang "That's What Friends Are For" at the top of our lungs for the 25 minute ride. It was almost as good as Joe Piscapo and Eddie Murphy singing "Ebony and Ivory".
Kelly and I also went to a market in Durban called the Victoria Street Market. It's on Victoria Street. So I guess they didin't have to work too hard for the name. Masters of the obvious... Anyway, this place was immense. They sold everything from a booth that only sold zippers to a place that dealt only in hinges. Kelly bought some spices and a few paintings. The cool part about the market was the fact that we were the only white people there. In fact, we were the only white people in Durban that Sunday afternoon. Kind of weird. It was also this day that I discovered Pie City. Pies, as they are known here in South Africa are more like empenadas in South America. They are delicious and filled with a horn of plenty of tasty fillings. Pie City only sells these pies and it was PACKED. It's as if McDonald's only sold one thing. I'm not kidding, I think one of these places would make millions of dollars in the states.
Well, well.. look at me.. I've droned on about basicly nothing for about an hour now. That's enough.. good bye.
