Cuisine, Culture and the Chronicle of Cape Town

Last week Tuesday, Aug 9th, is designated as Women's Day in South Africa. Obviously, along with a Public Holiday was a day off school, joy to the students.

Ironically, true to the essence of being a female on Women's Day, I intended to spend the entire day in bed, coping with the immense pain that tortured my poor body. Already had to give up on hiking up Lion's Head and going on a cycling wine tour, I was not exactly in the best mood. However, my roommate gave me an irresistible incentive to get out of my room: delicious Mexican food for lunch and a schedule of checking out museums downtown.  Unable to resist a gorgeous warm and sunny day and an exciting adventure, I successfully dragged myself out of bed before noon.

(the orange vehicle is what I'm talking about)
Source: capetowndailyphoto 

After half an hour waiting for the shuttle that never came (since none of us has quite grasped how the shuttle here worked yet), the five of us climbed in a minibus to head downtown. "Minibus" is a taxi/bus and is a quite popular mean of transportation in South Africa. They are minivans that fit around 12 - 20 people, depends how tight they can squeeze us in and they run on different routes like buses. The advantage of taking a minibus is that they usually cost only about 5-7R ($1). The disadvantage is that they are uncomfortable, stop at various places along the way to pick up and squeeze more people in, and that they are not safe if you travel by yourself or at night. One thing that I have heard from various people since I've been here is that "Try not to be the first one to get in, the last one to get out of, and NEVER be the only one who gets on a minibus." Besides those minor things, they are pretty fun and convenient to use. If you are unlucky enough to find yourself on the N2 highway during rush-hour you’re sure to experience the taxi operators’ phenomenal driving ability – often you just have to sit back and laugh at these drivers’ arrogant resourcefulness when navigating stopped or grid-locked traffic.  

Long Street is strangely quiet during the day, especially on a holiday. I was planning on checking out the boutiques and vintage stores along the street but most of them are close. It is so peaceful and so different from the busy and chaotic atmosphere at night, when all the restaurants, bars and clubs are open. Luke, one of the guys in our group, started his day with an interesting experience. He was followed by this homeless man who would walk uncomfortably close to him, and would not leave regardless of how many times Luke told him he had no changes. After five blocks, the guy was still persistent and got to the point of threatening Luke that he "wouldn't want to take out his knife". Only when we took out our phones and about to call security did he leave us alone. Even for me, who is pretty used to homeless people asking for money in Vietnam, it was quite a scary experience. I thought to myself, at least the homeless people at home are much more friendly.

Mexican Kitchen, the restaurant that we picked for lunch, gave off an authentic feeling. Inside, the restaurant was decorated with various typical Mexican theme, and outside are colorful picnic tables. We decided to sit outside to enjoy the warm sun, especially when we just suffered through a few days of miserable rain earlier in the week. The menu consists of the typical Mexican food: nachos, taco, burritos, fajita, quesadillas, enchiladas, and such with a rather reasonable price for Long Street, around 55R ($8) for a main entrée. We got nacho and cheese for group appetizer and I got myself a serving of Veggie Enchiladas. It was the best Mexican food I have had in a while. Indeed, it was so delicious that Qamar, another guy in our group, actually went back the next day to get more. However, it reminded me of Chipotle and all the good times I had with my friends in Rochester - nostalgic moment.

After filling up our stomachs, we headed down the street to the South African Museum, hoping that we would be able to fill up our heads with some knowledge about history and culture of South Africa. We encountered our 2nd interesting experience with the homeless people. The homeless woman asked Qamar: "Have you ever been hungry to the point that you want to kill someone? Because I'm at that point right now". I actually feel a tint of guilt. At the age of 21, I get a chance to travel to various places around the world, getting the best education, enjoying delicious food, living large and having a fabulous time. And earlier that day, I was complaining about how "broke" I am, only because I am too lazy to cook and want to eat out all the time. Sometimes I think I am so spoiled and I definitely take for granted all the luxury and comfort that I receive everyday.

Anyways, back to the museum. We got in for free since it was Women's Day, scored! The museum started with the section about African Rock Art - my most favorite part of the museum I dare say. The paintings and carving on the rocks dated back to thousands and millions years ago. I feel like everything that I have learned in Evolutionary Biology about the origin of human beings just came alive in front of me. Plus, they are pretty darn good at drawing, with minimal tools. We went to the area that talked about ancient life, with exhibition of the houses, clothing and tools that they used. I was fascinated with all the leather/skin and fur bags, clothing and accessories. They are so expensive nowadays if you want to own something as beautiful and as natural as these. The bead works and the bronze accessories are also amazing. After all, thousand years after, we still get our inspiration from our ancestors. 

The rest of the museum is the "Water World", "Shark World" and "Dinosaur World". They are fascinating and I love looking at the fishes but nothing impressive, really. When I think about Africa, I always think about the safaris and lions, giraffes, rhinos and such. It has never dawned on me that penguins, dolphins, sharks and whales are such a big thing here. I only associate those things with Hawaii, or Alaska. See, you learn new things everyday. One thing I definitely want to come back here for, though, is the planetarium. They hold various exhibition on stars and various talks of different related topics, ranging from Cosmotics to 2012 - end of the world rumor. I make a mental note to myself to come back for the one where they give us constellation maps and teach us how to pick out various constellation. Good skills for the guys to impress their girls ;)

We ended the day with some delicious vanilla and caramel ice cream for McDonalds and a hazelnut iced coffee for me. I miss Starbucks so much and wish I could find a replacement for it. 

I actually really like McDonald's hazelnut ice coffee.
It tastes good, and it's cheap too.

It was not exactly the most exciting thing that I have done since I got here. However, to get such a relaxing day enjoying the warmth of the sun, having a great time with friends over good food and learning about the history and culture of this country, I was extremely satisfied and happy. It is exactly my type of day - living the life of a tourist. I have to thanks Galadarling  (check it out ladies - The Ultimate Guide to Making Your Period Sucks Less) for her amazing article and my patient roommate that encouraged me to get out of the house and living the experience. 

- Qamar and Megan -
The two ultimate people who are determined to drag me out of bed and go everywhere

 After all, T.I.A - This is Africa - There's no time to for me waste on being boring and miserable.

[az]