One of the world's most beautiful cities

Capetown deserves its position as one of the world's 10 most beautiful cities. It's a perfect combination of the nature and the modern.

Day 01

Arrived CPT at around 12.00 noon and picked up by the hostel guide. The weather was warmer here in Cape Town. Roughly 45 minutes drive to Big Blue back-packer which is another nice and cosy hostel located close to Victor & Afred Waterfront ( www.waterfront.com.za) . We enjoyed some coffee while waiting for the room. It is a spacious room with a large bed and private toilet. After resting a while, we started walking off to the V&A Water front which is about 15 minute walk away. Waterfront is a great place with almost everything that travellers can find, including Aquarium, restaurants, souvernies, music performance, boats, etc....

The two-ocean Aquarium is said to be one of the world's best. Why two-ocean? It is because the southern tip of Africa continent is the meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Here, we can see quite a large number of animal with different species like sharks, fishes, seals, turtles and penguins. A must-see at V&A Waterfront, especially when traveling with kids.

Nobel Square is another highlight at the Waterfront, featuring the four South African winning Nobel Peace Prize laureates. ' The late Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former State President F. W. de Klerk and former President Nelson Mandela. The part they played in the road to democracy was long and the struggle filled with hardship and tragedy, yet these remarkable men held fast to their belief that there was a peaceful way forward' ( quoted from www.nobelsquare.com).

Street music performers are another not-to-miss feature at the Waterfront. We catched some black women performing traditional music instruments which look very interesting indeed. Else where another group of black men playing and they even sell their own CDs. Life is exciting at this place! In fact, all these perfomers are earning a living seriously, not for fun.

We paid a visit to the information center where tourists can find all they need. This info center is really great! All infos about Capetown, tours, safaris, car rental, hotel bookings are easily found here. We hanged around for a while before finally landed at a tour desk booking for our safari the next day. The receptionist was very nice and helpful.

We then went on short boat tour which was about 30 minutes. This tour can be purchased at the booths located along the dock. We joined another group of western tourists from different countries. The boat we were on was run by a steam engine which we believed ages ago! That's interesting actually. The boat took us around the harbour, taking the whole view of the waterfront. We could see the seals lying on the dock wheels!

After the boat tour, we had a wonderful time relaxing at a nice restaurant by the harbour. I really love that very moment. Drinking a beer and watching the sun light going down over the Table Mountain is one the most memorable things in my life. How fantastic!

However, after that romantic moment we had to rush back to the hostel in little fear. The problem is we had read the information on the website saying that it is not really safe in South Africa at dark. We were a bit scared actually when seeing some black beggars on the street. We finally arrived the hostel safely and went to bed early after the shower.

Day 02: Safari

Got up early around 05.00am, quick breakfast and picked up by a guide for the safari. We joined several other westerners on the trip. It was quite far from the city to the safari place. We had one of the most wonderful sceneric drives through the wine yard and impressive valleys. Midway we stopped at the cafe for refreshment. The guide said there was snow just a few weeks back! What a pitty for us.

We arrived at the Safari around 10.00am, welcomed with drinks and refreshments. After a short rest, we started the game drive which was our first time. It was Spring and the wild flowers are blossoming which have not been seen for around 5-6 years as the guide told us. The Spring breeze with the wild nature were so wonderful! Here, people can find themselves close the natural environment than ever.

Our first stop was the lion habitat where we could see the real 'Kings of the forest'. Of course there are fences around :-) to protect the visitors. Then we saw the leopards, zebras, giraffes, buffalos, etc....in their natural habitat. Much more interesting than in the zoo. We love looking at giraffe eating a kind of sharp leaves which are poison to human beings! That's what the guide told us.

One of the most exciting part of the tour is to watch the couple of white rhinos eating grass. Each may weigh more than 02 tons! We were so close that almost could touch them.

After several hours getting around the safari in the jeep, we returned to the camp site and enjoyed a big lunch. I could tell you it was just great. Nothing is more interesting than meeting people from different countries. A woman with a very cute infant girl who always smiles, a couple from Israel, a young girl from New Zealand on her last stop of round-the-world trip before returing home....all made me feel very interesting really.

We rested for a while after lunch, enjoying the natural surroundings and then boarded the bus to return to the hostel. We were one of the last to be dropped off after saying good-bye to others.

Dinner was good at a restaurant down the street. I love the chicken lungs and the waitress is very beautiful and nice:-). I very much love the culture here in Cape Town where some one in the restaurants normally ask you if the dish is good after you finish. That's just terrific!

It was almost 07.00pm when we had to rush back in fear again:-)...I can tell you we were pretty coward and did nothing in the evenings. We went to bed early since another city tour came up the next morning.

Day 03: Cape town highlights

Another wonderful and also last day in Capetown. Picked up around 08.00am for the Cape Town highlight tour which we booked at the hostel.

First stop is the Table Mountain where we had to buy the cable ticket to get on top. The moutain gets its name by its table-like flat top. This is also a very popular tourist destination. The view of Cape Town is really great from the top of the mountain. The whole city including the water front and Robben Island can be seen from here. Robben Island was once the prison where Nelson Mandela was kept. We planned to visit this historical site but unable due time constraint.

We spent around half an hour on the Moutain and then headed down for the rest of the tour. The guide was quite a humorous and professional man. The bus then took us to the harbor for the seal island tour. Everyone had about 15 minutes wondering around the harbor watching or buying the souvenirs at the vendors. Then we were boarded a boat to the island. I really enjoyed the sea breeze on the way. Wow, hundreds of seals are lying on the rock and some are swimming behind our ship. How interesting! The nature here is wonderfully preserved.

Upon our returning to the harbor, a street music band was ready to perform as a welcome back. They asked for donation of course! But it is very funny and interesting actually. We had another half an hour shopping around and the guide recommeded a small diamond store which has one the best price and quality in Cape Town. And that was a disaster for me:-(...when my wife decided to stepped in. Jesus Christ, she picked up one ring with diamond and fortunately it is a small one. We got discount of 20% but I still had to pull out all my two credit cards for payment! However, it is a small but very nice diamond with a wonderful clarity and cut in comparison with the ones we've ever seen. Of course, we are not the expert in diamond examination:-), but my wife was completely satisfied with it.

Since we spent so much time in the store, the guide had to look for us and nearly got mad! He certainly remembered us forever:-). He called us the long shopper. That was really embarassing to be the last to get on the bus. We had to excuse the other guys on board.

Boulder's Beach was our next place where you can see lots of African Penguins hanging around on the sand. This kind of Penguin is different from the antartica's, small and cute. They are everywhere, on the beach or even in the house. A funny movie has been made about these African guys. We spent our lunch at a seaside restaurant. The seafood was so nice for a reasonable price. We could not finish it actually since they are served in western style which is too much for us!. Again, we were the last to board the bus! But we were not late this time:-), just because you guys came back early!!!!:-)...

We continued the tour to Cape of Good Hope. The guide said people are normally mistaken that this is the most southern point the Africa Continent. It is actually the most south-western point as you can see on the sign in the photo. After a few minutes of break for photos, we went on to the Cape Point National Park. Tourists are all warned about the baboons. These monkeys can come and snatch any food visible to them. Hence, everyone is advised to hide all the food to avoid being attacked by the unfriendly baboons. It is really dangerous. At Cape Point, tourist can enjoy another cable drive to top, which we did not. Instead we shopped a very nice store with beautiful souvernirs.

Our last stop of the day was the Kirstenbosch Garden where many botanical species are protected. We arrived rather late in the afternoon and the weather was getting cooler. This may be one of the most beautiful gardens we've ever seen. Lots of wild flowers and trees. The scene was breathtaking and we really indulged ourselves in the nature. It was early Spring and the flowers were the most beautiful. People may feel a sense of Europe at this place.

After Kirstenbosch, everybody was taken back to the hostels/hotels and ended the tour. I went online and checked-in for our flights back the next day.

The last morning at Cape Town

Got up early and went down to the Waterfront for breakfast. Most shops were still closed at that time. After quick bites and a short walk, we got back to the hostel for the airport transfer. The black driver is quite a nice guy who chatted with us all the way to airport. It turned out that Vietnam and South Africa had some history similarities. Both peoples had a long fight for freedom and independence. I really felt for the Africans on this matter.

We arrived at airport a bit early and had enough time to rebate the taxes for our purchased goods including the diamonds. This is great since I could claim around USD120 back in cash. We then proceeded for check-in and got some African specials back for friends. Ostrich dried meat is recommended, cheap and nutritious.

Cape Town airport is nice and easy to get around. We boarded the flights on time and had a safe flight home though my wife could not sleep on the way back due time zone change.

We really really had a short but wonderful trip to South Africa and I would recommend every one to visit this beautiful country, a place where people find themselves so close to the mother nature.