Qinghai-Tibet Railway: Feat or Fiasco?

 

Wise up to solo travelling

Labelled WISE (Women who Insist on Single Experiences) by British travel agents, solo women travellers have come a long way since Mary Kingsley set out from England to live with indigenousl tribes in Angola in the late 1800s. Here’s how to explore and travel safely at the same time.

Once an unthinkable, and often taboo, way of broadening horizons, solo travel has become an increasingly popular pastime for intrepid women who have full and busy careers. Though most don’t go in search of their souls to the same degree as Elizabeth Gilbert, who describes her post-divorce travel stint of Europe and south-east Asia in Eat, Pray, Love (Bloomsbury, 2006), mid-life crisis is a common trigger for women to throw caution to the wind, make like Shirley Valentine and unleash their repressed gypsy souls.
However, while the motivation for travel is not always a major life change, many women find that annual vacations of a week or longer are just that, simply because they are on their own out of choice.
Luce Ritter, a 27-year-old Swiss teacher who gave up her job for a year to travel India, puts it in a nutshell: “As a solo traveller, you’re in charge. You need never have a definite plan, you don’t have to worry about co-ordinating agendas, or seeing things that you don’t like. You can sleep late, get up before the other tourists rise, meet people you wouldn’t meet if you were travelling with someone else. When I serendipitously bumped into a Buddhist woman in a post office in Nagpur, I had no idea that I would land up spending a life-changing month with her family in their humble home.”
While exercising a healthy amount of caution is essential, the last thing you want is for your holiday to turn into a chore. Says UK-based Susan Griffith, who has made solo travel substantially easier by writing travel guides including Work your Way around the World (Vacation Work Publications, 2008) and Gap Years for Grown-ups (Crimson, 2008), “Behave confidently even if you do not feel it or are a little lost. Anna’s advice from The King and I really works: ‘Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect; And whistle a happy tune, So no-one will suspect, I’m afraid’.”
For Ritter, being afraid of doing new things often prompted her to treat it as a challenge which forced her to rise above the conservative social norms of Switzerland. “When I got to Syria, I was snubbed by a friend who thought watching football was more fun than exploring, so I ventured off on my own and landed up staying with a Bedouin family who treated me fantastically.”
Adds award-winning travel writer Sarah Woods, “I’ve camped in Indian villages in remote jungle settlements in the Amazon rainforest, stayed in wonderful 5-star hotels in the Middle East, stayed in rustic posadas right on a Panamanian beach and slept on boats in the Caribbean without any hassles. Nowhere should be off limits as a female traveller – but as in every situation, you need to apply common sense.”
Affirms Griffith: “Ever since some well-meaning professional people in Islamabad tried (unsuccessfully) to persuade me not to travel up the Karakoram Highway for fear of being attached by bandits and rebels, I have tried to avoid believing any lazy scaremongering clichés. However, there comes a point when local advice should be heeded. I once ignored advice in the hotel in the Swat Valley not to walk along the river by myself, met two youths who showed me a long-handled knife which I pretended I thought they had produced for me to admire, offered to take a photo of them posing with it, which they enjoyed, and then I meekly waved them good-bye and headed back in the direction I’d come.”
Whether or not you entertain the possibility of such risks, one of the joys of solo travelling is accumulation of inner strength.
“The rewards are worth the stress,” says Ritter. “Once you’ve survived a harrowing experience, like Delhi belly in the middle of nowhere or the eyes of a tiger 50 metres away from you in the dead of night, you’ll realize you can do just about anything. It’s very liberating.”

TIPS TO KEEP YOU ON YOUR TOES
Do your research. Says journalist Lakshmi Sharath (http://backpakker.blogspot.com/), who spends a lot of time travelling around rural India to escape urban chaos: “Because infrastructure is so bad, you need to read up on towns in the area and suss out the best accommodation beforehand. Knowing a bit about the local customs and language also goes a long way to establishing a connection with locals who are often wary of outsiders.” Adds Ritter, “When I get to a new place, I always take a few hours to observe how things are done, and plan my movements from there.”
Follow your gut. When you follow your intuition, things that previously seemed impossible you will suddenly just know, says Rima Morrell, author of Travelling Magically (Piatkus, 2008). “You will know whether a book is good for you to read or not, and your reading will become very quick. You will know if you need to go on holiday at a particular time or travel to a certain country. When you do go, you will find that your intuition not only leads you to the right places and people in the culture, your experiences will be far more intense. Like a butterfly you will always know where to fly. Your trip will be transformed.” Adds Ritter, “You’re more tuned into your sixth sense when you’re on your own, and trusting it is critical to having a safe journey. In Sri Lanka, where I went to ‘be alone’, I ignored the approaches of several strangers, but, after a spontaneous chat with a local restaurant owner, landed up staying a month, travelling over 1000 kilometres in his tuk tuk and making a good friend.”
Be assertive. When the airline with whom she had booked her flight from India to Thailand told her she needed a special visa or proof of a return ticket to Switzerland, Ritter dug her heels in. “It seemed unbelievable as I had recently travelled to Sri Lanka without either. After an unsuccessful argument with the agent, I phoned the consulate, who confirmed my doubts. A few hours later after consulting a travel agent who could not help, I headed back to the airline offices and demanded to see the manager. It took a fair amount of waiting, but once I had diplomatically stated my case, he phoned the consulate and I was on the flight the next day.”
Find creative ways to hide your possessions. For example, you can put some money in an elastic bandage around your knee or a hidden pocket in your trousers. When your bag is on a bus or a train, put a padlock with a long chain around them and attach them to an immovable object. If you spend time in the water, get a waterproof pouch on a string for your valuables so you can keep them with you.
Carry basic toiletries. If you’re travelling in the third world, make sure you stock up on tampons when you’re in a city, and always carry sachets of shampoo, toilet paper and soap.
Don’t put your address on your luggage tag. Name, initial and country is all you need, and will not encourage burglars to seek out your house.
Don’t drink alcohol. Or in any quantity that could cause loss of control or in an environment where you don’t feel secure.
Book accommodation in a central well-lit area. Ask for a room on the upper floors, to deter intruders, says Woods, who has travelled over 50 countries in the US, Caribbean and Latin America solo. “Check if they have designated floors for solo female guests, and be wary of a hotel check-in desk who announce your room number loudly at a full reception as your key is handed over. Ask for another room, and for the check-in desk to be discreet.”
Align mental attitude and dress. Be humble and inconspicuous in an unfamiliar environment, says travel blogger and writer Anja Mutic (www.everthenomad.com), who has travelled alone through Europe, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and the Cayman Islands. “Have eyes in the back of your head without looking scared, befriend locals and travellers to create a mini social network, but be wary of letting your guard down in an unfamiliar environment. Act like you know what you are doing even when you don’t and read the unspoken signals.”
Don’t make eye contact with men. “In rural India, I was very careful not to be too friendly with taxi drivers and male strangers as it can lead to misconceptions, as social norms are more conservative than the west, and a smile can be conveyed as being a ‘come on’,” says Ritter.
Align yourself with other women. If you’re on a bus or train, sit next to women, or, if you sense danger in the street, walk with another woman or a group of people, advises Sharath. If you’re not keen to go it alone in the beginning, link up with a like-minded group through reputable tour operators like The Thelma and Louise Club (www.thelmandlouise.com) or Venus Adventures (http://www.venusadventures.travel/solotravelindia.php) who specialize in trips tailormade for women.

(Published in Aquarius, Dubai, June 2009. Copyright held by the author.)

 

Cape Town: Soul City

Cradled by spectacular mountain and beach scenery, cosmopolitan Cape Town, South Africa’s premier tourist destination, is a haven for the soul in more ways than one.

1. Walk up Table Mountain
Cape Town’s most defining landmark, Table Mountain, with its well-known cloudy tablecloth, presides over the Mother City like an imperious, but watchful guardian. If you’re relatively fit, a walk up Platteklip Gorge on a clear morning is both invigorating and spiritually rewarding. Imbibe the spectacular aerial view of the city from the flat table top with the dassies, have breakfast in the restaurant and take the cable car down. For the more adventurous, guided trails of the mountain, called Hoerikwaggo by the indigenous San, can be arranged. The six-day Top to Tip Trail of Table Mountain National Park, from the bottom of the table to the bottom of the spine at Cape Point, includes luxury accommodation. Contact Barry Washkansky (washer77@gmail.com) to climb Devil’s Peak, explore Tranquillity Cracks or discover the Valley of the Red Gods, tailored according to your fitness levels.

2. Sunrise at Cape Point
If the trail is too strenuous, hire a car and head for Cape Town’s southernmost point before the sun comes up. Take a packed breakfast, choose a beach (the reserve offers maps at the entrance, which include historical buildings), but beware of the baboons. Though they’re well-monitored, tourists who feed them are partly responsible for their sometimes marauding behaviour. If you’re well-heeled and want to really bliss out, hire a self-catering cottage in the reserve (http://www.capestay.co.za/capepointcottage/) and take advantage of the complimentary massages.

3. Spa at V&A
In need of inner rejuvenation to banish shopping woes? The Cape Grace spa at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront has a sauna, steam room, mineral spa bath, rain shower, body shower as well as an indoor pool to wash away stress and strain. Or have a refreshing facial, wax treatment or one of a range of other beauty treats to get your boy in tiptop condition. Owned by Dubai developers, the massive mall with restaurants and shopping of every description, has a spectacular view of the reclaimed yacht basin and boasts South Africa’s biggest aquarium.

4. Picnic at Boschendal wine estate
One of South Africa’s most famous wine estates, Boschendal, originated by the French Huguenots in 1685, is a healing balm for the travel-weary spirit. While the restaurant, housed in a Cape Dutch-style manor house dating back to 1812, offers buffet luncheons and Le Café light lunches and teas, a specially packed picnic on the grass, complemented by a selection of the finest Cape wines, is the best way of combining social and spiritual aspects of your soul. If you want to get out into the country, there are plenty of other wine estates to choose from near Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. For a unique experience, head for Solms-Delta, a modern wine estate with a museum commemorating the slaves who worked there over the centuries, and order a tailored picnic from the Fyndraai restaurant.

5. Chill out at Bakoven
Nestled below a cluster of quaint seaside cottages between Llandudno and Hout Bay, Bakoven Beach offers secluded bathing and a wild view of the sea from a set of large boulders. A great spot for relaxing or a mellow cocktail party when it’s not too hot, the idyllic cove is much more intimate than Camps Bay, its upmarket neighbouring big sister. The backdrop of majestic mountains makes for pure surreal escapism; beach bathing doesn’t get more spiritual than this.

6. Jazz in Green Point
Feed your soul with soothing jazz and delectable eats in happening Green Point. The Best Ugly Rhythm Bar and Restaurant in Main Road is perfect for light starters and laidback entertainment, while the Pigalle Restaurant offers upmarket seafood and Mediterranean fare. Or get Cuban at the Bueno Vista Social Club, which has a really laidback vibe and chilled latino vibes to transport your mind. Guest houses and holiday accommodation make this area, close to the new soccer stadium being built for the 2010 World Cup, a popular haunt for trendy tourists.

7. Surf lesson in Kalk Bay/Muizenberg
Muizenberg, with its long white beaches and gentle, consistent waves, is popular with professionals and beginner surfers alike. If you’ve never tried it and want to experience the natural high of hitting the lip, contact Gary’s Surf School (+27-21-788-9839) for affordable lessons. For those already in the loop, surfboards are also available for rental. Or try the Surf Shack School (+27-21-788-9286) where professional, experienced instructors will ensure you get hot coffee at the coffee bar after you’ve caught a wave.

8. Horseriding on Noordhoek Beach
An endless expanse of white sand, Noordhoek Beach, on the other side of Chapman’s Peak, the sheer illusion of boundlessness is sure to open even the most jaded soul. Though it’s often too windy to bask in the sun, horserides, from Kommetjie past the Kakapo shipwreck, are the most adventurous way to experience the area’s spirituality. Contact the Imhoff Equestrian Centre on 082-774-1191 or info@sunsetbeach.co.za for a champagne breakfast along the way.

9. Sundowners on Chapman’s Peak
Winding 9km from Noordhoek to Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak Drive, which was carved into the mountain nearly 100 years ago, offers spectacular 180-degree views of the Atlantic Ocean. Picnic spots and viewpoints are dotted along the way and provide the perfect setting for an evening sundowner. Don’t forget your camera; the dramatic manganese-layered cliffs and seascapes make this one of the world’s most famous marine drives, especially when the whales are mating.

10. Sunset concert in Kirstenbosch Gardens
Besides being Cape Town’s premier showcase of indigenous flora, spectacular Kirstenbosch Gardens in Newlands offer visitors panoramic views from the lower slopes. Open 365 days a year, the gardens are ideal for a long leisurely strolls, with or without dogs, or a laidback picnic, stocked with delectable fare from the Fynbos Deli, during the day. Or sample world-class cuisine in style at the Silvertree Restaurant. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the gardens range from interesting herbs to local fynbos and rare cycads. For a really novel experience, take a walk in the ‘blind garden’ where plants can be identified by smell and touch. If you’re there on a Sunday evening during November to April, unwind on the grass and tune into one of the many international and national musical acts between 5.30pm and 6.30pm.

(Published in Aquarius, Dubai. Copyright owned by the author.)

 

15 cheap tricks to slash holiday costs

It sounds too good to be true, but by using a bit of thrifty common sense, you can double your fun by cutting your holiday expenses in half.

 

 

1. Travel off-peak

Plan ahead around children’s school holidays if you want the whole family to get the most out of their vacation. Flying on week days rather than over weekends can save you as much as ??%: for example, some flights from Dubai cost ?? on the weekend, and ?? for the same flight on a weekday. Most holiday resorts also up their prices in season by 30 percent or more, so try to strike a package deal at a less popular place well in advance or opt to travel in the off-season.

 

2. Book flights in advance

If you’re flying, book your tickets as far as possible ahead of the departure date. The longer in advance you book, the cheaper the rates. For example, a flight from Dubai to ?? will cost you only ?? if you book two days before, compared with ?? one month before.

Use an internet search engine to find cheap flights and lowest-fare airlines to suss out the competition, as airlines can differ by over 50 percent.

 “Collecting frequent flyer miles can also lead to a free upgrade, savings on hotels, and much more, which is a major bonus as many cards, like Nectar, don’t require the user to fly to collect miles,” adds Ola Fagbohun, founder and editor of women’s online travel magazine Diverse Traveller (www.diversetraveller.com).

 

3. Track fares on the internet

Sign up for travel and restaurant newsletters, and take advantage of last-minute deals and discount coupons. Check visitors’ bureau websites for tips on getting discounted rates at tourist attractions or popular events. Booking flights and accommodation online is another great stress-buster, and, if you are willing to pay on a non-refundable basis, online car rentals offer a range of vehicles to suit every traveller.

“I subscribe to consolidation websites like Travelzoo.com, which gives travel deals from all over the world, as well as their top 20 deals of the week,” says Fagbohun, who says the early hours of the morning are best for on-line booking as air fares are lower when fewer people are bidding.

“Use e.mail to save money on long distance phone calls to Europe when booking accommodations,” adds Rick Steves, whose travel website (www.ricksteves.com) e.mails subscribers regular newsletters on cutting costs in Europe. “If you’re concerned about e.mailing your credit card number, confirm your reservation by faxing a printed copy of your e.mail correspondence with the number.”

 

4. Go on a road trip

While travel a la Jack Kerouac is hardly at the top of any concerned mother’s wish list, anyone who has done a family holiday by car will attest that the happy memories of adventure and togetherness far outweigh the stresses of fighting over the window seat, if the destination is not too far away. Besides drastically cutting costs (compare costs of a flight/train trip with petrol), two drivers ensure that driving fatigue is shared, you won’t have to fork out for expensive taxis on the other side or spend hours of precious time organizing transport. If you have children, make sure you have plenty of magazines, games, cellphone or laptop games and music, DVDs (if you have a portable DVD player), mineral water and snacks on hand before you leave. Max the mileage on your journey by checking tyre pressure, wheel alignment and air filters, all of which will turn pennies into pounds.

 

5. Stay on the beaten track

While travelling far from the madding crowd is a great way to avoid paying exorbitant prices geared towards foreign tourists, you could land up spending all your cash (and time) on transport to get to monuments, galleries and night clubs you want to visit. Try to stay in mid-range accommodation which doesn’t skimp on comfort and is no more than half an hour from major tourist centres. Cheaper still, if self-sufficiency is not a major issue, stay at a guesthouse or with someone you know. An added benefit of choosing this route is that you get to pick up tips and tricks from the locals.

 

6. Book tours locally

Avoid paying travel agents’ commissions by planning your trip beforehand. If you’re going to be near a city, check out availability of bus, coach and train trips in the area on the internet or in travel guide books. If you don’t need to book in advance, it’s often better to wait until you get there and cut costs on hiring a driver if you’re not in your own car. Though hotels often arrange sightseeing tours with a days’ notice, it’s usually cheaper to organize them through a tourist office, advises Steves, and, if it’s not too far, don your hiking shoes and take a walking tour instead of a bus or coach.

 

7. Pack light

If you’re flying, extra kilos mean extra pennies. Also, leaving extra space in your suitcase gives you more room for valuable holiday purchases, while restricting you from indulging in whimsical shopping sprees.

Pack light clothes that don’t take up too much space and can be worn in layers, hard-wearing denims that don’t require frequent washing (which you should try to do yourself to avoid laundry costs) and avoid garments that need to be ironed. “I always take a few pashminas, instead of a cardigan, which doubles up as a wrap on the beach, and covers my head and shoulders when visiting religious places.”

Walking shoes are an absolute must, and besides saving you on taxi bills, could take you on healthy hikes which could ultimately reduce medical costs. Make sure you know the weather predictions for your holiday destination to avoid going into debit over a useless item that may never be used again.

“Remembering the old adage ‘pack half as much as you think you need’ really helps me to keep my luggage to the bare minimum,” explains travel author Sarah Woods. “I pack at around 20kg max and often manage 12-15kg – it gives me the freedom to move around easily with luggage in tow without the stress and strain of a struggle.”

 

8. Drink and eat local

Avoid touristy restaurants with “We speak English signs” and multilingual menus, advises Steves. “Those that are filled with locals serve better food for less money. I look for a short, handwritten menu in the local language only. Go with the daily specials.”

Regardless of where you are, the most expensive item on the menu is usually the booze. And the price escalates according to the quality and distance of the importation. If you can, choose a restaurant that allows you to bring your own alcohol; even if they charge a corkage fee for opening a bottle of wine, this precaution could more than halve your bill, and double your pleasure. In Europe, it is also cheaper to drink at the bar than at the table, says Steves.

Likewise, it makes no sense to order Mozambique prawns or buy Danish cheese if you’re in the middle of Bangalore. Rather expand your cultural horizons by savouring the local delicacies and snack on the seasonal produce of the area.

 

9.  Monitor exchange rates

Possibly the biggest unknown factor when travelling to a foreign destination is the local currency. Though you can’t foresee comparisons in price to your own until you or someone you know has been there, try to monitor exchange rates at least three months before you get there.

Buy foreign exchange on your credit card. “But beware of credit cards that levy heavy fees for using your card abroad, particularly when withdrawing money from an ATM. If you’re in the UK, check out credit cards from the Post Office and Nationwide; they regularly top the charts of the best cards to use abroad,” advises Fagbohun, who uses moneyexpert.com.

 

10. Don’t buy at the airport/train station

Everything from food and magazines to mineral water and foreign exchange costs more here. And while it’s tempting to quaff coffee and crisps while you’re waiting, you could lop off 90 percent of your bill by taking an apple or two and a bottle of water with you. Waiting for the complimentary meals on most flights is well worth it, and no-one will stop you if you stash a bread roll or fruit juice or two from your in-flight meal in your handbag to tide you over. While in-flight travel magazines keep you occupied for short trips, it is wise to stock up on books or magazines (try your local secondhand book store; you can always find interesting exchanges at your destination and leave your books behind for local readers) before you leave. Also, try to get someone to take you to the airport rather than spoiling a wonderful holiday with a costly airport parking tariff.

 

11. Know the bargaining rate

While the prices in western shops are generally fixed, bargaining in eastern or third-world countries is par for the course. The trick is to know the market and set yourself a ceiling. Get an idea from fixed-price shops of what the going price of an item generally is (in India, all goods are required by law to have a Maximum Required Payment), then start bargaining at about a third of the vendor’s asking price. In places like Morocco and Turkey, you can often knock carpet prices down to a quarter of the asking price.

 

12. Save on cellphone costs

If you’re travelling overseas and know you will need to make a lot of calls, invest in a local SIM card rather than paying exorbitant fees for a roaming facility from your own country. When you arrive at your destination, activate an option for selecting a network on your cellphone and choose the network which gives you the best reception in built-up areas.

Instead of countless SMSes and MMSes each time you feel a pang of homesickness or high adventure, delay the gratification until you can download pics at home and send postcards – your granny will love you forever!

 

13. Map your territory

While the GPS has revolutionized motor travel, it is a little more costly than a good, old-fashioned map. Try to get a durable, portable book map than a flimsy paper spread which is a mission to unfold and consult in the middle of a bustling tourist hub. Depending on the exchange rate, it may also be cheaper to buy your maps at your destination.

 

14. Shop smart

Human nature being as illogical as it is, many travellers make the mistake of decking themselves out in appropriate gear before getting anywhere near their destination. If you’re heading for Phuket beaches, there’s no point in buying a Thai-style kekoi from a designer shopping emporium when you can get the real thing at a tenth of the price in Thailand. Set up a tentative budget for specialities of the area before you leave, but steer clear of touristy markets and avoid hawkers selling ancient ornaments outside monuments, and stick to local bazaars or craft markets; not only will you get the real thing, but you’re likely to spend less money on something that will last longer.

 

15. Swap homes

If you’re prepared to take a risk, join thousands who have saved costs on their holidays by swapping homes. The web is teeming with agencies, so try to ensure you choose a reputable one. Says Canadian Dennis Chobater, who has used Global Home Exchange (www.4homex.com) for 15 years, “We jumped into our first home exchange experience with both feet. We not only traded homes for a year with a couple from Australia but also swapped cars, jobs and bills. Since then we have discovered different parts of the world with swaps ranging from two to 22 days – from New York and California to New York.” 

To ensure you don’t make a bad choice, demand loads of photographs and make sure you don’t pay anything before you have a signed confirmation of who is responsible for maintenance and damage and gives you a right to refund if the property isn’t as expected.

Published in Aquarius, Dubai, 2008.

 

Cape of Slaves

South Africa’s most cosmopolitan holiday honey pot, Cape Town has always beaten to a different drum. Now a new musical initiative based on Cape slave culture encourages visitors and locals alike to celebrate its unique cultural essence. Inspired by its vibrance, I devised a 10-stop slave site tour which also takes in some of the city’s trendiest and most spectacular sights.

Think contemporary Cape Town city centre and you probably think penthouses, coffee shops, colonial architecture and modern high-rises. Stretch your imagination to include its foundations and scenery and De Oude Kaap, first settled by the Dutch in 1652, takes on a funky new dimension.

1. Forget glitterati; think goemarati
Not only was much of the city built with the expertise of slaves, many of whom lie buried anonymously in unmarked graves covered by roads and buildings, but the genetic make-up of much of its present population owes its hybrid structure to over 63 000 slaves imported from Indonesia, India, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, amongst other destinations, from the mid-1600s to the early 19th century. With little in common to unite them, slaves, many of whom interbred with the indigenous Khoi, virtually invented their own culture, which relied strongly on the Khoi ghoema drum. Now, in keeping with national efforts to embrace South Africa’s multicultural identity, the Cape Town Partnership has devised a strategy called Goemarati, which aims to connect Town and Township, and memorialise Cape Town’s creolised culture through musicians, poets and performers. Launched on 21 February, the monthly performances take place at historic Church Square, transformed from a run-down parking area to a vibrant pedestrian-friendly public space, until August. Get down and be a slave to the rhythm.

2. Blend into the Bo-Kaap
Employed either by the Dutch East India Company or mainly white European burghers, who began to cohabit and/or procreate with slaves and indigenous Khoi soon after the Dutch arrived in 1652, slaves made up ??% of the population in ??. Descendants of those who didn’t marry into white families lived in what have become trendy sought-after areas since the abolition of apartheid. Today, the Bo-Kaap, with its brightly painted exteriors and steep, cobbled streets is still the home of many Malay slave descendants, and a major tourist attraction. For an idea of what 19th century Muslim homes looked like, pay a visit to the Bo-Kaap Museum at 71 Wale Street. If you’re here at midday, take your cue from the noon-day gun, ??, and head for lunch at the family-run Noon Gun Café where bobotie (a Cape Malay style curry), chicken biryani and lamb curry will give you a real taste of the Cape.

3. Take in Tana Baru
Situated in the Bo-Kaap atop Signal Hill in one of Cape Town’s prime spots with views of Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Table Bay, the Tana Baru, though rundown in recent years due to lack of funds, still houses old unmarked Muslim graves, with Arabic inscriptions dating back 300 years, and the colourful kramats of Islam pioneers, Tuan Guru and Nuruman. While foreign developers have started buying up the historic land, still owned by Muslim individuals, the Tana Bara Trust and the South African Heritage Agency is trying to preserve the historic site and build a Garden of Remembrance. Whether you do the trip to pay spiritual respect or just take in the view, this is one spot that shouldn’t be missed.

4. Languish in Long Street
Step into one of the funkiest streets in South Africa, and, after stocking up your plate and your wardrobe, grab some culture. Built in 1804, the South African Missionary Society’s Old Slave Church at 40 Long Street is today an architecturally unique museum outlining the work of Christian missions, which helped employ slaves who were emancipated in 1838. To embellish your religious background, head further down the road to the Palm Tree mosque, built in the 1780s as a house with an upstairs prayer room and today a much-frequented mosque. Brought to the Cape by slaves and political prisoners from the east, Islam was used as a language of resistance to oppression. Today the legacy lives on and a circle of ?? kramats around the peninsula extends to Robben Island. Situated at 39 Dorp Street (where?), the oldest mosque in the country, the Auwal Mosque was a property owned by a freed slave Salie Coridon of Ceylon, whose daughter married Achmat of Bengal who later made it available to the Muslim community for use as a mosque. While many slaves stuck to Islam, many were converted by Christian missionaries post-emancipation. For a really interesting slice of religious slave history, head for St Stephen’s Church in Riebeeck Square, which was originally the African Theatre built in 1801. Though it was closed to non-whites in 1829, it later became a Dutch Reformed mission church for freed slaves. This caused an outcry and when ex-theatre patrons shattered the windows, the church was named after St Stephen the Martyr, who was stoned to death.

5. Lament at the Lodge
Slaves who weren’t owned privately worked for the Dutch East India Company and were housed in the Slave Lodge, at 49 Adderley Street, a windowless brick building built in 1679. (Are dungeons visible?) Once also magistrate offices, today the building is called the Cultural History Museum, run by Iziko Museums. In addition to an extensive exhibition detailing the Cape slave labour system as well as a peek at American slavery, the museum showcases a wide range of Cape Dutch furniture and the tombstones of Jan Van Riebeeck and his wife, Maria de Queillerie, in the courtyard. A commemorative plaque on the centre island of Spin Street, alongside the lodge, marks the slave tree under which slaves were auctioned. Stop for coffee at the top of Adderley Street at The Crypt, a quaint outdoor restaurant cum coffee shop which also serves omelettes to die for.

6. Chill in the Company Gardens
Step out of the Crypt and head down the oak-lined alley cutting through the well-tended gardens, one of six outposts worked by Company slaves during Dutch rule. Check out the symbolic slave bell, chill on the grass, and if you have a day at your disposal, fill up on culture. The South African National Library, the Planetarium, SA National Gallery, the Jewish Holocaust Museum and St ??s Cathedral are all situated here. Be sure to get a glimpse of the rare gingko biloba tree which nearly got gallery director Marilyn Martin into trouble because it wasn’t indigenous, and buy a bag of nuts from the vendors to feed the squirrels.

7. Get grave in Green Point
When over 2000 bones, thought to be those of slaves, Khoi or underclasses buried in unmarked graves in the late 17th century, were uncovered during the building of an upmarket development in Prestwich Street, Green Point, in 2003 they were honoured in a burial ceremony after much deliberation. Three years later, the development is under way again, and the first stages of a memorial garden, ossuary and square have been completed on the corner of Buitengracht Street and Somerset Road. Called St Andrews Square after the Presbyterian church which accommodated ex-slaves after emancipation in 1838, architects aim to build a visitor’s centre and kiosk run by rehabilitated individuals who will serve teas and light meals, as well as a theatre and sculpture exhibitions. Visitors should be able to enjoy all the benefits of the revamped green area by May 2007 against the backdrop of the old cemetery walls lining Alfred Street, which will house the remains. As Clive James, Head of Planning for the project, puts it, “it is not just the story of the burials, but also the story of District 1 – dating back to pre-colonial times, through slavery, struggle and forced removals, up until the present day.”

8. OD at Oudekraal
With probably the highest value for privately owned property in Cape Town, this piece of land ?? of Camps Bay has been the centre of a legal land battle since 1957. It’s not hard to see why. Ninety-nine steps up the mountain slope from Victoria Road which straddles the sparkling Atlantic is the tomb of Sheikh Noorul Mubeen beside a stream. Banished to the Cape in 1716, he was incarcerated on Robben Island, and, after escaping, made a humble mountain home of this tranquil spot with a 360 view of the ocean and mountains. When the slaves on the surrounding estates discovered he was a holy man, he began preaching the tenets of Islam to them at night. A popular Sunday pilgrimage spot for Muslims and meditators alike, Oudekraal is also the site of two more kramats and 53 graves. It is also an eco-sensitive shrine and wishful Shangri-la for property owner ?? who is trying to persuade the court to allow him to develop it. If you want to experience the serenity over an extended periond – and are prepared to pay for it, double-storeyed Oudekraal House starts at R1200 a day. Phone Jonathan Tillett on 082 958 7608 for details or e.mail oudekraal@worldimages.co.za.

9. Mount the mountain
To leave Cape Town without ascending Table Mountain is tantamount to touristic sin, but, as many hikers who have lost their way with disastrous consequences have discovered, climbing it is not for the faint-hearted. However, if you are the outdoor type and don’t go anywhere without your hiking boots, the route via Platteklip Gorge – and the only year-round source of water on this walk, where slave washerwomen used to do their laundry and around which much slave literature has been written – is your safest bet. If you are relatively fit, you should get from the bottom cable station to the top one in about two and a half hours, have tea or lunch in the restaurant on the summit, before grabbing the cable car down, which only takes four minutes. Although the route is well signposted, be sure to get a map from ?? before you leave.

10. Dine at Delta
Monopolised by French Huguenots who became burghers after their arrival in 1688, Drakenstein Valley wine farms were virtually run by slaves. Still thriving on wine farms and restaurants today, the upmarket valley 80km from Cape Town took on a new conscience when ex-neuroscientist Mark Solms bought Delta farm in 2002 and, with innovative marketing, introduced a system to empower the slave descendants still living on the farm. After a tour of its immaculately presented Museum van de Caab, which aims to tell the history of the farm (and the country) through the subjective viewpoints of the people who worked there, treat yourself to the ample wine-tasting. Using research cadged from local microhistorians and academics, the brochure – which tells the tale of well-known slave icons like Groote Catrijn – is a masterpiece in itself. Read it while you languish on the lawns and enjoy a pre-packed picnic which costs only R90 (sans wine).

Published in Rootz, South Africa. Copyright Sharon Masrhall 2007.

 

A grave discovery

(see Part I of the story) and started tracking down his and my own ancestors, who moved in the same circles.

In my travels overseas, I have never been able to resist a graveyard and the silent history it relates. At home I’m so caught up in the cause of progress it’s easy to pass off a cemetery as the dead centre it seems.

Until I found boy-soldier SE Morley

In a little cemetery on Grassridge Farm in Cradock , James Lydford Collett, the progenitor of my paternal grandmother’s family and that of the late Professor Guy Butler, is buried beside his wife Rhoda Trollip, herself a settler in search of a better life and unknowing pawn in England’s grand emigration scheme which shaped the complicated history I call my own.

I’m told the grave-site still exists, and the thought of seeing it produces the same chilly-warm feeling that I have somehow come home – to the mighty Fish River, Bartholomew Diaz’s turning point in 1488, strategic boundary of the 1820 settlement and site of my great great great uncle’s marriage to a slave from Madagascar in the early 1830s.

This is Frontier country: nine wars were fought here before 1900, the ANC and resistance to Nationalist rule was born here in the 20th century and graves are as much a part of the landscape as the melting pot of people who have fought to own a part of it.

Halfway between nearby Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen in the middle of the veld lies the overgrown grave of an Afrikaner voortrekker, fenced in by his wife on their pilgrimage north, and, not far away, an ancient rock painting of the sacred eland and runic inscriptions proclaim spiritual homage to a San hunter-gatherer.

Closer to colonial strongholds like Grahamstown, settler graveyards like St James at Southwell, St John’s at Bathurst and Cuylerville Cemetery complement the lone testimonies of an unnamed Hottentot whose hand was chopped off to save the life of a Xhosa chief to whom he was handcuffed. The grave of cult figure and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in King William’s Town, who was murdered in jail in 1977, also bears testimony to generations of political strife.”

If Queenstown’s on your route, there’s an elderly gentleman in the town who knows every ‘inhabitant’ of the vandalised graveyard, because he made it his business, as a United Party member, to ensure the opposition Nats weren’t using dead people as bogus postal voters in the 1960’s elections.

If you’re into drama and have access to a 4×4, get someone to guide you to the top of Buffelskop, overlooking Cradock, where the spirit of controversial author of Story of an African, Olive Schreiner, lives on, in an elaborate igloo-shaped tomb built in 1920 by her estranged husband Samuel Cronwright, who had her remains moved from Maitland Cemetery in Cape Town.

More of a contrast would be hard to find. Maitland or Woltemade Cemetery, though it houses hundreds of notables, is run-down and a source of much agitation for visitors. Over 100 homeless squatters camp out in plastic ‘tents’ beside their stone-slab ‘postboxes’, hanging out their washing to the approval of the dead who they say protect them from gangsters.

Unorthodox form of respect though it may be, respect it is; which, many believe, is a civilised custom that began right here in South Africa. The Border Cave, a site on the KwaZulu Natal/Swaziland border, is the site of the first known deliberate burial in the world 80 000 years ago, and as recently as 1999 archaeologists discovered the mummified remains of a 2000-year-old San hunter-gatherer embalmed by an indigenous plant, in the Kouga mountains.

Respecting the dead

It is this same need to show respect that sparked the international battle over the remains of Sara Baartman hundreds of years after she was publicly humiliated in Europe and which saw them finally brought to rest in Hankey; the same debate that raged over the removal of Chief Makana’s remains from Robben Island to the Eastern Cape; the same urge that motivated local tribesmen to preserve the Valley of the Kings in KwaZulu Natal, home in life and death to a long line of Zulu chiefs which include Cetshwayo, the man who brought the British to their knees at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879.

For better or worse, spiritual consciousness deems it necessary to honour the dead, and like the circle of modern South African life begun at the foot of Table Mountain, the Mother City is the fulcrum around which at least one circle spins.

Begun over 250 years ago, when Islam slaves were first brought to the Cape, a circle of tombs of saints of their religion is now complete. It starts at the kramat on Signal Hill and ends at Robben Island.

For those with little inclination to travel beyond the fairest Cape, just one trip is necessary: embodying the essence of what all this battle and heartache is about: a granite Celtic cross marking the grave of Kirstenbosch’s first director, Professor Harold Pearson, states simply, “If ye seek his monument, look around.”

Extract from Thabo Mbeki’s words at the adoption of South Africa’s constitution on May 8, 1996:

“I owe my being to the hills and the valleys…the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land. I owe my being to the Khoi and the San… I am formed of the migrants who left Europe to find a new home in our native land… in my veins courses the blood of the Malay slaves… I am the grandchild who lays flowers on the Boer graves…I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led…the soldiers Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonour the cause of freedom.”

TOUR YOUR LOCAL CEMETERY Eastern Cape Liz Eshmade, known as the ‘Grave Lady’ by the Port Elizabeth press, has, with the help of school groups and other volunteers, recorded a comprehensive list of graveyard inhabitants in the greater Port Elizabeth area, and is in the process of publishing a second book which already covers over 16 000 names in 230 cemeteries – from the Fish River to Port St. Johns and north to the Orange River. It should be out later this year. On visiting graveyards, Liz says: “The main element here is that cemeteries are NOT sad places, they are gold mines of information about our past, they are the best and easiest way to learn history and get a load of fresh air and exercise at the same time. Everything from battles, the rise of commerce and industry, the killer diseases of their period, their way of life, their thinking, their religious beliefs – it is all there to be noted and can be so easily understood when you are away from the comforts of your lounge and standing in a forgotten cemetery in the bush.” However, she cautions that it is safest to do tours in groups, especially in more isolated areas, and she herself conducts tours to this end of St Mary’s in Port Elizabeth, while Rose Treahaven includes other cemeteries in her Ghost Walk Tours. Contact Liz at eshmade@mweb.co.za or 041-3682213. Settler Country If you’re into experiencing the whole Frontier shebang, Rob Speirs of Frontier Tours runs comprehensive tours of settler country. Brochures can be obtained from info@speirstours.co.za or 043 642 1747, or by visiting www.speirstours.co.za Gauteng Elaine Persona runs customised tours of Brixton and Braamfontein cemeteries, combined with other architectural legacies in Johannesburg. Contact her at the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust on: 011-482 3349. Cape To find out more about graveyards around the Cape peninsula, contact info@twinoaks.co.za or catch a ride on the Mystery Ghost Bus Tour. And if you’re ever in the Prince Albert district in the Karoo, make sure you try out their ghost walk. In the Northern Cape town of Kimberley, you can join the Kimberley Ghost Trail. Phone: 053-832 7298 for more info.

 

 Published on iafrica.com 2004. Copyright Sharon Marshall 2004.

 

A grave guide to South Africa

There is something about a grave that speaks of dignity…perhaps the only real permanent spot one gets on Planet Earth. In a mission to trace her settler origins Sharon Marshall uncovered the evolution of her family as well as that of the land which gave her birth – through the monuments to the dead.

It all started in Sri Lanka a few months ago.
We were catching a tuk-tuk ride up in Trincomalee, a strategic spot which has seen few foreigners in the last 13 years because of civil war, when the driver pointed out a pristine Bougainvillea-bordered patch of ground amidst the war-ravaged countryside.
A few steps closer and the rows of white benches turned into perfect little crosses – not a refuge for tired travellers or locals, but an honorary haven for allied forces who fought here in World War II.
All too aware of the irony of seeming to be paying homage to an imperialist soldier in a Buddhist land, which ironically was once the source of slave labour for our country, I told the overseer I was a South African Buddhist.
Unperturbed, he proudly unlocked his register from a vault in the wall and, following the map to one South African citizen – 19-year-old Private SE Morley from Queenstown, the very place of my own birth – I flounder.
A halo appears around the head of this gentle man who has probably seen more senseless deaths than I have read about, and I am transported back to a time when my travelling partner, an unwilling conscript in the apartheid government’s great Angolan cover-up, nearly lost his life.
Not much I can do, but this I can – a photo for the family back home.
An act which, I discover on returning in search of this young man’s family, was pre-empted 100 years before when Rose McEwan and a band of women friends took to the Anglo-Boer battlefields in Lydenburg, photographed the resting places of fallen soldiers and sent the pictures to their wives and mothers.
A fitting tribute
She herself now occupies a respectable place in Brixton Cemetery (Krause Street, Vrededorp), which has recently been upgraded with tar roads and trees to accommodate tourist tours at the recent World Summit. Something macabre about the concept at face value, but on deeper reflection, a fitting and clever tribute to many who left their personal marks on the history of the country.
Her neighbours in this leafy olde-worlde cemetery include the likes of Johannesburg trade unionist Mary “Pickhandle” Fitzgerald and Samuel “Taffy” Long, whose spot in eternity is marked with a granite cross stating that he was executed “for a crime he did not commit” in the aftermath of the 1922 Miners’ Strike.
Laid out in 1912, Brixton Cemetery speaks silent testimony to battle and success across the board, and is the site of the first Hindu crematorium in Africa (built in 1918) conceptualised by human rights pacifist Mahatma Gandhi before he left the country for good.
A lesser-publicised inhabitant of the cemetery is Cornelis Broeksma who was executed by firing squad at Johannesburg Fort on September 30, 1901, for exposing the appalling conditions at concentration camps in the South African War at the turn of the 20th century, with the help of Emily Hobhouse. Her ashes were brought from England and placed at the bottom of the Vroue Monument in Bloemfontein to commemmorate the deaths of over 28 000 women and children in the camps.
Of the 115 white concentration camps, the biggest in Johannesburg was at the Turffontein Race Course, which housed around 5000 people, of whom 700 died and were buried in Winchester Hills, on a farm called Kliprivier Berg.
Vandalised by an anti-Ossewa Brandwag group during World War II, it was overhauled and re-opened in 1961. It now consists of a number of coffin-shaped terraces, with a memorial listing the names of the dead and a few headstones, including that of an eight-month-old baby.
Not far from Brixton, in Braamfontein Cemetery (Graf Street), lies another tragic rite of passage.
Unaware of the passive resistance campaign instigated by Gandhi in response to 1906’s Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance, by which Indians and Chinese were bound to register their presence in the Transvaal, a 24-year-old Chinese man, Chow Kwai For, registered.
When he realised what he had done, he committed suicide – his letter of apology (written in Chinese) is engraved on the headstone. Put this one high on your grave tour agenda.
Besides other passive resistors, the graveyard also accommodates dynamite explosion victims, South African War soldiers, cholera and flu epidemic victims, and a memorial to Enoch Sontonga, the creator of South Africa’s national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, who died in obscurity at the age of 33.
Though it took authorities over a year to find his grave which itself had been buried, a glamorous black granite tribute to his unique legacy has now been erected.
Nearby, in Soweto’s overcrowded Avalon Cemetery, lie Communist Party leader, Joe Slovo; 1976 Soweto hero Hector Pieterson; and human rights stalwart Helen Joseph; not recommended if you can’t ignore the rows of cot-like structures and pauper’s graves of Aids victims that will forever bear witness to this tragic slice of SA history.
If you’re in Johannesburg, don’t miss the three words on the SAHRA memorial commemorating the casualties of the Soweto “uprising” in 1976: “Never never again…”

Fascinating, isn’t it? And that’s not all. Sharon Marshall has many more grave stories to share. We’ll publish PART TWO of A grave guide through SA next week.

Published on iafrica.com 2004. Copyright Sharon Marshall 2004.

 

High on Harmony

Sharon Marshall finds new wings for her city-weary soul at luxurious Ananda Spa in the Indian Himalayas.

 

Like India, the times they have a-changed, and, on a trip to the evolving country, my partner and I decided a 22-year anniversary was the perfect reason to explore our long-dreamed-of travel destinations. A trip to the Himalayas topped the list. With Rishikesh, the reputed yogic capital of the world which gained international fame when the Beatles visited the Maharishi Yogi back in the’ 60s, at its foothills, our city-worn sensors hit high alert when we discovered there was a luxurious spa just up the hill overlooking the sacred Ganges.

After a ponderous selection process, we added Ananda as dessert to a main course of Uttaranchal scenic delights, and with urban woes untidily heaped into a suitcase, headed for the fabled hills.

Whether our systems were in overdrive or whether we’d imbibed contaminated lassies, we’ll never know, but after a scenic three-day drive through Haridwar, Rishikesh and Mussourie, our bodies were dehydrated, fevers high and tempers frayed by the time we reached Ananda. The last thing we felt like was dessert, but it didn’t take us long to change our minds.

Set 21 km atop a winding road from Rishikesh amidst a cool forest, Ananda headquarters are housed in a palatial Moorish-style home built on a Maharaja’s estate, with undulating green lawns and landscaped gardens, through which guests are transported by buggie to private villas or hotel rooms overlooking the holy Ganges. The restored viceroy’s palace, with its rooftop boardrooms and panoramic views, we soon discover, though primarily geared at high-powered international executives seeking stress management programmes, is a regal façade for down-to-earth healing programmes honed from eastern and western principles.

Within an hour of our arrival, the resident ayurvedic doctor had visited us in our room, and besides medicating our stomach bugs, handed us health analyses based on our personality types and dietary tastes. Enter a new regime of eating, which, after a satisfying rest on crisp, clean linen, was embarked on with tender relish. Airy Vata for me, and earthy Kapha for Chris. Which, in layman’s terms, means sautéed fish for me, to satisfy my predilection for sweet, sour and salty tastes, and roasted vegetables for Chris, whose system needs bitter, pungent and astringent flavours to keep his body-mind connection functioning at peak.

 

SPACE AND LIGHT

Next morning, after cereal and fruit al fresco on the airy restaurant deck, we study the day’s general programme and the selection of over 100 treatments, which focus on ayurveda and aromatherapy, complemented by sophisticated spa technology – and tailor-made couples’ packages like ours, which had to be abandoned at the last minute because it was too strenuous for our weakened constitutions.

With only two days at our disposal, we consult the doctor for recommendations to max our benefits, and come up with neatly dovetailed individual programmes, which also allow us plenty of time to lie at the pool and take in a tour of the grand massage centre. Refreshingly and minimistically decorated in red, saffron and orange, the 21 treatment rooms are immaculately designed to invoke feelings of harmony – “each and every pebble is placed strategically to form part of a harmonious whole,” our Tibetan masseur tells us, before whisking me off to a Shirodara, a sesame-based derivative of the Indian head massage which purportedly helps premature ageing. Gentle and indulgent, the massage, developed from a Hindi family grooming ritual over a thousand years ago, starts with the pouring of hot oil onto the crown and forehead chakras of the scalp and, as the therapist moves her way down to the throat chakra, gradually connects with the central nervous system. An hour after entering, I leave, feeling a little spaced out, but lighter, more relaxed and ready for a wind-down walk on rounded Ganga pebbles in a lukewarm footbath.

Chris, who has a weaker stomach than me, also emerges a lot more buoyant after an hour of core exercises, which involve tightening the abdominal muscles in a variety of acrobatic positions.

Cellphones abandoned (“Some of our guests suffer major withdrawals from this,” says the English supervisor Mark, whose previous life was parties and frenetic tourism in Brighton, “but it’s a major step in winding down from the frenetic pace of city life”), we slip out of our white linen spa suits and grab a few minutes in the sun at the pool.

After a lazy leafy lunch, which it’s tempting to overdo, it’s off to the palace at the top for a set of deep breathing exercises, which the instructor warns, could evoke powerful emotions. An hour-long session of deep meditational Oms, nostril and diaphragm movements, under her patient guidance, gives us an inkling of why meditational experts tout prahnic breathing as the most important spiritual tool around: able to witness a shift in consciousness with every breath, I find myself feeling old emotions relegated to the memory heap and drifting into insightful states of objectivity. Though I know they’ll still be there when I leave, insurmountable problems suddenly seem minuscule and I am aware of how simple breath control can centre my entire world. The challenge will be maintaining the routine, sans instructor, but for now I’m happy to flow into a new state of temporary bliss.

Which, on a superficial level, translates as a facial performed by a Tibetan expert: a luxury not just because I seldom allow for it, but because it goes so much deeper than the skin. Using juniper and basil as a base, my 70-minute Mountain Dew Skin Facial is one of three deep facials performed at the spa, and I am given insights into the healing properties of essential oils as well as the precarious lives of Tibetans in exile. Small wonder I feel like dinner, of vegetarian lasagne, and the consequent rose petal bath, complete with view of the sacred river below, is a special occasion.

 

TEA AND REFLEXOLOGY

Next morning Chris is fully recovered and makes an early-morning session of yoga in an outdoor amphitheatre in the cool, clear air. With separate sessions for beginners and advanced exercisers, the programme satisfies all ages and shapes, and, despite the aches created by newly activated muscles, he believes he’s found a new antidote to cycling, which is impossible in a congested city.

A little later, while he unwinds, I join a spirituality lecture together with an Indian couple who have been happily married for 25 years, a single American woman my age and an older Indian woman living in the States. The debate is lively as eastern and western attitudes to marriage are the Vedanta tutor’s favourite topic, and our individual viewpoints are diverse. After dissecting and comparing traditional arranged marriages with western unions of choice, and little agreement save that marriage is hard work, we leave with one kudo: that true love requires space to grow, and flow.

By tea time, rested but mentally revived, we prepare for our grand finale: reflexology for two in the Couple’s Suite, which also has a double jacuzzi and steam area. Though their techniques are subtly different – one learnt in Thailand, the other in England, our diagnoses are spot on (Chris’s sinus problems and my head aches are pinpointed through sensor spots on our feet) and we emerge, after an hour’s intensive therapy in a darkened room, feeling a little more grounded, but with wings under our soles.

Lunch feels ethereal and connected; our fellow clients seem to be floating on the same cloud as us, and we begin to understand why the waiters flit so effortlessly in harmonious unison. A diner next to us has just returned from an ayurvedic cookery class with inspired spice secrets and we are less than happy to leave at what seems like the beginning of a holistic honeymoon.

Looking back en route to Jolly Grant airport in nearby Dehradun, the Ganges fading into the distance, we agree that love, space and health, especially in overcrowded India, are far more precious than gold.

 

 

NEED TO KNOW

WHEN TO GO: Situated at an altitude of 1000 metres at the foot of the Uttaranchal Himalayas, the climate is temperate and moderate throughout the year, except for winter (mid-December to mid-January), when temperatures drop to 6 degrees at night.

GETTING THERE:

Located just 260 kilometres north of New Delhi, Ananda is easily accessible by road, rail and air. A 45-minute flight to Jolly Grant airport outside Dehradun, a four-hour train journey from Delhi to Haridwar station and a scenic seven to eight-hour drive from New Delhi to Ananda are the various travel options.

COST AND CONTACTS:

A room and breakfast costs from 18700 Indian rupees per night per couple, while a villa with pool costs from 49500. Tariffs include aromatic baths, yoga and meditation classes, hiking trips, use of sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi, gymnasium and swimming pools, as well as transfers to and from Haridwar Railway Station and Jolly Grant Airport. Stress management packages, up to six weeks long, are specially tailored to suit individuals and treatments charged separately. Go to www.anandaspa.com for full details and rates or contact Pushpa Nair at pushpan@ihhrhospitality.com.

 

 

AYURVEDA SPECIALITIES

Believed to have originated in the Himalayas, ayurveda is the bedrock of Ananda healthcare, which use herbs grown in the area. Rejuvenating treatments, which are designed by the resident ayurvedic doctor to detoxify and nourish the body, relax the mind and free the spirit, include:

Abhyanga, a full body massage, administered by two therapists in synchrony; Shirodara (described above); Pizhichil, a slow rhythmic full body massage with herbal oils, Choornaswedana, “bundle massage” with induced sweating to aid circulation, Takradhara, buttermilk poured on the forehead to relieve depression, Chakradhara, marma point massage, Udwarthana, herbal massage to address obesity, Nasya, massage with nasal therapy to dispel migraines.

 

ANANDA REJUVENATION CUISINE

Rather than providing a place to lose weight quickly, Ananda focuses on diet as a way of life, and each meal is a carefully planned low-calorie, high-nutrition alternative to regular meals often eaten on the trot. Low-fat, low-sodium, high-fibre are the key words employed, with no beef, pork or veal and preference given to grilled, roasted, steamed, broiled, steamed and poached cooking methods.

 

ANANDA TOURS

• Daily sunset trips to Rishikesh to observe the Ganga Aarti, a Hindu ritual in which the chanting of prayers is accompanied by a holy fire ceremony, and the offering of herbs and ghee.
• Daily car trips and treks to the Kunjapuri Temple, dedicated to Goddess Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva, 14 kilometres north of Ananda at 1645m above sea level with spectacular 360-degree views.
• Day safaris to Rajaji National Park, as well as elephant rides.
• White river rafting on the Ganges.

Published in Aquarius, Dubai, July 2008. Copyright Sharon Marshall 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wizardry of Obs

THOUGH there’s a lot less carnage on the banks of the Liesbeeck than in the 1600s when it was renowned for its wild tavern parties and wars between foreign whities and wandering ‘Hottentots’, Observatory is still cooking up an edgy cosmopolitan storm.

 

AS dyed-in-the-wool Obs emigres, we’ve got a bit blasé about our buzzy bit of Bohemia east of Cape Town, but a recent visit by overseas friends reminded us to indulge more deeply of the mindblast on our once-Victorian doorstep.

The centre of the Observatory universe, with its quaint Victorian architecture – shops below, residences with cast-iron broekie lace balconies above – is funky Lower Main Road, which, though it has a strong hippie vibe, has gradually acquired an upmarket veneer.

First stop is Stones rolling pool hall, upstairs from Diva’s. Everything – from colliding pool cues to cool eliding bodies – vibrates in this spot with its 70s decor. And although hats – as one of our group with a headdress fetish found – are forbidden, the wizard of Obs at the bar made up for it with swift delivery of a lager with lime, no problem!

Next stop, while still in strident student mode: the Obs leg of the reggae-themed Cool Runnings franchise. Bru, Bob might be a bit bamboozled by this Babylon, but the unanimous decision by all parents present was that the times they have a-changed. Or maybe it was just that we had obscenely hallowed memories of darker times when as students in struggle we’d rave the night away here (in what was then the Heidelberg Tavern) to the Cherry-Faced Lurchers and Josh Sithole, before the place was blasted away in protest of apartheid. Clearly the new smiley student lot, a global rainbow mix of Goth and gauche, had matters of less painful relevance to discuss.

Dinner is at Diva’s – African Italian with a gypsy ambience. It’s relaxed and convivial, and, in addition to an imaginative selection of pizza, pasta and wall frescoes, the waitrons are super-prescient. (The hangover and uitsmyter breakfasts are also to die for, as our guests discovered after a wake-up call by Nigerian evangelists doing their early-morning Sunday thing in the school hall opposite our house.)

Nightcap time, and off down past resident hobos (who are as much a part of the landscape as the Victoriana) and fastfood hawkers still doing a roaring trade, to A Touch of Madness, whose self-advertisement as a “Victorian quaffery” is not far off the mark. An offshoot of the recently deceased Carte Blanche, this high-ceilinged old house is cosy, quaint and as risqué as any unrespectable East Village or East End hangout. An avant garde bohemian/Victorian cross, it’s kept continually alive by the crazy presence of an Indian waiter whose camp sense of humour and wild guffaw engages patrons of all descriptions. Complete with real-life Dickensian characters like a pot-bellied Pickwick punching out poetry on his cellphone, the quaffery has an off-the-wall intellectual underbelly not for the narrow-minded. Zebulon Dread, the hardcore author of ‘Hei Voetsek’ and a number of establishment-bashing books informed our guests. “I could be rich, but I refused to compromise and went with my soul in the name of art”. Though he’s been in Obs forever, he’s finally decided an ashram in India is the only place for him and his home-schooled family. “You better be careful what you ask for. I spent my life asking for spiritual enlightenment; I can tell you, once you’ve got it, there is no going back. I might be holding a conversation and look like I’m here, but man, I’m so far away.”

Besides an unashamed loyalty to an area which managed to maintain ‘mixed’ living throughout the apartheid years, it’s the sheer progress of the place which keeps us marvelling. Since we moved here 15 years ago, we’ve witnessed the gradual mushrooming of Lower Main Road, with its double-storey Victorian buildings (shops below, residences with cast-iron broekie lace balconies above) into an offbeat mini-town with an annual festival that has even seen a local Lady Godiva bare her wares on a white horse. A little less prestigious than a 1898 church bazaar with fortune-telling gypsies and elephant rides attended by the sultan of Zanzibar, but a strong zen for the exotic and spiritual there still is. Situated on one of them spiritual Lei lines with added magnetic power from the mountain, Obs is also a haven for natural healers and the Observatory, after which the suburb is named, offers celestial adventures of a more scientific kind.

Don’t miss the monthly Holistic Fair at the Community Centre, which draws finely tuned beings from far and wide. A morning in the village gave our visitors plenty to satisfy mind, body and soul: from Africana and esoterica at Obz late-night bookshop, healing crystals from the Crystal Wizard and cafe latte at Mimi’s, a trendy sidewalk coffee shop – a la Francaise. In addition to a taste of Observatory’s past – a microcosm of South African politics – a walk along the green banks of the Liesbeeck River showed our guests the rambling conference centre, Coornhoop, where my German ancestor, Jacob Cloete, was granted land in 1657, and which was owned by a grandchild of my in-laws’ enigmatic slave ancestor, Armosyn, in the 1700s.

 

Twenty-four (hours) and so much more to explore. This time it’s just five of us, including a six-foot blonde living in Dubai whose Nordic looks I have seen drive Istanbul men – and her – to do unpredictable things. Because it’s our local, we decide on warm, gesellige Ganesh, a chic shack where matchbox-tile wallpaper is complemented by Buddhist and Frida Kahlo icons and the chargrilled lamb chops, crayfish samoosas and Xhosa gnush are the main attractions. Unless, of course, you’re six foot and blonde, in which case you are likely to take centre stage, – as our blonde did, when she was delivered with a jar of beer and an uninterpretable snippet of romantic poetry from a red-eyed kaftan-clad patron.

“Think I’ve got to come back home,” she said, a tad more philosophical than she was after slapping a pursuer with her backpack over a decade ago in Turkey. “It’s good for the ego; I haven’t been picked up in 15 years.”

Time for brighter lights. Despite the residency of perpetual and new students, Obs is not all brown bread and sandals. Obz Café, with its tall bar stools, counters and window-on-the-world euro appeal is pretty chic and regularly holds exhibitions and poetry evenings by local artists. Barmooda, on the corner of Station Road, is all ritz, as is Babbo’s, a new cocktail bar with a Manhattan vibe and where everything, from cocktails to metrosexual meetings, moves fast – for Cape Town, that is. Just don’t order sherry – they only do umbrella-garnished stuff here, and at a price.

Which is why we landed up at Scrumpy Jack, with its lime green walls, non-stop TV sport and Munich Fest-sized beer mugs. Sadly, we didn’t have time to give our visitors a taste of all the eurafricasian pleasures of Lower Main, but can vouch for each and every one of them.

From die-hard Pancho’s Mexican eatery to Sushi Zone, live music at the Armchair Theatre and bikers’ paradise at 58 on Lower Main to metaphysical treats at Door in the Floor and organic food at Komati Foods, Obs has its finger firmly on the alternative pulse.

(Published in Sawubona, November 2006, copyright Sharon Marshall)