Part II: Cape Town-The Next Glamorous Place to Be?
Cape Town has always been the city I hope to visited most in South Africa. With all the hypes, it has been dubbed the "next big thing", "the next glamorous location to be...". With both Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood already opened branches in Cape Town, we can assume now it is well on the world tourist map.
I love coastal cities. I love both water and mountains. That's why a coastal cities built right next to mountains and surrounded by water feels so charming. There's Vancouver, a city I've called home for a little while. With all the bays, straights, inlets, and coves (and a 'false' creek) and mountains right north of its downtown district, it is beyond magnificent and just stunning; Then there's San Francisco, a long time favorite of tourists from all over the world. Surronded on three sides by water and itself built on steep hills, it is always mesmerizing even for a long-termed resident. Two beautiful suspension bridges and all those Victorian houses don't hurt either. You can appreciate all these riding on the cable cars; Don't forget Sydney, Australia, a port city suddenly becomes so hot on the world stage for its Olympic madness (and isn't it look just glamorous in "Mission Impossible:2"?). The scene of the Opera House with Bay Bridge hanging behind is impressive. It's been nine years since I visited Sydney but the footages in the TV news always bring back my fond memory about the city.
Entered Cape Town, a city facing South Atlantic and surrounded on three sides by mountains. A city tries to be seen in the global stage these days but hasn't been too sucessful (It lost its bid for 2004 Olympic Game a couple years back and South Africa just lost its bid for 2006 World Cup Soccer Game last June. Now they're talking about trying to get Tom Cruise filming MI:3 here). At the tip (Mmm...almost the tip) of Africa, it is so far away from either East Asia or North America (where I have lived most of my life). This isolation makes traveling there fascinating to me. In fact, historically speaking, Cape Town is more intriguing than all other "great coastal cities" I've been to. With a 'recorded' history of 350 years, and cultural mix of African (San and Khoikhoi), muslim from Southeast Asia, Dutch and British, I think this city might have more different flavors to feel than the other three.
The central business district is surrounded at the south side by Table Mountain, west side by Signal Hill, southwest by Lion's Head, and southeast by Devil's Peak. This basin is called "City Bowl" by locals. Among them, Table Mountain is the most visible landmark of Cape Town. Standing at 1000 m tall (how many feet is that anyway?), it is so often shrouded in clouds (isn't that like a "Tablecloth" ?). There is a cableway going up to the top of Table Mountain. The cable cars 'spin'all their way up, giving passengers a 360 degree panaromaic view of the whole city and nearby bays. It is a little dizzying for me at such height but definitely great. Sometimes you feel the cablecar is running into the cliff. One to the top, I found it is not as flat as its name suggests. With many rare and beautiful flora, it is a nice experience walking around (there are many designated footpaths). It was so foggy the morning we visited the top (remember? We are now in the "Tablecloth"), I didn't see too much of the view of the City. However, the cableway up to the top itself was worth the trip. On the other side (south side) of Table Mountain, there is a botanical garden called Kirstenbosch. It looks wonderful from the brochure. But we only stopped at the entrance area due to heavy winter rainfall the time we arrived. Winter is the rainy season in this area....
I took sometime to visit Cape Town's "Victoria and Alfred Waterfront" (just called Waterfront by locals). It is just like Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Even it claims to be a working harbor, there are more shoppers and tourists than pier workers. There are several large shopping malls, an aquarium and an IMAX Theatre, and two African handicraft markets. And the two (in)famous international franchise bars/restaurants: Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. You can also have a nice view of Robben Island (sort of like Alcatraz of Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 27 years) from here. There are not really that many people walking around after dark (even it was weekend when I visited there). Maybe just beacuse it's winter....Wait, why did I come to Cape Town for American styled shopping malls?
On the other side of Signal Hill (from City Bowl), it is a long strip of elegant residential area. Directly facing Atlantic Ocean, there are several nice beaches with long broadwalk. With many art-deco apartments and hotels, it feels like I've arrived South Beach of Miami (and yes,there are a lot of palm trees here). There are also quite a few great restaurants around here. I guess it's what they called "chic neighborhood" of Cape Town. But it was July, so there weren't really that many people enjoying the beaches...
After reading all the description, you might think Cape Town is really a wonderful destination and you cannot wait to visit there yorself. Wait....I do have some complaints about this city. If you know what I don't like about Baltimore (and to less extent, Washington, DC), you would know what I don't like about Cape Town. One word: crime.
We all know that "freedom from fear" is one of the basic human right. It is important (at least for me) that you can walk by yourself or at night (or both) in city streets. I can do that in my hometown, Taipei. And hardly a problem in Vancouver. Using some caution, I did it every now and then in American cities, like Boston, New York, and even DC. Not so in Cape Town. Maybe many of you heard about how bad the crime problem is in Johannesburg (the largest city in South Africa). As the second largest city of South Africa, I didn't expect Cape Town is immune from crime (and I've get used to the deserted streets of Baltimore). But after walking around a little bit, I decided that I would not do it alone. And I would not walk the streets at night. (yes, it looks worse than Baltimore). So I missed the chance to experienced the nightlife of Cape Town (I don't consider having Budweiser at Hard Rock Cafe on the Waterfront the nightlife I want to experience)