Final report from Cape Town

I didn't go out clubbing in the end. No one did. We were all suddenly overcome by sensibleness in a most unnatural manner! I did however go out for a meal and had a breast of duck with some lovely sauce on followed by some local South African cheeses which were on a par with anything I have had anywhere, all washed down with a lovely smooth red wine or two :-) . It was a great end to the week and sad to say "Good bye", especially to the folks I know from my trip to India. I hope I will see them again soon as we all get on so well.

I decided to risk my life and walk the 5 mins up the road from the hotel here to the other hotel where the meal had been arranged. It was a light evening and lots of people around so I felt safe. Rumours amoungst the folks here are that it is very dangerous in this part of town especially if you look like a rich tourist so I wore my "hoody" and "blended in"...

On the way back to my hotel I shared the walk with two Dutch people from a bank and NGO that were at the meal and we were fine. We walked down the central reservation of the 6 lane highway where we knew there were no shadows or dangers of being attacked. It was a little scary, as there was a lot of shouting and noise along the way from the side streets but nothing anywhere near us.

Cape Town is a lovely city, marred by its reputation for being extremely dangerous and violent. I didn't see any of that thankfully, only the good side of very friendly and welcoming people. The more I travel the more I see of the goodness of the average person on the street. It's a great comfort.