The South African Sojourn: Its Ayoba Time!

The next series of posts on this blog will be about our trip to South Africa during the 2010. The vacation was possibly the greatest experience of my life so far. I hope to share some of that with you through the series of posts that will follow. Food being an essential aspect of travel will receive adequate coverage, the memorable culinary experiences will be there but will not be the center piece of the posts (at least in most cases).

The posts will be day wise about our experiences. This will hopefully be sufficient to communicate as to what it was like visiting one of the more diverse, beautiful and politically volatile countries of the world while it was hosting of the greatest celebrations in sport and I would venture to say of mankind in general. Viva Africa! Viva Jogo Bonito! FIFA 2010 was definitely Ayoba time! (to translate that into English, it was Celebration time!)

The three things about South Africa 2010 that will stay with me for my life:

1. The joyous congregation of so many nations at one place - Over ten days I interacted with people of close to 30 countries all united by their love of football.

2. The people of South Africa and the ownership displayed by one and all to pull together and make for a great host.

3. Watching the Albiceleste in the famous Blue and White and the Selecao in vibrant yellow play live in front of my eyes while I was pinching myself and thanking God for being granted the opportunity.

Hope you will enjoy the series of posts. Hope to see you for Brazil 2014!

The South African Sojourn - Day 1: We are at the World Cup!

We landed at O.R.Tambo airport, Johannesburg at 8:30 AM on the 11th of July, 2010 - the day the curtain was raised on the FIFA World Cup. There would have been a sense of excitement all over the world but the mood at Johannesburg, the city hosting the opening ceremony and the match had to be personally witnessed to be really understood.

You could feel it in the poster greeting us as we disembarked from the plane. You could feel it in the Bafana Bafana T Shirts the ground staff were wearing. You could feel it everywhere. The biggest sporting event in the world was about to kick off and we were there in Johannesburg. I think I pinched myself more than once to ensure that it was really true.

Coca Cola greeted us with a complimentary welcome drink on arrival, but our focus was on our most guarded possession, stored safely along with our passports, was the FIFA kit containing, a) The voucher confirming us as ticket holders and b) The MTN Sim Card that we had to activate to get our SA number. We navigated our way through the teeming crowd and reached the help desks as we had heard that tickets could be collected at the airport. At the help desk we were however requested to collect our bags first, the ticket collection center was on the second floor outside the arrival hall.

Proceeding towards the luggage area, we had our first interaction with the fans - a set of Brazilian fans decked in the yellow of the Selecao and already shouting "Campeone". The group of Brazilian fans after clicking a few photos of themselves immediately proceeded to the Duty Free where each Brazilian bought two bottles of Absolut Vodka. Quite clearly they were making plans for a long campaign!

What caught our eye more was the reaction of a certain Portuguese fan who till then was sporting a Portuguese jacket. He saw the Brazilians. Unpacked. Got out a Portuguese flag and put it on his back pack. We would see the fan twice more at the Airport and each time he would display some new Portuguese merchandise - scarves, caps, larger flags, bags, etc. I am pretty sure he had an entire wardrobe full of Portuguese paraphernalia.

Having collected our bags we joined the queue of fans to get our tickets. There were two separate queues. One for those having bought tickets through Bank transfers, the other for those, like us - who had bought tickets through credit cards.

We joined the rather longish queue, a lot of fans were arriving on the opening day of the World Cup and found ourselves behind another Brazilian fan and his South African driver. After enquiring with the driver as to where the exit to the train station was, how long it would take etc. we got talking football with the Brazilian. He spoke with obvious passion about Dunga, the starting XI that Brazil would play and his disappointment that Ronaldinho was not picked.

The queue in itself was like the United Nations - Algerians were in full force, we saw Slovenians, English fans, the Portuguese was there again. The most vociferous lot were the Chileans though, they were busy locating and hugging each other through out the queue with shouts of "Chi-Chi-Chi Le-Le-Le" "Viva Chile!". Their exuberance was infectious and it was definitely one of the more popular slogans of the World cup for the neutral. Any Chilean fan sporting their national colours was always joined by neutrals in shouting out this very slogan all across Jo'Burg.
The ticket came out of vending machines and were fantastic. All one has to do was to insert the card with which the tickets were bought on the internet. The details of the card holder and the ticket details were clearly displayed on the screen. The tickets were then immediately printed by the machine and collected similar to cash from an ATM.

The tickets were personalised with the name of the card holder and a bar code which would have to be used to allow entry into the stadium. The metamorphosis of the anxiety as to whether the card would be read correctly to the total euphoria of seeing the tickets being printed in front of us took all of fifteen seconds!!

So with our new most prized possession - the match tickets, we proceeded to leave the airport after purchasing some talk time from MTN. The service and help at the store was great and the hospitality showed by the South Africans would be a constant highlight throughout our stay.

We had decided that we would be taking a combination of South Africa's newest mode of public transport - the Gautrain to get to our hotel. The Gautrain (pronounced How-Train) is basically Johannesburg's first attempt at an Metro.

The set up is a combination of trains to major hubs and from then on Gau-Buses to the suburban areas. We had pre-researched this on the Gautrain site. We had found that we had to take the Gautrain to Sandton (Johannesburg's key suburban area) and from there take the S6, which would drop us right opposite our hotel. The Gautrain is supposed to act as a major boost to a city which apparently has the 4th worst rush hour traffic in the world. From O.R.Tambo airport to Sandton which is Johannesburgs most posh suburb and the financial capital- the Mumbai equivalent would be BKC, against the Taxi alternative of one and a half hours and R400, the Gautrain took us 15 minutes and R100 each.

We arrived at Sandton at around 1.30 PM and immediately boarded the Gau-Bus. The card reader (we had loaded money at the airport and got a preloaded Gautrain card in return) of the bus was not working which meant that our transfer was going to be free. Our bus driver profusely apologised for the inconvenience (!) and wished us a great stay at South Africa - did I mention South African hospitality?

Sandton, was when the true impact of football fever hit us. The Bafana-Bafana (translated in Zulu as The Boys - The Boys) were playing Mexico in the opening match and all South Africans we laid eyes on were sporting yellow. We also heard a weird droning in the background which I thought were car horns at first but later found to be the sound of the Vuvuzela. South African flags were everywhere, on all the cars, on the road, on all the houses. This was a nation caught up in football fever. The mood was so overwhelming, so buoyant that I found myself really hoping that the Bafana do well and not spoil the scenes of joy and hope all around.

We checked in at our hotel without any hassles and it was only then that we realised how tired we were. We immediately freshened up, hit the bed and alternated between watching the opening ceremony and sleeping. All our sleep was forced out of our system however when the South Africa game started. When the opening goal went in, the hotel staff, all of them decked out in the colours of the Bafana Bafana and armed with vuvuzelas, literally brought the house down only for sanity to return when the Mexicans equalised.

For an early evening snack we ordered a Barbeque Chicken Pizza from Debonairs - one of the more popular South African chains and the official fans choice for the World Cup.

At around 7pm we were on our way out for dinner when we first encountered the darker side of South Africa. We were flatly told not to go anywhere walking as it was not safe to venture out. Not fancying an unwelcome adventure ride after our warning we decided to retire for the day with some more Pizza for dinner.

We were still tired and we had a big day coming up. We were fast asleep by 9 PM South Africa time dreaming about the Albiceleste, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. This was the World Cup and we were in South Africa!

The South African Sojourn - Day 2: The dream is realised - Vamos Argentina!

12th June. 2010. A big day. A date that I had looked forward to for five whole months since I was informed through an SMS of a foreign transaction on my credit card in February 2010. Argentina were playing Nigeria at Ellis Park Jo'Burg and I had two tickets for the game. My dream was about to be realised. The blue and white. Messi! Maradona!!

We had done our homework on how to get to the stadium before leaving for South Africa. The South African state was to make public transport specially available for people traveling to the stadium. There would be special Metro buses arranged from Sandton and other hubs to West Gate. From West Gate there would be another set of buses - the Rea Vaya which would take us to Ellis Park. The information in the web was pretty comprehensive and I was armed with a list of locations where the World cup buses would stop. The first task however was to get to Sandton and we decided to take one of the most popular modes of SA transport - the Mini Bus Taxi.

Mini bus taxis are effectively largish Maruti vans/ Omnis used by the regular to get around. The mini bus taxis work very much like the auto rickshaws of Calcutta. They ply along set routes, from CBD to CBD, (CBD = Central Business District) and pick up people on the way. The most curious thing is that the complex set of hand signals that are used by passengers to communicate with the drivers of the vans, (there are books available at most SA book stores to teach the system).The taxis seat 15 people plus driver and are compact without being uncomfortable.

We also got a taste of the continued SA hospitality pervasive throughout the World Cup when a Zimbabwean working in Jo'Burg took time out to walk with us to Nelson Mandela Square from the Sandton CBD, just to show us where we would be getting transport back to our hotel. We would have to take cabs back to the hotel as the Mini Taxis stop plying after 7 PM, he also gave us his business card assuring us that we were free to call him in case we needed any help.

We had lunch at the Nelson Mandela Square food court, at Fish Away restaurant. We ordered the prawn meal which consisted of skewers of barbecued prawns served on a bed of yellow rice. The prawns were tasty enough although slightly bland. Overall a very very decent South African lunch and recommended.

We finished the meal and were soon on our way to catch the bus to the ground. We had read that the bus services were to start four hours before the match started. The match was to start at 4.30PM and we were at our bus stop by 12.45 PM - nice and early. The problem was that there was no bus in sight. Not until 1.00 PM, not until 1.30 PM which is when we started to get really tense.

I was fretting about, asking every policeman and volunteer about the bus and received blank stares in return. The only other person who seemed to know about the bus was this English fan we bumped into, who had availed the bus on the way back from the opening game and who had an annoying tendency to think about the worst outcomes and articulate the same. He was saying that it took two hours to get to the stadium and joking that it would make sense to sell our tickets as there was not way we would be able to reach in time. I can tell you I hated him every time he uttered that statement.
We were so persuasive in our appeals to the police to help us that we also managed to force a policeman to hold up traffic and stop a regular Metro bus only to find out that the World Cup buses were different and this one could not take us to Ellis Park. The only positive out of this was that we ran into two Zambians who were also searching for the buses. One, a resident of Jo Burg and not going to the match, the other was his friend who had come all the way from Zambia to watch Argentina play. The Jo Burg resident was giving his friend a longer than expected ride to the Metro Bus. The love of football unites like no other and all of us entered the Zambians car. Two Indians, One Englishman and Two Zambians all searching for a bus to take us to the match- the truly unique World Cup experience.

We ended up driving for a good 5 minutes going from stop to stop when we finally saw a bus stop which said that it was a special World Cup stop and decided to wait, pray and hope.

We waited at the stop for a good twenty minutes, survived one false start (in the shape of a regular Non World Cup bus) and around twenty fatalistic English comments. Finally, the bus I have looked forward to most in my life, arrived at around 2.30 PM. We were the first passengers on the bus and I almost leaped for joy on finding out that the bus was the right one and we were finally on our way to watch the World Cup.
The journey was smooth after that and we made good time reaching Westgate by 3:00 PM. From there we boarded the Rea Vaya (the tickets were being sold in the bus itself) and found a large number of fans already on it - some had suitcases and had arrived straight from the airport. We could hear chants from Nigerians and Argentinians as we approached Ellis Park.

Once we reached Ellis Park, it was all a blur. The fans, the approach, the stadium, the atmosphere was overwhelming and we could barely stop and collect our thoughts before being overwhelmed again. The organisation at the stadium was excellent. The check in process was very smooth. After going through metal detectors one could enter the stadium premises the MICR code on ones ticket was confirmed.

Soon enough we found ourselves inside the stadium and blessed with 6th row tickets on the end of the pitch where the Argentines were about to embark on their pre match practice.

In all its glory, right in front of us was the chemistry and love between Diego Maradona and the Argentines. El Diego was like a lion who knew he was the star of the show and the main man. He was lapping up the pre match attention. All the tricks were being paraded. Clapping at the crowd. Parading in front of them. Pointing at them. Thumping the AFA crest and saluting them. Pointing to a baby in the crowd and blowing kisses. Here was God in front of his adoring subjects and loving every single moment of it. The stands were a sea of Blue and White - one flag will particularly stand out in memory - that of Mr Javier Catena's uniqe passion and indicating the years he had supported Argentina at world cups.

The match in itself was good without being great - the house came down when Heinze scored and the world was a beautiful place after that. Shortly after, beer was spilled on us when some Argentine fans started fighting with some locals over seats and sitting in the rightful place. The police intervened but not before there was a decent exchange of fisticuffs. It sort of made the football experience complete I guess, but that was an experience we could have done without - the picture on the right is of the hooligans although at the time it was taken - they were just slightly over excited Argentine fans.
On the way back we were again treated to first class SA hospitality with some locals offering to walk us to the Metro Bus stop after theRea Vaya dropped us off at the Westgate hub. We reached Sandton and took a paid Taxi to our hotel to complete travel on all varieties of Jo'Burg transport in a single day. Exhausted and overwhelmed, we returned to our hotel, laden with memories of a lifetime. Argentina 1, Nigeria 0. Fifa 2010. We were there. Vamos Albiceleste! Hasta la victoria, Siempre!

The South African Sojourn - Day 3: A bit of everyday Johannesburg!

Day 3 was a relatively free day for us and we had decided to spend the day taking in the sights and sounds of World Cup fever. The hub of the action in Jo'Burg was Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton City and we immediately proceeded to immerse ourselves into the melee. Sandton City was expectedly buzzing. The blue and white had however given way to Oranje. Holland were playing Denmark the following day and the Dutch fans were making themselves heard. Seas of Orange and Red were all we could see, though the banter was largely good natured.
Nelson Mandela Square is flanked by cafe's and restaurants on all sides and is pretty much the place where all the tourists of JoBurg eat, drink and make merry. The decor was not wholly because of the Fifa World Cup as we noted a distinct sub continental flavor in the decor with the Indian Tricolour and Sri Lankan Lion displayed proudly alongside the Spanish flag in one of the Italian restaurants flanking the square. Chances are that the IPL had a whole host of Indians in the vicinity a few months earlier.
It was in one such restaurant at Nelson Mandela Square - Butcher Shop and Grill that we had our lunch and the meal ranks as one of the best steak meals that I have ever had in my life.
South Africans take their steaks very seriously and the Butcher Shop and Grill is no different. There were atleast three clear differences between my steak eating experiences in India and that I encountered in South Africa. Firstly, the source of the meat is well advertised. The Butcher Shop and Grill sources all its meat from Karan's Beef - which is the South African benchmark as far as quality beef is concerned. Secondly - There is a choice of portion unlike what you get in India. One can choose from Sirloin, T-Bone, and Rump i.e. the cut of the meat. Thirdly - You can actually choose the exact chunk of meat and the weight as I am trying to do in the pic.
The taste was expectedly fantastic, I ordered my steak well done and with Mushroom sauce.

The mushroom sauce was served separate, similar to how mustard is served in India. The other thing I will never forget about Butcher Shop and Grill were the complimentary starters that we were offered while waiting for the steak. We were served some cocktail beef sausages which went very well with the beer that we were having. Quite honestly, The Butcher Shop and Grill is a must do for all the Beef Eaters out there - its pretty much Beef Nirvana. However the non Beef eaters best stay away - the chicken which my wife sampled was slightly tough, not very good and does not augur so well for my non beef eating friends.

After a very large and filling lunch we proceeded to roam around the Sandton City mall and went in to the Checkers super market. I strongly believe that the markets should be a must do in any tour itinerary to get a feel of everyday people doing their everyday shopping and Checkers supermarket gave a pretty good feel of the average South African going about their daily shopping.

I was expectedly blown away by the meat section at the market. The meat market almost resembled a meat library with pretty much as many types and cuts of beef, pork, mutton and chicken one can imagine - It was far superior in variety and quantity than anything I had previously seen.

The day was not all gastronomy however, as we took in the Ghana Serbia match at the Innesfree Park Fan Zone. Fan Zones are really integral to the World Cup experience and South Africa was no different. The fan zone was sposored by Coca Cola and the place was buzzing with South Africans and tourists of all shapes and sizes. There were two giant Screens and plenty of entertainment and food options. The fan zone really gave a sense of the party that the soccer world cup is. Impromptu football games, visible African pride cheering the Ghanaians on, families out in full force enjoying the World Cup experience. The best part - The fan zone was free for all!
We retired early for the night after the Asamoah Gyan penalty sealed Africas first win of the world cup.

We took in the Germany - Australia game from the hotel room as we sampled a chicken Schnitzel from City Lodge Morningsides in house restaurant - McGintys Irish pub. The schnitzel is a preparation of Austrian descent, fried chicken beaten flat out with a coat of bread crumbs - not very different from the ubiquitous cutlet in India but with a lot more chicken. Decent - but nothing close to the experience at the Butcher Shop and Grill.

The South African Sojourn - Day 4: Touristy South Africa!

Day 4 in Johannesburg was a day we had earmarked for experiencing a bit of the African wild. After looking at our schedule we had come to the conclusion that there was nowhere enough time to visit Kruger or even take a proper tour to the Pilanesberg reserve.

If we wanted to experience African Wildlife it would have to be the tour to Lion Park which promises sighting of a whole host of African Lions and other wildlife. We booked our Tour through the hotel front desk and decided to go with one operated by Vhupo tours. There was an option to take the Lion Park Tour with the Soweto tour - a big draw for the American and European tourists - Soweto is one of the poor, townships of South Africa, but as we were from the land of Slumdog millionaire we decided to stick to the Lions.

Vhupo tours picked us up from our hotel lobby at 8.00 sharp and we were taken around Johannesburg picking up various people on the way to the Vhupo hub from where we would embark on the various tours that Vhupo offers. The ride gave us the opportunity for taking in a little bit more of the celebration that is the Fifa World Cup.

The streets were all decked up - Vuvuzelas and Soccer Balls were everywhere - on all the street corners and even on the highways. It was also great fun talking to the people who were on the bus with us going to the Vhupo pick up point. We met a couple of Scotsmen overjoyed at Robert Green's mistake in letting in the US equaliser and proclaiming him as the Scottish national hero! We also met an Argentinian couple who were pretty pleased at the good start made by the Albiceleste!

Our guide was also quite informed and gave us a brief history of Jo'burgs development and how it became the premiere business centre of Africa despite being far away from the sea and not being near any river. Johannesburg - the capital of Gauteng (meaning place of Gold) is the city of Gold! It was the place where Gold was discovered in South Africa and extensive mining activity took place. The mining companies came to Jo'Burg and provided jobs to hundreds of people from all over and the city was born. The remnants of these mines were all around Johannesburg. They were in the shape of yellow mounds of earth and were present all around Johannesburg.

We got off at the Vhupo meeting point at the entrance of Soweto and found that we would be receiving an exclusive tour of Lion Park as we were the only people who had opted for the tour on the day. The lion park is a sanctuary where African wildlife is kept within enclosed boundaries. The highlights were the lions of course, but the park also had Cheetahs, Ostriches, Giraffes and Zebras as the other highlights. We went to Lion Park on a Monday which was just after the feeding day for the Lions. The beasts are fed one day in a week and we could see lions fighting over the remnants of their feast from the previous day. In the Lion park one is not allowed to get out of the jeep. Quite an important protocol as we were literally in handshaking distance of some of the lions at the park.

The tour finished with a visit to the place where we could alight and actually hold Lion cubs and play with them for ten minutes. A huge photo opportunity but you need to be careful as some of the cubs had a very bad temper and even sharper claws. One unfortunate visitor had lion cub scratches to show as South African souvenirs. The lion park was quite an experience. Not as good as seeing Lions live in the jungle, but if you do not have the time and definitely want to see the African lion up close then a definite "must do" day trip. The trip to the Lion Park ended after feeding the Ostrich and Giraffe at the park, and we returned happy and hungry to Sandton City where we asked Vhupo tours to drop us off.

We reached Sandton city in late afternoon and we immediately had lunch at one of South Africa's most famous fast food chains. Steers Burgers is a home grown South African chain with over 400 branches across SA. It has also expanded to other parts of the continent.

The burgers go by the tag line flame grilled and are very tasty. What struck me as different from the regular version we are served up at McDonalds in India was the size, the Steers burger was much larger. The quality of the meat - it was much softer and felt that it was cooked as against fried. There was also a lot of juice in the meat and the ketchup which is a must for the McDonalds burger in India was not required. Overall a fantastic, filling quick meal and easily one of the more popular options at the Sandton City food court.
The rest of the afternoon was made shopping both of the window and the real variety as we explored the mall and all the shops. The shop that really stood out was "Out of Africa" which had some really nice South African souveniers. One item which was really cool and we wanted to buy but could not as were sure it would break in our luggage on the way to India were the lamps that were made of Ostrich eggs. Really cool and available both in plain white and in painted varieties. Exhausted and completely satisfied we retired early to our hotel, but not before we had sampled yet another of South Africa's trademark foods. For an early dinner we sampled from Katie's Kitchen the famed Boerwor. Boerwor in Afrikaaner means farmers sausage, "Boer" = Farmer, "Wor" = Sausage. The great part of the preparation is that the same is served right from the Barbeque or South African grill. Hot, tasty and a delightfully light dinner.

We fell asleep quite early. There was a big day ahead of us. We had the Johannesburg city tour ahead of us the next day and of course the small matter of seeing the Selecao! Live! Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano!

The South African Sojourn - Day 5: Watching the Samba boys!

We woke up on Day 5, super excited and unfortunately super cold. 15th June was one of the coldest days in the South African winter with wind chills regularly bringing the temperatures down to one or zero degree Celsius and we were to bear the full brunt of it. The day ranks as one of the coldest of my life so far but more on that later.
The day was packed, we had the Brazil match at night and in the morning we had decided to do a tour to explore Johannesburg and gain a little bit of an insight into the apartheid era. We had chosen to do a Johannesburg city tour coupled with a visit to Constitution hill - once one of the prisons in the apartheid era but now serving as a judicial centre of the Republic of South Africa. Our tour operator African Eagle picked us up from our hotel at 8.00 AM sharp and we were on our way.

The tour kicked off with the usual picking up of guests from various hotels - again a truly international experience as we met a Brazilian and a whole group of Mexicans. Particularly memorable was a chat we had with a Mexican father and son who were on the tour. The father was a zoo keeper in the US and this was the 4th world cup he was attending. How did he manage to do it in spite of being a zoo keeper? Every month a certain portion of his salary goes into the World Cup saving account which he utilizes for his 4 - yearly pilgrimage, the passion and the magic that is the Fifa World Cup.

The tour started off with a visit to Constitution hill which was a sobering influence to say the least. Every one knows that the human race has a dark side but to see proof of such organised cruelty and subjugation of one part of civil society to another was a very very depressing experience. The tour covered all aspects of prison life from prison cells, dining area and solitary confinement tin boxes.

Not a pleasant experience by any stretch, but essential to understand the realities of the apartheid era and the evil that is racism. The two other aspects from the visit that will stay with me for a long time were the respect that Mahatma Gandhi was accorded in South Africa, there was a whole section of the tour dedicated to M. K. Gandhi - his life, times and struggles in South Africa.It made me proud to be an Indian and wish that we have more such exhibits in India. The second was the obvious determination of the South African nation to arise from its painful history, the constitutional court is built where a portion of the prison once stood and uses the same prison bricks in the new structure. A symbolic statement from South Africa that it accepts and regrets its painful history but is keen to learn from its mistakes and build a democratic nation with complete respect for human values and fundamental rights.

The rest of the tour was basically a drive through Johannesburg city and the not so bright areas of the city. Downtown Johannesburg has one of the highest crime rates in the world and to see deserted office buildings and apartments in the Hillbrow area that we drove through was quite scary. We drove down to the Carlton Centre from where we went to a viewing station called the "Top Of Africa". Marketed as the highest point in the continent, the Carlton Centre provided us a panoramic view of the city. The visit to the Carlton centre was pretty much the end of the tour and we returned to our hotels after driving past the Wanderers cricket stadium.

Johannesburg is a city still recovering from the horrors of apartheid. High crime incidence, great economic disparity, and influx of people hungry for work from all parts of Africa are problems that the city is still grappling with but the City of Gold has my best wishes. I always like City tours as I feel it gives a great overview of the city and its history. The Johannesburg city tour was no different.
The city tour out of the way, now it was time to get ready for the big game. It is every Bengali boy's dream to be able to watch the Samba boys live and although I support the Argentines and the Germans, the Selecao hold a special place in any football fan's heart. Preparations were in order and we got our faces painted in Brazilian colours at the Sandton City fan zone where face painting was just one of the special initiatives that the mall had taken to make it a month to remember.

The highlight from the face painting session was the chance meeting of a footballing legend in Roger Milla. Mr Milla was roaming around in the mall and luckily he was swarmed by South Africa TV right opposite the face painting station enabling us to recognise and shake hands with a true legend of the beautiful game.

We went to the bus station nice and early this time. However we need not have worried as the initial glitches were sorted out and every one seemed to know where the metro buses were plying from and when they were. This time there were a lot more people on the bus and we struck up conversations with a couple of Norwegians and a Canadian, all of whom were in Brazilian colours for the day - also goes to show the global appeal of the tournament and the fact that it is not only we Indians who have fun being a part of a truly global event regardless of our country's football fortunes.

The ride went off smoothly and we entered the stadium an hour before kick off, what was getting to us however was the intense cold the kind that we Indians atleast those not living in the North are never exposed to. It was freezing and as the night wore on it progressively got worse. I had on around 7 layers of clothing, a scarf, cap, hood, gloves, two layers of socks but I still was very uncomfortable. The Brazilian fans made the atmosphere warmer as only they can. The joy that a Brazilian brings to the game is infectious and served to bring the temperature up slightly but even they it was obvious were having trouble with the cold.

To make matters worse the Selecao did not have too bright a start as the the first half ended goal less. At half time things were so bad that I half wished that the match would be over soon. The game however was thankfully brought to life with a Maicon screamer from the right flank. The goal was one of the best the tournament would see and I am sure brought relief not only to the Selecao but also the 40,000 that were in Ellis Park that night.

We had atleast something to show for the cold that we were suffering. Brazil then got into their groove and the midfield trio of Kaka, Robinho and Elano put some pretty passes together. The second goal scored by Elano was a great move set up by a pattern of pretty passes.

At that point we were expecting a goal glut, the North Koreans however pluckily kept at it and pulled a goal back at the death. The 2 - 1 scoreline was a fair reflection at the end with North Korea, the moral victors. The Brazilian fans beside us seemed to be happy enough with the three points and knew that Brazil, being Brazil would get better as the tournament progresses.
I frankly do not remember much of the journey back apart from the fact that the cold was getting worse and worse. I could feel my face and lip become number and number from the cold on the way from the stadium to the drop off point nearest our hotel. The 50 or so meters that we covered on foot from the drop off point to our hotel was the fastest and coldest 50 m I have ever walked in my entire life. Completely cold we could go to sleep at our hotel only after having a very hot bath. We were still shivering however as we hit the bed.

Day 5 in South Africa was incredibly memorable and full of highlights but the cold will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. Learning - if you are ever going to a World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere, please carry thermals. The wind chill at soccer stadiums gets really unbearable.

The South African Sojourn - Day 6: Off to the Mother City!

We took a long time to wake up the next morning. The South African cold had penetrated the fragile Bengali constitution and had invaded even our dreams. I have never felt so cold or marvelled at the difference in the temperature being reflected in the air conditioning system relative to what I was feeling in my bones! Not surprisingly we decided to have a relatively light day wiling away time at Sandton City. We had a evening coach to catch to Cape Town and spent the day trying to catch as much sun as we possibly could in and around Nelson Mandela square.

The South African constitution seemed to be dealing with cold pretty well, though judging from the tribal dance routine happening right in the middle of the square. War chants and rhythmic twisting of the bodies clearly the name of the game as vigorous body movements seemed to make up for the heat lost due to absence of clothing.

We proceeded to have lunch at Nando's which seemed to be an institution in South African cuisine, Nando's specialises in Chicken served from spicy to very very very spicy and is pretty much the kind of meat that the local South African freaks out on. The uniqueness is in the flavours of the marinade and the sauces which are heavy in flavour content of heat and lemon. A few Mumbaikars might be lucky enough to taste the same at a branch that used to operate at Inorbit mall, Malad.

Our meal was followed by another uniquely world cup experience when we noticed a group of foreigners in white red and blue walk past us. It was only when they had walked right by us when we realised that the group contained Dirk Kuyt, Mark Van Bommel and other members of the Dutch national team. They soon took a right into a secured area leaving us wishing that we could have identified them slightly sooner.

The only thing left for us to do was to get ready for our journey so we checked out of our hotel and stacked up on some South African Biltong. Biltong is cured South African meat sold in packets. Varieties include beef and game meats and we stacked up on some beef and chicken varieties. Biltong is one of the more popular South African snacks and no wonder as it is heavily flavoured with spice and tastes fantastic. It is a meat eaters delight as it is difficult to get threw requiring a substantial amount of chew which prolongs the gastronomic experience. We bought the Biltong as provisions for the ride from Jo'Burg to Cape Town. We were travelling via Greyhound but being South Africa, were a wee bit concerned about quality. In the event we need not have worried.

It started off seeming like quite an adventure, as the coach station is common for all passengers and we saw that some passengers had brought along quilts and blankets. Our fears of having another really cold night were eased however as soon as we saw our coach and realised that the coach was of Greyhound quality - comfortable seating, centrally heated and with a coach hostess to boot. As an added benefit we found that the coach had a sprinkling of fellow World Cup tourists - some Nigerians who were on their way to Bloemfontein to catch the Nigeria - Greece game and a few English who were travelling to Cape Town along with us to catch England play Algeria. The rest of the evening passed quite enjoyably speaking to the English fans about Fabio Capello and listening to typically upbeat English expectations about their chances in the World Cup campaign. We also noticed that Steers burgers had pretty much captured the South African highway gas station network as we saw the brand in 100 % of all the gas stations along the route. Road travellers in South Africa, I suppose can be rest assured about food during their travels. The only negative as we drifted off to sleep would have to be news that Uruguay had effectively driven a dagger through South African hearts by beating them 3-0. The news came to us through radio and the nation that had welcomed the world with open hearts, the nation that had reached fever pitch in football hysteria when Tshabalala had driven in that rasping scorcher to take the lead against the Mexicans in the first game, was brought down to footballing reality with a thud. South Africa would continue to host a fantastic world cup but the hysteria among the local people was slightly diminished.

We dropped off the Nigerians at Bloemfontein at around 12:00 and went off to sleep dreaming about Cape Town and the famed table mountain!

The South African Sojourn - Day 7: Mountains, Vineyards, Cape Town

Ever since I was treated to breathtaking Greek scenery during our 3 Day tour of ancient Greece, I have made a mental note of ensuring the same in all our travels in foreign destinations. In my mind the cross country bus ride is a great way to take in the country side which usually eludes the casual tourist. To that respect South Africa only reinforced my decision from my travels in Greece. The ride from JoBurg to Cape Town is a long one and fortunately from us goes past the Drakensburg mountains which are a sight for sore eyes and some beautiful wineries. Snow capped peaks and acres of wineries were constant landscape features as we approached Cape Town. The clear highlight though was the first clear sighting of the "mother city" as Cape Town is affectionately known in South Africa. CT was the first permanent European settlement in South Africa and was only overtaken in size by Johannesburg on the onset of the Gold Rush. The first sighting of the Table Mountain got us very excited, the sight seemed familiar through the cricket telecasts during test matches played at Newlands but this was the real thing, we were almost pinching ourselves as we approached.

At Cape Town we checked in at the Courtyard Hotel, a refurbished dutch property and a heritage hotel. Although the location is a little bit outside the waterfront, the imposing ambiance makes the same completely worthwhile. One of my highlights was the complementary high tea served in the evenings which we sampled on arrival. Lightly seared sea food and meat croquet's hardly ever tasted so good.

After having a quick bite we decided to immediately take in a bit of the city and proceeded to the Victoria and Alfred waterfront to take in the "Capetonian" sunset. We were pretty much mesmerised on one hand and swamped by footy madness on the other.

The English were in town and boy - are they loud or what? The V&A water front also had a fan zone which we would see a lot more of over the next couple of days at Cape Town. We spent the late afternoon lazing along the water front and watching the shades of the beautiful table mountain change with the setting sun. A clear recommendation to all travelling to Cape Town would be to set aside two clear days at Cape Town to lazily watch the setting of the sun as one experience just leaves the eyes wanting more.

The special day was rendered even more so by capping it with a truly Africal dinner at Karibu which serves authentic South African game cuisine. The specials included Ostrich Pie, Springbok Potjie, Bobotie and some fried Snook.

The Ostrich pie was somewhere between chicken and mutton in terms of texture and very good, if slightly on the drier side. The fish was snook which was served in a batter fry to us was quite tasty. The highlights though was the bobotie and the potjie. The Bobotie is a typically South African preparation with meat curry which is capped off with a film of fried egg. The egg sort of wraps the dish and the net effect is fantastic. Potjie is a clear dutch influence and effectively means cooking meat in a pot over fire. What made the taste special was the fact that the curry was of Springbok - the South African deer and the softness and the flavour of the meat made us quite envious of the South African lions.

Karibu serves all these dishes in an all you can eat format and we ate to our stomachs and hearts content while looking over the last remnants of the Capetonian sunset. After the meal we returned to our hotel, tired and very happy. We were praying for some good weather for the following day as we had the visit to the table mountain lined up, which was dependent on good weather (table mountain cable car being shut during cloudy and rainy conditions).

The South African Sojourn - Day 8: Falling in love Cape Town

Cape Town. Beautiful Cape Town. Santorini, undoubtedly would have to be the most beautiful city in the world that I have visited. Kolkata is home. The great cities of the world - Rome, London, New York all have their own appeal. But, if I have to choose one city that I would like to live in - it would have to be Cape Town, South Africa. CT, has astounding natural beauty - cradled by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, looked over by the Table Mountain. The city walls breathe history, albeit of a slightly sordid variety. The facilities are as good as any first world country. More importantly CT is Africa - the dark continent, still unexplored and brimming with potential and brimming with the mysterious unknown. The Cape Town City tour organised by Eagle, gave us a great overview of Cape Town and we pretty much fell in love with it.
The disadvantage of having the hotel slightly outside the city is the fact that the city tour invariably picks you up as the first guest very early in the day. The upside when the City Tour is that of Cape Town is the fact that it just gives you more time to experience the sights and sound as you pick up the other guests. The Cape Town city tour we undertook organised by Eagle Holidays gave us a really great view of Cape Town and we fell in love with the city.

The gang of guests on the bus was as eclectic as can be during the World Cup, a Chinese couple, two Thai honeymooners, a German couple, a slightly mad Portuguese couple who could bar

ely speak a word of English, a Brazilian woman and a Colombian lady. The last stop was at Camps Bay which is probably the most beautiful place one could buy a house with the Table Mou

ntain looking over the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, pure unadulterated natural beauty. The houses have been set up in steppes with the terraces of the lower houses serving as the porch/ garage of the house on top. Truly innovative allowing maximum people to enjoy the prime real estate.

The first stop of the city tour and the clear highlight was the Table Mountain. We were lucky that the weather was clear as the table mountain is closed in slightly dodgy weather conditions and the weather in Cape Town is known to change 4 times in a single day. For the nature enthusiast Table Mountain is a national part offering some unique flora and fauna that can only grow in the unique environment on the top on the mountain but I contented myself taking in the breathtaking views.

The other highlight of the city tour was a visit to the Cape Town Museum. The Cape Town Museum gives a great insight into the diversity of the South African nation and the many tribes and races that make up the country. We were interested to read up and see the distinct feature of the "Koi Saan" which is the tribe that Nelson Mandela's family comes from.

The diversity of the South African nation really stood out as we took in the tour of the museum. Starker was the fact tha

t given the blood and strife the country has gone through, the urgent need to protect each and every sub group. The South African anthem for example we were informed actually contains verses from 5 different languages representing the five major races

and very few South Africans can actually sing the whole song.

The city tour was rounded off with a visit to the Bo Kaap, Cape Towns Malay quarter with its typically multi coloured Malay Houses. The Malay influence in South Africa has also influenced the food in a big way with the spices playing a significant role in the South African kitchen.

The other place of cultural interest was the Castle of Good Hope which is the oldest colonial buidling in South Africa. It actually replaced an older fort called Fort de Goede Hoop which was made of clay and timber and built by Jan Van Reibeek on his arrival in 1652. At the rampart of the fort now flutters 6 flags of the South African nation in chronological order. The flags are the dutch prince's flag, the union jack, the dutch batavian flag again, the union jack again, the flag during the apartheid days followed by the current flag of the rainbow nation.

At the end of the city tour we were dropped off at V&A water front which was now representing a Colosseum swamped by English and Algerian fans. Chants of " 1-2-3 Viva Algerie!" were never ending and were answered in equal voice by the English " You are Shit! You are Shit! You are so Shit!". We took it all in over a most enjoyable Italian Lunch at San Marco. The lasagne I am sure

tasted better with the vibrant atmosphere created by the two sets of fans. The buzz in the air was also magnified by the good cheer in the English contingent who were seeing the Germans lose to Siberia. The cheer at Lucas Podolski's missed penalty was as if England had scored a goal and revealed the scars that the English carry over decades of footballing lessons at German hands.

We retreated to the hotel early that evening thinking about South Africa and taking in the boring 0 - 0 draw being played out at

Cape Towns spanking new Green Point stadium. I am definitely not an English sports supporter and quite enjoyed the fact that the Algerians fans were going to have the better evening!