Saturday, December 09, 2006

wait, this is like work!!

okavango delta: finished.

i liken a mokoro trip into the okavango to spending some time on "the rock", except this rock has a bunch of animals.

finished the tour and hi-tailed it out of there.

started the long journey "home" to johannesburg (that's where i am as i write), at 5 AM. Tried to pick up a wheel cover for the poor rental along the way in Gabarone (Gabs for short). not possible. we've traveled over 8000 km and still could not find a hubcap. we even checked out the hubcap stock of this guy standing by the roadside selling his lost and found collection. nodda. we must have rented the most obscure model of car in the history of rental cars.

like i said i'm in johannesburg now. it's the most violent urban area on the face of the planet. however, as with most outrageous descriptions, jo'burg has not lived up to expectations. we even drove around after dark. we were car-jacked at all.

things i've noticed so far about JNB:

damn it's expensive here.
i've never seen so many bmw's, mercedes, lotus' (loti), ferraris in my life.
affluence is not restricted to da man. a lot of the bros are loaded as well.
the gap between rich and poor is out of control and i mean between the brothers, eh.
people try to emulate the american way of life. if you can see the consumerism here you'd think could be the other way around.

my friend, ahmed, leaves tomorrow for colder climes... i'll be all alone. yikes. i'm feeling a bit scared.

note: who's ed stelnack?

later.

4 comments:

dean said...

Al, I used that quote about backpacking like a job in my paper. I'd send it to you, but I'm sure you don't want to sit around and read an 8 page essay.

JNB sounds like the Manila, with the consumerism.

Where you going to be for Christmas?

bubba said...

traveling fast is just like work, eh? i'm in joburg right now looking for a place to relax. maybe some beach front property for a few days.

i'm not sure where i'll be for xmas. difficult to get into the mood when it's 30 C outside. perhaps i'll be in mozambique.

Anonymous said...

In terms of "most violent urban area on the face of the planet", I think the current edition of Baghdad has Johannesburg beat...

bubba said...

steph d., let me clarify that statement..."the most dangerous travel-able place on the planet". won't catch me in i-rack anytime soon.