My bags are packed and I my lungs are wheezing as I type this because of all the dust I kicked up thoroughly cleaning my house before I leave. At least that’s done too.

Now all that remains is 4 hours of sleep before the long journey back home to Cape Town, the South African pilgrimage, starts.

It’s been nearly 4 long years since I last saw home, but unlike the last time I was heading back, I look forward to this trip a great deal. The Journo and our tried and tested travel buddy, The Sausage, is coming with to discover and rediscover South Africa and the Mother City, Cape Town, with me all over again.

I’ve not gotten excited about this trip before this on purpose. You know how it goes; a gazillion things can go wrong. Even now I’m cautiously excited, as I’m not sitting on the plane yet. Only once the g-forces upon take-off pushes me back in my seat do I truly relax. Only once my stomach sinks as we leave the runway can I let go of my current location.

Our trio will be spending 1 night and two days in Cape Town before we head off on an early morning flight that will see us arrive in time for a breakfast in Cape Town. I’ve missed my mountain, I’ve missed the ice-cold oceans, I’ve missed the colourful people of the rainbow nation.

I look forward to updating my stale memories of Cape Town with new and exciting locations, activities and two great friends. What adventures we will have…

I had a one-way ticket left over from my last work contract, so necessarily I’m flying to South Africa on Malaysia Airlines and our first stop: Kuala Lumpur.

The Journo got a exceptionally good deal, so she too is on the same airline, but as her ticket is so restricted that the conditions are about 8 pages long, she had to be on very specific flight numbers. Thus, her flight is the one immediately after mine – no cheap seats left on my flight.

Kota Kinabalu’s new airport terminal 1 is virtually brand spanking new, spacious and relatively well organised, if a little light on shopping options. Not that I mind as I’ve actually developed a bit of an allergy to shopping. But The Journo notices these things.

The Malaysia Airlines check-in lady put me in seat 14 A, very nice of her, which I only realised as I sat down. It’s the window seat immediately behind the emergency exit rows, with no seats in front of me – so leg room galore! I noticed since the last time I flew Malaysia Airlines (years ago, I’ve been budget airlining it ever since) they’ve gotten rid of the drab grey and purple interior in exchange for multi-coloured seats. I’m still deciding whether or not this is an improvement.

The flight, being only 2.5 hours, had no in-flight entertainment. Luckily I grabbed a newspaper on the way in, as there were no in-flight magazines in my entire row either. I managed to nod-off a few times too, significantly cutting down journey time.

The meal was something I looked forward to, because being a full-service flight, Malaysia Airlines still serve those. Instead of the stereotypical chicken-or-fish you always hear, I was given the option of kway teow or French toast. In Asia, kway teow - a flat, fried noodle – is not unexpected at breakfast, but French toast certainly is.  So I took it.

The meal came in a cardboard box with the translucent, printed lid already removed when they passed it to me.  The French toast turned out to be an apple strudel disguised as a two wedges of toast and looked like it could have been battered with egg.  The taste didn’t give anything away though.  The accompanying bun was fresh two or three days ago, and the orange juice was a near perfect imitation cordial – made in Sarawak.  I’m critical, yes, because on a full-service flight you pay for this food.  I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the expensive fair was allocated to this meal.  I longed for an AirAsia cup-o-curry-noodle.

On the up side, the stewards and stewardess managed to serve us 3 helpings of Joy orange juice (closer to being real than the juice with the meal) and coffee, which kept me well hydrated.  I hope this is a taste of things to come on the international sector where inevitably you find yourself dehydrating.

The landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport was near perfect with a barely perceptible bump as we touched down.  I was 45 minutes ahead of The Journo at this point and looked forward to sitting down somewhere and taking advantage of the free WiFi, which KLIA loves to tell travelers about.

I booted up and managed to connect to the KLIA wireless network without incident.  However, reaching any websites proved to be futile.  I only managed to get error pages.  I tried from several locations in the arrival hall thinking that signal strength made a difference, but alas, it didn’t.  Somehow this failure didn’t surprise me – I’m becoming increasingly disillusioned with Malaysia’s Internet infrastructure.  It used to be so great…

Luckily The Journo’s flight was fast and she caught up in no time.  For the first time I took the KLIA Express to Central Station and 30 minutes later we were in town.

After a quick meeting with Kuan to get some Malaysia Ultimate Open discs (and a handful of MyDiscs for handouts), here we are at Mega Mall – the place is packed and all the shops and outlets are nearly bursting at the seams.  After a mammoth trek around the mall which is not called Mega Mall for nothing, I finally spotted an open seat in Starbucks and here I am, blissfully connected. The Journo, is blissfully off shopping somewhere. Addict.

Tonight we have a dinner with a random, German friend of The Sausage and who knows, an unexpected adventure or two.

We arrived this morning after the flight, which didn’t feel as long as the 13 hours that it was.

I haven’t been on Malaysia Airlines in four years, in fact, I haven’t been on any long-haul flight in four years. It seemed less cramped, but that might just have been the excitement of going home. The in-flight entertainment is also way more advanced in that every seat can control every movie, which means at whatever time you feel like watching a movie, you go to the appropriate channel and if the movie is half way, for instance, you simply rewind it and watch from the start.

Previously I spent long-haul flights playing games, but this flight was ground breaking, because I fell asleep not too long after take-off and slept until two hours before we landed at Joburg. We were also lucky to sit in a section where the service was attentive and a super-friendly stewardesses brought us plenty of fluids.

We landed at Cape Town International Airport under clear blue skies, but icy cold weather. My mom, sister and brother-in-law met us at the airport and several rounds of hugs and greetings ensued and then introductions as I formally introduce the Journo and the Sausage to their South African hosts.

After settling in at home to the accommodations my mom prepared for us, we went to Cape Town’s biggest mall, Canal Walk, to pick up some braai supplies, but decided to go walkabout first before we buy things that would have to stay in the car. Whilst at Canal Walk we also changed some money, because we lucked out on Rands in Kuala Lumpur.

It was an exceptionally expensive exercise and we only did it once. In Malaysia there’s a rate on the board, which is a rate not far different from the international rates you can get from sites like xe.net for instance, and this the rate at which you exchange your money. In South Africa however, the poor rates displayed on the board is just the start.

Before we exchange money xe.net said the Ringgit vs. the Rand was something like 2.35 – we looked around the various exchanges at Canal Walk, but they were pretty much the same. Eventually we got a rate from Rennies. The board displayed something like 2.15 – but we needed money so took it. However, once they converted our Ringgit to Rand, they take a commission off the Rand they give you as well, so I worked it out that effectively our rate was something stupid like 2.05. That’s a big loss for your average tourist.

We decided then that exchanging money here like this is going to make our holiday more expensive and we would start using our cards wherever possible. Much later in the holiday I needed more Rand and drew money from the machine. I got a rate virtually the same as the xe.net rate and currently it doesn’t seem like I paid transaction fees, although that could still come at the end of the month.

Something else that also incentivised me to do this is that as a South African passport holder I must provide a utility bill with my name and address on it to prove where I live. WTF!? My Malaysian friends only needed to show their passports.

So Cape Town Tip Number 1 is don’t exchange money here: just draw it from the ATM.

As we went through the Waterfront looking at prices of stuff, I realised Cape Town has become a very expensive place, certainly much, much more expensive than I anticipated.

We had a BBQ that night, but the 3 of us were completely floored and had to cut it short because we simply couldn’t stay awake. The South African adventure begins.

Our first full day here in Cape Town, and although the skies are blue and it seems like a sunny day, it’s still freezing for our Borneo-warmed bodies.  We dressed-up as if for the ski-sloped and took my mom’s energetic dog for a walk, using him as a means to explore the neighbourhood I haven’t seen in 4 years before picking up our Cape Town Rental Car.

I lost my driver’s license some time ago and I was unable to get it replaced while in Malaysia, so before we could pick up our rental car, I had to get that sorted.  The plan was for the Journo and the Sausage to hang about the local mall, N1 City, whilst I crossed the road to apply for a new license and get a temporary one for our travels.

Driver’s License Shuffle

N1 City has changed much  with loads more parking and shops, so I knew the 2 of them would be occupied for at least as long as it took me to get sorted.  We also had our first South African breakfast at Maxxi’s, a place my mom visits every now and again for breakfast.  It was clearly popular with the retired crowd.  Breakfast chips also featured on our plates for the first time here. Yup, chips for breakfast.

I took me about an hour and 90 minutes to sort out my driver’s license – this includes a damn long walk to the Goodwood Traffic Department, which technically is just across the road from the mall, but practically has only one entrance, and as I walked the wrong way around the block, it was at the far end of the totally fenced-in property.  I also needlessly queued for 15 minutes in the wrong line because the signage wasn’t clear, and then had to wait about 30 minutes to get my eyes tested.  And now I have to wait 8 weeks for the actual license, managing with the immediately-issued temporary license until then.

With my license sorted we were ready to secure our Cape Town car rental.

Cape Town Car Hire With Aroundabout Cars

Even before we left Malaysia I did some research about car hire in Cape Town, because not only is car hire expensive, but often you’ll end up with a small car and limited mileage, which could seriously cramp your self-driving holiday style.  After much research, I discovered that the best-value car hire company in Cape Town is Aroundabout Cars.

With Aroundabout Cars car hire we managed to get the best rate for our 14 – 30 day rental period as well as unlimited mileage.  With the Sausage, being Malaysian, as the primary driver and our Super Cover insurance rate, we also got a total excess waiver.  Super Cover is simply a more complete insurance cover option, and the excess waiver means that, should the worst happen and there is an accident or the car is stolen, we wouldn’t have to pay any excess .

Oddly enough, if I, with my South African passport, registered as the primary driver, we would be liable for something like R2,500 in excess.

I had spoken to Megan, the fun and friendly Aroundabout Cars rep, via Skype (aroundaboutcars) to arrange the pick-up of the rental car.  She instructed us to go to Imperial Rent-a-car first and then come around to their offices situated almost on the corner of Bloem and Loop street. We wanted to rented a car with 4 doors as the Sausage and myself are tall people and 3 doors would be just too cramped. Plus, on our travels we would have a decent amount of luggage, so we needed to rent a slightly roomy car.

Our rented car, given the other options, was a Toyota Yaris, and we were expecting the hatchback.  However, after we filled out the necessary forms at Imperial, we were taken to the car only to see it was the bigger Toyota Yaris sedan. Bonus!  We drove over to Aroundabout Cars, sorted out the payment and were on our way with our rented Toyota Yaris 1.5 sedan for R225 per day with unlimited mileage and a complete excess waiver.

Cape Town Travel Tip 2: According to my research Aroundabout Cars has the best deals for car hire in Cape Town (and they do other parts of the country too).

For our Cape Town holiday we had compiled a list of things that we simply had to do, most of them, as you’d expect, quite touristy.

Today was Cape Point day, a journey which pretty much takes the whole day if you go about it nice and slow.  It involves cruising along the toenail of Africa, the actual peninsula of the Cape Peninsula.  We headed out along a part of the M2 highway, up towards where it makes a t-junction at the foot of The Mountain and headed towards Muizenberg on the M3.

Boulders Beach – Jackass Penguins in Cape Town

Muizenberg is, in my mind, a bit of a surf spot, although I believe the waves are small, but abundant. It was sunny, yes, but warm it was not and none of us had any aspirations to go in the water. I’m sure Muizenberg has other things going for it also, but we skipped it anyway and headed on past Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek towards Simons Town, home of the famous Boulders Beach Jackass penguin colony – the Journo had her heart set on this one.

Guided by plenty of penguins-this-way signs, we had no trouble finding the place.  It has changed much since the last time I visited some 4 or more years ago.  There’s a dedicated parking lot for one, but one small tourist van and a Malaysian-made Proton Gen2 aside (about which we were well excited), it was deserted.  The usual array of hawkers exhibiting their non-unique wares were lining the side-walk, clearly with no business, but not looking as keen as you’d imagine either.

Getting to what is now a fenced-in beach requires a short walk through a quiet neighbourhood. Entrance is R40 per adult, part of which, they say, goes to the conservation of the penguins. You never actually touch the beach, and of course, neither do you the penguins, although The Journo tried aplenty.

Wooden walkways guide you amongst the dunes and above the nesting penguins.  Some are in natural nests they’ve fashioned out of holes and rock spaces for themselves, and others make use of more modern conveniences in the form of fibreglass jars, planted in the ground to provide shelter against large seaguls eyeing a penguin egg for breakfast.

The sun was bright and glaring off the white beach sand, and there were penguins everywhere. But everywhere!  The Jounro was excited and kept on asking how we could touch them, the Sausage was amused and I, well, the novelty of the penguins wore of quickly for me. Especially after taking pictures from every conceivable angle. A penguin is a penguin is a penguin.

Cape Point Nature Reserve

Having had our fill of penguins we headed towards the Cape Point Nature Reserve a 20-minute-or-so drive away.  Several sightings of baboons and sweeping views of the blue False Bay merging with the even bluer skies made the trip a visual feast.  Entry to the park, if I remember correctly, is R60 per person.  Inside the park we saw more baboons, but for the wealth of animals there aparently is in this relatively remote part of Cape Town, this was all we saw.

Our brief (and expensive) lunch at the restaurant was entertaining.  Cape Point Nature Reserve Tip: Sit inside, because outside they only serve really expensive starters. The waiter was kind enough to point out that the starters are about as expensive as they are small.  Inside are bigger and undoubtedly more expensive main courses.

Another reason to sit inside is that sometimes they have operational challenges with baboons and birds, who are regular attempted-diners at the restaurant. I.e. they will come and hijack your food.

On this particular cold and breezy afternoon we only saw birds.  Clear signs warned not to feed the animals, especially the baboons, as they can get quite aggressive.  The birds, however, don’t wait to be fed. The Journo was about to finish the last bite of a sandwich, when a black bird swooped in, experty weaved his way through the umbrellas, and snatched the last bite out of her hands literally just before she bit into it. We weren’t quite sure whether to be shocked or amazed at this bit of real life National Geographic happening right before us. The Journo certainly wasn’t amuzed.

During our meal there was also some other commotion as people peered over the cliff down to the ocean below.  Far below us we could make out a whale.  It’s not quite whale season yet, but clearly there are some around and we were very excited to be seeing this one, albeit at such a distance.  We watched in awe for a bit and managed to get a few shots in which you can at least imagine seeing a whale.

We still had the actual point of Cape Point to reach, but by now we were cold and lazy, so we decided to take the Funucular up the steep hill. You can’t actually walk to the very south-westerly tip of the African continent, but we damn well went as far as we could, enjoying the absolutely breathtaking natural beauty of our surroundings.

The sheer cliffs plunged into the ocean some 100m below us, covered with greenery that dropped starkly into a deep blue ocean below.  On one side waves crash ferociously against the cliffs and on another it becomes saffire blue as it washes onto a bright, white beach. Cape Point must be one of the most spectacular scenes of nature on this planet.

Staying with spectacular, our return journey was supposed to include a drive along Chapmans Peak, a scenic drive as famous for its sweeping views of the Atlantic ocean as it is for rock-falls and avelanches. Unfortunetally, to prevent this very threat of rock falls, it is closed for maintenance, and, says the locals, God knows for how long.  So we had to drive through Constantia and Newslands to get to Hout Bay, which is where we wanted to sample supposedly famous seafood.

Hout Bay, seafood and Soap (Girls)

Being from Kota Kinabalu, the sea-food capital of Malaysia, the Journo and Sausage had no low expectations.  We parked near Hout Bay harbour and walked around a bit to explore and this is where me met the Soap Girls. But that’s a whole post by itself, although I will say this, I will go back to Hout Bay for the sole reason of meeting up with the Soap Girls again.

So what about the seafood, man?

Based on a recommendation by the Soap Girls we chose the Lookout Deck, situated on the Harbour Front near the yacht basin (if I was the Mariner’s Wharf, the other seafood restaurant, I would do something to impress those convincing girls). The portions where generous (the 3 of us were stuffed from 2 portions) and the fish was tasty, but did it beat the seafood in Kota Kinabalu?

Well, this entry is about Cape Town, so let’s move on

Cape Town Travel Tip 3: If you’re going to go to Betty’s Bay, I would recommend the Jackass penguin colony there over Boulders Beach. It’s cheaper (R10), less crowded and the walkway is closer to the ocean so there is a lot of penguin-in-the-waves action.