You wanna feel «broke»? Go to Dubai...

I’ve decided to book a trip… within my trip in Africa.

I’ve chosen a country somewhat «close» to South Africa: Egypt. A small four days trip. I know, it’s as if I went to Salvador, Brazil, for a few days regarding the distance. I had a layover in Dubai, so it was a total of 28 hours of flight for that little trip. I guess I enjoy being up in the air…

I have to say that I really wanted to fly with Emirates, so I could compare with Qatar Airways, the two five stars companies in the world.

My first goal was to be two days in Dubai and two days in Cairo. But it was way too expensive, so I changed my mind. Nevertheless, I found aticket with a 14 hours layover in Dubai, for half of the price than the first one. I was content with that.

During my plane ride – which offered Wi-Fi for a ridiculous price – I did some research to find out which activities I could do in a few hours. Since they have the tallest building in the world, it was a no brainer. I went on the Burj Khalifa website (I have do admit that at first, every time my taxi driver was saying the name of the tower, I heard Wiz Khalifa…) to realize that the package to attend the 148th floor was… 173$. Are they crazy or what!?

For that price, they give you a “complimentary drink”. Uhh sorry guys. We are paying that drink more than once at a price close to 200$! The site goes on: we promise an interactive experience and blah-blah-blah. But my budget has a limit. There is no way that I’m gonna pay that much money for that. So I chose the second option, which was the observation deck, at the 124th and 125th floors. It was also really expensive – 45$ – but it was that or nothing.

But let’s be honest. The tower is quite impressive. The city is already full of skyscrapers, but they all look tiny beside it. Wiz Kalifa, oh, sorry, Burj Khalifa’s height is 828 meters and 163 stories. It’s not only the highest structure raised by man in the world, but it also broke three other world records: the tower with the most stories, the highest occupied floor and the highest outdoor observation deck.

My only deception was that even if the tower is really high, we don’t really see the palm, that artificial peninsula that made the city famous. During the bus tour, they even say that this is what gave Dubai a “stratospheric reputation”. They are modest… So the only thing we see is this:

If you think that the ticket to go at the top was expensive, wait to hear about the price of the pictures taken with a green screen that can show you in different positions with the tower. The whole package? 90$.

Thanks, but no thanks.

There are also splendid fountains at the bottom. But this is the show that I got:

Bouhhh. And I almost missed my flight because I decided to see these.

Dubai is a rich city. Really rich. I felt like I was very poor looking at all the stores, with the luxurious cars and overpriced condos all around.

By the way, if you’re looking for a place to invest in real estate, know that every property comes with a car. The condominiums include a Mini Cooper or a BMW and the houses in the palm with a Lamborghini.

Even the Uber are luxurious. All Lexus. But the prices are very expensive.

Here are some facts and observations about Dubai:

It is so hot outside that the metro is not only equipped with A/C, but the stations are really closed from each other so people don’t have to walk inthat heat.

They are building the biggest shopping mall in the world. There will be an alley of 7 km!

The address of my hotel was, literally : «Al Wasal Area, Opposite Iranian Hospital». That’s it. It looks like a farmer giving direction at the end of a country road.

You know you’re really far from home when the restaurants that you know look like that :

Obviously, I don’t read the arabic language. So at first sight, I thought that there was a rowing boat with two persons at the above of the “stop”. 

The shopping malls – because that’s about all there is to see – are impressive. You can find a rink, a giant aquarium and… an indoor ski resort. It’s the third largest in the world.

One day, I’ll go back. And this time, it will definitely be for more than a few hours!

My head-to-head with... sharks

Last year, I had the chance to swim with nice dolphins in Mexico and this time, I went to swim with… the mean sharks.

Ok. «Swim with» is not exactly it. Since I didn’t want to end up in the news, story of how I was chewed up in pieces, I dove in a cage.

This activity, really popular with the tourists, is in Gansbaai, which is about two hours from Cape Town. If you want to go there, you really should reserve in advance, because it is almost always full. We actually had some problems confirming ours. The first company sent us an email two days prior to tell us that all the activities were cancelled because of the bad conditions of the ocean.

The problem is that it was the only day that we could go there. Our friend, who wanted to do it badly, is only in the country for a few days.

Therefore, I opened my laptop and explored Google, even though it was less than an hour before my best friend’s wedding. Really classy you would say, with my hair done, my make up and my bridesmaid dress!

The first company that I called no longer had availabilities, but assured me that they would go on the sea all week long, as planned. I thought it was a little bit weird considering the fact that all the companies go to the same place…

I finally found a company with five spots for us. Yeah!

Monday morning, we left for Gansbaai. It is a little bit expensive (1700 rands, which worth 150 in CAD), but everything is included, even the food before, on the boat, and after.

They can’t promise that we’ll see sharks, because they’re roaming free in the water. So if they don’t feel like coming out on this day, too bad for you.

We wanted to go first, after achieving the really difficult task that is putting on the damn wetsuit – we looked like mean characters of a bad kids’ tv program! – we put on our mask and then jumped in the cage. I have to admit that it’s a little complicated to understand how everything works at first. There are a lots of metal bars, but we can’t touch them. Because we could become food for sharks. We can only touch the yellow ones. But the visibility was not that good, so I was scared to mix them up!

They attrack the sharks with big dead fish heads that they throw in the sea before bringing it back to the boat. It's absolutely disgusting. Oh, and talking about disgusting, here’s a really good tip for you : sea sickness pills.

One of us didn’t think she would need one so she gave another kind of food to the sharks, if you know what I mean…

So, once in the cage, your head is out of the water and when they yell «jump!», you take a deep breath and go at the bottom of the cage. Not that easy. Sometimes it worked, sometimes I was just floating and it was a mess!

I was on the side of the cage and twice, a shark decided that he wanted to eat the corner of the cage. Exactly like this:

I have to say that I was a little scared! I saw its sharp teeth up close. I prayed that the holes in the cage were small enough to protect me! Not exactly an easy task as I was trying to take pictures with my GoPro at the same time. I’m a little bit disappointed of the results…

 

I'd say that the best show happens when you’re on the boat. Once, the shark was just going nuts and he completely shredded the head’s fish as he was jumping. But I didn’t get to see it since I was waiting for him underwater!

Fortunately, I saw the exact same scene afterwards.

We would’ve prefered for the water to be more clear, but we can’t control that. Still, I can say that the experience was worth it!

The prison where you could find Mandela, a tour that was... okay

When we think about South Africa and Cape Town, we obviously think about Nelson Mandela. That’s because the former president of this country was imprisoned there, for no reason, during 27 years.

Think about it. That’s freaking long.

Eighteen of these years have been served in Robben Island. It’s kinda the equivalent of Alcatraz, but with political prisoners – so it was a little bit more quiet. In fact, the only similarity with that prison in San Francisco, is that they’re both on an island. Because, I have to be honest. Robben Island is way less interesting.

It is somewhat a perquisite when we come to Cape Town, but I’m telling you, it’s not the most thrilling visit. Maybe I’m jaded after visiting emotional places like Alcatraz or, in an other way, Auschwitz. But even if the prisoners’ stories are heartbreaking, I didn’t feel a lot of emotions when I was there.

I think that it’s because they don’t really tell the story. I felt like the guides were taking for granted that we all know by heart the Apartheid, Mandela’s life and his liberation. I would’ve love to know more.

In fact, I’ve learnt more about it reading the posters while I was waiting for the boat. And damn I’ve been waiting a long time for it, because it was 30 minutes late.

Oh and talking about the boat. If you have sea sickness, avoid this visit! Or, you can choose to go, but only if you are ready with your Gravol. The boat is not that big – and we’re freezing on board! – it will take more or less than 45 minutes to reach the island, which is 11 kilometers further. It will fight against the waves. But like, really big waves!

I’m not very lucky because the day that I chose to go, it was very foggy. We couldn’t even see the city and the mountains from the island. I was dissapointed, because I’m pretty sure that it would’ve been a magnificent landscape.

So as soon as you arrive on the island, you board on a bus for a visit. You only get out once, at a small restaurant. Trust me, you don’t want to try their sandwiches.

Here’s what I’ve learned during my visit:

There is a little white house, in the middle of dozens of doghouses, where the guard dogs were. In that house, which was in fact a cell, was confined Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan Africanist Congress. There was a very particular law for that inmate. Nobody had the right to talk to him. He didn’t hear a human voice, except his own, for eight years. When his sentence was over, the government made a new law. His sentence would be automatically prolonged as soon at it would end.

When he finally got his freedom, he had problems with his vocal cords, because he hadn’t use them for a very long time.

The inmates could receive visitors, but only twice a year. And they had to be 18 years old or over. So they couldn’t see their kids. The conversations had to be either in English, or in Afrikaans. One word in another language and the visit was over. See you again in six months…

There were no beds in this prison until 1979. Before that – Mandela arrived in 1964, to give you an idea of how long he slept on the floor! – the prisoners had only this blanket:

Let’s just say that the back aches were probably frequent.

The inmates were exploited to cut rocks, which were used to make the roads on the island. They only had a pick. The sun was really blinding and a lot of them were sick because of the dust. Some of them were not able to produce tears anymore. Some others suffered from bad breathing problems.

But it was in this quarry that the men were teaching each other. There was something similar to a cave, at the back, that was called the university. But its main purpose was a toilet, which is why the guards wouldn’t go there. The inmates could therefore share their knowledge. Don’t forget that it was only political prisoners. In fact, three of them have been elected as president of the country since then.

Oh and if ever they had the idea of doing their business in the bushes, they were simply shot to death.

Here’s the cell of Mandela :

I don’t know if I’m insensitive or it’s because I haven’t read enough yet about the Apartheid and all that stuff, but I didn’t feel anything, unlike what I was expecting.

We visited the maximum-security prison where Mandela was in the second part of the guided tour. The problem is that I understood only 10% of what the guide said. I was often asking myself if he was speaking English or Afrikaans. I thought I was just bad in English. But I heard an American couple saying they didn’t understand either. So I was reassured! It’s a pity, beacause he was a former prisoner. But I think his message was more political – for what I’ve understood – about the actual situation than a recall of what he lived between these walls.

Everywhere in the souvenir shop, we see the number 466-64. That’s the ID number of Mandela. That means that he was the 466th to arrive in Robben Island in 1964. 

Today, a few families still live on the island. They are probably descendants of prison guards, who kept the house of their parents. I don’t understand why they stay there. No grocery store, no service. There was a school, but they shut it down because there was only 18 students. These kids now have to travel on the marvelous boat every morning and every night to go to school in town. Same thing if you want to go at the grocery store, do some shopping, etc. I saw some cars, but no gas station. I don’t know if there is one hidden somewhere!

Before being a prison, Robben Island was a mental institution. Then it became a military base during World War II. 

There is also a leper cemetery. They were sent there because people were afraid that they would be contagious, even after their death.

So this is it. If you come to Cape Town, you should visit Robben Island. But don’t have high expectations!

Challenge accepted!

I have two big passions in life: sports and travels. Since I’ve been old enough to drive my own car, I’ve been able to mix these two passions.

Back when I was in College, I started to travel all around the province of Quebec to follow my favorite junior hockey team. Then, once in adulthood, with more generous budget – OK, let’s say it, with a credit card! – my friends and I started to visit the East Coast of the States. Starting out with the hockey games, we added football games, baseball, basketball and, why not, shows of our favorite artists.

With time, these trips have become needs, or daire I say it, obsessions for myself. As much as I loved the events themselves, I adore the preparation, the drive or the flight leading to it.

At first, my goal was to visit 30 professional stadiums/arenas before my 30th birthday. I’ve now reached these two milestones (damn I’m old – 31…) and the 30 stadiums have been checked on my to do list a very long time ago.

Forty before 40 years old? Too late, the first one is already completed. So should I say 50 before 50? Like would say Barney Stinson from the famous show How I met your mother woud say : «Challenge accepted».

But until then, I thought it would be interesting to share all of these experiences with you guys. Because I have to admit that I have third strong passion : writing. It is what I do for a living.

In my upcoming blogs, I will describe the atmosphere in the stadiums and share anecdotes – so many things are happening to me when I’m traveling, it’s almost surreal! – will propose places to visit, where to eat, to shop, etc.

This may give you ideas, but it will allow myself be to keep all of my memories in one place. Nonetheless, I’ll have proofs to convince my future grand kids that their grandma was actually pretty cool “back in the days”!

So this is it. Are you ready to travel with me?