July 2008 - Posts - OneWayTicket

July 2008 - Posts

Day 90: The (sad) journey back home

Posted by Priya Ramani at 
It broke my heart to say goodbye to Mika and Khensani. Mika wanted to know why we hadn't stayed with them for the full 10 days. And I don't think I will ever meet another seven-year-old who is as special as Khensani. On the flight we were seated near a Gujarati family who proceeded to "capture" all the nearby empty window seats and...

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Day 84-88: In search of Africa's Big Five

Posted by Priya Ramani at 
Lion. Leopard. Elephant. Buffalo. Rhinoceros. The Big Five that top every African tourist's been there, seen that list. After yesterday's health scare, I'm feeling slightly more charitable towards Willem. I don't envy his job - he's under constant pressure to seek out the biggies. And I think I just made it worse by telling him I'm...

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Day 83: A wild introduction to the other South Africa

Posted by Priya Ramani at 
I don't know what we were expecting but it certainly wasn't an Afrikaner with a Tom Selleck moustache, a blond ponytail and a tatoo high on his left thigh that doubled up as his visiting card: Master Tracker it read, like the pieces on a scrabble board, one word vertical, one horozontal with the "a" common to both and the face of a...

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Day 81: Tales of liberation--and the best mutton curry--in Soweto

Posted by Priya Ramani at 
Remember 1976? India was in the midst of a long vacation from democracy - we were trapped in the Emergency - but for South Africa this year marked the first real landmark in the struggle against Apartheid. The uprising that started in Soweto in 1976 gathered momentum and spread all over the country for the next 10 years or so. We're spending the...

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