Korean Job Discussion Forums

[moosehead]

I'm middle-aged and female and traveled overland in SA alone for 6 weeks in 2006.

It was fantastic and an incredible experience - Joburg, the Kalahari, Capetown, Sutherland (I visited the S.A. Large Telescope, sister to the one in Ft. Davis Texas, which I've also visited) Bloemfontain and Kimberly.

I'm also American and virtually everywhere I went people asked me where are all the Americans? was amusing I said I didn't know I guess they were too scared to travel any more

I met SO many people and made many friends - tho true, I did have one there already whom I stayed in touch w/over the telephone while there and then spent a week at his home w/his family.

There is a bus that goes from Capetown to Victoria Falls - very nice buses, I took one from Upington to Capetown, much nicer than the ones in the U.S. - they were a little off schedule but not by much - the trains were more irregular.

there are many hostels all over - and lots of travelers there who are friendly and have tons of info and free advice - stay away from the Lonely Planet because they are SO outdated and out of touch - !

the only tours I went on was a Soweto-Apartheid Museum tour in Joburg, a jazz tour in Capetown, Robben Island tour, and a rock art tour in Kimberly that was outdoors run by the San people. All of the tours were legit and worthwhile - especially the jazz tour - that was excellent! oh, also a tour of the SA telescope which was also awesome but really cold!!

South Africa is an awesome place - the best warnings I can offer are to stay alert, never take your eyes off your baggage and make SURE your bank knows you are going there - they will cancel your cc IMMEDIATELY if you don't tell them and you try and take money out of the bank.

also - the only negative incident I had was the last day when I wanted to buy some US dollars because I was leaving and flying to Cairo and there were some kind of rules/law about it - that was horrible so buy some dollars before arriving and hang on to them - travelers' checks or something.

have fun!!!

[Otherside]

Paul, sounds like a good plan. I'd reconsider both Botswana and Zim. Botswana is more developed than you think (has one of the highest GDP/capita's in Africa, top 3 I believe) and has a couple of amazing sites. The Okavango delta springs to mind, and is pretty close to the Namibia/Botswana/Zambia/Zim border (by vic falls), so wouldn't be too far out of your way. Secondly, while I agree Zim is in ruins, Vic falls from the Zambian side is great, from the Zimbabwean side, it is simply breathtaking. Due to tourism etc, the area by vic falls is still functioning and is worth a 2-3 day trip from across the Zambian border.

Regarding SA during the World Cup. I'll be honest, Pretoria isn't great to spend too much time either. You'll have completed the tourist jaunt in 2 days (a week tops, if you are VERY thorough!) and otherwise pales compared to the other major cities. It is also one of only 2 major SA cities where English isn't widely spoken (though you should manage, especially during the World cup, but if you go out partying, expect almost everyone NOT to be speaking English).

I agree on your prognosis regarding Cape Town, it'll be crap (weatherwise, as I mentioned) crowded, and overpriced. While I'm sure most of SA will experience "tourist" pricing for the period, Cape Town will be hardest hit (even these days, the tourist areas are horrendously priced by SA standards).

Fortunatly, Cape Town has a different weather system from the rest of the country (Cape Town, hot and dry in summer, cold and wet in winter, while the Rest of the country has hot, wet summers, and cold, dry winters). PE, might be worth a look in, for a couple of days at least, weather wise, not the best as its very windy...but some interesting stuff there...although it's got a very small town feel to it. Durban may be your best bet, weather wise will be decent (if you lucky the days will be between 20-25C, more likely 15-20C, which isn't bad for winter, and as a Canadian, might even be swimming weather lol), and there's a lot of great stuff in Kwazulu Natal (the same province as Durban).

However, if your primary goal is to be involved in the World Cup, and watch as many games as possible, then you'd want to be based in Gauteng (JNB/Pretoria). I never really considered Rustenberg, it's about 200Km from JNB/PTA and while the sights hold a little interest, they'd be overwhelmed by tourists during the World Cup. On this note, you'd be well advised to organise World Cup tickets prior to the event. The first round of ticket sales is open, and closes on March 31. (random draw ticketing). As a Non-South African, the cheapest tickets for group games will cost you $80 a pop, with prices going up for better seats and later rounds. Check out www.fifa.com for the ticketing details, but this is definitly a case of sooner rather than later.

Finally, regarding crime. There's been some debate around this. On the one hand if the government says they'll do everything in their power to provide safety for tourists during the World cup, then WHY THE HELL don't they provide safety for their citizens (and tourists) the rest of the year?

My take is, that the busy tourist areas and the areas around the stadiums will be pretty safe. However, a huge influx of tourists will be seen as a huge influx of 'soft' targets by the criminal element, so I think if you go off the beaten track, you may very well find yourself at risk. Obviously, like most places if you can find a few mates who show you the ropes and "take you under their wing" it can go a long way (safety, and enjoyment wise )

Best of luck, and keep me updated. If you have any more Q's, i'll try and help.

Moosehead, I'm glad you enjoyed SA. I agree it's a wonderful place I always get embarressed when foriegners mention places they've been and I haven't been there. I've never been to the Northern Cape (Upington and Kimberly if your memory is rusty ) barring the 50km stretch of road I drove many times between CPT and JNB, been meaning to go for a while, and will hopefully cover it soon :_)

[RufusW]

Sounds like you've put in a lot of planning, and it sounds like a nice route.

I'd go without a guide hiking in Nepal. Depends on the season but if it's at all busy then there's really no problems with safety... except the small possibility of getting mugged north of Kathmandu I think.

The people I've met said they thought Africa wasn't actually as cheap as they expected.

It's a pity you can't stow-away on cargo ships anymore :) I looked into getting a cabin but it seems people actually want to do this now and it costs a bomb. It seems thorntree has a lot of seasoned travellers on there.

Good luck dude, should be lush.

[PaulPizzazz]

Rufus,

Yes, the cargo option sounds quite expensive. Anywhere from $90US to $140 a day. And the number of days it will take to do a crossing can't be guaranteed. So if it takes more days than planned, then you have to fork out more money. Though there may only be 10 or 20 other people on the boat using this option, you can be confined to one section of the cargo ship. If the ship is full of cargo containers, your view may only be out the tail-ass end of the boat (from the deck's surface).

At those prices, you can get a cruise going from Europe to North America. There are many repositioning cruises that take the ships back to the Americas after a season that brings them to Europe/Mediterranean. These cruises are cheaper in general than other cruises. These cruises happen in October and November, with a couple options in September. A cruise can cost $2000US for one person, but is only $1000 if you reserve it with someone else. The cost of having two people using one cabin vs. one person alone. A cruise isn't exactly the way I envision finishing my "rough" year long trip. But it could be nice to have a bit of luxurious comfort after a year of roughing it. I guess any option is more interesting than simply flying back home.

As for hiking in Nepal. Did you have all your own gear with you? I do own all of my own camping gear here in Korea, but I will not be bringing it with me on my trip. It's just way too much weight for me to carry around. I haven't really looked into what my options are for hiking in the Himalayas. Did you stay in any lodgings while hiking, could you rent gear? What did you do for food? I don't want to do the most popular treks in Nepal. I will gladly hike less busy routes so that there aren't as many other people hiking around me. I plan on being in Nepal next March.

Otherside,

I was thinking about seeing the Victoria Falls from Zims. I've heard it's more beautiful than from Zambia. Seemed a bit weird to go into Zims just for one destination, but who knows, if it's simple it'll prolly happen.
As for Botswana, I know that the GDP there is quite high. Yet the country is still very much a bush country. What I read is that while it's possible to get by in the other neighboring countries on a budget of $30/day, it would be hard to do Botswana on less than $60/day. So that kinda puts me off. I'm sure I will see great wildlife and ecology in all of those African countries, so it'll be ok if I miss one or two of them. I guess I'll wait til I'm on the continent to start getting some feedback from other travelers.

As of now, I've met very few people who have backpacked Africa. And I've never really known any South Africans, so your input about the World Cup is well appreciated. Because of my budget situation, there will definitely be a limit on how many matches i see. I will also limit myself as to what I'm doing while in S.A. As long as I attend 2 or 3 matches, I'll be happy. Staying at nice/fun hostels and partying with others while watching the matches on TV should also be good fun.

I've known that tickets went on sale a couple weeks ago. I felt a bit weird buying tickets for games when the teams participating in the World Cup haven't even been finalized. Perhaps I should just hurry up and order a couple. March 31st is closely approaching...

Paul

Anyone else planning on going to the World Cup?

[RufusW]

Well being a cook / extra hand on a boat certainly beats a cruise or a flight....

I did 'Around Annapurna', a trail that goes around the Annapurna range of mountains. There are small villages every 5 miles or so, these cater for a lot of people in the high season (I think 10,000 people do it every year!) but people live there nearly all year. So basically you don't need to camp or cook. You could if you wanted but as you say, hauling equipment, or buying equipment just isn't worth it.

I started my hike late Feb and it's a perfect time to go. The crowds haven't arrived yet (I shared a day's hike with between 0 and 10 people). The weather's nice, cold at altitude.

The other popular trek is up to Everest Base camp. You'd probably miss most of the expeditions if you went March. This is shorter and you can fly to the trail head. I think you would need to camp...maybe.

But basically you just want to be getting good, close views of the mountains, you can do that a few hours drive from Kathmandu, or a couple days' walk from Pokhara. If you felt really up for it just get a decent map and start moving between villages across the foothills towards the Himalayas. It's probably a little risky but I bet most villages would have a place to kip for the night and I'm sure locals would be happy to cook a little more Dhal-Baat if you handed over some cash.

Hiking in Nepal is pretty commercial now but I really don't think you can beat the scenery.....