FIFA 2010 - Departure

June 19 - Awoke at 8:30am, packed and got ready. Mohammed came to pick us up at 10:15 am. When we were about to leave, we were surprised to see all the staff lined up to say goodbye to us - Dede (caretaker); Martha (cleaner)and her aide; and Rashidi (gardener). This was unusual as most of the guests come and go and there are no formal goodbyes. They all hugged us and Martha broke down in tears. Headed to the airport and departed at 1:40pm.

The World Cup fever continued on the plane as people got up and danced to "Waving the Flag" ....... and the vuvuzelas started blaring .... again!

Got to Nairobi at 6:45 pm. At the airport, Watched Cameroon v. Denmark (1-2) with a large crowd, some with vuvuzelas. Departed Nairobi at 11:45pm.

June 20 - Arrived London Heathrow at 6:45am. Transferred from terminal 1 to terminal 3, freshened up and secured our boarding passes for the next flight. Anil's brother-in-law picked us up and we went half-way and met up with my nephew, Arif, Lucy, Safia, Inara and Rafi. Spent some time with them, then went to Anil's b-i-l's house for a snack. Headed back to heathrow at boarded the plane at 3:15 pm. Arrived in Edmonton at 5:20 pm - with a 7 hr time difference.

This is the end of a memorable, fabulous and exciting trip.

FIFA 2010 - Day 7&8

June 17 - Having refreshed, walked to the local mall - 7 mins away. Had breakfast at a delightful bakery. French Toast, Fried Bananas and coffee for around $4. A 4 egg omellete was around $5. Walked to Sandton City and got the local bus to Soccer City ($7 return). Watched Argentina v. South Korea (4-1) - good game. Got back to Sandton and watched Nigeria v. Greece on the big screen (1-2) in the casino. There was tremendous fan excitement as all the locals were supporting Nigeria.

Walked back to the guest house, freshened up, got pizza for everyone, including Dede, and watched France v. Mexico (0-2).

June 18 - Slept in a little. Went for breakfast to the local pattisserie and had chocolate croissant, tea and fresh orange juice. Walked along 'Village Walk' and went to the FIFA ticket office. Went inside a highly secured diamond trading house that had an exquisite and large collection of diamonds. At 1:30pm, boarded the bus to Ellis Stadium. Due to some system problems, the driver was having some difficulty issuing tickets, causing delays, and the long line-up of fans was getting very irritated. I went over to help him and became his conductor, assisting passengers with their tickets. Got a loud cheer and a standing ovation from all the passengers as the bus finally left 40 mins later. Watched USA v. Slovenia (2-2) - a great game with a large number of loud US supporters.

After the game went to Marco Polo Casino to watch England v. Algeria (0-0) on the big screen. Great atmosphere and an exciting game. Later that night, being our last night, Brighton took us to another lively bar - Lebo.

Tomorrow we board the plane back to Canada, for a 2 day flight.

FIFA 2010 - Day5&6

June 15 - Didn't sleep too well that night. so slept in till 10:00am. Walked to Sandton - it was a very cold day. Walked around Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton Shopping Centre. Went to the Sony tent and watched 3D TV - FIFA match highlights; Kaka's movie; Shakira's 'Waka Waka' - a wonderful experience. Went back to the guest house to refresh and watchd the 2nd half of Slovenia v. New Zealand (1-1).

At 3:30pm headed to Sandton Casino to watch Portugal v. Ivory Coast (0-0). Had a big Jalapeno Burger, fries and draught for $5. Got 2 buses to Ellis Park (1 3/4 hrs). Watched Brazil v. Korea Rep (2-1). One of the Brazilian TV crews, mistaking me for a Brazilian, wanted to interview me after the game - unfortunately I couldn't fake it as I couldn't speak Portugese. Got the 2 buses back and got to the guest house at 12 midnight.

It was a bitterly cold night. My cold and sore throat that I've had for some days just got worse.

June 16 - Up at 8:00am and walked to Intercontinental hotel. We were supposed to get a "Hop & Ride" bus tour of J'Burg City at 10:ooam. Glenda called us to say that the tour had been cancelled due to cold weather; howewer, she sent a private driver. As the driver, Muhammad, later put it - "it was destiny" - as he gave us a great and insightful tour. We went to Constitutional Hill; Constitutional Courthouse; Independence bridge; Hillbro (where we actually got down to get T-Shirts and Vuvuzelas very quickly - quarter of the price but very dangerous neighbourhood); Indian part of the city (where we had Biryani for $3); Mandela's current residence; Soweto; Mandela's and Desmond Tutu's old house in Soweto.

Got to the guest house at 2:30pm. Refreshed. Watched Spain v. Switzerland (0-1). Muhammad came and picked us up at 6:00pm. Drove to Pretoria in his Mercedes, and he dropped us close to the Loftus Stadium. Atmosphere was great as South Africa were playing. We were dressed in Brazilian attire, and some local supporters, mistaking us for Brazilians, wanted to take pictures / movies with us - something to bear in mind for future games.

Watched South Africa v. Uruguay / Forlan (0-3). The local team stunk but Forlan was great. The noise was deafening (again), but the ear plugs and pills have become a routine now. Muhammad drove us back to the guest house around 11:30pm.

FIFA 2010 - Day 3&4

June 13 - Awoke early and met Rashidi's (the gardener) friend. Rashidi was from Tanzania so we spoke swahili with him. Bargained and negotiated with his friend to take us around the city.

Left at 10:00am. Went to Hillsbro (old downtown) - the most dangerous part of the city - no thoughts of venturing there in the evening. Then drove to Newton; Gold Reef City and Soweto. Went to the Lion Park, where we petted lion cubs; saw white Lions and Giraffe. Stopped by Monte Casino - excellent complex with great dining - will need to come back. The driver took us to Pretoria - 50 kms away - to Loftus Stadium. Watched Ghana v. Serbia (1-0). The Vuvuzela noise was deafening - the headache continues, so got some earplugs. Met our driver after the game and he took us back to our guest house. Later watched the Germany v. Australia (4-0) game.

June 14 - Met 2 guys from Netherlands who had rented a car and offered us a ride to Soccer City. Left at 10:00am (match was at 1:30pm). There was heavy traffic and we had lots of difficulty getting into any 'Park n Rides' as we needed to have pre-bought the tickets. We had already wasted lots of time driving and it was becoming very frustrating, but seeing a ferris wheel in the distance, we went to Gold Reef City - we had been there the day before so knew where it was - and parked there. It turned out to be a 4-5 kms walk to the stadium, but the fan atmosphere was great. Soccer City stadium is the main stadium for the 2010 World Cup. Watched Netherlands v. Denmark (2-0). Walked back to Gold Reef, had steak dinner with our Holland friends, while watching Cameroon v. Japan (0-1). Drove back to our guest house, freshened up, and watched Italy v. Paraguay.

There were 2 other people from Calgary in out guest house. 2 Brazilians were supposed to arrive for Brazil's game tomorrow.

Later that night, Brighton took us to a lively bar in Randburg - I think it was called Zaza's.

FIFA 2010 - Day 1&2

June 11 - Awoke early and headed down to Sandton - the centre of activity. There was chaos as no one knew how to get to the stadium by public transport. There was a tremendous amount of activity as all the dignitaries, VIP's and media from around the world were based in Sandton. Every few minutes there was a police escort for buses / cars carrying some dignitaries to the stadium. The centre was a crazy place to be in as fans from all over the world were dancing, singing, blowing vuvuzelas (horns) etc. Met a good friend from Vancouver, and another one from Calgary later that evening.

Having resigned to the fact that we would not get tickets to the opening game, we headed to the FIFA fan park. The huge crowd was constantly singing and dancing, and the vuvuzelas noise was loud. The crowd erupted when SA scored. Had something to eat at Sandton before heading home. Had to take a couple of pills for the vuvuzela inspired headache.

June 12 - walked to Sandton and hooked up with our friend from the previous day and headed to Ellis Park - Argentina v. Nigeria (1-0). Getting the opportunity to watch Messi play was worth the cost of the trip.
Watched the England v. USA (1-1) game at home with our caretaker - Dede, and ordered Pizza. The power went out half way through the game and that was an excuse for an early night.

Kruger Park

June 10 - Although not on our original plan (due to lack of time), we discussed with Brighton the possibility of doing Kruger National Park in 1 day - a trip that is usually takes 3-4 days. Having agreed with the driver, and on the misguided pretence that we could do a 3-4 day tour in 1 day, we left our guest house on June 10 at 5:00am.

After getting lost and asking for directions at a number of locations, we finally arrived at Kruger at 12:00 noon. Took the safari in our own car until the park closed at 5:30pm. Saw Elephants; Giraffes; Lions (in the distant); Hippos; lots of deer etc. We had covered only 1/8 of the park.

Started back at 5:30 and again had to ask for directions. An unusual thing happened along the way - we stopped for gas and some food. There were a number of people and 1 person came up to me and said "I don't know you but I know God has blessed you - I could tell as soon as you entered the door" - strange!! Towards the end we got lost again, and driving through some deserted industrial area, finally got back at 12:00 midnight. A 19 hr trip, all inside an old car, which I had to drive for a while within the park so that Brighton could sleep. Tonight, I will be dreaming of that car !!

The touring is all done. Tomorrow is the start of the World Cup and that will be our focus from here on.

J'Burg - Sun City & Pilanesberg

June 8 - Arrived in Johannesburg at 8:30pm. Took a cab to Somona Guest House. Settled in and had an early night (one cannot walk outside after 6:00pm and all the houses have security gates and window bars).

June 9 - Awoke early the next morning and arranged for a driver (Brighton) to take us to Pilanesberg Game Reserve - saw elephants; hippos; zebras; deer and wilde beast. Then drove to Sun City - the disneyland of South Africa. Drove back and arrived in J'Burg at 7:00pm. Were told that more guests would be arriving at our B&B (there are 7 rooms in all). The next batch are Mexicans, and as the opening game is S. Africa v. Mexico, we expect some heated debates over the next few days.

There was a massive parade in J'Burg today (schools and businesses were closed so that the children could join in too) in support of the South African national soccer team.

Planning for Brighton to take us to Kruger tomorrow.

Cape Town

June 6 - Departed J'Burg at 5:00pm, arrived in Cape Town at 7:10pm. Were picked up at the airport and taken to our apartment. The apartment was huge - 1,800 to 2,000 sq. ft. on 2 levels. There were 2 double bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, large living room and large kitchen. This was fit for 8 people - and all for $225 per night.

Later that evening, went for a stroll along the main street - Long Street - which was lined with restaurants, bars and clubs and was very lively.

June 7 - In the morning, walked to Bo-Kaap, an old Muslim neighbourhood with multi-coloured houses. Then went to the waterfront - the 2nd most popular tourist attraction in CT. Took a bus tour of the City Centre and then a bus tour around the Cape - this was very scenic and had some spectacular scenery of the cliffs, the ocean and some breath taking ocean front properties. Befriended a local, Thembi, who recommended 'Mama Africa' for supper - a very popular restaurant with live music. Had T-Bone steak, baked potatoes, veggies and a coke for around $20.

June 8 - took the cable car up to Table Mountain - the most popular attraction. En route we observed some spectacular views of Cape Town. Unfortunately, it was cloudy at the top (called 'table cloth').

The World Cup fever continues to mount as we come across fans from different parts of the world. This afternoon, we take the plane to J'burg.

London, England

June 4 - Departed Edmonton at 8:50pm.

June 5 - Arrived London the next morning at 11:30am. Had a 9 hr wait, so Anil's brother-in-law picked us up at Heathrow and took us for lunch at the Regency Club. Then to a back yard birthday BBQ celebration. Stopped by b-i-l's house for tea before he finally dropped us back at the airport. Boarded flight at 8:00pm.

June 6 - Arrived Nairobi at 6:30 am. On board met a friend from London whom I hadn't seen for 25 years. He was also heading to FIFA 2010. Some other mutual friends were to join him, so exchanged phone numbers so we could hook up later. Also met 2 girls from Alberta heading to FIFA 2010.

Boarded flight in Nairobi at 9:10am. J'Burg at 12:40pm. Had lunch at the airport with the friend we had just met and his relatives who had come to pick him up. Agreed to hook up again on our return to J'Burg. Lots of soccer excitement at the airport. Around 100 supporters from Brazil had just arrived.

Will be boarding our flight to Cape Town in 30 mins.

South Africa - FIFA 2010

Start of vacation 2010. Catching the flight this evening at 8:00pm to South Africa for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.