World Travel Stories

Category: Hiking

  • LAS VEGAS

    LAS VEGAS, SEPTEMBER 1995 – ‘You have to go to Vegas once in a lifetime’, some say.  I agree, but once is enough.  This city is just unbelievable, but is it really a city ? It seemed more like a theme park to me, but I must admit, I enjoyed being carried from the one astonishing fact to the other.  We came out of the desert, a whole day driving without seeing anyone, then there was suddenly the Hoover dam, and when we arrived into Las Vegas, there were traffic jams ! A big contrast, and this was only the beginning.
    Hoover dam

    Gambling

    ‘When in Vegas, don’t sleep at night’, another saying.  I was determined to try it out.  I went from casino to casino, did some gambling (what else would you do ?) and had some free drinks.  It was all amazing, there were pyramids and a sphinx, there was Ceasars Palace, a vulcano, … and everything was connected to everything – I often wondered if I would be able to find an exit somewhere… Afterwards, I’ve learnt that exits are on purpose ‘as invisible as possible’, people have to stay in and gamble.  It is true that the city has some special attraction at night – neon rules over here.  In fact an exiting atmosphere is created, and after a while it becomes hard to resist the slot machines or video poker or blackjack.  The first night, I even won some money (the second, I lost it all very quickly).  When it was nearly morning I decided to go to the hotel, but I got a bit lost (and had a last free drink too much).  I took a cab and the hotel was somewhat further than I had imagined before.  Next problem was I didn’t remember my room number… now I was in trouble.  Security didn’t trust the situation, and I had a hard time explaining my friends were already there (and asleep) – finally I got into my room escorted by a security guard.

    Everything is for sale in Vegas

    All you can eat

    After sleeping in the day after, it was time to go for lunch.  I took the free shuttle bus this time, to one of the many restaurants inside the casinos.  I went to a place where there were circus artists performing while you were having lunch.  The food was cheap and often on a ‘as many as you can eat’ basis.  This has of course again the purpose of driving people into gambling; they can save on the food, so they have more money left for gambling.

    Besides gambling, I have done some walking into some of the areas aside from the strip. I remember it was very hot (at least to me it was), and I was always happy to reach a casino, because I could drink something there and it was airconditioned.  I guess the high temperatures over there are also ‘on purpose’.

    And the other stuff

    I also went on a city tour in a real limousine, champagne included.
    I didn’t get married and I didn’t skydive disguised as Elvis.

  • SAN FRANCISCO

    SAN FRANCISCO, AUGUST 1995 – In the days I spent in San Francisco, several of my travel dreams came true, like walking on the golden gate bridge, riding on the cable cars and going to Alcatraz.  At the same time these were the icons that appeared in so many American movies I had seen at home.  And it all seemed to be true in reality !  But I also discovered other places that were before unknown to me, and tasted the multicultural aspects of this exiting city.  This city ranks high on my list of most beautiful cities in the world. 

    The hills and the bridge

    First thing that struck me in the city : the streets are steep, very steep ! This is because of the 49 hills SF is built on, and some have famous names like Pacific Heights, Telegraph Hill, Russian Hill, … Another famous place is Twin Peaks, where the view of the city is fabulous.  I remember the big antennas up there, and when some years later I took a flight from SF, they were visible above the mist that is so typical for the city.
    Next stop, the Golden Gate bridge – I used a local bus, and the driver said we were unlucky : there was no mist today.  I walked over the bridge, which is a nice way to realise what a masterpiece of engineering this bridge is – you may not be afraid of hights and don’t lose your keys here.  Near to the bridge, there is the golden gate park, with a lake, a Dutch windmill (!) and a Japanese garden, where I had some Japanese tea.  At night, I sailed a catamaran under the bridge.  The city lights were bright and beautiful, and made it a romantic setting…

    The city seen from the bay
    China Town

    China Town

    Other highlights I visited were the piers, where a nautical festival took place at that time, and several other  buildings of interest, like the Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower.  And China Town.  I took a local bus, and it seemed like in China : lots of Chinese getting on the bus, carrying a lot of stuff, the bus driver shouting to calm them down,… I wandered through the streets, and for a while I was in China.  I went for lunch to a local restaurant, which was full of Chinese people. I remember I had trouble with the chopsticks at that time, and that the woman next to me told me in Chinese how to handle them.

    And then for something completely different : Alcatraz.  This is of course a very touristic place now, but somehow it gives you a good impression of how life would have been there when it was still a prison. And again, some movies came true…

  • LOS ANGELES

    LOS ANGELES, AUGUST 1995 – It was my first visit to the North-American continent, and my first encounter with American city life.  While the plane was making it’s descent towards LAX airport, I could see plenty of low-rise houses, the suburbs of this enormous city.  I was somewhat disappointed not to see high-rise buildings – I had to wait till the next morning for that.  I went to the hotel and met some of my fellow travellers before trying to sleep through my jetlag…- which worked wonderfully, against all expectations.  The next morning, I took some quick breakfast (muffins and coffee) and I was ready to get into the city ! 

    Hollywood

    That day we first visited the Hollywood area.  When driving from El Segundo towards Hollywood, we made some sightseeing trip through Beverly Hills.  We didn’t meet any of the stars or other famous people, we only saw beautiful cars in the streets and encountered police and security officers, always telling us not to park when we were slowing down.  The houses were all fenced and had gardens surrounding them.  After a while we arrived in the Hollywood boulevard.  I had seen this boulevard numerous times on TV, and finally I was standing there and walked on the so famous pavement.   Next, to the Chinese theatre, to admire the foot-and-other-prints of the famous.  It was like all the TV series coming true all at once, but this was real, and at the same time this seemed just like an ‘ordinary boulevard’ … a bit of a strange feeling came over me.  A feeling that would come back many times during my trip through the USA.

    Hollywood boulevard Chinese Theatre

     

    Next, we were driving into the hills of hollywood, stopped several times to see some houses of filmstars (even climbed a fence once), fotographed the Hollywood sign,… to arrive finally on the parking lot of Universal Studios, where the view of LA was great : finally high-rise buildings in all their glory !

    Half a day visit to Universal Studios… was like all the movies coming true.  After having met Jaws & Frankenstein, after having been in an earthquake and in a fire and almost in space, it was time to return to reality.

    We went on for the following days drving on the Pacific Highway, passing in Santa Monica & Santa Barbara (made a little “Bay watch” beach stop) and went on towards Big Sur, with wonderfull vistas all the way.  It was also the first time I had seen the Pacific ocean, and of course I couldn’t resist at some point to hike down from the road and feel if the water was any different than anywhere else in the world.

    Pacific Coast, Big Sur

  • Climbing the Lion’s Head

    CAPE TOWN, OCTOBER 2000 – Table Mountain dominates the city of Cape Town.  Every day – when the weather allows it – people go up the mountain by cable car or hike to the top.  The sights on top of this mountain are really spectacular – one can see the city, Robben Island, the ocean,… and a lot of other mountain peaks nearby.  One of the lower peaks one can determine is ‘Lion’s Head’.  This is the one I climbed in an attempt to see table mountain in a different way.
    The Lion's Head

    Climbing this peak is not technically difficult, but the path is not what one would call ‘easy’.  One has to walk mainly on a small path between the rocks – their are a couple of small ladders and even some chains (but you can avoid these last mentioned by taking a slightly larger route).
    After an hour and a half walking, you reach the top and can enioy the beauty and silence of Table Mountain, The Twelve Apostles, Devils’ Peak, Chapmans bay, etc… We sat their for about an hour enjoying the views.  We saw the ‘crowds’ going up Table Mounting by cable car, the traffic down in the city – we were high above all this – untouchable in a sense.  Down there, lived also the people struggling for their daily survival, homeless people sitting next to the road at night as we had seen the night before, but also the ‘South-African jetset’, the business people who had made it in this western style city.
    The Twelve Apostles
    Time to get down again, back into the crowd, into ‘real life’.  Going down, we could see the clouds coming in from the ocean, trying to crawl up onto Table Mountain, in a desperate attempt to form the so-called ‘Table cloth’.  At one moment we saw the rock before us disappear into the mist of the coming clouds.  Five minutes ago their was no cloud, now we were in the mist – just to remind us how quickly things can change.

     

  • One day in Swaziland

    SWAZILAND, OCTOBER 2000 – Arriving in South-Africa, especially when landing in Johannesburg, seems like arriving in a major airport of  the USA.  You see the same high-rise buildings, the modern airport buidings with parking lots, taxi-spaces and rental cars… But what you also can see from the sky is the vast ‘townships’ that are all over the place near the big city.  Indeed South-Africa is maybe the most ‘western’ African country, but there exists a big gap between the ‘rich’ and ‘poor’. 

    The Kraal
    Typical Swaziland Kraal

    On my trip I also visited the Kingdom Of Swaziland, which is an independent country in the interior of South-Africa.  As soon as you cross the border, you notice the difference. Houses are poor, mostly only clay huts with a straw roof.  The main road is sponsored by South-Africa. Besides this highway, mostly only dust roads is what you’ll find. You see people walking along the side of the highway. We intended to visit a typical ‘kraal’ (local family housing).  Of course people are used to tourists and know you’ll have something to give away – as soon as the car has stopped, tens of children come out of nowhere… After our guide asked the inhabitants of the ‘kraal’ permission to visit their homes, we could enter their houses and look at their furniture, their entire household, their bed, etc… At some point, this was quite embarrasing, mostly for us – imagine people stopping right now in front of your house and asking if they could take a look around, entering your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom !  

    Gifts

    But on the other hand, the gifts (worn clothes we wanted to throw away anyway – these are still better than the ones they wear –  soap, shoes, …) make them happy – and you can tell this is not acted.  “In a way these people seem a lot happier than we do”, I thought.  I gave some boy – of about 15 years old I guess – a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He just couldn’t stop looking at them, and the big smile on his face… that was something I’ll never forget.  He quickly ran away holding the old clothes as if it was his treasure. Maybe he would sell them because they were ‘too good’ for him.  This often happens. People get this way some money to buy some meat or something else they need.

    Souvenirs anyone ?

    Next to the main road are plenty of little stalls selling the typical souvenirs like wooden or soapstone elephants and rhino’s, african masks, etc… Every time you visit such a stall it’s hard to resist not to buy something.  These things cost only a few Euros, but for most of them it’s their only income.  And one must admit it , they are good in making these sculptures.  Often next to the stall, you can see them making the objects they sell. One more reason to buy : the smile on their face when you agree to buy for a bargained price.  Some textbooks will tell you it’s not the ‘true African Art’ you buy there… but the buying by itself makes it more worthwile.  Something bought in a fancy shop will mostly not help these people next to the road.

    The primary school
    Crossing the river to go to school

    Next stop was a primary school.  Again plenty of people surrounding us immediately.  We first had to cross on foot a very basic hanging bridge across the river. It was the only access to their school.  Inside the school the children were as excited as we were.  They showed us their classroom and their books, and they were proud about it. We gave some of  them a pen.  Most of these kids don’t have a pen or pencil because their parents cannot afford one.  The school does not supply the children with pens and note books etc… Imagine all the paper we waste everyday… it really makes you very quiet.  Again the happiness of the children was present everywhere – someone let them look at themselves using his video handheld camera.  True magic for these kids, big fun for us too.

    Swazi dancing

    Some hours later I was sitting in the bar of the hotel, drinking some wine.  The contrast of that day was really too much.  That evening the locals also had a surprise for us.  All of a sudden, a group of dancers,  mostly children, came into the bar; accompanied by African drums.  For about fifteen minutes they have been performing typical Swazi dancing.  Swazi dancers

    It made me think back of the children we had seen earlier that day next to the road dancing for money, stopping with their dancing as soon as the tourists were gone.  Of course these kids dancing right here also expected some little money, but one could see they were also enjoying the dancing and their motivation came from their hearts.  This is where I saw some of their roots, their original culture.  How gray their day-to-day life may be, how they may hunger for more western ‘modern’ things, a ‘better life’,… they all seem to forget it as they dance to the beats of the drums.

    Later on my travel, I’ve encountered many street dancers and visited organised African dance performances, but the spirit of that evening was never matched again.