Day 233: Knysna to Cape Town

Our last leg of the Garden Route from Knysna to Cape Town was the easiest, and probably the most beautiful. We stopped off in Hermanus for lunch and some whale watching- it’s not exactly the season to see the most whales, but as soon as we sat down in a restaurant right on the water, our waiter pointed out and I saw a giant tail-fin disappear. After some soup and seafood, we were only about three hours away from Cape Town.

The drive into Cape Town was stunning. We drove along the coast and it reminded me so much of driving the Pacific Coast Highway winding around bends along steep cliffs that led down to the water. Andrew was in the passenger seat and it was up to him to film how beautiful the scenery was while I tried not to think about how scary the drop was off one side of the road. We made it to the hostel after dark and were overwhelmed by how nice – Really. Nice – the B.I.G. Backpackers Hostel was.

We checked into our room, chatted with the two Brits who we would share the room with for the night. Afterwards, I apologized to Andrew for not having as much product and make-up than they did. Homeboys had a LOT (hair-dryer included) and the room resembled a sorority girl’s college dorm more than it did a room you stay in for a couple of nights while traveling in a different country. They were nice though, and very quiet when they came in after a long and I’m assuming by the smell intoxicating night out. We were out earlier than them the next morning, so I unfortunately couldn’t tease them about their crazy amount of products.

Day 231: East London to Knysna

Clear skies! Finally! We hit the road early and halfway through the morning, pulled over to see how Andrew would do behind the wheel. Aside from a few start then stall then start again moments, he did great!

I thought the houses along the way were so beautiful, dotting the landscape of green and brown with bright punches of color. We rolled into Knysna towards dusk and were given directions to Mitchell’s Brewery for a beer tasting before we called it a night.

Day 230: a rainy day in East London

Our gracious host suggested we stay another day because of the weather. We weren’t planning to, but then I woke up exhausted. That kind of exhaustion that courses through both your arms, your legs, your head, your everything. It was raining again, so I knew it would just be me driving again, and I knew I wasn’t up for it. We decided to stay another day. Also, Andrew needed to practice driving.

We headed to the mall (in the rain) to get a wire to hook up an ipod to the car stereo, eat lunch, and practice driving. Andrew very rarely gets frustrated, so when he does, I find it very entertaining. It also puts me in check on how entertaining it must be for him when I get frustrated. He kept demanding when he was supposed to change gears. I didn’t know the answer other than…

“I don’t know, you just feel it… Don’t you feel that?” I asked as the gear strained needing to change.

“No!” He responded frustrated.

“Shift!” I demanded. He grumbled. I laughed. He didn’t. But he got a little more comfortable and I told him he just needed more practice, which hopefully if the rain let up, he would get en route to Cape Town.

Day 18: 26 hours on a bus from Hoi An to Saigon

It wasn’t an exciting day, to say the least. We woke up in Nha Trang after 12 hours or so on an overnight bus from Hoi An. I’ve heard mostly terrible things about Nha Trang (muggings namely, but the deaths of two former English Teachers in Korea didn’t help matters) so despite it having beautiful beaches, I didn’t want to stay. Also, I didn’t want to be on a bus for my birthday. As it turned out, neither bus (there were two) were all that bad. They were only about 1/3 full, and we were able to stretch out and play musical bus seats when we wanted to sit up or lay down.

Patience is a virtue that I’m constantly improving upon while traveling. In the past, I didn’t remember the bus from Nha Trang to Saigon taking as long. Then I realized, the Vietnamese kid we picked up in the middle of nowhere, and then dropped off in the middle of nowhere probably had something to do with it. Annoyed, after being on a bus for nearly 23 hours at this point, I wanted to give the driver a piece of my mind, but it’s Vietnam. I don’t speak Vietnamese. He doesn’t speak English. What can you do?