Stacy Does India

Our trip to South Africa was nothing short of incredible. I’m not quite sure how to put it into words, but I suppose I’ll do my best.

The people we met were incredibly friendly, warm, and welcoming. The country is absolutely beautiful. I am already looking forward to going back in 2010 for the World Cup, any takers?

To see ALL of my pictures from South Africa (over 300 of 'em), check out my web albums here:

Our stay in Cape Town was awesome. We stayed at the cutest boutique hotel at the foot of Table Mountain called Alta Bay. We were welcomed with open arms, and treated like house guests, instead of hotel customers. The hotel only has 7 rooms, so it really felt like home while we were there.

On our first day in Cape Town, we took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. The view was unbelievable – probably one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen.

On our second day in Cape Town we took a wine tasting tour. Anna, Charise, Joel, and I joined a boisterous group of twenty-somethings from the UK. Our day began quietly, with everyone being proper, and somewhat shy, but after 2-3 wineries, and many glasses of wine later, the 9 of us were fast friends, and found ourselves suddenly singing The Killers at the tops of our lungs in the van. (I have this on video – it’s hilarious!)

Our third day in Cape Town was one of my favorites! We hired a driver named Ian to take us all over. We began in Hout Bay, and took a ferry to Seal Island. On the way there we saw whales, too! After the ferry ride we shopped in a local market, had lunch at a fish and chips place on the water, then it was time to head to Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins! I could hardly contain my excitement, and was thrilled with just how close I was able to get to the little guys.

After the penguins we drove to Cape Point (the most southwesterly tip of the continent of Africa). It’s very close to the area where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. It was an exhausting day of site-seeing, but so much fun!

Monday morning we awoke very early to catch our van to Aquila! We spent 2 nights there and got to go on 4 game drives. We saw: springbok, rhinos, zebras, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, hippos, ostriches, crocodiles, meerkats, buffaloes and more! In between game drives, we laid out by the pool, took naps, read, and ate. It was a relaxing getaway that forced us all to slow down, and enjoy some quiet time.

My favorite part of the stay at Aquila was definitely getting to pet the cheetahs. They were really tame, and even purred when I scratched their backs!

We spent our last 2 nights in South Africa in Johannesburg. Our first day there we shopped a bit, then saw a South African film called ‘Conversations on a Sunday’. That evening we ate at an African restaurant called Moyo. It was my favorite dinner of the entire trip because it was so much fun. There was live entertainment including: drummers, a palm reader that spent nearly an hour at our table, and a face painter.

On Friday, our last full day in SA, we visited the Apartheid Museum and a township called Soweto. In Soweto, we got to visit a shanty town, go inside Nelson Mandela’s house, and walk on the street where he received his Nobel Peace Prize.

Me, Anna, & Charise: inside Nelson Mandela's former house, now a small museum open to the public.

Friday was full of history and culture. It was one of my favorite days because I felt like I really learned a lot about a country I’ve grown to love.

This morning as I walked to my desk, a girl on my team stopped me by the water cooler and said, "Stacy, you have reduced!" I almost laughed because it sounded so funny, I guess that's how they say "You look like you've lost weight" here in India.

Our weekend in Mumbai was a blast! We arrived Friday night a little before Midnight. Our hotel was right on the water, in a really nice area of Mumbai.

Saturday we took a boat out to Elephanta Island to see some caves. The boat ride there took a little over an hour, and was calm, thank goodness. Once there, our tour guide, Chandrakhan showed us the caves, then we shopped, successfully bargained with some local vendors, and saw a ton of monkeys. We took the Deluxe boat back to Mumbai for additional Rs 20. It was money well spent because the ride was more comfortable, and a bit faster.

Saturday night we had drinks at the rooftop lounge at our hotel, then headed to dinner at Indigo. Our dinner was fantastic! The restaurant even printed a special menu in our honor (Welcome Joel Sangria and Friends). After dinner we walked to the Taj Hotel, and partied at its nightclub INSOMNIA. I wasn't feeling much like an insomniac, more like a narcoleptic, actually...I was soooo sleepy. There, we met a few guys from the Australian cricket team, and had a good time watching people on the dancefloor. The music was all techno, all the time -- needless to say, I didn't dance.

Sunday we had brunch at the Taj (its a Sunday tradition) then shopped. We hit up a few stores, an Indian version of a shopping mall, then headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Hyd. All in all, it was a great weekend. I would definitely go back to Mumbai!

For the complete set of pictures from Mumbai, click here.

We arrived at our hotel Sunday afternoon. We were less than impressed with what we found, unfortunately. The beach resort was old, run down, and didn't look anything like it did on its website. We spent a little time on the beach, watched some kids playing in the water, then decided it was time to shower up and head into town for dinner (well, it was time to get away from our hotel for awhile).

We shopped a little bit, then decided to eat dinner at the resort at which we *wanted* to stay. We had a fantastic dinner at an outdoor restaurant just steps away from the crashing waves. It was called The Wharf, and before we left they gave each of us a seashell in a small burlap gift bag. We were so enthralled by this resort, and so disappointed by our own, that we took a chance and asked if they'd had any last minute cancellations. We were in luck! They had one room available, and it was a suite! We bolted back to our "resort," packed our bags faster than evacuees, checked out of our room, and returned to our beautiful suite on the beach -- all within 20 minutes.

Our suite was incredible, though, a tease, because we could only stay one night. We all decided that we'd definitely come back another weekend, for sure! All in all, my first weekend away was an adventure. I'm already looking forward to my next trip. A big group of us is going to Mumbai in 2 weeks!

The pictures below are of sunrise on the Bay of Bengal. For more pictures of my trip, click here.

Our trip began with a 1 hour flight from Hyderabad to Chennai in Tamil Nadu, one of India's southern states. Once there, we were picked up by our driver and began the three hour car ride to Pondicherry. We stayed at a nice hotel on the outskirts of town, a bit further from the beach than we preferred, but a nice place considering we booked and planned this trip just 3 days in advance!

On Saturday we hired an autorickshaw driver named Mygesh to show us around town. This was everyone's first ride in a rickshaw -- let's just say, it was an experience! He took us to the beach, the Gandhi statue, shops, a museum, and the botanical gardens (where we saw MONKEYS)! It was a full day of sightseeing, picture-taking, and shopping. After cleaning up, we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at our hotel, and called good ol' Mygesh again to show us around some more. He took us to a temple, a monument in Auroville that resembles Epcot Center, shops in the French Quarter, and lunch at Hotel de L'Orient. We had delicious french onion soup and salads. After lunch we quickly headed back to the hotel to pack our things, and head to Mamallapuram.