East London, South Africa

We drove from Port Elizabeth to East London one afternoon and I took a walk that evening. Unfortunately it was a bad day for a walk on the beach. One side of the sky was sunny while the other was covered with clouds. Maybe its that time of the year, but all the beaches i've been to in South Africa so far were extremely windy. Imagine walking on a beach with layers of clothing, being pushed around by strong wind, feeling cold and depressed. Cant really imagine a beach like that right?

Yeah well, all thanks to the winter kicking in.

Missing Cape Town

I envy the people living in Cape Town. Its very very scenic. The kind of landscapes you see here are fantastic. Fortunately for me, I was packed off and sent to South Africa on work.

Im here for the Indian Premier League. I get to sit in a box. I get to pig out of free drinks and free food. More often than not, Im always watching the match with a glass of beer in my hand. I get to travel with two teams. The Deccan Chargers and the Rajasthan Royals. I get to rub shoulders with Gilly. I even get to have lunches with Scott Styris. 

On certain days, i take the time off to visit tourist spots armed with my SLR, a jacket and sometimes with a flimsy tripod. But that was in Cape Town. I've heard nasty stories about gun point experiences at Jo'burg, Port Elizabeth and East London. Which is why I've not even bothered to take a stroll with my camera. 

However, I've been here since the 16th of April and intend to stay till the 26th  of May. And I'm starting to feel lonely. I miss my wife. I miss the guys from Puma India. I miss Mum and Dad. and I miss chilling with Aditi, Niyu and Ravi.

May started with Reva's bday. I missed her. I wish she was here with me. We could drive to Camps Bay together. Maybe down a bottle of white wine and look at the sunset.

Today's the third of May. I made a few desktop calendars from pictures taken at Cape Point and at Camps Bay. I normally send them out to a whole lot of people month after month. I thought I'll put the MAY ones up here. All these were taken at Cape Town. I wana go back to Cape Town. Reva, get here fast. We've got to go to Cape Point, Camps Bay, Table Mountain and to the Wine yards.

Camps Bay - We got a fantastic view at 6.45 pm. The sun had set. Clouds were below us and cars were zipping by with their headlights on. 

 

The setting sun at Camps Bay
Standing on firm ground and yet above the clouds...

On top of Cape Point. I wish I had a polorising filter.

The sun setting behind table mountain. I caught this through the window in my room. 

Table mountain again. This time, caught from the table top. 
On the way to Cape Point, we made a few stops.

Camps bay again. Im so glad i had my flimsy tripod.

 

Table Mountain

When I arrived at Cape Town, all I wanted to do was to go shoot the much talked about Table Mountain. I wanted to shoot it from a distance, with the sea in the foreground and the sun setting in the background. I havent got a chance to do that yet. But I did manage to go up Table mountain and shoot the city from top. I went there yesterday at about 12 noon. Came back a bit disappointed. Obviously I knew the light wasn't right. So I made a note to come back one evening during 5 and 6 to catch the light of the setting sun. 

At 5 pm I decided to leave the hotel to find a vantage point to shoot Table Mountain from a distance. I did a quick google and found that Blouberg strand would be a good place to start. I sat in the Audi, fed in Blouberg and zoomed away. Forty minuted later I was completely lost. Blouberg didnt look anything like the place I saw on the net. The sun was setting fast and I knew just had 50 minutes to get a few good shots in. Not wasting any time, I put the car on Sports mode and sprinted towards table mountain. Climbed up finally at 6.15 and managed to get a couple of decent shots. It was way too windy though. I even had trouble getting my tripod to stay still.

Camps Bay

Here's what I did. I rented an Audi. Rented a GPS unit, fed Camps Bay in it and took off. Its one hell of a drive. When driving past, you see mountains on your left and the sea on your right. One thing you got to make sure is that you get here during sunset. 

Now Camps Bay has these certain vantage points which offer you the best view from the top and you can see these when you drive. But forget about stopping and getting your camera out. There is absolutely no place to pull over. If you want to really enjoy it, make sure you take a 10 km walk downhill. It will be tiring but its definitely worth it. Make sure you're armed with a jacket and that you weigh well over 80 kgs. You dont want to get blown away from the strong wind.

I managed to pull over at a few places but wasnt really satisfied with my shots. Got back home and realised I was shooting at ISO 800. That was a bummer. Obviously I noticed a lot of grain in my pictures. Aaaahhh oh well. Here they are.   

What's the big deal?

I've spent 26 years of my life getting familiar with Bangalore. I studied at a college which was on Brigade Road for 2 years. I spent a hell lot of time walking up and down that high street. I've seen shops come and go. I was also around when the first CCD, then known as Cyber Cafe became a hangout for coffee connoisseurs. 

Yet, I have never seen Pecos or Fanoos. Didn't really understand what the big deal was. Given a choice I'd rather spend a hot sunny day, in campus playing a casual game of cricket with like minded teetotallers and vegetarians.  

They're both holes in the wall. And yet, when i tell a true patron that I havent been to either of these landmarks, I manage to elicit the following response everytime. "WHAT??? YOU HAVENT BEEN TO PECOS/FANOOS? HUMM...." 

Mysore as my base for the weekend - Day 2

On day two, we got in the car and visited the Gumbaz and Sangam which is about 15 kms from Mysore. Again, it was the wrong time of the day for pictures. 

I seemed to have planned my visits without thinking at all. 5 pm would've been apt. The sun wouldnt be too harsh, and we could really get some good golden hour pictures. To be frank,I  didnt really have the patience to ensure an early evening visit. Besides, driving at night is a pain. Anyway, managed to get some "for the sake of shooting" pictures at these two locations. 

Wevu being patiently cute while I walked off with my camera.
The Gumbaz sunbathing in the hot blazing sun.


Wevu on the banks of the river, sitting pretty.
Performing last rites.
Mixed emotions. Members of a family performing the last rites of a loved one while members of another family enjoying a ride on the coracle.









Chaddi pals.