SHOOT: A few interesting points here, for example 'Don't expect security in South Africa to be great during the 2010 World Cup' and 'That's okay. If security isn't perfect, that's OK.'
Now I've noticed a few South Africans saying thanks for this [ultimately positive-realistic] and incredibly balanced view of South Africa approaching 2010. But is it?
Was Kessel even in South Africa for the Confed Cup? To say that transport during the Confed Cup was a headache, even a shambles isn't an exaggeration. And that was for a tournament 10% the size of the World Cup.
Also, any writer who talks about 2010 without mentioning swine flu perhaps needs to drink a cup of coffee, or smell what's in it. Swine flu is currently the fastest spreading pandemic ever, and in 6 weeks it has run riot. Where will it be 6 months from now, and 6 months after that? To say I don't know is not enough, and to not even consider this impact is laughably stupid and shortsighted.
Final point: To diss the Garden Route as 'the most boring 10-hour stretch of white suburban South Africa you can imagine' is a bit erratic. Maybe South Africans who have driven it a hundred times, and are a bit jaded, might think so. Maybe it sounds witty and self deprecating. Is it true, no. See the Garden Route if you can - it's more about natural scenery and stunning seascapes [think Knysna and J-Bay] than suburbia. If you want to see a beautiful 'black area' in South Africa, go to Transkei [just up the road from the Garden Route] and cross through Lesotho. Just expect grave sized potholes and intermittent cellphone reception, but very charming country and the people in it.
Read my article and view photos on Lesotho.
Now I've noticed a few South Africans saying thanks for this [ultimately positive-realistic] and incredibly balanced view of South Africa approaching 2010. But is it?
Was Kessel even in South Africa for the Confed Cup? To say that transport during the Confed Cup was a headache, even a shambles isn't an exaggeration. And that was for a tournament 10% the size of the World Cup.
Also, any writer who talks about 2010 without mentioning swine flu perhaps needs to drink a cup of coffee, or smell what's in it. Swine flu is currently the fastest spreading pandemic ever, and in 6 weeks it has run riot. Where will it be 6 months from now, and 6 months after that? To say I don't know is not enough, and to not even consider this impact is laughably stupid and shortsighted.
Final point: To diss the Garden Route as 'the most boring 10-hour stretch of white suburban South Africa you can imagine' is a bit erratic. Maybe South Africans who have driven it a hundred times, and are a bit jaded, might think so. Maybe it sounds witty and self deprecating. Is it true, no. See the Garden Route if you can - it's more about natural scenery and stunning seascapes [think Knysna and J-Bay] than suburbia. If you want to see a beautiful 'black area' in South Africa, go to Transkei [just up the road from the Garden Route] and cross through Lesotho. Just expect grave sized potholes and intermittent cellphone reception, but very charming country and the people in it.
Read my article and view photos on Lesotho.
My biggest fear for South Africa 2010 is that the majority of the population who most need the economic benefits of this tournament will instead be shafted. I worry that some visitors, terrified to experience anything other than a sanitised experience of the Rainbow Nation, will drive the Garden Route – the most boring 10-hour stretch of white suburban South Africa you can imagine (excepting a nice ocean view) – and learn nothing about the majority population of this country
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