After a much needed good nights rest it was time to have a big day in Cape Town! First order of the day was of course breakfast at my favourite vegan restaurant in Cape Town - Plant. I had been dreaming of good food on the train the day before and was more than satisfied with this "eggs" benedict that I was served.
After breakfast the plan was to catch a train out to Kalk Bay. Feeling full, I made my way to the train station I had arrived at yesterday and bought a hop on hop off ticket for the Southern Line out to Simon's Town. Simon's Town was the last stop and where you can go and see the penguins, but I visited them last time I was in Cape Town so I didn't feel the need to venture that far. The ticket was only 35rand ($3.40) and I could use it as much as I liked during the day, getting off at any stop.
The Metrorail trains are pretty decent and generally clean. They are divided into two classes, the 'metro' and the 'metroplus'. The 'metroplus' is presumably the business class as there were less people on it. I had no idea what my ticket entitled me to so I just kept getting on the 'metroplus' carriages thinking I would just say I didn't know if I were to get called up on it. Not one person checked my ticket the entire day though, not even to get onto the platform.
Kalk Bay is about a 50minute train ride out of the city center, but it seemed to go by much more quickly. It was really lovely to watch the mountains go by, and as we got closer to my stop the railway tracks were literally right next to the ocean.
The Kalk Bay station is right on the beach. It is also right in the middle of the main road, so as soon as I got off the train I was greeted with lots of little stores, selling things from vintage clothing, antiques, second hand books and 'boho' clothing. It was really cute and I spent a lot of time wandering around and looking for gifts. I wasn't particularly successful, but managed to find myself a nice stone necklace on a silver chain.
For lunch I found a restaurant that was advertising vegan/vegetarian meals so of course I had to go in ... it resulted in a freshly squeezed mint and apple juice and a chickpea and butternut curry! After eating I finished looking at all the little shops and decided to head back to the train station, I had been in Kalk Bay since about 11am and it was now 4pm so I was quite tired.
Muizenberg
Because I had paid extra for the hop on hop off ticket I decided to make the most of it and get off at another stop, Muizenberg, another suburb on the False Bay Coast. I also partially got off there because a bunch of kids had gotten on in my carriage and were being rather annoying so I decided to get off and avoid them. The beach here was considerably nicer than the Kalk Bay one, with lots more people tanning and swimming. It is also apparently a popular surfing spot, but that's not a sport I'm really looking at taking up.
It was a nice spot to sit a for a bit and observe where the mountains meet the coast. I can't get over how beautiful Cape Town is sometimes. On my walk back to the train station I stopped by a charity store and picked up a new book to read for only 20rand.
I got on another train that was heading back into the city, but by this time it was nearly 5pm and just about peak hour. The carriage I was on was quickly filling up and was quite packed by the time we got to Observatory. I decided to take one last detour here. I had read that it was a bohemian or hipster sort of location, but I just wanted to check out the vintage shops. So I managed to squeeze myself off the train (it really was a hassle, everyone kept pushing onto the train and wouldn't wait for others to get off first!) and went for a bit of stroll. There are several second hand clothing stores in Observatory, but I got there after 5pm when many of them were closing.
Caught another train out of the city, but even though it was 6pm the train was quite empty .. is peak hour at a different time here?? I don't know. Made it back to the city however, got a bit lost trying to find my way back to my backpackers but eventually got there.
I have another day or so in Cape Town before I move on and not sure what I will be doing exactly, but I need to plan on how exactly I want to do the Garden Route, Baz Bus, hire car (no pls) or a tour???? Let's seeeeeee
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