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A scary concrete jungle
From the natural scenes of the ocean and the mountains in Cape Town, we move to the clean and well-planned Johannesburg. The difference is stark.
From the natural scenes of the ocean and the mountains in Cape Town, we move to the clean and well-planned Johannesburg. The difference is stark.
Cape Town is a holiday place, fun is the name of game there. People smile and greet each other on the streets, while hotels and shopping malls try to outdo the rest.
Johannesburg, Jo'burg to the locals, is a concrete jungle in comparison. The journalists have been advised to stay away from certain areas, though Sandton, one of the up-market areas, has been declared a safe place.
Still, the freedom of Cape Town is missing. People move diffidently on the sidewalks, and you can read apprehensions in their eyes. Violence is never far away here.
Grin and beer it
Wanderers too, falls way short of Newlands in terms of organisation and friendliness. It is much more officious. The open press box here cannot be compared to the enclosed comfort of the one at Newlands.
During the Australia-Pakistan game here on Tuesday, slogans, shouts, whistles and insults flew thick and fast against the World champions across the oasis of quietness as journalists tried to shut off the noise and do their work. Finally police had to be deployed, all the way down the aisle, as beer, flowing freely, got the better of crowd. This stadium is also the venue of the final, and one shudders to think how it will look if South Africa play Australia.
The heat is on
Potchefstroom is a two-hour drive from Jo'burg, and the approach roads for most part are excellent. As we race down in our turquoise taxi, the driver, Sam often touches 130 kmph. But the speed can be discovered only if we pull down the windows.
We pass huge 22-wheel trucks going the other way, and at this speed, the air pressure generated by these monsters creates something like a sonic boom.
We pass Soweto, birthplace of the South African freedom movement, and as we go downhill, we get a sample of the huge plains that are spread across the country. It looks so flat and featureless that we have to keep talking to Sam to ensure that he does not doze off.
The city itself is beautiful, low houses with huge gardens flanking us as we crawl down the main road, trying to find where North-West Stadium is. Once there, it is like village carnival. Live music, grills, kiosks selling anything from beer to ice cream are spread all around, as people throng the ground to see their teams playing.
But the heat is oppressive, more so because of the humidity. The grassy embankments that dominate the stadium look more like a beach, with bathing suits being the dress code.
But luckily, South Africa wraps up things against Kenya quickly, and we head back to the cool comfort of the room in the Don Sandton hotel in Jo'burg.
Cup baby
The official media guide of the 2003 World Cup highlights Parthiv Patel as the youngest player in the tournament at 17. He turns 18 on March 9 (we hope he is still in South Africa then). Suffice to say that when Patel was born, Lennie Louw of Namibia was 28. Louw is now 44, the oldest player of this tournament.
Another old-timer is Alec Stewart of England, who turns 40 on April 8.
