Meng's Travels: Haircut in Knysna

After leaving Chintsa, we spent 1 night in Port Elizabeth (locals call this place PE) before heading to our next destination, Knysna (pronounced "nice na"). Originally, I was planning to spend 3 nights in PE but it's just another big city and there's much to do here. Indeed it is. We arrived in PE late at night and all I could see were buildings. Those who have not been to a safari could do one here at the nearby Addo Elephant Park. Some who did had a good day; they saw a lot of animals, but no leopard. As I said before, seeing wild animals is a matter of luck and timing.

Early the next morning, we left PE for Knysna. This part of South Africa is called the Garden Route. Here the land is flatter and you see a lot of greenery. It's not as humid as on the Wild Coast. You start to see more people and buildings along the highway. It's a sign that we are heading to more civilization. After about 5-6 hours, we arrived in Knysna.

Again, Knysna is one of those places that come highly recommended. There are a lot of things to do here - hikes in the forest, cruise in the bay, eco tours, etc. Unfortunately, the guy at the hostel was too lazy to tell us more about activities that are being offered in the area. So most of us just walked to the waterfront and the mall nearby. I spent 1 1/2 days here and could have gone on one of the hikes in the forest nearby or an eco-tourism tour of the area. This seems to be a problem in South Africa. Except for the Coffee Shack, where daily activities and a sign-up sheet are posted, the other hostels don't seem to proactively promote local activities. Interestingly, most of the hostels have a travel desk but there seems to be a disconnect between the person manning the desk and the travelers.

One surprise on my trip so far is how cheap food is. Because of the favorable exchange rate (to Americans and Europeans), eating a very nice dinner, including wine, costs around US$20. I had a very nice seafood platter, with fish, medium prawns, calamari, mussels, rice, and a glass of wine for US$21 at a touristy restaurant at the waterfront. No reason to cook my own meals.

My major accomplishment in Knysna was getting a haircut. Since I didn't have much to do, I looked for a barber shop. I found one on a side street and asked the barber if he knows how to cut my hair, since it's obviously different from an African's hair. He said yes and quoted me 50 Rands (about US$4.50). The guy did such a good job that I tipped him 10 Rands (almost $1). This is probably the first time he ever got a tip for cutting someone's hair. This is what I will remember most about Knysna - I got a haircut here!