The Cast of Culture in South AfricaWritten by Gregory Hudson
Drive along one of South Africa's scenic strips and you will notice a landscape composed of a backdrop of wide open spaces, blue mountains and blood-red sunsets. These scenes abound, but given nature of culture in South Africa, your attention could swiftly switch to a small boy gallantly escorting herds of cattle, end to end, over a rainbow-like walkway crossing one of largest and busiest highways in South Africa. Culture makes Africa special and aside from beautiful landscapes, this kind of exuberant and contrasting culture in South Africa is what you really should experience.Imagine this scenario for a moment: You are hopelessly stranded deep inside African interior, without a spare tyre and waiting for help. You prepare to flag down first car that passes by. “When will that be?” you think to yourself. Time wears on. You picture yourself dragging your dehydrated self over many kilometres of parched semi-arid terrain towards nearest town, while hordes of hungry vultures looming overhead contemplate you for lunch. Thankfully, a small, dust-battered truck pulls up and this nightmarish vision quickly dissolves. Tough looking men gaze out of back of truck, peering at you with hardened looks acquired through labouring this tough, untamed land. The uncertainty and tension is broken by their sympathetic smiles and they drive you, happily and with good cheer, to nearest service station and back to your car where you are kindly helped to fit your newly repaired tyre. Now that you're safely back on road you begin to realize meaning of genuine hospitality, known within culture in South Africa as 'geselligheid'. Thankful that you have just had actual experience (a certain something you felt) you now have a connection, whole-heartedly, with people and culture in South Africa. This is not a heat-induced delusion or an isolated event. It is actual story of one of our clients, who broke down while driving across arid West Coast diamond fields of Namibia. Travellers have confirmed many of these kind-hearted acts that have occurred during their experimental African odysseys. Perhaps it has to do with land itself or its unrestricted nature. The reason why people help each other, whether a stranger or a friend. This doesn’t mean South Africa is a nation of altruistic saints. Leave your camera in your car on a downtown side-street and chances of it being there after lunch are less than great.
| | Donald Trump Builds Across From Wynn on the Las Vegas StripWritten by Iulia Pascanu
Donald Trump has plans to begin building of a $300 million tower on Las Vegas Strip, in January 2005. Trump announced his plans last summer, but in meantime he's got company, as just recently Steve Wynn had Desert Inn imploded to make room for his Encore, right across street. The 64-story hotel entitled "Trump International Hotel & Tower" - just like its peer in New York City - will be situated near intersection of Industrial Road and Fashion Show Drive. The tower will be 645 feet. high, and will be the tallest hotel in Las Vegas, if you ignore 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere Tower, about which Trump has said "that is not a building". The tower is a 50-50 joint venture between Donald Trump and Phill Ruffin, man who owns [aid:thenewfrontier label:New Frontier].
|
