Travel with Acquaintance - Durban Itinerary for 3 days.

The Whalebone Pier 

• Country – South Africa
• City – Durban
• Starting point – Johannesburg (568KM to Durban(approx.))
• Leave as early as possible, to avoid traffic and better to reach the place before sunset.
• Commute options – Car or Flights.
• Durban – A small, coastal and a beautiful city in South Africa’s, Kwa-Zulu Natal province lies at the mouth of Umgeni river. Durban harbor is the largest and busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa. The commonly spoken languages are English, Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans. The city is lined by the Indian Ocean and hence climate is quite humid. 
• Currency – South African Zar /Rands.
• Safety concerns – On the way to Durban, for refreshments, stop only in Harrismith, at the plaza, here you will get everything you need. Do not miss this place, as it is the only safest one on the way. Please avoid stopping at unknown places. It may or may not be safe. 
• Durban as a city is quite safe, but always try to reach your destination before late night. 

• Stay options – Instead of booking any hotels, we preferred Airbnb.com for pre-booking of the houses. This way it made us feel homely in a new city and also we could easily interact with the localities. It is also affordable and we were never disappointed. Other options of hotels are also available near the Umhalanga rocks and the gateway theatre of shopping. 

• Cuisine – Indian food easily available everywhere in Durban. Bunny Chow is the famous must try specialty of Durban. Bunny chow is claimed to be originated in Durban by the South African Indians in 1940s as a way of carrying their lunch to their work place. It is a curry in a bread meal which is delicious.

• Fast food outlets – KFC, Debonair pizza, Steers, Mc Donald’s, Wimpy, Chicken Licken, etc. 

YOUTUBE LINK FOR COMPLETE DURBAN:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XScp_UCiaU4&t=206s

Day I

Mini Town –

• Best known for - A complete miniature model of Durban city. Worth visiting.
• Address – 114 Snell Parade, North Beach,Durban,4001
• Location - https://goo.gl/maps/bY8XQb8zhhs9KBtb7
• Entry fees – R30 (approx.) /Available at the Ticket window.
• Timings – 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
• Approximate duration of visit – 30mins- 45mins. 
• Parking – Outside on road (Safe)

Umhalanga beach/Umhalanga rocks – 

• Best known for – Whalebone Pier - A beautiful bridge leading to the ocean, and the lighthouse. Also known for fishing. Calm and peaceful.
• Address – Umhalanga 4320 (Try putting whalebone pier on GPS to avoid confusion)
• Location – https://goo.gl/maps/wSFQQhz7SPeQZYmG9
• Entry Fees –Free
• Timings –Open 24 hours ( Prefer evening time)
• Approximate duration of visit – As you wish.
• Parking – Available in nearby buildings(Will have to search)

DAY II

Golden Mile Beach-

• Best we enjoyed– Fascinating sunrise from the Indian Ocean (Check sunrise timings)
• Location - https://goo.gl/maps/EH4RYpWBVPa7J2sZ7
• Entry Fees – free
• Timings – Open 24 hours
• Parking – Outside on road (Safe)

Ushaka Marine World (Theme Park) –

• Best known for – Awesome Aquarium, Cute Dolphin shoes, attractive Seal shows and Cute penguins info session, Wet and wild water park, snorkeling, shark cage dive, sea walker, snake museum, 7D virtual reality games, Zulu dance, Ushaka village walk, etc.
• Address- 1, King Shaka Ave,Point,Durban,4001.
• Location – https://g.page/uShakaFanPage?share
• Entry Fees – The shows and Wet and Wild combo – R214 adults, Children and Seniors – R174 (For further details check out their website)
• Website –  https://ushakamarineworld.co.za
• Timings – 9:30 AM - 5PM
• Parking – Available
• Duration of visit – A complete day.
• Must Try – Snorkeling (Will have to buy the tickets separately)
• Youtube link for UShaka Marine World : - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OtfdKSFBlw&t=1s

DAY III

Moses Mabhida Stadium –

• Best known for –Big Rush Big Swing - World’s Tallest Big Swing. The best and must try adventure. 
• Address- Shop No. 15,Moses Mabhida Stadium,Masabalala Yengwa Ave,Stamford Hill,Durban,4001.
• Location – https://goo.gl/maps/5WZk1kkQheMYMai28
• Entry Fees – The shows and Wet and Wild combo – R214 adults, Children and Seniors – R174 (For further details check out their website)
• Website –  www.bigrush.co.za
• Timings –
• Monday to Friday -  9:30 AM to 4:30 AM (Last jump at 3 pm)
• Weekends – 8 AM to 5 PM(Last jump 4 PM)
• Parking – Available
• Duration of Big Swing – 45 min to 1 hour.
• Tips – Booking in advance essential. You can also try your luck by on spot bookings, but better to book in advance. 
• Youtube link for BigRush Experience - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XehrFW3MOjU

OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS:

• GOOGLE MAPS WORK PROPERLY.

• BUY SOUVEINIRS FROM USHAKA MARINE OR NEAR MINI TOWN ON ROADSIDE.

• DO NOT KEEP ANYTHING IN CAR THAT CAN BE SEEN EASILY, KEEP ALL THE BELONGINGS IN THE BOOT ONLY.

• IF YOU HAVE TIME YOU CAN TRY THE 1000 HILLS TOURISM (A COMPLETE DAY ACTIVITY),UMGENI BIRD RIVER PARK,MITCHELL ZOO PARK AND MORE.

• AT THE PARKING PLACES ALWAYS GIVE SOME BUCKS TO THE PEOPLE GUARDING YOUR CAR. IT IS CONSIDERED AS A GENEROUS GESTURE. THAT MAKES THEM HAPPY.

HOPE YOU FIND IT HELPFUL..!! SAFE TRAVELS..!!

FOR ANY FURTHER DETAILS WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU..!!

REACH ME AT rovinggull@gmail.com
Link for YouTube Channel –https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roving_gull
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Travel with Acquaintance - Introduction.

Travel with acquaintance..!!

Hello and a warm welcome to all the readers once again..!! I hope you all are doing well.
Without beating around the bush, I will come directly to the today’s topic. So we all know that whenever we plan to travel somewhere, there are a bunch of questions that start dancing in our minds, where to stay? Which are the best sightseeing points? What is the cuisine specialty? Etc. Sometimes a sightseeing spot is way too famous but not worth visiting

by compromising other hidden striking places or may be a hotel stay might be a failure. To avoid such circumstances and spoil the trip’s fun, it’s better to be well planned ahead of time. I have not travelled much yet, but yeah would like to share my itineraries with you under the series of blogs “Travel with acquaintance”. I really hope you find those helpful.  In this series, I wish to provide a brief information about the place, sightseeing options, stay where about, etc. I will also provide a link for all my YouTube travel vlogs, where you can visualize the complete experience.

Link for my YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roving_gull

* These blogs are currently meant only for informative and planning purpose.Please amidst the COVID-19 crisis do no plan to travel or go outside.Stay Home Stay Safe.

An incident in Bali - A short Story

“Can I drive you up to the chemist store?”

This question that came from a complete stranger, at a night time, on an empty road, was fearsome. Away from our home country while wandering on this new island of Bali, we were searching for a chemist shop. It was quite dark outside, but I needed the pills. I and my husband were on a short trip here, hence did not possess any local sim cards to access the internet and find our way. While walking, on the other side of the road, outside a typical Balinese house we saw a man busy in his chores. As it was late evening, there was no one on the roads and we were left with no choice other than asking help from this fellow. After a little hesitation we decided to approach him. Gathering our guts we asked him for a chemist shop in the vicinity. At first due to the language barriers it was difficult to understand him. Later, we managed to understand that the chemist shop was two blocks away and we will have to walk till there. After realizing this, the man voluntarily asked,” Can I drive you up to the chemist store? You are already sick and walking up till there may worsen it”. Being unused of this hospitality in this world, the thoughts that ran through our minds were, does he want to mug us? Or what are his evil intentions behind this? We were reluctant to take such a help from a complete stranger. But, nevertheless he was repeatedly asking if he could help us. Gradually after coming back to our senses we realized that the man had a pure soul and was actually willing to help us, just because we were new to the place. We had heard so much about this aesthetic island, but little did we knew that we would explore another appealing facet about it. A small encounter with this person restored the faith in humanity in us. This incident gave us the confidence of trusting the people here and sightseeing the place with no worries in mind. Later as we roamed around the place we came across so many locals and their amazing welcomes, their prioritizing your comfort first, down to earth nature and that serene smile on their calm faces, made our journey even more blissful. Every travel teaches you something, this trip taught me to be more thoughtful and helpful even towards the unknown.

Image courtesy :
Image 1. Photo by Alex Fu from Pexels
Image 2 : Photo by Alena Koval from Pexels