Guess I lied about the hiatus.
To get to Port Elizabeth, I decided to take the train. Flights to and from Port Elizabeth seemed limited in number and high in price. It was a long journey by rail - leave at 1PM, arrive at 9AM the next morning - but I figured it would be a good experience and a good way to see the country. Not so much.
Train culture here appears to be different from other parts of the world. For example, a guy I met from Newcastle, England, said that on trains in the UK you need to whisper to your friends when talking. Here, loud, drunken shouting seems to be acceptable.
Another example: I've traveled on trains down the West Coast, from Scotland to England, across Denmark, and all over Korea. In all these journeys, the total number of people I saw being arrested was zero. In this one trip from Jo'Burg to PE, the total was three. It could have been more; it was a big train.
At one point in the dining car, I was attempting to read and munch on a snack while a ridiculously inebriated gentleman screamed to his friends at the top of his lungs and fell all over the car. As this did not permit me to devote the necessary attention to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, I abruptly left and returned to my seat. Later the waitress came by my seat and thoroughly pissed me off by suggesting that I had left the dining car because I was afraid of black people. I replied that no, rather, I don't much care for loud people. Regardless of the reason, it didn't seem like a wise question to ask your customer.
Sleeping was nigh-on impossible, due to the freezing temperature of the cars and the continued loud talking. Earplugs to the rescue once more. Rest assured, if I attempt the train again it will be via sleeper car. As for the return trip, I've just booked a flight with good old British Airways.
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