Cape Town, South Africa - Days 1 to 3

It took us three days to get to Cape Town from Bangkok. Damn SkyTeam. Our route was: Bangkok to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Cape Town. The positive was that we got a spend a night in Amsterdam, eat a good dinner, roam the streets, and feel rested when we arrived in Cape Town.

First impressions of Cape Town: It's fantastic. The convenience of European and American cities, cost of living being only slightly above Asian cities, and natural beauty to rival Queenstown, NZ. It's got a vibe that's difficult to explain. Sometimes super friendly people, other times curt and stoic. Gorgeous scenery with Table Mountain and the waterfront, but reminders of the apartheid with unofficial "townships" and Robben Island nearby. Regardless, this is definitely a place to visit and dedicate atleast a week to.

Here's what we did on the first three days, some advice, fun facts, and some of our favorite pictures.

• Staying at The Westin Cape Town
• V&A Waterfront
• City Sightseeing Hop On / Hop Off Bus
• Groot Constantia vineyard
• Mini Peninsula Tour
• Cape of Good Hope
• Boulder's Beach Penguin Colony (Simon's Town)
• Best Deal Meal: Ocean Basket @ V&A Waterfront

Advice if you visit

• Transportation in Cape Town can be kind of pricey if you don't rent a car. A good way around this is to get on The City Sightseeing Hop On/Hop Off bus for 170 ZAR per person. It takes you on a great 2.5 hour ride and even gets you a taste of the wine country!
• You can do group tours with numerous reputable companies but for two people, we seem to save about 40% by just renting a car ourselves. If you have a group of 2+, renting a car will definitely be worth the savings. 
• The MyCiti bus is also great. It's a reloadable card that you can get from the airport or other major bus stops that means no cash transactions. There's also cameras on board giving it a safer feeling. Especially in the day time, it was very a convenient, nice and cheap way to get around. 
• Meals are super cheap! You can get a great dinner for two, including drinks, at the V&A Waterfront for under 250 ZAR. 

Fun facts

• The words "Armed Response" are written across many wealthy looking homes across Cape Town. 
• As Rishav mentioned, traffic lights are called "robots". It's even written on the roads themselves.
• Visiting the penguin colony is great because you never picture penguins anywhere without snow. But don't try to pet them, apparently they're quite fond of biting fingers.

Summary of Pictures

We didn't realize the first day would be the "perfect" weather day.

Groot Constantia! A good winery that you can reach on the Hop On / Off bus.

Dutch Architecture 1.

Dutch Architecture 2.

You can roam around freely, unlike some other vineyards.

Winter for the vines.

Barrels on Barrels (French Oak R15,000 each).

All this from a bus ride.

Spot the lion.

Camps Bay. The most expensive coastal property area in Cape Town.

Spot the Fate.

The weather cleared up 10 minutes after we left.

Wild ostrich just off the road!!

We had the whole of Cape of Good Hope to ourselves. Go off-season travel!

Spot the Fate 2.

We went on that cliff. 

Thanks random European guy for taking this picture. Oh apparently the Indian and Atlantic oceans are meeting in the background.

Mohit took this shot while driving manual on the left-side. JK, but he really was driving. 

Apt name for Boulder Beach, Simon's Town. 

The penguins chose a pretty good place to randomly migrate to. 

Penguins are apparently pests to the neighborhood because they keep escaping the enclosure. And bite fingers off. 

She's like a hen over her eggs. #fail