cities | Chessalee

Archive for the ‘cities’ Category

Holiday…Pretoria

Posted in cities, holiday, Pretoria, Pretoria roads, Pretoria Zoo, South Africa, wild life, tagged Capital cities, cities, Pretoria, Pretoria roads, Pretoria Zoo, South Africa, wild animals, wild life, Zoo on 11/09/2007| 8 Comments »

I’m still busy sorting zillions of pictures, here are a few pictures from Pretoria…I liked this taxi..the yellow was striking and the number plate…just right!

This is where the road from Akasia split, turn off to Gezina and the Market and other routes….when you take this turn off and turn left again, you cross the Apies River, before entering Gezina ….I think from Van Heerden Street…is the one way …from West to East…”Apies” is the Afrikaans for “ape”….the river is named after the many apes that were found in this area when Pretoria was founded in 1855…this Apies River can be a “mighty” river! With heavy rains, places alongside the river get flooded, but that doesn’t happen very frequently though.
This is a very familiar “landmark” ….the cement factory as you leave Pretoria and you travel north to Pretoria North/Akasia….or on the Mabopane highway..traffic on the road can be quite heavy…if you look at the lanes on the right…you can see….rush hour is a nightmare on this road…! We were heading towards the city….and it was after rush hour….
Traffic in Pretoria, paper boy on his way to his post…just sold us a paper!

.Gezina if you turn left…Harties (Hartbeespoort) if you keep going…..more traffic, 10-ish in the morning…

I know this road like the palm of my hand! Travelled this road for a couple of years from school in the afternoon…..Zoo coming up on your left….Langenhoven High school as the sign board indicates…always a speed trap when you go down! I missed them most of the time, but got ONE once….it is a 60km/h zone and I drove 70….think my fine was something like R60! wasn’t much anyway….

Now, if you live in Pretoria, you know Boom Street very well!! Buses…zillions of them, because, this is Zoo-area ….and….a main route for the buses to travel to other areas easy accessible for them. There is parking for coaches at the Zoo…and as you can see by looking at the trees: It was Winter!! July/August…”boom” is the Afrikaans word for “tree”….this is also a VERY busy and “dangerous” street…crime! Though the police claimed that crime isn’t anymore that high in this area, they (the police) also claimed that they are very visible….because of all the tourists visiting the Zoo…we didn’t see them…perhaps they were around….

This is the same road…the one I travelled a couple of years from my school, just a few meters back…all these pictures were taken from inside the car…perhaps yo can see the wipers of the car!…..there wasn’t time to stop every now and then to take a shot….so, they are not as good as they should be! I was in a moving car!!…hahaha…

ZOO! entrance….Boom Street…this is really a MUST if you go to Pretoria. I’ve been to London’s Zoo and it’s not a patch against Pretoria’s…I must truly say, I was a bit disappointed the day when visiting London’s Zoo….visit the Pretoria Zoo WEBSITE here.

Click on this link to see beautiful pics and a video about Pretoria….https://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2007/09/30/jacaranda-cityjakaranda-stad/

Read Full Post »

Spring!

Posted in cities, History, Pretoria, Pretoria City Hall, seasons, Sir Herbert Baker, South Africa, Union Buildings, tagged buildings, Capital cities, cities, History, Jacaranda trees, Pretoria, Pretoria City Hall, seasons, Sir Herbert Baker, South Africa, Spring on 01/09/2007| 3 Comments »

The first day of Spring in South Africa!! And this is how I remember Pretoria!! The Jacaranda trees almost fully in bloom! When it’s October, I will just admire these pictures and picture it in my mind!

On this picture you can see the City Hall of Pretoria.

Telcom Tower in Groenkloof
The city also called the Jacaranda City.
This picture shows the view from the city from the Union Buildings, you can see the gardens of the Union Buildings. The “black” building is the Reserve Bank and the tallest building to the right of it is Absa-bank.

These last two pictures are from the Union Buildings, it was made of sandstone and was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and in November 1910 the cornerstone was laid.

Click here to see what the weatheris like in Pretoria.

Read Full Post »

Loung Ung

Posted in books, cities, countries, First they killed my father, Khmer Rouge, Loung Ung, Phnom Pen, reading, war, tagged books, Cambodia, First they killed my father, Khmer Rouge, Loung Ung, Phnom Pen, reading, war on 30/06/2007|

First they killed my Father, by Loung Ung

Loung was born into a wealthy family of nine in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pen. As her father is employed in the city as a military police captain and is a supporter of the former Lon Nol government both he and his family risk being captured and killed by the Extreme communist Khmer Rouge if his identity is found out. The Khmer Rouge wants to turn Cambodia into an agrarian nation free of the ‘western poison’ of capitalism. To make this dream a reality they begin to kill anyone who isn’t ‘pure’ Khmer and all those who indulge in western culture and learning. Luong’s father moves his family to the countryside where the Khmer Rouge places them into a work camp. The father attempts to keep his origins a secret so his family can survive. Every member of the family works hard and speaks to no-one so that they will become worthy citizens in the eyes of the angkar. The Book moves at a steady pace and the reader is kept interested throughout because of the author’s uncomplicated writing style. Loung’s changing emotions are vividly articulated drawing the reader in and allowing them to understand her plight and also her great triumph at the end when she beats all the odds and finally achieves her freedom.