Sunday, March 18, 2007
'Pampered to primordial'
If you want to see Africa, I advise Senegal. It's a two-fer and three-fer all in one. It's easy to get to via either Paris or Casablanca (the two-fer part) and it's got a great mix of first-, second- and third-worlds (three-fer). I loved it. And I didn't mind the pampering at all. ... But I advise against the night safaris. One word: overrated. I went on a night trip one time at an elephant reserve in South Africa. No elephants. Like an obnoxious American, I complained afterward. I wanted my elephants! I also suspected it was all a gimmick, with the phony Land Rover-schtick being the tip off. My instincts were right. Two days later, the owner of the lodge where I stayed took me to the reserve in daylight ... in a convertible Cadillac. (Take that, Deval!) There was no mystery: It was a park, with large fences, roads, a lot of elephants -- and tourists driving around in Toyotas, Mercedes-Benzes, vans and ... a convertible Cadillac with a guide chain smoking Pall Malls. ...
If you want to see Africa, I advise Senegal. It's a two-fer and three-fer all in one. It's easy to get to via either Paris or Casablanca (the two-fer part) and it's got a great mix of first-, second- and third-worlds (three-fer). I loved it. And I didn't mind the pampering at all. ... But I advise against the night safaris. One word: overrated. I went on a night trip one time at an elephant reserve in South Africa. No elephants. Like an obnoxious American, I complained afterward. I wanted my elephants! I also suspected it was all a gimmick, with the phony Land Rover-schtick being the tip off. My instincts were right. Two days later, the owner of the lodge where I stayed took me to the reserve in daylight ... in a convertible Cadillac. (Take that, Deval!) There was no mystery: It was a park, with large fences, roads, a lot of elephants -- and tourists driving around in Toyotas, Mercedes-Benzes, vans and ... a convertible Cadillac with a guide chain smoking Pall Malls. ...
