Crazy - guns could be allowed at Georgia airports...S. Africa/World Cup wrap

I got a lot of grief - tons, actually - when I told civil libertarians to shut up and quit whining about body scans at airports. So I expect this won't make them feel better, but I have to think that a Georgia legislature proposal to ALLOW PEOPLE TO CARRY LICENSED FIREARMS AT AIRPORTS IS UTTERLY, COMPLETELY, HOPELESSLY AND OH-SO-REMARKABLY STUPID THAT I CAN HARDLY FIND WORDS.

Obviously this is not to allow guns on airplanes. Apparently any space controlled by the federal government is exempt from this. But the Atlanta Journal Constitution  reports folks could carry their guns in non-secure areas of the airport.

USA Today's Roger Yu reports guns would be allowed in terminals and parking lots.

"It expands on a state law passed in 2008 that allows Georgia residents with firearm licenses to bring concealed weapons onto public transportation, in parks and recreational areas and into restaurants that serve alcohol," Yu wrote in his airport check-in column/blog. "Gun advocates have since been lobbying to expand the law to include the airport."

The case is being closely watched by airport officials nationwide, Yu wrote, and I would hope so.

The Journal-Constitution said the National Rifle Association supports the bill, and isn't that a shock? Can't you just see Charlton Heston riding through Hartsfield, bare-chested on a horse, taking on all the commies and hardened felons?

Before anyone gets all "you hate Americans" on me, let the record state that I grew up in the U.S.A. and still carry American citizenship. And Canadian. I'm very proud of most of what the U.S. stands for and represents, and I feel equally strongly about my adopted country of 29 years - and three days if you want to be precise. My father used to have a gun in the house for protection - he needed it in the law enforcement-related job he had, or he felt he needed it. I grew up owning BB guns and have fired rifles and shotguns. I don't hate guns. They're quite useful for friends of mine who lived in the wilds of Idaho and shoot elk and deer for food. I have no problem with people in Ontario or anywhere else hunting animals in season. I eat venison when I see it; I can hardly moan about someone killing a deer themselves if they're going to eat it. My old neighbour in north Toronto taught hunting safety and, I believe, was a regular user of his rifle. Fine and dandy.

But me and handguns simply don't get along. There's no need for almost anyone to have one. They almost always lead to death and destruction of innocent people. And to allow people to carry them at airports? I'm stunned that even conservative lawmakers in Georgia could be this stupid.

How much security do we have at airports these days? Quite a damned lot from what I've seen. But apparently that's not enough. All those federal marshals and regular cops, God love them, and all those TSA people, they clearly can't cope with the hardened felons and evil-doers traipsing about at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport and holding up innocent folks from Savannah waiting in line at the Budget rental car counter. So what the state legislators wanna do is allow everyone with a licensed firearm to be allowed to carry it at the airport.

Most people who own guns are responsible; I'm not going to categorize them all as yahoos. I have no idea why most of them carry one, and I suspect maybe 99.9999 per cent of them have no need for one, but that's their right under the U.S. Constitution. Fine. Carry it on the street if you feel you have to. But why at an airport? What makes anyone feel we need more guns in what might be the most secure parts of the entire country? I just don't understand.

That's my take. And now something a little more travel-related; Adrian Brijbassi's final thoughts on his trip to South Africa to check out preparations for the World Cup. Check out his previous postings for excellent, interesting and colourful reporting...

OUT OF AFRICA - SAFE AND SOUND

Adrian Brijbassi
Toronto Star

It’s safe to travel to South Africa.

I can say that after 10 days in the country’s three biggest cities and its largest game-viewing region. Eight flights, many kilometres on the road, a few late nights out, a visit to one of the nation’s poorest regions, four lodging stays, and nothing was stolen or lost.

Sure, anyone in the media is going to be well-informed, if not protected, by the hotels we visit and tour operators we enlist. But there were instances, particularly in Cape Town, where no liaison or guide was with me, and I had heavy-duty camera equipment in tow. In fact, I made it a point to go out to a late dinner away from the famed Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to see what the place was like at night.

Was it edgy? Absolutely. And I wouldn’t advise anyone to venture away from the waterfront unless they had pre-arranged for a driver who they could trust to drop them off and pick them up.

But the trendy restaurant, HQ (or Headquarters), was near full and young people of all sorts were coming into the bar area when I was leaving around midnight. The manager, Darren Richards, said drinks would be served until 3 a.m. or later. (FYI, the mojitos at HQ are really good.)

During the day, I wandered from the new Cape Town Stadium, past the waterfront, got a little off track before finding my way to the marina. I met a kind retired gentleman named Lex Wysocki who – as he was walking me back to my hotel – noted what everyone else does when the inevitable crime question comes up: “You know to stay away from dark alleys no matter where you go in the world.”

The statistics, though, are frightening: 50 murders a day and more carjackings and assaults than police can handle. And police are part of the problem. In Johannesburg, the former police commissioner is currently on trial for corruption-related charges, and more than 10,000 police officers throughout the country are either in jail or awaiting prosecution.

In Umhlanga, the ritzy suburb north of Durban, bed-and-breakfast host Monica Blomefield keeps a sunny disposition despite the fact she’s been hijacked eight times and shot at twice in her life (when she worked as a sales representative). Her advice is to always be cautious and to not rely on a GPS if you’re driving, because the devices direct you through the most efficient routes to your destination, not the safest.

If I was to recommend one thing for tourists to do, it’s to not drive at all. One wrong turn in any of the cities could steer you into some dire straits. South Africa’s metropolises are home to some of the worst neighbourhoods in the world for violence and crime; partly because there are more than 4.5 million firearms, including 2.8 million handguns, registered in the country, and an additional 500,000 to 1 million unregistered firearms, according to government data.

To keep tourists safe, the hotels and bed and breakfasts will often provide car service to and from the airport, as well as around town. Five-star Cape Grace in Cape Town offers to drive guests in one of its two BMWs anywhere within a 20-kilometre radius of the hotel, and at Umhlanga’s Tega Tata Lodge, Monica will drive you herself wherever you need to go.

Of course, any tours you sign up for will take you to and from your hotel, and if you want to venture outside of town, spring for a driver. A two-hour tour around Cape Town will cost you 1,000 rand tops (about $135). With the favorable exchange rate ($1 Canadian equals 7.38 rand), you will save a lot on food and lodging, so paying for transportation shouldn’t bust your budget.

Other travel safety tips include: not walking outside with a lot of cash, keeping your hotel room locked at all times, being aware of your surroundings and, perhaps most importantly, listening to the locals.

Is it worth going to a place where you need to use such caution? Why not just keep going to Florida or Hawaii like we’ve done for decades?

Well, besides the fact that South Africa will be hosting the World Cup, the best reason to visit is the inspiring beauty of the country and the warm disposition of the people. South Africa possesses six biosphere reserves, one of the world’s largest safari destinations in Greater Kruger Park, clean drinking water, Nelson Mandela and his overwhelmingly powerful life story, fantastic wines, great food, beaches galore and sing-song place names that make you smile.

South Africans are proud of their fledgling nation and they want to shout that it’s not as bad as its reputation insists. They’re accommodating people whose colloquialism for “thank you” is “pleasure”, but pronounced “pleshaaaah”, as if to provide service is a means of quenching their own thirst.

“I wish I could tell everyone to come, it is safe here,” said Sebastien Qweshe, the first person I met on my trip. He was my driver from the airport to Michelangelo Towers in Johannesburg.

Sebastien proved to be right. It is safe to visit South Africa – as long as you keep your wits about you, prepare yourself each day for where you will be going and how you will get there, and use the resources available to research the areas you will visit before you go.

That said, it’s great to be home. Like many Canadians, whenever I travel anywhere outside of the country it always strikes me how amazingly well we have it here. One of the first things I did when I got back to Toronto was go for a walk downtown, care-free and without worry.

More World Cup colour..And just what the Gulf coast of the U.S. did NOT need...

Star Travel writer Adrian Brijbassi continues his look at what's happening in South Africa for the World Cup. Today it's 70,000 seats and 550 steps.

Adrian Brijbassi
Toronto Star

DURBAN, South Africa – The sight of the U.S. flag making its way to the top of Moses Mabhida Stadium caught everyone’s curiosity on Saturday. Turns out CNN was here filming the new stadium and staking out territory for the U.S. soccer team, which a lot of people (me included) think could make some noise at the World Cup.

Moses Mabhida Stadium is a beauty. It’s visible for dozens of kilometres along the coastline in Durban and its suburban areas. The venue, named after a late labour rights leader, holds 70,000 for soccer and can reach a capacity of 85,000 for athletics (whispers of a future Summer Olympics can actually be heard in town).

The stadium features an arch that spans 350 metres and rises 106 metres. A cable car will take visitors to the top, but it isn’t operational until May 17. In the meantime, the arch has 550 steps and a warning to climb at your own risk. Figuring if CNN can hike it, so should the Star, I fought back my fear of heights and made the trek. Because of the potential for windy conditions, you have to wear a harness. No handrails are on the route, so a tour guide tethers your harness to a cable using a steel chain. You walk up concentrating on not tripping over the chain or the steep incline.

Halfway up there’s a bungee jumping platform. CNN producers suckered someone into taking the plunge – with the Stars and Stripes in hand. Luckily for me, Travel Editor Jim Byers isn’t so ruthless (Hey, Adrian, if I'd known about it you'd have been dangling but good - Jim) I took one look at the big drop and climbed on.

At the top, the view of the Indian Ocean is impressive. You can see beyond the tankers in the harbour out to where the vast ocean meets the horizon. Looking south, the crowds at Ushaka Marine World, a wonderful attraction that wouldn’t seem out of place in Orlando, are visible and so are the city’s beachgoers.

You don’t get much of a view of the stadium, though. To get a decent shot of the field, I had to attach my videocamera to a monopod and extent it as far as I could. The soccer pitch is lush, green and ready for action. Although Cape Town Stadium probably has the edge in terms of the quality of the playing surface, Moses Mabhida Stadium comes out on top for attractiveness.

It also will host the game of the first round. On June 25, Brazil and Portugal meet in Durban in what could be the most watched soccer game ever.

You’ll see video of the stadium and its pitch on thestar.com/travel before the 64-game tournament kicks off on June 11.

Other World Cup news from the weekend in Durban:

- FIFA continues to take a beating in the press and on the streets. People are truly excited to have the World Cup here but everyone is concerned about who’s going to pay for all the billions of dollars spent on infrastructure and the new stadiums in the country. In North America, when a new stadium goes up, whatever team is the primary tenant usually pays for the vast majority of the cost. That’s not the case in South Africa. In fact, in small cities like Polokwane and Nelspruit, there’s not even a team that could draw 5,000 fans to a game. Even in Durban, where rugby is the favoured sport, South African Football Association soccer games aren’t a huge draw.

- Another quarrel with FIFA has to do with its relocation and shutting out of local vendors. In Cape Town, a weekly farmer’s market was forced to move from outside the new stadium so FIFA can set up a party zone where only its sponsors – Budweiser, McDonald’s, Coca Cola and their affiliates – can sell products. In Durban, an excellent sports bar called the Keg and Spear won’t be allowed to open on game days even though it’s at the foot of the main entrance to Moses Mabhida Stadium. It’s being shuttered for the same reason the farmer’s market in Cape Town was moved: so the World Cup’s title sponsors can have a monopoly on food and drinks sold around the venue. Think if the bars on Front Street like Jack Astor’s or the Loose Moose couldn’t cash in on an Olympic hockey game at Air Canada Centre and you’ll understand how devastating the FIFA rule is for local vendors in South Africa.

- How soccer crazy is South Africa? There’s a shortage of Bafana Bafana soccer jerseys. Fans are seriously fired up about the chances of the national team (whose nickname means “boys boys” in Nguni, or “our boys” if you use one “Bafana”). A new set of jerseys is due out in a couple of weeks, in time to feed the frenzied demand prior to the opening game between the home team and Mexico. South Africa is one of the lowest-ranked squads in the World Cup, but the fans seem to be ignoring the long odds and are predicting victory. To help their cause, they’ve got a secret weapon called the vuvuzela. It’s a trumpet-like instrument that plays one dull, monotone note and does it very, very loudly. There’s already worries over the havoc vuvuzelas will cause when 70,000 people start blowing them at once during Bafana games.

- Each of the 32 teams in the tournament are staying at designated hotels around the country for the duration of their stays in the World Cup. Greece has one of the choice spots, with its flag hanging outside the beautiful Beverly Hills Hotel in Umhlanga. You’ll be hearing a lot more about Umhlanga (pronounced Ooom-shlang-a) in the coming weeks in Star Travel. It’s one awesome beach town that’s capitalizing on the flight from Durban of businesses and tourists, and the World Cup should turn international eyes onto this place.

- The new King Shaka International Airport opened on Saturday to rave reviews. It’s a well-planned facility with lots of parking, a lengthy drop-off zone and, yes, free baggage carts.

Back to Travel Editor Jim Byers for a look at what's happening with the big oil spill.

You gotta feel for folks down in New Orleans and people who live in and around the Gulf of Mexico.

They were just getting over the pain and destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and now they get whacked upside the head by the folks at British Petroleum. We all know, of course, about the oil well explosion that has sent clouds of grade--A gunk into the waters that many folks depend on to make their living.

It won't physically damage the city of New Orleans itself, you'd think. But anything that harms the regional economy will almost certainly hurt tourism, as it's hard to spend a weekend in the Big Easy if you can't put your shrimp boat out in the water and make a living.

So far, the impact has been minimal. Cruise ships say they might have to do a bit of rerouting in the gulf, but it doesn't sound particularly difficult for ships coming and going in the region.

A Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman told Cruise Critic that "captains navigating our ships sailing from Mobile and New Orleans may opt to deviate course slightly to sail around the affected area. However, we do not anticipate any changes to the scheduled itineraries and associated ports of call as a result."

BP officials have said they'll pay for the clean-up. No kidding. They probably didn't mean that they'll pay for it with bad public relations, but I'd hate to own any of their stock let's put it that way. More to the point is, sure, maybe they'll pay for the oil clean-up itself. But are they going to pay that shrimper in Biloxi who's out of work? What about the folks running kayak tours of the bayou? And what about the guy at Cafe Du Monde, home of the legendary beignets, who loses his job because the customers they rely on from the Gulf states can't afford a trip?

Yeah, they're not paying for that.

Like I said, you have to feel for the people of the area. I keep expecting to hear that a plague of locusts is headed for the French Quarter, or perhaps the ash cloud from Iceland will suddenly descend upon Lake Pontchartrain.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson today said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be an environmental and economic disaster for Florida because the state's tourism industry depends on having the beautiful beaches.

"We have an ecological and environmental disaster in the making," he said, adding that people in Florida's panhandle are panicked.

They have every reason to be.

Meanwhile, the smart folks at Visit Florida have set up a couple websites for people looking for information:

Here are two links to key websites you may wish to follow directly:

www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/

www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

MEANWHILE, OVER IN GREECE

It's good for the Greek economy that the powers that be in Europe are helping the Greeks with their massive debt. The p.r. fallout from the strikes and protests in the street can't be helping things, but I kinda doubt anyone who's headed for Mykonos or Santorini (see photo) will care.

A friend of mine from Athens told me some friends were trying to travel to the Greek islands on May 1 but couldn't find a place as all the rooms were taken. (On all islands, I suspect not, but at least on the ones they wanted). He told me the Ministry of Tourism predicts larger numbers than last year and that he suspects prices will be down because a lot of folks will have less disposable income.

Which could mean it'll be a great summer to take that cruise of the Greek islands, or just find a cozy place to drink Mythos and nibble on olives at the beach. They sell Mythos at the LCBO on occasion, and it's terrific beer. Reminds me of hanging out in Athens for the 2004 Olympics, which were a ton of fun.

I've sadly only been to two Greek islands. I stopped in Paros for a day and a bit in, oh, 1989 or so. And I had a few hours in Hydra the day afer the Olympics ended six years ago.

Paros was great; I had a small but just fine place right by the water and a lovely beach was maybe 20 minutes away. I remember some lovely, 20-something girls stripping down to their birthday suits and rubbing suntan oil all over themselves. It happened 21 years ago and it's an image I still can't shake from my head, not that I've tried. I rented a moped and went all over the island. As I recall, I had problems with my camera and stopped in a small shop in town and the owner kindly fixed it for me on the spot.

Hydra wasn't as colourful as Paros, but it was good and easily reached from Athens by hydrofoil and we had wonderful, fresh yogurt with honey at breakfast at a place overlooking the sea, and then tremendous, fresh octopus for lunch at a small, sidewalk cafe in the main town. If you're ever in Athens and have only a day to get out of town, I strongly recommend Hydra for a quick getaway.

 

 

 

Durban, S.A. in transition as new airport opens near wealthy suburban areas

Star Travel writer Adrian Brijbassi continues his South African adventure, checking out preparations for the World Cup. Today he looks at the air transportation situation and Durban's new airport.

Adrian Brijbassi

Toronto Star

UHMLANGA, South Africa – I flew into Durban at 7 p.m. local time on Friday and three hours later the last flight into the airport touched the tarmac. Minutes afterwards, a curtain came down in the lobby and desks and trolleys were removed.

The King Shaka International airport opened Saturday with South African Airways flight A340-600 making the first arrival at 6:30 a.m. from Johannesburg. The $950-million facility replaces Durban International, which served South Africa’s second largest city for 55 years. King Shaka International is located north of the city’s core; Durban International was to the south.

Durban sits on the Indian Ocean, a warm blue expanse of water that stretches island-free to the horizon. The sand is golden brown, the vegetation is green, the temperature is 25 Celsius and it’s late fall here. It’s one of the more beautiful settings you can see, but on land the story is different.

Crime is high and there are stretches within the city where you’re advised to stay clear of. One reason the airport was located north, in the area called La Mercy, is because that’s where many of the wealthy and middle-class in this part of KwaZulu-Natal province live.

One of the safer areas is Uhmlanga (pronounced Ooom-schlang-uh). It is like a ritzy California suburb, with large houses painted in sunny colours and situated on small hills that slope down to the ocean. It’s got a hopping nightlife scene on Chartwell Drive, which will be closed during the 2010 World Cup to create the atmosphere of a street party.

More than 70 bed and breakfasts are in Uhmlanga. I’m at Tega Tata Lodge, owned by a former South African rugby player. It’s a six-room B&B that has openings for most days during the World Cup, which runs from June 11-July 11. Property manager Monica Blomefield is a wonderful host with a sunny personality who took the time to show me around Durban and Uhmlanga. On a hot day with the ocean breeze blowing in off the water, it was easy to see why people rave about the potential of this area.

The biggest draw to Uhmlanga is the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, marketed as the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere. Yorkdale Mall has nothing on this place. Gateway features 380 stores, loads of restaurants and a massive cinema complex. There’s also a mountain-climbing area, an indoor soccer stadium, hotels and a fashion institute. More than 1.8 million visited the mall last year.

During the World Cup, a shuttle service will take ticketholders to new Moses Mabhida Stadium and back. There are Park & Ride facilities at Gateway.

Moses Mabhida Stadium will host some key matches in the World Cup, including a semifinal game. Along with having the largest non-resident Indian population in the world, Durban also has a large Portuguese community. That’s one reason the game of the Group Stage was slated for Moses Mabhida Stadium. Brazil will face Portugal on June 25 in a match that could determine which of the two soccer powers – both are in the top five of the world rankings – advances to the Round of 16.

It is already among the hottest sports tickets in the world.

Terror and exhilaration on a South African night safari

Star Travel writer Adrian Brijbassi continues his exploration of South Africa in advance of the World Cup, which starts June 11. Today he takes a bit of a sidetrack to check out some African wildlife, as many visitors to the World Cup no doubt hope to do.

 

Adrian Brijbassi

Toronto Star

 

SABI SANDS RESERVE, GREATER KRUGER PARK, South Africa – It’s night in the jungle. Night means night here. No glow from a lamp on Yonge Street or the neon digits of a microwave or alarm clock. Your eyes adjust from black to black.

We’ve been in this position for a half an hour, long enough for the light to disappear and mayhem to creep close. To the left, rhinos lurk. Before the dark blanketed the plains of switchgrass and acacia trees, we had seen two of them knocking horns, a sign of aggression that would make any tourist uneasy. Behind us elephants stand and grumble: a six pack of them who could stampede over our Land Rover if they felt the urge. Ahead, a herd of wildebeest grazes unaware of what predator stares from beneath the tall reeds and bush. Directly to our right, is a stark-still impala who seems to know what we know: That somewhere close a pride of lions caterpillars toward this scene.

 

It’s been an hour since we first spotted the jungle kings. Our ranger, Brett du Bois of the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, could tell they were on the hunt. Their posture gave it away: the slow swivel of the neck; the head butts exchanged between the group’s lead hunter and her followers. Then the slow, stealthy walk toward the wildebeest.

 

Brett moved us into position, settling the Land Rover in the middle of the action. When the sun’s glow was present and you could see all around you, Africa kept you riveted with nature that’s as primordial as it gets. But when the dark came and you were told to shut up (so the ranger could hear the sounds out there) and not move (in case we spooked the nocturnal animals that can see us), the realization that you are in a place nowhere at all like the Toronto Zoo strikes you hard.

 

You go to a zoo to see animals. You come to a safari to see animals fight to survive.

 

Terror is finding yourself parked in an open plain encircled by wild animals that can see in the dark and must kill every day to live. You have no vision except for when the tracker flashes a spotlight so Brett can see what’s happened in the last few minutes. Call it the “Blair Witch Project: South Africa.”

 

Amid the grumbles of the beast, the crackle of crickets and our own breaths, Moses the tracker hears something that makes him throw a burst from the spotlight he holds. In that blink, Brett’s eyes catch sight of a movement — a twitch or a gallop, or any motion in between — that makes him say, “Okay, something’s going to get killed tonight.”

 

Your hand grips the rail of the uncovered Land Rover and your heart smacks your lungs with the beat of a tribal drum as you wonder to whose death he refers.

 

The lions start. They leap forward and you can follow them because their eyes, which were merely glints like fireflies moments ago, have become lanterns. Chasing toward the herd, they vault over fallen branches and bushes as they speed toward a potential feast. Forget the World Cup, you think, this is the game humans should be coming to South Africa to see.

 

A wildebeest fires a snort, a warning sound for him and his brothers to flee for tomorrow. The impala spots the lions and runs too. The rhinos and elephants are still in the dark, left behind by the Land Rover as Brett puts it in gear and rumbles ahead over terrain as unsteady as everyone’s nerves. Our safari group of six, all from big cities, hangs on as we keep pace with the chase.

 

The only witness I can see is a full moon, too far away to help should any creature need it on this African night.