Fordsburg Pilgrimage on The Dude (Gomoto Yesterday 150cc)

My day job is directing reality TV shows.  I am a freelancer with an emphasis on “free”!  I don’t know if that makes me kak at my job or too expensive.  The clue points to the fact I ride a scooter and not a fancy German sedan!  I wouldn’t have it any other way. With all this free time I get to explore my city on my Gomoto Yesterday 150cc aka. The Dude!

The Dude is 5 years old. 

He was a wedding gift from ScooterM in 2011 and since then I have wracked up 4641km. We have been on many adventures together in the past 5 years. In all this time his starter engine has never failed. Through winter, rain and shine he starts every time.  The Dude needs little encouragement to putter!

The air is cold in Gauteng despite spring approaching. I am on a pilgrimage to explore Jozi’s Islamic quarter. A stone's throw from Johannesburg's inner city is Fordsburg.  (Yes! In sunny South Africa) 

A Minaret amongst the sky scrapers of Johannesburg

Welcome to Fordsburg #fnb

A small Muslim community in the heart of this African metropolis. The locals are at least 5th generation South African, mostly of Indian and Pakistani heritage.  Why they came to live in South Africa is a question for google.  I however came here for one thing. The food. In particular, a triangle shaped pocket of heaven. The Samoosa.

It feels like you’ve been teleported to the Middle East the moment you enter Mint Street.  It’s wall to wall eateries and hookah bars. The smoking kind & not the rent by the hour kind! The atmosphere is friendly and the shop keepers welcoming. What I love about my scooter is its ability to ramp pavements and turn on a ticky. Parking is never a problem on busy streets. I removed the center stand years ago to prevent scraping. Only the kickstand remains.  

My first stop timed with the midday call to prayer. Rookie error! I guess my appetizer at Bismillah’s will have to wait for an hour. Bismillah’s is an institution.  With 7 canteens around the country the food is fresh and service prompt. I hear the ice cream is beyond amazing.  #nexttime

Next door to Bismallah’s is a hole in the wall Bangladeshi canteen.  The shop keeper was back from the Musjid and allowed me to try his Khaja treats.  It’s a sweet, sticky, crunchy kiss of joy.   Glucose levels restored the need for savoury was now strong.

Bangladeshi Khaja

If you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s you would have been to the Oriental Plaza at least once to buy your sister / mother / aunt material to make a dress.   As a young boy I begrudgingly attended this matric dance dress right of passage.  Today I was taking back my dignity in search of a samoosa.  2 blocks west from Mint Street, the Plaza is an unassuming shell.  Inside though you feel like you’ve crash landed in a Souk on the Persian Gulf.  Incense fills the air, linen and material shops with discount signs pepper the alley ways.  The bright LED light of the “World of Samoosas” shone brightly in my eyes!

The Dude is a small scooter for a big person. Its max loading is 150kg which means it can take Scootersteve’s tenth of a ton weight easily.  And the suspension is forgiving and soft.  I have often mentioned cruising on The Dude feels like riding a marshmallow.  It’s what you need in the urban jungle with the broken roads and potholes.

Back to the Samoosa.  My pilgrimage was near complete. I had reached my metaphorical Mecca. "World of Samoosas" is the best of the best.  Each order is prepared fresh and the wait is well worth it.  I ordered 4.  A bargain at R3,80 each ($0,30).  The lamb spice packs a punch. A Killarney housewife’s sensitivities are not catered for here! This is Halal Heaven!  Like the Dude my tummy is firing on all 4’s! 

Samoosa 

The Dude is a tame, forgiving ride.  The 150cc power plant could do with a few extra horses.  I’ll take any superbike from 0 to 10km/h, but the acceleration from 10-60km/h is snail like. One day I will own a Vespa 300 GT!

What I like most about the Gomoto Yesterday is the ride position.  It’s the cruiser of scooters.  Wide bars and a long wheel base makes for effortless riding.  Even the pillion has a built in back rest and foot pegs. 

You will either like the retro styling or hate it.  I love it! The only downside of the design is the lack of storage under the seat.

Make now mistake this bike is a Chinese import with a price to match.  But unlike the Motomia and other knock-offs the Gomoto has a better build quality and boxes above it class in aesthetic appeal.

The Dude has proven himself over the year and my score is a biased 40/50.     

Santorini, Greece: Chavs, sunsets & culture on a spoon.

Scootersteve (sorry about speaking in the 3^rd person) doesn’t like mass tourism.  Camera clad tourists climbing on and off cruise ships cause him to break out into hives.   

By the bus load they attack the local habitat with destructive abandon.  Spatial awareness and quiet whispers are not their modus operandi.  It’s about quantity over quality. Savouring the beauty is done with view finders and over-sized smart phones. Picture uploads and status updates are measured in thousands per second.

They arrive by the bus load

Escape and evade.  Thankfully I have my trusty Kymco Agility to put as much distance between me and the passengers of the MSC sheep!

Disclaimer: I am open to the idea of binge drinking at sea where we never dock. Like that cruise from Durban to nowhere.  No one will be hurt in our reveling!

Santorini.  Or Thira as the locals call it.  It’s a lekker volcanic island somewhere between Greece and Turkey.  It floats in the Aegan Sea and is sinking due to too many invading tourists between March and October every year. 

Thira's west coast cliff or caldera

Calmness is restored as the windy months of Autumn blow in.  Restaurants are boarded up as the sheep disembark. Perfect for a spot of scootourism Steve style!

I knew about the popularity of Thira before I booked our ferry tickets from nearby island Paros. With an acute awareness of my need for silence, I booked us into a humble digs on the cliffside of Megalochori.  It’s far from the hoity crowd of Fira (The main town) & half the price with twice the view. Mission accomplished.  And we had our trusty Kymco ysterperd!* Freedom was reigning supreme.

* ysterperd – Afrikaans slang for iron horse

View from the room in Megalochori

I wasn’t very complimentary about the Kymco Agility 125cc in a previous story (Cappadocia).  This had more do do with the age of the scooter than anything else.  In Thira I had the pleasure of riding a newer 2011 Agility. What an improvement.  Better styling, 16” mag wheels and a raised step for Mrs pillion to rest her weary feet!

Santorini and sunsets are synonymous. The Northern village of Oia is a Lonely Planet must see destination. Stay away. Too many chavs with white Puma sneakers! But the scooter ride up to Oia rates up there with Chapman’s Peak drive in Cape Town. 

From Fira take the provincial road called Eparchiaki Odos Firon-Ias. It is spectacular, meandering road that skirts the western caldera cliffside. 11km of sweeping bends high above the the Aegan. Soul food stuff.

So if Oia is where the sunsets are, does that mean it holds the exclusive rights? Of course not.  Humans are weird creatures. No man can own the west. Except maybe Donald Trump!  Santorini is a long crescent-shaped island with 23km of west coast. Take your pick. It all makes for epic sunsets.

Top Tip: Autumn in Santorini is still considered sweltering summer for the Brits. They come in their droves from mud island for a week of sun and debauchery. The town of Kamari flanks the airport on the flat east coast.  “Simba, you must never go there. Ever!”

The rest of the Island is retiring into a sleepy hibernation. Tourism is seasonal so you have won’t be spoilt for choice when it comes to eateries.  The tiny local population is less than 13 000, so bar a few supermarkets and bakeries, pickings are slim.  

It took some time but we found a strip of top notch restaurants down south in Perivolos. "Seaside" was a winner. Let's keep it a secret from the MSC crowd.

A modern bistro with a view of the ocean. Service second to none and dare I say the best cocktails in the Cyclades. 
   

Reasons to go to a Greek Island? 

Sunsets. Check!

Beach cocktails. Check!

Yoghurt. Huh?

You haven’t lived until you’ve have eaten this delight. Unlike the ubiquitous chav this yoghurt has some culture! Creamy and double thick it is served as a dessert.

Marliese and I indulged on our final night. The waiter suggested we try some yoghurt with queenz?  Queenz? Oh well! When in Greece I suppose. The yoghurt arrived as 2 large quenelles, dotted with yellow leach-like strips of who knew what.  Here goes nothing. I was transported to my childhood. The flavor of Zoo Biscuits exploded in my mouth.  Quince!  Like the fruit. Not queenz!

The Kymco held it’s own. Zippy, agile and reliable.

The styling of this 2011 is a step up on the 2009 but nothing amazing. The 2016 Agility is available in the US for $2000. Not entry level but there is no evolution in the styling. 

http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/agility125/index.html 

My money is on the Kymco Super 8 series. For an extra $200 you get naked handle bars and a rear seat that folds up to a back rest! This is the new flag bearer of awesomeness. The Taiwanese manufacturer has an arsenal of new scooters I need to try in upcoming adventures, and I look forward to the chance. 

ScooterSteve happily rates the 2011 Kymco Agility 125cc a respectable 35/50.

Legal note: In the EU there is confusion about what size scooters can be rented with a standard drivers licence.

In Greece they rent you a 50cc without a licence! BUT the current trend, and loopholes in regulation, the 125cc seems to be the legal choice for now.

Going Places since 2011

I have the coolest wife ever.  Not only did she buy me a bling-ing ring for our wedding, she also bought me a scooter.  A 150cc Gomoto Yesterday nicknamed, "The Dude!"

Best wedding present ever

The Dude!

1 October 2011 marked the start of our life together. I say "our" because the Dude is a partner in our adventures.  He's an excuse to wake up early and discover the city. He takes us places we have never seen before.  Places only 2 wheels can go.

Scooting is not about the speed.  The Dude tanks out at 80km/h (on a down hill!)  Scooting is like slow roasting lamb.  You have to be patient, but in the end the flavours will be worth it.

Here's to my wife Marliese.  Going Places together.