INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - Shraddha Kapoor in Cape Town

Shraddha Kapoor landed in Cape Town in early August for a 15-day schedule of Mohit Suri's coming-of-age romance Half Girlfriend. The coastal city is the second most populous urban area in South Africa, after Johannesburg. Its geography is influenced by the contours of the Table Mountain, its surrounding peaks, the Durbanville Hills, and the expansive lowland region, the Cape Flats. Here's Shraddha's insider account of the city...
SECOND TIME LUCKY
This was my second visit to Cape Town, the first in 2012 for Aashiqui 2.I'd really liked the city back then, but this time I've fallen in love with it a little more.
We were shooting for Half Girlfriend in August and the weather was lovely.
The sun was shining brightly most days, with the occasional light showers.The air was crisp, fresh and happy. I'd love to visit it during other times of the year too but this time it was perfect.
The hotel was great, the staff hospitable. I even got to work out a few times, but not as much as I'd have liked to even though I carried Namrata Purohit's The Lazy Girls Guide To Being Fit with me and would skim through it whenever time permitted.
HIKING UP TABLE MOUNTAIN
Along with my co-star Rhea Chakraborty, I went hiking up the Table Mountain. It forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.We were the only two up for it and we were really excited. It took us around two-and-a-half to three hours to climb up. We took the cable car down. It was tiring but fun.Rhea is an awesome partner to hike with. She's always charged up and game for adventure.I recommend hiking to everyone, they should try it once, some where. You realise just how much you can push yourself and at the end, feel like you've truly achieved something. This was my second medium challenge hike. The first was at the Yosemite National Park in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.
IN THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
One day I had an off so a group of us bundled into this big van and drove off to the Cape of Good Hope. One of the many capes in the South Atlantic Ocean, it has long been of special significance to sailors. John II of Portugal gave it its name because of the cheer the opening of a sea route to India and the East brought to the natives. We called our group the `Mad Lovers'. As we wound our way along the Chapmans Peak Drive the view was stunning as we had some awesome music and each other for company. It was one of my best rides ever.
We hung out at Camps Bay, an affluent suburb of Cape Town which is a popular tourist haunt.and ate at a local eatery. The food is great and after that we strolled down to the beach to watch the clouds descend on the water. It was magical! I have earlier even zipped into The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the city's most popular shopping arcade when I was in Cape Town for Aashiqui 2. It's a nice, bustling area but I didn't do any shopping there. But I took tons of photographs that make for perfect memories.
REMEMBERING AASHIQUI 2
For Aashiqui 2 we shot at the Artscape Theatre Centre, which is the main performing arts venue in Cape Town. When I returned to the city this time, all those memories came flooding back.This time too I collected lots of memories as we filmed at several places around the city. We even went to a party which was super fun. And we gorged on lots of amazing food though I didn't get a chance to try any of the local delicacies.Some of the locals I'd met earlier and it was wonderful chatting and laughing with them again. Some of them had seen Aashiqui 2 and loved it. They conveyed this to me very sweetly. Some of the local technicians were the same from the earlier film, a disciplined lot who got along really well with our Indian techs.We interacted with some Indian fans and well-wishers too. Their love and support means the world to me.