Blackbookmag.com reports that two British artists have built a “Heart of Darkness”-themed hotel in the shape of a steamboat on the roof of a Thames River arts center in London. It is named Roi des Belges (King of the Belgians). They charge between 120 and 185 pounds for singles or couples per night to stay in the hotel. “Inside, the cozy paddle steamboat is lined with timber, vintage books, and props that echo details from Conrad’s works, such as maps of Africa.” Two days ago, The Guardian (of all publications) put up a travel piece with this introduction: “I was alone in the middle of deepest, darkest Congo. Worse still, I was being chased by eight angry tribesmen in two dugout canoes – and they were gaining on me.” We figured it must be a joke. Then there’s this guy, DeWet Du Toit (in the images above and below), who left South Africa to work as a security guard in Manchester, and returned to George, a coastal town in the Western Cape region of South Africa (where else?), where he lives out his fantasy as ‘the real Tarzan’, complete with promotional video (he wants to break into Hollywood like Charlize and District 9), animals, black helpers (see the picture below) and friendly news coverage.
Hi, As the author of the Blackbook piece, was there anything I wrote that was amiss?
Love your blog!
Cheers,
SO
Animals, black helpers, and apparently, lots of chest hair waxing.
I feel a song coming on…..Dollar’s When Tarzan Met the African Freedom Fighter.
Pure Disneyland!
@ Sean Oneill, I know you didn’t ask me the question, but there’s ever been such as a stupid question, I think you just asked one. What universe, time zone are you living in to not have read Chinua Achebe’s “Image of Africa” in response to the standing of Heart of Darkness in English literature?
The audacity of people always bewilders me.