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@deleted
cape town?
oh yeah, for 32 years. great place for a holiday!
the thing you must have asked yourself by now is 'how safe is it?'. what you need to understand and what will become aparant on the journey from the airport to your hotel, is that despite the dismantling of the apartheid regime, long may those responsible for it burn in a particularly toasty corner of hell, its legacy continues to blight the lives of the vast majority of citizens. As such, there are few places on the planet where the difference between rich and poor are as pronounced. you don't need me or anyone else to tell what this imbalance results in or how little there is you, as a tourist, can do about it.
another unfortunate side effect of what was then euphemistcally known as the 'group areas act' is that the vast majority of who are now equally euphemistically known as 'the previously disadvantaged' still live in what we know as 'townships' - whilst these places have developed a vibrant, expressive and rich culture of thier own, in spite of, and mores the point, because of the hardships people forced to live here have endured, it's worth pointing out too that i, and by extension anyone who visits a township must be careful not to belittle what horrors people who lived and continue to live here have endured by viewing it as a post-apartheid theme park - something some of the tour operators are guilty of to be honest. with this in mind, as a visitor (i highly recommend you take a DAYTIME tour to either Langa or Kayaleitsha) you need to respect certain boundaries. don't venture off the proscribed tour and under no circumstances should you go there on own. this may be obvious to you, in which case i apologise for presuming otherwise.
when in the city, you should be as safe as houses. although a lot is made of violent crime in SA, it is statistically quite rare and nine times outa ten, entirely avoidable. use your nut - most of the things you wouldn't do in london apply there as much there as they do anywhere in the world. possible exceptions being: don't get into any of the 'informal taxis (mini bus taxis)' that tear up and down the major strips, or any taxi that isn't booked for you by your hotel (presuming you dont have a hire car that is), don't do townships at night or alone (again) and don't go on the mountain alone or when it's cloudy - you will get lost and fall off the fucking thing or die of hypothermia - happens more often than you'd care to think.
one thing you will notice, especially if you have a car, which is indispensable considering public transport is minimal and taxis expensive, is the profusion of unofficial 'car guards', especially in the more affluent, urban and touristy areas. an unfortunate symptom of rife unemployment - a lot of young people travel to the city to take advantage of the tourist dollar by offering to 'look after your car' while you go about your business. although some people may tell you otherwise - personally, i reckon it doesn't hurt your pocket to chuck a couple of rands in someone's hat, and believe it or not - yer man will actually ensure no one breaks into your car. make of that what you will.
other things to check out while you're there besides the mountain and beaches are a trip to the wine country (google cape wine routes, tho if you do, be mindful of certain wineries that still employ the 'dop' system of payment for their labourers - basically paying workers in second rate, highly alcoholic wine in lieu of a living wage. it has been outlawed however it continues in certain establishments). be sure to take a drive along chapmans peak - 90 percent of all car adverts are filmed there, as well as taking a drive out to boulders beach (just past simonstown - a little slice of colonial heaven if ever there was one) and see the motherfucking penguins yo!
have lunch here if you can - it aint cheap but you won't regret it.
if you're on a budget, it's late and you're hungry, try here.
if you get a chance to catch these chumps playing, go and see. if i find out you didn't i will hunt you dow and go proper township on your ass.
there's loads more to see and do, these are just some that spring to mind. get a guide book, most of em are pretty good these days.
lekker bly, hoor!