Travel Experiences

          I have been in South Africa for two months now! Time sure is flying by, and I am finally getting more used to the way that this country works. One of the most interesting aspects of living here is travel, by car, by train, or by plane, things are done a little different here.

Just a Herd on the Highway... No Biggie.

            First off, our first driving experience along the Garden Route was the first time I drove on the left side of the road. Nerve-racking at first, but it was also the most pleasant driving of my life… and believe me, there have been some pleasant driving in the US of A. Here’s why it was great. The N2 is the main freeway up the east coast, and it is only two lanes wide. In the US, this would mean getting stuck behind trucks and waiting for opportunities to pass slow cars, but here every car will pull over to the side of the road if they see a car moving faster than them. Then, as if that wasn’t nice enough, the fast-moving car flashes their lights to say ‘thanks’ and the slow-moving car does the same to say ‘ your welcome.’ For some reason, I was really excited about how great South African drivers were and talked about it the whole trip.  

            This sentiment rapidly changed last week while we were driving up the N2, this time north of Durban. On this drive, we almost died a few times from sketchy driving. Once, we were passing a car only to be passed by a cop, with oncoming traffic… on a two-lane road!!! Yes, that’s four cars wide on a two-lane road. Another time, we had cars passing semis on the left side… that’s like passing on the right shoulder in the US! Glad that I wasn’t driving, cause I most likely would have had an accident… in my pants. No joke.

            Traveling in Cape Town in equally hair-raising sometimes. The cheapest way to get around is in the minibus taxis, which are minivans straight from the 80’s in which there are often 20 or so people packed into. It costs less than a dollar to get anywhere, but at times you can see why it is so cheap. On a few occasions, we have had drivers drive on the sidewalk in order to pass people, they run red lights as if there was no crossing traffic, all of them have sound systems worth at least double the value of the vehicle, and none of them have insurance!

Water, Corkscrew, Slingshot, Lighter... Through Security!

            And, above the highways and the traffic are the airplanes… oh, what a difference they are! First of all, no need to get to the airport early for a flight in South Africa. The extent of checking a bag is telling someone your name and handing him or her your bag. Then, as they print out a boarding pass, someone might ask, ‘you don’t have anything sharp in your bag do you?’ Nope, now on to the real security. On my first time through airport security, I was ready for the routine of removing my shoes, taking my laptop out of the bag, getting an ID out for them to scrutinize, taking off jackets and belts, and dumping out any fluid or gel bigger than a gummy bear. The security people were actually mad that I had taken my shoes off and belt. Apparently I was slowing down the 1 minute long security line!

Because of how relaxed airport security was, we decided to see what we could get away with over spring break. We got through security with over 2 liters of water, a corkscrew, a lighter and a slingshot. Probably not a very smart experiment, but it just goes to show how different things are here.

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