Stepping into South Africa

My trip to Cape Town wasn’t like any other travel that I have done in my life. I went to Cape Town for a research project as part of my master’s at LSE. This made me see Cape Town in different perspectives, allow me to interact with many locals, and understand how people really live their life.

Cape Town at Golden Hour <3

Cape Town is a famous travel destination. I arrived there and I was mesmerised by the view of Table Mountain being side to side with a beautiful coast. Cape Town have lots of beaches. Some beaches have really chill vibes where you can just lay around enjoying the sun. Some others have a nice Californian-alike restaurants and bars with beautiful views towards the beach and the mountain. Two hours drive from the city will take us to the Cape Peninsula where we can hike to the top of Cape of Good Hope, the first point where Bartholomeu Dias arrived in South Africa in the 1488, to see the stunning view of Atlantic Oceans. Also, at the moment when I knew I would be going to Cape Town, I was dying to see the penguins in the boulders beach! Surprisingly, there are penguins which can live in tropical area. They gather in one beach like a colony of overly cute creatures!!! Spending the afternoons in Cape Town was also fun. There are some areas with lots of nice coffee shops, restaurants and bars just like Senopati or Kemang.

At the top of Cape of Good Hope 0:)

HAPPY FEET!

That is one part about Cape Town. The other part, is the part where I worked for my research. Also only 30 minutes from the city, there are townships where the Black African communities live. Township is a large area built by the government to provide people with housing and basic facilities. The government has built around 3 million houses for the people. I personally think that the townships are good initiatives from the government. However, sadly, not all people have got their chance to get these houses. People are in waiting list for years to get houses in the townships and during the period where they have no where to stay, they build shacks (or what they call, informal settlements) right besides the area of the permanent houses. These views are common to be seen by people who travel to Cape Town. As in 15 minutes after the airport, the view from the highway will show large area of townships with permanent houses and also the informal ones.

The view from the highway towards the informal settlements

As we all know, South Africa has a long Apartheid History. I went to Robben Island, an island where it used to be used as a political prison during the Apartheid era. Nelson Mandela himself, was being imprisoned in Robben Island for 20 years. The problems in the townships that I have discovered myself during my research, are the remains of that dark and sad era. We should all be glad that South Africa now is a democratic country with no discrimination. However, the high unemployment rate and the inequality of basic services such as health and education create a vicious cycle that is very hard to be escaped.

Another thing that is remarkable is the people. South African (and some other African countries nationalities too) are very nice, friendly, and extrovert people. It won’t take much time to get to know them and they are also very interested in knowing you more. I spent one week meeting the locals, going to their houses, and eating what they usually eat. My experience in South Africa has been lovely because of the people.

Thank you, Cape Town. It has been a pleasure.

Cape Town,

23 February 2019