Cape Town

      Cape Town was absolutely stunning! It definitely did not fit my expectations of Africa, instead, it felt very European and it never failed to shock me when I turned a corner and felt like I was in southern France or Italy. I had expected a drier climate and that the city would be dirty (Johannesburg fits the bill a bit better in this aspect). However, it rained without fail every single day we were there! As far as climate goes it felt like a mix of California, Hawaii, Utah and a pinch of Oregon. Granted, we were there in the winter so I am not quite sure how wet it is the rest of the year, but looking at the vegetation it looked like it was mostly California-ish as far as weather goes. The city was really nice as far as cities go, and although there were burglar bars on every house and you paid someone to "keep your car safe", I never felt threatened and the people were very friendly. 

       Because of the very stormy weather we were not able to do some of the main tourist attractions like going up Table Mountain or over to Robben Island. We still had tons of fun and got to go to many other historic sites like:

Rhodes Memorial

The V&A Waterfront

The Iziko Castle of Good Hope

and a couple other places (the ones pictured were my favorite) in the city. 

       Although I really liked seeing all of the historic monuments, my very favorite touristy things were the flea markets. It can be a little frustrating sometimes when you're starting and don't really know what your doing, but once you practice a bit it is very fun for both the customer and the vendor.

Rules of the game:

1. Don't touch or look at for a prolonged period of time something you are not interested in purchasing. This will end up annoying you (because the vendor will start barging) and will annoy the vendor (because it doesn't make sense that you would pay interest in something you don't want). If there is something you want to look at (quality check, etc.) make sure to say very clearly that you're just checking things out and don't want to start finding a price. 

2. Don't pay the first price that the vendor tells you unless you are just wanting to be charitable. They will expect you to continue the scene like so:

 Customer: How much for this?

 Vendor: 180 R

 Customer: Gasp/sound of disbelief  180R for that? No, no, no 20 R.

 Vendor: Gasp What! Do you think I am selling rubbish? 140 R.

 Customer: No, that is too expensive, 40 R.

 Vendor: I paid 100 R just to buy that, but for you I will make a special deal...a deal for you not for me, 80 R

 Customer: No I will only pay 50 R

 Vendor: Ok, 55 R

 Customer: No, I can only spend 50 R

 Vendor: I will starve tonight, but ok, 50 R

Obviously this dialogue would differ each time you buy something, but the key is that the vendor will name some ridiculously high price, so you suggest a ridiculously low price and then you go back and forth until you reach a price close to what you're willing to pay for the item. It will be especially helpful if you think of/research the worth of the item before you start bidding so you can be direct and not stop in the middle of the bartering to think about how much you actually want something. It is really rude to get a very crazily low price from someone who is desperate because...it's mean that's why! Most vendors will have a set price in mind when they're selling something and if they are doing well and can rip off a less-savvy tourist they will probably stick to their guns and not bend. So unless you want to be in the ripped-off-tourist club (R.O.T.C) you can try another person (most of the curios are the exact same at every stall) or think of how philanthropic you are to keep the economy going and go head off to the R.O.T.C. If the person is desperate and you get them down to what you know isn't a fair price, be nice and go to a fair one. Forcing someone miss out on a lobola or school payment so you can brag to your friends about how cheaply you got a necklace isn't cool.

3. The more dramatic and silly the gasps of disgust the more fun it gets. Also make up as many starving children back at home as you want, because that is definitely what the vendor is doing...unless they're not, then you should help them out and go join the R.O.T.C. (that is if you're feeling philanthropic). You get this funny connection between the buyer and seller when you know that you're playing a game and that the other person knows it too. It's like when you share a joke at the dinner table and no one else hears it except some random person across from you. 'Tis delightsome.

Tip: Learn a couple greetings from the local language of that region. Even though most of the vendors are not actually South African (usually they're from Congo, Nigeria, or Zimbabwe) they like to see you try to speak an indigenous language (whether for nostalgia or amusement I don't know). Also this will trick them into offering the non-tourist price...maybe...pretty much just expect them to raise the price as soon as they know you don't actually know the value of things.
      After our travels I've decided that if I ever were to live in South Africa Cape Town would definitely be number one on my list.

P.S. The part where my acronym for ripped-off-tourist club (R.O.T.C.) is the same for the army R.O.T.C. is unintentional and I am not trying to make an underhanded statement about whatever the R.O.T.C. does...I just couldn't think of a better name for a club for tourists who have been ripped off.