Friday, December 28, 2007

Shopping, Part One: The Ones That Got Away

I've been frequently questioned about my shopping experiences in South Africa. Since I do take such pleasure in shopping, this isn't a question I feel I can adequately answer in only one post. I've decided to break it down. This one is all about those things that are still sitting in some shop on another continent (or worse, in some other lucky b*'s closet).



First of all, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't buy trinkets willy-nilly as I did in Egypt. Egypt was like a giant dollar store. Honestly, nearly every necklace I bought was $1US. In all of our travels throughout southern Africa, I didn't encounter a single $1 necklace. Things weren't wildly expensive, but still, $5 per piece adds up much more quickly than $1 per piece. *sigh* Anyway...


For months before leaving on our trip, I dreamed of Oudtshoorn and its ostrich-y bounty. I daydreamed about the perfect pair of pink ostrich leather boots. I even looked up average prices for ostrich leather in the area, but deluded myself that I would get a great buy. OK, yeah, the prices were good, but still SKY HIGH! I didn't have a snowball's chance at my delicious boots, since a freakin' purse was $400US. Well, at least the ones I wanted were that much. Dammit. So, no purse. Or boots.


That brings us to the saga of the springbok purse. The day before going to Oudtshoorn, I saw a lovely red springbok shopper-style purse. It was priced at $136US. I've never paid that kind of money for a single purse. Yes, I know I'm cheap. Anyway, I consoled myself (after petting the purse for several minutes) with daydreams of the impending ostrich leather purchases. We all know how that turned out, but hindsight is always 20/20. To use another cliche, a bird in the hand, blah, blah... I spent the rest of the trip looking for the same springbok purse at the same price. Unfortunately, the prices around Cape Town were WAY higher than in this little store in Knysna. Poop. I almost broke down in Jewel Africa, a tony jewelry store in Cape Town. I'd found a similar purse in natural springbok. I was about to plunk down $150US, and that was after negotiating a significant discount on this thing. These purses are super-posh in South Africa. Suddenly, just as I was about to do the deed, I remembered something. I have seen lamps made from deer legs in the US. I have seen deer heads mounted on walls in the US. And this has, across the board, indicated what? Anyone? DING, DING - REDNECK! Now, this lovely purse would be oh-so-stylish in South Africa. In the US? I might as well display a gun rack and Confederate flag in my vehicle's rear window. Still, I long for the lovely red springbok purse. Somehow that had all of the style with very little of the redneck (despite that fact that it was, indeed, red). Dammit.


I wish I had purchased a shirt. I'm not a fan of printed tees. However, I wanted something trendy that would let everyone know I'm a world traveler. I saw a really cute top in Kruger National Park. I thought about it and decided that I would buy it when we came back to the same area later in the day. Wouldn't you know it? Time ran short and we didn't go back to the same area of the park. Crap. I saw another cutie top in Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront. This was the day that Bob, my hubby, was pissier than usual about shopping. When he reaches that level of pissiness, it actually takes the fun out of shopping for me (and that's hard to do). I tried on one top, it didn't fit, and that was that. So, no shirts. Dammit.


We were presented with some shopping opportunities at Shops of Fragile Things. Fragile Things Store One was the Ngwenya Glass Factory in Swaziland. They made all sorts of pretty glass things, but frankly, I don't need stemware. I don't need a cute little glass hippo. I don't need a huge art glass bowl. What did I need/want (whatever!)? It's like they knew my Jack Skellington-loving self would be in their store on that day. There was this weird, funky, white light bulb-looking skull face with a black glass base. I think you were supposed to put a candle or light inside of it and it would glow. It was nice. It was heavy as heck. It was nearly impossible to get home in one piece considering that we were only on week one of a three week trip. Dammit.


Fragile Thing Store Two was the land of the ostrich egg. I wasn't terribly fond of the painted eggs. There were pretty, but not so much my style. I did like the punched eggs though. When lit from inside, they glowed prettily. However, I could only think of two things: how would I get this home, and if I did, how long would it survive my cat? I had to give the ostrich egg up too. Dammit.


However, I did not walk away completely sans ostrich. I took a picture of this very lovely chandelier that was hanging in the lobby of the Chobe Marine Lodge in Bostwana. I wonder how much this would have cost to ship home (not that it was for sale, but you know what I mean).







Thursday, December 27, 2007

Geez? What kind of shots did you need for that trip?!

Many have asked me about the health risks and preparations for traveling to South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Keep in mind that South Africa is not a lot different from the US. There are huge cities, medium cities, small cities, towns, rural areas, etc. By and large, it's just as developed a country as the US. I explain this only because some who questioned me thought that we were traveling to a country without any mod cons.

Lots of people have asked me about drinking the water. In fact, we were warned not to drink the water by our local health department. I think they just say that no matter where you go. Yes, by and large, we could drink the water. No, for the most part, it wasn't just in our hotels. Yes, you could drink a tall, iced drink at most any restaurant. We had plenty of iced drinks. It's just as safe as the water at home (however safe that is, but I'm a germaphobe).

No, we really didn't have to get many shots. We both got hepatitis boosters and made sure our tetanus shots were up to date. Most health care professionals recommend those for walking out your front door. We did have to take anti-malarial tablets for a long time, since we started our travel in a risk area and ended in another risk area. One of the less savvy travelers (quit pointing at me!) learned an important lesson about mosquitos. Insect repellant helps to keep them away! Please, it's not like you knew that before I told you. Why is it that in the 20-minute span of time between walking out my door in Vic Falls and running back to the room for repellant, I got 25 or so bites and Bob, my hubby, got none? Go figure. So far, I remain malaria-free. Also, we had lovely mosquito nets in our room in Vic Falls. Each night, someone came to prepare our room for bedtime, shutting the deck door shutters and unfurling the netting around the bed. This is very pretty and romantic with the lights on. Every little girl dreamed of a canopy bed, right? With all the lights off in a really dark room? Nets are weird and creepy, and I was pretty sure things were in the room. Evil things. Ghosty things. I really shouldn't watch so many horror movies.

So basically, traveling to southern Africa required no fancy medical attention. Being a complete idiot and not wearing insect repellant is statistically unlikely to result in the need for fancy medical attention. If I suddenly get flu-like symptoms, I'll be getting myself to the doctor sooner rather than later. Traveling in southern Africa? Just about as safe as traveling at home, which in either case, depends entirely on where you're traveling.

It's My Turn!

Bob and I posted to our joint vacation blog throughout our trip to southern Africa. It was mostly suitable for viewing by all of our family and friends. My SIL even used it in her classroom with her 5th graders. That's WAY cool! However, since coming home, I've gotten tons of questions about our trip. I thought it might be fun to blog about some of the questions and comments I've gotten, plus some of my own experiences and misconceptions. Keep tuning in for a series of posts!