Yesterday Soccer World Cup tickets became available to locals over the counter. This is Africa. Not everyone has a laptop or access to a PC.
One of our local banks was the vendor and queues miles long quickly formed as fans lined up way before sunrise to buy tickets.
One male fan apparently died while waiting to make a purchase. It’s believed of natural causes.
Those who didn’t get tickets yesterday are back today with cooler boxes and portable chairs hoping to get luckier today.
Each day we tick off is one more day closer to this Soccer World Cup. I overhear people talking all day long about where they will be or asking who is going. The big question is how many visitors will come?
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
The first question most people ask about South Africa is to do with crime. And after watching the BBC show with Louis Tredoux last night I am really not surprised since that’s what people see. I wouldn’t set foot anywhere near Hillbrow at night which is where Louis Tredoux was filming.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says “There is a high level of crime, but most occurs in townships and isolated areas away from the normal tourist destinations. More that 460 000 Britons visit South Africa every year. Most visits are trouble free.”
I know people who have been victims of violent and senseless crime and I’m not suggesting that South Africa is anything like Iceland or New Zealand. We can only wish to live like that. But if you compare our crime in the hot spots with crime in other global hot spots our numbers are lower.
Where we come horribly short is the per capita statistics. There are more and more violent deaths here per capita than anywhere else. However, I don’t walk around filled with terror every day of my life. Green Point is a safe area by world standards. Use plain common sense and a visit to South Africa will be a safe one. Our crime statistics are freely available at this link South African Police home page.
