African Time in Cape Town

When we speak about African time, many will actually know what it is you referring to. Africans are perceived to be more laid back and have a relaxed attitude towards time. They are said to be late for appointments, events and meetings. This is where the ‘African time’ phrase comes from. Today I woke up super early for a 08h30 appointment and when I blinked again it was 15h00. Time waits for no-one, African time waits for no-one. 

Cape Town is a very laid back city with regards to the city bowls hussle. Having been in Cape Town all my life, going to Johannesburg for the first time was a complete shock. Apart from the obvious cultural differences, everything seems so much faster. The people of Johannesburg wake up early to be at work early only to get home and sleep early. Strangely enough if feels as though the sun rises much earlier in Johannesburg than in Cape Town. It is amazing what a few kilometres of space can do. The city of gold is what they call JHB, perhaps it is because they are always working just like miners are always digging. (Okay I’m not serious about that, it’s a partial joke). 

It is nearly not possible to find any positive side in being late. When I first started university, my lecturer once said that every person should set their watch five minutes earlier than what the time actually is to ensure they would always be on time. This method actually works, why wouldn’t it?  Try it, this way not only will you get used to being early, but others will get used to you being early and not invite you to an event saying “Normal time, not African time”. 

TweetDeck VS Hootsuite

There are so many social networks available these days managing them could become a bit of a pain. It is often possible to then neglect one network because you are so busy managing another, forgetting what you have even signed up for. We hear about new social networks and the introduction makes it sound amazing that we think it is the next best thing, we sign up and end up adding another one to the list. I think I am drawn to these networks because they market themselves in a way that makes them seem different to others. Once you get used to them and understand them better, it is easy to notice that they are all pretty similar, they are just packaged differently. TweetDeck and Hootsuite are online platforms which allow one to manage social media accounts all from one place.

TweetDeck allows you to manage you tweets all from one place. You can monitor chats, search hash tags and have a continuous stream of tweets coming through depending on what you have put in the search button, no need for refreshing. These searches can be filtered according to personal preference. Multiple Twitter accounts can be managed using TweetDeck.

Hootsuite offers a free and a paid for version. It allows you to manage all of you social network profiles in one place. This can really be a time saver for those on the go that only want to update their profiles to stay active online, but don’t necessarily have the time. There is however a time delay with regards to uploading content.

I have explored these apps and have found that they are both downloadable to desktop and mobile phones. They both serve similar yet different purposes, it all depends on what you are hoping to achieve through using them. The applications are user friendly and also allow add-ons for application enhancement. They both therefore allow you as the user to personalise with various designs too.

The media feeds are displayed in column form on both platforms. TweetDeck streams various features of Twitter whereas Hootsuite displays the different social networks. Both tools will allow you to shorten web links which is ideal especially when the number of characters are limited.

For me as an average social media user, I find TweetDeck to be the purse in my life, whereas Hootsuite would be my entire handbag.  

Cape Town Cuisine

The variety of food available in Cape Town is endless! The city boasts an array of traditional dishes but is also known for its amazing gourmet foods. Just the other day I was watching a program on TV about cuisine around the world and I was not that surprised when they featured Cape Town for their fantastic Malay curries. Cape Town features some tastes of the world in any way possible, celebrating not only the best of the world, but the best of Cape Town. Food served in fancy restaurants, fast food outlets to food served from trailers parked on the side of the road; the food business in Cape Town is booming.  

There are definitely some favourites among the locals as to which places to dine according what they may feel like eating. These places often go on word-of-mouth or simply following family customs. Research is sometimes done as to where to dine, this is usually on a special occasion and I can vouch for that. I don’t necessarily have any favourites which come to mind right now, but I do love Italian, so offer me some pasta or pizza and you will be my friend for life. Of course I do understand that you basically handing me a plate full of carbs, but life is too short to count every calorie right? 

Cape Town also plays host to many internationally owned restaurants, and strangely enough the tourists love this as it makes them feel at home even though they are away from home. Food, it is an ice-breaker, a conversation starter, a mender, a comforter and it is what keeps us alive. You can find some great places to dine in Cape Town by following the link : http://www.dining-out.co.za/Cape-Town-restaurants.asp

Some BBQ fun in the Summer

Summer days are fun days. When the sun makes an appearance, it is as though is sprinkles a bit of happy dust over everyone. Any activity done on a summer day immediately turns the day into a fun day. Visits to the beach, a theme park ride, a drive along the coast or a braai shared with friends; Capetonians never let a bit of sunshine go to waste.

Cape Town boasts some amazing braai spots all over the city. So it almost not possible for city dwellers to claim that there are no braai spots near them. When conducting online research as to where the best braai spots in Cape Town are, there were some common answers: Buffels Bay, Cape Point, Klippies Bay & Sparks Bay, Kogelberg, Tokai Forest Braai Area, Oudekraal, Maiden’s Cove, Silvermine Nature Reserve and Wynberg Park. 

Now I have not been to all of these places, but I’m sure they are equally fabulous and I hope to mark them all off my bucket list this summer. Choose one of these as a destination for the day, pack a basket, and be sure to get some of the sun’s happy dust over you. It is of course not necessary to choose one of these destinations, sometimes the best destination is home. When the sun is out in Cape Town all you need to do is stand at your front door to find puff’s and puff’s of smoke and smell the BBQ sauce in the air. People of Cape Town Unite, for summer days are fun days! 

My mountain, my main man

Look to the mountain they say. When in need of direction, look to the mountain. When in need of inspiration, look to the mountain. When you don’t know where to take your friends that are not from Cape Town, take them to the mountain. The world has its awarded natural wonders, Cape Town is privileged enough to host one of those wonders, Table Mountain.  

The world’s seven natural wonders are based on public votes, and wow, Cape Town won this global race. The other six wonders of the world as voted in 2011 include: Amazon: South America, Ha Long Bay: Vietnam, Iguazu Falls: Argentina/Brazil, Jeju Island: South Korea, Komodo: Indonesia, PP Underground River: Philippines. Over 500 million votes were cast world-wide. This is not just a win for Cape Town, but a win for the country.  

Those staying in Cape Town would know that if they are on their way to the city’s CBD and happen to be lost, all they need to do is look to the mountain for direction from which ever direction they are coming from, the closer the mountain, the closer they are to reaching their destination. The same could work the other way around; Table Mountain is like one big giant compass. Those looking to find inspiration to write a piece about Cape Town the most common starting point would usually be Table Mountain, look at this blog post for example J . In my opinion, it is the identity of the city, a natural wonder; a tourist attraction, an unmindful leader- My mountain, my main man

Commuter Friday

When one mentions the word “travel” some thoughts that come to mind are “exploring”, “sight-seeing”, “adventure”, “new places”, and “new people”. Travel does not necessarily need to mean travelling to another city or country. Trips to the grocery store, to granny, to school or to work are all forms of travelling. My travel highlights are always seeing new places and meeting new faces. Sometimes we can meet these faces in the strangest of places. 

Cape Town is filled with so much diversity, and each person has a story of their own to tell. Using public transport is one way to meet new people, that’s if you are open to the idea of course. In Cape Town, a number of trains, buses and taxis are made available as an alternative mode of transport to personal vehicles.  Using public transport however would naturally mean placing your life the hands of someone who is usually a total stranger, and being dependent on them to get you to your destination safely and on time.  Train delay’s and bus strikes are things which happen all too often in Cape Town, in the country actually. Fees increase, and commuters comply. 

Being stuck on a stationary train for 40 minutes with complete strangers all around you is not exactly an idea of fun. This however is the perfect opportunity to sit and observe others. People with different personalities, coming from different backgrounds and cultures, all handling the situation differently. Each of these people having a story of their own to tell,  but the one thing that they have in common is that they are all in Cape Town at that one time (in the stuck train of course). It would be quite interesting to come across various tourists (visiting or living in Cape Town) and ask them “Why Cape Town?”. Cape Town is AFRICA, and those abroad are drawn to this Africa. The flaws and perfections all make Cape Town the city it is today, sure everyone yearns for a CRIME FREE WORLD, why wouldn't we? We could keep hoping and wishing, or we could change the world one step at a time. 

Creative Cape Town...Creating possibilities

Cape Town has been voted the WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL 2014! Do you know what that means? Well honestly I don’t. I read articles around the topic, follow new events revolving around the topic, but to explain what it actually means, is something I may find rather challenging.

I conducted some research for this post and discovered that The World Design Capital is a city promotion project and its purpose is to recognize and award accomplishments made by cities around the world in the field of design. This is therefore a MAJOR accomplishment for Cape Town, and one which is being seriously under estimated.

Cape Town designers, artists, and performers have the opportunity to SHOW OFF their talent to the WORLD! It not necessary for them to look far when seeking inspiration to practice their creative talent. Boasting night life, street life and city life, Cape Town creates endless possibilities!