what to expect in Durban and Port Elizabeth?
I haven’t been to Durban for a long time, but Port Elizabeth is perfectly safe – I mean, you’ll be able to enjoy a visit there without having any concern fro your safety. I was just down there for about 4 months – actually living at my dad’s in Grahamstown which is 2 hours from PE, on the road to Durban. The actual downtown is pretty grungy and not much to brag about, but the Centretown neighbourhood uphill is actually very nice and gentrified, and racially-mixed and content. It’s a pretty city, if a bit windswept at times – nice beaches & art deco apartment blocks – from certain angles it might look like SF. Also, big shopping malls, Costco-type retailers. I actually think you’ll be surprised at how ‘western’ it is. People have this idea of Africa being this exotic, scary, dangerous place, but it’s not like that at all. Away from certain areas – the big townships, central Jo’burg – crime isn’t that big of a deal. Just, I don’t know, take basic precautions. I’ve wandered all over SA, a
