Blogger Guides are a collection of interviews from top bloggers in different countries who I contacted via Twitter to help give me local/insider insight on things to do and see in each country I visit rather than only researching the area on the Internet. Bloggers know their cities inside and out, not just as residents, but as dedicated researchers and writers about them. Blogger Guides also aims to show how connected we all really are, both on a human level and a digital level.
Featured Blogger: Baydu Adams
Country: Cape Town / South Africa
baydu.co.za
@baydu
Interview With Featured Blogger, Baydu Adams, Winner of the 2013 South African Blogger Awards!
by Alyssa Ramos
What Do you love most about Cape Town/South Africa?
Too many things to mention! The vibe it has. It’s people. The aesthetics of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so much beauty and you can go from mountains to seas to vineyards and old towns within minutes of one another.
What are the Must-See Touristy things to do?
Table Mountain, The V&A Watefront, Campsbay beach, Houtbay for fish n chips (fries), Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, Cape Point, The West Coast, The Wine Routes. Experience the Minstrel March normally on the 2nd of January. Drive up to Signal Hill and catch a sunset. Visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens especially on a Summers Sunday when they have a live concert. Catch the New Years Eve concert (classical music with an orchestra) at the Nederburg Wine Farm in Paarl. Take a boat cruise to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent parts of his 27 years in prison. Take a boat trip from Hout Bay to Seal Island.
What are the Must-See Non-Touristy things to do?
Get to Food Inn India to buy wholesome meals and experience the Indian influences in Cape Town at very affordable prices. Take a walk down Long Street in City Centre in Cape Town to experience the vibe of food places, clubs, pubs, bars etc. See the colourful houses in BoKaap (literally meaning Upper Town) which is a few minutes walk from Central Town. Go to a place called Cubana in Green Point for some Afro house music and food. We have tons of malls and shopping centres. We have tons of restaurants and coffee shops. Watch a sunset at Llandudno or Campsbay or even in Strand. Go to Access Park opposite Kenilworth Centre to get some bargains. Watch rugby or cricket at the infamous Newlands Rugby and Newlands Rugby Stadiums. Watch a soccer game at Cape Town Stadium. Do some Township tours or go to a place called Mzoli’s to experience a township vibe. Go to a lovely club called Living Room in an area called Bellville (dress smartly). Have a Bar One (chocolate name brand) Cheesecake from a place called Arnold’s in Kloof Street. Kloof Street is an extension of Long Street going toward the mountain and that place has a few eating and dancing places.
What are the chances that I’ll see a lion?
Zero, unless you go to a game farm. For some odd reason half of the world still thinks we live in the wild when most of us have wifi, smartphones and drive German cars! There probably are game farms outside of Cape Town but I’m not big on seeing animals on display.
Any tips for keeping a budget?
The Rand is struggling a bit and a Pound now costs us around R18! So I doubt you will have to worry about budgeting 🙂 But the best is always to get more than one opinion from locals or friends who’ve been to Cape Town or South Africa before. Otherwise spend some time on the net and do some research. We have 5 star restaurants the same way we have little gems on the corner where don’t need to spend thousands for a decent meal. There are 4 and 5 star hotels in Cape Town too and all of them will have amazing restaurants if that’s what you want.
Most important safety tip?
Don’t be flashy. You need to be vigilant in any country so try to not flash your cameras and things if you are walking around. If you are in a tour group then it’s probably safer. I’m not saying everybody wants to rob you of your Fathers Day Nikon camera but you can sense when walking into a place and everyone’s taking out their cameras that it’s a safe zone to do so. Also do not travel with too much baggage just the necessities. Try and go with a tour guide whom the hotel or Bed n Breakfasts or lodges recommends.
What’s the claim to fame food favorite?
There really are too many! The Afrikaans or Dutch influenced have what we call “braai” (barbecue) and the Malay will have biryani and a take away called a “Gatsby” which is basically a fat long roll filled with chips (aslo called slap chips but known to you as fries) and steak or polony etc. There are also savouries called samoosa, daltchies and koeksiesters. We have amazing curry too. Our fish is awesome at most places serving fish seeing as Cape Town is a coastal town. A nice value for money family type place to get fish is Ocean Basket and they are all over South Africa. In Central Town if you want greasy chips (fries) and fish you need to go to Lusitania as well as a place called Texies. Order a hake parcel and rolls and get your hands greasy 🙂
How would you describe the people?
A mixed pot of awesomeness! Cape Town has rich influences from all over the world and some parts of it are as cosmopolitan as New York or London. Cape Town has a large “coloured” community which is almost like the Latino community in Miami. Of course there are tons of other groups in the province as well. The “coloured” (back in the apartheid era or years of segregation in the old South Africa) were not allowed to mix or marry or date other groups, especially whites so it seems each group has formulated their own culture and heritage. The “coloured” group (also referred to as mixed race) in itself have their blood lines drawn from the Khoisan people, Europeans, Indonesia, Malaysia, India etc.
How do people greet each other and in what language?
Again, because Cape Town and South Africa is diverse there are a few but most of us speak English. In fact I think every South African speaks English 🙂
Afrikaans: “Goie mOre” or “Goie dag” or “Goie naand” (Good morning, good day and good evening)
Xhosa: “Molo”
Muslims: “Salaam”
Most interesting fact?
Cape Town was a trading post many years ago for ships coming from one part of the world to another and was “discovered” by Jan van Riebeeck of Dutch origin. My forefathers are Japanese and they were brought to Cape Town as slaves on ships. This was how Islaam started in Cape Town and is probably the second biggest religion in Cape Town after Christianity. South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup last time around in 2010 and is the only country to have made a profit from it. It is the home of one of the greatest fathers of the world, Nelson Mandela. Cape Town normally makes the top 10 list (if not number 1 a few times) of the most beautiful places to visit or most economical place to go on holiday.
How popular is social media there?
Extremely. But the costs of data is still a bit expensive so hopefully once that changes more people will have access. There are talks of Facebook moving offices to South Africa because it is so huge and I was told Google has offices in our country too. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. are still growing. We have loads of blogging websites of which I also have one (baydu.co.za) 😉 South Africa also has tons of internet radio stations.
What is your typical day like?
Ok let me just give you some background first 🙂 I worked in radio most of my life having worked for Kfm for 8 years then Heart FM for 2 years (of the two biggest radio groups in the country). I took a break from radio for 3 years and started my website, guest lectured in radio at colleges, I wrote online columns, I wrote a column for a newspaper tabloid covering South African Idols, I worked at internet radio stations, I worked at a theme park radio station, I started a youth programme together with my good friend Babongile that focuses on life skills for around 350 Grade 11 learners from disadvantaged areas and I started a small events company 🙂 I was given a call in July last year to join another commercial radio station in PE (Port Elizabeth) and I’ve been the Programming Manager at Algoa FM ever since. So my typical day includes around 5 meetings a day, brainstorming, sitting in my office on my PC, going to events and setting up chats with my radio presenters.
If you could tell the world one thing what would it be?
There is no need to hate each other, we are all here on borrowed time.
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