South African Adventure

I want to tell you a story, due to semesterisation of my college year, I saw a perfect opportunity to take a wee bit of a trip abroad as they say, the destination South Africa…my holiday took in many parts of SA but the most unbelievable one that stands out is a nite in Cape Town in the southern tip of SA.

On the 12^th January 2006, my friends and I went to a restaurant called the Green Dolphin, had linefish a few beers and a bottle of wine. After dinner the group of us headed to a bar called Cantilla Tequila right on the waterfront for a few more drinks. Started dancing to some great tunes and soon this chic starts dancing with me, nice looking body with hair combed off to the side. We started getting closer then she invites me to sit down with her friends, her name was Tazneema and she had another friend with her wearing a head scarf.

Before we left this pub her other Dutch acquaintance told me to be careful, I thought nothing of it. The group of my mates and the 2 of them went to a Scottish bar, tazneema brought me off to the side and we talked bout different things. Towards the end of the night we went to the exit of the waterfront to look for taxis, my 3 friends got into one taxi and said id get another one but ended up sharing one with the 2 “ladies”.

I asked where they lived they said only ten min away, but I said id drop them off so they would get home safe (Irish naivety) then head back to my own apartment cause I wasn’t feeling well. After 5 min driving we stopped and changed taxi, I asked why and they said that that taxi didn’t go out the direction they lived, warning bells were ringing but I was drunk and easily led. So paid 50 rand and got into another taxi, I noticed we were heading towards cape town airport, I freaked as the alcohol began to subside from my system. They were talking Afrikaans to the taxi driver so I could not understand the jist of the conversation. I shouted STOP!! And he did, I said how much further and where so we started driving again and turned left into a place called boethanfontein, a very dodgy looking place I must say. At this stage I realised what the fuk am I doing here. And took my money out of my wallet as well as my credit card and put it inside my sock but she noticed and started grabbing for the money. She asked me to get out of the taxi but I told the driver that if he drove me back to cape town pronto id pay him double. The driver took off at speed the door of the taxi banging open and closed like in those classic chase films. The two girls at this stage know where my money was and were each reaching for my socks, the driver drove to a police station but it was unmanned then he drove to another but I had had enough at that stage and jus before he sped up I opened the door and bailed out rolling onto the hard motorway asphalt, as soon as I got up I ran in a dazed crazy rabbit way down the hard shoulder of the A1 and thank god saw a police car coming towards me I waved and shouted to get their attention and they pulled in beside me.

The taxi was pulled up 100 yards away with the driver and 2 girls hassling each other, I explained my situation in between puffs of much needed breath to the smiling cops. We all walked back up to the taxi and the cops asked the girls questions they got stroppy an were put in the back of the paddy wagon, the taxi driver explained his side and said he would take me back to cape town with no extra charge I relented as I had no other way back, he bought me a cup of tea and said that he had 600 rand in his pocket and that the girls could have robbed him too if they had had a knife or gun. We sat and talked about the crime problem in the area and in SA for a while then I returned to my apartment dazed but still alive.

This story is a reminder to those travelling anywhere in the world to be aware and switched onto entrapment situations. It is not a condemnation of South Africa just an experience I encountered and wanted to share as advice in the future. Safe trip.