Do you guys remember when a traffic official tried to get bribe out of me? I do. And I also wrote all about it here. To make a long story short, I got tired of being asked for bribes, bought a dashcam, and then was asked for another bribe. That kind of thing is, unfortunately, quite normal in South Africa. Since then, a kind lawyer and his firm have taken the case and have been continually escalating a formal complaint, […]
Crime
Another Day, Another Bribe Solicitation…
If you’ve lived in South Africa for any length of time, you’ll know that the South African Traffic Police have a less than stellar reputation. It’s not that they’re ALL corrupt, it’s just that the many thousand dishonest ones give the two or three honest officers a bad name. I’ve written about them before, but I’ve also had a couple of run ins I didn’t bother to write about. The corruption here would fill a blog all by itself, and […]
Car Rental Fun in South Africa
*Edit- I originally didn’t name Thrifty Car Hire when I posted this because I thought it was a once off bad experience. But I had another terrible experience with them (which I’ll be writing about shortly), so screw it. Turns out they have an ongoing pattern of hilariously bad service. It was Thrifty. Whatever other bad decisions you make in your life, don’t use Thrifty Car Hire in South Africa. You’re welcome for saving you a boatload of heartache. Have […]
Hillbrow Isn’t For Sissies (Except For Me And All The Other Chickens Out There)
South Africa isn’t known for being, well, tame. All kinds of insanity (most of it entertaining, some of it simply terrifying) crashes into coddled North Americans like me on a daily basis. But even after two and a half years here, I’ve never felt like I’m in real danger. This is mostly because I take precautions like not counting the stacks and stacks of money I make from this blog out in public, not wearing my meat suit as I […]
Fun With Credit Card Fraud and South African Banks
Credit card fraud is always a pain in the backside. But credit card fraud in SOUTH AFRICA really turns things up a few notches. Let me give you a bit of a spoiler alert: if it happens to you, you’re pretty much the female lion. Prologue- 4:15am It finally happened. While I’ve done my best to combat the bad reputation South Africa has when it comes to crime, I’m sorry to say I was hit recently. I should point out, however, […]
Safety and Crime in South Africa
Some people read my blog simply to be entertained. This post probably isn’t for you. However, I’ve had a lot of soon-to-be expats contact me, and one of the top things they want to know about is safety and crime in South Africa. If you’re wondering if you’ll still be alive a few months after moving to South Africa, this post is for YOU. When you ask people their initial thoughts about South Africa, they’ll probably mention apartheid, crime, and […]
Update: 66.6% of South African Traffic Police are Corrupt
A few months ago, I made the bold claim that 100% of the traffic police here are corrupt. Based on my personal experiences at the time, that was the honest truth. To be fair though, I thought I should post an update, lest you get the impression honesty is hard to come by in South Africa. I’m pleased to report that while I was stopped two more times since then, I only encountered one more corrupt police officer, bringing my average to […]