Namibian Expedition

Day 1
This will be the first time I post in pictures, but it will actually be a good thing to do. Just be pictures, here is my 10 personal observation about Namibia.

1. Most of the streets, roads and places of significant buildings are named after their struggle heroes just like most African Countries. But if you don't know it wouldn't make sense. Once I knew I could relate to all the names I see around. Names such as Okahandjie, Rehoboth (mixed race leader) etc.
2. Two main Drives that will get you almost anywhere you want be in Namibia is Sam Nujoma Drive (I pronounced Nujoma with a J like Mzansi but not, it is pronounced with a Y, in case you ever get to Windhoek) and Robert Mugabe Avenue….and of course how can there be no Nelson Mandela Drive, but it is not connected as the two main ones.
3. All the Highways/Freeways are called B, meaning Bypass and that's where all the Traffic Officers like to forage. The B1, 2, 3 leads from one town to another.
4. I purposefully didn't call my host when I was going to pick up the car, just to see how easy it is to get around. Yes, it is quite easy. The taxis are written in Big letters some are KK, AA etc. I don't know what they mean. But you just give them your address and they take you there. They look like metre taxis but are not, this are your Toyota corolla, Cressida etc.
5. One of the first things, withdraw your Namibian dollars so that you can fit in nicely and easily. It helps. The Standard Bank ATM could recognise that I am from Mzansi, so it displayed the money in rands but withdrew dollars as opposed to displaying it in dollars. That was quite good. The conversion is easy. Namibia South Africa...slight minor difference, not significant.
6. Get a local sim…only 7 dollars…buy MTC, it is widely used. The alternative is Leo ex OneCell which is like 8ta in Mzansi owned by the government with affordable rates. But most people use Make The Connection (MTC). You can also roam if you so wish. My advice is, enable roam for few hours until you get organised and then switch to local MTC. So you can use GPS, google on your phone etc.
7. The population is quite small, so it's a lot of things. If you come with an SA mentality, disappointment. Just be open and welcoming in your approach otherwise I feel sorry for you. The market is not big, the industrial area is also not that big. Yes, they do in some places still close at lunch. One Cinema…I think still under renovations…not a lot of Big names artists and DJ's etc. But still looks better than …Botswana.
8. The overall population is friendly, amicable and amiable with exception of few white bastards still displaying some racist tendencies, cultivating black on black racism.
9. No wonder our Intelligence are a bit ahead over Namibian one, I was allowed into the Parliament without a guide and I could also take photos. The police even asked whether I went deeper into some rooms. The parliament does not carry the same respect as the so called State House where the President resides (just the mention of the state house brings emotions of fear upon those who utter the words). The Parliament rather look threadbare. I passed through offices of Ministers and Governors of Regions. Talking about regions, Namibia has 13 Regions each managed by a Governor.
10. SWAPO is Like ANC, Namibian was colonised and ruled by Germans and later South Africa called South West Africa…later called South West Region. Ovambo is the largest group of population in Namibia also referred to as (endonyms Aawambo [Ndonga], Ovawambo [Kwanyama]) they speak different languages and dialects speak Oshiwambo, which includes the Oshikwanyama, Oshingandjera, Oshimbadja, Oshindonga and other dialects.

The photos will follow on the next blog post. I got carried away. It was just going to be little snippets but passion for Africa.