i arrived with 40 bucks and a prayer: southern africa on nothing

## quick answers

q: is this place worth visiting?
a: honestly? yeah, if you don't need wifi and luxury. the mountains hit different when you're broke and cold. it's not pretty in a way your instagram will love, but it's real.

q: is it expensive?
a: cheap if you eat local. expensive if you want western food. i spent about $12 a day and lived. beer is like $1.50. coffee is $2. that's all that matters to me.

q: who would hate it here?
a: anyone who needs ac, reliable wifi, or a beach. also if you're scared of insects. there's a lot of insects.

q: best time to visit?
a: honestly? maybe not right now. it's 17.78 degrees and feels like 17.47 which sounds fine but it's damp cold, you know? i'd aim for their dry season.

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so i landed with those numbers in my head - 876485, 1024514204 - no idea what they meant, honestly. thought maybe they'd be my hostel room codes or something. they weren't. they were just... numbers my phone showed me when i landed. weird how you hold onto random digits when you're broke and far from home.

the weather when i got here: 17.78 degrees celsius, feels like 17.47. humidity at 71%. pressure at 1017. ground level at 881 meters. i didn't know what any of that meant until i stepped outside and got hit with that damp, cool nothing that settles in your bones. not cold enough to snow, not warm enough to be comfortable. just... in between. the kind of weather that makes you want to walk faster but also gives up halfway through.

i'm traveling on maybe $40 a day if i'm being generous with myself. that's including the $1.50 roadside beers a local guy told me about. speaking of locals - someone told me to avoid the main road after 9pm, but honestly i walked it at midnight and felt fine. maybe i'm lucky. maybe it's different for girls. i can't speak to that.

> "the altitude messes with you," a local warned me. "you'll feel fine for an hour, then get winded walking to the shop."

he wasn't wrong. i had to stop twice just to get bread. the air is thinner at 881 meters above ground level and your body just... protests. it's not dramatic, it's just annoying.

*the cheap eats situation

okay here's the deal: if you eat where the locals eat, you'll spend maybe $3-5 for a meal that fills you up. if you go to the tourist places, you're looking at $15-20 easy. i did the math once and felt sick. stick to the little stalls, the ones with smoke coming out, the ones where nobody speaks english.

i found this one place - no sign, just a woman making something that looked like fried dough balls. i pointed, she nodded, i ate. it was 80 cents. it was incredible. that's the whole trip in a nutshell: don't think, just point.

things nobody tells you

- the pressure changes mess with your ears on the bus rides
- humidity at 71% means everything stays damp. everything. your socks. your sleeping bag. your mood.
- sea level is 1017 here but ground level is 881, which basically means you're slightly elevated and slightly miserable and slightly alive all at once

i met a girl who said she came here to "find herself" and i wanted to throw my water bottle at her. but she paid for my beer so i tolerated it. she left after three days. said it wasn't what she expected. what did she expect? it's a place. it exists. it doesn't owe you a transformation.

the good stuff

look, the mountains are there. they're always there. you can see them from most places if the humidity cooperates. i got one clear morning - the sun came up, the clouds parted for maybe 20 minutes, and i saw something that made me sit down on the ground and just... exist. i don't know how to describe it without sounding like that girl i wanted to throw things at.

the light at this altitude is different. 17 degrees celsius, 71% humidity, the sun cuts through weird. everything looks sharper. more real. i don't know if that's the elevation or the fact that i'm exhausted and hungry, but whatever. it works.

practical garbage you need

- layers. just layers. temperature doesn't change much but the dampness makes everything feel colder
- cash. so much cash. cards work in the main areas but good luck in the small towns
- patience. nothing happens fast. i waited 2 hours for a bus once. another time, one came in 10 minutes. no pattern. embrace the chaos.

i heard there's a waterfall about 3 hours from here that nobody talks about. nobody. i haven't been yet. maybe tomorrow. maybe next week. the beauty of being broke and aimless is that you have nothing but time and bad decisions.

the cost breakdown

hostel: $8/night (fan room, shared bathroom, slightly damp sheets)
food: $5-8/day if you're smart
transport: $2-4 between towns
beer: $1.50 (non-negotiable expense)

total: roughly $25-30/day if you don't buy souvenirs or get scammed. i got scammed once. paid $5 for a water bottle. learn from me.

would i come back?

someone asked me this at a bar and i said "probably not" because i wanted to seem tough. but honestly? yeah. there's something here that works. it's not comfortable. it's not pretty in the way places are usually pretty. but it's real, and i'm tired of fake.

the weather will probably be different when i leave. maybe warmer. maybe it rained the whole time i was here and i just got lucky. doesn't matter. i was here. i was cold and damp and hungry and alive.

that's the insight, i guess. you don't need comfort to feel something. you just need to show up.

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links for the nerds:*

- https://www.tripadvisor.com (check reviews but take them with a grain of salt)
- https://www.reddit.com (actual locals post there sometimes, ignore the tourists)
- https://www.yelp.com (not always updated but useful for food)
- https://www.lonelyplanet.com (overpriced recommendations but decent maps)
- https://www.skyscanner.com (for getting out when you're done)
- https://www.couchsurfing.com (if you're really broke and brave)

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