You might be staying at a sketchy backpackers place if ...

We love it here. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I'm not the only one who thinks so; the New York Times has got my back on this one. But our first night here wasn't the typical grand first impression we were imagining. For our first night, we checked in at backpackers lodge where we were planning to stay for a few weeks until we found a house. We like to think we're low maintenance (those who know us well may or may not agree...), but this specific backpackers place really tested my threshold. There were a few signs we noticed from the get-go that signaled that the place might not be for us.

 

1. It was a little far from everything (except an old insane asylum across the street). As we soon learned, to be far away from everything in Cape Town is rather out of the norm. Wherever you are, you're most likely within walking distance from a grocery store, a bank, or a small market of some sort. Not at the backpackers.

Just your regular old beekeeping farm outside of our window.

2. Our host Rotarian (more on that later) was worried about leaving us there for the night. Our lovely host picked us up from the airport, let us swim in his pool, took us on a mini-sightseeing tour, and took us grocery shopping within two hours from arriving in the country. As it got closer to nighttime, he dropped us off at our temporary accommodation. He walked us to our room (along with the night clerk at the backpackers) and helped us drop off our belongings. Before our host left our room, he signaled for us to follow him outside to a place where the clerk couldn't hear us. "Are you sure you're okay here?" he whispered. "The people working and staying here seem a bit...dodgy."  Ryan and I just laughed and promised him we would be okay. Really, we were thinking DON'T LEAVE US HERE! WHAT ARE THE EMERGENCY NUMBERS? and IF YOU DON'T HEAR FROM US BY TOMORROW MORNING, COME LOOKING.

3. There was a "semi-permanent resident" price per night. In other words, we quickly found out that the backpackers lodge doubled as a homeless shelter. I cannot advocate more for the importance of places that help people in need; shelters are a great resource for people who need it. It's just that we weren't exactly ready to be staying there for our first night away from home and on a new continent.

Don't be fooled by the great blanket; there are dirty sheets under there.

Despite the three points above, the dirty sheets, the 4-o'clock in the morning rooster cackle, and the biting bugs, we still spent a few nights there while house hunting. And of course, when we called our parents upon arrival, we told them we loved our accommodation. Ultimately, we only cut our reservation short by a few nights. After all, it was the cheapest place we could find in Cape Town. So, if you look at it on the bright side, we definitely got our money's worth.