the actual "bar" aspect of tiger's is more a liquor store than anything else. little attention has been given to the decor and other than alcohol there are no other amenities other than some plastic chairs, one sofa and a tv. there are no mixed drinks or cocktails sold, rather one can buy a bottle of hard alcohol and a bottle of soda to go with it. there are several young women working behind the counter, of course guarded by a wire grate that only allows the simple exchange of money for booze through a slot. one can also buy potato chips. beer cost 7 rand (less than one dollar) no matter the brand and i don't know how much the hard stuff costs but it's super cheap and comes in bottle as big as fifths. most nights a patron takes the initiative to park close to the 'bar' and play music from his car. everybody was drunk and loud. mostly men and according to our guide/firend Vuyoo, tiger's is the place for the Langa elite--professionals and people that roll with that crowd.
during the earlier part of the evening the attached butcher shop sells meat and there is a communal brai place and people, even some families, brai and drink and have a great time. at night though it is mostly men and much more rambunctious. brais (barbecues basically) is the one national past time in this country that everyone, white, black, etc. enjoy equally.
At tiger's people immediately strike up conversation. possibly as result of the immense amount of booze but also the friendly and exuberant atmosphere of the weekend here in the township. going out in town (cape town city) people are always surprised to hear that me a white kid, is staying in Langa, usually they laugh and give me a hard time, a couple times they think i am lying and seem upset that i would joke about that. people at tiger's were excited to share their local tavern with us, people repeatedly told me that more people should come see the township and experience what it has to offer. i was also warned by one nice gentlemen wearing a straw fedora, pin-striped slacks and and what looked like white alligator leather shoes, that it was good to see me in Langa, but that i should not go to any of the other townships. I have experienced quite a bit of competition and pride in Langa. I think especially because Langa is relatively safe and as the nice man warned, if i went to Gugulethu or kahyelitche i would get stabbed, then robbed.
interesting side note... kahyelitche is mostly an informal settlement (very different than a township, although many townships have informal parts) about 30 km outside of the city center (way past langa) and because it is informal (i.e. lots of shacks and no designated streets) nobody really knows how many people live there. some estimates are around 1 million people!!! it is one of the most famous, largest, dangerous places in South Africa. it gets a lot of attention for being dangerous but supposedly really isn't that bad, just over crowded and poor. a lot of the xenoph
obic attacks last spring and this summer occurred there.
I have also ben to a couple other establishment including a couple of informal drinking places or shabeens. for instance, one of these locales was pretty much a friend of one of my brothers selling beer from his fridge in his living room.
By comparing two outings --Friday night in the township at Tiger's and then Saturday in Clifton and Camps Bay--I feel like i've seen such contrast that most people in both communities rarely see. perhaps that is not entirely true...township residents are often confronted with glamour and wealth of their white neighbors and beautiful beaches where they live, but the europeans and white SAs almost never go to the townships.
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