My xmas gift – an armed attack by lady muggers

Cape Town doesn’t apologise for muggings in one of the world’s most attractive metropolises, it seems, but the tourist chief has told me that she was sad to read of the attack on me.

As Tamryn Christians reported in the Cape Argus and I revealed on Facebook and Blogger, I was attacked by two women muggers in central Cape Town on Christmas Day lunchtime.
Sonya Bell, Tourism Services Supervisor, said, 'We are sad to hear about your unfortunate incident and we hope you are recovering well.
‘Cities that are popular destinations across the world unfortunately do have incidents of crime that impact visitors and locals.

Important safety tips

‘Cape Town Tourism works with a number of agencies and organisations as part of the city’s safety forum to create a safer environment for visitors, particularly during the busy season,’ she wrote in an email to me.

Two really vital points in the advice are these: ‘You may also encounter aggressive begging in the CBD.’ CBD refers to the business heart of the city, which you might expect to be – where I always thought it would be – the safest. 

Hide your mobile phone

The tourist advice about mobile phones should be noted in this phone-mad age. ‘Don’t use your cellphone while walking, and keep it—and your wallet—safely tucked away.’ Normally my mobile would have been out of sight, only I received a call moments before the muggers attacked.
Continues on the blogs for my sailing adventure story, Sailing to Purgatory, at SailingToPurgatory.com