This article is written by Nisha, who is one of India’s leading lady backpackers with extensive travel experience

An aerial view of Sydney

When I went to Sydney first, I started doing my research on the place, which I mostly do. I distinctly remember having noticed another city which was almost on the same latitude, lying on the southern hemisphere but separated by many thousand Kilometers.

A view of Cape Town from the Aerial Tram

I had made a mental note that I would visit this other town some time in my life. I shall club it with my visit to Africa. Any guesses? You are right. I am talking about Cape Town.

Being on the same latitude and both being sea ports ensure that the two places have a rather similar weather patterns, except fewer rains in South Africa. Beyond which I thought there would be a lots of differences.

Now it has been a while since I have returned from Sydney, suddenly I had this urge to see if my hypothesis was true about the two places. In my opinion, more often than not, it’s the people who make the difference.

So, let us see what I have found about the two cities, one which I have experienced, and the other soon to.

Both these cities (basically the countries in which these cities are situated) were under the rule of UK at some point in time. In addition Dutch ruled Cape Town for a while. So the biggest difference is the Language, although people of both countries speak English, the vocabulary of the South African counterpart is influenced by Afrikaans (which is again the local language that is influenced by Dutch). I have not seen much influence of the language of indigenous people of Australia in their language, except for the names of places.

Business dress code in both places are conservative, except when I saw the station master in one of the train stations in uniform shorts with a smartly ironed shirt and necktie to go with! Maybe Cape Town also has something similar to offer. Other than that there may not much difference between the two cities, when it comes to business dealings and corporate experience.

There is one thing I have not been able to find is what happens on Fridays in Cape Town. In Sydney work slows down to a halt early and all and sundry hit the local pub or bar for a couple, along with colleagues before making way towards home. Maybe someone can update me on this aspect of the culture. What I did find was that the pace of work is definitely slower in Cape Town.

When it comes to safety and security of travelers I believe Sydney is a notch better. Of course as long as you avoid being at the wrong place in wrong time. My experience, barring a racial abuse incident, was very good in Sydney.
As a response to the question where to stay in Cape Town or Sydney, both of these cities cater to travelers and tourists from every strata of society. Generally cost of living is higher in Sydney. Accommodation options in Sydney and Cape Town both range from low priced lodges to multi star hotels.

Kangaroo Steaks in Sydney

Again both cities serve culinary delights from all over the world. What would be interesting is to taste the local cuisine in Cape Town. Sydney by and large does not have any thing that can be termed Australian food, except Kangaroo meat.  Cape Town definitely wins by a few notches.

Let me see when I can compare them again, this time after my visit to Cape Town.

Nisha

16 July 2011

http://www.lemonicks.com/Travel/2011/07/16/trail-of-two-cities/