I've been in Botswana (Bots) now for a month and I really love it here. Gaborone (locally called Gabs), the capital city of Botswana is modern and continuing to steadily develop. Many of the local facilities, roads and technology, as well as the university I am attending are up-to-date with the western world. Although I am in a third world country, the development, especially in Gabs, would not give that impression to most who visit.
My transition moving to Bots and getting familiar with my new surrounding has been positive. I’ve taken advantage of the many opportunities I’ve gotten, and have been able to make many friends, visit malls, eat at many restaurants, go to braaie (barbeques), visit friend’s homes and experience the nightlife.
There are several malls in Gabs. The largest shopping mall is Game City and is the most impressive as far as development is concerned. Game City has many stores, restaurants and grocery stores within it and looks better than many malls I've been to in the U.S. Although Game City is the largest, I usually go to Main Mall and Riverwalk Mall because they are close to campus and have my favorite restaurants and spots to hang out in the city. Main Mall is located at the center of town and has shops, a craft market, banks and business offices. Riverwalk Mall is the first super-mall in the city and has more than 10 food outlets and serves as a hot spot for many locals. There’s a movie theater here as well as an ice cream parlor, Indian and Ethiopian restaurants, a pizza place called Debonairs (which delivers pizza around the city for free), a coffee shop called Equatorial Coffee Company and several popular restaurants like Primi Piatta (mainly Italian food), Linga Longa (restaurant and bar), Nandos (flame grilled chicken) and Spur Steak Ranches.
I enjoy going to Main Mall with friends to eat at a fast food restaurant named Chickin Lickin’, which has some really good fried chicken wings. At Main Mall there is a bar named The Room, which is quite popular amongst locals. It’s very small, literally a room, but is fun to go to with a group of friends. My favorite place to go to at Main Mall is Café Khwest. This is a very relaxing place where you can get breakfast, lunch and dinner and full bar service. Most locals go to Café Khwest on Thursdays after work to hang out with friends while enjoying a few drinks and the music (usually house or jazz) played by the disc jockey.
During the week, restaurants, bars and lounges are popular hangouts for locals. You can start your week off at either Linga Longa or Bull and Bush Pub for Monday Rib Nights. Linga Longa and Bull and Bush Pub each offer reduced rib prices on Mondays, so those willing to get their fingers dirty and some meat in-between their teeth can enjoy a delicious half or full rack of ribs and a side of French fries. Believe me, you’ll be full beyond belief and feelings like you are dying!
On Wednesdays and Fridays, the Gaborone Yacht Club is a nice spot to hang out at and offers a great view of the Gaborone Dam. The Gaborone Yacht Club is a relaxing place to spend with friends, whether for dinner or drinks and is a popular spot for many of Gabs white middle and upper class.
If you enjoy karaoke, you can go to the Sports Bar on Thursdays and sing your heart away. After attempting a duet to Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” and Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” I decided that karaoke was not for me! But it was fun to feel like a superstar for three and a half or so minutes, sing terribly, miss words and still receive a round of applause at the end of my not so memorable performance.
Clubs are popular on Friday and Saturday. If one is into clubbing, he or she can go to Bull and Bush Pub or Fashion Lounge. Fashion Lounge is quite a distance away from the city and is quite expensive to get to by taxi and the entrance fee is expensive but it is the classiest option for clubbing. Bull and Bush Pub offers more variety, equipped with a dance floor, several bars, pool tables and a restaurant and is more accommodating for those who don’t particularly like to be limited to dancing or watching others dance, like myself. Lizard Lounge is the closest club to campus and is not recommended by most locals because it’s “sketchy” as most high school and college-aged Americans would say. I have to admit that I’ve gone to Lizard Lounge several times and have enjoyed it! It’s best to go with a group of people on a Thursday night which is “Ladies Night” (ladies free entrance all night and free entrance for college students before 10 P.M.).
Block 411 (the student bar on the University of Botswana campus), best known as 411 by students on campus, is a very popular hangout spot for male students. 411 mainly sales local and imported beers and has two pool tables and a television, commonly used to watch soccer. 411 gets crazy after the local students get their monthly allowance. Many people park outside of this bar, open the doors and trunk of their vehicle, bring out a cooler filled with ice and beer, turn up the music in their vehicle and sit out and relax with friends. This activity is most common amongst the locals, especially at braaie.
The word “Braai” is Afrikkans for barbecue or grill, and is a social custom in Bots as well as several other Southern African countries and can take place during any day of the week. I have found myself at several braaie throughout any given week. At most braaie I’ve been to, foods and drinks such as steak, lettuce, potato salad, phaletshe (grinded maize), and corn on the cob, chips, beer and soda are served. Braaie are a lot of fun to attend and are easy to put on, whether at someone’s home or an empty parking lot or plot of land.
There are many other places around the city that I’ve been to that I didn’t mention as well as places I have not been to yet, but I hope that I was able to give a descent overview of things to do around the city.
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