We have only been in Durban for a few hours. We arrived at 2:30 on Saturday, left early Sunday and just returned at about 5:00 this evening. We aren’t off to a particularly good start. To begin with, we were clearly told that the area was safe to walk around during the day, but not at night. At night we would walk around in large groups or request that a security guard accompany us. To reinforce this “warm” feeling, we were instructed to put all of our valuables in a security box on the first floor. In addition, we were told to always drop our key at the reception desk. The keys are “regular” keys, not the electronic ones and they have the room number as well as the hotel name on it. They want the keys left on site in case our belongs are stolen when we are out on the street. Comforting, wouldn’t you say?
In light of this information, some of my classmates went and bought locks to lock their luggage in their room. Well, today we returned and two of the girls had the lock off their luggage broken off and their luggage was gone through. I didn’t do this because I feel to lock it up is to tell the world that I think that I have something they want. I just leave my suitcases wide open on the extra bed! The girls are thinking is that they were looking for passports which are a very valuable possession apparently as nothing else was missing and some valuables where clearly found, but left. Fortunately, we were well advised to lock our passports in the security box for safe keeping. Nothing was lost, except that the comfort level was further diminished.
Apparently, the issue is that the housekeeping staff are not employees of the hotel. Therefore, they are only provided keys to the rooms that need cleaning. Therefore, it has been decided that we will all go without housekeeping services unless we are in the room. It does appear that things are safe here, except for your belongings. It is our understanding that people don’t get hurt, they just get robbed! (That makes you feel better, right Mom?) I’ve told my classmates that I feel quite secure as my clothes aren’t anything anybody would want and I keep all my gadgets locked up. Besides, this is a great excuse to skip going out at night, which I prefer not to do anyway. After about 8-12 hours with everybody, I am ready for some alone time!
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