You know you have arrived in the Eastern Cape when...

So a few friends and I road-tripped home for the short September holidays last week. We cruised home in an old Ford Tracer, year unknown but definitely older than 15 years. Tim, the owner of the car, needed to bring his surfboard home, so it was tied to the roof of the car. After travelling about 10km out of Stellenbosch, we realised that the wind was not agreeing with the board, as there was this high-pitched sound coming from the car. With three engineers in the car, a plan was made to stuff an orange under the ropes and 'absorb the friction' or something...So we missioned the 1100km over the decent Western Cape without a problem. It was only when we drove in through the 'real Eastern Cape' that we noticed the difference. The roads were dotted with potholes, the lines were faded and things were generally wild. Driving through Grahamstown was another story, and as we drove out, it became apparent of the 'ruralness' of out surroundings. Cows were happily munching grass in people's backyards, litter decorated the fences and men walked around with heavy things balanced on their heads. I knew I was home ;) For now that is the only difference I would like to note between the EC and the WC, although after living in Stellenbosch for fours years and frequently heading back to my little old town of East London, I am sure that there are many more.