My 100th post: Lesotho & South Africa Series Part 1: Lesotho

The topic of the 100th post as voted by my subscribers is: Africa!

I will be maintaining the title of this post, however, this post is actually my 95th post now due to some minor changes in my blog.

I've done quite a few posts about Africa's mainland, so I thought I'd do up a post about Lesotho, a forgotten nation that is ruled by monarchy.

Lesotho is one of the few kingdoms in Africa, the others being Eswatini and Morocco.

Flag of Lesotho; the blue represents the sky and rain, the white represents peace and the green represents prosperity. The black object in the centre of the flag is a hat worn by the Basotho people, the major ethnic group in Lesotho, which has existed as a nation since 1822.

Prior to that, the land was made up of tribal communities who were not binded by a common order.

This common order, however, was established by Moshoeshoe I, who united the Basotho people under a monarchy. However, the Basotho lost land to the Boers, the descendants of Dutch people who settled in modern - day South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Botswana.

Although the Basotho people had some form of autonomy, they were still subjects of the Cape Colony. In 1884, this changed. Resistance from the Basotho people resulted in the creation of Basutoland, a British colony that would be separate from the Cape Colony, which would join the Union of South Africa in 1910. The territory of the Union of South Africa would form two present-day nations, the Republics of South Africa and Namibia. On the other hand, Basutoland's monarch would be that of Great Britain, while the Paramount Chief of the Basotho would have ceremonial power. A total of six Basotho Paramount chiefs descended from Moshoeshoe I, the first Paramount Chief of the Basotho, ruled Basutoland, until 1966, when Basutoland became an independent nation called Lesotho. However, Lesotho did not become a commonwealth realm upon gaining its independence. Instead, the Paramount Chieftancy of the Basotho became the monarchy of Lesotho. The last Paramount Chief of the Basotho was supposed to become the king of Lesotho upon Lesotho's independence, but due to political reasons, his son, Letsie III, became the king of Lesotho instead. Letsie III is still the king of Lesotho. His duties are mostly ceremonial, but it is the Paramount Chieftancy of the Basotho that allowed Lesotho to be independent in the first place as it was the Basotho Paramount Chieftancy that united the Basotho people under one banner.

Letsie III is the current head of state and constitutional monarch of Lesotho. The monthly allowance of Letsie III is about 150 SGD higher than the average monthly salary of a Singaporean. ( I'm using Singaporeans' average salary as a benchmark because I'm a Singaporean myself. )

Most political power is in the hands of the prime minister. Lesotho has had six prime ministers so far.

However, as Lesotho is surrounded completely by South Africa, so it comes as no surprise that Lesotho depends heavily on South Africa for its economy. Lesotho depends on South Africa for most of its economic affairs as shipped goods have to arrive in South Africa before reaching Lesotho. To maintain good relations with South Africa, the Lesothan government aligns it foreign policy with that of South Africa.

Get Your Terms Right!

Basotho / Sotho- Major ethnic group in Lesotho

Sotho / Sesotho- Language of the Basotho people, Major language in Lesotho and Free State, a province of South Africa.

Mosotho- singular of Basotho

The word Lesothan is used mainly for political purposes, whereas the words Basotho, Sotho, Masotho and Sesotho are used for cultural purposes. Only 0.3% of Lesotho's population is made up of non-Basothos.

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Most Basothos and Lesothans are Christians, with a minority practising African folk religions.

The capital of Lesotho is Maseru.

How far would 5000 Singapore Dollars bring me on a holiday to Lesotho?

The cost of flights would cost 3616 Singapore Dollars ( SGD ), accurate at time of writing.

As an adult, I would choose to stay at Lesotho's only luxury hotel, for safety and luxury reasons.

I would choose to stay in a riverside hut there for a week to experience Lesotho's culture.

I would be left with 859 SGD to spend in Lesotho.

I would spend another 5 SGD to enter a museum in Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village, Lesotho's most popular tourist destination. As its name suggests, Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village aims to provide unique Lesotho cultural experience.

This would leave me with 854 SGD.

However, to get to Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village, I would hire a driver and pay him 350 SGD to get me to Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village from Maliba Lodge, Lesotho's only luxury hotel. The journey back to Maliba Lodge would be covered for by the 350 SGD.

The remaining hand cash I would have left would be 504 SGD.

I would pay 438 SGD for a luxury eating package that would cover me for 7 days.

I would then have 66 SGD left.

I would use 37 SGD to buy a traditional Basotho hat as a souvenir.

I would use 24 SGD to buy a Lesotho-themed T-shirt.

I would keep the remaining 13 SGD as emergency money, since 13 is an unlucky number.

And that is a 5000 SGD Budget Holiday to Lesotho!

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Symbols of an independent Lesotho

First flag of an independent Lesotho, used from 1966 to 1987

Second flag of an independent Lesotho, used from 1987 to 2006

Coat of arms of Lesotho from 1966 to 2006

Current coat of arms of Lesotho

Symbols of Basutoland

Flag of Basutoland

Coat of arms of Basutoland

Coat of arms of Free State, a South African province home to majority of South Africa's Sotho- speaking / Basotho population and a province inhabited by mainly Sotho-speaking people a.k.a Basotho