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Published: February 8th 2006
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Typical View Of Soweto
The cooling towers for a power station that turned out to be abit of a white elephant So I arrive at the airport. No accomodation booked. My Mobile phone had almost no charge. I could bearly keep my eyes open. No local currency, AND I didnt havve a luggage trolley so had to carry my back pack every where. GRRRRRR
I managed to get hold of a list of hotels and hostels in Johannesburg, and managed to get hold of a pay as you go sim card which was kindly put into my nearly dead phone. I actually managed to make one call before it died on me. Just enough time to book a place at the Backpackers Ritz of Johannesburg.
The journey to the backpackers was interesting. All the place names were very simillar to places in London, Kew and Richmond for example.
After the bad flight I had just had I was not going to sleep in a dorm. So I ended up in a single room. First day here and I'm already blowing my budget. Ahwell I would have ended up hating the place if I hadn't.
Once I had unpacked and had a quick nap it was time to start exploring...
Hyde Park, as I later found out, is
BMW parked down a muddy road
when I forst saw thisit was bizzar. a rather posh part of Joburg. This is apparent from the fact that there were security guards every where. And I mean every where.
I went to Hyde Park Mall for a quick bite to eat and went back to the hostel to plan my time here.
First up was a tour of Soweto. The drivers name was Neo, which is Zulu for Gift. He drove us there around the city center, pointing out the Debeers building, the Joburg Stock Exchange, and a very menacing police headquarters.
Soweto itself is a bizzar place. You could drive down the road and see millionaire mansions on one side of the street and and tin shacks on the other. We also saw Winnie Mandella's house, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's house aswell as Nelson Madella's house.
While we were here we we also went to the Peter Neilson memorial. Peter Neilson was the first person killed when some police officers opened fire on a group of school children protesting about the implementation of Afrikaans as the compulsory language used in all schools.
The drive back to the hotel was interesting. Football is a big sport out here. Very big. I
Peter Nielson Memorial
The black pillars are for the stories that have been told. The gaps are for the stories of the people that went missing and have never been heard from was shown the old home of the Orlando Pirates. We also had tyo drive back throught some of the city center. The police station was even more menacing from the road next too it. We also found out that the driver had once been held there without trial for 68 days, as they suspected that he was part of the, then banned, ANC.
Back to the backpackers. Dinner and then the National Appartied Museum the next day with some of the other guests.
The Appartied Museum was an eye oppener. Firstly you had to enter through through the appropriate entrance (white or non-white, chosen at random) then you were taken through the history of SA leading upto appartied. Then the actual struggle for freedom itself, followed by the the release of Nelson Madella and what has happened since.
Disturbing that people actually thought that way...
A word of advice for any one who intends to go, is to give at least 4 hours if not 5. The recomended 3 is no where near enough.
Any way it was then back to the hotel and some shopping for essentails.
Whilst I was there I decided
to have a hair cut, as I was getting to the stage that required me to use a comb, and I haven't packed a comb.
Nothing exceptional was asked for just the normal short back and sides. So what did I get? When the guy pointed at my ears I though he meant 'do you want me to remove the hair on your ears?' I noded yes. What did I get? He started threading my eyebrows and face. (for those of you who don't know what threading is, its a technique used to pluck hairs en mass)
Ouch.
Well I guesse I came here to try new things. That was most definately new.
And then it was my final night at the Backpackers Ritz. It was good. We sat around and had a bizzard, funny and serious conversation, which had me screaming like a girl at one point! and then it was time to pack as it was the start of the Safari Field Guide Course the next day and I had to be up at 6 to to get a transfer to the airport.
I had a great time at the Backpackers Ritz but it was on to other things. Little did I know wht I had let my self in for...
Photos too follow (as soon as I can figure out how to get them onto here).
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