The beginning

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Prior to leaving for my travels, the dominant feeling was one of apprehension and nerves. These feelings can be attributed to the prospect of me venturing well and truly outwith my comfort zone, but they were mostly from the prospect of flying! So after several paranoid and crazy thoughts going through my head (such as 'there only seems to be middle-aged businessmen on this flght. If god is gonna crash a plane, this one will def be a top candidate'), I survived the 11 hour flight from Heathrow to Jo'burg. I got hee-haw sleep on the plane due to my nerves, so on arrival I was absolutely shattered. After getting a lift from a member of staff from the hostel I am staying at, I arrived at the hostel which is located in a Northern suburb of the city. After getting my key from the overly cheery guy on reception, I bounded towards the direction of my room, buoyed by the prospect of getting some much needed sleep. On entering my room I duly crashed on my bed and was asleep in an instant.

I awoke mid afternoon and began to get myslef organised as I was meeting my sister-in-laws best friend, Rudo (a local of Jo'burg), for dinner. We ended up going to an excellent African restaurant which is situated in a nearby mall. The meal was excellent, it has been a while since I devoured so much meat. I think I ate about 4 different animals! The best thing about the evening was the company though, Rudo was absolutely lovely - a genuinely nice person. The conversation flowed, despite us only knowing each other for a matter of hours, and despite my protestations she insisted on paying for our meal, saying that it was part of South African hospitality.

On my return to the hostel, I ventured down to the bar where I got chatting to a few of the staff members who were sinking a few pints after work. In the process of the night, I ended up only paying for one drink, with the manager insisting he bought me my next three double rums, plus a shot of vermented chillis! (not looking forward to later today when I have to pay a visit to lavatory!). I went back to my room late that night, feleling rather merry, thinking to myself, ' I have not even been here one night and I am already pissed - definetly liking SA hospitality thus far!

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