Thanks to our drunken escapades the previous night we were able to sleep in a little later. We went out to get some coffee, and found a nice cafe in the center of the waterfront. There were security guards posted on the corners, but as usual it didn’t look like they had anything to do but make people feel safer.
After our cappuccinos I thought it might be a good idea to see if I could get some new shoes at the shopping center next door – shoes my size are hard to get in Japan. We poked around but didn’t find any that I liked or that were in my size. I did find a tea mug that matched our set at home at the Le Creuset shop – in South Africa they make a color unavailable anywhere else: black. As we walked around we discovered that the pedestrian bridge over the waterway that we had been using was actually a sort of drawbridge – we needed to wait while it rotated out of the way to let a small ship go past – cool!
We had to wait a while to get our appetite and were hoping for some seafood, but all the restaurants were still serving just breakfast. After a few misses we decided to give up and grab something to eat at the airport instead. We packed up our room and went downstairs to check out of Radisson Red. No gin & tonics at checkout so we rolled our bag out the door and set off to the nearest street to hail an Uber to the airport. As we approached the street a security staff in a golf cart came up from behind us and commented that we looked lost, and asked where we wanted to go. She pointed out an area on the other side of the hotel that would be great for catching a ride, and after she left I realized that perhaps we had been walking in a dangerous direction.
The Uber came quickly, and it was about a 20 minute ride to the airport. On the way we passed more “informal settlements” but it was really an easy trip. The whole time we could see Table Mountain looming above us – hard to believe we got to go to the top of it.
At the airport we checked in to our domestic flight, and then had to wait for an especially long time at the security checkpoint. So many people – it was good that we were arriving early. We ate breakfast at another Mugg & Bean restaurant. Rather than coffee we had two (full) glasses of Sauvignon Blanc – served with a cup of ice cubes on the side. Kuniko had a mushroom pot pie and I had two sliders with fries. The staff who helped us at this place were super-friendly – there were so many nice people that helped us during the trip.
After breakfast we waited at the gate and I had enough time to update this journal. Our flight was on Safair Airlines, which is apparently an LCC. Our seats were in the front row, so we were able to watch the flight attendants go through their routines. The air conditioner was releasing condensation right over Kuniko’s seat – she had some wet pants to deal with and the crew looked embarrassed and handed over tissues. The airline had a unique system where they asked passengers not to stand up after the plane stopped, and instead called row numbers to stand and leave in order. Since we were in the first row it worked out well for us, but hard to imagine this catching on for big international airlines.
At Johannesburg we took a bus to the domestic arrivals area, got the suitcase and then we were back in the airport that we had arrived in a week ago. It always amazes me that just a week ago felt like ages. I guess the more new experiences you pack into a day the longer the adventure feels.
We caught the train, called “GauTrain” from the airport to the downtown area where our hotel was. The system was smooth – we just tapped our credit cards to board – and the platform and trains were quite modern and clean. One surprise was the price – we paid about 2700 yen one way, which would get us a lot farther back in Japan. But I guess that is the price you pay for clean and safe transportation. Looking out the window we passed plenty of traffic jams and dodgy areas so while it was totally worth it for us, I’m not sure it was practical for locals.
We changed trains once at Sandton, and a nice man in that station pointed us to the train to Rosebank, our destination. It was just one stop on that train and we were there. When we arrived on the street level there were three security guards walking around the entrance, and then it was only about 100 steps to our hotel entrance – which also had a security guy out front. Those 100 steps were felt safe, but I did notice a long line of guys sitting on the side of the street watching us (and everyone else) go by. Annelize had put the unemployment rate of the country at between 20-40% (the lower number from the government and the higher number a more realistic estimate).
But the Rosebank area where we were staying was considered one of the better neighborhoods, and our hotel was in a sort of “zone” that was established for safe shopping and dining. It felt like an initiative of the government to create spaces where people could safely spend money and develop the economy on a small scale working upwards.
Within this zone – which we didn’t leave for the 24 hours or so that we spent in Rosebank – we felt perfectly safe and there were a lot of upscale stores and shopping to go with the hotels and accommodation. Our hotel, The Holiday Inn, was nice enough, and despite some trouble with their credit card machine we were allowed to check in to our comfortable room. The view was nice – parks and the parking area for Hop On Hop Off buses.
Rather than go out for dinner we decided to do a picnic in our room. Kuniko wasn’t feeling great and her cold symptoms were continuing. Usually on our summer trips we pick a night to buy stuff at the local grocery store and enjoy them in our room. That way we can try odd items we run across. In this case we had the bottle of wine from Annelize’s winery, and we ran to the local Spar Super for some South African feta cheese, a smoked cheddar block, some roasted vegetables, crackers, yogurts, and a wine opener (that barely worked). We also had some leftover chocolates and ostrich biltong that we had been carrying on our travels, so we were well-stocked.
This was a slow, relaxing evening and we went to bed early to give Kuniko a chance to recover.
