Kuala Lumpur - Jeddah - Johannesburg
Departure 2013-Dec-21 - 15.00 Arrival 2013-Dec-22 - 11.15
After a two day stop-over in Raizzy's Guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia I am ready to "fly over" to Johannesburg/South Africa. I am visiting my sister's family for Christmas and my parents from Germany will be there as well. Besides the fact that it is December 21 and I am not at all in a christmasy mood, I can't wait to get there!
My flight to South Africa with Saudi Arabian Airlines is super cheap, but it is not a surprise: they fly via Jeddah to Johannesburg and the stopover there is approximately 8h, or: from Saturday 9PM to Sunday 5AM ... !
Yes, the trip is draining, but my first experience with an arabian airline is gooood: the Boeing 777 has great leather seats, I get pampered by the flight-attendants and scallops for dinner! I hope I can fly with them again soon ...
Arriving in Johannesburg I really am surprised: streets are empty, like there is neither cars nor pedestrians on the street. Plus, I can't see any houses! They are all hidden away behind walls and fences with electric wires, protected by security guards. I heard Joburg is pretty dangerous, but can it really be that bad?! I am sure it will take me a while to get used to these circumstances. Especially, as living in Shanghai in the past three years has been a walk in the park - I have never felt as safe anywhere else!
Here, I suddenly need to follow safety precautions. I can't remember how it is to always be allert, not be able to ride a bike anywhere I like, hold on to my bag should I be walking somewhere (which is not very likely to happen anyways...), watch out for who is walking behind me and better not open a window in the car in certain areas. Maybe I just stay inside for the next few weeks ...?! Cannot!
Johannesburg is a city of around 4.5 Million people and apparently it only feels empty at the moment, as literary everyone leaves this place for Christmas/New Years. The city is South Africa's business center, logically there is a lot of rich people, big houses and expensive cars here; on the contrary many very, very poor people are bagging for money, food or jobs on almost every corner. Even though I have seen many poor people whiles traveling Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar, here, the contrast between rich and poor strikes me.
I want to understand why people lock themselves away, why there is so many armed securities and neighbourhood-watches and I decide to go where the poorest people live: in a township. The two oldest ones in Johannesburg are Soweto and Alexandra, the latter one situated close to Sandton, Johannesburg's business district. Guidebooks recommend not to go there by yourself and I am not a fool, so I look for a tour. Instead of doing the usual one in a bus or car, I decide to go for a bycicle tour. Alexandra on Wheels is organised by Jeff, a 21-year-old local, who was brought up in Alexandra and really knows his way around. He started his business in 2010 with the idea to show visitors that life somehow is ordinary here, even though it is a township.
We are only three people on the tour and we are biking around Alexandra for a few hours; Streets are busy and filled with people, cars and bikes. On our cruise we visit some heritage sites (like Nelson Mandela's old house), a school and church, have a township-lunch. We meet people on the street and many kids yell "Shoot, Shoot" when they see me with my camera. The day is impressive yet tiring - what strikes me most is people here are not rich and live under extreme conditions, but they do have a smile on their face. Most of them don't even seem to be surprised by a group of tourists cruising the streets of Alexandra on bikes, they rather seem to acknowledge it. One of them being asked how he is doing, replies "Oh... busy, always busy man! I just know, once I sit down hunger is going to come!" Somehow this sentence keeps popping up in my head, it reminds me how lucky I am!
Besides the well known Kruger National Park, South Africa holds plenty of smaller game reserves, one of them Pilanesberg. It is a 55 000 hectare (gated) reserve with plenty of wild animals, including the famous "Big Five" - elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard and buffalo. With only two hours away from Johannesburg it is the perfect day trip destination.
Driving around in the park is fun and exciting. So many zebras and buffaloes as well as antelopes, giraffes, hippos,wart hogs and monkeys. I don't get to see all the big five - but five really big rhinos! These creatures are massive and at first sight I mistake their bums for elephants! They hang out right next to the road and we can watch them, while they watch us.
Even though the air con is running on full power the heat and sun are dreadful. In the early afternoon we decide to leave the park, heading back to Johannesberg. Just a few hours of peering for wild beasts and driving around in the sun is so tiresome that I crash on the backseat of the car, side by side with my three-year-old nephew. Lovely day!
My stay in Johannesburg turns out to be longer than I had planned it originally. The means of transportation to travel through the Southern countries of Africa needs to be sourced properly and takes up a lot of time. My feet are itchy and I want to keep on traveling. Yet, I have to admit that seeing my sister and her family for almost four weeks is great!
Besides looking for cars, proper camping equipment, malaria medication and all sorts of other important things, I get to see many parts of Jozi (Johannsburg). One of them is it's vast mall culture (… they do love their malls here, hell knows why!), but on a second glance I find some other more exciting, smaller streets and districts:
Melville is the arty / gay district, with lots of restaurants and bars located around 7th street. Lunch in La Luna is tasty and the street gets pretty crowded at night. Parkhurst is only a short drive away and with its cafés, restaurants and little shops on 4th street it is a great location for spending an afternoon or evening. 44 on Stanley is another gallery district with pleasant cafés and shops to spend a Sunday afternoon.
In contrast to these hip areas, I also visit the fashion district in CBD - Johannesburg's former business district, now an aera with a hugh crime problem. However, they are trying to revive the area and there is a few blocks around the sewing center on 109 Pitchard Street that are dedicated to garment-making, fashion and fabrics. Fun!
Besides malls, Jozi-people also like street markets! Great … one of them is the Bryanston organic market. You can stroll around there on Thursdays and Saturdays, grab a coffee and a bite to eat, intermingle with the local crowd and shop for some handicrafts. Easy start in the day ...
Turns out, Johannseburg is an okay city to live in, but not being able to ride a bike anywhere I like just rules it out for me!
continue with ... LESOTHO