Day 1: Johannesburg
Our flight landed at Johannesburg airport at around 7:50 AM. After collecting our bags, our first stop was the MTN store at the airport to buy a SIM card (https://brightside.mtn.co.za/). We also stopped by the info desk where we picked up a couple of maps and a card with a list of phone numbers including emergency services, police and hospitals. We then headed over to the Budget car rental to pick up our Volkswagen Polo sedan which would be our reliable ride throughout our stay in South Africa. We headed out of the airport to our hostel, Curiocity Backpackers.
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| Common area in the dorm |
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| Mural next to the hostel |
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| The doors lead to the dorms or private rooms. We stayed in a 6 bed mixed dorm. There was just one person apart from us in our dorm. |
We could not check in till 4 PM so we just freshened up, dropped off our bags at the hostel and went to get lunch. Down the street from the hostel was Eat Your Heart Out (
http://www.eatyourheartout.co.za/). A Halumi wrap and Falafel plate later, we headed to the Apartheid Museum.
When you pay for the tickets, you receive a randomly generated card indicating whether you have been classified as a "WHITE" or "NON-WHITE" and then you enter the museum via the respective entrance. It takes you through the kind of identification that was required by a person of that race etc. Sushanth and I went through different corridors and met at the end. There is a lot of information at the museum and in our jet lagged state we were able to absorb very little. There is an outdoor terraced garden from the top of which you get a good view of the city. After checking out the view, we went back to the hostel and took a much needed nap.
When we woke up from our nap, we saw that it was pouring outside. Nevertheless, we decided to head out to dinner. This time as well, we just had to walk a short distance down the street to find a restaurant. We decided on Pata Pata because it claimed to serve authentic African food and had live music. There weren't many vegetarian options, however, the soup and curry we ordered were both very flavorful. Sipping on wine, we enjoyed the live Jazz music while watching the crowds and the rain.
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| Pata pata |
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