Town Lodge Sandton

... of major corruption and mismanagement for personal gain seems without doubt. <br><br>There is so much to say about politics and race-related issues, and these are passionate subjects for South Africans. In my travels I will pick up as much as I can, even though it is a bit off-center for me on the whole, but hey, I'm here, I in it now and happy to be so for the time. It is, after all, my roots, too. <br><br>Stay tuned. I'll get you guys some pics soon.<br>

... peoples luggage. I ended up helping this young girl who was my age and this woman who had kids.. (just quietly, never do this without checking the contents of the luggage because you dont wanna get to the other end and find cocaine in the bag...) The chaos of it all is unimaginable. There is a barrier which only people travelling are supposed to pass and you had these "con men" snaking their way past the barrier, and yelling commands to other people at the airport... crazy ...

Awoke for breakfast; landed; found our way to the transit lounge - the First Class area has club chairs and glass-paneled walls, lit from the inside by lights that change colours. It is all very Metro. The kids had aisle and window in Business while Paul and I had two seats together in First. The privacy panel between us would not stay down ... which was annoying. I extended the bed and closed by eyes for a while but never fell ...

... energy that was apparent in parts of Rio when we visited all those months ago, but driving into the township the atmosphere is far from oppressive. We stopped at a 'fast food' joint, an open air butcher-cum-barbecue, where I was the only woman, let alone the only white woman. The people greeted us warmly and offered us grilled liver, which we could hardly refuse and as it turns out were very glad we didn't- delicious! Following our late lunch, we visited the Hector ...

... orphaned by AIDS. These children are more likely to face poverty, poor health, and lack of access to education. Ø Over 50% of 15 year olds are not expected to reach the age of 60. Much has been written about the reluctance of the current president, Thabo Mbeki, to acknowledge that the HIV virus causes AIDS. In turn, the Health Ministry has remained hesitant to provide antiretroviral drugs to infected ...

... settlements" or squatter camps where people live in tin shacks with no electricity. Parts of Kliptown are squatter camps and it is appaling to see the conditions they live in. We visited the Soweto Kliptown Youth centre and one of the people who works there took us on a walking tour of Kliptown. We went down some narrow back alleys and got to see how some people live. There is no plumbing in the area we were in so they have port-a-potties for toilets at ...

... a treat of fresh pineapple, which we cut in the usual way. Michelle explained to us that in Africa all of the pineapple is used. The outer portion, which we usually throw away, is used to make pineapple beer. In the afternoon we visited the Cango Ostrich Farm and learned about the different uses of the bird: the feathers (nowadays used not for ladies hats, but for things like carnival costumes) the meat and the skin, which is very costly ...

Oh My god!! I hadn't realised how much I missed Dundrum Shopping Centre until I found the Johannesburg equivalent yesterday! 6 hours of shopping and cinema bliss. I have new Clothes!! And I'm clean again - Oh Lordie. Yes I am that fickle!! What a shock to the system though - not a shack, dirt track, matatu or pothole in sight and I even saw the golden arches of a McDonalds in the distance. It's good to be back.... Or at least I think it is....

... in Beijing, with people playing a networked war game, thick cigarette smoke and Mandarin-pop wailing out of the stereo! We also had a very nice meal at a nearby Chinese restaurant - we certainly made the most of being in the city eating all the kinds of things you don't find in Vaalwater (including McDs!). On Friday we went to Johannesburg for the day on an organised tour that took us around the centre of Jo'burg (seen from the safety of the minibus!), to Soweto and on ...