Arrived South Africa in the morning, after a 15 hour flight, at the OR Tambo Airport. Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were the founding members or the ANC Youth League in 1943. Later Tambo was President of the African National Congress (ANC), while Mandela was imprisoned. Now the main airport serving Johannesburg is named after him.
In the white shuttle van (they are ubiquitous) to the hotel, I was struck immediately by two things. One, traffic drove on the left (former British colony) and two, there are high walls with razor wire or electrified fence surrounding almost every building. I think this is as much a cultural vestige of the armed state that was apartheid and the colonial occupation that preceded it than a current requirement of security. However, given we don't really know the city to know where is safe, we were cautioned not to take any long walks, especially at night. The downtown hotel had a sliding gate across the entry driveway. Uber or taxis are safe but never the twain should meet given the taxi drivers are a bit upset with the loss of revenue from the disruptive online service.
We dined on tapas and locally brewed beer at Mad Giant Urbanologi, across from the Living Artist Emporium. Very nice.
#CSCZA19 #IBMCSA
In the white shuttle van (they are ubiquitous) to the hotel, I was struck immediately by two things. One, traffic drove on the left (former British colony) and two, there are high walls with razor wire or electrified fence surrounding almost every building. I think this is as much a cultural vestige of the armed state that was apartheid and the colonial occupation that preceded it than a current requirement of security. However, given we don't really know the city to know where is safe, we were cautioned not to take any long walks, especially at night. The downtown hotel had a sliding gate across the entry driveway. Uber or taxis are safe but never the twain should meet given the taxi drivers are a bit upset with the loss of revenue from the disruptive online service.
We dined on tapas and locally brewed beer at Mad Giant Urbanologi, across from the Living Artist Emporium. Very nice.
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