I slept very well last night and woke up at around 9 am. No food available and I did not feel like going out, so I had a bottle of water instead. The maid knocked at the door at around 10 am and came in to do her thing. I took advantage of her dropping in to ask about getting breakfast tomorrow morning (all part of the condo service and not too expensive for room service) and also asked about getting an electrical plug converter (the one I have in my kit is outdated). After checking with the manager, she advised that they could not provide the electrical plug convertor but I could purchase one downtown. So at 11 am I headed out for a walk downtown. I’m finally wearing the skirts I sewed before leaving; quite suitable for Johannesburg. I took a different route than yesterday and followed Grayston Drive which curves around the downtown area. Just as I was about to turn left on West to go downtown, I spotted a shopping mall on the other side of the street and decided to check it out first. Excellent decision, the first shop I spotted was a bakery which also served meals. COFFEE ! I opted for a quiche since I had not eaten breakfast, but was definitely going to buy some baked goods before heading back to the condo.
After finishing my meal I roamed through the mall and located a number of interesting shops. One was a dress shop with a beautiful one in the window. Now I don’t need any more clothing, I have enough for this trip, but I could not resist this dress; it was calling to me ! So I went in to try it on and see how much it cost. It fit like a glove; when I asked for the price I thought it was a bit too much. The other rack of similar dresses was advertised at 50% off. I asked if the price included the 50% discount and was told that no, this dress was not the same. I told the sales clerk that unfortunately, I would not be purchasing the dress, even though it fit beautifully. She was actually putting it away when the other sales clerk started talking to her in some other language (not Afrikaans, but a native language). {The internet says that there are 11 official languages in South Africa: Afrikaans, English and 9 native languages} I guess the other clerk convinced her to give me the 50% discount because that’s exactly what she offered ! Love it!
As I walked down the mall looking for a shop that would be selling the electrical plug converter, I spotted a travel shop ! ! ! YES, they should have converters for foreign travel, but would they have some for foreigners who needed to use South African outlets. Yes again ! I’ve got the converter and can now recharge all the batteries.
There were a few grocery shops in the mall as well, so I decided to go in and check things out. I ended up purchasing some juice, wine, cheese and deli meats to go with the baked goods I would purchase on my way out. I’m set for a few days anyway.
I continued walking towards downtown, since it was now on my way back to the condo. Sandton is a business district: BIG business complexes, did not see one store. It may be that I would have needed to walk further west than I did, but I was now carrying groceries along with the rest of my bags, so I decided to forego any more shopping and head back to the hotel.
Business Sector of Sandton
Shopping area near the condoI stopped again at the Radisson to book my tour for tomorrow morning: Johannesburg & Soweto. Unfortunately I won’t be able to include the Nelson Mandela Museum because….. it’s closed on Mondays! (Why didn’t I just phone from the condo? Because there is no phone in the apartment !) While I was there I decided to enquire about renting a car and see how expensive it would be. The lady at the Avis desk helped me out and got me a good price (there is actually a tourist discount !) I should be able to find out tomorrow if there is a vehicle available for 15 days. If there is, I’m driving to Cape Town and then driving back along the coast. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Did I mention they drive on the opposite side of the street here? It will be my first time, but I might as well get used to it here since I’ll be driving again once I reach Australia and New Zealand.
No comments:
Post a Comment