Highlights of Johannesburg

I've had an amazing few days here in Johannesburg. I was too tired on my first night to go out, so instead I ordered room service, watched some T.V. and was asleep by 9pm. I had the energy to be up at 6am and to go to the gym on Wednesday though. Not being a morning person (no matter how much sleep I get), this was quite an accomplishment.

Wednesday night I went out to dinner with two South African colleagues from the client. We went to an area called Melrose Arch, a modern complex wih a hotel, shops, apartments and restaurants. I had tried to stay at the Melrose Arch hotel, but it was booked, so instead I stayed at the Interncontinental at Sandton. I took the opportunity on Wednesday night to see what I was missing, as I wandered around the posh lobby bar, and saw the pool with tables and chairs literally in the pool. You can sit there with your feet in about 8 inches of water, and have lunch!

We ate dinner at Moyo, an African themed restaurant, complete with face painting, African dancing and singing, and live music. We sat outdoors on the main patio facing the pedestrian square with other bars and restauarants and the Melrose Arch Hotel. The weather was perfect, about 25 degrees celsius/78 degrees farenheit, with a slight breeze and no clouds or rain. The patio was packed and each table was candlelit.

We ordered South African Sauvignon Blanc, a green salad to share, small breads with dips, and for the main I had a Tanzanian fish curry in coconut milk with cardamom and other spices. It was so tasty! The company was fun, and we drank just enough to solve all the world's problems with some level of sanity remaining.

On Thursday, I was able to sleep in a bit and finished the rest of the meetings by lunch. I then went to another client building in downtown Johannesburg to introduce myself to colleagues who I had met and interacted with only on the phone. It's always so interesting to put a face to a name.

The highlight of the trip was the Thursday afternoon scenic airplane tour of Johannesburg. One of my colleagues here is about to get his pilot's license, so he arranged for us to have one of the instructors take us up for a 30 minute flight around Johannesburg. We went to the Rand airport, the local private airport in Johannesburg and had lunch at the outdoor cafe overlooking the tarmac. When it was time to do the flight check, we walked out across the tarmac to where the four seater plane was parked on the grass.

I got to sit in front with the pilot and wear the headphones set so we could talk to each other. He explained to me what he was doing most steps of the way, and during the flight pointed out the main sights of Johannesburg. Mostly these are the stadiums, the large office buildings, and the hotels, including the Sandton City area where I had stayed. I think the building I liked the most is the Stock Exchange building with glass on both sides in a shape of a diamond. I also saw the Nelson Mandela bridge, the client building tower, and my hotel.

We flew to a height of 7,000 feet, and for a while towards the end, I even took control of the plane and attempted to keep it steady. I was a bit nervous and didn't know how much the plane would react, so I was overly cautious. I guess it shows that I'm a child of the 80s when I say it felt just like the video games! I watched the dial with the plane wings and the horizon, adjusting the handles left, right, up and down to keep the wings level. We landed smoothly and chatted afterwards with the pilot (a young South African of Indian descent) and the other staff in the flight school.

I went back to the office for a few more hours of work and to wait for my ride to the airport. I picked up a few bottles of South African wine in duty free at the airport, and I managed to get six hours of sleep on the ride back. I'm heading into the office now, at lunchtime, to meet with the client and reply to emails, and then I'm off to happy hour drinks with a friend, and Sunday morning I leave for Milan, Italy!