On the flight back to Singapore

The remaining days in Jo’burg went by fairly quickly. There was shopping at Makro. And once again, very much like my I-wont-find-food-after-this behaviour in Melbourne’s Victoria market, I indulged in food. Sauces, dressings, conserves, chocolates, wines. More wines. And flavoured vodka. And some more wine. Yes yes, I know. I am a glutton. And a wine connoisseur. Also otherwise known as an alcoholic. The shopping frenzy was followed by dinner at Nando’s. Ooooh, their chicken. Their sauces. Their wedges. Yummmmmy!

The next day we headed to Maropeng caves, advertised as the site of oldest human presence in the world - The Cradle of Humankind. I like how they advertise themselves. “All of humankind originated in Africa. Welcome home”. En route to the caves we stopped at a countryside kinda restaurant. It was beautiful! A natural pond with swans and ducks. Just off the highway, and open fields till your eyes can see. Crisp winter sun and delicious chicken sandwiches. Maropeng was a slight disappointment though. It wasnt all that I had expected. Yes the exhibits were there and lots of interesting information, but I was hoping for more. Anyway, when we left Maropeng, we needed to refuel, so we took directions and headed for gas. There was a small nursery by the petrol kiosk, and we spent some time buying plants for Buzz. His house has a small garden and it could do with some pretty red verbinas, dont you agree?

It was my bright idea to try a shorter route to the N1 highway than the one we took to Maropeng, and before we knew it, we were driving through Florida - one of the most notorious areas in Jo’burg. Gulp and double gulp. I will now try and shift the blame on Buzz, because he shouldnt have listened to me and decided otherwise, but I know I was scared when I saw a huge police convoy headed towards Florida. I said my prayers as soon as we hit the expressway. The guys couldnt stop laughing. T.I.A. This Is Africa, my friend.

Next pitstop was Monte Casino, where we managed to catch Ocean’s Thirteen. It was better than 12, and was a typical hollywood flick. I am not complaining. Clooney and Pitt were hot, and that’s what matters. Given our adventures at the casino the previous day in Zim, the movie made complete sense. Inspired by the movie, we hit the slot machines at Monte later. And between the 3 of us, we won more than 30 rand, in change!

Tuesday night, Dopey was flying back to Nairobi. We shopped at Woolworth’s for some time and then we had a lovely dinner of kebabs at Raj’s before he left. We went to the airport to see him off, and by now, I almost knew the way to the airport! 5 times and still once more to go. The next day, I spent the morning arranging the house and cooking lunch. I was rewarded with an afternoon of shopping and window shopping at Sandton City. I bought a beautiful black corset with a silk sash for my birthday. Woohoo! We got ourselves pecan cinnabons and sat at Nelson Mandela square and chomped on them, while the world walked by at 4 in the afternoon, in sunny Jo’burg. Oh how I wished my holiday didnt coming to a close. How I wished I could escape reality for some more time. Oh well. The evening was spent vegetating in front of the TV and having seafood for dinner at a place I cant remember the name of.

Thursday morning, I packed up, and headed to the airport. The airport is slow, my baggage was overweight and this lady was irritating me. The delay was getting to me. More so, to Buzz, who had to get back to office. Anyway, all crises resolved, and my wallet a bit lighter, I finally managed to spend some money on airport shopping and made it in time for my flight.

It has been 7 hours since I boarded this plane. 3 movies, no coffee, 4 journal entries and not a minute of sleep! I need to go into office tomorrow morning, just hours after I land, yet sleep is eluding me. I guess I am still a little overwhelmed right now. It has been an action-packed week. I should still try to get some rest over the next few hours. Goodnight dearies.