MAR. 31, 2010-- On my 13+ hour Cathay Pacific flight from HK to Johannesburg I sat next to-- and had a pleasant chat w/ for a good portion of the trip -- a Canadian who's now living in South Africa, but does business back home working in the mining industry. When I showed him the itinerary he complimented in approval, but like me wondered why we were going to eat at so many Chinese restaurants instead of sampling more local food, w/c he said comprised of a lot of meat. (Guess that answers that question. Where else would we get our veggies?) He shared some tips on ordering said meat for my trip to the Carnivore Restaurant (decline initial offers of beef and pork; wait for the antelope and/or zebra) and shared a cautionary anecdote on local hotel security that involved his wife, a cleaning lady, a missing phone and the cleaning lady's ringing boob when wife dialed the number of said missing phone.
Speaking of digesting, that plastic glass of white wine I had did not agree w/ me. While it's been scientifically proven that one does not get intoxicated faster from alcohol consumption while ( this high up in the air, my nausea and pounding headache is proving to be the exception.
At "Joburg" International Airport we were greeted by a tall lady and gentleman, the latter being Peter, former policeman during Apartheid turned tour guide (interesting career change, for sure).
For my part, I'm sure that if it weren't for the diarrhea and headache (now brought about by the change in land altitude as I'm now at 694m above sea level), the places we visited during the city tour of Pretoria would've received my full attention. Instead I was rubbing my temples and clenching my butt. After the sights and sounds of famous landmarks like Paul Kruger's old house and the Voortrekker Monument currently under renovation, we had lunch at our first Chinese restaurant (Lai Jing) and continued on our 2-hour drive to Sun City.
Sun City is not an actual city any more than Disney World is another planet. Turns out the place had more in common w/ Las Vegas, with a group of 4 hotels and a couple of entertainment centers. We were booked at The Palace of the Lost City and greeted by stoic-looking staff who handed us wine glasses filled w fruit juice, plus a bowl of strawberries. By coincidence BoiT's old classmate Kendreck Chua was also in town and staying here w/ his wife, in-laws and some of their relatives. We checked in, rested a bit and checked out the place. Saw an odd sign by the pool area: Please Do Not Feed the Monkeys. That's the most pressing problem here?!?
After a buffet dinner at the Calabash Restaurant (had my first taste of ostrich neck stew) we exchanged the vouchers the hotel gave us for a 100 Rand single-play chip. Che lucked out by winning big on roulette, her 100 Rand becoming 450 from betting the number of her mom's birthday.
Meanwhile I spent my evening afterwards w/ multiple bathroom visits. (Stupid white wine...)
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