Sawubona, South Africa

Hi there! Ajala, the traveler here. Lol.

My next stop after Botswana was South Africa and I was there for 4 days (12th-16th of May, 2018). I was so blown away by how beautiful the place was. I also met the love of my life (in my head), Sabelo.

We touched down at O.R Tambo International Airport and the place was busyyy. I got a nasty treatment from the guy at the immigration stand (apparently, carrying a Nigerian passport doesn’t have a lot of advantages) and it almost spoiled my mood. However, I lit up at the thought of Nigerian food (finally, something with proper pepper!).

Our first stop was Africana Café located at Agora Shopping Centre, Uranium street, Fourways Gardens. While I waited for my plate of poundo and egusi soup (which was great, by the way), I looked around while taking in the beauty and rubbing my palms for warmth. I noticed that the shopping centre wasn’t very busy. According to our chauffeur, Gift, the main attraction at Fourways is the Casino which causes traffic from 4pm to 6pm. The night life from Mondays to Wednesdays is quiet but it comes alive from Thursday night.

Our hotel, Garden Court by Tsogo Sun, Sandton City was also quite lovely. Two slight turnoffs for me, however, were the relatively small rooms and limited complimentary WiFi. But it was quite comfy, lovely and welcoming. It also houses a bar — Riffs Bar and Grill — which is a buzz at night, I hear. I also loved the hotel because of Sabelo. Sabelo is a cute waiter at the restaurant in the hotel. Each time I came down for breakfast, he made it a duty to flirt subtly. One morning, he walked up to my table and greeted “good morning, beautiful”. Sigh. I think I want to relocate to South Africa. Let me have your baby, Sabelo!!

Another place to visit if you’re in South Africa is The Butcher Shop. Ugh! Their food was lovely and the environment is beautiful. If you’re a wine connoisseur, you should visit there. There’s a wine shop with a variety of wines. Sadly, the service that day was poor but one of the head waiters apologized sincerely and took some items off the bill.

Fun facts about South Africa? Here we go:

• Right hand drive. Botswana prepared me for this one so there was no awkwardness, thank God. Lol.
• South Africa runs a credit system. So those flashy cars and grand houses that your MCMs and WCWs drive and live in are probably being paid for in installments spread over a period of agreed time.
• Nigerian men are quite popular in South Africa. No, really. I remember an encounter I had while shopping at a lingerie store in the Sandton mall. While the lady helped with measurements, she asked where I was from and she lit up when I said “Nigeria”. I was startled, at first. The next thing she said threw me off balance — “when next you are coming, please bring a Nigerian man for me. They have plenty money and like to spend”. What have y’all gotten yourselves into, guys?! Loool.
• I think Nandos is overrated. Argue with yourself, please.
• “Is it” is a common reply you get when having conversations with them. It’s kinda like how we say “talk true” in Nigeria.
• As a tourist, you are entitled to VAT Refund. So when shopping, you may want to keep your receipts. Just ensure that the receipts have the name and address of the seller especially if it’s above 5000 rands. Also ensure you have your Forex invoice to show how you got cash, if you shopped in cash. However, note that you can only use the money (which will be loaded on a card for you in Forex outside rands) after 3 months. Good news is you can use it in Nigeria — Zenith bank and GTB are the ones I can remember. How do you process your VAT refund? Simply ask anyone to direct you to the VAT Refund office when inside the airport (when leaving SA, of course). Further directions will be given there.

One thing I have learned from this trip is preparedness is EVERYTHING. Because I wasn’t prepared, I failed to learn about the countries I was visiting. People of God, I didn't realise it was winter in South Africa. I was so cold I felt my cheeks turn red.

I planned on showing off more pictures but Medium seems to be struggling with a bug or something.

As always, I’ll love to visit South Africa again to explore more. Maybe I should become a travel blogger. Hmm.