Unveiling the Wonders of Johannesburg: A Day of Fascinating Exploration and Discovery

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Flight Cape Town – Johannesburg

I woke up very early in the morning for my flight to Johannesburg. Cape Town had been just what I expected and more, but I was ready to go to the largest city in this country: Johannesburg. I took an Uber from my hotel, and a few minutes later I was at the airport. The flight was at 8:50 am, not super early but I still had time to get some breakfast until they showed the gates on the screen. I had gone to Mugg & Bean a few days earlier and loved it so much that when I saw it at the terminal I knew I had to grab something to eat from there.

I got the Mocha Latte, and the South African plate of Eggs Benedict, topped with a boerewors patty & corn chakalaka.

I devoured the entire plate, and was ready for my flight. The breakfast was around 9 USD.

After a few minutes, the gate was assigned, and I was able to board the plane. The late sunrise was amazing, and it was time to flight on this FlySafair plane to JNB, going for the first time in this western bound RTW to a destination towards the East.

We finally took off, and suddendly I remembered that I was in Africa, and not everywhere is green and mountanous as the southwest of this country. A lot of flatlands and desert like views where on the way to JNB.

I was a little bit afraid of flying on FlySafair for the first time, but to be honest, I had flown in so many different unknown airlines that I was ok with it. The flight was smooth and very fast, with great weather conditions. We finally landed and took an Uber to my hotel in Rosebank. I could see the city on the horizon.

Getting to JNB

I stayed for a couple of nights in Holiday Inn Johannesburg – Rosebank. The hotel had the minimum requirements for a on the go stay. Each night was approx 85 USD.

The view from the room was very good tho.

I had no idea Johannesburg was going to be this green, it was really a surprise. But the reason I picked Rosebank, it is because I like to stay around places where I can go for a walk or for something to eat or drink at night without concerns. And it seemed like this had been a good idea.

I walked the mall looking for something to eat, and found a deal in one of the restaurants. I had a funny interaction with the waiter, since he insisted I had “pap” and I was like I have no idea what that is lol. It is a starchy dish made from white corn maize. I also had the braai and boerewors. Another thing that took me off guard, is that the only drink available with this plate was a beer. Like no other drinks were sold with this, so I picked a local beer to try.

After I finished my meal I went to explore more of the Rosebank Mall, this was huge.

This mall had a Starbucks Reserve, and it was huge and very beautiful. I grabbed my cold brew here lol.

Uber tour of Johannesburg, the origins

I was having a good time in the mall, but it was time I would go out and explore the spots that I had picked to see in this city. I called an Uber and went on my way.

The first stop was the FNB Stadium. I always wanted to come see it since the FIFA World Cup 2010. Locals call it The Calabash for its shape and colors. The area was dead, so I asked the Uber driver to wait for me while I took pictures of the stadium. I got back in the Uber and added a stop.

This time I was going deep into the downtown. On a week day the place was packed with people, and I wanted to see the Carlton Center Observation Center. The Uber driver told me to be careful with pickpocketers and that made me a bit nervous. I got out and immediately went inside of the mall, looking for a potential entrance to the lookout. After walking some minutes kinda lost, I found an Information Desk where they told me the Observation Center was permanently closed. I was so mad I did not find this information beforehand. I went into a store and called another from there to go to my next spot.

I did not know that I was going to do this city tour again in a couple of days, but here I was jumping from point to point on Ubers, and this time I was in the Maboneng Precint, a neighborhood full of bars and clubs, probably very busy in the evening/night. It was kind of funny how as soon as the Uber arrived, someone opened the door of the card and guided me to the rooftop I wanted to go to. They checked my day backpack and did not allowed any water inside. I had to leave my waters with the bouncers, and proceeded to take a sit. It was nice finally be free to wander around a place without being worried of getting pickpocketed or robbed. As Latinamerican myself I am always extracareful wherever I go, but even locals recommended me to be on the lookout everywhere I would go.

I sat down and ordered a piña colada, which was very white. There was not a lot of alcohol in it, but at least the price was not exorbitant.

There were some groups in the bar, and the views were good.

The day was ending, so I decided to leave this area. It looked very fun and everything but I had places to go lol. I took an Uber and went to a place that I had been looking forward during this whole trip.

Nice Friday in Rosebank

While I was in the rooftop bar, I googled “massages in the area”, and there were a few of them close to my hotel. I called the Orient Spa one and they had walk ins. When I got off the Uber, a big wall greeted you and someone suddlendly opened the gate. A beautiful house was hidden inside. I bought the 60 min, deep tissue massage, for around 47 USD. I mean it is still expensive, but it is still cheaper than in New York. The masseuse used all of her strenght on me, to the point I had to stopped her a couple of times. But she did some things I had not gotten on other massage parlors in the world, like neck cracking for example.

I left the place and walked to the mall and then to my room, not before grabbing a couple of Krispy Kreme donuts. The sunset was so good. I had been blessed for a perfect weather and beautiful sunsets during my stay in South Africa.

I was tired so I took a quick nap, and when I woke I was hungry, and hungry for meat, so I googled BBQ in this area. There were a few places, but the best one seemed to be The Grillhouse, a few minutes from the hotel, within the mall. Google Maps suggested a path, but as soon as I got out of the hotel I noticed something about Johannesburg. The streets were dark AF. It seems like the power outages are out of control lately, forcing the public lights to be off, and even inside the mall the power would come and go all the time. I decided to take the long path to the grill place and when I got there, on a Friday night, the place at least inside was full of formal wearing people.

I grabbed the menu and picked something that seemed small for a regular price of 19 USD. For me that would mean just a steak and some sides. But…

… I accidentally picked one of the biggest plates of the menu, it was a lot: beef, lamb cutlets, boerewors, beef kebab and sliced spice sirloin, next to mushrooms and a tomato salad. I gasped and the waited laughed because of my expression. I had a Safari early in the morning and did not want to get sick. I still ate most of it, and the waiter was very nice to pack the rest to go.

After I was done, I walked back to my room, and the whole mall was packed and alive. There was music everywhere and it seemed this was the spot to hang on a Friday night.

I was very excited for my morning trip to Pilanesberg National Park, to do my first safari ever. You can read this story here.

Let me know if you have comments or questions below.