Thursday, October 22, 2009

Where do I live???



Night view from my hotel
Nelson Mandela square
Shopping anyone?
Lovely African Restaurant

Well I have mentioned that I am in Joburg, but yes of course it’s only bit over 5Mil people here so where the heck I really live now? Lucky or not for me, I am staying in the part of Joburg called Sandton. It very much reminds me of our “Buckhead” neighborhood, very modern buildings, lots of restaurants, shops and pretty people around… it is described as the richest neighborhood in Joburg, and it certainly is. Very far from the reality of the rest of Africa. People here drive fancy cars, wear fancy clothes and it’s very pretentious…

It has the BIGGEST shopping mall in Southern Hemisphere and my gosh it really is! I went to that mall and I got immediately lost in all the glitter of fancy jewelry shops displaying the most amazing diamond collections I have ever seen! The shops are mainly name brands and certainly not for my wallet. Things are happening here ONLY during the midweek as this is the biggest business center ever! Restaurants are popping with fancy dressed people, ladies here is all about Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabana etc…I think Jane’s Michael would really enjoy the display of fashion here as they really really know how to dress and impress. I went to a disco on Thursday night called “Fashion TV”. Not only I was shocked by the array of fancy cars pulling in but the glamour of all young people dressed in very fashionable clothes. Disco was great, awesome European music and after few shots of vodka I danced my A$$ off as usual. I went here with my Portuguese friends about whom I’ll write bit later right after having a dinner in at Nelson Mandela’s square which displays a HUGE statue of Nelson Mandela which to me does not look like him but still quite impressive. The square is surrounded by the mall and around lots of lovely outdoor restaurants which I already tired several… of them.

When I am in the office I feel as I am really trapped and confined to the space here… because after work or rather after dark NO ONE dares to walk around here! I miss the walks to the restaurants and clearing my head after days of work. We drive everywhere to avoid possible robbery or worst! The square is heavily guarded and everyone sits outside in the restaurants in the evenings enjoying the bit of freedom after the confinement of the offices with lovely drinks and great food! This part is fun! After the dinners, we usually go back to our hotel, which is lovely as well, has the best breakfast bar ever and I have been truly taking advantage of the smoke salmon plates and amazing array of freshly squeezed juices and fresh fruits. Yummy…at times we all from the project meet up in the lobby for a cocktail and heavy discussions about anything and everything….so the next time I’ll tell you about the folks I met here and with whom I hang out with.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers