Touring South Africa: Johannesburg

For those of you who have seen the Oscar winning movie Tsotsi, Johannesburg would not be an unfamiliar name. Set in the Soweto township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the movie won many accolades for its captivating storyline that highlighted the story of a troubled teenager who steals a car but ends up taking care of the baby who was still in it. The most striking feature of this movie was the fact that the main protagonists of the movie were themselves the residents of Soweto township in Johannesburg. As you begin your tour of Johannesburg, you will realize that the superb urban infrastructure of the city is no less than any other inte ational city be it Mumbai or New York. The city is also the nerve centre of business and commerce in South Africa and attracts a lot of business visitors who often demand cheap flights to Johannesburg on travel portals that offer easy connections to national and inte ational destinations. Being quite akin to an inte ational city, Johannesburg extends a warm welcome to those who step into the city and its warm, inviting populace will make you feel at home. Racial discrimination is virtually non–existent as South African people have got rid of their Apartheid past. Johannesburg is blessed with a wide variety of flora and fauna that can be explored in detail if you take a tour of places like the Lion Park, Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, and Melville Koppies Nature Reserve. If knowing about the history of the African continent interests you, then you should book your flights to Johannesburg and include places like the Constitution Hill and the Apartheid museum in your itinerary. Here you will find a lot of memorabilia dating back to the Apartheid Era when South Africa was an outcast in the global geo-political arena. You can add some zing to your Johannesburg tour by visiting places like the Gold Reef City, Bunny Park, Lesedi Cultural Village, and Sun City. Shopping in Johannesburg is an experience in itself and the best place to do so is the area around Bruma Lake that has parks, shopping malls and even a flea market where you will find all items of necessary use at low price –points. Another interesting aspect about Johannesburg is its psychedelic night life visible in its innumerable resto-bars, discotheques. Here you will see young men and women grooving to the beats of kwaito, an indigenous form of foot-tapping music that one gets to hear in this part of the world. Johannesburg is an experience out of the ordinary….make sure you savor it on your next holiday!