Today was another
day of traveling and exploring and seeing new places, which is always a good
thing. I started the day early and went for a three mile run in the residential
area around my hotel, and by the end, I could definitely feel the altitude,
compared to the 10 feet above sea level I’m used to in Savannah. It’s going to
be interesting tomorrow, when I’m even higher in Maseru.
 |
| Fountain seen on the run |
Unfortunately,
there wasn’t enough time to go on an organized tour of Johannesburg and still
make it to the airport in time for my flight, so I opted to go to the airport,
check in, and then get on the train and go to Sandton, which is a shopping-type
area. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about international travel to
developing countries, it’s that there’s always someone at the airport will to
“help”, who expects a tip at the end. Sure enough, almost as soon as I walked
through the doors, a man came up and offered to help, directing me to the
counter and taking my bag before I could really even protest. After I checked
my luggage, he asked what next, and I said I needed to go the ATM, so he took
me directly there. Then he took me to the “Bag Port” (luggage storage) so I
could drop off my backpack, and then took me to the train station and showed me
how to buy a card for the train.
Yeah, he earned
his tip.
Sandton wasn’t
really all that exciting. I was hoping Nelson Mandela Square would be a
historic-type thing, but no. It’s a mall. So I wandered around for a bit,
bought some souvenirs, and then found myself at the Peacemakers’ Museum. It’s
very small, maybe the size of a normal store in the mall, and all about Nobel
Peace Prize recipients (obviously with more emphasis put on the three South
Africans). If there was one thing I learned from reading the reasons why people
were awarded the Peace Prize, it’s more about the hopes and wishes of what the
Norwegians want to happen than anything that had actually resulted in peace.
Some people had done legitimately good things that made the world a better
place (ending apartheid was no small feat), but others—like “ending the Vietnam
war” (in 1973) or “peace in Israel” (hmm…)—were more of what the military calls
“Good Idea Fairies” than any real accomplishments.
 |
| Normal Borlaug's speech |
 |
| Nelson Mendela inside the Peace Maker's museum |
Anyway, after
that, I headed back to the airport, hung out in the South African Airways
lounge for a bit (ah, the life of a Star Alliance Gold member…) and then met up
with the three others in my group before our flight to Maseru. The flight was
short—less than an hour—and then we were at the airport, where I experienced
the fasted trip through customs and immigration known to man. To give you an
idea, there were so few people and the plane was so small that they brought the
luggage from the plane in a cart, and set it on the carousel (which I’m pretty
sure is defunct).
 |
| Baggage claim |
Our driver gave us
the brief history of Lesotho as he drove us to the hotel, so I had to ask why
it existed in the middle of South Africa. He informed us that during the Boer
Wars, King Moshoeshoe I requested protection from the British Empire, and
became a British protectorate (not a colony, as he corrected me). Everything
else in the area became British colonies, and then became South Africa. So now
South Africa is very diverse, in terms of tribes and ethnicities, and Lesotho
remained almost entirely Basotho (the demonym of people who live in Lesotho)
with everyone speaking Sesotho. English is the official language, though.
After we arrived
at the hotel (which is quite nice), we were joined by Mo, from the Embassy, who
went over the agenda for the week. It looks like a busy day of meetings
tomorrow, and then things will taper off from there.
 |
| Sunset from the Lesotho Sun |
We shall see…
No comments:
Post a Comment