Wrap that bag

At OR Tambo (Johannesburg's airport), one in 5 bags will be opened AFTER you check them.

I don't have an offical source for that statistic, but a quick look around the airport confirms that travelers take the risk seriously.

I followed the advice I was given and wrapped my luggage in plastic (some call it "shrink wrapped", but it's really just a large sheet of plastic wrap like Saran). It took a only a few minutes and it cost R25 (less than $5.00).

If you don't wrap, at least remove valuables (including any gifts for the kids!) and carry them on board. If you do wrap, plan ahead because once the suitcase is wrapped up, it's going to be impossible to get anything in or out without starting the process again.

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Gift ideas for business traveling parents to Johannesburg

Since I don't have a "Sometimes I Work in Johannesburg" book, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the things I brought home for the kids.

Everything in the list below was bought at the Rosebank African Craft Market.

1. Beaded headbands (Rosebank lots of brightly colored, hand made beaded crafts)
2. Tribal masks (small, hand carved)
3. Finger Piano (traditional African instrument)
4. Leather book marks of the "Big 5" (Lion, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Leopard)
5. Cotton dress (this actual was made in Thailand, but it was nice!)

All these items are small and easy to pack and carry (key criteria for business traveling parents). They are also unique to the country and help to tell a story about the culture of the country. I'm not saying that you couldn't find these things someplace else, but more of the crafts in the Rosebank market were hand made and seemed "genuine".

If you've visited Jo'burg and have other ideas, please leave a comment. I'm sure other traveling parents will find it useful!

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What was wrong with the drive to the office?

Getting to work when you're traveling is usually a simple thing. Today, however, I found myself driving on the "wrong" side of the car, the "wrong" side of the road, and on the wrong roads to the office.

SA drives like the Brits: steering wheel on the right, on-coming traffic to your right. That was the first (and second) challenge. After that was the small issue of directions. Jo'burg is NOT a place you want to wander around. We had a map, but....

Eventually, we got to the office (only 5 mins behind schedule!) and lived to blog about it.

Why not take a taxi? Like many African cities, Johannesburg has a chaotic informal public transport system in the form of minibus "taxis". These are not taxis in the typical Western sense of the term – they won't give you a lift to your doorstep. Rather, they are small-scale bus services, often unmarked, operating with neither timetables nor formal stops. You can read more here.

There are taxis your hotel can call (I'm at the InterContinental Sandton Towers) that are more familiar to most travelers. But unlike many things in Jo'Burg, these taxis are relatively expensive. If you're here for a long time, you'll run up a big tab, which makes renting cheaper, and easier once you get the hang of it. (Tomorrow will be better!)

I guess the upside of today's commute is that if the kids ask "how do you get to work in Johannesburg?", the answer will be more adventurous than they expected.

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