Day 1. Johannesburg
Passenger after passenger I glanced at the baggage tags on the luggage to see where they'd come from, but sadly none were showing as transiting through Dubai (DBX).
I took a hotel cab to Johannesburg airport, being a public
holiday the drive took less than twenty minutes, but even that was
twenty minutes too long considering that Ann-Marie would be
arriving. Her Emirates flight from Dubai was delayed, so I sat at
the Intercontinental hotel, sipping coffee whilst watching the wall
mounted monitor for a status update.
After 40 minutes the monitor finally showed "landed" and I
rushed over to the arrivals hall some 200 meters away. Here too,
the waiting was longer than expected. Three other planes landed at
the same time and I imagined the queues at the pitifully
inefficient immigration hall would be swelling by now.
Passenger after passenger I glanced at the baggage tags on the
luggage to see where they'd come from, but sadly none were showing
as transiting through Dubai (DBX). I waited patiently, my heart
almost jumping out of my throat each time the doors sprung to life,
letting out yet another passenger. At that moment I saw one of the
first DBX labelled bags, she can't be far behind now.
I didn't have to wait long before our eyes connected for the
first time in four weeks. The time we spent apart melted away with
each step she took closer to the barriers which were holding me
back. Then that long overdue embrace, the sigh of relief to hold
her safe in my arms and our faces pressed together.
We walked hand-in-hand to the car I'd organized earlier that
morning, loaded the bags and set off towards Sun Square Monte
casino, north of Johannesburg. She was tired, I could see it in her
eyes. I know how completely drained I feel after that 23 hour
flight from Malta. Unfortunately there aren't any better
connections to Jo'burg - the closest is a flight through Frankfurt
but instead of sitting on the plane in Larnaca for an hour
as you do with the Emirates flight, she would have to wait at the
airport. Having made that flight 6 times now, I know which one I'd
rather choose.
As we pulled out towards Johannesburg, we thought that it was
about time to at least drive through town to see what it's all
about. I'd been in Jo'burg on 4 different occasions now but still
have not managed to make the time to see some of the sights.
Secretly, I think I was saving to share all those experiences with
Ann-Marie.
[Sun Square Hotel complex]
After a couple of hours of familiarising ourselves with inner
Johannesburg, we set off towards the Sun Square. There we went into
the main Monte casino mall for dinner and a walk. We were both
exhausted and after finding a restaurant which looked as though it
might provide a good selection of vegetarian cuisine we settled in
for a few hours with a nice bottle of South African wine.