Normally I wouldn’t make the 45 minute trek to Pretoria, especially when the country is load shedding and the robots (traffic lights) aren’t working, but an old friend from grad school was in town so I braved the snarled traffic to meet her at Salt Eatery. If Salt were in Joburg, it would be on heavy rotation as a spot to meet friends for an after work drink and some food. I loved everything about this tiny eatery in Hazelwood from the lantern-lit tables on a secluded patio to the make your own charcuterie platter.
For having lived here a year and half, I know remarkably little about the Joburg restaurant scene. In Washington, DC I knew which restaurants were opening and closing and most of my socializing involved sampling new restaurants and returning to old favorites. I even prided myself of keeping up with the goings on in New York City and San Francisco. So when I say that Katy’s Palace Bar is one of the more vibey (as they say here) places I have been to, it might simply be because I have nothing to compare it to.
When I original conceived this blog, the focus was intended to be on food and the memorable to middling meals eaten with the people you encounter while traveling – hence the name of the blog, sharing a table. Between conception and execution, I moved to South Africa and fell in love with going on safari and exploring my adopted country. The focus of the blog naturally shifted from food to more of a travelogue and safari tips. And, despite living in the most cosmopolitan city on the continent, Joburg is woefully underrepresented. With six uninterrupted weeks in Johannesburg, I decided it was time to start exploring Johannesburg and ticking off the restaurants I have been meaning to try.
The difficulty in determining the right tip is that it is highly discretionary, dictated by local norms, and industry specific. If you are staying at a luxurious safari camp, the suggested gratuities will likely be higher not only because it takes more people to cater to your every whim in the middle of the bush, but because the standards are incredibly high. Which may leave you wondering, how much should I tip when I go on safari?
People coming to South Africa often ask me for advice about what to do while they are here. Of course, the answer largely depends on whether you have been here before or if you have a specific interest in something like fly fishing. But, if this is your first visit and you want an introduction to the country, here is the trip I would plan for you.
New York City is often anthropomorphized in fiction and film probably because what makes it one of the world’s greatest cities is precisely its flawed characteristics, its contrasts of grime and glamour, its pulsating 24-hour energy, its vices, and its cultural and financial significance. I never tire of visiting New York City and decided to spend two days there after a brief and emotionally tumultuous visit to Washington, DC. Two days with my family in New York was the perfect antidote to my disappointing DC visit.