What a difference

[alwyn]

I had the fortune of being sent to the US for 4 weeks for work and I must tell you although it doesn't have the beauty of SA, it was a great to experience friendly service and operational government structures.

Returning we landed in JHB after a 16 hour flight.  Ran to the first restroom to freshen up.  Seriously??? 2 toilets?  You rave about your locally manufactured sh*t paper and you treat 2010 visitors to this lack of facilities???

I have to connect to a Cape Town flight, exit the luggage area and is confronted by a mob of porters who for some reason can say nothing more than 'domestic transfer (if that?)'. No smile, not helpful, nothing beyond the uniform that says porter (could work for anybody) that might tell you what this guy wants and what his purpose is.  So I just ignored these clowns as I fully expected them to try and rip me off or something.

Get to the check in area for Cape Town, but I'm more than 3 hours early.  This one vulture must have spotted my indecision and flew in for the kill.  Says no I can check in early, no problem.  Takes me over to the SAA queue.  We stand there for a while and I'm thinking ok, you've helped me, I'm ok, now go 'help' somebody else.  Soon he mumbles something about this queue is taking too long and takes me to the first class queue and enters into a Sotho discussion with the lady working there.  She looks upset about something (thinking about it, maybe an act), but takes the bags, tag them and issues my ticket.  He then insists on escorting me to the gates.   Few steps along I confront this guy and asks him what he wants and who he's working for.  His buddy rocks up and says that I need to pay his friend R50 as agreed, and that he also must get money.  The original guy also claims that my baggage was overweight and that he helped me.  So I tell him its bulldust and that there was also no agreement.  So I gave him a small tip for the help he did give me and told the other guy to get lost.

Now I'm thinking 2010 is on the way and people all across the world will come to visit us and the best use of this opportunity will be to scr*w them over as much as possible?

Wonder when the rest of the world will wake up and realize why Africa is such a Black Hole and that they owe Africa nothing, not even sympathy.

[Rockhopper]

Wow!    Thanks Alwyn for sharing that with us.  We are planning to visit SA in December again and I am continuously telling my wife that we are going to be shocked when we return.  I think it is more for me to convince myself and to be psychologically prepared for what we are going to get!

Some friends of ours recently came back from SA after visiting there for two weeks due to a family funeral.  They have not been to SA for about three years and they were unpleasantly shocked!

What surprises me is that those guys harassing you INSIDE the airport are allowed there in the first place!  After all those promises from government that they will increase security, logic will tell you that they will be vigilant about loiterers and "chance" takers inside the airport!  But once again corruption rules as it appears as though they are working with the check-in staff!

So what this means for my pessimistic self is that the moment you leave the airplane, you are targeted  .  Your luggage is "scanned" by ground staff and by time you exit the airport...     

And before people shoot me for being overly pessimistic and not giving SA a chance...  I truly hope and pray from the bottom of my heart that the world cup goes well and without incident. As much as this should be an opportunity for Africa to prove themselves, it might turn out to be an opportunity to highlight some negative things going on.

But I also think it will go the same way as the Olympics in China in that a lot of negative press will be suppressed in some way.  Victims will probably be escorted into little rooms and asked to keep it on the down low.

So the extra "policing" will probably spend more time keeping victims quiet, than to keep the criminals out of the airport and away from the tourists!     One thing is for sure though - you will NOT read about Alwyn or any other tourist's similar experience in the newspapers, because "we are all one happy rainbow nation making africa proud"!   

[SaKiwiBoer]

Well my one SIL just came back to NZ for the 3rd holiday in SA in 3 years and according to my wife (who spoke to her sister, I didn't) according to S&BIL, crime is running rife, the country as a whole is looking filthy and the "mood" is not as up beat as expected before the SWC. I know of people coming to "visit" family in NZ to just not be there while the WC is on. Come to think of it... when is the SWC exactly?? Cheers, SAKB.

[Rockhopper]

... when is the SWC exactly?? Cheers, SAKB.

11 June to 11 July

[SaKiwiBoer]

Thanx Schalk, ek het amper gedink ou Steve Hofmeyr is dalk ook hier vir daai "tyd"....  Weet nie wanneer gaan hy terug SA toe nie, weet net hy is die 17de Mei in Rotorua, niks verder van sy agenda nie.
Cheers ou "stoute", SAKB. 

[Rockhopper]

Speaking of which - can anybody back in SA tell me if old Leon Schuster is bringing out some sort of World Cup album??  One would think he would cash in on something like that, unless he too has been "enlightened" over the last couple of years.   

[robcraignz]

Didn't think that Leon actually knew what "fusbol" was or is. Once he figures it thouogh, would love an unedited and realistic view of it, portrayed the way he can.

[Rockhopper]

Didn't think that Leon actually knew what "fusbol" was or is. Once he figures it thouogh, would love an unedited and realistic view of it, portrayed the way he can.

Something similar to "Eskom is vol kaf"?? 

[robcraignz]

  could be read two different ways that, schalk. I'll take it as vol van die goetes wat beeste agter laat val. Then again, maybe Eksdom is deesdae vol ka....., that's why tey are in trouble. Getting back to alwyn for a second, that story is troubling, in that we are going to SA in September. At thhis precise moment maak my agter aangehegte sitplek snaakse geluide, ekmis peop bang om terug te keer. Worried that they are going to sink Africa once and for all, with the crime rate and savagery of it towards anyone, including tourists. Lord I hope they don't murder a tourist for his bloody cell phone. Serious opportunity limiting activity, for Africa as a continent, that would be. My own case, just too much a Kiwi now and geuinely peop bang to go thorugh Jozi airport (coz I don't know what the stupid airport's name is anymore - changed so often).

[Rockhopper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4ikfQ63Ei4

In case you have not yet seen it Rob... 

[robcraignz]

Thanks Schalk, no I hadn't seen that and just had a really good laugh.

[Rockhopper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqWwp7InpGQ

Dis die ander een wat direk op ons betrekking het!  Ek dink dis Leon se beste werk ooit!  Absoluut briljant!

[robcraignz]

Shoo, Schalk, he does it quick. Never been good on the listening, to those rapper type things, so will have to listen a few times. Love the way Leon always sticks in a pic of the old flag, old SAA / SAL tail on the plane etc. it is fun seeing and listening to old Schuster again, thanks for that. 

[Rockhopper]

Rob I don't know if the actual video and picture bits are the "official music video", or a "collage" put together by somebody else.

I also "wonder" about the actual song though - I don't know if it is tongue-in-cheek and actually saying to us immigrants F##%$$ OFF, or if he is actually sympathizing with immigrants...

Whichever way, the general "trend" of those two songs tells me that he is quite G@tv0l as well!  And I still think it is brilliant, even if he rips us immigrants off 

[SaKiwiBoer]

The problem is ou Leon and people like him cannot leave because in other countries they are seen as just normal people and they are only "celebrities" in SA, but yes he gives you the "truth" about all the "kaf" and then there is the alternative, trek. Now we, on the otherhand have voted with our "feet" and we "trekked", as is suggested  . Cherriebaai, SAKB