Johannesburg

An accountant’s job is mostly dull and boring but the seminars and business meetings in different parts of the world can be quite an experience. When I heard that our client had invited us to Johannesburg for a meeting, I was overjoyed. Last year, my sister had visited this city and she went on about how fun it was for months. Finally, I had the chance to discover the provincial capital of Gauteng myself.

Known as the lightning capital of the world, Johannesburg was more fun and exciting than I had expected. Rich clients are always good to have. Traveling in a comfortable business class flight, my colleague and I landed in Johannesburg at 9 am. A fancy limousine was waiting for us and the driver took us to our amazing hotel which thankfully was not that far from the airport. The Birchwood Hotel was quite nice. The staff was friendly, the environment was peaceful and most importantly, the rooms were clean. After a 2 hour long sleep, we had to get ready because the business meeting was to be held in an hour. Thankfully, the meeting went well and since we were still going to be in the city the next day, our client offered to show us around. My colleague and I immediately accepted the offer. After all, who could know more about the city than a local resident?

The next morning, our first stop was at the “Johannesburg Botanical Garden”. Being an admirer of nature, I had a wonderful time there looking at all the different types of plants and trees. But perhaps the biggest attraction of the place was the beautiful “Rose garden”. It featured over 10000 roses and the sight it offered was breathtaking.

The next stop was made at the “Apartheid Museum”. This museum complex illustrates the 20^th century history of South Africa. Although, I am no big fan of history, the museum was quite interesting. We took an audio guide and added a lot to our limited knowledge of South African history. A warm delicious coffee at the museum’s coffee shop made the trip perfect.

Time passed in a blur and before we knew it, it was lunch time. The person showing us around took us to a restaurant namely “Moyo”. The restaurant’s interior and ambience was excellent and even the food was great. It was exciting to find out that my favorite actor Will Smith had dined at this restaurant. Moreover this restaurant is said to be the favorite of celebrities Avril Lavigne and Annie Lennox. After satisfying our appetites, we were taken to the most fascinating place ever. The “SAB World of Beer” was very entertaining place to visit. I had never been to a museum of Beer before and visiting one was an experience I will never forget. Of course we could not leave without any getting any shopping done.

The “Bedford Centre” and “Boulders Mall” were the only malls we had the time to visit before our flight.  After excessive shopping at these malls, we were truly satisfied and happy. Johannesburg is an exceptional city. Sadly, we only had a day to roam around. The short yet memorable time spent there will be cherished forever.