Africa 2015 - Day #2

 

Nice place in Johannesburg for night

 

Nice place

Wednesday, June 17th

The day started for us aboard our 15-hr international flight.  All went pretty well - got 4-5 hrs sleep, mixed in with watching a couple movies, eating, drinking a lot of water, and stretching.

We arrived into Johannesburg around 4:45pm local time on Wed, June 17th. We got through customs and met up with our driver who was waiting for us with a sign.  We then took about a 20-30 minute ride to our hotel.

First impressions of Johannesburg are really positive.  The airport is new (completed in 2010). The city was large, impressive roads and structures.   My previous 2 experiences in Africa (Tanzania and Egypt) couldn't be more different.

By the time we got to the hotel - everything had gone nearly flawless all day.  I guess that is scary sometimes - because - something not so good happened.  We decided to go to the ATM and get some money.  Pretty standard - done this bunch of times in 50+ countries.  Today, I put my card in and go through the transaction.  Just as I hit the confirm button to get out my 4000zar (353 dollars) -  immediately the power went out.  Everything went black on the machine and the hotel.  My card was still in the machine and no money came out.  Very Bad.  Luckily, our driver from the airport called an emergency number for us.  End result was not so good.  I guess Johannesburg has power outages frequently.  Because of fraud risk, I was told by this bank that I could not get my card.  What?  They stated that the bank was closed and no personnel could come over.  Since we have to leave tomorrow early - my card was gone.  Bummer deal.

We checked into the hotel.  I immediately got on Skype and called my card company.  I cancelled the card and they will be sending me a new one in the states.  Fortunately, I have 2 back-up cards.  Unfortunately, this was my preferred card to use.

Bad luck.  Bad timing.  10 seconds earlier - I would have been good.

Greg, Liam, and I grabbed a nice dinner at the hotel and I'm now wrapping things up.  Getting some sleep for our 7am wakeup tomorrow.