#87. Close your eyes. A relative who hadn’t been to Joburg for nine years out of choice returned for a week for a family function and declared this to be a great city. Investigating further I discovered the secret to his sudden change of heart.

“We took him to Melrose Arch and Hyde Park. His flight came in late so we drove him across Louis Botha in the dark”.

At that time of night you can’t see the potholes, the derelict buildings, the dealers, the hangers-on, the unemployed, and the minibus taxis making three lanes out of two on one of Joburg’s main thoroughfares.

This may be worthwhile investigating as a tourism strategy for 2010. Lots of late night flights into the city. Remember you heard it here first.