Virgin South Africa...

Many of my future blogs would be on my experience of spending almost 2 years in South Africa, roaming around as much as I could. Most of the people in India are oblivious of the beauty that South Africa(SA, hereon)represents. I hope this blog helps in improving the perception and understanding of those who think of it as a jungle with no civilisation, of those who have no knowledge of the country and to those who are curious to know more about it, or are already planning their visit in the future. I would welcome questions, comments, inputs, recommendations for improvement of this blog.

Getting there

SA is as far as 8265 kms from India! There are frequent flights from Mumbai(Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport) to Johannesburg (O R Tambo International Airport) and the following flights can be booked easily:

1. Jet Airways ( Direct flight from Mumbai to Jo'burg)

2. South African Airways (SAA)( Direct flight from Mumbai to Jo'burg)

3. Emirates (4 hours halt at Dubai, gets painful to wait, however a good stop for people who want to shop duty free at the airport)

All the above flights are the top ones, however there are numerous flights although they take longer, they might suit some of you like Etihad, Turkish, Kenya Airways etc.

Tickets cost: Approximately INR 34000 (Yes, Return included)for flights 1,2 and 3, depending on the season you are travelling. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from New Delhi and passengers would have to travel to Mumbai for the journey.

Duration of the Journey: 8.5 - 9 hours journey(without halt)

After Getting there

All the travelling formalities like Imigration check, baggage collection would not take more than half hour.

It is advisable to convert your dollars into Rands (South African currency) at the airport, to avoid any hassle.

• Very important to note here that there is no or almost minimal public transport in SA, hence someone , either the hotel personnel, where you have booked your stay, or friends should come to pick you up.
• Other easier way to travel is the super fast Delhi's metro alike GAUTRAIN, which would take you from Airport to Sandton (One of major areas) in 13 mins, which otherwise might take you 45 mins by car. Very comfortable mode of transport.

By now , you should be comfortable reaching till the Hotel and I shall get to SA's geography and demography in the next post!