The Thrifty Travelers

Juliana and I take off at 12:30am for the flight on EgyptAir. Let me tell you something, there is a big difference between them and Lufthansa. I had decided to take some sleep medication and try to avoid jet lag as did Juliana, but around 30 minutes into our dead sleep, the flight attendant wakes us up to see if we want dinner. I told her no, and returned to sleep, but she forced me to wake up about 5 hours later to have breakfast. She wasn't mean, but didn't understand that first thing about letting sleeping passengers...well, sleep. Anyway, no problems on the flight and we arrived safely at Johannesburg. From the first minute at the airport, you can tell it is a festival. All sorts of people from all over the world are arriving wearing the garb, colors, and blowing their horns in celebration of a good time. It is awesome and everyone is amazingly friends. We get our luggage quickly and make our way through customs, which is practically non-existent. From start of immi...

It's amazing the price gouging that happens during special events. Where you could rent a hotel for $95 a night is now close to $250 per night with what would be considered a 2-3 star hotel. I had mentioned advanced planning and we were lucky enough to be staying at Waybury House in the Sandton area. If you want to check it out, here is the link: http://www.wayburyhouse.co.za/index.html Originally, I wanted to stay near Sun City and visit Pilanesburg National Park, but it turns out FIFA booked out 97% of the rooms in that area and used companies to repackage them for increased pricing....smart for them, bad for us. So what if you are single or traveling hostel style? An interesting idea popped up by some locals and they come up with a hostel concept in the heart of Johannesburg. Check it out.....poor website, but still has cheap, dorm style availability. http://hostivalonline.com/