Winning Tickets to the 2010 Soccer City - Johannesberg, South Africa

My very lucky, great friend of mine, Rosemary had bought an LCD tv from Dixons UK a few months ago and against thousands of others who were also automatically entered in the competition, it was Rosemary who scored herself two free tickets to the 2010 FIFA Soccer Finals, 5 days 4 nights accommodation and flights to the 2010 soccer host city - Johannesburg, South Africa. To my great honour, Rose invited me to join her for the five days of South African adventure!

The winning boarding passes on South African Airways

A very lucky winner and her equally lucky friend at the boarding gate at Heathrow airport

The onboard flight dinner of chicken curry on rice and continental egg breakfast were not too exciting but was enough to satisfy.

Left: Chicken curry on rice. Right: Continental egg breakfast

The journey to Jo'burg took 11 hours and we were pleasantly surprised at how smooth the flight was. We had our selection of onflight movies and games and were supplied with the usual comfort packs. Although the seats seem slightly small with no foot rests, it was a comfortable ride overall. Now, we just couldn't wait to finally land in the city of Jo'burg!

Two movies, two coffees and a bottle of white wine later, we finally landed at 7am in the morning in Jo'burg. The events company (VU Limited) who managed our winning package professionally ochestrated our pick-up from the airport and taxied us to Benvenuto Hotel. On the highways, I was surprised to see how modern the city looked. I realised then that certain areas of Johannesburg have reached a standard of a glossy, modern city, whereas some other suburbs such as Soweto are still developing and more representative of the middle class society. In self-contained suburbs such as Melrose Arch, one can find the largest fashion brands and top-notch restaurants, cafes and hotels. During our strolls here, I easily forgot that I was in South Africa and not in Bangsar, Malaysia or Westfield Shopping Centre, Melbourne!

Our five days in Jo'burg were action packed with activities as we managed to squeeze in four tours. We called on Vhupo Tours to manage our tours the next few days and was very impressed with their professional, friendly and flexible service. Their fees were competitive and their tour guides were very knowledgeable. We especially appreciated the hotel door pick-ups and our tour guide's big, warm smile every morning. We were slightly wary of how our tours will turn out as we didn't know many friends who could advice us on the best and safest way to see South Africa. Fortunately, our first tour with Vhupo to Lesedi dispelled all reservations.

This was our itinerary:

Day 1:
• Land in Jo'burg
• Lesedi - African Cultural Village Tour

Day 2:
Sun City + Pilanesberg National Park

Day 3:
• Lunch with Events Company at Melrose Arch
• FIFA Soccer finals at Stadium

Day 4:
Sterkfontein Caves + Maropeng

Day 5:
• Soweto Tour
• Flight home to London

I think we did a pretty good job visiting and learning as much as we could about Jo'burg. We managed to touch the tip of the iceberg on cultural and historical aspects of the country and even spotted a few animals in the wild to keep us happily satisfied.

Five days came and went, just like that. Before we knew it, we were on our flight back home to London. In retrospect, although we took advice on travel safety (eg. not walking outside past 7pm) and took notice of electrical fences and guard dogs in rich residential homes, we always felt like welcomed guests throughout our stay in Jo'burg. We have met and spoken to many locals along the way and I was always left encouraged and at awe with their resilience, hard working attitude, warm nature and big smiles.

Once the soccer fever dies down and the eyes of the world have turned elsewhere, I hope that the nation will continue to grow and power positive changes for the future. South Africa is definitely a country to look out for as a place to visit in the next few years!