The Cradle of Humankind

I slept through most of the 12-hour flight to Johannesburg. This has also been my first time on the Airbus 340-600, which is the bigger version of the plane I flew in from NYC to BKK. The trip was, as they put it, smooth as silk.

I've learned over the year that my family (especially mom) never travels light, but this time it's out of control. For example, my mom decided to bring along her chinese tea leaves, several teapots, tea kettle, and a tea serving set for seven. Look at our suitcases, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Remember this is a 12-day trip.

The weather in Johannesburg is really nice—59F – 68F throughout the day with deep blue sky and occasionally beautiful clouds (the big fluffy kind you don't see often in the US).

Once we picked up our rental van, we checked in at Peech Hotel in Melrose, right outside of Johannesburg. It's a small boutique hotel with subtle yet elegant design—very comfy and chic. We also had breakfast at the hotel's cute little restaurant. It's Mother's Day today, and apparently people here celebrate it a lot, so quite a few families brought their moms over here for breakfast. I had probably the best omelet I've ever had.

After breakfast, we drove about 40 minutes away to Sterkfontein cave where the fossil of Mrs. Ples was discovered. Mrs. Ples, the oldest human fossil ever discovered, is believed to be the missing link between the apes and the humans because the anatomy resemble both kinds. We took an hour tour of the cave which goes down 200m underground. It was very cool to see the rock formation. The cave was so big there was actually an underground lake in it. Despite the cave being very dark, my mom wore her sunglasses the whole time because she'd forgotten to bring her eyeglasses and she cannot see without corrective lenses. As a result, she fell inside the cave, sprained her ankle and tore the pants she was wearing.

After the cave, we drove about 10km away to the Maropeng museum which I found very interesting. The architecture of the building is very unique. They covered the building with earth, so the building looks like a little mountain. Once you're inside, you walk underground and get on this “Small World” ride which presented the process how continents were formed (instead of the cute little international people singing Small World with no accent). It was entertaining. The other exhibitions were all very well-presented and interesting.

We then drove back to the hotel at around 6pm and had dinner (we'd been advised by many to not be out after dark, so we had to cut the day a little short). I had a really good steak.

My first impression of South Africa so far has been good. The people at the hotel are very very nice and friendly. The landscapes are beautiful and unique. Have not seen a wildlife animal yet, but we'll get to that in a few days. I was also very impressed by the presentation of their museums. It shows that they put in a lot of care and attentions into educating the world about their country. That's admirable.