Some Final Thoughts on South Africa

I arrived back in the UK bright and early this morning. Although the trip was a success it is definitely good to be home.

Some additional tidbits of information:

• Traffic lights are called robots in South Africa. I asked a couple of people how this term came about but nobody seemed to know.
• There are 250,000 licensed mini-taxis in greater Johannesburg. Taxis are mini-vans that are primarily used in lieu of a public transportation system. As with most cities taxi drivers don't think they have to adhere to the rules of the road.
• Under the previous government all citizens were issued identity cards which specified your race - black, white or coloured. Only whites were able to gain access to certain restaurants and hotels. As foreign diplomats started visiting it became apparent that they needed a new categories as the diplomats needed to be allowed to dine and stay at the finest places so a category of "honorary white" was created.