Announcement: The first public book launch for SandtonPlaces is this evening, 5:30 p.m., at Exclusive Books in Sandton City. Everyone is welcome so please stop by if you’d like to meet Gerald Garner, Brian Unsted, and me and have us sign your copy of the book. The book has already made the local top-10 bestseller list at Exclusives.

You came into my life four years ago today. I want to thank you.

Thank you for giving me a sense of purpose. When I first arrived in Joburg, I didn’t have a job or even a plan. But I always had you. Eventually you became my job and my plan.

I recently found myself on a tour of Alexandra Township, or Alex, with an innovative new tourism company called Tour2.0. I like Tour2.0’s online description so much that I’m just going to quote it directly:

Last weekend I went on a graffiti tour with Past Experiences. I should have done this a long time ago. Graffiti is a huge deal in Joburg and I love photographing it. I haven’t blogged about it enough.

Yesterday evening, as one does, I found myself in the posh office of a Sandton City diamond dealer with four lively ladies from New York City.

I’m not much interested in diamonds, although I was intrigued by the tanzanite and semiprecious stones. I’m still thinking about a pair of purple-gold amethysts that I saw, toying with the idea of an early birthday present to myself. But I digress.

I didn’t expect the end to come so soon. And yet here it is: the final post of my #MeetSouthAfrica series.

As I mentioned before, the #MeetSouthAfrica blogger adventure ended in Durban. We were in Durban for three days but spent only part of that time exploring the city; a large portion of our visit was devoted to attending the 2014 Indaba – a huge international travel convention.

The bunny chow is a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry. Invented by South Africa’s ethnic Indian community and traditionally eaten without a knife and fork, bunny chows are one of this country’s best-kept culinary secrets.