#Johannesburg

It’s Monday, January 11th, 2021. It’s dark and rainy in Joburg and the holidays are officially over. South Africa is suffering through a second wave of covid-19 – worse than the first wave, as many experts predicted, and likely to worsen further as millions of South Africans return to work in the big cities after celebrating the holidays at home. We’re back in Level 3 lockdown, with a strict curfew and alcohol sales banned again.

I’ve hardly blogged about restaurants this year. I don’t eat out much these days, and when I do I usually go to places that feel safe and familiar. But a couple of weeks ago I went for lunch at Anong Thai in Cyrildene with my friends Yoko and Ang. I had never been to Anong before, and as soon as we pulled in I was pretty sure it was going to be a blog-worthy experience.

I recently spent a Friday walking around downtown Joburg with Gerald Garner. Gerald needed a few photos taken for his new book, Johannesburg 2020 and Ahead. So we walked the city from end to end – nearly nine kilometers total, with a couple of Uber rides mixed in – chatting about recent developments in town as Gerald pointed out the different buildings and scenes he needed me to shoot.

Last Wednesday I headed down the M1 highway with my pink-haired friend Gail Wilson and my purple-clad friend Faarooq Gardee-Minty Mangera, a.k.a. the Purple Pimpernel. Our destination was Lenasia, a historically Indian township 30 minutes south of central Joburg.