Being a sucker for views from high up, visiting the Carlton Centre has been on the top of my list of Things To See In Johannesburg for a loooong time.

The building was built in 1973, has 50 floors and has been the tallest standing building in the whole of Africa for 38 years.

There’s never been a good opportunity to go visit the building because it’s located in Downtown Joburg, where we generally try not to venture into on our own or with no good reason. I’m not saying that it’s not safe, since we go to the inner city alot with friends. It’s more like I do feel a little nervous when people check us out. We are usually the only Chinese folks walking around and do stand out like a sore thumb.

So we finally booked ourselves on a Picnic In The Sky tour with our friends. The tour started at one of our favourite places, Market On Main, where we met with our guides, Baggy and Bones. Everyone was given a picnic basket, which contained a picnic mat, bottles of Joburg Tap Water, plates, cutlery, napkins and wine glasses. We were given 20 mins to pick up some food from the market for our picnic.

Once everyone had their baskets filled, we hopped into a van and were transported to the Carlton Centre.

I was really curious what the interior of the building was like. I had read a fair share of horror stories on the building. It used to be a mighty impressive commercial building in its hey days. But high crime rates in the Downtown Joburg area had forced many of the building’s former tenants to relocate.

We walked into the building to find it looking like any other mall inside -

It wasn’t scary or run down like what I had imagined it to be. There were no weird people lurking or touting visitors. In fact, some of the older buildings in Singapore are way more scary inside than this building.

We took the lift up to the 50th floor and reached the viewing deck. All I can say is – WOW! Check out a panoramic shot of the city from the top of the Carlton Centre.

Click on the image above to see a larger picture

The viewing deck runs in 4 directions and you can get a north-south-east-west view of the city. It was an amazing experience to see the whole city before us.

Although I’ve seen the city skyline and landscape from various locations and know its magnificence, to see it this way felt like a huge privilege. It’s hard to believe that This is Africa.

Spot the Ponte Building?

The best part about going to the Carlton Centre with the tour was having Baggy and Bones give us a commentary on several major locations and buildings and the history behind them. Don’t underestimate these 2 young men. They were energetic and knowledgeable, and very creative. They even did a short performance, rapping a couple of poems for us.

We finally sat down to our picnic and dug into our not-so-light meal of fried noodles, curry chicken, samosas, spring rolls and red velvet cupcakes. Talk about a fancy picnic!

Eating a hearty meal, downing some beer and chatting with friends.. all with the magnificent view before us.. was simply divine.

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to see this building.

One more thing on my list of Things To See checked. =)
 

One of the things I like most about Johannesburg is its multiple facets of culture contained in one small city space.

Last weekend, we ventured into the inner city again, and this time, to visit the Muti shops. Which is traditional medicine in South Africa.

It’s funny how the Muti shops are found in a part of the city that looks like this -

This is Downtown Johannesburg and its surroundings after all. The kind of place that we’ve been told numerous times to avoid before we arrived here. This is the city that used to be bustling and vibrant in its old days.

Some local white South Africans told me they used to wander around here when they were kids. Once the apartheid ended, they’ve not been in this area, except if they were just driving through.

It’s a place that’s dominated by the blacks. And the shops are old fashioned, quirky and full of knick knacks. Very very fascinating.

This is the place where traditional witch doctors (Sangomas) and herbalists (Inyangas) can still be found. The shops sold the weirdest looking stuff..

Animal bones and skulls -

Weird looking herbs and roots -

Stuff you burn like incense -

Even sea water. What in the world is this for???

Lots of weird looking powders -

I asked a local black lady who was buying these colourful powders and she told me they were for bathing in. It’s called Imikhando and it cleanses away the bad luck, she said.

The holy oil can get rid of body aches and other ailments. While love potion is well, to keep your man happy, I guess.

I spotted shops selling toiletries from the 1970s or earlier..

And some promised to magically give you good skin. It’s Simple. Honest. Effective. Talk about a good marketing message!

I loved the contrast of the old shops with the skyscrapers in the background. There were buildings as old as 1902 standing side by side with giant tall buildings.

Many of the shop spaces were run down. And I spotted weird set ups like a surgical clinic next to a hardware store.

In between all this, you’ll find the most beautiful traditional African fabrics like the Shangaan and Shwe Shwe being sold.

And lots of African beadwork, steel work and wood craft too.

If you’re looking to get married, there’s a all-in-one wedding shop, where you can buy everything from a dress, suit to hats, accessories and shoes in one place. They even have the traditional Zulu wedding outfits. Wahaha!

Whoever said Johannesburg is boring or dead must have not seen it at all. This city rocks!

And no, we didn’t get any weird animal bone or love potion. But our friends did buy some Imikhando powder. If they tell us it works, I’m going to stock up some.

Here is a selection of the shots I took on my walk. Click on the thumbnails to see the pictures –