Over the past seventeen years I’ve worked in law and business and have taught at universities. All this has come together pretty much across the globe. It’s arguably no exaggeration to call me a globetrotter. Whilst doing that sort of globetrotting, a string of favourites have come out of the pipeline, as time has rolled by. Let’s chat a little about these favourites.
In case you read my stuff, you need no filling in that my favourite country is South Africa. I lived in South Africa during the transition period there, from the end of Apartheid to the birth of the new South Africa. That fact alone makes South Africa my favourite country. It implies numerous unforgettable memories. On top of it, South Africa’s scenery makes the cut for spectacular and untamed.
It’s slightly more difficult to pinpoint my favourite city. Plenty of folks go for Vancouver or San Francisco or Cape Town. I know all these cities. All three fit the bill for the term splendid scenery. My principal objection is, however, that they draw too many tourists. They’re plentifully too touristy to my liking. Instead, my favourite city is Sandton City, situated halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. Sandton City projects the image of Southern California. All the while, it’s situated in Africa.
My favourite airport is the airport in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s airport radiates the flair of a very modern and efficient airport. You can effortlessly purchase there whatever you need or desire, even though I’ve got to admit that I haven’t tried to get my hands there on anti-tank bazookas. My favourite airline is headquartered in Hong Kong. You may have guessed so already. It’s Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific’s service cuts the mustard for impeccable. I flew Cathay Pacific a few times. Cathay Pacific has never disappointed.
My favourite restaurant is situated in Changchun. I’m talking about Coffee Garden at the Shangri - La Hotel. The daily buffet there marvellously blends Asian and Western cuisine. And the ambiance as well as the service don’t fall short of being top notch. The ambiance conveys the message “East meets West”, in a five star setting. You can even read a German business daily there, namely Handelsblatt.
Shopping doesn’t even remotely come down to my favourite flavour of the month. Yet it’s unavoidable at times. My favourite shopping mall is the Charter shopping centre in Changchun. In terms of stuff Charter reflects an ordinary upmarket shopping mall. But the service there stands out. I couldn’t buy books there because that outfit doesn’t do books. In that situation one of the staff walked me all the way to the Xinhua bookshop in Changchun. Along the way, we enjoyed having a banter in Chinglish.
My favourite bookshop belongs to the Borders chain and is situated in Auckland. That outfit presumably cuts it for one of the biggest bookshops in the South Pacific. You can browse there completely undisturbed. The staff never harass you. That fact is of utmost significance to me with respect to a bookshop.
Let’s round all this out by reverting to my days as a student at law school. My world then looked plentifully smaller. Similar to spades of university students I was then quite close to broke. That fact notwithstanding my favourite restaurant was an Argentine steakhouse in Germany. You may be minded to suss it out. Its website is www.madero.de
