A Day At 'Market on Main' & Taxi Struggles ...

Today marked one of the days where I felt as though I had really experienced living in South Africa ... today was the first day I took a minibus taxi in Johannesburg. Having lived in Malawi a few years ago I wasn't a stranger to the concept of getting on a bus, waiting until it was packed to the brim and then driving off, however, this was Johannesburg, not Malawi, a city that is known for crime. Furthermore, 80% of the people I had talked to about taking the public transport around Johannesburg had basically said not too. However, we (a few other exchange students and myself) decided to embark on a trip into town to go to a food and craft market.

In the morning we caught a cab (10rand each) to just past our local shopping centre to catch a taxi (in South Africa a cab is a taxi, and a taxi is a minibus). We got onto an empty taxi and were soon on our way. There was minimal traffic as it was 10am on a Sunday morning, and the trip was quite pleasant, and as there weren't many other passengers either we had plenty of space.

The drive from Roodeport, where Monash University is located, into the city is very interesting, as you slowly begin to notice the differences between the suburbs that you're driving through. As the university is in a more affluent area, with nice houses, gates and plenty of shops, it's easy to forget that there is still poverty within the country.

This taxi ride took us all the way into town for 13 rand (approx $1.25AUD). Once we got into town we were supposed to cross the street and catch another taxi that would drive down Main St where the market was located. However, none of us had actually been before and thus began one of the most hectic 2 minutes of my life (slight exaggeration, if my parents are reading this please don't be too concerned.)

As soon as we got off the taxi there were already people swarming around us - we weren't exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of people I suppose. I had asked the taxi driver where exactly we should catch the next taxi and he had pointed in the direction of another street. As we continued to walk away the group of people continued to follow us, asking us where we were going etc. We were a bit overwhelmed, but stuck together as we crossed the street. However, at one stage a man tried grabbing one of our friend's phone out of his pocket. He didn't manage to take it, as after we realised what was happening and someone yelled "oi!" he stopped, and two other men came to our rescue.

They asked us where we were going, and we said Market on Main in Maboneng. The men, Alex and Ali told us that we would have to catch a taxi there as we couldn't walk there or someone would try and rob us again. Instead, he said to come with him. Ali assured us that we would be safe with Alex as he owned the shop on the street where we had gotten out of the taxi. I was a bit skeptical at first, as I had assumed he was a cab driver who was going to charge us hundreds of rands to take us to the market (or that something even worse could happen if we got into this strangers car, even though there was five of us there), but we got into his (very nice) car and escaped from the hustle and bustle of the street.

Alex drove us right to the front of Market on Main and wouldn't accept any money at all. In the space of about five minutes we had experienced the best and the worst of Johannesburg, those who were genuine and friendly and will help a stranger in need, and those who will try and take advantage of a group of foreigners. We all arrived safely at the market though, with nothing missing, and enjoyed a nice day eating delicious food and shopping.

"Please take photos - the paintings will become more realistic."

Market on Main is a weekly market held in downtown Johannesburg where an assortment of foods and crafts are available. Super cool and hipster-ish, kinda Melbourne like. We sat and got a table and then ordered some food. I had some vegetable curry, which was a lot spicier than expected. Others had a "celestial bowl" and bunny chow, which is dish in South Africa that consists of a thick piece of bread, with a hole cut in the middle and then filled with curry.

We walked around and looked at all the crafts and arts for the rest of the afternoon. One of the most interesting arts exhibitions we saw was that of the 'Superblur Art Movement'. If you looked at the paintings with just your eyes all you saw were dots. You were encouraged to take photos of the paintings however, and it was through the lens of your camera that you would see images of people such as Mao.

After a few hours of walking around we finished the day with some gelato, before it was agreed upon to get an Uber home. While I haven't written off using the taxi's again, I don't think many of us were too keen to try and get another home. Five of us squished into a car and we got home for about 53 rand each, or 265 rand all together. Quite a bit of a price jump from the mornings trip, but gave us a bit of peace of mind! This morning's incident could perhaps have been avoided if there were less people, or if one of us knew exactly where we were going, but we came out unscathed due to the kindness of strangers. While there are some areas in Joburg where things like this might happen a lot, there are also other areas where walking around you would probably be undisturbed. We were however, right in the middle of the Johannesburg CBD.