Flying over Africa

I've been to South Africa five times now, but this was the first time I've flown via Amsterdam on KLM.  In the past, I've flown Delta from JFK via Dakar, which is a 9 hour trip to Dakar over the South Atlantic, then another 9 hours onward to Johannesburg or Cape Town.  Another route I've flown is Delta via Atlanta, which involves a three hour flight from JFK to Atlanta, and then onward with a 17 hour flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg. The flight yesterday with KLM was very pleasant.  It involved 7 hours JFK to Schipol, with a 3 hour layover to sit in the business lounge, and then an 11 hour flight north to south over Africa.

Sadly, I sat on the aisle in economy class and there was a lot of cloud cover most of the way down, except from Algeria to Niger.  And by the time we got over Angola, the sun was setting and the trip was dark.  I captured a few shots of the endless Sahara dessert over Algeria.  The shapes of the dunes and the shadows they cast were the only contrast in a sea of red sand that stretched for a thousand miles.  It was a breathtaking sight.

Joburg feels the same except that I chose the wrong hotel.  In past visits I stayed at the Sandton Hilton, which is a large and comfortable hotel conveniently located in Sandton.  This time, just to mix it up, I opted to stay at the Sandton Sun on Katherine Street, which is smaller and feels more like a South African guest house.  It lacks the attentive staff, excessive breakfast buffet, and excellent pool and lovely garden the Hilton has.  I guess the boring breakfast here will be good for my waistline, and the rooms are quiet and comfortable.  But the housekeeping staff comes to clean the rooms at 8am!
Its only a few days, I suppose.