An 8 hour stop over in Jo'burg what could possibility go wrong!

So I needed to get to Europe way back in 1996 which is a story in itself but that is for another time. Now I want to get my South African stamp on the travelfeed map. Back then you back had to visit your local travel agent. I was young and had already done a fair bit of overseas travelling, working at ski resorts and hand picking well paying construction jobs in different parts of Australia. I asked the travel agent for anther option to Europe other than flying via Singapore and I ended up walking out of the shop with a round the world ticket via Perth to visit a friend, a short stopover in Johannesburg and home via America. I felt pretty clever and was looking forward to another new thing and a bit of a round the world Adventure.
So I needed to get to Europe way back in 1996 which is a story in itself but that is for another time. Now I want to get my South African stamp on the travelfeed map. Back then you back had to visit your local travel agent. I was young and had already done a fair bit of overseas travelling, working at ski resorts and hand picking well paying construction jobs in different parts of Australia. I asked the travel agent for anther option to Europe other than flying via Singapore and I ended up walking out of the shop with a round the world ticket via Perth to visit a friend, a short stopover in Johannesburg and home via  America. I felt pretty clever and was looking forward to another new thing and a bit of a round the world Adventure.
I may have been a little over confidant as I have already back packed solo through South East Asia, Kenya and Egypt with only the lonely plant books as a bit of a rough guide.
I may have been a little over confidant as I have already back packed solo through South East Asia, Kenya and Egypt with only the lonely plant books as a bit of a rough guide.
So instead of just hanging around the for 8 hours I thought I would just zip into town on the local bus and check the city out. Photo by Suganth on Unsplash
So instead of just hanging around the  for 8 hours I thought I would just zip into town on the local bus and check the city out.  Photo by Suganth on Unsplash
Photo by Keenan Constance on Unsplash
 Photo by Keenan Constance on Unsplash 
I checked a few of the maps out on the bus and worked out a simple route.
I checked a few of the maps out on the bus and worked out a simple route.
It pretty easy to forget what day it is when your travelling, It was day light and I thought I was just going to kill a few hours checking out this big city center then catch another bus back to the airport . I thought I was good at not looking like a tourist and walking purposely, like I knew where I was going but I only got a couple of hundred meters from the bus stop before being mugged by a group of youth that appeared out of no where on a main street. They came from behind and jumped all over me before I knew what was going on, then split in all different direction when they finally got my day pack out of my hand. I must have been angry as I chased the guy that had my bag until he got scared and throw it at me. I had lost my wallet it still had my passport in my waist belt. Photo by Ingo Stiller on Unsplash
It pretty easy to forget what day it is when your travelling, It was day light and I thought I was just going to kill a few hours checking out this big city center then catch another bus back to the airport . I thought I was good at not looking like a tourist and walking purposely, like I knew where I was going but I only got a couple of hundred meters from the bus stop before being mugged by a group of youth that appeared out of no where on a main street.  They came from behind and jumped all over me before I knew what was going on, then split in all different direction when they finally got my day pack out of my hand. I must have been angry as I chased the guy that had my bag until he got scared and throw it at me. I had lost my wallet it still had my passport in my waist belt.  Photo by Ingo Stiller on Unsplash
It maybe have helped if I actually read a bit of the guide book instead of just looking at the pictures.
It maybe have helped if I actually read a bit of the guide book instead of just looking at the pictures.  

After being mugged, a few other locals directed me to a police station because I had lost my bus ticket and had no cash. It was a bit of a wait but the police actually gave me a lift in one of there cars back to the airport with plenty of time for my next flight. The Policeman had a few thing to do on the way to be airport and we had a bit of a chat. Not the experience I was thinking of for Jo'burg but still another new thing!