活得精采，劉偉澍的學習網站

During my trip to South Africa , I bought one small diamond at MYNHARSTA diamonds, Parktown, Johannesburg; for some reason I was not able to reclaim my VAT refund.  I would like to thank Miss Judy Lai MYNHARSTA diamonds to assist me for the VAT tax refund.  This is also something you need to be careful while you travel in South Africa .

To: Judy Lai,

Nice to meet with you at your Parktown your shop.

For tax refund at Johannesburg international airport, it took me waiting for one hour and still can not be refunded over there.  There are 8 counters and only 3 in service, two custom officers just chatting and do not assist tourists at all.  The government service is very poor and no customer satisfaction at all.  All foreign tourists are very disappointed and complaints a lot.  Singapore Airlines employee had to come to Tax Refund Office to push us back to departure gate and eventually we are forced to leave without tax refund and need to airmail it back to South Africa Johannesburg International Airport VAT Refund Post Office for refund claim. Let's see any progress on this.

To: VAT Refund Administrator Ltd

Johannesburg International Airport Post Office , South Africa ,

I departed on February 23 SQ 479 from JNB via SIN to TPE;

I was not able to get VAT refund at the airport,

And the tax refund officer suggested me to get refund by airmail claim request.

The Tax invoices are listed below (3 tax invoices attached) for VAT refund:

Please remit the VAT refund to my American Express Card or

Airmail the tax refund check back to me.

Your attention on this will be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours, 

David W. S. Liu

South Africa has eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana , Venda , Xhosa and Zulu. In this regard it is second only to India in number. While each language is technically equal to every other, English has emerged recently as the chief-among-peers as it is the most widely spoken language across racial barriers as well as globally, even though it is not the most widely spoken language by population.  As a result of immigration, South Africa is a very ethnically diverse nation. It has the largest population of people from a mixed ethnic background, whites, and Indian communities in Africa . Black South Africans account for slightly more than 70% of the population.

參觀祖魯文化村，參觀了解祖魯族，恩德貝勒村落，科薩族，蘇圖族，及派迪恩族各族的生活方式。參觀古代技術傳統，用茅草及繩索編綁而成俗稱的蜂窩棚屋。爾後觀賞非洲鼓脈動節奏下的傳統舞蹈表演，午餐安排享用非洲傳統風味餐品嚐以非洲傳統烹飪方式之美食。

In 1652 a station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. For most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the slowly-expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. The British annexed the Cape Colony in 1805.  While the White minority enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa, often comparable to western nations, the Black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.

A long period of harsh suppression by the government, and at times violent resistance, strikes, marches, protests, and sabotage, by various anti-apartheid movements, most notably the African National Congress (ANC), followed. In 1990, the National Party government took the first step towards negotiating itself out of power when it lifted the ban on the African National Congress and other left-wing political organizations, and released Nelson Mandela from prison after twenty-seven years' incarceration on a sabotage sentence. Apartheid legislation was gradually removed from the statute books, and the first multi-racial elections were held in 1994. The ANC won by an overwhelming majority and has been in power ever since. Despite the end of apartheid, millions of South Africans, mostly black, continue to live in poverty.

食的方面

a.早餐之標準為自助餐式，可任意取用。

b.餐食多樣化：駝鳥風味料理、全隻龍蝦餐、肋排餐、非洲傳統風味餐等。

c.午餐及晚餐以西餐為主。

d.南非多數飯店有煮水器供應飲水，房內的冷水即可生飲。

e.於餐廳用餐時，請勿飲用自己所攜帶的酒類及飲料，而沿途用       

餐時所有飲料皆不包含在費用之內，飲料自行付費。

Infrastructure in SA is very good, very similar to USA or European counties, and better than Taiwan .  Travel in South Africa is just like travel in Australia or north America . 

Safety is a serious concern, our tour guide and bus driver keeps remind us not to walk alone, watch our bags.  I saw a lot of sign in front of the houses or the shops with signs of “Armed Response”, “Armed Reacted”, or specify that this premise is protected by XXX security system, … etc. Crime has been a major problem in South Africa . Many emigrants from South Africa also state that crime was a big motivator for them to leave. 

It is the eighth largest wine producer in the world, and the eleventh largest producer of sunflower seed. South Africa is a net exporter of agricultural products and foodstuffs, the largest number of exported items being sugar, grapes, citrus, nectarines, wine and deciduous fruit. South Africa will be the host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It will be the first time the tournament is held in Africa .  As in many African countries, the spread of AIDS is a serious problem in South Africa .

This is the 24^th articles in the category of "Travel Around the World", you can refer to other articles as well.  South Africa is the 38^th countries I traveled so far up to now.

Take a look and have a nice day.

Africa paintings

While the 30% White minority enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa, the 70% Black, the 70% Black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.  I do not have their detailed income data; if I simply use simple average US$33,000 x 30% + US$3,300 x 70% = US$12,210 on average, the gap between the white minority vs the black majority will be 10 times ($33,000 vs $3,300), and personally I think this is the major reason behind the high crime rate.

I also noticed that SA value added tax is very high, you need to pay another 14% for VAT.  I bought one 1.06 carat diamond round cut, E color, SI2 clarity at MSRP market suggested retail price of US$10,685 and on top of that I also need to pay 14% VAT tax.  80% of diamond comes from South Africa , on average 350 ton mine rock can only produce 1 carat diamond, no wonder diamond is so expensive.

For tax refund at Johannesburg international airport, it took me waiting for one hour and still can not be refunded over there.  There are 8 counters and only 3 in service, two custom officers just chatting and do not assist tourists at all.  The government service is very poor and no customer satisfaction at all.  All foreign tourists are very disappointed and complaints a lot.  Singapore Airlines employee had to come to Tax Refund Office to push us back to departure gate and eventually we are forced to leave without tax refund and need to airmail it back to South Africa Johannesburg International Airport VAT Refund Post Office for refund claim.