I woke up fairly early this morning, considering my 21-hour, three-legged flight yesterday. I was still a little tired, but I was hungry, and my stomach won out, particularly since I remembered that I bought the breakfast buffet with my room stay at the Protea Hotel Balalaika. Let me start throwing some numbers at you. I booked two nights at this hotel for $73 a night, including the breakfast buffet. The coffee was outstanding by the way. Somewhat a cross between an espresso and a cafe americano. I was happy... I booked through Expedia, and I'm not sure if I just got a special, or if that was the regular going rate. I'm literally 200 meters from the Hilton, and a quarter mile from a large Radisson, both of which had rooms at more than triple the rate I got. Now, my room is quite pleasant, though I do have to pay for my internet access. The hotel has two restaurants, and is connected to a small but very nice shopping center called the Village Walk. Oh, and another reason I'd booked this hotel is that it's right across the street from the JSE - the new Johannesburg Stock Exchange. And I mean new... Very shiny. There's new construction happening right down the road too. A new bank I believe. This is my first taste of the Two-Tier Economy... Can you imagine my surprise when on my walk after breakfast this morning when I passed an Aston Martin dealership? It holds a prime spot at the Hyde Auto Park, along with Mini Cooper, BMW, Ducati, and Daytona Cars. That's where the Radisson is. I found this very interesting as on my flight over, I watched the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, where 007 destroys a beautiful charcoal grey Aston Martin. Incidentally, the porter I told you about last night was back this morning, but this time as a cleaner. Goes to show you that for all the glitz, there's still some folks struggling to make a buck. Today, I'll be meeting with Gareth. He's an editor for MoneyWeek SA, and I've spoken to him in the past about South Africa's economy. He's got his finger on the pulse, and I'll be sure to ask him some tough questions about this Two-Tiered Economy.