(CNN)We're in a dimly lit shebeen (pub) in Soweto sharing beer from a communal cup and the conversation is getting heated. We're discussing President Jacob Zuma's house refurbishment using more than 200 million rand of state funds --  a move being investigated by the country's anti-corruption watchdog. "Pah, he lives there in his own Hollywood, and we have nothing," spits a drinker while whacking his fly swatter furiously against the bench we're sitting on, lashing one unfortunate drinker. It's just another afternoon in Africa's most famous township -- a hotbed for political dissent since its creation in 1903 as part of the forced resettlement of black workers from Johannesburg.
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Cycling is one of the best ways to see this huge former black township
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You can drink a beer in a "shebeen," an informal bar
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Vilakazi Street has been home to two Novel Peace Prize winners -- Mandela and Desmond Tutu
On being greeted by us white folk on @placeholder, one guy solemnly told us: "Don't talk to me, talk to my lawyer."