50 pence just bought me a copy of 'South East Asia on a Shoestring' by Tony Wheeler. (Its not the original guide but a 1981 update) The first thing that is striking is the limits of the book - we're not going to Cambodia, Vietnam or Laos - these countries were all fighting at this time and were seriously off-limits. And Communist China? No chance! In Tony's words: ''If you want to carry on towards Europe...Chiang Mai is effectively the end of the road'' The Cold War was blowing through this part of the world in 1980 and the borders that [View Full Entry]

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Not much is known about the pre-Incan civilization that lived along the ancient shores of Lake Titicaca, but they did leave behind an impressive city in Tiahuanaco. Even though much of it is still being excavated, and even more of it was pilfered by the Incas and later the Spanish for their own building, it is still an interesting site. The sun was hot on the day we went. It beat down on the earth, heating up the ruddy rocks that were used to build the temples and buildings over 1000 years ago. The largest site, Piramide de Akapana, is still [View Full Entry]

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Great white sharks. Who wouldn't mind adding them to their life list of wildlife sightings? The main reason Alan and I are here in Hermanus is to see them. Oh, and to stay at the wonderful Birkenhead House . We wake this morning to the sound of the ocean. Will it be too windy for our great white shark viewing adventure? After an omelet breakfast in the dining room, we sit on the back patio watching whales playing in the ocean. Steps from the property, a walking path meanders along the coas [View Full Entry]

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Forty hours, seven time zones, and two dismal lay-overs after leaving New York, I arrive in Kigali at half-past three in the morning, a somnolent mess of rumpled clothes, dried-out contacts, and skin like wax paper. The bunch of us debarking in Rwanda shuffle through the airport’s halls like refugees; apart from a young, eager barrista manning the bar at the Bourbon Coffee shop, the place is lifeless. You can’t help but feel like a fugitive creeping into a country under the cover of darkness. I think of my first visit to Rwanda last year, whisking across the smooth tarmac from [View Full Entry]

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I wasn't initially impressed by the island. This may have had something to do with the fact that it was pouring rain after our time in Halong Bay. With nothing to do in the morning when our hike got cancelled, we spent time drinking Vietnamese iced coffees, eating lychees and deflecting crude pickup lines from self-purported Vietnamese playboys. Thankfully the weather cleared up and I got to spend the afternoon at the beach observing the Vietnamese enjoying their beach vacations. It was great determining current Vietnamese beach fashion, who was there with their current consort/mistres [View Full Entry]

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I was really starting to question my faith? After all these Muslim sights I’ve seen, Israel gave me a chance to answer the call. But would I take this opportunity to connect with my religion? I chose Mt Nemo instead of Bethany-Beyond the Jordan where Jesus was baptised. Now I had a chance to go to either Bethlehem or Masada. The night before my Aussie mate Chris bought a backgammon set and a bottle of vodka. Sitting on the roof of our hostel. The sun was setting over Jerusalem and we got carried away. Drinking ourselves to a separate stumble back [View Full Entry]

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This is certainly Ataturk country. Turkey may be the former seat of the Roman Empire in the East, known for many centuries as the Byzantine Empire, but today, a statue of Ataturk stands in every town and city in all of Turkey. This great reforming President was born Mustafa Kemal who adopted the surname Ataturk which means "Father of the Turks". There couldn't have been a more appropriate name. Ataturk ruled Turkey as President from 1923 until he died in 1938 at the Dolmabahce Palace. I have yet to meet a Turk who does not adore him. A debt of gratitude [View Full Entry]

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Whether in the middle of South Africa or "on top of it" as they say because it's at a higher altitude, visiting the tiny country of Lesotho with its Sotho speaking Basotho people was a journey worth making even if there was no border control or customs agent to stamp my passport as proof. The multi colored flat mountains, waist high grass filled hills and drastic difference in temperature between when the sun is shining and when it's behind a cloud instantly grabbed me, but it was the people that were the best part. "Thank you for coming to our country" [View Full Entry]

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