Spices, beaches and the edge of the world

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There have been lots of funny things that have happened lately but I wanted to post something just to get everyone up to speed on the last few weeks.



The edge of the world



Good bye china. As I got on my plane in shanghai I felt one thing more then others: relief. I was heading to South Africa, an English speaking country, where I could have a break from the mental drain that is Asia. I love asia, but sometimes you just want to sit down and have a burger in place where your shit Chinese and masterful charades aren't necessary. I had to stop in Johannesburg before heading to cape town and as I landed I noticed something. Snow. For the first time in decades every province in SA was hit by snow. This was a bummer. I had just left a city in northern china that has below 30 winter for 7 months of the year, to land in africa in snowy conditions. And God laughed.Cape town turned out not to have any snow, though cold enough for a good sweater. It's a harbour city with a beautiful backdrop of table mountain holding the sprawl of urbanites to the shoreline. Untouched beaches litter the shoreline with a few surfers tempting the waters. I can't say enough about how beautiful this place was and how ignorant I was about it before. The first few days however were drinking, drinking and more drinking. South Africans know how to party and having a true dubstep/trance party at fez, till 5am, cured all my needs from the disgustingly organized clubs of china. People were there to have a good time, not to show off cash like in Chinese clubs. A few hundred people moving to the music, that's what we all need sometimes my friends. After this I headed to Cape point, the most southern you can get on the cape of good hope. You have to drive through a national park with baboons and other wildlife scattering the landscape. Renting a car is a must in this country, it takes you to places that you'd only find on your own and the places you always wanted to see. Your at the edge of the world here with Antarctica to the south and rest to the north. I wrapped up my trip with good people, good scenery and good times. I struggled a bit, finding myself using chinese in shops just out of reaction, but as soon as i relaxed, it it felt like home. There should be no reason why people don't visit this place. It's paradise.

Spice

One stop before Vietnam was Istanbul. I can't say I knew very much of what to expect in turkey other then dudes in red caps spinning around. I usually like to have some idea of what I'm getting myself into. We got off our 12 hour flight from south africa at 5 am in the capital. Our room at the hostel wouldn't be ready till 10 so we decided to walk around the city and see what we could. Istanbul straddles Europe ad Asia and is a pure blend of many cultures. We walked down small cobble stone alleys to a giant courtyard contained by mosques, egyptian spires and cathedrals. The ones thing to be wary about here in the early mornings are the packs of wild dogs that roam the streets. One of these started following us and we succeeded in keeping most of them accept one old bitch who followed us down to the seawall. I don't know of this dog smelt the weeks of travel on me or was a dead relative reincarnated but it followed us the who day. Through big crowds, sat outside restaurants and followed us along the Bosphorus. People kept asking if it was our dog because it was calm and followed out heels like any good dog would. We got back to the hostel at 12 and slept for a few hour before getting up to hit up the Egyptian spice market and grand bazaar. I am not shitting you, the grand bazaar is insane. It's like a city inside a city. Gold, carpets, silks and shit you don't need strewn along a maze of corridors and passage ways. The spice market is the second biggest in the world and carries spices from every corner of the globe. If you ever find yourself here go to stall 44 for the best Turkish delight and stall 42 for fresh honey comb, often sold to make men "strong".

Beaches

Saigon is unrelenting. Sounds, smells and scooters. Me and Josias met up with our friend Kieren and hit the bars at midnight. Here they run 24/7 365 days a year and any desire can be met with satisfaction. The food is good though the constant waves of touchy prostitutes and dirty children askin for money gets tiresome. We booked a ticket for Mui Ne the next day.Mui Ne is exactly what you see in postcard of Vietnam. Palm trees and white beaches. It's low season right now and there are considerably little tourists here and the rooms are cheap starting at around 7 dollars a night. We settled for a ocean side hut with pool and beach bar for a whopping 10 dollars. I'm on day five of doing jack all but tomorrow we'll move on. Next stop is Na trang and who knows where next.

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