What used to be the Republic of Vietnam's (i.e. South Vietnam's) presidential palace is now called reunification palace or independence palace. This is where those two Chinese and Soviet made tanks burst into in April 1975 to bring an end to the American war here that followed the French war that followed WW II. OK, the Americans had left a little while before that, but it was end of the divided country. The palace has been left intact from that day, to serve as a stark piece of history. It has giant banquet halls, huge meeting rooms, a movie theatre, helicopter landing pad, a basement war room with command and communications gear and even a shooting gallery in the basement war room. Replicas of the two tanks that burst in to end the war are parked ... read more

We left the best of Qatar for our friend G..'s last weekend. We went dune bashing in the desert south west of Mesaieed, right near the Saudi Arabian border. It was amazing. Those drivers know their stuff, and it helps that they let most of the air out of the tires of the 4x4 before we set out. I think the pictures tell the whole story. Loads of fun, even if you're not an adrenaline junky.... read more

Souq Waqif is a traditional Arabic market place in Doha. Though it was recently renovated, the architects made sure that it retained the original characters of the place.... read more

Here's our villa in Doha, and also N..'s place of work.... read more

We could not find a reasonably priced beach location nearby to Mombasa, so we asked the airport taxi driver for a recommendation and he took us to the New Palm Tree Hotel. Many places jack up their prices by over five times between Christmas and New Years time! We needed some rest time, to get over some cold and flu symptoms. W.. and N.. had both been harbouring cold/flu like symptoms during the Safari and E.. finally succumbed to it in Mombasa. We ended up spending lots of time in our hotel room and the wonderful roof garden / courtyard. Walking around the old town part of Mombasa is similar to Stone town in Zanzibar. The Swahili influence is very strong, and Fort Jesus, that was built by the Portuguese in their vain attempt to hold ... read more