Met up with some friends in Colombo, one of whom had very kindly brought Chris' surfboard out for him, so you can see what the theme of this trip might be I'm sure! Headed down the coast to Hikkaduwa, a lovely beach resort unfortunately with a very busy road running through it, but we stayed on the beach side of the road to escape the noise. On route here, we could see some of the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami, and recovery is still a work in pro...

If there was a sound track to India, it would have the stereotypical sitar music, calls to prayer and chiming bells you might imagine. Unfortunately, it would also have the unsightly noise of people coughing up and spitting out phlegm, all manner of traffic beeping their horns coming at you from every direction, and people begging on every corner. And I won't even get started on the smells! Despite some of its flaws, it still holds certain must-see attraction...

This sprawling metropolis was a bit of a shock to the system having come from deserted Namibia after a brief stop in Johannesburg. Hong Kong airport was clean and surprisingly quiet, so when we boarded the train to the centre, we expected to step out into the madness, but it never quite happened. There were once more people per square mile than anywhere else in the world here, but there are so many high rise buildings, you don't quite realise it's so pack...

Made it down to Johannesburg for the second time this week, and drove through the little town of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve! Continued on about 20km to Chris' brother's house in the picturesque Clarens. Paul, his wife Elaine, and their three children made my parents and I feel instantly welcome, and the mood felt surprisingly Christmassy for a hot country. By 7 am on Christmas Day, the house was abound with presents and the childr...

Flew from Nairobi down to Johannesburg to meet my parents for their first trip to Africa. We went to a shopping mall to do a bit of lastminute shopping and then caught up on sleep before heading back to the airport the next morning for our flight to Zambia. Livingstone is home to one side of the Victoria Falls, a spectacular waterfall spanning the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, pouring millions of gallons of water every minute down the gorge, creating rapids beyo...