So we woke up in the morning, booked for a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels - the scene of some of the heaviest action (ground and air) in the Vietnam war. We strolled down to the travel agent's office in Pham Ngu Lao (well actually we took a taxi, as we'd slept in) and had a whole ten minutes to spare before the 8AM start. We let the guy know we'd be having a coffee next door, which was our first mistake of the day, and the bus left without us. This wasn't a problem t...

Well it's been a little while since I've written anything - being in Africa was strangely disconnecting (no power, phones or water on some days, and no broadband at all!). I've made some notes, though, so will try to respospectively post some thoughts. Anyway, on to the present - so after a couple of days acclimatising to Asia in Singapore, it was north to Vietnam. The planning, as always, was possibly a little bit short-horizon; we rang round in a slightly fren...

So another relaxing day in Cape Town. We'd planned to go hiking up Table Mountain today. Mum had organised one of her friends who climbs regularly (in his late seventies) to take us up. Anyway, we woke up at 8-ish to the sound of rain - the whole mountain was covered in white cloud and a few more hours in bed seemed far more appealing. I'm ashamed to say that I think Neville and his regulars went ahead and braved it in their rain jackets ... and it did clear up a...

So after a few hours roasting slightly on Hout bay, we went across to Kirstenbosh with the parents and Sally (old school friend) for Carols by Candlelight. The day was spectacular - not too hot, not too windy. It's difficult to describe the Kirstenbosch amphitheatre and the photos probably don't do it justice - you walk up a wooded hill and come out onto this enormous lawn which slopes down into Newlands forest - all you can see for miles is trees; it really give...

So haven't written anything for a couple of days - mainly we've just been hanging out with the folks and doing a bit of general loafing in Cape Town. This city really does grow on you - there's so much to see & do. On Saturday morning we got up, went to yoga and then shot off with the parents and Stephanie to Constantia market in Tokai forest. It's held in the grounds of a huge school - the Chrysalis project - which has been set up to help 17-25 year olds wh...