Yellow route

The Wannabee cycle club built and maintains a number of excellent mountain bike routes through the vineyards and hills around Somerset West and Stellenbosch. I joined a few cyclists this morning for a quick yellow route ride. The wind was quite strong, but the scenery beautiful.

Hyatt swim

On a cloudy morning, I got into the rooftop pool at the Hyatt for a few lengths. Recently, I really started enjoying my swims. The one thing about swimming is that one cannot look at much while swimming, which forces you towards your own thoughts. This morning I could not help thinking about how blessed I am and that I have not done anything to deserve this... to the contrary.

Cape Salmon at Ocean Basket

We watched Afrikaans movie: "Verraaiers" at Somerset Mall. Afterwards we had a bite at a local fish eatery franchise, Ocean Basket, not expecting anything spectacular. They surprised us with a good wine list (all wines served by the glass), fresh fish (including scarce Cape Salmon) well prepared and good service. Which all goes to show that one should not judge anything on what it looks like on the outside.

Flamingos in the morning

Really special to be woken by the sounds of birds in the morning, to stand on the verandah with a cup of coffee and watch the flamingos in the early morning light at the edge of the lake. We slept over at MeerenBosch with Arden, thankful for so many blessings.

High heels for charity

So proud of my daughter-in-law who arranged a fund-raising for Common Good charity (funding education for entrepreneurs in poor communities). She finished the 5km run in high heel shoes and (with others) raised a sizable amount for the charity.

Busy ORT

One can see that it is the start of a long weekend. ORT is really busy as people fly to the coast for a few days of relaxing. I am also looking forward to the weekend after a successful few days in Johannesburg. Now, to just sit through the two hours down to the Cape.

Reuben's

Me and Annelie had lunch at Reuben's in Franchhoek. The food stood up to the reputation as real South African fusion, from the crayfish tempura to the melktert with koeksister ice cream. Unfortunately the service was sloppy and I was disappointed with the wines available by glass.

Fundamo kick-off

We were entertained by fire-eaters, a contortionist, acrobats and a magician at the annual Fundamo kick-off event. We all came dressed with masks or painted faces. Later, when the younger folk started dancing, me and Annelie left.

Pakistan visit

As I am boarding the plane for Dubai at Karachi International after a wonderful three day visit to Pakistan, I am trying to understand why I always enjoy visiting this country. It could be the food or the rich culture. Maybe it is realizing the potential of this huge country with its complex problems, yet a spirit of optimism. It may be all of those, but definitely at the root of everything is the wonderful friends that I have and that always welcome me with open arms.

Pakistan Domestic

My flight from Karachi to Lahore was delayed with more than an hour, so I had to wait in the domestic terminal for quite a while. Most of the announcements were only in Urdu and it was not possible to get onto the WiFi with an international mobile number. But then I suppose, unescorted foreigners (like me) don't usually travel on domestic flights in Pakistan. Pity.

Argus 2013

It took six Argus races for me to complete one that was most enjoyable. The weather was (almost) perfect, I had no punctures and felt great when I crossed the finish line. I missed a sub-four hour time with two minutes, but most important had a wonderful time. I thanked the Lord for blessing me with good health and energy to experience this very special occasion.

Pirates on the Cape Flats

On the way back from the airport, one can see the pirate ships in the light rain on the Cape Flats. I can see that there is a lot of activity on the decks. As we drove past the Cape Town Film Studios, I knew that I am a few minutes from home.

Laser-show over the bay

On our last night in Singapore, we took the water-taxi back from dinner at the Fullerton hotel to Marina Bay Sands. The laser-show just started and a light breeze from the sea cooled us down as we watched the spectacle. It was a good visit.

Indochine restaurant

A year ago the gardens on the bay was a construction site. Now it has been transformed into a tropical garden with massive steel and glass artificial trees towering above the landscape. High up in the branches of one of these "trees" is the Indochine restaurant (ten stories up with a spectacular view of the Singapore night sky). We entertained clients at this strange, avatar-type restaurant and enjoyed the views over a modern city.

Dell power supply

I left my Dell laptop's power-supply in Singapore. After asking around, I was told that it is likely that I will find a Dell charger in Denpassar only. So this morning I rented a scooter and drove into the city. And what an adventure it was. It took some time to get used to crossing an intersection with bikes coming from every direction at speed, how to pass slow traffic with a quick beep-beep and to not get lost at the same time. I had to buy petrol on the side of the road and got a puncture fixed at a small garage. In the end I probably found the only Dell charger on the island, negotiated the price down from Rp450k to Rp300k. Made in China, it fitted the laptop perfectly, but did not charge it.

Pura Luhur Batukaru Temple

The Pura Luhur Batukaru Temple on the southern tip of Bali is seen as one of the seven directional temples on the island. It is built on a spectacular cliff overlooking the ocean. Me and Annelie visited the temple see the sunset, but it was overcast. Annelie felt that the tame monkeys that calmly take peanuts out of your hand, was the highlight of the visit.