Catch Up!

Wow... we have had such an amazing time so far! Staying in durbs was great... we stayed with my bridesmaid's - Carrie-Lee - family and it was just like home! We were spoilt rotten with braais, potjies and great red wine. We also spent a night with an old friend (Hayley) which involved everyone visiting to bring a cocktail from somewhere in the world... nice nice! But I must be honest... I now understand why Cape Town is the tourist capital of SA; it is incredible. The views from Table Mountain were spectacular (even Rich was impressed) and the coastal views on our drive to Hermanus were equally stunning. It made me sad (momentarily) to have moved away. The drive led us to Hermanus & Gansbaai where we went shark diving.

WOW (and eeew) describes our feelings of shark diving. The wow is for the shark and the eeew is from the effects of the seasickness that most people experienced! But it was definitely worth it! We were so close to the shark, it even banged into the cage when Rich was in it. We saw it up close and personal and when out of the water the view of it breaching was unbelievable. We didn't feel scared at all because it was completely disinterested in it. The whole experience just gives you a feeling of complete awe. And we only saw a 3metre shark... they can be double that size! Oh and we also saw whales briefly... they are a bit like lions in that they don't seem to do much - so it looked like a large rock to me!

After the shark diving we headed to Stellenbosch which is the wine region of SA. I WISH we could have taken more time there. We went on a wine tour and for 300GBP we were transported to 4 different wineries (Simonsig, Bochendal, Fairview and one bespoke winery) where we had cellar tours, tastings of 6 wines at each place, cheese tastings and lunch. The red wines were out of this world!! I could so easily have spent a fortune on them! (If you can find it try the Simonsig Redhill Pinotage... I think it is year 2003 - it was R180 a bottle. the Fairview Goats Do Roam range is also good, try the Goat Roti) And it was in the mountains so the views were stunning. Oh and we also went for a divine dinner in Stellenbosch... gourmet food cooked by trainee chefs with vintage wine. It was perfect! And it only cost R440... so cool!

Okay so after the wine route we headed back to Cape Town to do Table Mountain and Robben Island. The island was interesting and it definitely had a true South African edge to it because we were first given a bus ride round the island which our guide (for the bus part only)milked... he even stopped to show his house! And the (stupid) tourists tipped him a fair amount only to find out later that he had taken far longer than he should have... so we had to rush the prison tour which was given by an ex-inmate (that part was really interesting).

We have now arrived in Singapore after the best flight Rich or myself have ever had! hot towels, extra seats, multiple drinks services, a snack service, a menu card, metal cutlery, good TV choices, really really soft loo roll, a full length mirror in the loo... and brilliant customer service! nothing will ever compare!

Anyway... Singapore is impressive. I am curious to know how they make so much money because everything is man made and the city seems to be building new things constantly. As a result they don't have any real tourist sites - so i haven't got much to say about the place!

We head to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (3.30am UK time) and to China on Friday (Thursday afternoon in the UK) so more news will follow soon.

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lots of love,
S&R.