Cho Ben Thanh Market

They sell just about anything in their very small stalls that are so close to one another that you can’ tell if it’s one stall or ten. They have Coffee, snake wine, enough bags and shoes to satisfy any woman’s fetish, fresh fruit and Vegetables, meat etc. etc.

The War Remnants Museum

We visited The War Remnants museum and it blew me away. The pictures on show of the American invasion were quite something I wasn't prepared for (Yes, you know me…of course I had tears in my eyes). How can you not get emotional, I suppose pictures of war can never be nice! The effects of Agent Orange (a chemical used by the Americans) on undeveloped fetus’s were shown in large glass jars! Horrible, Horrible, Horrible! Seeing Vietnamese locals with disfigurements and amputations today is a harrowing reminder that they had escaped being one of the nearly 2 million Vietnamese to die. Once again just made me think that, 30 yrs ago the same streets we were strolling along had massive army tanks charging down them able to destroy everything in sight.

On the roads in HCMC

Streets are packed with motorbikes 7 million residence and almost half as many motorbikes. The streets are crammed with bicycles and motorbikes (up to 4 people on a motorbike) and pedestrians which dart between the vastly outnumbered cars. Bikes regularly travel the wrong way along a one-way street and appear out of side roads without even a cursory glance in the direction of the oncoming traffic. Motorbike riders remove their mirrors allowing them to squeeze through the smallest gaps.

I’m actually very surprised that I’m not more stressed out about the crazy traffic. I guess it’s different when you in the backseat and you can close your eyes when you think you’re about to have a head on collision. To give you an idea: The taxi would have it’s indicator on to turn right and while almost in full turn the next thing a motorbike driver will come past on the right as if they were also turning but then actually goes past the front of the taxi and carries on straight (go figure).

Since we’ve been here I’ve felt a couple of motorbikes scrape the side of the taxi but strangely enough neither the taxi driver nor the motorbike driver even flinches. On Saturday it wasn’t just a scrape though as a poor guy went flying of his motorbike, luckily for him he landed on his feet somehow and not head first into the oncoming traffic. We were left sitting in the backseat in the middle of a 3 way intersection with people hooting at us as our taxi driver had to get out the car to check the damage done. No numbers or insurance details were exchanged as I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time. I’d probably fill a page if I have to write about every time we’ve seen someone fall off, bumped into or driving into cars etc. etc.

Home for the next 2 months

Ho Chi Minh City is the heart and soul of Vietnam. It's a bustling, dynamic and industrious centre, the largest city in the country, the economic capital and the cultural trendsetter. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture.

This is a city that churns, ferments, bubbles and fumes. The streets, where much of the city's life takes place, are a jumble of street markets, shops, pavement cafes, stands-on-wheels and vendors selling wares spread out on sidewalks. It's impossible not to be infected by its exhilarating vibe.

The climate in Ho Chi Minh City is distinctively seasonal. The dry season lasts from November to April, when there is much sunshine and dry wind. The average temperature is 26 C. The rainy season begins in May and ends in October characterized by sudden heavy rains. The average temperature is 29 C. In general, the climate of Ho Chi Minh City is tropical, it is hot but mild thanks to the sea. Humidity is 80%, low when compared with other regions of the country.

We will update the blog once we've done a bit of site seeing, hopefully this weekend.

Singapore - Farewell Drinks

We said goodbye to Wayne and Charlene. They will be based in Beijing, China for the next couple of months.

We had a drink (I had a fabous "Singapore Sling") at a bar on the rooftop with a stunning view of the legendary Raffles Hotel.

Singapore - Marina Bay

Singapore Merlion Statue. The Merlion Statue is a symbol of Singapore. It guards the entrance to the Singapore River. You will notice that the statue is actually behind the small one that Marc is sitting in front of. The Merlion is currently under construction though or as they explain to the tourists..."Excuse me while I have a shower"!



Marina Bay by the mouth of the Singapore River offers a vibrant mix of family-oriented malls and high-end shopping arcades interlinked seamlessly, includingSingapore's only underground shopping mall (CityLink Mall).

Singapore - Orchard Road

Orchard Road is Singapores most famous shopping street, so named for the many nutmeg and pepper plantations that lined it in the 1840's. A shopper's haven, where you can practically find anything under the sun.

Singapore - Chinatown

The only Hindu temple in the area also Singapore's oldest - Sri Mariamman

A Market where you can buy souvenirs and handicrafts such as art, handmade jewellery, clothes etc.

Singapore - Sentosa Island

Spectacular view of Singapore from the cable car to Sentosa Island.


Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island.

We watched a "Pink Dolphin" show at the Dolphin Lagoon at the Underwater World.

The tunnel at Underwater World.

From Singapore to Vietnam

We arrived in Singapore on the 24th of June...WOW, what an amazing place. Such a difference from Jakarta. We unfortunately do not have the luxury of free internet access and things in Singapore are really very expensive. We stumbled across a cheap internet cafe in "Little India" and we thought we'd update the blog quickly. We'll upload pics of Singapore once we have settled in HCM. HCM = Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam that is!

We are flying to HCM on Saturday the 1st of July and the plan is to stay there for two months. But, as Marc will tell you it's a bit like the Amazing Race so we're not quite sure where we'll actually end up.

Marc is really enjoying his new job and is very excited about the adventure....and as you can imagine, so am I. So much to see and do...and I'm sure there'll be a lot of exciting things ahead.

Watch this space for more updates from the Far East.

Braai at Greg and Kirsten's House

The evenings hosts - Greg and Kirsten

Maxine and I wearing Kirsten's beautiful golden tassels (serviette holders)

Mike and Maxine

Mike and Wayne - "Not sure what they doing"!

Enjoying a night cap around the bar

After an awesome dinner (steak, chicken, patatoe bake, salad and Tiramisu) and of course the great company

Kirsten, Phillipa, Maxine and I with big "Cosmopolitan" smiles. Kirsten makes a mean Cosmo...

The boys around the braai enjoying a couple of Anchor beers

Satu Lagi (means: One More) Bar

We had a farewell drink with Jason before he heads off to Lagos - Nigeria.

Marc's visit to Freeport

We visit the Freeport mine site in west papua an extreme destination.The worlds largest gold mine with USD 25 mill a day in revenue
An extreme operation in any every sense, the mine pit is situated at 4000m above sea level.
The mine towns are situated at about 2500 meters and we needed to take a cable car to reach the pit and processing area.

The mine is also a natural and environmental disaster the rivers have been pumped full of tailing's which run grey in colour. The security is extreme.
The Indonesian army is contracted to protect the site and we had to got through about ten army checks.

The local pupuans have the worst deal they mine the river illegally but they have to sell to the army the army in turn is supplying them with the equipment to pan the river. The army controls the illegal operations buying the gold in exchange for money, food, alcohol and cell phones . Two years ago when the the mine was looking to bring in a private security firm the army instigated an attack on a bus in which a US teacher was killed .

The are several tribes that live in the valley the mine provides them with a clinic. ( managed by SOS)
We had to be careful because these tribes still have small wars using stones and bows and arrows. On Tuesday the mine sponsored 60 pigs to be slaughtered as peace festival??? Which resulted in a few tribesman exchanging arrows and spears, in this part of the world a pig is more valuable than your wife. The SA doctor in the village had is hand's full removing arrows and patching up the local headhunters.
The tribes generally leave the SOS doctors alone but that's not stop them drinking to much local brew or smoking mountain cabbage and running amuck in the town.

The gold is then piped in the form of a concentrate from the top of the mountain to the coast which is about 100 miles away. We had to catch a ferry to the clinic which situated at the processing plant near the port. We had to be on the look out for crocodiles. ( sea going monsters) We didn't see any and I presume the army would probably kill any if the came across any crocs.

A view of the mountains of west Papua.













Jason and I at 4249 meters above sea level.













A view of the largest gold mine in the world. There is a link to the Freeport website on the blog, should you be interested to find out more about the mine.













This is how the local tribes women carry their babies around. Yes, there is a baby in the Satchel.



















Posing with local tribesman; notice the traditional weapons that the "headhunters" are carrying.

Marc and Adele

The Market in Menteng

We went to Jakarta's famous flea market in Menteng on JI Surabaya. It has woodcarvings, funiture, brassware, jewellery, oddities like old typewriters, cameras etc.

Marc's visit to KPC mine in Singata

Some photo's from Marc's trip to KPC mine which is the largest coal mine in the world that produces 30 million tons of coal a year. They flew from Jakarta to Balikpapan, a small village on the island of Kalimantan and from there they flew to Singata with a 20 seater casa aircraft. Apparently an experience and they had to wear ear plugs because the flight was so noicy.













The view from the casa aircraft flying over Borneo.



















Marc and Wayne standing on a 380 ton coal truck during their site visit.

Map of Indonesia

Shopping in Jakarta

Can't believe I thought I wouldn't find "stuff" here: Guess what....it is a shoppers paradise!! Maxine and I went to two malls today and I was really surprised by the glits and glamour not to mention the variety of stores e.g. guess, prada, Dior, LV, Hugo Boss....you name it! You are really spoilt with choice...wouldn't know where to begin. Also, some items are very reasonably priced. When you drive in security does a bomb check inside and outside the car, the driver dropped us off in the valet dropp off. After our shopping spree we had an awsome lunch (Ayam...yes, it's safe to eat the chicken). We then went up to the car call desk which does a PA anouncement in the parking lot for our driver (Pak Diding) to bring the car around. Traffic on our way back to the hotel was a mare, no evidence of road rage...I'm even surprisingly calm (guess it's different when you not driving yourself). I couldn't believe the size of some of the houses (more like Hollywood manor's).