After a month in Africa, it is nice to be back in Amsterdam and sleep in your own bed again. But I must admit I had a hard time getting going in the office, writing all those stories. You need recuperate after almost two months of constant travelling.
One way of doing that was to go to the Bokbier Festival in Amsterdam with Femke, then have a brilliant dinner at Restaurant Open. That way we also celebrated (if somewhat late) being together for five wonderful years :-)
It was wonderful to be back in Cape Town, if only for a few days. So much has happened since I visited last time, two years ago. Mostly to the better. Lots of new funny bars, restaurants and shops. And more new housing in the townships. But of course there is still a long way to go in South Africa, the poverty in the townships is a stark contrast to the cool bars downtown.
BTW, I stayed at a little design hotel called Antrim Villa, owned by a Swedish guy who moved down.
There will soon be a short story about it all in Expressen.
More photos here.
After Hluhluwe we drove to the Drakensberg area to enjoy the views of the majestic mountains there. But the weather had other plans and covered the peaks in thick rainy clouds. Actually, we didn’t care so much, it was nice to relax for once, eat good food and play carcassone.
After two days of rest we continued to Durban, where we stayed in a simple but funky hotel called the Bordello. Even better was there bar/restaurant Bean Bag Bohemia, where an interesting and mixed crowd knocked down good yet dirt-cheap cocktails and feasted on excellent dim sum.
We also enjoyed visiting the huge aquarium in Durban, partly built inside of what looks like a ship-wreck.
Our last evening together we had a brilliant Indian dinner at the Indian Connection Restaurant. After that Femke flew home to Amsterdam and I flew down to the Wilderness area for some paragliding.
You'll find some more photos here.
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