Vietnam 2012: Ho Chi Minh City

First trip away in a long, long time. A couple of days in London and a photowalk in some inclement weather along the Thames.

My 2nd visit to Iceland. This time in Springtime. One glorious day followed by another in which the heavens opened and the wind raged.

Traveling through Stellenbosch when driving to Cape Town. We stopped for lunch at this vineyard and winery. Whilst my travel companions sampled the wares, I went for a little wander. I don't know if I was really allowed to poke my nose in the places I did, but it was fascinating to see all the machinery used to produce the wines.

A world away from the vineyards, safaris and huge shopping malls in Cape Town Wharf, Langa is a township where the Apartheid government sought to control Black South Africans, yet the people forged a tight-knit community that resisted and persevered. Today it’s a vibrant place that educates visitors on its history and suffering through the heritage museum, and welcomes you to explore the Arts & Culture Centre, as well as walking streets full of play, small businesses, and food stalls serving the community.

A Soviet era Nuclear Missile base with four silos buried deep in the woods in a quiet part of Lithuania. Now converted into a museum. Frankly this place left me with a haunted feeling, knowing within half an hour of a call destruction could be sent to one of many targets. Seeing these marked upon maps still on display somehow made it even more real.

A late afternoon walk around the Estonian city of Tartu.

The production floor at Glass of Malta runs on skill and heat - craftsmen working glass straight from the furnace, shaping, cutting, and finishing each piece by hand.

I love epic train journeys, and three days straight-through from the north to the south of Australia in backpacker class certainly sounds epic. That is until the reality of the 5am New Years Day hangover start time, the small seat which is now your bed, the lack of stops to get off and explore and that the Australian bush is near unchanging until you near the coasts! Great experience overall. Just split it up with a break in the middle if you can, unlike me that fit it between flights.