Monte Carlo at night

If you want to pretend for a day that you are rich and famous and very, very powerful, go to Monte Carlo! This tiny principality perches on the mountainside with a stunning view of the sea and is surrounded by France. The place is like the set from some movie. Never have I seen a place that is so neat and with an air of extravagant wealth. Lamborghini´s, Ferrari´s and Rolls Royce´s are a common sight, especially at the casino, where curious tourists gather with their cameras to take photos of the glamorous couples who arrive in million dollar cars.
It´s the only place that I have been to that made me feel like a celebrity – just being there!

This interesting sign was found in Istanbul, Turkey by some intrepid traveller! When you travel you never know when a smile is around the corner….

Bizarre trees on Socotra Island

Socotra or Soqotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. It lies some 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. With trees that look like that I can believe it!

During my travels there are three things that I find indispensable to pack. So without further ado, here they are:

1) Earplugs. On the road you are living out of your comfort zone and this is why good sleep is essential. I dont know about you but when I sleep I need silence to rest properly. I cant tell you how many noisy nights in youth hostels or cheap hotels have been toned down with the help of my trusty earplugs. Gone are the creaking beds, the noise down the corridor and the horrific snoring of the traveller sleeping in the bunk above! Earplugs are cheap, compact and well worth buying.

2)Eye mask. The next time you go on a long haul flight, steal the complimentary eyemask. Lets say you are in a place by the roadside, its the middle of the day and you want a bit of shuteye, just throw on your eyemask and its (almost) as dark as night. Sleep just about anywhere, anytime with your earplugs-eyemask combo!

3)A traditional recipe. Learn how to make something typical from your country or region. I cant even begin to remember how many times people have asked me to cook something from ´where I live´. Its a way of sharing your culture in a very direct, tasty and visual way!

A typical hijack hotspot sign in Johannesburg, South Africa

This is a very common sight in South Africa. South Africa is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. It has the highest rape rate per capita and the second highest homicide rate per capita in the world. Imagine this, in 2007 South Africa had approximately 25,000 homicides and Brazil with a population almost five times bigger had 27,000.

I am a South African and I am so used to seeing signs like these at the traffic lights and at intersections that they are part of the landscape for me. After being away for a year from home I was shocked to realise that crime is a part of life in South Africa in a way that Europeans or Americans can not understand. How dangerous is it where you live?

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Well the Strakenberg brewery in Austria has done just that. They have filled a small spa bath with their Pilsner so that people can benefit from beer and I don´t mean just by drinking it. Soak a while in the beer bath and enjoy the cleansing and nourishing qualities of beer on your skin while you enjoy the aroma of hops and barley. Ahhhh, imagine if every home had one!

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