Time with family, friends, wildlife, the sea - SOUTH AFRICA

I'm in South Africa... unquestionably one of the most beautiful places on earth.....too bad the new government is really screwing up the place and its future. The richer Blacks (mostly the government and their buddies) are getting richer and really wasting tax payers' money, while the majority of Blacks...the poor, are getting poorer. What a shame! The people of South Africa are desparate for justice as rapes, murders, and robberies are driving the entire population nuts! Seems like the world has turned a blind eye to the new South Africa. I see genocide here as I read and hear so much about Blacks killing innocent Whites (mostly old farming communities)...and these are not for economic reasons but purely hate crimes.

We can only hope and pray that the government starts to protect its people as every day people of all races live in fear. With the current president, Mbeki, saying "what do you do to protect yourself?", and "crime is not a problem", I dont have much hope. The Minister of Security and Policing recently said "people should not buy new cars to stop car hijacking". Duhhhhh.

Soon I'll be on my way back to one of the most beautiful cities in the world....my hometown, Hong Kong.
Adios!

Whats Next? Pondering from Home Base: Hong Kong

I have been traveling for the past 21 months and visited 40 countries (not counting multiple visits to some countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, etc). I took 38,954 pictures, and have loads and loads of wonderful experiences! So what's next? There are so many other amazing places I want to visit such as Iran, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Yemen, Ukraine, Belarus, Venezuela, Antarctica, and many others. As much as I would like to see these places, I'm itching to get back to work...honestly! I guess I need a change of pace as life on the road - the way I do it - is very tiring! Think about it - over the past 21 months I have slept in about 200 different hotel beds, spent almost 2,000 hours traveling (mostly by bus and plane, and some trains), I walked through 3 pairs of good quality hiking shoes, and I lost (and gained...and lost...and gained) tens of pounds of weight - thanks to lots of exercise and good food!

My dad is very sick and I need to spend some time with him and my mom (and the rest of the family). So, tomorrow night I'm flying down to South Africa to spend a few days there. Soon I'll be back in Hong Kong! Adios.