07.25 We were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at this date one year ago. Now like then we are about to to make a longer trip. Today we will be seeing more of Cape Town before we board a coach which takes us to Bloemfontein.

08.20 Weíve consumed our breakfasts. I had sandwich, juice and coffee. Christer had yoghurt, juice and a roti heated in the microwave oven. We are about to pack our things. We donít care if the stuff is wet or dry. Everything has to be packed.

09.17 Weíve left our backpacks in a separate room here at the hostel and head up to get to a park. There are pretty few riffraffís here in Companyís Garden. We are having a minor bench break. People pass us from the right and the left. Christer has spotted a gray tail further away. It might be attached to a squirrel.

10.05 More squirrel tails and even squirrels were seen as we strolled through the park. One of the little rodents did its best to make confetti out of a page of a newspaper. I think it was about to use it for the nest. We are at bus stop 7, Mount Nelson. Soon our round tour bus will be here. We will go with the blue line today, but the bus is still red. We spoke with some Dutch women here. They were waiting in vain for a blue bus. We straightened things out and spoke about other stuff. They told us that they think Afrikaans sounds like a childish, primitive form of the modern Dutch language.

Watching people and squirrels, a relaxing start on this Saturday!

A squirrel having his breakfast, a newspaper.

Statue of General Smuts, prime minister of South Africa once upon a time.

A game of soccer played in the very green Cape Town.

A strange mist cover the central parts of Cape Town this morning.

10.40 The bus has stopped at Kirstenbosch, the national botanical garden. We have nothing against it but we have other plans today. We remain seated and listen to the information in our headphones. We hear about the life of Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes who gave name to Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) was one the most famous British colonists. He had a dream of a British empire from South Africa to Cairo and used the fortune he had made in diamond mines to try to put his dream into reality.

10.54 The bus drives on through a wonderful landscape with mountains, forests, wine yards and expensive houses. This is the home of, to mention some, the South African author Wilbur Smith and Margaret Thatcherís son Mark.

11.09 Christer just read îBeware of toads on the roads!" in Senteniel News from last Friday. We are sitting by a square table with a green linoleum table cloth. We are at The Robinís nest by The World of birds (http://www.worldofbirds.org.za), a bird park in the outskirts of Cape Town. We are here to look at birds and small mammals just as soon as weíve finished our coffee and delicious cakes.

Sometimes small things can make life wonderful. A nice piece of cake in a nice cafÈ, waiting to
visit a tourist destination in a country far away.

A colourful bird to say the least.

Christer is pointing at a white ibis bird from Australia.

A meerkat, a very funny animal.

11.25 There is a lot to see at "The World of birds". Cage after cage is passed and we are sometimes in the cage with the birds. The park is supposed to have over 3000 birds from around 400 species. Weíve also heard that the park was founded by a bird loving enthusiast who had his first birds eaten by dogs.

11.52 Iíve just taken a picture of a cool red and pink bird

12.45 There is a small penguin in front of us. I guess that the ones we saw in Durban were much happier.

The monkey looks innocent but it can take things from your pockets or jump on your head and shoulders.

13.03 Weíve seen several beautiful and not so beautiful birds but also other animals and some cute monkeys. We had to answer some questions to get access to their cage, questions regarding things in our pockets or loose fitted things which the monkeys might grab. They were squirrel monkeys and are from South and Central America. One of them suddenly climbed around on Christer¥s backpack. We strongly recommend a visit here on the World of Birds. Besides usual and unusual birds there are also meerkats and different kinds of monkeys.

The end of some birdwatching on a very basic level.

13.10 We are waiting for a new, or is it perhaps the very same sightseeing bus. This place is actually worth more time. But that goes for all the places here in Cape Town.

13.36 The tour carries on. We saw a living proof of the contrasts and differences in income here in the country as we had left the bird park. South Africa is the country in the world with the biggest gap between rich and poor (all according to recent studies). The township of Imizamo Yethu suddenly appeared. People are living on a small area tucked together in houses made out of stuff which had been found. Soon after this we reached the luxury houses at Hout Bay. It was no more than a hundred metres between the two dwellings, contrasts. We also heard on the bus about some women from Imizamo Yethu who travelled around the world to climb the highest summit on each continent. They had just been to South America and made it to the top of Aconcagua.

Mariner¥s Wharf, Hout Bay.

We are looking back towards Hout Bay and the bus trip continues.

13.47 Weíve made a short stop at Marinerís Wharf in Hout Bay. Here we met wonderful views and a certain smell/scent of fish. A mountain can be seen wherever I look. This is another bus stop which will be ignored. We donít have all the time in world today.

13.57 We are having a wonderful, amazing view over Llandudno. We switched buses in Llandudno on this very day exactly ten years ago. It was Llandudno in Wales that time, a strange, maybe even odd coincident, right? Today's view also includes the Atlantic Ocean.

The beautiful view of Llandudno and the Atlantic.

The beautiful coastal road between Hout Bay and Camps Bay.

You can see the famous Robben Island behind the boat.

14.25 Weíve carried on along an incredibly beautiful coastal way. We reached Camps Bay and the trip from there was a replay of yesterdayís trip. As we look out to the sea we can see the infamous Robben Island. The island and its prison are on UNESCO:s list of world heritages. It was there that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. We are behind in schedule. The bus doesnít make what it promises as it comes to time schedule. There is no panic, not yet at least.

14.49 We are back at Waterfront and yesterday¥s feeding place. Boring yes, but we want to play it safe. We are trying out some new dishes though. We are just waiting for the small discs to buzz. The next bus will leave Waterfront in about 35 minutes.

15.19 Everything is going according to plan. We are on time at the bus stop of Clocktower. Will the bus be here in time? Will the bus be here at all? There are more people moving around here today. It is after all a weekend.

Clock Tower, Waterfront

15.35 We are sitting down onboard the last sightseeing bus of today. We spoke briefly with a British lady before we boarded the bus. She was working for British Airways. She had started to read a book that someone had forgotten on the flight here. It was one of the Swedish author Stieg Larssonís books, îThe girl who played with fireî. She was exalted and wanted to go to Sweden now. We are reading books by a Scottish author and wish to go there. The girl took it quite hard as we told her that Mr Larsson had passed away.

16.16 We got off the bus and are back at Cape Town Backpackers. Weíve reclaimed our backpacks from the storage room. Some things to do are left before we arrange with a taxi to the bus station.

16.25 Liz in the reception has called for a taxi. We are sitting outside of the hostel and are waiting. We strongly recommend this place. It has a great location and the price is right. The room was great but it was hard to make things dry there. I must add that the main purpose for the room was to sleep in, not to wash clothes.

17.13 The taxi took us to the bus station. A porter grabbed my backpack as we had gotten out off the taxi. He wanted to carry it and get some money for it. I took it back with a firm hand. Tourists with backpacks on their backs are a menace for these porters. We carried on to Intercapeís office. Now we and our backpacks are on the bus. The backpacks are in the little wagon and we on the seats 25 and 26.

17.59 This bus trip, the longest of our backpacking life, has just begun. We are rolling on through Cape Town. We are currently standing still in Bellville in the eastern outskirts. A huge teddy bear is in a shopping trolley outside of the bus. Most of the population here is white. It actually looks really European here. More or less familiar music is being played. The big question now is if the huge teddy bear will join us on the trip or not. The bus is far from crowded. It will be a calm and delightful journey. We are after all going with a "sleepliner", which means that the seats are adjusted for sleeping

19.01 The music here in the bus has just begun its second lap. We are standing still at a Shell petrol station in Paarl. The Intercape guys are discussing about something with the station guys. An excited, eagerly waving petrol guy was led away by his colleague. I think that the colleague thought it would be better if the waver served a customer instead. Things seem to have settled. The petrol guys seem to be displeased about where the bus is parked. Is it Ok to yell at Shell?

19.55 Our journey head further east and the bus is leaving Worcester. All is dark outside of the bus. All we can see are the streetlights. The headlights of the cars and one and another lit up house. We are less than 12 hours from Bloemfontein.

21.54 The bus has stopped at Shell in Laingsburg. We and some others have added to our provisions. We are about to head on. Will we be able to sleep on the bus?

Sunday 9th of August

04.34 I have no idea how this has happened but we are actually in Colesberg already. This is the last stop before Bloemfontein. We havenít had any sleeping problems at all. I donít recall much since the stop in Laingsburg. We have after all gone through Beaufort West in the middle of nowhere, switched province and ended up here in Colesberg by yet another petrol station.

06.42 The dawn is here, the sun is rising and we are going through a flat landscape with dry grass and some bushes.

The sun is joining us this day too.

A strange hill outside of Bloemfontein.

07.40 Weíve finally reached yet another one of South Africaís three capitals, Bloemfontein. Weíve also entered a new province, Free State. It is early, it is cold, and there are few people around. We are about to get to our next home in this country. We will walk.

08.03 We made it to Tuscany Lodge (http://tuscanylodge.co.za). We are ever so welcome here but not until after 12.00. Sure, we have a room but it is occupied. All the rooms are occupied and untidy. On our way here we¥ve seen yet another of the World Cup arenas, Free State Stadium.

Free State Stadium

08.21 Weíve walked to the nearby Mimosa Mall and sat down at Mug & Bean. Here weíve ordered coffee and something to munch on. It is time for breakfast. They¥ve got a îWall of Fameî here. I wonder if I consider anyone there to be Fame. As we were about to order we were addressed in Afrikaans, not English for the first time on this trip. We are sitting down and thinking about just how weary we are.

10.30 I havenít heard of anyone on that wall. But what do I know about rugby- and cricket players? Mimosa Mall has been walked through and left. We are now in Klappers just by the soccer- and rugby stadium Free State Stadium. Klappers is a part of Loch Logan Waterfront (http://www.lochlogan.co.za). Here Christer has bought a small rugby ball as a present for his nephew. Christer is surfing the internet. I am not surfing at all. I tried without any luck on two different computers.

This event was very popular in these parts.

Loch Logan Waterfront, a new mall in Bloemfontein.

Is it possible to move this?

11.48 Weíve been checked in at Tuscany Lodge and have paid 210 rand each. We are waiting for our room to be cleaned. We are sitting in a cosy, striped easy chair each. We are down in the small lobby. We are waiting to get to room number 10.

12.10 The room must be either huge, hard to tidy, have big beds or extremely dirty. We are about to go up and check on our room here at Tuscany Lodge.

12.19 All quiet on room front. We are back in the easy chairs. We are waiting for the room and for information about tomorrowís trip to Lesotho. We were just informed that room number 10 is the next in line to be cleaned.

12.32 We have no room but we have information about the bus going to Lesotho. It will do so at 6am tomorrow morning. We are going to travel with a company called Big Sky. It is being worked on. The girl in the reception is doing a wonderful job. What is the cleaning staff doing?

Tuscany Lodge, Bloemfontein

12.51 It might take everything between half an hour up to one hour to clean the room. The hotel was fully booked last night and there was food for everyone. There are also few working during the weekend. But we had booked in advance so there was news about our arrival. I think that our room ought to have priority one or am I just being cranky? We are about to leave our backpacks outside of room 10. We are on our way to have lunch at the nearby Nandoís.

13.58 The lunch was tasty and cost us 18 rand less each compared with the price in the menu. We got back and all the rooms were cleaned but, surprise, surprise... not room number 10. The girl in the reception told us to move to room 12 instead. We went to get our backpacks, they were gone. They had been moved into room 9. We have a tub but no shower. Will it ever end.... High marks for the girl in the reception. She did her best and even informed us about another hotel! I guess she didnít dare to or could go against the tough cleaning women.

14.58 My mobile phone rang just as I was about to enter the tub. It was an old friend of mine who wanted to pop in for some coffee. I told him where I was and the coffee got postponed. It was great to wash the body but hard to rinse the hair from the shampoo. The best way was to stand on my knees with my head under the tap. A live soccer game is on the TV, Bloemfontein Celtics versus Free State Stars. It is being played here in the city but we hear nothing from it. It is easy to hear a soccer game in South Africa thanks to all the vuvuzelas which they blow in. I wonder where they are playing.

16.04 We have taken to the streets again. We are about to find out the departure place for tomorrow morning¥s bus. We must catch it or we will miss our trip to Lesotho.

17.38 The things that looked dark for us just darkened even more. We didnít find any office for Big Sky, the company which will take us to Lesotho. We did saw some mini buses, but were they the right kind? Is it possible to go with them to where we want to go? The bad things suddenly turned to better. We went to Mimosa Mall and brought bread in a bakers shop, wow! The reception girl phoned another company as we got home, Interstate. Big Sky had run out of tickets, all were sold out. Interstate have places for us. She has also arranged with a taxi for us. We are much obliged. The taxi will be here at 5am and the bus will depart at 6am. We are about to celebrate this with coffee and a ginger bread man. Iíve bought it in the bakers shop. The girl in the reception has arranged with instant coffee too.

19.35 Weíve just watched the news. They talked about the Womenís Day in South Africa, how things are getting back to normal in Madagascar and a lot of sport. We are about to go and get us something to eat. I would love to ask the reception girl to join us as to say thanks to her but she will keep working.

Mixed Grill at Burning Spear, one of all the Spur restaurants in South Africa.

19.56 Not far from out hotel there is a Spurs restaurant, Burning Spear. There a man wearing a blue t-shirt with the Superman sign on the chest is playing the guitar and singing. He is currently playing Bob Dylanís îKnocking on heavens doorî. How on earth can I know all this? Well we just went down there to have dinner.

21.11 We are pleased, happy and back in our room. We are watching Jukebox, a TV-show with what might be the "Afrikaans-chart". In place 23, I donít know if it is this weekís or last weekís chart, is a cover version of the Swedish singer Charlotte Perelli¥s song "Hero".

22.01 Here is another cover of a Swedish song. Weíve just heard a for us new version of Carola H‰ggqvistís îEn evighetî. The singer¥s name is Juanita du Plessis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZYLAflZkUw). ën Ewigheid

22.50 Good night!

Monday 10th of August

04.32 Some small sounds can be heard in the Bloemfontein night, clang from china, gulping and slurping. Weíve had breakfast and are on our way. Our friend Roberth is already on his way. He is flying towards Amsterdam and later towards his home. It has been a decent place here with wonderful beds, excellent service and doubtful cleaning ladies.

05.07 The taxi drove us to Central Park. It is a shopping centre. We went up two stairs and found the ticket booths of Interstate. The bad news is that they are closed. We are not alone here. There are about twenty others who are waiting here. Some of them are wrapped in blankets. A blanket is a status symbol in the country we are about to visit, Lesotho. It isn't any ancient tradition but one ìcreated" by the British. The missionaries strived to make the people dress in a decent way and the rest is history.

05.32 I am sitting on a green steel bench, a bench full of holes. Christer, I and the rest here are waiting for the bus. We all have one thing in common. All of us have bought us a ticket. But it is a difference between them and us. The thing which differs is skin related. We are showing more skin than the other ones here because we are wearing shorts. Another thing which differs is the colour of the skin. It is cold! I am glad that we took a taxi here. I donít know if we would have been able to find this place on our own.

05.50 Weíve left our luggage and are seated at the back of the bus. The sign on the bus reads Big Sky. That is the company we first had planned to go with. Well I donít care. All I care for is to get some sleep.

08.15 A two hour ride straight to the east has come to an end. The bus has reached the border to Lesotho and this is as far as the bus will go. The good thing is that the capital of Lesotho, Maseru is on the other side of the border control.

LESOTHO

08.40 We got stamped out of South Africa by a female pass port police. She was singing and humming to a song on the radio. At first we walked too far and was waved back. There were no signs so I guess it was meant for pure instinct to lead us to the right building. We filled in travel documents and were stamped into the country in the passport police house of Lesotho. It was calm and relaxed policemen. They sat in their quilted jackets and had some juice. We are now going by taxi to the next home. We are in the capital of Lesotho, Maseru. Our driver was ever so pleased and happy since he had gotten a "special". We assume it is a taxi ride without the whole car filled up with passengers.

08.53 We made it to Foothills Guesthouse. It wasn't that easy. Our young driver tried to be ever so urbane and claimed that it was a piece of cake to find the place. He entered confusion after a while and Christer noticed that the driver had passed a sign saying Foothills Guesthouse. All that was left to do was to turn the taxi around and start all over. We got there and were greeted on the stairs by our host Melvin. We are now sitting in the couches in the TV-room and are waiting. We were just offered coffee!

Peter is relaxing while are room is being cleaned and prepared for our stay.

King Letsie III on the wall at Foothills Guesthouse.

09.15 We are having coffee while we¥re waiting for the room to be done and ready for us. Weíve also been offered a ride to the tourist information by Melvin.

10.31 The room is done. The roomís number is one. Weíve unpacked and will soon head out. It is an excellent room that we have been given.

A room worth waiting for.

11.48 Our host drove us down to the tourist information here in Maseru. There we received suggestions about different excursions. Most of them require a driver that will take you around. This makes it really expensive. We also filled in a handwritten register and answer a couple of questions. We left the information and bought some postcards and other stuff in the store Basuto Hat across the street. It is a government store where the products of the locals are sold to tourists. Each item sold is registered so that the right amount of money will get to the right person. Christer bought a gift for his sister¥s birthday. She had her birthday a couple of days ago. So what is a basuto hat? Well it is a national symbol and a traditional headgear which also can be seen on the flag of Lesotho.

12.10 Weíve seen more of the town of Maseru. It is time for lunch. It will be eaten at Solomon Ground, an Italian restaurant.

Information about safe sex. Lesotho is in 3rd place in the world when it comes to HIV infection.

Christer is standing outside the souvenir shop Basuto Hat in Maseru.

12.56 The restaurant neither had ribs nor pasta. An Italian restaurant without pasta, thatís a new one. We decided for chicken breasts and fries. Now we are back home. It is time for shower, a nap and postcard writing.

15.31 There were certain needs of a rest. The morning was early to say the least. We have woken up from our siesta. A dog is barking outside of the house. It seems to be of a bigger kind.

16.51 Weíve returned to the centre. This time we got here on foot. We heard the "pole vaulter birds (pigeons)" during the walk. Iíve bought two local beers in a liquor store. Christer guarded our small backpacks while I did the shopping. Backpacks are not allowed into liquor stores. Now he has entered the supermarket Shoprite while I am on the guard. Bags are not welcome inside no matter their size or the store¥s size.

Kingsway, Maseru

The winter is a dry cold time of the year in Lesotho. The photo is from central Maseru.

17.26 I went for some shopping and Christer became a guard again. He was soon addressed by a guy in his twenties who said "Hello, long time no see". After that he asked if Christer did remember his name. He just laughed and left as Christer of course was unable to tell the guy´s name. Now we´ve entered the restaurant Rendezvous to get us some food. The restaurant is just by the hotel Lancer´s Inn. They are going to serve us their last lunch offer, ribs, fries and vegetables. I missed out on the ribs earlier today but here goes. I must admit that I do like ribs.

19.30 It was usual as it comes to ribs, tasty but a challenge to find the tasty, yummy but not totally filling. We walked home after our dinner. Here as in other places we¥ve seen, the houses are surrounded by walls and fences. What are they a protection against? There can´t be any serious dangers here, or?

Walking towards Foothills Guesthouse.

Melvin is opening the gate with his remote control.

19.47 There is a soap opera on the TV. There are salt- and pepper shakers and a blue hen on the table. We are out in the lounge or the TV-room at least. It is all empty and quiet here. Christer is writing postcards and I am writing this. This is an excellent place to stay at. It is a pity that it isn't more central. Or is it? Does that really matter?

21.14 We are listening to the radio in our room. It is BBC:s Focus on Africa. They have spoken about Hillary Clinton´s meeting with students in Kinshasa, Congo and about a summit for the countries around Africa´s big lakes. Now they are talking about the situation in Sudan and about the sanctions which are raised against the country.

21.49 It is mostly tradition but also for the fact that it is tasty that we are having us an evening beer. We are having Maluti. It is Lesotho´s own beer.

22.46 No, enough is enough. It is after all eighteen hours since we stood up, got out of bed. Sure, we´ve slept on the bus and we had a siesta but nothing compares to a good night´s sleep.