“What on earth?” you may ask yourself if this is the only part of the picture you see at first. A Transformer’s eye? The inner components of an old safe? Maybe the door to some underground bunker or a modern art sculpture? No, this is the nose of a locomotive! The rotary snow plough in the Verkehrshaus (Transport Museum) in Luzern, Switzerland commands attention from its visitors, as is evident from the amount of photos and comments available online. But the centre of the buc

The Annapurna Circuit has long been considered by hikers as the ultimate route. With a diverse landscape, well-marked routes and the comfort of teahouses along the way, as well as the challenge of crossing Thorung La at 5,416m above sea level, it seems it was just that. But infrastructure development has brought vehicles along the route, effectively shortening it year by year. When we initially decided to attempt the Annapurna Circuit, we only knew one thing: that we knew not

Last year in June we visited Cape Town and I sneaked this one item on the list of places we needed to see. What a pleasant start to your day. A year before this I met a client in Cape Town and chose this spot. Truth had just been named the best coffee shop in the world. It was probably not the best place for a meeting, but my interest was piqued. Even their website is mesmerizing, and that is not a word I frequently use. The warmth and uniqueness just speak to you from the ph

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” - T.E. Lawrence Hiking in the Himalayas has been a dream in our hearts for many years now, and at last we made a firm decision to take the plunge and hike the Annapurna Circuit. Even though infrastructure development has

2016 09 06 Nagarkot is not far from where we live – a mere 26km. Back home that would mean a 15 minute drive. [Approximate Cost: R20/Rs150.] In Nepal it involves one of two options. You could take a taxi, which would deliver you at your destination within about 90 minutes. [Approximate Cost: R400/Rs3,000.] Or you could take a 10 minute stroll to the bus station, wait about 30 minutes before the bus departs, enjoy an hour’s journey to Bhaktapur, then change to another bus, wa

Ordinary Extraordinary is offering a number of limited edition art prints at special prices until 20 October 2016.

[Copyright: hmqFOTOGRAFIE - Watermarked Image] Ordinary Extraordinary is offering a number of limited edition art prints at special prices during the next few weeks. "Vision" "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." - Helen Keller Description of Letters V - Reichenbach Falls - Meiringen - Switzerland I - Lights - Train Station - Lausanne - Switzerland S - Diamonds - Kimberley - South Africa I - Africana Library - Kimberley - South Africa O - Ligh

2016 09 13 . . . so hiking is what we did. The first morning, i strapped on my brand new backpack, much to That-Man’s consternation. “Why?” “Because i need to train with it, of course.” He formed one of those typical pressed-lip-raised-eyebrow grimaces and followed me outside. We had by now been able to find our way around the neighbourhood, and especially our way to the places we’ve visited in the past, so we steered our feet towards the familiar. The early morning traffic w

[Copyright: hmqFOTOGRAFIE - Watermarked Image] Ordinary Extraordinary is offering a number of limited edition art prints at special prices during the next few weeks. "Truth" "Comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair." - CS Lewis Description of Letters T - Sand Pe

2016 09 13 So That-Man and i set off for Kathmandu, Nepal more than a month ago. Our plan was to train as much as possible on terrain as steep and high as we could find in order to prepare for the Annapurna Circuit. As both of us have a long way to go towards peak fitness levels, we thought the best strategy would be to train in Nepal. This way we could focus on the cardio-vascular, strength and endurance aspects of our exercise regime. Maybe we could even slip in some high-a