Cape Town, South Africa

LHR – CPT: The red-eye from London wasn’t too bad. It was our first time flying British Airways and it was a bit of a mixed bag. First of all, they didn’t board by rows but simply called for general boarding to load us onto the huge 747. This plane was a definite throwback to the 70’s. Unfortunately, the audio video system also seemed to have been installed in the 70’s. I think it was analog and gave up working a few minutes after we took off. On the positive side, the in charge apologized to every single person, handing out complaint cards and the food was quite good.

Airport Fun: We then went on to the next phase of travelling: airport mishaps. After grabbing the wrong suitcase, I tried to get money out of a Ned Bank ATM just outside of the baggage area. The ATM only had small bills that jammed the outlet. They were so jammed that I could only get a couple of bills out at a time. Unfortunately, the machine decided I was taking too long and pulled the money back into the machine before I got even half of the money out. Over the next several hours I spent ages on the phone and finally had to go to a bank branch to fill out an incident report. Hopefully they will find the error and refund the money.

Mannabay: Thank heavens we were staying at the Mannabay Hotel. All our troubles seemed to evaporate when we arrived. This place is absolutely amazing. The videos on their website and youtube do not do the place justice. There are only eight rooms. The architectural design is stunningly modern. It feels like you are staying at a friend’s house (if that friend was super rich, had exquisite taste and a huge staff to cater to your every need). The house is filled with fantastic art. There are multiple areas to relax while looking at the pool, koi pond or panoramic city views. The service was stellar yet unobtrusive. The hotel even provides drivers to take you to and from dinner. I could go on and on. No need to say we would have absolutely no hesitation staying here again.