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/ 23 December 2005

SA man killed in Baghdad blast

Another South African has been killed in Iraq, South African Broadcasting Corporation television news reported on Thursday. Jan Strauss (36) was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Thursday morning while driving a car, alone. The former police officer has been working in the country for two years as a bodyguard.

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/ 23 December 2005

The pothole route

The challenge is set as you enter the city on the Avenida 25 Julho. For no apparent reason, the rattling chapa on the dual carriageway ahead swerves maniacally to the left. Peculiar, you think, just as your own vehicle submerges up to the axle into its first Mozambican crater. Welcome to Maputo. Hope you have a nice car insurance policy.

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/ 23 December 2005

Nowhere else on Earth

During the month of April, the streets of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand set the scene for a slippery warfare, where the weapons are plastic guns, hosepipes, buckets and just about anything that can be used to carry water. Even the Buddhist nuns are in on the act — drenching unsuspecting tourists with bowls of icy H2O.

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/ 23 December 2005

The bar route

Nearly every <i>dorp</i>, town and suburb in South Africa boasts a pub, many of which have contributed to the national character. Pat Hopkins sample a few South African pubs that have contributed to our national character.

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/ 23 December 2005

The brandy route

We’re a nation that drinks more than 45-million litres of brandy a year — so it only makes sense for us to have our own brandy routes. Our love affair with this popular tipple began way back when, according to Pietman Retief, director of the South African Brandy Foundation, "brandy was already available in South Africa before Jan van Riebeeck."

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/ 23 December 2005

Taking the scenic route

According to the South African Naturist Federation, "naturists are not different from other people, they are just more comfortable". If you are one of these, then South Africa has some of the best places on Earth for you. Not to be confused with "naturalists", "naturists" are people who are interested in extending the number of activities that can be conducted in the nude.

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/ 23 December 2005

The food-guru route

"Whenever I’m asked what I do for a living, I wait for the ‘ah, that’s so glamorous’ response, and I must agree. I especially love it around deadline time, when 120 pithy words on each of my 110 freshly checked restaurants have to be filed. I do this with all my stomach-calming potions close at hand," writes Gwynne Conlyn.