Last stop - Den Haag

It may seem strange to say, but there was something right about finishing our grand tour in Den Haag (The Hague). One of the attractions of doing this trip was to go home at nature's pace. Of course we could have flown straight from South Africa to Scotland, but then you simply jump from one culture to another different culture, with no sense of what lies in between. Air travel moves you at an unnatural pace and causes culture shock because of the contrasts caused by sudden upheaval and transplantation. Our trip did not need a grand climax. The trip was the experience. Hence it seemed right that our last port of call was a small quiet city on the north sea, with few tourists and few obvious attractions.

There was however a reason for us to come here. One of my great friends from school, Charlie Main, now lives in Den Haag. As with all school friends we remember each other when we were young and naive, and all our frailties, fears and shortcomings were obvious. It is always therefore somewhat surprising to meet years later and to find ourselves in responsible jobs despite everything nature put in our way! I speak mainly for myself, of course, as Charlie is an extraordinary person.

While we went off to university he went to Australia and various corners of the world on his motorbike, at a time when this was not in vogue. He smashed himself up several times in motorbike accidents, including breaking his back in the Central African Republic on a trip from the UK to Cape Town. He spent 10 years with the UN in Central Africa seeing playing his part in helping to manage the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, and the spillover into the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then he went to college to get a degree and after a stint in Nigeria he is now regional head security for Shell.

We went to Scheveningen beach (try pronouncing that correctly after a couple of cranberry juices) for a paddle and to try the seafood at the local cafes. We paddled in the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town on the day we flew from South Africa. This was only marginally warmer.

One of the great joys of travelling in this part of the world is taking the train. The whole public transport system is superb with buses, trams and bikes all fully integrated. Just have a look at the bike park at Den Haag Central Station.