WINE AND ROCK AT KIRSTENBOSCH GARDENS

Even the views from the cheap seats are stunning at Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa.

If you're South Africa's most famous rock band and you need a place to play a farewell gig, there's nowhere better than the mountain-backed stage of Kirstenbosch Gardens near Cape Town. At least, that's what the lead singer of multi-platinum rockers The Parlotones' said on the eve of their re-location to the U.S.

"Kirstenbosch is the best venue in the world!" shouted front man Kahn Morbee, whose known for his high energy and signature eyeliner onstage. 

Parlotones' lead singer Kahn Morbee gets the crowd moving at Kirstenbosch.

While the music proved quality (a poppy mix somewhere between Coldplay and Arcade Fire), the venue and the wine selection were equally as stellar. 

Before and after the headliners played, we wandered the gardens, getting happily lost among the trails and hardwoods that cover the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Like a lot of other visitors in the park, we brought in our own bottle of locally-grown vino and took in the stunning scenery as the another day faded into a memorable night.

Yet one more reason to love Cape Town...as if we needed another. 

Liz with two pre-show musicians. 

More than a concert venue, Kirstenbosch is an incredible place to spend a day wandering around with a local wine.

A drummer's eye view from backstage at The Parlotones' farewell show. Yes, we talked our way into backstage passes.

JAZZ FEST IN BORNEO

The U.S.-based Johnny Rogers Band jams at the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival. 

Before we travel somewhere, we usually send emails to nonprofits or charitable organizations operating in the city/town/village where we're heading, in hopes of finding a volunteer opportunity.

For example, before we got to Kota Kinabalu in Borneo, we sent messages to local groups such as Habitat for Humanity Borneo and to the organizers of the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival, an annual music festival that raises money for numerous local causes.

Sometimes, our emails will go unanswered. Others, like the one to the festival, get a positive response.

As it turns out, the jazz festival folks were working with the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia to promote the upcoming event, to help with fundraising, as well as to highlight one of the acts performing there, an American group called the Johnny Rogers Band. They needed an extra hand with their marketing efforts and asked if we could do some photography and writing for them while we were at the event.

Count us in.

While there, we took tons of photos for the organizers and the embassy, we got to interview bands, and we managed to have a little fun in the process. Afterward, Kip even published an article about the event for the Huffington Post.

Check out the story and photos here.

Us with jazz guitarist and co-chairman of the festival Roger Wang.

BORNEO NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE

We took these photos in a small Chinatown food stall in downtown Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. The man with the rag on his shoulders had just served us an incredibly tasty pork bbq sandwich.

First of all, pork is incredibly hard to come by in Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, so this alone was amazing. 

But then, our waiter moved a few items off a shelf next to the crock pot, including a rice cooker and some knives, and began to play...the piano. And he was AMAZING. Our jaws literally dropped to the floor. He played a beautiful medley for about five minutes, and then got up to clear our plates. 

Turns out, every evening he plays piano at one of the nicest hotels in the city. The restaurant gig is just his day job. 

We felt so lucky to see him play. Kip even left a tip, so he must have made an impression.