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2. February 2018 00:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Temples - Laos

2. February 2018 00:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The temples in Luang Prabang are some of the most beautiful anywhere. Yes, Thailand has some amazing temples, but these are different. They are smaller, and more intricately decorated.

1. February 2018 23:02
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Luang Prabang - Laos

1. February 2018 23:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Luang Prabang is without a doubt the cultural highlight of Laos. The old part of the city is beautiful and there are good reasons why is has been heritage protected.

I believe it has the most beautiful temples of South East Asia - they are not the largest or even the oldest, but the amount of details that has been put into them is absolutely stunning.

In addition to this there are a lot of other very interesting things to see in and do in the city, which I will cover in later posts.

The city itself is situated between two rivers where one of them is the Mekong which is still fairly busy with slow boats and ferries (The chinese are building a large bridge across the river north of the city)

The section between the two rivers form the city itself which consist of four parallel streets each about a kilometer long.

Everything within the city itself can be covered on foot and in the evening the main streets are blocked for card and reserved for pedestrians.

The place is dominated by a big hill with a small temple and stuba on top. It is very popular with tourists to climb the hill around sunset. And there is a great view of the mountains from the top.

There are some things that have changed in the city since I was there the last time. The most noticeable is the amount of tourists and fine hotels - and here it is really the more wealthy middle aged Europeans you see. The main street of the old city is full of modern western European influenced restaurants, souvenir and antique stores.

Fortunately you don't have to travel further that to the parallel streets to fine more low key Laos places to eat.

Also, last time I visited, I stayed in a small guest house near the city centre called Tanoy Guest House. When I stayed here I became good friends with the family and the place was named after the oldest daughter who's name was Tanoy.

The place is still there and apart from a larger fence it looks pretty much unchanged.

29. January 2018 21:01
by Rene Pallesen
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The War - Laos

29. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The 'secret' war in the 60's and 70's had a major impact on the country. A massive amount of bombs were dropped by mostly the Americans in mostly the Northern and Eastern part of the country. This was partly an internal civil war but also to stop the North Vietnamese using the country as a supply route.

To get an insight into this was I can highly recommend the books by Christoper Robbins called 'The Ravens' and 'Air America'.

The impact today is that un-exploded ordnance (mines, cluster bombs etc.) is covering large parts of the country and that every year lots of people including children gets injured or killed.

It is also very noticable, especially in the Hmong villages that there is no presence of old men. This is because most of these were killed either during the war where especially they took heavy casualties despite the American support or through 'education' camps after the war.

Last time I went to Laos I went to Plains of Jars which was one of the most heavily bombed areas and the debris was everywhere. We weren't going there on this trip, but to give the family and friends an insight into the history and the dangers to present people we visited the COPE organisation in Vientiane.

Here is Aiden in front of an unexploded (disarmed) clusterbomb. Looks just like a ball and tempting for kids to play with.

These were dropped from canisters on aircraft with several hundred in each load. It is estimated that 1/3 of these didn't explode on impact.

This map shows the areas most effected.

If you look for the bombs they you see them everywhere - mostly disarmed and used as fence posts.

There is also remains of anti aircraft guns such as this one in Luang Prabang. The barrel had been removed but everything else still worked on it and they could turn it by rotating the handles, much to the amusement of the kids. During the war kids only a little older than our kids would have been fighting at the front lines.

18. January 2018 19:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Ally J Wilkinson

18. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Model: Ally J Wilkinson

16. January 2018 21:03
by Rene Pallesen
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People - Laos

16. January 2018 21:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One thing that I love taking photos of on my travels are People.

A lot of the photos of the people of my travels are in the other posts, but here is a selection that didn't really fit into the other stories.

This is an old woman sitting doing preparing food or doing her handicraft outside her house while observing the street life.

Someone was shooting a wedding, I used the opportunity to snap a photo of my own.

A woman bathing in the Mekong

A girl posing for her boyfriend on top of the hill at Luang Prabang

A woman walking down the street

Another woman doing handicraft outside her shop

12. January 2018 00:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Fishing - Laos

12. January 2018 00:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The fishing along the rivers in Laos are still very traditional.

It is the circular throw out nets, fish traps and people foraging along the river banks to collect river seaweed and snails for eating.

In most places they still use dugout canoes for the fishing.

In the various town you see people sitting repairing their fishing nets.

Kim told us that when she was a little girl she used to help the family repair the fishing nets, but that she's forgotten how to do it.

One of the delicacies in Loang Prabang is the local riverweed. We saw multiple people collecting it and also sitting cleaning it.

11. January 2018 19:01
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Vang Vieng - Kids highlights

11. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Some of the other highlights for the kids in Vang Vieng was the gym at our hotel. The local guys used it to train for kick boxing and the kids felt inspired.

Also, one evening we spotted someone launching wishing lanterns. We asked where they came from and through a lot of pointing we found a local shop keeper selling them.

We bought one and launched it an the kids loved the experience.

Also, one of the trees at the hotel had two little monkeys staying there most of the day. The kids loved standing there shouting profanities at them.

10. January 2018 19:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Vang Vieng - Watersports

10. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Vang Vieng we did do some water sports.

Again we were extremely lucky kayaking a section of the river back to Vang Vieng and having the entire river to ourselves.

The three kids were all in a kayak with our guide sitting on top of their life jackets - fortunately they can all swim.

Kim and I was in one Kayak and Sacha and Mavis in another.

Just where we started out there was a rapid with water flowing over a large boulder but with plenty of flat water on the sides. Kim was little impressed when I headed straight into the rapids and with perfect skills paddled us through them...her being soaked and the kayak being full of water may have had something to do with it.

She's later said that the kayaking trip was one of her favourite and most fun activities on the trip, so maybe she was somewhat impressed with my brilliant paddling skills!!

Along the river are still some of the remains of the bars and zip lines - but all very quiet now.

Approaching Vang Vieng we went past some really scenic locations with bungalows etc.

The experience at the end got and all thumbs up!

Another water activity that Mavis and I did was tubing through one of the caves. You essentially sit in an inflated car tyre and then pull yourself along a rope inside a cave. It was fun for the kids, however this place was packed with Koreans trying to do the same thing.

Aiden initially didn't want to go, but I am proud that he eventually managed to get the courage to do so.

We also went to one of the lagoons. There are a number of them and some of them are very popular. We organised with a driver to drive us to one of the less popular ones. It was still scenic and it had platforms of the trees to jump from and you could see why some travelers would have killed themselves jumping off them.

There were also a couple of rafts which reminded me of the first time I went to Laos and paddles across a local river on a raft. It got on one of them in the lagoon and the whole thing literally sunk under me - I only just managed to get off in time before getting soaked.

The second one was able to hold my weight and I took the boys for a little paddle.

9. January 2018 19:01
by Rene Pallesen
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A silent prayer - Laos

9. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At one of the caves in Laos there is this amazing Buddha statue inside the cave.

I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the diffused light was falling onto the statue itself and through the entrance to the cave. We were there all by ourselves and I asked Kim to sit and offer a little prayer in the ray of light coming in through the cave.

I didn't bring a tripod with me to Laos, so everything had to be shot handheld which was tricky as there wasn't much light there.

8. January 2018 18:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Vang Vieng - Caves

8. January 2018 18:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Vang Vieng we also went to some caves. Again we were the only ones there - I don't know if this was just because no one else were interested or because we went there at a time when everyone else were doing other activities.

The caves are in fairly pristine condition, they are dark, moist and other than descending a makeshift ladder walking through them gives a feeling of exploring the caves for the very first time.

Some passages were really narrow

And other parts of the caves were massive.

Overall the caves are beautiful and again it was amazing having them to ourselves.

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26. August 2018 16:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping - Wombeyan Caves

26. August 2018 16:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We made another camping trip. This time to Wombeyan caves with one of Kims colleagues.

It was just before winter set in, so the nights were cold and it was nice sitting around the fire at night.

There are a lot of limestone caves in the area that are worth visiting. We did this one which was self guided.

I tried to teach the boys how to shoot with a bow - kept them busy for a while.

We also rigged up a badminton net for both adults and kids to play.

But mostly it was the fire that the boys had fun with.

We also did a really long 8km walk - almost lost the track at one point.

26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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My dad's 75th birthday

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year it was my dad's 75 birthday. I traveled back for the party.

The party was at a little hotel (in danish called a 'Kro') at Soroe.

While there I also got to see the new house they are living in.

26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Ayutthaya

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand. It is a couple of hour north of Bangkok, and the easiest way to get there (by far) is by Train (we learned this the hard way).

The capital was only moved 250 years ago after it was ransacked by the Burmese, but now most of what used to be some extraordinary buildings are now mostly rubble.

It is a large area with lots of temples, so it is worthwhile having plenty of time and not rush it. We just visited three of the main sites, and that was plenty with the kids around.

Some of the highlights are the big lying down Buddha.

People still use this as a place of worship.

And apparently it is good luck if you can make a coin stick on the buddhas feed (without resorting to chewing gum).

At one of the temples there is also the head of Buddha stuck in the roots of the tree.

And as usual it is worthwhile keeping a look out for other moments involving people.

26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Ayutthaya Train

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We took the train back to Bangkok after visiting Ayutthaya on 2nd class tickets.

There is not much difference between the classes except extra bolstering on the seats. We however found a more open carriage where the kids could better play, draw and read books during the ride.

There was also a bit more life here. I went for a couple of walks through the train and found a lot of interesting sights.

The carriages were open between the carriages, so people used these areas to sit sown and get some fresh air or a smoke.

There was also a section that was reserved for monks, where I got permission to take this shot.

The mail/cargo carriage was more open with this man sitting keeping an eye on things.

As we approached Bangkok the man from the little kitchen chased people away from a part of our carriage as this was his place to sleep.

26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Blue Mountains

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This winter we went to the Blue mountains with a group of friends. We hired a house at Leura and spend the days going for walks.

This is from the Grans Canyon walk.

And some from the other walks.

26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Floating market

26. August 2018 14:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The floating market is 2 hours drive south of Bangkok. We made a bargain with a taxi driver to drive us all there in a minivan. In the process he tried to take us to the wrong place 5 kilometers from the market and tried to rip us off by saying we should pay an exorbitant amount to take a boat from there - Kim and I had been there before and remembered that it was possible to drive there. With the assistance from Kim's colleague, the driver was put in his place and took us to the right location, so we still came out ahead and it turned out to be a nice day trip.

The market is very much for tourists these days, but they still have the original boats selling food, although the market itself is all souvernirs.

It is however interesting to observe the other tourists and I managed to capture a couple of good moments.

26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Bangkok

26. August 2018 14:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

After Laos we went back to Bangkok.

Bangkok is much the same, however it feels a lot cleaner with regards to smoke from all the bikes, but the traffic itself is horrendous.

The tuk-tuks are still there, but they try to charge exorbitant prices, so it was far cheaper and more convenient to get a taxi.

As usual there are still lots of interesting choices for food, such as braised pigs head.

Or Scorpions (which are mostly sold to tourists)

When it comes to shopping, Kim was in shoe shop heaven.

The boys however was in their own upside down ice cream heaven.

The nightlife is also much the same, with the more relaxes and romantic atmosphere along the river.

As opposed to the more thrashy massage parlour atmosphere just around the corner from our hotel.

While we were there it was childrens week, much to the joy of the boys.

This also gave me some unique photo opportunities such as the Thai version of Wonder woman.

Evening were spend having nice dinners with friends, Kim's colleagues and by ourselves.

This photo was my all I packed for the entire trip (only thing missing is my camera and the two lenses I brought along). Everything fitted into a small carry-on backpack.

11. March 2018 22:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Monks - Laos

11. March 2018 22:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Religion is an integral part of Laos society where the majority are Budhists.

The monks dressed in orange and red ropes are still visible everywhere and it is largely seen as becoming a novice (junior monk) is seen as an opportunity to get an education and support your family if you come from a poor rural area.

The high influx of tourists, especially to Luang Prabang is therefore a bit of a win-win situation for everyone. The tourists support the temples in the area by paying their admission fees to visit and on both my trips I have found that the monks are keen to have a conversation as it is a way of practicing their language skills.

In Luang Prabang the monks walk in procession every morning to collect rice from worshipper along the roads. Before sunrise there are hundreds of monks walking the streets in every direction. There is an equal horde of tourists trying to take photos of these monks and equally tourists handing out (sometimes dubious) rice to them.

There are posters around the city encouraging being there and seeing the monks as well as providing some guidelines such as keeping a certain distance, not using flash photography and if you hand out rice then where to get it from. Most of it common sense really, so it was sad to see how some would be blocking the paths and sticking their camera phones with flashes into the monks faces.

Sacha and I went there a couple of mornings, but because of the time of the year everything was dark and because the monks move quite fast through the streets it was a challenge getting good shots.

One afternoon we walked past a temple and a group of monks were in progress of cutting down a large tree and afterwards trimming off the branches. They were going to use some of the tree trunk for traditional drums and the rest for ornamental purposes inside the temple.

In the late afternoons you would hear them chanting in the small rooms of meditations, chanting and prayer. These are often smaller places of worship and not part of the main temples which are used for more ceremonial purposes.
One evening I heard such chanting and went to investigate and found these monks. Definitely one of my favourite moments in Luang Prabang.

A common assumption and misconception is that the monks live by an ancient code with a simple life, so it is quite interesting to see that even they have adopted modern technology with smart phones and cameras.

11. February 2018 22:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Locals transport - Laos

11. February 2018 22:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The locals are still relying on motorbikes to get around. They are far cheaper and more convenient in the towns. It is even possible to fit an entire family onto a single motorbike.

Younger kids and high schoolers ride their push bikes for transport.

Although Aiden and the other kids definitely preferred the motor bikes.

Nothing too flash for weddings - a normal new car will suffice. If you notice the sign on the door, then I am not sure if the bride was expecting to come home to 'Meat & Sausage'.

There are also some vintage cars around which have survived since colonial times - like this 1952 Citroen.

10. February 2018 07:03
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Bowling - Laos

10. February 2018 07:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the last day in Luang Prabang we went to the local ten pin bowling alley.

We had heard and read that this is the place where things are happening in Laos. When we got there the place was totally deserted apart from a few staff members.

We did play bowling and it is a bit surreal to play by ourselves in this fairly modern centre in Laos.

They didn't have any support rails for the kids, but Aiden especially did really well and the kids managed to beat Kim on points.

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20. March 2021 14:03
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Karate bruises

20. March 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last year was a tough year with Karate.

First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for training, but even in the dojo I managed to get a lot of injuries.

Some of them visible and some of them not so visible...I have a whole stack of scans and x-rays as souvenirs from this year.

Some could have been avoided, but most are just part of the training.

I even earned an award for it...

The worst one was a kick to my chin. I dont have any photos of it, but I do have the indentation it made on my mouth guard I was wearing at the time. If it hadn't been for the mouthguard I am certain that I would have lost some teeth. This injury could have been avoided.

I have now gone out to buy a new and way cooler mouthguard (I created the design myself). It is thors hammer in the middle surrounded by the Fenrir wolf and Midgaards Serpent.

Even Kim got a few bruises.

13. March 2021 18:03
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My Burmese Dha swords

13. March 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Back in the late 90's I visited Laos. In the northern corner of Laos I acquired two old swords from a local.

Through some forums I have tried to find out as much as I can about them and this is what I have been told:

The swords are of a Burmese style called Dha (Means sword in Burmese).
They are of museum worthy pieces
I should NOT EVER attempt to restore them. This would degrade their value significantly.
The flower script design on the swords are reserved for the rulers and officers of those days.
အဲဒီဓားတွေကငါတို့ရဲ့ဗမာဓားတွေပဲလာအိုဆိုတာအရင်ကဇင်းမယ်လို့ခေါ်တယ်အင်းဝခေတ်မှာမြန်မာတွေတက်သိမ်းခဲ့တဲ့နိုင်ငံပဲဓားကိုငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားလို့ခေါ်တယ်ဓားကဓားကောင်းပဲ အခုငါပြတဲ့ဓားဟာလည်းသမိုင်းဝင်ဓားပဲငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားပေါ့ (Translation: These swords are our Burmese swords. Laos was formerly called Zin Mae, a country that was conquered by the Burmese during the Inwa period. The sword is called the Sword of the Bird. The sword is a good sword.).
It's a Ngat kyee daung Dah the sword that was once used by Burmese warriors and Thai during the dark age of Konbaung (1765–1767).
This Burmese Empire was destroyed during the English colonized to the East and totally wiped out by the English cannons kind of like a scene from the last samurai movie in the end! They were like charging to the enemy where they were being shot at.
These are also antique pieces in a good state of preservation! Swords, even if they are in such good condition, belong in the museum. You have to take a look at the Malaysia Sword Museum! They are great specimen
One would have to analyze the material metal wood winding fibers would certainly be very interesting! You don't see such a bundle every day
The handle on the smaller sword is made from wound rattan fibres.
The larger sword is made from silver and wound silver threading (I believe it is the typical not so pure silver/tin that was used).

This means that it is likely that the swords are up towards 250 years old and that the long one belonged to someone of a high status.

The area they are from is a place that has been ravaged by war for several hundred years right from the wards beween Burma and Siam (Thailand), conquer by the English empire, the Second World War, the Chinese civil war through to the Laos Civil/Vietnam war.

It is highly likely that the swords have seen some action. Although a bit rusty, the swords are still very sharp. Given that the blade on the longer sword is narrower at the hilt it is likely that it has been sharpened several times through history. Again this probably means that it had a practical use/purpose and wasn't just for display.

22. January 2021 01:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Newcastle

22. January 2021 01:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.

They had this beautiful little animal park that is maintained by the council and is free to visit.

Just outside Newcastle is fighterworld, which is an aircraft museum next to an active air strip.

Newcastle museum was also worth a visit on a rainy day.

One evening we went to the games arcade...no idea how Aiden managed to get a first place in racing.

21. January 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate 2020

21. January 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.

I was devastated when everything moved online. I love the partner work and couldn't see how this was going to work through video conferencing.

The boys and Kim were okay with the new format and I hung in there. I was so happy once we were able to get back in the dojo again.

Just before the lockdown I had purchased a punching bag, so at least we were able to do some outdoor contact punching.

During the lockdown there was a kata competition and other programs, and we did get a few prices.

...but dojo definitely rules...

We have managed to go to gradings...

And I have kept all the grading certificated we have gotton...

21. January 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Tennis Award

21. January 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Another encouragement award for Aiden. This time in Tennis...

31. December 2020 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Covid

31. December 2020 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.

Australia managed to get through with very few outbreaks because of very early and sever lockdowns.

This let people to panic buy. We spent the time to chill out and solve lots of puzzles in the evenings, do lots of exercise in the parks (which was still allowed), Karate online and work moving fully to conference calls.

31. December 2020 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Challenging year

31. December 2020 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The last couple of years has been super challenging for Aiden all around.

He is struggling all around and this photo tells it all.

For myself I have been struggling equally, and had it not been for the release of karate I don't know where things would have been at. I often wish I had my own bucket to hide under. I don't think this year will be any easier unfortunately...

26. December 2020 16:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Photo 2020

26. December 2020 16:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Keeping with tradition we did another family photoshoot this year.

This time we wanted to try something a bit more ambitious with a boxed setup where the individual boxes tell a bit more of a story.

I couldn't find an existing box that was big enough to fit me as well as the boys together, so I had to build one myself. I decided on the dimensions 90x90cm (as this was one of the dimensions that I could buy and also transport). I then had to cut it, paint it and nail it together. I had to do all this inside the house as the box is too big to fit through a door.

26. December 2020 14:03
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New bikes

26. December 2020 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

For Christmas the boys got new bikes from us and my dad (bedstefar).

The old were getting too small, so needed something bigger....

22. December 2020 01:03
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Painting - date night

22. December 2020 01:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One evening we were invited on a double date with one of Kims friends.

The theme was painting and we were to make an abstract painting of eachother.

Next day the boys tried to draw their versions.

"http://perfectmoments.photography/post/Christmas-Eve-2009" data-text="Christmas Eve 2009" data-count="horizontal">Tweet

This may also come as a surprise to you....but Santa Clause does exist and he visited our house on Christmas Eve.

We did the traditional Christmas dinner with friends coming over along with some of our nieces and nephews. Soeren and Nui joined us with their daughter and Andy joined us with his daughter so it was an almost equal representation of adults and kids (if you count me as a kid).

Later on in the evening Santa Clause appeared (Ethan asked where the reindeer were and apparently they were parked on the roof).

Ethan had been asking all evening whether Santa would be coming. Eventually we told him that Santa is a very busy man and that he visits all the good kids first and leaves all the naughty ones until later...that kept him quiet for a while.

He gave the children lots of presents and soon afterwards he headed off again...he is a very busy person this time of the year (I think he borrowed a couple of beer from the fridge).

By the end of the evening we were so stuffed with food that we had to be rolled into bed.

25. December 2009 11:59
by Rene Pallesen
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Dad - The Handyman

25. December 2009 11:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My dad arrived early January to spend Christmas and New Years Eve here with us.

Before he arrived i asked him if he'd mind helping with a couple of jobs arround the house. I told him that the biggest job was the tiles in the outdoor area in the back yard.

When they built the house they only tiled a part of the area. Later they extended the area but didn't level the area properly so where the joint between the old and the new area was the tiles weren't the same level and were either loose or broken. My dad thought it was best if we removed all the tiles on the upper deck and then poured a new concrete slab on top of the old one. He said that this would guarantee that the area would have the correct run-off from the house and at the same time avoid any spots where water would collect (There is two small areas where the water collects with the result that dirt and leaves collect and makes a mess).

So far we have removed all the old tiles (360 tiles in total equalling more than 1 ton worth) and carried these to the front of the house. We also carried 1.3 ton of cement to the back to pour the slab (65 bags of cement). My dad was poiring most of this and leveling it while I was at work before Christmas. On top of this is all the new tiles, adhesive and grout (all heavy lifting).

I notices after a days rain that water was collecting in a couple of areas and my dad told me that I shouldn't worry about it as he would be able to compensate for this when laying the tiles to ensure that the water would run off.

The slab is now complete and we are ready to start laying new tiles. We bought a jackhammer which has been a life saver in terms of removing the old tiles and mixing the new cement and adhesive.

The area won't look too much different from before though. We are laying the exact same type of tiles (otherwise it wouldn't match the rest of the area at the back of the house and at the front).

I just really hope my dad does a good job making sure everything is level, because otherwise this would be a waste of the $3000 it is costing in materials and tools (I can also see that I will have a cleanup job to do afterwards...there is cement on the walls and the fence of the house how...my dads comment was that he couldn't take that much care and that I'd just have to re-paint the house). If water is still collecting then we could have accomplished the same for a fraction of the price (and work) by just replacing and leveling a couple of rows of tiles at the area where they were broken (admittedly this would have been uneven, but the savings would probably have justified it).

Problem is that I won't know how dodgy the job is until after we've finished the grouting which wouldn't happen until end of this week (with a lot of effort).

Anyway...will provide an update when we finish.

25. December 2009 10:24
by Rene Pallesen
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Expecting

25. December 2009 10:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Good news everyone...we are expecting a baby and the stork should be delivering around mid June next year.

I guess most of you guys already know by now....for the rest of you...Surprise!!

It is not unexpected as we were trying.

Now there is a busy time ahead preparing for the baby. Kims wants the baby room painted (Even though in my opinion the baby doesn't care what colour it is).

We will also need to get hold of stuff like prams etc. If there are any baby items that you can spare (especielly items such as car baby seats, pram and changing table) then we would be very grateful.

We don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet (We should know by the end of January).

17. November 2009 08:46
by Rene Pallesen
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One year Anniversary

17. November 2009 08:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

yesterday it was Kim and I's one year anniversary.

We actually celebrated it on Saturday with a visit to one of Sydney top restaurants called Bilson's.

Yesterday we instead planned to have a nice evening out watching a movie in the evening. Kim was apparently waiting for me to deliver something to her office (or so her colleague said) but after work I was waiting at the car with a bunch of flowers. Kim was so excited to go out in the evening that she forgot to get off the train at our station with the result that she by accident ended up in Parramatta (western Sydney)...it took her one and a half hours to make it to the car...but fortunately the flower still looked fresh.

When we got home I spend some time experimenting with some photos and some lighting of the flowers before we went out, and here are the results. The Macro photos are taking using a 35/50mm lens reversed. The light comes from a single strobe reflected of a mirror.

Click here for more photos

The movie was really good and entertaining. We saw 2012...and it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.

2. November 2009 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Sculptures by the Sea

2. November 2009 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Every year in October & November there is an exhibition called Sculptures by the Sea. The city exhibits close to 200 sculptures on the stretch of coastline between Bondi and Tamarama. The public can go for a walk and have a look at the sculptures and vote for their favourits...if they are able to find parking that is.

Some of them are really good and some of them at just plain weird.

Here's some photos I took of my favourites.

Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Castle Hill Boulders

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving from Christchurch toward the west coast we passed the Castle Hills boulders.

This is a phenomenal place to go climbing if you are a good boulderer. It is also quite scenic to just go for a walk.

We saw lots of people with their bouldering mats (a soft mat to land on when you are climbing).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - West coast

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The west coast of New Zealand is really beautiful.

It is not very populated and there are not a lot of tourists either as it is hard to get to.

We did a lot of walks in the area both around beautiful lakes and also at the beach outside Fox Glacier and Franz Josef villages.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Wanaka and the famous most photographed tree.

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving back towards Queenstown we had to go through Wanaka. Boy, has it changed! It used to be a small place with maybe fifty houses, but now it is a proper town with lots of cars and traffic.

It is very scenic approaching Lake Wanaka, and the lake itself has this tree growing in the water that photographers from all around the world come here to take photos of.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lindis Pass

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A place that I have always found really magical is driving through the Lindis Pass.

Kim doesn't think much of it, but since I visited it the first time, I've alwas found the rolling hills and the colours absolutely stunning.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Mount Cook

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Mount Cook we did a long 10km walk to the start of the Hooker glacier.

It is a beautiful walk where you walk past the Tasman Glacier and Muller Glacier before you eventually come to the Hooker Glacier lake.

The lake was frozen with an iceberg floating around in it.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Pukaki chapel

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.

Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.

25. December 2022 18:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Day - 2022

25. December 2022 18:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As usual, we did a family thing at Kims sisters house.

At home I had Aiden make Havregryns Kugler (oat balls).

24. December 2022 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Photo 2022

24. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As per tradition we again did a family Christmas photo this year.

We were running out of time, so it was a bit rushed getting it done.

We also tried to make one with a Karate theme. It is a nice photo, it just wasn't christmassy enough.

23. December 2022 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Show - State Theatre

23. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim had booked a Christmas show in the State Theatre. It was an okay show, but as she said, it was more for the 'dads' than for the kids due to the costumes.

20. December 2022 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Awards 2022

20. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of the awards received by Aiden and Lucas

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