Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

3. February 2018 15:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Food - Laos

3. February 2018 15:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The food in Laos is good. It is traditional cooking mostly still cooked over an open fire.

You see them start cooking the food well before sunrise in big pots.

The food itself is mostly a fusion of Thai and Vietnamese. It has all the noodle soups from Vietnam, but with the more street food and spice of Thailand. The picture below is a typical noodle soup with a traditional cube of coagulated blood.

We were eating a lot from small street type restaurants following the rule that is had to be popular with the locals. The logic behind this is that the locals would know what is good and would also be choosy regarding the quality of the food, so chances are that it would be fresh and not cause food poisoning (none of us or the kids had any issues on the trip).

There are some dubious food there, such as some of the meat BBQ where they sometimes have the meet cooked earlier on the side of the BBQ and then just re-heat it when you order it.

Also be careful with some of the food stalls where the food may have been sitting there for most of the day and often from the day before.

From a 'snack' perspective there are some personal favourites that I absolutely love such as the BBQ fried squid - the packet stuff is just not the same.

Also the Bamboo and coconut fried rice is delicious - they sell them at bus and train stations and especially the purple rice one is yummi!

The freshly made puffed breads over an open fire - they will use two rakes to flip them until they are done.

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

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
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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.

< Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

Home

15. April 2007 02:16
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Ethan's birthday 2007

15. April 2007 02:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Saturday Ethan (Kims Nephew) had his birthday party. Kims sister asked us if we would like to come and do face painting on the the kids.

For the event I got dressed as a pirate and Kim got dressed as a fairy with wings.

KA, kims sister also helped out with some of the face painting. Here is a photo of KA with Ethan.

And here is Kayla painted as a mouse.

Kayla

For the event they had also hired a jumping castle (can be seen in the background) and for some weird reason the caucasian kids loved the face painting idea where the asian kids didn't want to have their faces painted.

10. April 2007 07:51
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Great Mackerel Beach - Easter 2007

10. April 2007 07:51 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

During Easter Kims Family had borrowed a house at Mackarel Beach, so we went up there the whole family, Kim and her three sisters, her brother in law, her dad and two nephews and one niece.

The only access to the beach is by boat from Palm beach one hours drive north of Sydney. There are no roads or shops on the beach. The ferry only leaves once an hour and only between 9am and 6pm. The beach is on the opposite side of Pittwater from Palm Beach and it has got a community of about 50 houses.

Most of the two days we were up there it rained, so we spend the time indoor eating, playing games and sleeping. The TV and VCR was out of order and the place didn't have a DVD player. At least it did have a CD player so we could listen to music.

We cooked dinner on the BBQ and the Kookaburras came to get fed. They were really tame, so you could touch them which is exceptionally rare.

I was on breakfast duty both days, so the first morning I made Bacon and Eggs for everyone and the second day I made pancakes. Sometimes it was a little stressful with that many people in the kitchen while trying to make breakfast, but it went alright! I am coming from a fairly small family,so I am not used to have that many people around.

Easter Monday Kim and I played golf at Mona Vale golf course which is one of my favourite courses to play on.

It is right next to the coast and the course is normally in a great condition. Even though the course is long it is not that difficult.

I was playing pretty average on the first nine holes but improved my game significantly on the second nine and managed to play a number of the holes at par. On one of the holes a Currawong (big black bird) flew down and stole Kims golf ball. I had to chase after the bird for 200 meters until it eventually landed in a tree and then dropped the ball.

1. April 2007 09:22
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Lake Macquarie

1. April 2007 09:22 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This weekend we rented a house at Lake Macquarie in a place called Overnight Reflections at Fishing Point near Newcastle.

The place is an easy 1.5 hours drive north of Sydney assuming that there is light traffic.

It was a fantastic and very relaxing weekend. The house was right at the water, so we could hear the water and see the full moon (almost) reflect in the water at night.

Having breakfast at Lake Macquarie

Saturday afternoon we went playing golf at Toronto Golf and Country club. This was quite an experience. The course itself is nice enough although it needs some maintenance (especially the bumpy greens)...but some of the people playing there should not be allowed onto a golf course.

One of the players stole Kims golf ball and on several occasions started bashing up his own golf bag while shouting Fu...k!!! Fu...k!!! Fu...k!!! Obviously it wasn't a great idea confronting him regarding the ball. We were planning to complain to some of the members of the club...but there was no-one else around and eventually we lost track of the guy (fortunately...because he was quite scary).

In the evening we went to a very expensive restaurant (even by Sydney standards) at Warners Bay...it was ok, but not a place I'd recommend. Kim and I wanted a bit of a special night out to celebrate and this seemed to be the best we could find outside of Newcastle itself. From living in the Newcastle area years ago I know that it is hard to find a decent restaurant up there...most people regard fish'n'chips as a romantic night out!

Anyway...the place we stayed at was very nice although it troubled the owner of the place that we didn't want to have breakfast until after 10.30 in the morning...what IS WRONG with these Sydney people!!! Kim and I enjoyed catching up on some sleep and just relax without having to rush around for set meal times, be a tourist etc.

Especially Sunday troubled her at we didn't want to check out until 2pm because we wanted a snooze. She even sent down her grandchildren to make a bit of noise to wake us up.

Anyway...it was actually quite amusing and Kim and I didn't mind, the woman running the place was actually quite sweet....and $300 for the two nights in a lake front cottage was good value. It is definitely a place I'd go back to.

18. March 2007 10:09
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Hunter Valley 2007

18. March 2007 10:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This Saturday Kim and I went to Hunter Valley with a couple of her Colleagues from Epicor. They had one of her colleagues visiting from the US office.

I was invited along as Joanne was the driver and kim doesn't drink, so I was the only person who could drink with the visitor (I didn't mind :-) ).

Normally I go for all the red wines, but I decided on this trip to dry some of the white wines, especially try and find a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio...which I eventually did at the Bimbadgen Vineyard.

Kim also bought a couple of really nice desert wines that I'm sure I will be allowed to share.

Hunter Valley

12. March 2007 11:29
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

La Traviata & Golf

12. March 2007 11:29 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Saturday Kim and I want to see La Traviata in Sydney Operahouse.

For Christmas I got a couple of tickets for the opera from Kim. It was an opera I hadn't see before and the stage setup was really good and the performance was excellent. Kim had gotten us really good seats...we had front row seats in the dress circle upstairs.

During the performance they were broadcasting the show to the steps in front of the operahouse as well as to one of the parks in Melbourne. They wanted to show what Opera is like to a wider audience.

Afterwards we had dinner at Circular Quay close to the Opera House.

La Traviata

Sunday we drove down to Catherine Fields to Camden Lakeside Country Club to play a round of golf. Sasha and one of his friends dad visiting from Canada also came along.

It was really hot, so for the first time I was actually glad that we were driving a kart rather than walking the course. The guy from Canada was almost dead by the time we got back to the club house.

I played a really good round (43 points stableford, HCP 13) and Kim played almost at her handicap.

It is obvious that there is a drought on. Most of the lakes were dried out, I was looking for a photo online to post here, but the course is totally unrecognisable because of the missing lakes.

28. February 2007 12:19
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Back From Hawaii

28. February 2007 12:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year Kim met her targets at work. This meant the she got invited to Hawaii (with a partner...me) as part of the Chairmans club.

We got back two weeks ago and had a fantastic trip. The first few days we spent in Honolulu at Waikiki Beach...we got to see all of Oahu, went snorkeling and Kim went shopping. One night we all went to a shooting range in Honolulu.

After this we went to Kauai where we were staying at a big resort. Here we went snorkeling, sailing and played golf.

There was parties every night and we also managed to find a bit of time to ourselves.

See the rest of the photos from our trip here: Hawai Photos/Slideshow

27. February 2007 12:55
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Added photos from Thailand 2006

27. February 2007 12:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Mid 2006 I went to a work meeting in Krabi in Thailand.

This happens to be a few kilometers away from one of the best rock climbing destinations in the world. So, after the meeting I took a few days off to go rock climbing.

Kim happened to be travelling in the Northern part of Thailand with some friends who had to leave on the same day my meeting ended. Kim flew down to Krabi where I picked her up at the airport.

Unfortunately it was rainy season, so most of the time in Railay it was raining, but we did manage to get one day of climbing done and the rest of the time we spend in the restaurants and playing cards.

Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow

27. February 2007 12:54
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Added photos from 2005

27. February 2007 12:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have now started adding photos from 2005. For this I have created a new blog just for 2005, the plan is that I will add blogs for the remaining years as well.

Click here to see what happened in 2005

27. February 2007 12:53
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Added photos from 2004

27. February 2007 12:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have now added photos from 2004. The highlights from this year was a trip to the United States and Canada as well as a family trip to Egypt. This was also the year that Australia entered the war in Iraq, so there are a couple of photos from the anti war demonstrations.

Click here to read about 2004

27. February 2007 10:25
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Added photos from Portugal 2006

27. February 2007 10:25 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Mid 2006 I was in Portugal for our International Partner Conference with the company.

It was a week of being busy setting up for the conference, socialising but also a lot of fun and partying.