13. March 2005 07:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Canada 2005 13. March 2005 07:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetcanada 2005ShareI went a trip to Calgary (as well as to Seattle) in the end of 2005. It was lots of meetings and in Calgary we were invited to provide input to our workflow product from the field. While we were there they had the Chinook, which is a warm wind that appear during the winters...so during the day it was really pleasant. One night we went to see a game of ice hockey against the Calgary Flames and Chicago...it was the only game that Calgary lost that season. Click here to see more photos from: Calgary 2005/Slideshow
13. March 2005 07:33 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mum and Dad in Sydney 2005 13. March 2005 07:33 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmum and dad in sydneyShareAt the end of 2005 my Mum and Dad escaped the winter in Denmark by travelling to Sydney for a couple of weeks. They stayed here over Christmas and New Years Eve. While they were here we went for a drive up to Graemes house at Taylors Lake near Port Macquarie where we Christmas Eve cooking traditional danish Roast Duck, and Ris-a-la-mande. New years even we celebrated at Graemes place at McMahons Point here in Sydney. New Years day was the hottest on record...48 degrees. Click here to see more photos from: Christmas and New Years Eve 2005/Slideshow
14. November 2004 12:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Afternoon Sailing in a Felucca 14. November 2004 12:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetafternoon sailing in a feluccaShare
14. November 2004 12:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Grandchildren's Meal for Bedstemor 14. November 2004 12:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetgrandchildren s meal for bedstemorShare Normally Bedstemor's fest is for paid by her children, but this year, all of Bestemor's grandchildren decided to also treat the family in return. They chose the Italian restaurant in the hotel. It was a 3-course set menu at US$8 per person. For starters, it was thin minestrone with salad vegetables and grated cheese. For entrée, it was 3 pieces of ravioli with mushrooms and white sauce (ravioli suprisingly had cinnamon in it...) For mains, we had a choice of either chicken or veal scallope with fettucine... But all our meals were served with the same sauce and somehow we all ended up getting french fries... When we asked the waiters about the fettucine listed on the menu, no-one had any idea... And our surprise dessert was a scoop of ice-cream swimming in fruit salad and syrup. These breadsticks were really very nice, although surprisingly these contained cumin, instead of Italian herbs or cheese. With Bedstemor in the middle, the oldies at one end, we sat at the other end with Kim, Rasmus and their respective girlfriends. Rasmus and his g-friend told us about their trip around Asia, toVienChan and Laos. Kim and Birit had spent 6 months backpacking around India, Nepal and Thailand. In the meanwhile, there was an Egyptian engagement party that started in the hotel lobby. The musicians stood around the couple, playing oboe-like instruments, tambourines and drums, whilst the guests clapped and danced to the music. It was deafening, the sound echoing throughout the hotel. They eventually made their way up to one of the function rooms to party all night long. =
14. November 2004 12:54 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments The Citadel & Mohammed Ali Mosque 14. November 2004 12:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetthe citadel mohammed ali mosqueShare Our first sightseeing trip after arriving in Egypt was the Citadel and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The Citadel was once the home of the royal family until 1870, then the military took over this joint until the 1970s. It is still used occasionally by the military but mostly opened to visitors although certain sections are closed off to them. Neither did our guide tell us much about the Citadel, nor give us the opportunity to explore. So most of the photos here are of the Mohammed Ali Mosque sitting on the Citadel. The mosque is famous for its alabaster corridors, columns and floors. Alabaster is a cheaper form of marble that seems to be slightly more porous and does not have the smoothness or coolness of normal marble. Adam, our guide sat everyone down in one corner of the mosque like school kids, and gave everyone some sort of history lesson about Islam and marriage. The interior of the mosque was magnificent, with globes of light hanging in multiple rings from the ceiling. In the far right corner, there is a gilded green and gold staircase that leads to some sort of pulpit. Local women were allowed into this mosque, but clad from head to foot. Female tourists were provided with a green abaayas if they were sleeveless or wearing shorts. During Adam's chat about Islam and its history, René asked for more information about the Citadel, and was rudely scolded for not listening. Adam did not give any more information about the Citadel for the rest of the trip... Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Medicine . . . 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetmedicineShareMedicine . . .My girlfriend, Arumi, tells me one sees the wares of a 'Medicine Man' quite often throughout Asia. Whether they sit by the roadside, or whether they own a shop in a building, one will see very similar items being sold around Asia. The “pellets” you see here are in fact different types of roots such as ginger or some unknown vegetable, that have been sun or air dried. You will see the antlers of various animals such as deer or even rhino. There are also skulls from different animals - some of these animals may be endangered species, but somehow you will see them being sold in these markets. These skulls are definitely not being used as “trophies” around the house! The Burmese, like many Asians, believe in using very 'natural' remedies to cure common ailments. A Medicine Man may not necessarily be a “doctor” according to western standards - that means he may not have a university degree. However, a Medicine Man, may be what we know as “witch-doctors”. Some of the remedies they know are very natural and useful. Unfortunately, not all of these remedies work. Around Asia, you will see shops or Medicine Man selling items like tigers' paws and skulls, or ground ivory tusks. Many of these are sold as cures or enhancements for the sex life. In Burma, there is virtually no wildlife left. You will even find that even tobacco is sold naturally. Not in cigarette form, but in leaf form! The laws in Burma are not quite the same as they are here. Marijuana is also sold very freely. Lotus Fruit . . . Quite often in Asia, you may see lily pads floating on the water. In fairy-tales, you hear about frogs sitting on a lily pad. You will be amazed to associate that this fruit here, comes from the flowers/plant growing out of the water near the lily pads. The yellow seeds come from the flower itself. The seeds are used often in many Asian desserts, and said to promote better blood circulation. While, the root of the lotus plant is also a delicacy. It is white when cooked, and has a crunchy texture, similar to that of the water chestnut. Mainly used in savoury meals, although used as a dessert as well. Personally, I think it is too much hassle retrieving the fruit! *smile* Created: 31 Oct 2001 28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Schwedagon . . . 28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetschwedagonShare Schwedagon was a holy place with extremely large and beautiful temples. To get to Schwedagon, you had to travel up very long escalators. I took this photo because these escalators were the only escalators I had seen during my whole trip in Burma. As Schwedagon is a very religious place for the locals, I guess to travel up these escalators give the sense of travelling to a higher and holier place. The temples at Schwedagon were really impressive. I was told that collectively, these temples were built with 39 tonnes of pure gold. At the end of the day, the locals all contributed in cleaning the place. They clean all the tiles and are very organised. Here is the 'Big Stuba'. All that gold... Up close, the temples are a glorious sight. Especially at night! Can you see those lights at the base of the Big Stuba? Each is a 'mini temple', illuminating a Buddha. You can really see the magnificence of these temples! There are lots of rules or procedures about the way one prays to the Buddhas - very complicated to an outsider! I saw a couple of the buddhists pour water onto the statue of the Buddha. Depending on the day of the week a buddhist is born, the individual would pour the respective number of bowls for the day of the week. A buddhist believes that by doing this, it would bring them luck. At Schwedagon, I noticed there were hardly any tourists, mostly locals paying homage. Can you see how intricate the carvings are in the foreground? The monks rung this bell to announce prayer times. It brought luck to ring the bell. For example, if you were born on the 1st day of the week, you rung it once to bring good luck. If you were born on the 6th day of the week, you rung it 6 times etc. 28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Myanmar ( Burma ) 23 July ~ 5 Aug 2001 . . . 28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmyanmar burma 23 july 5 aug 2001ShareBurma/Myanmar surprised me in many ways. I would have liked to see more of Burma than I did, but due to military restrictions, I only had access to certain parts of Burma and was not able to see any of the indigenous people along the border as I had initially planned.Burma is a very poor country. It was difficult to travel... travelling 100 kilometres could sometimes take up to 6 hours. One of the most beautiful places in Burma, I thought, was Bagan. I took many photos in Burma, and tried to order them in the following pages: I spent some days in Yangon, which had a heavy colonial influence. Schwedagon was another place full of temples, a place laden with pure gold. Whilst travelling, I could not help notice how influenced the people were by religion, and Burma's politics is one thing an outsider should not get involved in. I was fascinated by what the Burmese used for medicine. They also had some rather interesting local fruit. Mandalay also had an interesting colonial battle history. Whilst there, I watched the “Mandalay Marionettes”. With the restrictions up north, I did not get to see much. But you would not believe how the Burmese play volleyball! Finally, at Mt Popa, I went there to see a local monastry, and saw a lot of wild monkeys there. Yangon ( Rangoon ) . . .This is the city-centre of Rangoon. Rangoon is the capital city of Burma. It is actually a pretty big city if you compare it with other parts of Burma on a map. Most of the buildings are from the old colonial period when the British occupied Burma. Unfortunately they have not been very well-maintained. Can you see the green bits on the clocktower? If you are thinking it is vegetation growing on it, you are right! There is quite a bit growing on most of the buildings in the city.There were so many pigeons! I managed to catch a pictures of a pigeon flying mid-air - can you see the blurred grey thing near the tree in the middle of the photo? NextReturn to SE Asia menuReturn to TopCreated: 22 Sept 2001 28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Burma newspaper 28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetburma newspaperShare 15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments 3rd Place in Photo Competition! 15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetcompetition photo 2001Share I took part in a photo competition in November 2001, using one of the photos I had taken during my trip to Mt Cook in January 2001. This photo was of Kevin, the alpine guide from my group in the technical climbing course. The following photo and comments appeared on the Planet Fear website, in the Front Line Photography Competition - not long after I was notified that I was one of 20 winners, and I was even more surprised to find out that I had come third! The comments above the photo were my comments that I had emailed to them when I sent the photo. The comments below the photo were (one of the judges) comments about my photo. 3. Rene Pallesen The attached photo was taken in New Zealand on the main range near Mount Cook. The valleys to the west are filled with clouds formed by the moisture from the forests underneath. The snowcovered mountains in the north are visible through the clouds. The photo was taking using a Nikon FM10 using a Fuji Sensia 100 film. Literally bathed in atmosphere. It would be easy to muff this high key exposure but Rene is spot on. The vertical format adds to a shot capturing all the euphoria of life on the tops. Reminds me of the legendary Mountain mag front covers. ~ Comment by Ian Parnell, Planet Fear Feel free to see my photo on their website. Also, you could go to the Planet Fear website to view the other winning photos. 15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook 15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmt cookShareCreated: 18 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001 15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 ) 15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmt cook 15 28 january 2001ShareMt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 )I decided to do a Technical Ice-Climbing course with Alpine Guides in New Zealand. I spent 10 days at Mt Cook doing a very challenging course, but I learnt a lot. I learnt all the techniques required to do ice-climbing safely. I also learnt the necessities of surviving in the icy mountains. Prior to the trip, a lot of preparation was required. Everyday, I went jogging to build up my fitness, so by the time I left for New Zealand, I could run 3km on the sand without getting puffed. I also had to buy some of the equipment. I had to buy cramp-ons (looks like spiked metal soles) to attach to my boots; ice-axe and ice-hammer; a new Gore-tex jacket (I needed a new one anyway) and some other clothing and equipment. The photo on the right became a 3rd-place winner in a photo competition.Our group consisted of 4 other doing the course. There were no prerequisites, other than a love for the mountains and a very high fitness level. Not all of us who do this course go on to climb the great mountains. We also discovered it takes guts and courage to stand on top of the world and feel confident. One cannot be an ice-climber if there is a fear of heights or if unsteady on the feet. All of us in the group had come from different backgrounds. Søren was an experienced climber, who had aspirations of going to the Himalayas. Alan was a rock-climber who wanted to try the challenge of ice-climbing. Rob too loved the mountains and wanted the experience and challenge of being on the icey slopes of New Zealand. I had had quite a lot of climbing and mountaineering experience, but this was my first time ice-climbing. The person holding the camera is Søren. I met him in NZ, whilst waiting for the bus for Mt Cook. To my surprise, he was a Dane living here in Sydney. He was a professional photographer (hence you see him holding the Nikon). He and I had similiar experience so our speed through the course was pretty much the same. I actually ended up cracking a rib whilst on the course. I did this during a 'self-arrest' technique, where we actually throw ourselves down a steep slope and try to use our ice-axe to stop ourselves from falling any further. This technique is used in case you fall down a crevass and have nothing to hold onto. Rob was the other person doing the course. He once dropped his ice-axe and one of us had to abseil down to collect it, as an ice-axe is a piece of equipment that is vital and you only carry one of these each. We worked in pairs, but had to swap partners as our guide took turns working with each of us. Ice-climbing is nothing like rock-climbing. You cannot use your fingers (well, they will freeze if you take your gloves off), so you really on equipment like ice-axe and ice-picks to anchor yourself into the ice. These pieces of equipment are really important, especially if you are sleeping on a ledge or stopping for a rest. Other than someone belaying you, using ice-picks to secure yourself into the ice is the backup should your belay fail. We each took turns at ice-climbing! Alan is the one in the blue jacket, Søren is the one in the red. I guess Søren has more photos of me climbing, whereas I can't take photos of myself! In the following section, you will see a series of photos of Mt Cook. If you want to have a look at the black & white version of this (quite artistic), click here. 17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Olympic Day Out ( 17th Sept 2000 ) 17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetolympic day out 17th sept 2000ShareLast September, Sydney held the Olympic Games. I saw a lot of the events on TV but was disappointed with the coverage of other countries' involvement. However, I did manage to be at Olympic Park during the Games and also see the first handball match - Denmark vs Norway. I managed to get tickets for the game and had a very nice day with my girlfriend and the Lenehans. I also managed to get some pretty spectacular photos of the Olympic torch. Here is Stadium Australia, where the Olympic torch is held. Most of the major track & field events, as well as athletics were held here. It is a pretty spectacular building - and HUGE. During the Olympics, you could not go into just any of the buildings at Olympic Park. You had to have a ticket for an event before you could enter the building. As you can see me, I am wearing my T-shirt supporting Danmark! This is one of the few days that I can wear the T-shirt. It was a very sunny and warm day and the place was full of people. During the Olympics, you could only get access to the whole of the Olympic Park if you had a ticket. They had quite tight security, and had to go through a detector on the perimeter of the grounds after you got off the train/bus. The handball game started at about 2pm and we managed to wander round for quite a bit before going into the arena wear the handball was. The food as amazingly expensive! Normally a fruit salad would only cost about AUD$3, cost up to AUD$8 that day!. Bottles of water was double the price. They really made it a money-making event for tourists! The funny thing too, we noticed that as you entered Olympic Park, all of the signs were in French and English, and all the announcements were given in French first, then English. It was most peculiar! As we got closer to where the handball games were being held, we saw a lot of Danes and Norwegians dressed in country colours! Danes in red and white and Norwegians... well, there was a guy there who had lots of cow bells around his neck and attached to his clothes. He was wearing a traditional metal helmet and dressed in old-fashioned gear. It was amazing to feel all the atmosphere - just to be there. We were all in the true Danish spirit! Even my girlfriend was dressed in a white T-shirt and red pants! We painted flags on our faces with some face paint. We were definitely there to support the Danish team! Even Lance could not help get caught in the moment with us! *smile* A break in the handball game - Danmark vs Norway! Danmark in red & white, Norway in blue & white. We had pretty good seats - it was a matter of whoever got there first, had the best seats, although we had to enter through certain doors. All the journalists and officials sat on the left. We even heard that the crown prince of Danmark was there for the game, even though we could not spot him. There were flags everywhere, Danish and Norwegian waving about. Everytime Norway scored, you could hear countless numbers of cow-bells being rung! A few times, some of the people tried to start a Mexican wave, but that did not work out. It was a very fast and furious game. It was the only handball game that the Danish lost in the whole Olympic Games, and they eventually came first in the finals! Just after entering Olympic Park, we managed to get a group photo! As you can see the place is very crowded but very festive - you just had to be there! A most glorious sunset! After the handball match, we wandered around for a bit longer. The day had been quite warm, so the night was a beautiful clear night. After the Lenehans left, Arumi and I had a look at a small Aboriginal art exhibition located at the Park. We sat on one of the few grassy patches, to watch the flickering of the lights and just enjoy the day. We eventually went home, but Olympic Park was still swarming with people, who were there to watch events that went on later into the night. Although we did not get the chance to see any other events during the Olympics, it was definitely worth the day we spent there. We would have loved to see the final game when Danmark won, but as usual, we were not very organised... Below, I have included photos taken on the night of the Closing Ceremony. These were taken from Graham's apartment on a hill at McMahons Point. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks that went off after the Closing Ceremony. It was really windy on the balcony, but I managed to get some photos of the Olympic rings that were placed on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Beautiful, isn't it? 15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Car in 2000 . . . 15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew car in 2000ShareIn September 2000, just after I returned from my trip to Borneo, I had to buy this new car because my girlfriend had written off my car whilst I was away! *smile* I did not look forward to hunting around for a new car, but I found a good buy locally. This car is a 1997 Ford Futura, with 4.0 litre, 6-cylinder, 220-horsepower, power-steering, central locking and electronic windows (I think I am starting to sound like a car advertisement...) It is pretty much the same colour as my old car, and it feels so nice to drive! As you can see, pretty similar, but I also really miss my old car! It had a lot of computerised features - from a digital odometer, to adjusting the internal temperature of the car. It was a pretty cool car and wished I could have kept it for another few more years. A huge contrast to my first car! It is a red hatchback that I bought early 1998, a few months after I arrived in Australia. But someone wrote it off a few months after I bought it. It was a pretty bad accident, but luckily I was alright. I was only covered by Third Party insurance, and to go through a lot of paperwork just to get reimbursement for the car! 15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Away from Headquarters . . . 15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetaway from headquartersShareEcochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe VillageAway from Headquarters . . .I managed to explore the villages at Silam. The people here wore this white stuff on their faces - I guess their form of sunscreen. These people were refugees from the Philippines. The kids were fighting to fit into the photo! The kids here were really cute.These kids here, had caught a monkey and was trying to sell it at the camp for 5 ringgit (AUD$2.50). No-one wanted to buy it because they knew if they bought it, and set it loose, the kids would just catch it again, and try to sell it. In general, there were lots of great photos at Silam village. One of the helicopter pilots was driving through the jungle roads, took a corner too fast, and had a minor mishap.We headed into Lahad Datu to get some seafood! An escape from camp food. Camp food was disgusting. There were live worms in the vegetables (yes, after cooked). Most of the food was not fresh, and was pretty boring. The seafood was fantastic here. Whenever we had the chance, we ate lots of seafood. Yum... Paul did not get to eat all of the crabs - all of us had a portion of it. Yummm... they were huge, but we did not eat them. They were too big for us to eat, pretty impressive though. They were the biggest lobsters I have seen in my life. We saw these at the same place we ate our seafood and frogs (below). We had this frog for dinner about 2 min after I took the photo. This was actually when I went out with Glen in Kota Kinabalu - he asked me to pick some food and to surprise him. I did not tell him till a year later that he ate frog meat. He asked me what it was, because he reckoned it tasted funny, but I did not tell him at the time. I think he will only eat it again. Only if he really had to. Petronis Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world. Actually, they are the tallest buildings in the world, followed by the Sears Towers in Chicago. The towers are joined by some sort pedestrian platform. These towers are located in Kuala Lumpur. I went to Kuala Lumpur to pick up my Permanent Residency for Australia. Woohoo!!! After 2 years of lots of paperwork, and correspondence back and forth with Berlin, I finally managed to get it! The inconvenience of it all, was that I actually had to leave Australia ie collect my PR before re-entering Australia. Below, is the only photo I have of the Lateral Linking Team that I worked with during the race. Back to TopReturn to Borneo HomepageCreated: 7 Dec 2001 << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...86878889909192939495Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Day...golf at Brighton Golf Club 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew years day golf at brighton golf clubShare As tradition dictates we played golf with Sasha on new years day. And he had booked a time at Brighton Golf Club (Moorebank) at a civilised hour (1.30pm). Kim and I hadn't played for about 10 months as we had been too busy with all the other things in 2008 (see the rest of the blog postings). I think we played a fairly decent game considering the time since we'd last played but both Kim and I were fairly tired after the 18 holes. It was a hot day with temperatures in the mid thirties and the course was fairly hot...so we drank lots of water as we went. 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Eve 2008 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew years eveShare Every year both Kim and I have been in the Sydney harbour area to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. But this year we decided to have a quiet new years eve just the two of us with a visit to the movies and then a nice dinner at home. We did however watch the fireworks from our balcony at midnight and it looked just as spectacular as previous years (I borrowed the photo above from another site). 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Smiths Lake Christmas Trip 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetsmiths lake christmas tripShare Between Christmas and New year we drove with Kims family up to Smiths Lake (300km North of Sydney). We rented a house on the lake up there. We hired a tinny (small aluminium boat) a couple of days and went fishing and managed to catch a lot of breams (a lot too small to keep). Kims dad loves fishing and he quickly found out that in the morning and evening the fish were at the shore just outside the house. In the evening we cooked nice dinners and BBQ's and the cookaburras came to the balcony around dinner time to check if there were leftovers. We had a bit of fun with them as you can see. In the evenings we played Blackjack (Kim and I cleaned up) and had nice food and wine. Chong (The husband of Kims sister) showed his more feminine side. The rest of the time we spent at the beach playing in the waves and playing with Kims sisters kids. 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Day 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchristmas dayShare Christmas day was celebrated with Kims family at her sisters house. A lot of people were there and everyone had been asked to bring some food. Kim had cooked Red Duck Curry the day before while I was preparing the Christmas Eve dinner. Again...lots of food, playing table tennis, jumping the trampoline and all the kids got to open their presents. 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Eve 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchristmas eveShare Christmas even was celebrated in the traditional Danish way in the evening of the 24th December. Kim and I had invited some friends over to out new house and prepared the traditional roast duck, ris-a-la-mande and large tiger prawns for entrees. It was a nice evening and we didn't finish until well after midnight and all of us were really full by the time we finished dinner. There was a couple of kid and after dinner they got to open their Christmas presents. 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims dads Birthday 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetkims dads birthdayShareEvery year on Kims dads birthday we celebrate with the family. Every couple brings a couple of dishes of food and we all share it. 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Diving at Tulamben - Honeymoon in Bali 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdiving at tulambenShareOn our honeymoon in Bali I really wanted to do this scuba dive that was recommended to me by my friend Andy. It is this old wreck of a US cargo ship (USS liberty) that was torpedoed by the japanese in 1942 and then beached to save the men and the cargo. The wreck has since slided back into deeper water (during a volcanic eruption in 1962) and it now in 5 to 27 meters of water just off the coast. I did two dives on the wreck while Kim was snorkeling in the surface on top of the wreck and it is without a doubt the most amazing scuba diving experience I've had. The ship is huge and you can swim through the cargo hulls and there is an amazing variety of fish and corals on the wreck. I saw a 1.5 meter barracuda, a 1cm tall seahorse, a garden of eels and a great variety of other fish including a large school of travelly. I had my personal dive master for the day and I got him to take some photos and some video with his camera while we were diving. On the first dive we went all the way around the wreck (max depth 27 meters) and on the second we went through the wreck itself. Kim had a really good experience as well and really enjoyed the 30 degree warm water and managed to get her bum burnt while snorkeling for several hours. I think we'll both go back there if we get the chance. Click here to download video of me feeding fish Click here to download video of me diving 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bali Honeymoon 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbali honeymoonShareOur Honeymoon day after the wedding went to Bali in Indonesia. We did have some hesitation going there considering that the Bali Bombers had been executed the week before and that the Australian government discouraged all travel there. The plane up there (and back) was only 25% full so plenty of space to get a good sleep. We stayed in Nusa Dua Westin....a nice hotel although the rooms are a bit small. On the first day we slept in and later in the day drove to Kuta to have a look around and do some shopping. Later in the evening we went to Jimbaran Bay for dinner. This is a whole beach where all the restaurants have put their tables and chairs out onto the beach itself...very romantic but quite expensive compared to local restaurants. The second day we hired a car to drive us to Ubud in the hills, Monkey Forest and later in the day down to a small place called Tanah Lot. Especially the last one was very nice around sunset and we ended up not getting back to our hotel until 8.30 in the evening much to the dismay of our driver. Dinner took place near the hotel and we found that the value of the food/prices was much better here. A couple of days later we went for another drive (In between we went to Tulamben...see posting below) up to some beautiful lakes and temples up on the north of the island as well as rice paddies and we had a really nice trip despite driving with the most grumpy driver. Time was running out and Kim felt that she hadn't spent enough time shopping so the last two days were spent shopping and sitting at the pool and on the beach. One evening we booked a really nice restaurant called "The Living Room" in Seminyak and I booked the whole outdoor area (cost a fortune) just so that we could have a romantic evening in the garden just the two of us with personal waiting staff. The week was way too short and we never got to do everything we wanted to do so I have a feel we will be coming back in the future. 17. November 2008 12:40 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wedding 17. November 2008 12:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetweddingShareOn Sunday the 16th November 2008 I got married to Kim. It was a fantastic day and thanks to family and friends joining us making this a very memorable day. My day started out (Kims started much earlier) in the morning with my Best Man (Andy) as well as a number of other friends coming over to my house picking up trays, organising ribbons on cars and picking up supplies for the wedding ceremony. Kim had earlier in the morning left the house to go to her dads place to get dressed and have hair and makeup done. Once we got the call saying that she was ready we drove over to her dads place and on the way there we were stopped by the police who insisted on breath testing us...sorry guys you were out too early, we hadn't started drinking yet. At Kims place I had to bribe my way in through the door before they would let me in...all part of the tradition. Once I was let in my friends carried the trays of fruit, wine and noodles upstairs and this was the first time I saw Kim looking absolutely gorgeous in her wedding dress. We then started the Tea Ceremony where we first had to pay respect to the elders by burning incense and then serve tea to the parents. In return they would then present us with red envelopes containing money and Kim's dad also gave Kim an old bracelet and ring that used to belong to her mum. After the Tea ceremony I drove down to La Perouse where the wedding ceremony was going to take place. We were a bit early so they were still getting ready. The wind was really strong so the garden arch needed wires to stay in place etc. Once all the guests has arrived (around 40-50) Kim arrived in Nancys car with her bridesmaid (Natalie) and the ceremony could begin. Kim and I had decided and written most of the ceremony ourselves and the celebrant presented it beautifully (and very loud). After the ceremony we had some drinks and snacks with out guests and then took pictures for the next couple of hours around La Perouse and Centenial Park. Later in the afternoon we went back to our house to relax and freshen up for an hour until we then went to the Reception. We had invited 80 guests and they all arrived (more or less). People were greated out the front where they were served canabes and drinks and there was a pianist playing a piano. People were then seated and once everyone were at the tables the bridal party was introduced. After the entrees My dad and Andy held their speeches (both very good and unfortunately mostly true) and after the main courses it was the turn of KC and myself. To everyones surprise we had arranged entertainment during the evening in the form of some drummers. Everyone was given a drum and had to participate in the drumming. This also involved us dancing as part of the entertainment. This was eventually followed by us cutting the wedding cake (a tower of cupcakes) a then dance the bridal walz. Kim had changed to a more practical dress for the bridal walz and she looked absolutely stunning in it. Because I'd been sunburnt during the day my face almost matched the dress. 15. November 2008 12:26 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Moved into the new house 15. November 2008 12:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmoved into the new houseShareEnd of October we moved settled and moved into the new house. Not without a bit of of drama as the previous owner wasn't out of the house at settlement...but by the end of the day she was fortunately gone.She was living there with three little boys (terrorists), so there was a number of smaller things that had been neglected and really needed some attention and there were a number of flaws around the place that needed fixing (it seems that the solution to every problem for the previous owners was silicone glue). Most of this is under control now thanks to my dad helping out while here for the wedding (see next posting). Both Kim and I have now moved all our things and I've put kim in charge of selecting what colours she would like the walls to be downstairs before we go out and buy furniture.We also need to get new lights downstairs as the ones there heat up and switch themselves off (cheap crap) so I may just as well do the ceiling now that I am at it. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...717273747576777879...9495Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you
28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Medicine . . . 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetmedicineShareMedicine . . .My girlfriend, Arumi, tells me one sees the wares of a 'Medicine Man' quite often throughout Asia. Whether they sit by the roadside, or whether they own a shop in a building, one will see very similar items being sold around Asia. The “pellets” you see here are in fact different types of roots such as ginger or some unknown vegetable, that have been sun or air dried. You will see the antlers of various animals such as deer or even rhino. There are also skulls from different animals - some of these animals may be endangered species, but somehow you will see them being sold in these markets. These skulls are definitely not being used as “trophies” around the house! The Burmese, like many Asians, believe in using very 'natural' remedies to cure common ailments. A Medicine Man may not necessarily be a “doctor” according to western standards - that means he may not have a university degree. However, a Medicine Man, may be what we know as “witch-doctors”. Some of the remedies they know are very natural and useful. Unfortunately, not all of these remedies work. Around Asia, you will see shops or Medicine Man selling items like tigers' paws and skulls, or ground ivory tusks. Many of these are sold as cures or enhancements for the sex life. In Burma, there is virtually no wildlife left. You will even find that even tobacco is sold naturally. Not in cigarette form, but in leaf form! The laws in Burma are not quite the same as they are here. Marijuana is also sold very freely. Lotus Fruit . . . Quite often in Asia, you may see lily pads floating on the water. In fairy-tales, you hear about frogs sitting on a lily pad. You will be amazed to associate that this fruit here, comes from the flowers/plant growing out of the water near the lily pads. The yellow seeds come from the flower itself. The seeds are used often in many Asian desserts, and said to promote better blood circulation. While, the root of the lotus plant is also a delicacy. It is white when cooked, and has a crunchy texture, similar to that of the water chestnut. Mainly used in savoury meals, although used as a dessert as well. Personally, I think it is too much hassle retrieving the fruit! *smile* Created: 31 Oct 2001
28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Schwedagon . . . 28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetschwedagonShare Schwedagon was a holy place with extremely large and beautiful temples. To get to Schwedagon, you had to travel up very long escalators. I took this photo because these escalators were the only escalators I had seen during my whole trip in Burma. As Schwedagon is a very religious place for the locals, I guess to travel up these escalators give the sense of travelling to a higher and holier place. The temples at Schwedagon were really impressive. I was told that collectively, these temples were built with 39 tonnes of pure gold. At the end of the day, the locals all contributed in cleaning the place. They clean all the tiles and are very organised. Here is the 'Big Stuba'. All that gold... Up close, the temples are a glorious sight. Especially at night! Can you see those lights at the base of the Big Stuba? Each is a 'mini temple', illuminating a Buddha. You can really see the magnificence of these temples! There are lots of rules or procedures about the way one prays to the Buddhas - very complicated to an outsider! I saw a couple of the buddhists pour water onto the statue of the Buddha. Depending on the day of the week a buddhist is born, the individual would pour the respective number of bowls for the day of the week. A buddhist believes that by doing this, it would bring them luck. At Schwedagon, I noticed there were hardly any tourists, mostly locals paying homage. Can you see how intricate the carvings are in the foreground? The monks rung this bell to announce prayer times. It brought luck to ring the bell. For example, if you were born on the 1st day of the week, you rung it once to bring good luck. If you were born on the 6th day of the week, you rung it 6 times etc.
28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Myanmar ( Burma ) 23 July ~ 5 Aug 2001 . . . 28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmyanmar burma 23 july 5 aug 2001ShareBurma/Myanmar surprised me in many ways. I would have liked to see more of Burma than I did, but due to military restrictions, I only had access to certain parts of Burma and was not able to see any of the indigenous people along the border as I had initially planned.Burma is a very poor country. It was difficult to travel... travelling 100 kilometres could sometimes take up to 6 hours. One of the most beautiful places in Burma, I thought, was Bagan. I took many photos in Burma, and tried to order them in the following pages: I spent some days in Yangon, which had a heavy colonial influence. Schwedagon was another place full of temples, a place laden with pure gold. Whilst travelling, I could not help notice how influenced the people were by religion, and Burma's politics is one thing an outsider should not get involved in. I was fascinated by what the Burmese used for medicine. They also had some rather interesting local fruit. Mandalay also had an interesting colonial battle history. Whilst there, I watched the “Mandalay Marionettes”. With the restrictions up north, I did not get to see much. But you would not believe how the Burmese play volleyball! Finally, at Mt Popa, I went there to see a local monastry, and saw a lot of wild monkeys there. Yangon ( Rangoon ) . . .This is the city-centre of Rangoon. Rangoon is the capital city of Burma. It is actually a pretty big city if you compare it with other parts of Burma on a map. Most of the buildings are from the old colonial period when the British occupied Burma. Unfortunately they have not been very well-maintained. Can you see the green bits on the clocktower? If you are thinking it is vegetation growing on it, you are right! There is quite a bit growing on most of the buildings in the city.There were so many pigeons! I managed to catch a pictures of a pigeon flying mid-air - can you see the blurred grey thing near the tree in the middle of the photo? NextReturn to SE Asia menuReturn to TopCreated: 22 Sept 2001
28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Burma newspaper 28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetburma newspaperShare
15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments 3rd Place in Photo Competition! 15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetcompetition photo 2001Share I took part in a photo competition in November 2001, using one of the photos I had taken during my trip to Mt Cook in January 2001. This photo was of Kevin, the alpine guide from my group in the technical climbing course. The following photo and comments appeared on the Planet Fear website, in the Front Line Photography Competition - not long after I was notified that I was one of 20 winners, and I was even more surprised to find out that I had come third! The comments above the photo were my comments that I had emailed to them when I sent the photo. The comments below the photo were (one of the judges) comments about my photo. 3. Rene Pallesen The attached photo was taken in New Zealand on the main range near Mount Cook. The valleys to the west are filled with clouds formed by the moisture from the forests underneath. The snowcovered mountains in the north are visible through the clouds. The photo was taking using a Nikon FM10 using a Fuji Sensia 100 film. Literally bathed in atmosphere. It would be easy to muff this high key exposure but Rene is spot on. The vertical format adds to a shot capturing all the euphoria of life on the tops. Reminds me of the legendary Mountain mag front covers. ~ Comment by Ian Parnell, Planet Fear Feel free to see my photo on their website. Also, you could go to the Planet Fear website to view the other winning photos.
15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook 15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmt cookShareCreated: 18 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001
15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 ) 15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmt cook 15 28 january 2001ShareMt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 )I decided to do a Technical Ice-Climbing course with Alpine Guides in New Zealand. I spent 10 days at Mt Cook doing a very challenging course, but I learnt a lot. I learnt all the techniques required to do ice-climbing safely. I also learnt the necessities of surviving in the icy mountains. Prior to the trip, a lot of preparation was required. Everyday, I went jogging to build up my fitness, so by the time I left for New Zealand, I could run 3km on the sand without getting puffed. I also had to buy some of the equipment. I had to buy cramp-ons (looks like spiked metal soles) to attach to my boots; ice-axe and ice-hammer; a new Gore-tex jacket (I needed a new one anyway) and some other clothing and equipment. The photo on the right became a 3rd-place winner in a photo competition.Our group consisted of 4 other doing the course. There were no prerequisites, other than a love for the mountains and a very high fitness level. Not all of us who do this course go on to climb the great mountains. We also discovered it takes guts and courage to stand on top of the world and feel confident. One cannot be an ice-climber if there is a fear of heights or if unsteady on the feet. All of us in the group had come from different backgrounds. Søren was an experienced climber, who had aspirations of going to the Himalayas. Alan was a rock-climber who wanted to try the challenge of ice-climbing. Rob too loved the mountains and wanted the experience and challenge of being on the icey slopes of New Zealand. I had had quite a lot of climbing and mountaineering experience, but this was my first time ice-climbing. The person holding the camera is Søren. I met him in NZ, whilst waiting for the bus for Mt Cook. To my surprise, he was a Dane living here in Sydney. He was a professional photographer (hence you see him holding the Nikon). He and I had similiar experience so our speed through the course was pretty much the same. I actually ended up cracking a rib whilst on the course. I did this during a 'self-arrest' technique, where we actually throw ourselves down a steep slope and try to use our ice-axe to stop ourselves from falling any further. This technique is used in case you fall down a crevass and have nothing to hold onto. Rob was the other person doing the course. He once dropped his ice-axe and one of us had to abseil down to collect it, as an ice-axe is a piece of equipment that is vital and you only carry one of these each. We worked in pairs, but had to swap partners as our guide took turns working with each of us. Ice-climbing is nothing like rock-climbing. You cannot use your fingers (well, they will freeze if you take your gloves off), so you really on equipment like ice-axe and ice-picks to anchor yourself into the ice. These pieces of equipment are really important, especially if you are sleeping on a ledge or stopping for a rest. Other than someone belaying you, using ice-picks to secure yourself into the ice is the backup should your belay fail. We each took turns at ice-climbing! Alan is the one in the blue jacket, Søren is the one in the red. I guess Søren has more photos of me climbing, whereas I can't take photos of myself! In the following section, you will see a series of photos of Mt Cook. If you want to have a look at the black & white version of this (quite artistic), click here.
17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Olympic Day Out ( 17th Sept 2000 ) 17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetolympic day out 17th sept 2000ShareLast September, Sydney held the Olympic Games. I saw a lot of the events on TV but was disappointed with the coverage of other countries' involvement. However, I did manage to be at Olympic Park during the Games and also see the first handball match - Denmark vs Norway. I managed to get tickets for the game and had a very nice day with my girlfriend and the Lenehans. I also managed to get some pretty spectacular photos of the Olympic torch. Here is Stadium Australia, where the Olympic torch is held. Most of the major track & field events, as well as athletics were held here. It is a pretty spectacular building - and HUGE. During the Olympics, you could not go into just any of the buildings at Olympic Park. You had to have a ticket for an event before you could enter the building. As you can see me, I am wearing my T-shirt supporting Danmark! This is one of the few days that I can wear the T-shirt. It was a very sunny and warm day and the place was full of people. During the Olympics, you could only get access to the whole of the Olympic Park if you had a ticket. They had quite tight security, and had to go through a detector on the perimeter of the grounds after you got off the train/bus. The handball game started at about 2pm and we managed to wander round for quite a bit before going into the arena wear the handball was. The food as amazingly expensive! Normally a fruit salad would only cost about AUD$3, cost up to AUD$8 that day!. Bottles of water was double the price. They really made it a money-making event for tourists! The funny thing too, we noticed that as you entered Olympic Park, all of the signs were in French and English, and all the announcements were given in French first, then English. It was most peculiar! As we got closer to where the handball games were being held, we saw a lot of Danes and Norwegians dressed in country colours! Danes in red and white and Norwegians... well, there was a guy there who had lots of cow bells around his neck and attached to his clothes. He was wearing a traditional metal helmet and dressed in old-fashioned gear. It was amazing to feel all the atmosphere - just to be there. We were all in the true Danish spirit! Even my girlfriend was dressed in a white T-shirt and red pants! We painted flags on our faces with some face paint. We were definitely there to support the Danish team! Even Lance could not help get caught in the moment with us! *smile* A break in the handball game - Danmark vs Norway! Danmark in red & white, Norway in blue & white. We had pretty good seats - it was a matter of whoever got there first, had the best seats, although we had to enter through certain doors. All the journalists and officials sat on the left. We even heard that the crown prince of Danmark was there for the game, even though we could not spot him. There were flags everywhere, Danish and Norwegian waving about. Everytime Norway scored, you could hear countless numbers of cow-bells being rung! A few times, some of the people tried to start a Mexican wave, but that did not work out. It was a very fast and furious game. It was the only handball game that the Danish lost in the whole Olympic Games, and they eventually came first in the finals! Just after entering Olympic Park, we managed to get a group photo! As you can see the place is very crowded but very festive - you just had to be there! A most glorious sunset! After the handball match, we wandered around for a bit longer. The day had been quite warm, so the night was a beautiful clear night. After the Lenehans left, Arumi and I had a look at a small Aboriginal art exhibition located at the Park. We sat on one of the few grassy patches, to watch the flickering of the lights and just enjoy the day. We eventually went home, but Olympic Park was still swarming with people, who were there to watch events that went on later into the night. Although we did not get the chance to see any other events during the Olympics, it was definitely worth the day we spent there. We would have loved to see the final game when Danmark won, but as usual, we were not very organised... Below, I have included photos taken on the night of the Closing Ceremony. These were taken from Graham's apartment on a hill at McMahons Point. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks that went off after the Closing Ceremony. It was really windy on the balcony, but I managed to get some photos of the Olympic rings that were placed on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Beautiful, isn't it?
15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Car in 2000 . . . 15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew car in 2000ShareIn September 2000, just after I returned from my trip to Borneo, I had to buy this new car because my girlfriend had written off my car whilst I was away! *smile* I did not look forward to hunting around for a new car, but I found a good buy locally. This car is a 1997 Ford Futura, with 4.0 litre, 6-cylinder, 220-horsepower, power-steering, central locking and electronic windows (I think I am starting to sound like a car advertisement...) It is pretty much the same colour as my old car, and it feels so nice to drive! As you can see, pretty similar, but I also really miss my old car! It had a lot of computerised features - from a digital odometer, to adjusting the internal temperature of the car. It was a pretty cool car and wished I could have kept it for another few more years. A huge contrast to my first car! It is a red hatchback that I bought early 1998, a few months after I arrived in Australia. But someone wrote it off a few months after I bought it. It was a pretty bad accident, but luckily I was alright. I was only covered by Third Party insurance, and to go through a lot of paperwork just to get reimbursement for the car!
15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Away from Headquarters . . . 15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetaway from headquartersShareEcochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe VillageAway from Headquarters . . .I managed to explore the villages at Silam. The people here wore this white stuff on their faces - I guess their form of sunscreen. These people were refugees from the Philippines. The kids were fighting to fit into the photo! The kids here were really cute.These kids here, had caught a monkey and was trying to sell it at the camp for 5 ringgit (AUD$2.50). No-one wanted to buy it because they knew if they bought it, and set it loose, the kids would just catch it again, and try to sell it. In general, there were lots of great photos at Silam village. One of the helicopter pilots was driving through the jungle roads, took a corner too fast, and had a minor mishap.We headed into Lahad Datu to get some seafood! An escape from camp food. Camp food was disgusting. There were live worms in the vegetables (yes, after cooked). Most of the food was not fresh, and was pretty boring. The seafood was fantastic here. Whenever we had the chance, we ate lots of seafood. Yum... Paul did not get to eat all of the crabs - all of us had a portion of it. Yummm... they were huge, but we did not eat them. They were too big for us to eat, pretty impressive though. They were the biggest lobsters I have seen in my life. We saw these at the same place we ate our seafood and frogs (below). We had this frog for dinner about 2 min after I took the photo. This was actually when I went out with Glen in Kota Kinabalu - he asked me to pick some food and to surprise him. I did not tell him till a year later that he ate frog meat. He asked me what it was, because he reckoned it tasted funny, but I did not tell him at the time. I think he will only eat it again. Only if he really had to. Petronis Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world. Actually, they are the tallest buildings in the world, followed by the Sears Towers in Chicago. The towers are joined by some sort pedestrian platform. These towers are located in Kuala Lumpur. I went to Kuala Lumpur to pick up my Permanent Residency for Australia. Woohoo!!! After 2 years of lots of paperwork, and correspondence back and forth with Berlin, I finally managed to get it! The inconvenience of it all, was that I actually had to leave Australia ie collect my PR before re-entering Australia. Below, is the only photo I have of the Lateral Linking Team that I worked with during the race. Back to TopReturn to Borneo HomepageCreated: 7 Dec 2001
1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Day...golf at Brighton Golf Club 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew years day golf at brighton golf clubShare As tradition dictates we played golf with Sasha on new years day. And he had booked a time at Brighton Golf Club (Moorebank) at a civilised hour (1.30pm). Kim and I hadn't played for about 10 months as we had been too busy with all the other things in 2008 (see the rest of the blog postings). I think we played a fairly decent game considering the time since we'd last played but both Kim and I were fairly tired after the 18 holes. It was a hot day with temperatures in the mid thirties and the course was fairly hot...so we drank lots of water as we went.
31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Eve 2008 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetnew years eveShare Every year both Kim and I have been in the Sydney harbour area to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. But this year we decided to have a quiet new years eve just the two of us with a visit to the movies and then a nice dinner at home. We did however watch the fireworks from our balcony at midnight and it looked just as spectacular as previous years (I borrowed the photo above from another site).
27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Smiths Lake Christmas Trip 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetsmiths lake christmas tripShare Between Christmas and New year we drove with Kims family up to Smiths Lake (300km North of Sydney). We rented a house on the lake up there. We hired a tinny (small aluminium boat) a couple of days and went fishing and managed to catch a lot of breams (a lot too small to keep). Kims dad loves fishing and he quickly found out that in the morning and evening the fish were at the shore just outside the house. In the evening we cooked nice dinners and BBQ's and the cookaburras came to the balcony around dinner time to check if there were leftovers. We had a bit of fun with them as you can see. In the evenings we played Blackjack (Kim and I cleaned up) and had nice food and wine. Chong (The husband of Kims sister) showed his more feminine side. The rest of the time we spent at the beach playing in the waves and playing with Kims sisters kids.
25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Day 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchristmas dayShare Christmas day was celebrated with Kims family at her sisters house. A lot of people were there and everyone had been asked to bring some food. Kim had cooked Red Duck Curry the day before while I was preparing the Christmas Eve dinner. Again...lots of food, playing table tennis, jumping the trampoline and all the kids got to open their presents.
24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Eve 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchristmas eveShare Christmas even was celebrated in the traditional Danish way in the evening of the 24th December. Kim and I had invited some friends over to out new house and prepared the traditional roast duck, ris-a-la-mande and large tiger prawns for entrees. It was a nice evening and we didn't finish until well after midnight and all of us were really full by the time we finished dinner. There was a couple of kid and after dinner they got to open their Christmas presents.
12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims dads Birthday 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetkims dads birthdayShareEvery year on Kims dads birthday we celebrate with the family. Every couple brings a couple of dishes of food and we all share it.
18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Diving at Tulamben - Honeymoon in Bali 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdiving at tulambenShareOn our honeymoon in Bali I really wanted to do this scuba dive that was recommended to me by my friend Andy. It is this old wreck of a US cargo ship (USS liberty) that was torpedoed by the japanese in 1942 and then beached to save the men and the cargo. The wreck has since slided back into deeper water (during a volcanic eruption in 1962) and it now in 5 to 27 meters of water just off the coast. I did two dives on the wreck while Kim was snorkeling in the surface on top of the wreck and it is without a doubt the most amazing scuba diving experience I've had. The ship is huge and you can swim through the cargo hulls and there is an amazing variety of fish and corals on the wreck. I saw a 1.5 meter barracuda, a 1cm tall seahorse, a garden of eels and a great variety of other fish including a large school of travelly. I had my personal dive master for the day and I got him to take some photos and some video with his camera while we were diving. On the first dive we went all the way around the wreck (max depth 27 meters) and on the second we went through the wreck itself. Kim had a really good experience as well and really enjoyed the 30 degree warm water and managed to get her bum burnt while snorkeling for several hours. I think we'll both go back there if we get the chance. Click here to download video of me feeding fish Click here to download video of me diving
18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bali Honeymoon 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbali honeymoonShareOur Honeymoon day after the wedding went to Bali in Indonesia. We did have some hesitation going there considering that the Bali Bombers had been executed the week before and that the Australian government discouraged all travel there. The plane up there (and back) was only 25% full so plenty of space to get a good sleep. We stayed in Nusa Dua Westin....a nice hotel although the rooms are a bit small. On the first day we slept in and later in the day drove to Kuta to have a look around and do some shopping. Later in the evening we went to Jimbaran Bay for dinner. This is a whole beach where all the restaurants have put their tables and chairs out onto the beach itself...very romantic but quite expensive compared to local restaurants. The second day we hired a car to drive us to Ubud in the hills, Monkey Forest and later in the day down to a small place called Tanah Lot. Especially the last one was very nice around sunset and we ended up not getting back to our hotel until 8.30 in the evening much to the dismay of our driver. Dinner took place near the hotel and we found that the value of the food/prices was much better here. A couple of days later we went for another drive (In between we went to Tulamben...see posting below) up to some beautiful lakes and temples up on the north of the island as well as rice paddies and we had a really nice trip despite driving with the most grumpy driver. Time was running out and Kim felt that she hadn't spent enough time shopping so the last two days were spent shopping and sitting at the pool and on the beach. One evening we booked a really nice restaurant called "The Living Room" in Seminyak and I booked the whole outdoor area (cost a fortune) just so that we could have a romantic evening in the garden just the two of us with personal waiting staff. The week was way too short and we never got to do everything we wanted to do so I have a feel we will be coming back in the future.
17. November 2008 12:40 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wedding 17. November 2008 12:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetweddingShareOn Sunday the 16th November 2008 I got married to Kim. It was a fantastic day and thanks to family and friends joining us making this a very memorable day. My day started out (Kims started much earlier) in the morning with my Best Man (Andy) as well as a number of other friends coming over to my house picking up trays, organising ribbons on cars and picking up supplies for the wedding ceremony. Kim had earlier in the morning left the house to go to her dads place to get dressed and have hair and makeup done. Once we got the call saying that she was ready we drove over to her dads place and on the way there we were stopped by the police who insisted on breath testing us...sorry guys you were out too early, we hadn't started drinking yet. At Kims place I had to bribe my way in through the door before they would let me in...all part of the tradition. Once I was let in my friends carried the trays of fruit, wine and noodles upstairs and this was the first time I saw Kim looking absolutely gorgeous in her wedding dress. We then started the Tea Ceremony where we first had to pay respect to the elders by burning incense and then serve tea to the parents. In return they would then present us with red envelopes containing money and Kim's dad also gave Kim an old bracelet and ring that used to belong to her mum. After the Tea ceremony I drove down to La Perouse where the wedding ceremony was going to take place. We were a bit early so they were still getting ready. The wind was really strong so the garden arch needed wires to stay in place etc. Once all the guests has arrived (around 40-50) Kim arrived in Nancys car with her bridesmaid (Natalie) and the ceremony could begin. Kim and I had decided and written most of the ceremony ourselves and the celebrant presented it beautifully (and very loud). After the ceremony we had some drinks and snacks with out guests and then took pictures for the next couple of hours around La Perouse and Centenial Park. Later in the afternoon we went back to our house to relax and freshen up for an hour until we then went to the Reception. We had invited 80 guests and they all arrived (more or less). People were greated out the front where they were served canabes and drinks and there was a pianist playing a piano. People were then seated and once everyone were at the tables the bridal party was introduced. After the entrees My dad and Andy held their speeches (both very good and unfortunately mostly true) and after the main courses it was the turn of KC and myself. To everyones surprise we had arranged entertainment during the evening in the form of some drummers. Everyone was given a drum and had to participate in the drumming. This also involved us dancing as part of the entertainment. This was eventually followed by us cutting the wedding cake (a tower of cupcakes) a then dance the bridal walz. Kim had changed to a more practical dress for the bridal walz and she looked absolutely stunning in it. Because I'd been sunburnt during the day my face almost matched the dress.
15. November 2008 12:26 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Moved into the new house 15. November 2008 12:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmoved into the new houseShareEnd of October we moved settled and moved into the new house. Not without a bit of of drama as the previous owner wasn't out of the house at settlement...but by the end of the day she was fortunately gone.She was living there with three little boys (terrorists), so there was a number of smaller things that had been neglected and really needed some attention and there were a number of flaws around the place that needed fixing (it seems that the solution to every problem for the previous owners was silicone glue). Most of this is under control now thanks to my dad helping out while here for the wedding (see next posting). Both Kim and I have now moved all our things and I've put kim in charge of selecting what colours she would like the walls to be downstairs before we go out and buy furniture.We also need to get new lights downstairs as the ones there heat up and switch themselves off (cheap crap) so I may just as well do the ceiling now that I am at it.