5. February 2019 09:02
by Rene Pallesen
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5. February 2019 09:02
by Rene Pallesen
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28. August 2018 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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26. August 2018 16:08
by Rene Pallesen
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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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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 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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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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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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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 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
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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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2. November 2009 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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12. October 2009 11:44
by Rene Pallesen
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It has been raining almost constantly for the past two weeks (since
the dust storm really) and Andy and I had organised to go climbing in
the Blue Mountains together with a friends of his (Dan) who's never
been on on real rock before.
We looked a the forecast and it
didn't look promising for the mountains so the night before we decided
to go to plan B and go to Barrenjoey instead.
The quality of the climbing is more limited, but at least it is a shorter drive and walk-in in case you have to bail.
We arrived up at Palm Beach in the morning and the roads were still soaked in water from all the rain the night before. We therefore decided to stop at a cafe and have some breakfast and let the cliffs dry out a bit before walking in there.
While eating breakfast we were having a look at the latest radar pictures and we could see that it was pouring down in the mountains and we could see rain approaching the Sydney area.
After breakfast we were trying to decide whether we should bail or go climbing. After much procrastination we decided to climb and went to the carpark. Andy pulled out the insect repellent and started rubbing it into his genitals (or so it looked) saying that it would keep the chicks away (which I'm sure his wife appreciates)...or was it ticks.
For Dans benefit we started out on one of the easiest climbs around there called Jezebel. Andy did the first lead and as he finished we could feel the first rain drops. I then did the second climb and once I reached the top the rain became heavier. The plan was to have Dan follow me up so that he could try an absail from the top. Once he reached the top it really started pouring and all of us became drenched while setting up the absail and clearing the gear.
Dan made it down in good style (although nervous) and once I'd made it to the ground as well we quickly packed our gear and headed back home for a nice warm shower.
Mostly a non-climbing day really...but Andy did get his sugar-hit with the pancakes.
12. October 2009 11:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Saturday evening Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Capitol Theatre to see the Broadway play called Wicked.
The play is about how the Wicked witch became wicked in 'The Wizard of Oz'.
The play very cleverly provides the background for the Wizard of Oz.
This was Kims birthday present to me earlier in the year...satisfied the criteria for presents: Must be an experience or a consumable.
It was a really nice evening and the play was very funny...especially the Wizard of Goodness (a real blonde)
23. September 2009 04:35
by Rene Pallesen
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The last 24 hours has been the most freak weather I've (and anyone else) has experienced in Sydney.
Yesterday we had 30 degrees during the day and in the evening a huge thunderstorm descended upon Sydney with massive rainfalls and very high winds. Kim found that water was dripping through ceiling and my first though was "This ain't good" and rushed up to check if there was a hole in the roof tiles or in the plumbing (if you see one of the previous posts then you'll notice that we've installed Solar hot water and this system is positioned above that same bathroom).
I could clearly see where the water had come in, but it wasn't through any gaps and it seemed that the strong winds had pushed the water backwards and upwards under the tiles...whew...but I'll have another look next time it rains.
Then this morning I woke up and looked out the window and everything was covered in a bright red and yellow haze and it was blowing a gale. I had a look at the forecast and stuck my head outside the window and it turned out that all of NSW was encapsulated in a massive dust storm with fine red dust coming from the Australian outback.
Everything outside is now covered in this fine dust, cars, windows...everything.
One of out friends too the following photo from his balcony:
The area covered by the dust is huge and apparently it may even reach New Zealand.
14. September 2009 12:55
by Rene Pallesen
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This weekend we invited a group of my friends over for BBQ.
The official excuse was for my recovery after my Hernia surgery (which is still causing me some grief some days).
It was a beautiful spring day with 31 degrees in the shade and luckily I had put up a gazebo outside to cover the area and provide a bit of shade.
Most of the day I was attending the BBQ cooking Lamb Cutlets, Fish, Prawns, Vietnamese Sausages and Chicken skewers.
The last batch of chicken skewers I forgot on the BBQ with a very predictable result.
In the evening we had Kim's family over for dinner/BBQ, so a repetition of the afternoon.
6. September 2009 10:44
by Rene Pallesen
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This weekend we went to Sasha's and Mavis's wedding.
Family and friends were invited to attend the ceremony at Greenwich at 10am. The location they had chosen had a stunning view of Sydney Harvour and skyline.
When we arrived neither the groom or the bride were there. Approximately 20 minutes later the bride arrived, but still no groom, so she did another round in the car.
Finally at 10.30 Sasha arrived with his dad after having been stuck in traffic, shortly after Mavis arrived in her beautiful wedding dress and the ceremony could get under way.
It was a beautiful ceremony, beautiful location and beautiful weather.
After the ceremony it was photo time.
The reception was at a restaurant called Occilate Wildly in Newtown. The food was nice and at the end of the afternoon everyone went on their way.
27. August 2009 12:18
by Rene Pallesen
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27. August 2009 10:27
by Rene Pallesen
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