We did not have a lot of opportunities to explore the city of Cairo. Our hotel was located on the other side of the Nile from downtown Cairo, so there was not a lot happening.

In Cairo, we noticed a lot of large carcasses hanging along the streets outside the butcher shops. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed due to Ramadan, but Sunday heralded the last day of Ramadan, so many were preparing for the final feast.

We tried in vain to find a restaurant for the family to eat dinner, but no such luck. However, we did try to stop for some beers at a small café along the Nile - no beers because it was still Ramadan till that night, so we settled for some softdrink and hot potato chips.

The city of Cairo looks hazy and grey, with all the buildings a muddy colour.
It was nice to sit by the Nile.

The view from our Hotel Pyramisa at sundown.

The largest pyramids were built by Khafre (Cheops) and his son Kefren (Chephren).

Khafre's pyramid stood 147 metres tall. Each side was 230 metres (with only 0.2% margin error - can you believe that?)

René's mum stands at the foot of Kefren's pyramid.

It is almost a one-kilometre walk around the whole pyramid.

It is taller than Kefren's pyramid but does not look so as it sits on lower ground.
It is estimated that something like 2.3 million blocks were used to build the pyramid.

Right: There once lay a solar-boat. Khafre's mummy was placed into this boat as the ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh sailed to the after-life.
The boat is now housed in a building next to the pyramid.

Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005

Whilst we were waiting to check-in, the family decided to get something to eat as we had not eaten anything since breakfast on the plane.

Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005

Bedstemor's 85 års fødselsdag ( 13 - 20 Nov 2004 )

Det gamle Ægyptens historier og legender har længe markeret sig gennem film som "Kleopatra", "Mumien" og begejstret os kvinder med Omar Sharifs optræden i "Lawrence of Arabia" og "Doctor Zhivago og senere i tegnefilm som "The Prince of Egypt". Der er en vis mystik omkring mellemøsten skildret for os i en meget ung alder, når vi hørte godnathistorier som "Ali Baba og de 40 røvere" eller "Sinbad Søfareren" - de fleste af os har en drøm om at se pyramiderne.

Jeg var meget heldig at få muligheden for 20 år siden sammen med mine forældre at komme til Ægypten, men som 10 årig er der ikke så meget et barn kan huske. Men dette år samles Familien Pallesen igen engang for "Matriarkens" 85 års fødselsdag. Det er tradition for familien at samles og rejse til et eksotisk land - tidligere har det været Tunesien, Marokko, Tyrkiet og Gambia - og nu for Bedstemors ønske om at se Ægyptens pyramider, som hendes mand så for 50 år siden.

Bedstemors tre børn, seks børnebørn (Nikolai kunne ikke komme med), fire oldebørn og respektive ægtefæller, alle tog sammen til det magiske Ægypten. Det er efterår med varme dage og kølige nætter - en kontrast til den kommende vinter i Danmark.

Lørdag 13. November 2004
Afrejse til Ægypten

Vores familie måtte af sted kl. 3.30 for at nå flyet kl. 6.55; 4½ time senere ankom vi til Cairo lufthavn. Jeg har en svag hukommelse om en meget varm lufthavn med komplet kaos, med mennesker, der skubber for at få deres kufferter igennem, råbende gennem en masse larm. Nu fandt vi en næsten ren og ikke tætpakket lufthavn.Vi mødte AP-Travels repræsentant, som tog os til Hotel Pyramissa, hvor vi tilsyneladende blev glemt i Pianobaren, til en af os fik den lyse ide, at bede om vores værelsesnøgler. Pallesen familie venter på værelser

Vores familie deltes om en toværelses suite med et stort fællesrum. Vores første eftermiddag blev brugt til en spadseretur rundt i kvarteret for evt. at finde et sted for familien at spise. Vores hotel lå på den anden side af floden i forhold til centrum, så der var ikke meget at se på sammen med, at mange butikker var lukket p.g.a. Ramadanen, den Islamiske fasteperiode fra daggry til solnedgang. Søndag var sidste dag i Ramadanen, så mange var i gang med at forberede den sidste faste.

Sluttelig spiste familien til aften i hotellets "Orientel" restaurant i Ægyptisk stil. Vi regnede med at få ordentlig Ægyptisk mad, men blev skuffede over at få lunkent mad. Risen var meget tør, lammekødet var meget småt og maden var en blandet fornøjelse. Til vores overraskelse, efter vores kommentarer, fik vi serveret ekstra tallerkner med lokal Ægyptisk frugt så som friske dadler og duava. Til vores morskab smagte alle Ægyptiske vine ens, uanset mærke. Der var masser af Ægyptisk øl og selvfølgelig levede danskerne op til deres drikkeevner og Bedstemor gav maden til alle.

Søndag 14. november 2004

Første nat sov vi ikke så godt - at sove i en fremmed seng kombineret med koranbøn fra en nærliggende moske gav os ikke ligefrem en fredfyldt søvn. Imidlertid var vi alle tidlig oppe for at mødes i Bedstemors værelse for at overraske hende med danske fødselsdagssange til flimmer med danske flag og små gaver. Denne familie overrasker fødselaren og alle synger unisont denne meget søde fødselsdagssang.

Citadellet Muhammad Ali Moskeen

Udsigten fra Citadellet

Vores første besøg gjaldt Citadellet. Det er byens fort og husede engang den kongelige familie og skønt det meste af komplekset er åben for besøgende, besidder militæret stadig en del, som er lukket område. Det tager en halv dag at komme gennem hele Citadellet, hvilket vi ikke havde mulighed for. I stedet tilbragte vi vores tid i Muhammed Ali moskeen.

<== Der er en fantastisk panorama over byen fra den Vestlige terrasse - fantastisk at Cairo ikke et bygget af ens mudderfarvede stenbygninger. Det mest bemærkelsesværdige ved Cairo er imidlertid mangelen på farver og farverne stemmer overens med ørkenens farver.

Mohammed Ali Mosque

Vores guide Adam/Mohammed gav os en ringe indsigt i funktionen eller historien af Citadellet, og i stedet pladserede gruppen i hjørnet i hjørnet af Muhammed Ali moskeen som en gruppe skolebørn, og gav en lektion om Islamisk lov og sædvane.

Da René vovede sig til at spørge om mere om Citadellet, blev han skældt ud for at afbryde og fik besked på at lytte. Vi fik aldrig muligheden for at finde 7-tallet Napoleons tropper hade malet over port for at undgå de uvante arabiske navne, eller det halvrunde tårn, da vores guide simpelthen ikke vidste, hvor de var.

Ind i Mohammed Ali Mosque

I den tid havde jeg muligheden for at spadsere lidt for mig selv og gå i moskeens skønne alabaster arkader. Den himmelhvælvede centrale bederum var et glimmer af hundrede af lys, der hang i koncentriske cirkler. På loftet var der arabiske inskriptioner i guld. Kvinder skulle være anstændig klædt og kunne ikke bære ærmeløse trøjer eller korte shorts eller skørter. I et hjørne af rummet lå sarkofaget med Muhhamed Ali - grundlægger af moskeen og Albanisk handelsmand, grundlægger af dynastiet, som herskede til revolutionen i 1952.

Cairo Ægyptisk Museet

Jeg huske turen rundt i dette museum, hvor jeg kiggede ind i smudsige glas montre og stirrede på de rynkede ansigter af nogle engang kendte faroer som Ramses II og undrede mig over, om disse gamle Ægyptere var giganter i deres store kister.
20 år senere var det næsten umuligt at skubbe sig gennem mængderne af turister - kun nyttigt fordi deres guider gav flere informationer end vores. Med kun to timer var det umulig at se hele museet og slet ikke de kongelige mumier.
Museet fejrede sit hundred år med en speciel udstilling omkring TutAnkhAmun - det mest berømte fund. Med rejseguiden i hånden "aaaede" og "åååede" vi over guldskattene fundet i hans grav - en guldtrone med den berømte scene med TutAnkhAmons dronning, der tilbeder ham, kister af ibenholt og elfenben, jagtskjolde beklædt med gepardskin, buer og pile, alabaster krukker med kong Tuts mummificerede organer, guld sarkofager - da Howard Carter havde fundet sådanne skatte for en lille kendt drenge-konge, forestil jer, hvad Ramses II´s grav har indeholdt. Kong Tuts inderste kiste af rent guld og og den berømte maske af guld, som alle gerne vil se, er trykt i mange Ægyptiske billedmaterialer.
Museet er blevet en ny pengemaskine for Ægypterne med yderligere en entre for at se de kongelige mumier. Vi måtte være tilfreds med at se dyremumierne - katte, hunde, fugle, geder, Nile Perch (ja, også fisk!) og mest fantastisk var en 7 meter krokodillemumie.
Udstillingerne var på øverste etage opsat efter emne og på underste etage i kronologisk orden uret rundt fra det Gamle Kongerige, til det midterste og sluttende med de Nye og Sidste Kongedømmer. Der var værelser fyldt med kæmpe sarkofager (kister), som hver ville veje en tons, et værelse fyldt med miniaturer, der viste daglig liv i Ægypten, et værelse fuld af falmede gamle papyrusskrifter og værelser fulde af brokker og stykker fra ruiner, statuer, palads gulve - et sted, man kan tilbringe dage med en ordentlig rejse guide.

Khan Al-Khalili

På gaderne af Ægypts største bazar, Khan Al Khalili

Efter et stop på en Ægyptisk parfumefabrik og en frokostpause, kom vi til Khan Al-Khalili, det ældste basar i Ægypten, som går tilbage til 1300-tallet. Gamle tiders købere besøgte Khanen for at kigge på varerne bragt dertil af handelskaravanerne. Vi finder ikke længere slaver, silke, juveler eller diamanter, men træ guitarer, skønne klude tæpper, klæder, t-shirts, papyrustryk, vandpiber, bunker af tøj, aromaen af krydderier breder sig og boder med stakke af rødt, guld og blå pulver og sække med frø og bønner. Kobbersmede udhamrer fade, terriner, kaffekander og enorme halvmåneformede toppe til minareter. Det er et ritual i basarer at tinge om priserne, lokale såvel som gæster - almindeligvis til en tiendedel af den budte pris - har du betalt en tredjedel, har du betalt for meget. Vi havde kun en time til vores rådighed, men mange af boderne var lukkede for siesta og for ramadanen. Ulla og jeg pegede på nogle sække af mangefarvede krydderier. Han ville have 50£ (50 kr.), men efter jeg sagde "da ketir awi" (det koster for meget) og gik, fulgte sælgeren efter os en kilometer mens han reducerede prisen fra 40£ til 30£, 25£, 20£, og efter vi i spøg råbte 10£, tilbød han 15£, 10£ og endelig 5£ før han opgav os. Efter megen tingen lykkedes det os få to udsmykkede parfumeglas flasker for 20£ (20 kr.).

Bedstemor's fødselsdagfest

Bedstemors fest

Irene og Ole havde sørget for et privat værelse til Bedstemors fødselsdagsfest. Et enkelt langt bord i et værelse i Ægyptisk stil. Sølv fade i to rækker midt på bordet med ild under holdt maden varm.

Vi fik kommen-panneret stegt fisk, kyllinge filleter på Ægyptisk stil, kanel-krydret ravioli, ris, kartoffelmos og steg i pebbersauce, "sang" og brød med Ægyptisk vin og øl til Bedstemor.

Mens børnene legede i et hjørne, var der meget snak bordet rundt, og aftenen sluttede med chokolade og frugt kage pyntet med "Happy Pirthday" (det er ikke en fejl) og vi morede os over os over overfloden af Ægyptiske kager - bagværk, semulje tærte, rosenvands krydrede tærter og tærter, der smagte af flydende honning… Ulla ville gerne have resten af desserten med sig (undtagen den rosenvands krydrede - det var morsomt at se hendes udtryk - rosenvand dufter næsten som parfume). Tjenerne var hele tiden meget opmærksomme, passerede hver andet minut for at opvarte os.

Det bedste var, at Bedstemor blev som to årig, da hun skulle puste lysene på kagerne ud. Som danskerne ville sige, "det var meget hyggeligt!"

Mandag 15. november 2004 (start 7:30)

Fra de grå bygninger og gader I Cairo kørte vi 24 km mod sydøst til Saqqara, skiftende fra ensartet brun til frodige grøne marker med grøntsager og hundrede af dadelpalmer. Det var som en oase, hvor et fint slør gav en uvirkelig følelse af de frodige områder i det gamle Ægypten. Kvinder i hellange sorte "abeeyas" fordelt i markerne, den gamle mand, der vandrede omkring - en stor kontrast til mylderet i Cairos centrum.

Saqqara's Trin Pyramide

Grundlagt som et nekropolis (begravelses by) for det gamle Kongedømme og et af de rigeste arkæologiske områder i Ægypten.

Trin pyramiden er mindre end halv så høj, som den største pyramide ved Giza, men dette monument var en forløber for de glatte pyramider. Tidligere var gravene bygget af soltørrede muddersten, rektangulære byggesten, der dækkede gravstedet. Men arkitekten Imhotep havde Zosers trinpyramide i Sakkara

den lyse ide at bygge med sten og bygge den trinagtige struktur fen gange ovenpå hinanden, og skabte den første pyramide.

Vi kom ind gennem den store sydlige gård - på størelse med en fodboldbane - gennem en koridor af 40 søjler inspireret af bundter af bundne rør. Mens Adam holdt endnu en af sine taler, blev jeg antastet af en klæde og turbanklædt Ægypter, som førte mig op til toppen, hvor jeg fik et godt skud af de fantastiske søjlers top, før jeg blev skældt ud af Adam og tigget for "baksheesh". Jeg var taknemmelig for at blive reddet fra Ægypteren, som ikke ville lade mig gå uden baksheesh, af et par Italienere. Da jeg kom ud fra koridoren blev jeg imidlertid blændet af det hvide sand og den enorme pyramide alene omgivet af sten fra andre ruiner og en meget mindre trekantet høj af sten i baggrunden. Selv om morgenen var køkig, så varmede solen os, mens vi vandrede nord omkring pyramiden.

Memphis

Engang hovedstaden i det gamle Ægypten, uudgravet på grund af landsbyen, bygget over den gamle by, og det hævede grundvandsspejl på grund at Asuan-dæmningen. Der er en lille park med nogle få fund, brokker og stykker, men den mest spændende ting at se er en kolos af Ramses II, der ligger på ryggen og mangler den nederste del af benene. Kolossen ville have været 5 etager høj, hvis den havde været hel. Midt i parken ligger den største alabaststatue, der er fundet - en sphinx på 80 tons - tænk hvilke skatte, der kunne have været fundet, hvis Memphis kunne udgraves, især da denne gamle by lå på halvvejen mellem Øvre og Nedre Ægypten.

Vores sidste stop før frokost var ved en papyrus butik - endnu et sted med kommission til Adam. Bedstemor købte en papyrus med det Ægyptiske alfabet i heroglypher. Nogle af papyrusbillederne kostede 3500£ (3500 kr). Til frokost fik vi et udmærket Ægyptisk måltid ude midt i ingenting. Vi fik glimrende mezza (ægyptiske tapas) af baba ghanoush (ristet aubergine dip), tzatziki (agurke dip), hummus (kikærte dip), fuul (bønner) serveret med friskbagte pitabrød, varme vinblade ruller, lamme kofta og ny grillet kylling med timian. Det var et måltid for konger og det bedste Ægyptiske måltid, vi fik på hele turen.

Pyramider af Giza

De store fantastiske pyramider i Giza. Her ses vi den største pyramid - Cheops/Khufus pyramid

Fra luften ligger ørkenen og pyramiderne lige op til byen, 16 km fra Cairo.

Jeg husker svagt at blive puklet op ad en overraskende varm skakt, oplyst af en enkelt lyspære, og komme ind i et meget køligt, mørk rum, hvor der stod en enkel stensarkofag; rummet var tomt, men med tilfældige firkantede huller i væggen til mad til livet hinsides.

Jeg var inde i Dronningerummet i den største pyramide og nu 20 år senere kan kun de første 300 gæster daglig komme ind i disse pyramider - for en anseelig entre.

Den største af de tre, Kheops pyramide, er 146 meter høj, 920 meter i omkreds og består af 2,3 millioner stenblokke! Hver blok var mindst en meter høj, så man kan forestille sig hvor massive disse pyramider var.

Den anden største pyramid - Chephrens pyramid

Den anden største pyramid - Chephrens pyramid

Den næststørste Khefrens (Kheops søn) pyramide har stadig noget af de glatte skinnende kalkstens dækning, som engang dækkede alle pyramiderne.==>

Den massive solbåd, som engang bragte faraos krop fra Memphis til Giza og de tre mindre Dronninge pyramider står ved foden af den massive Kheops pyramide. Vi havde ikke mulighed for at komme ind i gravkammeret denne gang, men jeg føler mig privilegeret over at jeg var derinde, og stadig har nogle minder fra begivenheden.

Sphinxen

Pyramiderne rejser sig i baggrunden, mens den sider stille på det varme sand under den bagende sol i 4000 år. Napoleons tropper brugte den som målskive, så næsen og faraos skæg er for længst faldet af og findes i British museum. Grækerne kaldte den "Sphinx", som var basseret på en mærkelig skikkelse med hovedet af et menneske og kroppen af en løve, som ville stoppe enhver rejsende langs vejen med en gåde - hvis gåden ikke blev gættet, blev man måltid for Sphinxen. Trængslen af skarerne omringede Sphinxen og vi kunne kun bevæge os i gåsegang. Gennem tiden ser det ud til, at turisterne må se Sphinxen på længere og længere afstand. For 50 år siden kunne Bedstefar røre ved Sphinxen og også klatre op på toppen af pyramiden; for 20 år siden var Sphinxen hegnet inde med et lille trådhegn, men jeg kunne stå tæt ved den; nu ligger den i et stort hul, hvor besøgende kun kan se den tæt på gennem zoomen på deres kameraer. 4 tusind år senere bjergtager den stadig os alle.

Tirsdag 16. november 2004 (start 2:30)

Ja, du læste rigtig - vi ventede alle I receptionen kl. 2.30. I aftes diskede Bedstemors børnebørn op med Spansk-Ægyptisk-Italiensk middag til hele familien. Dette fulgtes op af en Familien i en

larm fra tamboriner, obo og trommer, der spillede til forlovelsesfest for et Ægyptisk par I receptionen.

Denne morgen fløj vi til Asuan for at gå ombord til et Nilkryds på 4 dage op til Luxor. Da vi ankom, tog vi på en "felucca" (nilbåd) tur på Nilen med en fantastisk panorama til "Tomb of Nobles" (de overordnedes grave). Da vi kom tilbage fik vi vores værelser på en fire etages krydstogt skib, der havde motionsrum, svømmebassin og soldæk øverst oppe. Selv fra vores værelser i bunden, havde vi en fantastisk udsigt til de små moskelignende bygninger på toppen af de store sandbjerge med små huler.

Om aftenen havde vi mulighed for at besøge byens lille souq (locale bazaar), hvor de solgte t-shirts, papyrusbilleder, dynger af safran og tørret vellugtende lotusblomster, brun, rød, gul og indigo bjerge af duftende krydderier - alt noget som nogle af os tingede om - det dyreste køb var 25£ for papyrus billede og billigst 15£ for en broderet t-shirt med hieroglyffer. Sidst brugte vi 5£ til en hestevogn tilbage til skibet.

Den anden papyrus har jeg købt fra bazaren

Onsdag 17. november 2004 (start 7:30)

Det ser ud til, at nogle I familien har pådraget sig en maveonde. Vi andre undgik uvasket frugt, frisk salat, rå grøntsager og drinks med vand fra vandhane. Dette forhindrede os imidlertid ikke i at tage på sightseing.

Den ufærdige Obelisk

Hvis denne obelisk var blevet færdig, ville det have været den højeste og tungeste nogensinde fremstillet på 142 meter. Den ligger i et granitstenbrud, færdighugget på tre sider, men opgivet da en revne viste sig i stenen. Det er næsten umulig at forestille sig, hvordan de gamle ægyptere kunne flytte selv en enkelt sten fra dette stenbrud, da dette sted er ganske mange mile fra alle monumenterne, som er færdigfremstillet. Uheldigt for Ægypten er de fleste obelisker blevet spredt til andre lande - til Italien, England, Frankrig og selv Argentina - af fremmede arkæologer gennem de sidste århundreder. Mange af os havde ikke tid til at se hele obelisken før Adam ringede med sin klokke, som han medbragte (for at genere os, tror jeg).

Den ufuldendte Obelisk De meste familier kom ikke så langt til her

Den Høje Dæmning

I århundreder har Nilen styret Ægypternes liv - hvad enten der var oversvømmelse eller for lidt vand, var det skæbnesvangert for folket, hvis liv afhang af denne store vandkilde. Da Asuandæmningen blev bygget mistede nogle af landsbyerne i det sydlige deres vandforsyninger.

For 30 år siden blev den nye Høje Dæmning bygget, hvilket resulterede i den menneskeskabte Nasser sø mod syd. ==>

Det betød, at mange mennesker måtte flyttes, da landsbyerne og bopladserne blev oversvømmet, ligesom også nogle af de gamle Ægyptiske monumenter som Philae templet.

På sit højeste er den Høje Dæmning 111 m, 3,8 km lang og 980 m bred ved foden.

Der er blevet brugt tre gange så mange sten, som der var i Kheops pyramiden til bygningen af dæmningen.

Da dæmningen er militært område, må man ikke bruge videokamera - hvis der blev rettet et angreb på dæmningen kunne meget af Ægypten blive oversvømmet, hvilket ville være en katastrofe for landet.

Efter kun 10 minutter "ringede" Adam os tilbage til bussen igen.

Philae templet

Vi sejler til Philae templet

Efter den første Asuan dæmning blev bygget, var Philae templet oversvømmet 6 måneder om året, og turisterne måtte se templet gennem Philae søens mudrede vand. Da den Høje Dæmning blev bygget, truede det med at oversvømme templet for evigt. Templet blev da flyttet sten for sten til en ø med et lignende landskab. Philae er speciel i, at den kun kan nås med båd og at solnedgangen giver et spektakulært bagtæppe. Templet, som er bygget til Isis (gudinden for kvinder, sexualitet og renhed), var en af de sidste hedenske udsteder og på grund af Isis popularitet, blev det også brugt af de tidlige Kristne. Templets vægge og mange af søjlerne var fra top til fod fyldt med hieroglyffer og billeder af Isis - mange af billedernes ansigter var ødelagt af de tidlige Kristne, som anså de gamle Ægyptiske guder for hedenske. Jeg havde en fantastisk eftermiddag med at vandre ind og ud af gennem alle krogene og sprækkerne - besøge Fødselshuset, Nilometeret, Faraos sengested og meget mere og til stor morskab for familien, var jeg den sidste til at møde op.

Kom Ombo

Skibet sejlede fra Asuan kl. 15.45 efter en eftermiddag tilbragt med solbadning og øldrikning (typisk dansk med solbadning og øl). Vi sejlede 48 km. nord for Asuan til Kom Ombo - den gamle by med tilbedelsen af krokodilleguden Sobek. Den gamle by er for længst forsvunden og krokodillernes eksistens på de nærliggende sandbanker er blevet jagtet til udryddelse.

I solnedgangen besøgte vi Kom Ombo templet, opført til både krokodilleguden Sobek og Horus, den falkehovede himmelgud og Isis søn. Selvom vi ikke havde tiden til at fordybe os i 2 crocodil mumie på Kom Ombo temple

dette tempen, var det både imponerende og sælsomt med store projektører, der belyste templet. Der var en brønd med vand og en afsats halvvejs nede, hvor krokodiller gennem en gang blev lokket ind fra Nilen med menneskekød, og den største krokodille blev fanget og mumificeret som et offer til Sobek. Ved kapellet for Hathor (Horus hustru) var der en Amerikaner, der udbrød "Gud, jeg troede jeg skulle se krokodillestatuer!" - latter - Kapellet indeholdt to krokodillemumier fundet i templet.

Vi returnerede til et lille cocktail party før middagen, givet af skibet for at introducere de ansvarlige for personalet og for at gøre vores tur behagelig.

Tirsdag 18. november 2004 (start 7.00)

Gennem natten sejlede vi fra Kom Ombo til Edfu, et lille regionalt center for sukkerrørshandlen, besøgte Horus templet og sejlede videre til broen over Nilen og slusesystemet ved Esna.

Horus templet

Den smukke Horus temple i Edfu

Dette er det mest komplette tempel i Ægypten, et Græsk-Romansk tempel, helt bygget efter gamle Ægyptiske arkitektoniske principper. Vi besøger Edfu for at se, hvordan alle andre templer kunne have set ud i deres originale form. Vi var benovet over indgangspartiet med pylonernes massive mure med tydelige spejlvendte relieffer af Horus og af Farao, der holder sine fjender i håret for at henrette disse. Templet er bygget af Kleopatras far omkring 50 år før Kristus. Omkring pladsen foran dette velbevarede tempel, kan vi se huse bygget af muddersten (mudder fra Nilen blandet med strå og soltørrede) på toppen af bakkerne omkring templet. Templet var tidligere begravet helt op til taget med en landsby opført ovenpå. Mange af templets relieffer viser den voldsomme kamp mellem Horus og hans bror Seth.Vi gik ned i et lille Nilometer - en mørk, snæver tunnel, der stank af urin, som engang blev brugt til at måle Nilens vandstand. Igen var jeg den sidste (kun et par minutter for sent) til store klapsalver fra alle (og et stikkende blik fra Adam).

Tilbage på skibet til afgang kl. 9.00, hvor vi afsejler mod Esna, 48 km syd for Luxor. Mens familien trængte sig sammen på soldækket, sad jeg i solen på skibets fordæk i fred og ro. Det var rigtig skønt at sidde på et skib - ikke for lille eller for stor - og skue det skiftende sceneri på begge bredder, store palmelunde og frodige grønne marker passerede forbi, et rygende flimmer, skibet, der bevæger sig med fredfyldte 16 km/t og passerer utrolige bjerge af sand og sten. Ole gør mig selskab for en snak - han og Irene flytter til Grønland på tirsdag. Senere på formiddagen sluttede jeg mig til René og Ulla ved poolen, der sludrede om Bedstefar og familie sammenligningerne, mens de betragtede Vinnies børn og Sebastian plaske rundt i pølen, og Lonnie, Sarah og Berit afklædt til et minimum for at få lidt farve.

Vi ankom til Esna og brugte et par timer til at strække benene efter en formiddag at have dovnet omkring pølen. Jeg kløede efter at spadsere i Esna, væk fra turister og se, hvordan de lokale boede. René og jeg gik efter de stille gader og undgik de travle gader omkring souqen. Vi blev fulgt af en flok børn i lange grå eller hvide klæder, der førte og irriterede os. De fleste af de snævre gader var ubelagte, nogle var mudrede og lugtede af gødning. Magre, skelletagtige æsler stod forspændt arbejdsvogne, mange sky piger vinkede fra deres mørke døråbninger eller fra 1.sals vinduer, mens små drenge kom ud for at sige hello og kredse omkring os. De fleste huse var simple af lermursten og med små tilskoddede vinduer for at holde varmen ude.Nogle havde fantastiske udskårne trædøre, efterladenskaber fra kolonitiden. Tilfældige blikke ind gennem døråbningerne afslørede tomme mudderklinede rum, da de fleste mennesker boede på første sal. Ind imellem råbte René "imshee!" (forsvind), når børnene blev for støjende og nærgående, trak os i armene og smed småsten efter os. Da jeg snublede over en pibende sort og hvid sygelig hvalp svøbt i brun papir, som var sparket til side - rakte jeg næsten ud efter den, hvis ikke René havde stoppet mig. Det var klogt endog ikke at komme i kontakt med børnene, som var støvede og klædt i de lange Ægyptiske dragter. Det var en befrielse, da de til sidst forlod os, selv om vi vidste de gemte sig i smøgene og iagttog os skride gennem gaderne. Der var guldsmedier glimrende af smykke ringe, øreringe og halskæder; skræddere, der stadig syede i hånden sidende på trappetrinene til deres butikker; kaffehuse fyldt kun med mænd, der røg på deres vandpiber - deres øjne fulgte os ned ad gaden. Vi havde siddet forskellige steder så lang tid, at det var godt at komme væk.

Gennem slusen

Vi sejlede kl. 15.00 og samledes med andre skibe som vores ved en bro lige nord for Esna. Hver fjerde time åbner broen i en time for skibene og bilerne kunne i stedet tage en lille færge over Nilen. Til aften har skibet dækket op til en speciel Ægyptisk "Orientalsk" middag, hvor gæsterne kunne klæde sig i ægyptiske dragter. Det var et festmåltid med fladbrød, baba ghanoush, varme fyldte zucchini og peberfrugt, varme pølseruller, kikærter, linser, fisk, traditionel ret af okra (ligner grøn chili, men er ikke stærk), pyntet og risfyldt hel lam med foliedækket hoved med små magre oberginer som ører sat op på et sølvfad. Som afslutning på det hele var der et bord med ægyptiske desserter - semulje tærte, mandel-mælk agar (gelé) og små tærter med honningsmag. Mellem 22 0g 23 samledes vi alle for at se slusningen.

Ved slusning føres skibet fra et niveau til et andet niveau, som regel ved en dæmning. To krydstogtskibe sejlede ind i slusen, hvorefter portene lukkedes efter os. Vandet ledtes ud af slusen og skibene blev sænket næsten 10 meter ned, hvorefter portene foran skibene åbnedes, og vi sejlede videre. Slusningen tog ca. en time, selv om ventetiden varede nogle timer for at komme til. Det var værd at se, selv om vi skulle starte tidlig næste morgen. Det mest fantastiske var at se den ekspertise skibet førtes gennem den snævre sluse med næsten ingen plads til begge sider.

Fredag 19 November 2004 (start 7.00)

Gennem natten sejlede vi fra Esna til Luxor, vores sidste havn, hvortil vi kom ca. kl. 2. Vi blev effektivt vækket og kunne høre telefonvækningen omkring på de værelser, som skulle ud på en tidlig tur. Vi havde en lang dag for os, hvor vi skulle besøge fire steder.

Kongernes dal

Bygmestrene af de store pyramider opdagede, at skjulte indgange og falske skakter ikke beskyttede deres døde faraoer eller rigdommene, der var med i gravene, for gravrøvere, så fra det 18. dynasti startede de gamle ægyptere med at grave i undergrunden. Rullende bakker og dale af sand, grus og solid sandsten - det er forbavsende at tænke sig, at de gamle Ægyptere var i stand til at begrave over 300 faraoer hvoraf kun 62 er fundet (den sidste var TutAnkhAmun).

Bjerget, under hvilket mange af gravene er fundet, har en pyramidelignende fason.

Vores billetter gav os ret til kun at besøge tre grave og kun en håndfuld var åbne på dagen med lange køer ved alle.

Vi besøgte gravene for Ramsesene III, IX og V/VI - alle relative små grave, nogle delvis udgravede, andre meget skadede af fugtighed fra de mange turister og fra svedige fingre.

Der var en mængde af hieroglyffer og billeder af faroerne, hvordan de behandlede deres undersåtter, selv lofterne var smukt udsmykket med blå himmel, tusinder af stjerner og himmel gudindens hoved. Ramses III´s grav var som en billedbog over "Bedre Huse og Haver" med billeder af hundrede af krukker, møbler og madkunst. I Ramses V/VI's grav var der en kæmpe revnet Faraoformet sarkofag uhyggelig illumineret med sølvagtig lys - Ramses VI delte usædvanligt graven med sin forgænger og broder. Det er rugtig forbavsende, at sådanne billeder har overlevet tusinder af år, gemt bort i mørke tørre grave, som hurtig nedbrydes, efter at de er blevet udgravet.

Memnon kolosserne

Colossi af Memnon

Lige efter Kongernes Dal stoppede vi for at se Memnon kolosserne - to 18 meter høje figurer af Amenhotep III, som stod foran hvad men mener var Ægyptens største tempel, endnu større end det eksisterende Karnak tempel. Hver af statuerne er hugget ud af en hel sten, engang berømte for klokkelignende toner, der opstod fra statuerne ved solopgang. Grækerne troede disse lyde blev lavet af den udødelige Memnon, der hilste på sin moder. Efter at en Romersk hersker foretog restaurationer på kolosserne i 170 efter kristus, forsvandt lydene.

Til vores morskab gjorde Adam endnu et "kommisions stop" ved en alabaster butik. Han kunne ikke forstå, hvorfor vi brød ud i latter. I stedet for at boycotte turen, skyndte vi os alle ind for at få en kop gratis myntete (som ikke havde noget med myntete at gøre). René førte an i et race med Sebastian og Vinnies drenge med det glatte alabastergulv som glidebane. I den anden ende blev Ulla præsenteret for en lille 10000£ alabaster flodhest, som hun i sjov sagde ja til, hvorefter butiksassistenten gik for at sætte den til side.

Hatshepsut templet

Dronning Hatshepsuts terrassetempel

I nærheden af Kongernes Dal ligger dette tempel for den eneste kvindelige Farao, der har regeret Ægypten. På grund af et forkvaklet arbejde af et rent Ægyptisk arkæologisk hold, blev templets ruiner genrejst til at indeholde et busdepot, resulterende i at meget af de originale kunstværker blev overmalet eller ødelagt. Efterfølgeren til Hatshepsuts bror/mand var stedsønnen Tuthmose III, som måtte vente 20 år på sin trone, hvorfor Hatshepsut ikke blev balsameret, da hun døde, og hendes tempel blev ødelagt som straf. Templet stod på stedet for et Koptisk kloster og fantastiske sandstensklipper. Der er måske ikke meget af templet at se, men synet tæt på, fra stor afstand og endog fra himlen gør absolut turen værd.

Så fik vi frokost og et lille hvil. Jeg blev overrasket over, at et humoristisk medlem af rengøringspersonalet havde sat håndklæder, tæppe og pude op i min seng, så det lignede en mand og hans slange. Jeg troede René havde lavet grin med mig, til jeg fandt ud af, at noget lignende var lavet i andre familiemedlemmers værelser!

134 kæmpe-søjler af Karnak temple - verdens største tempelkompleks

Karnak Luxor templer

Karnak var kendt som "Ipet-Isyt" - det mest perfekte af stederne.

Meget af det ligger I ruiner, men er muligvis det største tempelkompleks bygget nogensinde og skabt over 1500 år af efterfølgende generationer af Faraoer.

Det var boplads for Faroer, stedet for gudedyrkelse, rigt skattekammer og administrationscenter med tusinder ansat.

Karnak er berømt for dets gigantiske søjler - 134 på 15 meters højde, 12 i midten på 21 meter. Der skal seks voksne til at favne omkring en søjle.

Engang stod der statuer af Faraoer mellem søjlerne og hele stemningen ville have været skræmmende, som at passere gennem en hal af kæmpe guder.

<== Ramses II var ansvarlig for meget af restaureringen af templet, og hans signatur er hugget dybt ind i flere områder, så ingen anden Farao kunne tage æren.

Den højste obelisk i Ægypt - Hatshepsuts Oberlisk i Karnak tempel

Den højste obelisk i Ægypt - Hatshepsuts Oberlisk i Karnak tempel

Forbi de kæmpe søjler stod den højeste eksisterende obelisk I Ægypten, næsten 30 meter høj. Selvom den er lavet af et stykke granit, ser Hatsheosuts obelisk ud, som om den er lavet af to forskellige sten, da den nederste del i mange år var dækket til af Tuthmosis III i hans vrede over stedmoderens tilranelse af tronen. Der var engang 17 obeliske, men disse er nu spredt over hele verden.

Jo længere vi kommer ind i tempelområdet, jo ældre er templet og ligger i ruiner, så da vi når den anden ende, ligger alt i ruiner.

Det mest skønne syn for mig I templet var billedet af dronningen, der omfavner sin Farao.

Det blev betragtet som tabu at vise billeder med en sådan affekt, så billedet var i mange år dækket af en guldplade.

Tæt ved den hellige sø - et bassin beregnet til præsternes renselse - stor en kæmpe skarabel. Adam fortalte, at vi skulle gå syv gange rundt om den, mod uret, og vi ville få vort ønske opfyldt. Det ville have været ret komisk at se en stor skare af folk vandre omkring skarabellen.

Efter 1½ time måtte vi videre… til endnu en kommisionsbutik - en bomuldsbutik med t-shirts med fabrikstryk, der kostede fem så meget, som jeg havde købt broderede t-shirts for.

Til sidst på vores tur: Luxor templet==>

Der var en avenue af Sphinxer, som engang forbandt Karnak templet med Luxor templet med 2½ km.

Engang i Faraoernes tid lå Luxor templet i hjertet af den gamle hovedstad Thebes og var velbevaret fordi den engang var begravet under landsbyen Luxor og endog i det 13. årh. havde en moske opført indenfor dens mure - hvilket indbyggerne kræver bevaret under restaureringen af templet.

Templet synes ikke oversvømmet med turister og i det forsvindende lys fra solnedgangen lægger templet et spøgelsesagtigt men flot skygge over byen.

Efter turen tog resten af familien på hestevognstur tilbage til skibet, mens vores lille familie besluttede at gå gennem byen - en kort tur langs Nilen. Som i Esra var vi interesserede i at gå gennem gaderne, tage video og fotos og se, hvordan folk levede - gamle mænd ryger vandpibe, skrædere syer dragter, en mand vasker kopper i en kaffeshop, en åben slagter med kroppe hængende ved fortovet, små børn hviner for at blive fotograferet, kvinder klædt fra top til tå i sort, børn glad vinkende fra alle hjørner - disse mennesker smilede mere og syntes venligere - og ingen spurgte efter bakshees (drikkepenge), og en skarp kontrast til Esna. Vi stoppede for at få en sodavand på tagterrassen af en hotel og betragtede endnu en fantastisk solnedgang over Luxor.

En ægyptisk kvinde bærer noget på hendes hoved

en Sko mager Tømmer En slagter

Efter vores sidste middag blev vi underholdt af en ung kedelig mavedanserinde og, hvad jeg har ventet på at se, en "Hvirvlende Dervish" - en fremvisning af Sufi dans.

Sufism, en halv-mystisk gren af Islam, med en uortodoks vej til bøn, det vil sige at danse og opnå en trancelignende forening med Gud.

Tilskyndet af takten fra trommer, strenge og fløjter, spinner danseren rundt i et slør of flerfarvet skørt - rød, gul og blå - indtil han lignede en snurretop.

Photo Courtesy of Tour Egypt Photos

Lørdag 20 November 2004 (start 4:45)

De fleste af familien nød krydstogtet og stederne de så. De var ikke særlig glade ved planlægningen af turen med latterlige tidlige morgenstarter, nogle dage sammenpressede og andre med næsten intet. Men mest af alt var mange af familien utilfredse med Adam - vi klagede på vore spørgeskemaer og Ulla gav AB-Travel repræsentanten en opsang om, hvor ubehagelig Adam havde været, hvor intetsigende hans høj-accenterede sprog havde været, han kørte på nogle af os, stirrede på børnene for at sludre bag i bussen, han undgik spørgsmål og skældte på alle, der afbrød ham med et spørgsmål. Værst var alle de unødvendige "kommissions baserede" stop, som tog tid fra vores seværdigheds besøg. Han var en typisk Ægypter, som kunne have gjort vores tur meget mere lykkelig.

Fra en tidelig flyvetur til Cairo, en galehus med vores bagage, en tretimers ventetid I en kaffeshop på et hotel tæt ved, til en 4½ timers flyvetur tilbage til København, var klokken 17, da vi fik vores bagage og tog en sidste afsked med alle medlemmer af familien. På trods af en start kl. 4.45 tog det os en hel dag at komme hjem.

Der er en vis portion tristhed at det måske er sidste gang familien er samlet, da Bedstemor jo bliver ældre. René har været med på måske ti samlinger, planlagt af Bedstemors børn, men betalt af Bedsteforældrene - som en arv til familien. Jeg har været heldig og privilegeret at blive inviteret med på en af disse familiesamlinger - fire generationer i alt. Det gav mig lov til at besøge en anden eksotisk del af verden og at lære at kende denne meget specielle Matriark.

BEDSTEMOR på Karnak tempel

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Fotografier Oversættelse ©Copyright Freddy Pallesen 2000 ~ 2005
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Created: 13Dec 2004Sidst update: 13-Dec-2004

We have had a lot of rain lately. On one of the days I was showing Aiden and Lucas how to make a pair of funny glasses out of an egg crate and a piece of string.

They got to paint the glasses afterwards.

The other day I picked up Aiden and Lucas pretty late from daycare.

They were in the process of cleaning and Aiden was eagerly waiting for them to turn on the vacuum cleaner so he could play with it.

I have already gone out too far. I cannot return and jump over the stream because it is growing inside of me and is becoming a roaring river.
What are these strange thoughts I am having?
Were these free farmers in the hills above Varde Aaa more free at year 900 than they were in year 1100?
The only difference was christianity.

Off to the library
The landowner at Noerholm
The Herredfoged.
The Bishop in Ribe
It is all written here

I start thinking about hunting
A good hunter makes sure that they keep a healthy game on the property. He will feed the game during tough winters and make sure that the the overall health is there and have to most productive game survive.
No, it is not right to have these thoughts here in the library when it is the farmers I need to find information on.

Queen Margaret..
Make a claim on Noerholm..
Maybe there is something here..

Wasn't it the landowner of Noerholm that owned Noerholm?
Has he just built up Noerholm and then put his filthy hand on every surrounding piece of land and property?
Which the church was claiming that it should own?
Or was it the Bishop in Ribe?

This was not what I was supposed to find here at the library. It was the farmer - farmers!

Hunting...

What rubbish was that. I must get rid of these thoughts, this has nothing to do with hunting.

It wouldn't have been the lord who was out there beginning to move large boulders.

And not the bishop -

Christianity had just been introduced but building that many churches required a lot of workforce.

My thoughts are diverted.

Has this big change in faith based activity created communities, something in common because surely it was the farmers who built the churches.
This introduction was it something that made the existence easier for the farmers, my old roots.
It must have been, a lot of other things to believe in has been forgotten and the church is now a gathering place.

You should never start researching your ancestry.
You encounter one surprise after another and will never finish. There is always more.
There is changes in ones beliefs for every new discovery.

Of cause it was the farmers who built the churches. Who else would have?
They probably started with the words; "On the day of honour I am with you".

My thoughts are again left astray.

Russia build the aswan dam in Egypt.

Yes, I saw it myself with my own eyes. I drove in my car along the large canals they were digging.

How was it that they explained it to me?
This canal was to be dug 5 metres deep, 100 metres wide and should extend 800km out into the desert.

There were thousands of workers, it all looked like a large ants nests.
Men with baskets full of soil on their heads.

There was not a single Russian in this ants nest.

- Who actually built the Aswan Dam? -

Farmers

My grandads memoirs.

-

My Memoirs.

-

But there has to be something before us.

Our family of farmers from Kongeaaen at Toboel to Lyngbakkerne across Varde Aa - Mejls - Hornelund - Sig.

How did they live in the last 1000 years?

I rush to the library but it feels like hitting a miss in the lottery.

Have my ancestors, the farmers, not accomplished anything that made it worthy for a couple of pages in the danish history?

Yes, they have of cause not walked about killing each other to get hold of their neighbors possessions. Rather the opposite, from the looks of it, it was the farmers that were killed.

And for this the killers deserved a rather prominent mentioning in the history.

Yes, there was built a number of churches in the 1100's, but my relatives, the farmers are not mentioned.

I start to think.

- Who actually built these churches? -.

..as a couple of cows and a bull out on the feeding grounds. Something that can work and reproduce.

There is an old say like this - The devil looks after his own.
Let me immediately point out that the Devil didn't look after the farmers in the area around Varde and it was obvious that it was the met in power that were looked after by the Devil.

Here I would like to jump forward to 1300-1400 in the Danish history (Queen Margaret I). It is like my ancestors roots here start sprouting quickly. It is not quite clear who owns then, the church or the landowner at Noerholm.
Queen Margaret interfere in the argument and this gives the farmers a bit of breathing space.
A few farmers become more established and become independent (owns their land).
How should all these farmers see all the trouble ahead? Yes, even the Danish history has forgotten them.
It is only all the bad evil, power hungry people that are written about.
The more bloodthirsty the more pages they get in the book.

How mush is described about the farmers fight for independence against Kristian the 3rd?

The farmers at Varde invaded the river fortres at Varde and destroyed it but then had to retreat north with Captain Clement pursued by Johan Rantzau the kings right hand.
The farmers were at last defeated at Aalborg so that they would not appear in the history books. Not even crying and mourning by women and children behinds the hills at Varde river.

Honour becomes he who should be honoured.

I am stuck.

There is something peculiar about this study.

Why do I still return to - in a time of hunting?

Right! I remember, there is a book by that name.

I tell myself to think about something else - And he thoughts saw wide views.
And the neighbours wife said to her mum - That decease looks just like...

No, this is enough...

Were the farmers the hunted game or not?
Were the king, the lords, the church, the bishop the hunters?

Were the farmers the game and the hunting so good that the hunters couldn't agree on splitting the game?
Was it like that all over Denmark? Of cause it was. the Varde area was no exception.

It is something strange you are getting involved in when you study your ancestors.
The farmers had to live, otherwise there was nothing to hunt, but when the land owner was about to loose his hunting rights then the hunting escalated to the point where the game was about to go extinct.
The hunters would then loose interest and start hunting elsewhere.

Here we can mention the war against Sweden with its following plague as well as Napoleon with his Spanish troops in Denmark.

The farmers always recovered, because they were the lifeline for Denmark.
Children are born and new generations grow up between the marshes and hills without knowing whether they in years to come will be valuable as game and hence again be hunted to extinction.

It is the owners of the hunting grounds, their mentality and actions that is written into the Danish history. They have been lifted onto the podium for their dishonest behaviour.

On the contrary is just mentioned as an afterthought...

Kim and I just had our 5th wedding anniversary.

She still looks as beautiful today as she did when I first met her.

We celebrated by going out having dinner at Darling Harbour and watched the weekly fireworks.

We recently had the international fleet review in Sydney with lots of navy ships from international countries visiting Sydney to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Australian fleet.

This also meant that not only were there lots of sailors in town, but also lots of navy cadets.

Aiden and I chose to visit the American USS Chosin and British HMS Daring.

The US ship is an older class ship, and from the outside fairly unimpressive.

but on closer inspection it had an impressive arsenal of missiles.

As well as guns.

The crew were very friendly and were happy to have their photo taken.

The British vessel on the other hand is a very modern ship, again with a very impressive firepower.

The crew again were happy to have their photos taken.

After this Aiden was over the ships and when he spotted a firetruck he got very excited. Lucky the firemen were pretty bored so they were pretty happy to entertain him for a while and it also gave me a bit of a break from carrying Aiden in my backpack.

After that he was hungry and wanted something to eat.

Last night was Halloween and we walked around with the kids (KC's and our kids) to do trick or treat.

Aiden was a little sick with gastro but we did managed to get him along dressed in his spider man shirt.

I was dressed up as a steam punk vampire.

When we came back I did the photo above in my home studio.

Photo Gallery

I have placed photos here - those I could not fit on the respective webpages.

Schwedagon
Big Stuba at night

Mandalay
Mandalay facing east

Marionet
Puppet Show 1

Volleyball

Created: 3 Nov 2001

I initially made plans to explore Burma and then make my way across the border into western China at Burma's only border crossing up north. I had not made any definite plans wanted to play it by ear... but in the end my trip consisted of Thailand, Cambodia and restricted areas to Burma.

I was away for a total of 5 weeks and must admit that parts of my trip really frustrated me - there were many restrictions in Burma and being in Bangkok at times stressed me because of all the tourists and crowds. I really only went to Cambodia to see the magnificent Angkor Wat - actually I really did enjoy being there. I think my most enjoyable part of the trip was the days I had climbing on the secluded areas of Krabi.


Burma (23 Jul ~ 5 Aug)	Cambodia (6 ~ 10 Aug)	Thailand

There were quite a lot of monkeys at Mt Popa.

Mother & Baby Monkey

The photo above in the middle, shows monkeys that look like they are playing around. They are actually fighting monkeys and can be very dangerous because they bite and also snatch things from you.

They were rather oblivious to me being there, until the flash on my camera went off. Then their attention was on me and they were ready to attack.

I adopted the “monkey mentality” - avoid eye contact and move away backwards - the only way to stop the monkeys from attacking is to not look at them.

Monkey 1

Whilst I was up north, I watched a rather interesting game of volleyball.

I have never seen such dexterity and agility amongst the players!

It was amazing to see how flexible these guys were.

Volleyball Player Photo 2

There is a monastry on Mt Popa - a hill located 50km away from Bagan.

When I was there, it was a cloudy day.

Woman selling petrified wood at Mt Popa

I ran into a woman selling petrified wood - quite silly really, considering the place was covered with it.

Road sign

They must think tourists are stupid! *laugh* I managed to pick up a couple of small pieces to take back with me.

As you can see, there are stacks of them around.

And no... this is not a tombstone.
This is actually a road sign.

Example of petrified wood

You would be surprised how big some of these pieces are - this piece below was actually about a metre long and 40cm wide.

Toilet in Burma

Actually what I found interesting were the toilets in Burma.

My girlfriend tells me that squatting over a toilet is quite common in Asia.

In many of the city areas, they would have toilets as we know them, and they would also have a carved hole in the ground, on which either side, one places their feet on.

Toilets in the rural area are more crude than that - a hole leading into a gaping pit.

However, what I found interesting about these toilets were that recycled running water was used to wash away any excrement. The water is first used for washing one self and then used in the toilets.

As there were a few toilet cubicles a row, sometimes you would see the excrement from a toilet uphill go beneath you! *laugh*

Very clever and environmental system, I think!

Me at Mt Popa

Trying to grab a snooze... *smile*

Like Schweddagon, most of this is real gold as well.

And yes, there is a monkey sitting near my head.

If you click to the next page, you will see that I have taken a series of photos of the monkeys.

I saw the most interesting puppet show, known as the “Mandalay Marionettes”

There were 2 or 3 puppeteers out the front, with a live band of musicians.

Unfortunately, it was more of a show for the tourists, rather than the locals.

It cost 1,000 chats or US$2 per show.

I decided take a 20-hour train-ride to Myitkyinã *laugh* it took 20-hours to get there by train because there was only one track.

It was definitely faster to run next to the train than to travel in it!

We had to wait for the oncoming train to return before we could travel north.

At one point, we crossed a bridge that was so rickety that I thought it would collapse any moment!

Working in the rice fields

Locals working in the rice fields.

Locals using water-buffaloes to plough rice fields.

Jrrawaddy River

The train travelled along the Jrrawaddy River.

It would have been nice if I was able to travel to Mandalay via a riverboat down the Jrrawaddy River.

People living on lake

It was amazing to find out that people live “on” these lakes, by building houses on stilts.

This sort of housing is quite common in many parts of Asia, especially areas where monsoons quite frequently flood an area.

It is also very environmentally-sound, I think, and hurts the land less.

Most of the houses are made of wood.

Myitkyina in rain

Myitkyinã is pretty dismal in rain!

There is a huge drug problem in Burma, especially through the crossings into China.

I have scanned a copy of a recent newspaper article about this problem in Burma.

When I initially arrived in Yangon / Rangoon, I wanted to fly up Bhamo - one of the bigger towns north of Burma. I also considered exploring Myitkyinã - a town further north of Bhamo.

My Lonely Planet guide indicated that the only border crossing into China was to the east of Bhamo. My initial plans to Burma also included exploration of western China. However, I was disappointed by the military turning me back, despite the fact that my Lonely Planet guide said I could cross into China at Ruili.

I decided instead to fly to Mandalay, not only because it was cheap to do so, but it saved me a 20-hour bus ride there from Yangon.

City of Mandalay

I heard about a song for sailors.

“To be a real sailor, the sailor would have to have been to Mandalay way upriver”

I quite liked Mandalay.

The photo below, is of Mandalay Hill.
During World War II (20 March 1945), the British and the Japanese fought one another to gain control of the position on this hill.

Important Position in Mandalay

The photo to the left is taken from the hill itself facing east - as you can see, it has an aerial view of the whole city, and puts any oncoming enemies at a disadvantage. Control of Mandalay was important during the war, as the soldiers were able to set up artillery and attack anyone approaching the fortress.

This hill was of big strategic importance.

The building you see near the shrine is a monument to the British regiment who managed to take control of this hill from the Japanese.

At the eastern part of the delta, a lot of logging takes place. There was a train line built that used to cart all the trees/wood for export to Thailand.

View of the Fortress

The moat around the fortress is man-made.
Although man-made, comes from the local river.

The original fortress was burnt to the ground.
The whole fortress covered an area of 2.5 x 2.5 km

Fortress at Mandalay

The design of Mandalay was quite colonial, and surprisingly, most of the streets were at 90º to one another.

Overall, I found Mandalay the most expensive city to travel to in Burma.

No matter what one does in Mandalay, be it explore Mandalay Hill or the city itself, the locals always had “special” foreigner prices. It really annoyed me.

I tried to use local currency as much as possible. However, FEC (Foreign Exchange Currency) was more valuable and worth more to the locals. FEC is also used in China, and one tries to use local currency as much as possible. Any item you buy has 2 prices - and obviously it is cheaper to use local currency than to use FEC.

I must admit, even Mandalay Hill was not that nice for the price I paid to explore it. It was also expensive just to go into the fortress.

Surprisingly, I could not find maps of the area that was not more that 40 years old.

Medicine . . .

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.

The Medicine Man 1

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.

The Medicine Man 2

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.

Tiger Skull

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.

Selling Tobacco

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

Politics . . .

Queue for Rations

There is a lot of politics going on in Burma that an outsider should not get involved in - Burma is one of those countries where political opinions are best kept to oneself.

In Burma, use of the Internet and mobile phones is illegal. This is the government's way of controlling the information entering the country. Even access to equipment such as laptops is illegal - the country is so poor that many could not afford such a piece of equipment.

I saw many young women queueing for their rations. They were standing so close together that I thought they were lesbians! *laugh* The girls stand close together so another person cannot jump the queue by pushing in.

Girls Standing Close

The girls here are very young, some have barely reached puberty and are doing some very hard work.

Young Girls Working on Roads

There is a lot of critique by Amnesty International, of Burma's use of young girls to provide maintenance for the roads.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After Laos we went back to Bangkok.

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

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

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

Or Scorpions (which are mostly sold to tourists)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the weekend I went to the Formula 1 grand prix in Melbourne. It was a work sponsored event with one of our vendors and great access to see the race and the pits.

Here is some of the photos from the event.

I did an art nude photoshoot over on the other side or Botany bat at Kurnell with a group of photographers and a Elen who was the model and organiser.

Last night Kim and I went to the James Blunt concert in the State Theatre in Sydney. Kim (and to some degree myself) is a big fan of James Blunt so when we heard that he was coming to Sydney we had to get tickets.

The concert was brilliant and it had a lot of energy to it. He played both some of his old songs as well as some of his new ones.

The stage was set up with all these LED panels so that they could project videos, images, colours and patterns onto them to change the mood depending on the songs played.

On the weekend we again went to Centennial Park to go for a walk enjoying a gorgeous Autumn day.

Aiden was a bit tired and wasn't really in the mood to have his picture taken.

This time we brough Dylan along for him to get some exercise (watching too much TV otherwise):

It is getting cooler here in Sydney...the last 2-3 days have been freezing with temperatures at 16 degree during the day (cooler at night). We have turned on the heater in Aidens room as he kicks off his blanket.

One advantage is that there are some beautiful leaves in Centennial Park...

Autumn Leaves

Monday Aiden went to the day care centre (we send him to daycare once a week for him to learn to interact with other kids and more structured play) and the teacher there helped him create a painted "Mum" sign as a Mothers day gift (It is Mothers day on Sunday).

Kim was very proud and asked me to take a photo of it for her to post on facebook. My response was "Sure, I'll go and grap the compact camera"...to which she responded that she wanted a good picture using good lighting so I should go and get my big camera.

So I went ahead and took the following photo of the mum sign using some of Aidens toys as a backdrop.

...but Kim said that she can't use it because it is too good and isn't realistic enough...back to the pocket camera ;-) !

This Easter holiday the family rented a house at Lake Conjola 220 Km south of Sydney (past Jervis Bay). We drove down there Friday morning (about 3 hours) with all our clothes, food etc.It was a four bedroom house for 8 adults and 5 kids, so always something happening somewhere in the house. Aiden was a bit shell shocked on the first day until he got used to the surroundings etc. We had brought our travel cot (a tent) for him to sleep in, in our bedroom and this made it a bit easier for us to put him to sleep.

Every morning the boys went out fishing in Chong's tinny (aussie word for boat). I went along on the first and last day (the other days I valued my morning sleep) and on the first day I caught a 25cm bream...one of the two legal catches during the week. Chong caught a fairly large flathead on one of the other days.

The beach was about a 15 minute walk away from the house walking through the caravan park (On the first morning there was a coffee van parked there and much to Kims dissapointment it was gone all the following days). It it fairly cool this time of the year so none of us went swimming, but it was fun to run around and take some photos. Aiden is getting used to go to the beach and is now quite comfortable sitting looking at things (He has now finally started commando crawling after 10.5 months).

And at the beach we also had some fun with some 'silly' time.

In the evenings we were playing blackjack...always interesting as we play for money and some days you can be really lucky and others really unlucky. We also played charade where each team should guess movie titles by only showing gestures...which to a large part ought to be X-rated (or as least KC's turns should be).

One of the days I did a bit of creative photography. I showed KC how she could make window blinds look like a nice sunset even though it was grey and overcast outside.

The place had a pool table and this inspired me to the following photo of Kim playing pool.

And I played with the kids colour pencils.

I also did one night photograph on the only clear night we had. I should have spent more time out there, but it was late and I though I'd have a couple of nights ahead where it would be possible.

This year we had agreed that each of us would cook one meal. My meal was Saturday lunch time and I was doing pasta and I has pre-cooked it from Sydney the day before so it was nice and easy. Kim was doing an Indian curry in the evening.

When we ended our stay Kims dad said that this is the best food he's ever had on our holidays together.

This weekend we went with the Heng's onboard one of the last Tall Ships of Sydney harbour called 'Svanen. The day before it had been pouring with rain but we were lucky that the day we had booked was dry and sunny most of the day.

'Svanen' was built in 1922 in Denmark in Fredrikssund of danish oak frames, where she traded as a grain carrier between Denmark and Greenland for the tuborg beer company until 1969. She and James Craig are now the last tall ships in Sydney (The Bounty was sold to china some years ago).

She ain't a big ship, but large enough to carry about 90 passengers.

The interior of the ship is almost in its original state. It is still possible to see all the hand chiseled timer in the cabins.

The ship itself is pretty much still operated as it was back then (although she now has a motor...not sure if she would have had that originally).

And all the rope work is still the way it should be as well.

The cruise lasted a couple of hours and during the trip we were served lunch, beer and wine. This was one of the special deals that Kim had found us so it ended up being a great day.

Every year there is an Ester show at Fox Studios...it is not as big as the show out at Homebush, but it is a lot closer to where we live and entry is free.

Last year and again this year we brough Dylan there as it is difficult for his mum to go there. We normally allow him to get 1 ride or one game at the show, but because we this year brough Aiden along he got three rides as we though we'd check how Aiden would reach to the rides.

The first ride that Dylan chose was a Camel ride (Although they are not actually camels, but Dromedary's).

Afterwards he was complaining about how smelly they are.

In the mean time Aiden was watching the action (It was a pretty cool day and he had been sick the week before so he was dressed in his bunny outfit).

We tried to get Dylan to look scary with some of the local performers, but I think this is the best he could do.

After this I took Aiden and Dylan on the Ferris wheel and the Merry go round.

These are Waaaaayyyy to scary for Kim, so she was waiting down on the ground taking photos.

This Sunday we went to Ethans 10yo Birthday at Maroubra. It also happens that Aiden was 10 Months a couple of days ago and it was a nice and overcast day, so good to take some monthly photos of him.

He is pretty happy to show off his new chompers (teeth)...he's got four now. He's been a bit sick for the last week with a cold. Probably something he picked up in daycare, but he is a lot happier now.

He now knows how to sit up straight, but he is still not able to crawl or get to/from sitting position, so the way he gets around is by rolling. He has learned to repeat one word from up and that is 'Dada'...but he still doesn't know the context or meaning of the word.

He is also a lot more reserved when it comes to other people...the general rule is that he likes me and grandad, but everyone else depends on the day...even mummy is sometimes given the cold shoulder (which Kim gets slightly upset about when it happens).

Last month we received our new bi-folding doors to the garden. The old doors were old aluminium sliding doors that didn't allow us to open up the dining room towards the garden properly, they only allowed us a metre of opening to walk through.

We really wanted to open up the outside and inside areas. The old door really wasn't ideal.

Before christmas we ordered new bi-folding doors that would allow us to open up the whole area (about three metres and would allow us easier and better access to the garden).

It took the two tradespeople the better part of a full day to remove the old door and install the new one.

The new door looks really good, it was delivered in raw cedar wood and yesterday I spent most of the following weekend sanding and varnishing it.

The new door comes with a sliding moscito net that allows us to open the whole area and still keep the little critters out. It is almost invisible to when we have the family over we will need to keep it open to prevent the kids from running through the net.

The trades people couldn't take the old door with them so I had to find a way to dispose of it. Eventually I put it on Gumtree (a free site similar to eBay) and said that whoever wanted the door could come and pick it up for free. Within a couple of hours I had a dozen interested people and a couple of days later hey came to pick it up.

Saturday Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Lyrics Theatre to see the Doctor Zhivago the Musical. It is a large production that they hope eventually will make it to broadway.

If you would like to know the story then rent the movie of the same title...worth watching.

For those of you not familiar with the story behind the story: It is about the cultural revolution and civil war in russia during the years 1917-1921 (mainly). The book was written by a russian Boris Pasternak during and after the cultural revolution. It was smuggled out of Russia in the 1950's and the author was awarded the Nobels literature price much to the dismay of the russian government (the book is very critical of the revolution).

We did have tickets booked a couple of months ago, but when we turned up then they said that the lead actor (playing Zhivago) had an injury in the afternoon. They said that they would still show us the first 20-40 minutes of the performance as this was all that the understudy (replacement) was familiar with and then let us either rebook or get a refund. Very dissapointing, but not much we could do about it.

It was actually worth seeing the whole performance (and not just the beginning). The acting and singing was great (Kim was so-so about the actual songs, but I thought they were ok).The stage setup was very clever and added a lot of depth to the stage, it allowed them to show what was happening in several locations at the same time using the same stage.

We had left Aiden with his grandad for the evening and this time we decided to let him sleep there all night rather than wake him up really late to take him home.

This weekend it was my birthday and it also happened to be the ski peak season here in Australia.

Click here to see more photos from Skiing in Australia

(click here for more photos)

A group of us rented a house in Cooma not too far away from the ski fields and apart from a few mechanical problems with my car we had a blast of a time. On the Saturday we went to Perisher. The snow was perfect and a lot of the runs hadn't been groomed so it was still deep powder snow that we were skiing in.

Kim, Luke and Karen took lessons in the morning and later in the afternoon I went for a couple of runs with Luke (Soeren didn't make it to the ski area that day). In the evening we were watching a video (I fell asleep 15 minutes into it), and we had birthday cake and wine/beer.

The day after all of us went to Thredbo (which in my opinion is much better) and I was skiing with Soeren all day. The girls were having fun skiing down in the beginners area and Luke was skiing by himself higher on the mountain.

We left Thredbo at around 3.30pm and arrived back home in Sydney at around 10.15pm....a long drive.

I took a couple of videos of Soeren and myself skiing:
Video of Rene Skiing #1
Video of Rene Skiing #2
Video of Soeren Skiing #1
Video of Soeren Skiing #2

Click here to see more photos from: Skiing in Australia/SlideShow

Ok, it is not just in Holland that they steal with arms a legs. I am not proud to admit that the same seems to happen in Denmark (my birth country)...but more about that later.

After Holland I flew a quick trip to Denmark. On the way there in Heathrow Airport I met up with Kim who had spend a couple of days in London with a couple of friends. I was really looking forward to introducing her to my parents.

My flight arrived a bit late in London so we arrived to Copenhagen without my luggage which turned up the following day.

All the time while in Denmark it was pouring with rain, but we did have one good day in Copenhagen where Kim got to see the sights Fredriksborg Slot, The Marble church, Amalienborg, City Square and City Hall, Stroeget, The little Mermaid, Runde Taarn, Tivoli and Gefion Springvandet. We had lunch at Kultorvet and here Kim got her handbag stolen by a very professional bag snatcher (Latin American or Eastern European looking, dark short hair, wears a dark green suit and will sit down at the table next to you and talk on his mobile. When he leaves he will take your bag).

Click here to see more photos from Denmark

We also spent a couple of days at my grandmothers place where we we had a look at Koldinghus and Trapholt. Kim got to meet most of the family in Jutland (The family on my Dads side).

Click heer to see more photos from Denmark

My cousin had a child recently and the christening was taking place while we were visiting, so it gave us an excuse to visit my grandmother.

On the way back from Jutland we visited my Uncle and Auntie Eli and Henning on their farm and also had a look at their windmill.

One day we went also sailing up through Guldborgsund with my dad and we also went a quick trip to Germany one afternoon with the ferry.

It was good to see my parents again, but I also realise that apart from them there is not much left for me in Denmark and I would never be able to live the same lifestyle in Denmark as I do in Sydney Australia.

I took a number of videos while in Denmark and also a lot of photos. I can recommend that you click on the following links to see more from Denmark.

Video of my Uncles Windmill #1
Video of my Uncles Windmill #2
Video of my Uncles Windmill #3
Video of Kim and my dad picking strawberries
Video of sailing with my dad #1
Video of sailing with my dad #2
Video of sailing with my dad #3
Click here to see more photos from:Denmark/ Slideshow

After my stay in Athens Greece I am now in Vianen in Holland where our European office is. The purpose with my stay here is to do a bit or coordination and do some planning.

Vianen is about 45 minutes drive south of Amsterdam not too far from Utrect. I am staying at the only hotel in Vianen which is located 3-4 kilometers from the office, but fortunately I have been able to borrow one of the company cars.

Vianen really is in the middle of no-where. It is a sleepy little town with no major attractions.

The hotel here is really weird. None of the floors meet and the numbering system of the rooms is all over the place. It is generally faster to get from one room in the hotel to another by always taking the lift to the ground floor, exit the hotel, enter it elsewhere and then take the lift up again...at least the ground floor is always on the same level.

The room itself is nice enough. When I wake up in the morning i wake up looking at a cow paddock with a couple of horses wandering around...did I say that this is out in the sticks?

Click here to see more photos from Holland

People in holland steal with their arms and legs. Yesterday I asked to get an ironing board and an iron brought to my room.They told me that they could not do that (could be because of the mile long walk from the reception but I don't think so, because the room also don't have an alarm clock and the tv is bolted to the table) and they told me that they now had a special ironing room. The iron and ironing board was bolted with a big chain to the wall.

The only positive thing about the hotel is that the breakfast is pretty nice (dinner isn't) and the internet is reasonably priced at 25 Euros for a week.

Its is nice to catch up with colleagues although the schedule is pretty busy here. I interviewed a couple of people for the office here and we are going to give an offer to one of the guys.

Also a couple of the restaurants in Vianen itself are fairly decent and the fact that I could borrow a car meant that I could get around a bit.

Here in mid June I am in Greece assisting one of our partners on a project involving our software.

I arrived Sunday evening and started working Monday morning with the partner. One of my colleagues Karsten is also here and last night we went to this fantastic restaurant called moorings.

It is the most fantastic setting right next to the sea, and the food was fantastic. My starter was goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto ham baked in the oven and then served on a bed of wild mushrooms. For mains I had Grober (a fish) and it was really nice. The servings were massive so no chance of leaving hungry. It was a pity that Kim wasn't there joining me...she would have loved the place. The whole dinner including a bottle of wine, pre-dinner drinks for two people amounted to approximately 135 Euros which is really cheap considering the food and the setting.

During the week Karsten and I have been pretty busy assisting the partner on the project. Later in the week they requested to get some more of my time to assist them. Since Athens is a nice place to be (more interesting than Vianen anyway) I as happy to stay. This means that my stay will ten days in total before continuing to Holland.

During the weekend I had time to do some windows shopping along Ermou street and in the Athens Flea markets as well as visit the Unknown soldiers grave.

Click here to see more photos from Athens

After that I continued up to see the Acropolis.

I was in Greece and Athens about 15 years ago and managed to see a lot of things, but it was nice with a bit of a refresher. One of the things I particularly remember from Acropolis is the Porch of the Maidens.

One evening around sunset on the weekend I walked up this hill close to the hotel that has a small chapel on top. There were also a couple of restaurants up there so I decided to sit down and have dinner. The evening view from the hill was fantastic with a view of Acropolis lit up as well as all of the lights of Athens all the way to Pireus.

Click here to see more photos from Greece

Click here to see more photos from: Athens / Slideshow

Sunday afternoon Kim, Luke and I went playing golf at Wakehurst Golf Glub near Manly.

It was the first time on this course and it was in perfect condition and a very scenic course.

Luke joined us and managed to loose a fair amount of balls until he figured out that he should keep his head down to be able to hit the ball. After this he was able to play a fairly decent game...which was excellent, because I had been giving him a bit of a hard time until then (especially after being 30 minutes late for the game).

I think I managed to play the first none holes 7-8 strokes over par.

After the first nine holes Kim and I continued on our own and managed to play an additional 6-7 holes before it got to dark to play (and Kim was starving).

I recorded a couple of videos of us playing. Click on the links below to download them:
Me playing golf (first movie)
Me playing golf (second movie)
Kim Playing golf
Luke playing golf

Since 1998 we have had a drought in Australia. The water supply in Sydney has been declining ever since and early may 2007 the supply was down to around 30% with only about 8 months supply left.

On the 17th of May it started raining in most parts of NSW and in many areas the drought now seems to be either over or at least less serious. Here is a radar photo from that day:

The day the drought was over

Our water supplies in Sydney are now up to 57% and still rising. It would be fantastic if we could reach 100%, but we would need a fair bit of rain still.

It also means that there is snow falling in the Snowy Mountains, so the skiing season has already kicked in with plenty of natural snow.

A couple of months ago I took Kim out on this really romantic dinner. She was really impressed with my ability to choose the best places in town. I am writing this post so that all you other blokes (or Sheila's) out there can do the same for your loved ones.

The place I took her to is this really romantic waterfront restaurant placed on some of the most expensive realestate in Sydney. The cousine is traditional Australian but this place is famous throughout the world and regularly appear in magasines.
The food is very reasonably priced and it is almost always possible to get a seat right next to the water. In the evening the waterfront seating is dimly lit and has got enough privacy for some kisses and some cuddles.

A lot of famous people have visited the restaurant and they have got photos of some of the people such as Richard Branson (Virgin), John Travolta (Actor,Grease) and many more. The restaurant has got a rich history and has been in this area for many decades now.

The service is quick and polite. The restaurant is BYO so I can recommend bringing a good Australian wine or even a couple of chilled beers on a warm summer night. The restaurant doesn't even charge corkage like other prime restaurants do.

On valentines day this restaurant still does a-la-carte at their normal prices where other restaurants either have set menus or inflate their prices.

Being on a tight budget is no excuse not to go to this place. They have got food that will fit in any budget and I find it hard to believe that you will leave the place hungry. After dinner go for a romantic stroll along the water and you will have won the heart of your loved one (I did).

Click here to see where the restaurant is

Saturday Sarah and I went climbing in the Blue Mountains Saturday. Two of her friends from Canberra were also in the blue mountains, but they wanted to climb at Centenial Glen and Porters pass.

Sarah and I decided to spend the morning at a crag (a cliff) called Celebrity Crag. The cliff is split up into two areas called Jimmy Cliff and Heathcliff. We decided to go to Heathcliff which doesn't see a lot of climbers and we hadn't been there before.

We managed to get lost trying to find the cliffs and almost gave up trying to find the right track through the bush. After a final try we eventually managed to find the start of the climbs after more than an hours bush-bashing.

It turned out that the climbs there were excellent. Especially a climb called Bad Blood is a must do. It is a two pitch climb where the first pitch is a very pleasant grade 19 (led by Sarah). The second pitch is a grade 22 (which I led).

Click on this link to download the video I took (18Mb).

Near the top (after passing the crux) I took the biggest fall I've taken on lead so far. I climbed up to the next bolt and while clipping the bolt I got my feet up too high (stay low Andy) and couldn't keep the balance. The fall (maybe 3-4 meters) was nicely caught by Sarah. On the second try I managed to get it.

We were planning to climb out rather than walking through the bush, but we ran out of time and I was way too tired to climb with the backpacks. We decided instead to see how many pitches we could complete of another climb before it got dark. We managed to do the first two pitches and then had to bail due to the time.

We didn't get back to the car until after it was dark, so we didn't meet up with Sarah's friends until we got back to the car park. It turned out that they had had an excellent day at Upper Shipley (which you can see from Celebrity Crag).

It is probably one of the best climbing days I've had for a long time although I was totally of of shape.

Click here to see more photos of: Climbing 2007

I just got back from our Captaris International Partner Conference in Kuala Lumpur. I flew up there Friday week and we started on the Saturday by going whitewater rafting with just the international captarians.

We had a whole bunch of people of different skill levels from the company, so it was good that the rapids were fairly easy so that everyone could join. But...if I had been there by myself with a groupf of people I didn't know then I might haven been a bit dissapointed.

There is a lot of rock climbing potential in the same area.

On the Sunday we were getting ready for the conference, this means setting up the Booths, presentation laptops and getting all our presentations ready. I also volunteered to take photos at the conference for official use (awards handouts etc).

In the evening the 200+ partners arrived and we had a party at the pool in the hotel for everyone.

Monday morning the actual conference started with local drummers and after that all the speakers started their business and technical presentations for the partners.

During the breaks I was speaking to partners at the professional services booth (here with one of our partners from India).

On the first evening we had out Galla Awards party. This is the official party where the partners are given awards for their effort the previous year. The party was held at the the old English governors residence (from before Malaysia became independent). Locals dressed in traditional costumes greeted us at the door.

During the dinner there was organised local entertainment in the form of dancing. One of the dances there was the bamboo dance from Sabah which I saw before when I worked on the Ecochallenge.

On the Tuesday we had the official party (which is much less formal and usually more fun). This was held in the cultural centre and the entertainment was as usual sponsored by one of our partners (usually dancing girls).

Wednesday and Thursday was followed by more presentations and some training. I did a presentation on the Wednesday on the business track based upon a case study from a project we just finished in Japan.

Kim had arrived from Sydney on business on the Wednesday and was staying at a hotel just a couple of kilometers away...so on the Thursday when our conference ended I moved over to her hotel. She was working Friday, so I headed into town to check out what electronic gadgets I could find. I didn't have much luck as prices were the same as here in Sydney, but I did buy a new digital camera for $250. It will come in handy when doing stuff where the SLR is too big to carry and it is also pretty good at taking video.

On the Saturday Kim and I went clothes shopping together. I hate buying clothes and it is much easier when she is there as my fashion consultant. Here is the result of just three hours shopping.

Kim managed to buy three pairs of shoes in just 15 minutes...she has got a size 4 foot and hardly any stores in Australian stocks that small a size.

In the evening I managed to book a table in the KL tower. It was excellent, very romantic and very reasonably prices (about $120 australian dollars for the whole evening).

Unfortunately we had both earlier that day eaten a sausage bread roll which resulted in a really bad diorrea later that evening. Mine eventually disappeared later that morning, but Kims continued, so she didn't have a very good flight back and was grateful that I was there to assist her checking in her luggage while she spent most of the time on the pot.
Click here to see more photos from Malaysia

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.

Lately I have been playing around with Photoshop a lot more going through different tutorials.

Main purpose is to enable me to manipulate photos and add a different dimension to these photos. I have especially been trying to create some interesting profile photos that I can use of facebook and the like.

The portraits don't necessarily mean anything...mainly created them to see if I could do something out of the ordinary.The plan is to see if I can make a series Earth - Water - Fire - Air following the four basic elements.

It was really hard to get the starting photo right in my studio. It is almost impossible to do a photo of one-self and have it in focus...eventually Kim had to step in a help me (which I am very grateful for). In total it took me about 2-3 hours from start (taking the photo) to the finished result.

Portrait

Yesterday we went to the beach to have a coffee with a couple of friends. While Kim was catching up on all the gossip I went out to see if I could get some good photos of the surfers (The surf was pretty good that day).

On the weekend I had a bit of fun with Aiden. I bought a world map on email just so that I could take the following photos of him...

And this last photo I call "Is this where you grew up daddy??"

He is now 4 months old and still doesn't like being on his belly...so I had to be pretty quick with the setup.

Sunday night Kim and I was looking after Ethan and Kayla while Chong and KC went out for dinner.

Kims dad and Dylan popped over for a couple of hours (Kims dad wanted to see Aiden ;-)) and after dinner and after Aiden was asleep I set up the studio to take some portraits of the kids. Main purpose was to experiment a little to improve my photography skills...especially my study of shadows (It is easy to light, but harder to create meaningful shadows).

Lately I have been doing more photography using all my flashes with wireless triggers to get interesting angles and effects. A couple of days ago I bought a couple of pieces of fabric in different colours (blue and red) to use as backgrounds and the following photos are a result of Sunday nights photoshoot.

I used one flash camera right in a 60*60 softbox, Hair light behind camera left snooted. In retrospect I should have taken my 3rd flash and used this to light the coloured backdrops to create better seperation...the highlights above are done in Post processing.

I had a bit of fun on the weekend and spent a little time using photoshop doing something different for a self portrait. Just a bit of fun for a Facebook profile photo.

It took me about 5 minutes to take the photo and about 25-45 in photoshop to modify the image.

After taking the image I modified the background, de-saturated the colours, saturated the green colours, added the cat-eye contact lenses and extended the canine teeth slightly...done! Not perfect, but good enough for what I wanted to try and accomplish.

This week there was a big low pressure system of the coast of Tasmania resulting in 18 meter waves there. It was predicted that some of this swell would hit Sydney this weekend resulting in 3-4 meter waves on south facing beaches. This Saturday morning I went down to Maroubra to have a look...The waves weren't as big as I had expected, but there were lots of surfers there and I did manage to take a couple of reasonable photos (I may try again tomorrow).

I am sure that there were a lot of professional/semi professional surfers out there, but unfortunately I would not be able to recognise anyone. Some of the photos I took with my 28-200mm lens which is super sharp. I also took some with an old 500mm mirror lens...it is reasonable ok...but almost impossible to keep in focus.

Some people have said that Aiden looks like me (mostly) and some says that he looks more like Kim.

Here is a photo of Kim and I with Aiden as well as my mum holding me after I was born (I think):

I REST MY CASE!!!!!

This week was the end of the GCC challenge at work. It was 16 weeks of walking almost 10km every day competing against other teams within the company and other companies. In total there was more than 13000 teams of 7 team members each. By the end of the challenge our team was positioned at the top 10% which I think is pretty good.

Since the race finished I've been walking to work every day.

Last week we had breakfast with Audrey and Aren. Aren was born three days after Aiden was born at the same hospital and during Kims pregnancy we met them at the antenatal classes.

Menu was pancakes and afterwards I offered to do some photos of Audrey and Aren.

This afternoon Kim and I decided to try and take a photo of Aiden for his passport. This was not as easy as it sounded and he couldn't sit or lie still and was making all sort of expressions.

These photos were all taken within 10 minutes from start to finish... He is such a funny little boy!

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