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4. July 2015 14:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Big Buddha

4. July 2015 14:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

After Wat Chalong we went up to see the Big Buddha on top of a big hill.The Buddha itself is 45 metr
After Wat Chalong we went up to see the Big Buddha on top of a big hill.

The Buddha itself is 45 metres tall and is very impressive.



They have been building there for the past 10 years and will probably be building for at least another 10.





While there we also did a little prayer for Kim's mum.







And Aiden being his cheeky self did the 3 monkeys pose.




And they loved the big gongs (which you actually rub rather than gong).






Surprisingly they also in a far corner of the compound had some indian gods, but maybe not so surprising since we were close to Myanmar with a large indian based population (lots of Myanmar people in Phuket).





3. July 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Wat Chalong

3. July 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One morning we ventured out to see one of the islands biggest temples, the Wat Chalong.It is a magni
One morning we ventured out to see one of the islands biggest temples, the Wat Chalong.

It is a magnificent temple with lots to see and it was a pity that the rest of the family didn't want to join us.





















The temple contains what is said to be a bone fragment of buddha.




And the temple itself is full of golden buddhas.







Outside there are some elephant sculptures and across from that an areas where they fire of ceremonial fireworks which really scared the boys (as seen of Lucas face).




2. July 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Food

2. July 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The food in Thailand is delicious.There are so many variations that we cannot get at home and they d
The food in Thailand is delicious.

There are so many variations that we cannot get at home and they don't add all that sugar.





Lucas was a bit tired after a morning at the beach at this one.



On KC's birthday we went to an ocean front seafood place.







I don't think the family liked the food in Thailand much though, because they wanted to eat japanese and wanted air conditioned restaurants even though the evenings generally were a bit cooler.

1. July 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Various

1. July 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here are some various photos that I haven't posted earlier.Here is one of a jumpshot with Kim and I
Here are some various photos that I haven't posted earlier.



Here is one of a jumpshot with Kim and I in front of the big Buddha.


Down at the beach there was this artificial wave surfing centre.






1. July 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Shopping

1. July 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The family did lots of shopping.Kim's family had suits and shirts made and the girls bought lots of
The family did lots of shopping.

Kim's family had suits and shirts made and the girls bought lots of shoes.




We also found some great tshirts for the kids.







Although the kids were more interested in the ice cream.


1. July 2015 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - fruits

1. July 2015 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is fruit season at the moment so we bought lots of really delicious fruits such as Rambutans, man
It is fruit season at the moment so we bought lots of really delicious fruits such as Rambutans, mangosteens, mangoes, jack fruit etc.

















30. June 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Street life

30. June 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The street life in Thailand is as it always have been with lots of food stalls and other shops.Petro
The street life in Thailand is as it always have been with lots of food stalls and other shops.







Petrol for all the bikes is bought in these small shops as well.




You can even get your feet cleaned by fish.




And handicraft is created there as well (The large elephant piece took him 2 weeks to create).







A new addition is the popup cocktail bars.




It reminds me of the good old days of backpacking where nothing was arranged beforehand. I would just organise accommodation when I arrived to a new place. There is still plenty of accommodation options everywhere if you look for it.








29. June 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Tuk Tuks

29. June 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The traditional Tuk Tuks of thailand are now completely gove from the Phuket area and have been repl
The traditional Tuk Tuks of thailand are now completely gove from the Phuket area and have been replaced by mini taxis.

These have been fitted with big music subwoofers and tv's in the passenger compartments.

The Kids loved riding them...especially the 'green' ones. We used them to transport us to most places.



















25. June 2015 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Hotel swimming pool

25. June 2015 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The pool at the hotel was great.The kids loved it and it was nice jumping in the pool after an excur
The pool at the hotel was great.

The kids loved it and it was nice jumping in the pool after an excursion out and about.













It really boosted the kids confidence swimming there.





If it had been up to Kim's family then they would have stayed at the pool the entire trip and not have left the hotel.


24. June 2015 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Phuket - Monkey show

24. June 2015 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

There was also a monkey show with a larger trained monkey.Apparently in the past they used trained m
There was also a monkey show with a larger trained monkey.

Apparently in the past they used trained monkeys to fetch coconuts for them and they demonstrated how they trained them.







Kim's dad had his photo taken with the monkey.


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9. December 2011 08:06
by Rene Pallesen
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Cure Our Kids

9. December 2011 08:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

cure the kids


Every year we are allowed to spend a certain number of working days on charity events. Last year I did some with a group from work, but this year I was offered to join Cisco on their charity for "Cure our Kids".

This is an even that mainly focuses on providing a support framework for parents whose kids have Cancer with the thinking that if there is a good support for the parents then they will be able to support their children better.



The work we did consisted of going through pallets of boxes with parent folders and then from these remove unwanted items and inserting new leaflets. A team was also going through other boxes to sort through what could be used for xmas and what needed to be ebay'ed off.





4. December 2011 03:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Mothersgroup 2011 Christmas meet

4. December 2011 03:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

mothersgroup 2011 christmas meet


This weekend Kim and I met met up with the mothers group for a christmas meet.

Because the weather was nice we decided to meet at the local playground and at the same time I could take some photos of the kids.

The playground has a plastic boat which makes it nice and easy to keep them contained in one area.









27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing with Leaves in the Garden

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

playing with leaves in the garden


On the weekend I was cutting down some of the bushes in our garden. Very quickly Aiden discovered that it was fun to play in the pile of leaves that I'd left behind.



27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Centenial Bridge

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

centenial bridge


On the weekend we went for a walk in Centennial Park. We stopped at this old stone bridge to take a couple of photos, but Aiden was more interested in taking mum for a walk and a swim.







27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Eastgarden Christmas Decorations

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

eastgarden christmas decorations


They have now set up the christmas tree in East Gardens. I was trying to find a goot spot to take a photo from without use of a tripod and without being chased away by security.



This was the best I could come up with.

27. November 2011 07:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing with Lego

27. November 2011 07:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

playing with lego


The other day we were at Eastgardens shopping centre.

Lego had an area set aside where the kids could play with Lego (obviously to get the parents to buy them Lego for Christmas).


Obviously Aiden (and Dad) had to play for a while.







And Aiden also did some drawing (or at least he was playing with the colour pens)



27. November 2011 07:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Parade Darling Harbour

27. November 2011 07:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas parade darling harbour


Last weekend we went with Lachlan and Na to Darling Harbour for dinner.

This also happened to be the night of the Christmas parade in Darling Harbour.



So there was a lot of entertainment such as the Three Wise Men.





And lots of people dressed as Santa.



And Elves.

22. November 2011 02:17
by Rene Pallesen
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Building Sandcastles

22. November 2011 02:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

building sandcastles


On the weekend we went tot he beach. Initially Aiden was a bit scared of the waves (although he loves the sand and the water)...but after a while he didn't mind the waves splashing around his little legs (I found the water cold but he didn't mind).




As usual he threw a tandrum when we pulled him out of the water.



Afterwards we spend some time in the sand and I was teaching him how to build really cool sand castles and he was teaching me how to demolish them.



22. November 2011 02:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Swimming Pool

22. November 2011 02:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

swimming pool


The other weekend we took Aiden to the swimming pool.

He is really happy with water now and loves splashing around. He is no longer afraid of it and doesn't mind getting his head under water.



Only problem now is that he throws a tandrum every time we have to leave the pool.

22. November 2011 02:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Sculpture by the Sea 2011

22. November 2011 02:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

sculpture by the sea 2011


This year I didn't get a chance to go to Sculpture by the sea during the daytime, but I did have some time to go there one evening after we had put Aiden to bed.

I had seen some daylight photos from the exhibition from Tamarama beach where they had these 'Easter Island' type statues. I thought I could do some really cool night time Off-Camera-Flash photos using just ordinary flashes.

When I got there it was almost pitch black darkness...perfect.

I got my gear set up and managed to take the following shot which was exactly what I envisioned in my head.



While there I had a look at a couple of the other sculptures in the area...I did shoot the following photo of this 2 meter tall red chinaman sculpture.

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20. March 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate bruises

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

Last year was a tough year with Karate.First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for trainin
Last year was a tough year with Karate.

First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for training, but even in the dojo I managed to get a lot of injuries.
Some of them visible and some of them not so visible...I have a whole stack of scans and x-rays as souvenirs from this year.

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






I even earned an award for it...


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


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


Even Kim got a few bruises.


13. March 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
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My Burmese Dha swords

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

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

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

  • The swords are of a Burmese style called Dha (Means sword in Burmese).
  • They are of museum worthy pieces
  • I should NOT EVER attempt to restore them. This would degrade their value significantly.
  • The flower script design on the swords are reserved for the rulers and officers of those days.
  • အဲဒီဓားတွေကငါတို့ရဲ့ဗမာဓားတွေပဲလာအိုဆိုတာအရင်ကဇင်းမယ်လို့ခေါ်တယ်အင်းဝခေတ်မှာမြန်မာတွေတက်သိမ်းခဲ့တဲ့နိုင်ငံပဲဓားကိုငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားလို့ခေါ်တယ်ဓားကဓားကောင်းပဲ အခုငါပြတဲ့ဓားဟာလည်းသမိုင်းဝင်ဓားပဲငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားပေါ့ (Translation: These swords are our Burmese swords. Laos was formerly called Zin Mae, a country that was conquered by the Burmese during the Inwa period. The sword is called the Sword of the Bird. The sword is a good sword.).
  • It's a Ngat kyee daung Dah the sword that was once used by Burmese warriors and Thai during the dark age of Konbaung (1765–1767).
  • This Burmese Empire was destroyed during the English colonized to the East and totally wiped out by the English cannons kind of like a scene from the last samurai movie in the end! They were like charging to the enemy where they were being shot at.
  • These are also antique pieces in a good state of preservation! Swords, even if they are in such good condition, belong in the museum. You have to take a look at the Malaysia Sword Museum! They are great specimen
  • One would have to analyze the material metal wood winding fibers would certainly be very interesting! You don't see such a bundle every day
  • The handle on the smaller sword is made from wound rattan fibres.
  • The larger sword is made from silver and wound silver threading (I believe it is the typical not so pure silver/tin that was used).
This means that it is likely that the swords are up towards 250 years old and that the long one belonged to someone of a high status.

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

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








22. January 2021 01:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Newcastle

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

Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.They had this beautiful l
Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.








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











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










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





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




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

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

Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.I was devastated when everything moved online. I
Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.

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

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






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









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




...but dojo definitely rules...







We have managed to go to gradings...












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





















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

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

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





31. December 2020 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Covid

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

2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.Australia managed to get through with very few
2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.

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

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


















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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Keeping with tradition we did another family photoshoot this year.This time we wanted to try somethi
Keeping with tradition we did another family photoshoot this year.

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


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

26. December 2020 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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New bikes

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

For Christmas the boys got new bikes from us and my dad (bedstefar).The old were getting too small,
For Christmas the boys got new bikes from us and my dad (bedstefar).

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






22. December 2020 01:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Painting - date night

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

One evening we were invited on a double date with one of Kims friends.The theme was painting and we
One evening we were invited on a double date with one of Kims friends.

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





Next day the boys tried to draw their versions.



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4. January 2008 12:31
by Rene Pallesen
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2007 has ended

4. January 2008 12:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2007 has ended


The year 2007 has now ended and it is time to start some new adventures in the new year.

2007 was full of traveling and other adventures and I expect 2008 to be much of the same.

Take some time to look at what is happening in 2008 as well as what happened in 2007.

Click on this link to see the events of 2007

Also please bookmark this page and also have a look at the RSS feed features of this page.

28. December 2007 09:56
by Rene Pallesen
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Jervis Bay

28. December 2007 09:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

jervis bay


After Christmas Eve we went a couple of days to Jervis Bay. Jervis Bay is about 3-4 hours drive south of Sydney and is not part of New South Wales, but belongs to ACT (Australian Capital Territory, Canberra). Hyams beach at Jervis has got a reputation of having the whitest sand in the world.

The house we had rented was right on the beach so it was easy to go for a swim. Unfortunately the water was quite cold, so Kim and I instead opted for a trip to the local golf course.

In the morning we went fishing and although we did catch a few fish they were all too small to keep. The most annoying was that we kept catching stingrays.

Click here for more photos



Click here to download video of fishing at Jervis Bay #1
Click here to download video of fishing at Jervis Bay #2


I know that the area has got a lot of Port Jackson sharks and on the beaches we found a lot of shark eggs.

In the evenings we played Mah Jong and 21. I decided to stay out of the Mah Jong game until I've got a better grasp of how it is played (some of the numbers on the bricks are in Chinese and it therefore took too long time to compute and I felt it was a disadvantage). I had a lucky night in 21 and won $20.
Click here to see more photos from Jervis Bay



25. December 2007 09:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Eve and Day

25. December 2007 09:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas eve and day


The Australians celebrate Christmas on the 25th December where we in Denmark celebrate it on the 24th in the evening. I still like to celebrate on the 24th and it is the day of the year where I most miss family (and the only day of the year where I miss the cold in Denmark).


Most of my friends were either out of town or have kids and therefore not very mobile on this evening so this year I decided that it should just be Kim and myself.

I cooked the traditional Christmas dinner with duck and ris-a-la-mande and we had a very nice evening.

In the morning next day we went over to Kims family for lunch and there was a lot of people and kids there. Again this year I took on the duty of being Santa's local ambassador and hand out presents to the children...all good fun.

22. December 2007 12:28
by Rene Pallesen
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Climbing at Mt Keira - Wetting my pants

22. December 2007 12:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

climbing at mt keira wetting my pants


Last weekend Andy, May and myself went climbing at Mt keira near woolongong south of Sydney.

May had never really done any outdoor climbing before and Keira is a good place to go and try your first lead climb.

The weather forecast didn't look promising but we decided to go there anyway as in our experience the forecasts are never very accurate here. Besides it said that there was a chance of one or two showers in the afternoon.

As soon as we arrived to the cliffs in the morning we started feeling the first few drops. The rocks were still dry so we decided to put up an easy route anyway.

Click here to see bigger photo

Once we finished it was raining more steadily and the rocks started getting slippery. There was a climb in the corner that was still dry so we decided to quickly also do this. And afterwards we put up a top rope on a climb that also still was dry.

Before we got onto it it was raining heavily and there was a storm with lots of lightening approaching.

>Click here to see bigger photo

Click here to download video

After a couple of not very motivated (and wet) attempts on the climb I volunteered to clean up the climb. As I approached the top the water was coming down like from a waterfall and by the time I had cleaned up the anchors I was drenched (and yes...my pants were very wet).

Climbing wise a really disappointing day...but we still had fun.