Yesterday we decided to do a little excursion to Circular Quay and the Opera house with the boys.

The both love trains, so we took the train into the city so that they could have the experience.



It was a cold and windy winters day here in Sydney so standing still for too long was freezing.



But it was great getting out and also get another family photo.

It was Kim's birthday on the weekend.

In the morning the boys and I woke her up with singing Happy Birthday to her.

In the evening we had a babysitter so that we could have an evening just the two of us. We went to the Bridge Room restaurant in the city, food was nice!

The other day Aiden cam back from daycare with Spiderman face paint.

Normally he avoids face paint so him having the whole face painted was a first.

Here is the Mothers day card that Aiden made this year.

Recently Kim bought Aiden a yellow bumble bee umbrella and gumboots.



They will come in handy now that winter is here.

This weekend we celebrated Aiden's 4th Birthday.

Because of the weather forecast we decided to have it here at home rather than at the park as originally planned.

As entertainment we had hired a pirate who came to do magic tricks and games with the kids for a few hours.


















We had combined Adams and Aidens birthday parties so there were a lot of kids and parents and lots of food and cake.

Yesterday Aiden went with his daycare group to the filming of 'Play along with Sam'.




All very formal with model release forms to be signed, what T-shirts they had to wear etc. Aiden said that he liked the dancing!

I hope we get a chance to see the show at some stage and it will be interesting to see if we can see Aiden in it (he was sitting to the side).

Earlier this week Aiden went with daycare to the local park and they happened to meet some of the players from the Rabbitohs (National Rugby League).




Apparently he went missing from the group at one point and when they went looking for him it turned out that he was chatting to the players.

Autumn has arrived and this weekend was really cold and wet so we decided that Sunday morning should be a museum day.

We had heard that the Australian Museum has a dinosaur exhibition on, so we thought this could be fun for the kids.



They had some pretty cool interactive displays on where you could interact with the dinosaurs.





The kids handled it pretty well without being too scared (although they jumped a few times when they heard the loud roars).

Some of the displays were pretty scary.





And Aiden certainly wasn't too happy about posing next to the big teeth (reminds me of a photo with a crocodile from last year).



...so dad had to show him that it wasn't scary at all.



The skeletons were really impressive.

















Lucas was hing a good time staying close to mummy.



And Aiden was having a great time exploring.

This weekend Kim and I went to the State Theatre in Sydney to watch the Russian ballet perform Don Quixote.



The performance was pretty good and apparently they will be back next year performing Swan Lake.

One day we went to the cultural centre in Noumea. This is a short drive on the outskirts of the city (Noumea the capital isn't much more than a little suburb consisting of only 76,000 people).



I have seen photos of this place and I also vaguely remember seeing it in a movie or two without ever realising where it is. The architecture of the Cultural centre is absolutely stunning. It cost France more that 50 million Euros to build the centre and it has got a unique local style that fits in very well with the surroundings.



The centre is surrounded by some gardens huts, and as you walk around there is various art work and totem poles symbolising various aspects of the Kanak culture.







There is also the story of the creation...amazing how similar it is to Darwinism. Maybe Darwin heard these stories on some of his travels and based his story "Origin of the Species" on some of these.




One thing that is a real pity is the usage of the cultural centre. We happened to walk in through the back entrance and discovered that half the building (which is actually quite large) s totally empty. The other half is displaying modern indigenous art where most of the artwork is from the Torres Strait, Vanuatu or Fiji. There is hardly any display of any local artwork and your certainly don't get an insight into the local Kanak culture as intended. The result is that it is not getting a lot of visitors.

What Kim and I was expecting was a display of what the local life was before the colonisation through to how the colonisation changed the way of living. They could have a display of local clothing, tools and weapons before colonisation and tell show how people lived of the land. They could also have 'actors' telling the local dream stories.

The modern display old be showing how the french settlers and the local Kanks are trying to mend their historical legacy and leave peacefully together.

One of the days we walked to the Aquarium in Noumea (just down the street from the hotel). We didn't expect too much, but we were very pleasantly surprised.



Although the aquarium isn't all that big it is extremely well set up with a very interesting display of everything from mangrove plants and fish (including the missing link ones with legs that made Darwin conclude that life must have started in the oceans) to huge displays with corals, sharks and barracudas.









It was Aiden's first time in an aquarium and we could tell that he had a good time (even though it was extelemy hot in there) looking at all those colourful objects (U.F.O's) swimming around.







Here some more photos from the visit...enjoy:

The water was really nice and warm in New Caledonia, my guess is that it would have been close to 30 degrees close to the shore and in protected bays and probably around 27 elsewhere.

Although we were staying at the beach we decided to have a look around the island to see what other beaches were in the area.

In the first day we drove to Kuendu Bay which is about ten minutes from the city centre and is a really nice little protected bay mainly used by locals. The water here was really calm so this was a good opportunity to give Aiden his first swimming lesson.








As you can tell he wasn't completely at ease initially, but after a couple of minutes he started enjoying it.


Aiden also really enjoyed lying on the beach in the shade of a tree and talk to mummy.



On one of the following days we drove up the north coast to a place called Poe Beach and by this time he was a lot more into it (maybe because he was wearing pants this time).





Just after we left this beach we found an ever more beautiful stretch just a couple of minutes away, but less protected by the reef.



This area was absolutely stunning with the pine trees that are so unique to New Caledonia.





On another day we took the boat to one of the islands of the coast (Ilot Maitre) and spend the whole day there.




I wasn't feeling 100% this day. Before we went away the whole of Kims family came down with a 24 hour bug...I think I got the same bug and ended up sleeping most of the afternoon under a tree in the shade (fortunately I was ok again next day).




I also got a chance to take some more beach photos of the family, here one of Aiden and Mummy.



And I spent a couple of minutes taking some sexy model photos of Kim on the beach down from our hotel. I wish we'd had more time to do some more photos, but it was hard to get her to do it in the first place (and once we did it I was hurrying up so much that a lot of them got fumbled up unfortunately).





...and of cause when we didn't go to the beach there was also the massive pool at the hotel.

This Christmas Kim and I decided to take Aiden on his first overseas holiday. Our offices are closed over Christmas and New Years so it is a good time for us to travel.

We decided to go to New Calidonia in the Pacific Ocean as it was easy and reasonably priced. It is a small group of islands about 2000km from Sydney (2.5 hours flight) and is part of Frances overseas territories (this may change in the next couple of years when they vote for independence).

On the first night we went to a seafood place and had a good night out the three of us.




Especially Aiden enjoyed his new surroundings.



We stayed at Anse Vata beach in Noumea which was conveniently located in the tourist area (Although it was far from overrun with tourists).





It was really hot there, 34-38 degrees every day so it was nice to stay near the coast. The locals living inland would spend the nights on the beach in the water cooling down.







In the evening we would try out the local restaurants. Food was generally quite expensive and of very inconsistent quality. The far best we had was a place called 'Le Roof' which is a restaurant placed in the water. I had the best rib eye I've had this year and as a desert we had the best chocolate fondant we've ever had...very nice.



While there we rented a car so that we could explore the island better while bringing Aiden with us (the island is 400km long).It was beautiful with all the flame trees...brough back a lot of memories from when I lived in Kenya.






Aiden coped surprisingly well with the heat, the sun and the water. It has actually helped a lot on his ezema which is almost gone on his legs now. He didn't complain at all and in the car he would just fall asleep once the aircon was turned on and we started driving.



One day we went out to one of the islands on a day trip and spend the day there in the shade at one of the restaurants and on the beach with Aiden (Only day where I wasn't feeling 100% as I'd picked up a 24h bug from the family before we left and had a bit of fever).




It was nice going on a trip as a family with a little one. It was a bit harder to get about to take photos and especially to be really creative, but I did get a couple of chances and we did do a photoshoot on the beach one evening with some of the flash gear I'd brought.




This will be followed by some more post about some of our experiences accompanied by more photos.

Every year one of Kims friends gets someone to take some family photos. Kim told her that this year I could do some for her instead of paying for it...I needed the practice (which is true).

When they arrived at around 4pm Aiden was still asleep so we decided to do some photos in the studio first. I was soooo.. relieved because the sun was out and it would have been really difficult to do outdoor shots in the harsh sunlight.





Karens daughters are quite photogenic so it was easy to get some great photos. I rekon the oldest could get modelling jobs if she wanted.


By the time Aiden woke up and we had finished the inside shoot it was 6pm and we drove down to La Perouse. It was really windy and the sun was still strong. After moving around a bit we eventually settled for the beach where it was slightly less windy and had better light.







I took more than 400 photos on this day and most of them are pretty good. It was pretty exhausting...especially the youngest daughter was really tired by the end of the day.


The photos above are just a couple of the ones I took. I haven't had time to process the others yet so I may make a second blog post later. I took some photos of Karen as well as some where the family is together, but I think Karen would like me to do a bit of work on them first.


I also found that it would have been really hard if I hadn't had Kim there to keep a look out for how the hair was looking, positioning and constant feedback on the photos. She is actually a pretty good assistant even though she doesn't know much about the photography side.


I also realised that I need more practice with taking photos outide in constantly changing conditions, so if anyone if willing to be a 'Model-for-the-day' then let myself or Kim know...it is a win-win, you get some (hopefully great) photos and I get some practice!

Merry Christmas everyone!

2010 will be out little boys first Christmas and he is already getting into the Christmas Spirit. He is still trying to figure out what it means to be Santas Little helper.



We can't wait to see him open his presents....it may be a challenge for him to rip the wrapping paper.

This is our official 2010 Christmas family photo....new tradition for the next couple of years.

There are so many different insects and critters in our garden and they are not all spiders. Every time I do a bit or gardening I get surprised by some of the diversity out there.

I really don't mind as long as they stay out of the house, which they do...most of the time. Most of the insects are too fast to photograph, but yesterday I did spot a couple of caterpillars that were slow enough for me to pull out my macro lens and a flash.







They are actually really hard taking photos of. At that close distance there is a really shallow depth of field and the caterpillars actually move quite fast so it is impossible to use a tripod.


This means that the photos are taken handheld and that I am just holding the flash next to the camera triggered wirelessly.

Today was Aidens first visit to the hospitals Emergency Room.

When I got home from work this afternoon Kim said that Aiden had been unsettled all afternoon. He would be crying/screaming when we were holding him and initially I thought he was hot (it was a warm day). I took him to the shower to see if that would calm him down...it did a little bit.

Afterwards we had him on the bed and we noticed that he wasn't moving his left arm and leaving it limb down his side and when we touched it he started screaming...so off we went to the hospital.

We were lucky that they could take us almost right away to have a doctor examine him. He made the same observation that there was something wrong with his arm and ordered some X-Rays. The X-rays didn't show any fractures or anything (pheeeww...) so they gave him some pain killers. Aiden was so brave having his Xrays taken and being at the doctors. Once the pain killers kicked in he started moving his arm a little.



We were waiting for quite a while for the doctor to come back and when he did Aiden had started moving his arm more. The doctor re-examined the arm and twisted the elbox and bit and said "oh...I felt it pop". Aiden started screaming again, but the doctor said that the arm now should be ok and that he would come back in 10-15 minuted to check.

Surely enough Aiden was a very happy boy when he came back and we think his arm now if back to normal...he had just pulled his elbow.

Apparently it is quite normal for kids. The doctor said that he gets about two cases like that every day.

Thank you Doctor!

It is now the 1st December and the Month of Christmas has officially started. The christmas decorations in the shops here in Sydney went up a little later this year (November) compared to last year (October).

Kim and I have already bought all the christmas presents and this weekend we will put up the Christmas tree. It will be Aiden's first Christmas...he is still a bit too small to understand what christmas is...but at least he will have the photos to remember it by.




Merry Chrismas everyone!

It is now exactly one month to Christmas...the silly season has started.

Kim and I are kicking off the season with some photos of Aiden...it is afterall his first Christmas. He may not remember it later, but at least he will have some photos to look at.

Next week on the 1st of December we will set up the Christmas tree...and I will take some more photos. Already got some ideas...

This year it was my Grandmothers 85th Birthday. As per the tradition the whole family went on a trip overseas, this time to Egypt.

It was my first time to Egypt so it was a different experience. I can recommend that you take a read of the Travel Journal by clicking here!


Click here to see more photos from: Egypt 2004/Slideshow/Travel Journal

2004 was the year I started working for Captaris. One of the first things I did was to visit our office in Calgary to learn about our workflow product.

My visit coincided with the Calgary Stampede, so lots of cowboys in town, indians and rodeos. I also too a bus ride up through the Canadian rockies through Banff, Lake Louise and up to the Columbian Ice Fields.

Click here to see more photos from: Canada 2004/Slideshow

In 2004 Australia was being drawn into the war in Iraq. A lot of Australians were opposed to the war, but the politicians wouldn't listen.

On a nice sunny day several hundred thousand people gathered around Hyde park in the middle of the city to demonstrate and express their opinions against Australia entering into the war.

I was of the belief that the war was a mistake in the first place and was totally unjustified, so I was decided to join the demonstrations and at the same time see if I could take a few photos.

Click here to see more photos from: The 2004 Anti War demonstrations/Slideshow

Andy and Tink had their first baby...a little (and very hairy) girl names Mia.

This was also one of those periods where I was checking out what it would be like to have a beard.

My grandad passed away in 2003.

He was getting old and was getting tired of living so he decided to end it.

With EDI I went on a field trip to visit one of the big containerships in Botany Bay.

It was facinating to see the size of those ships.

I celebrated Christmas and New Year with my parents in Thailand.

We spent the time in the Northern Part of Thailand in the Golden Triangle around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

We rented a car for a couple of days and got to see a lot including all the hill tribes that still to this day live in this part of Thailand.




Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow

In 2003 Kenneth got married to Anica. I was asked to be the best man by Kenneth.

The wedding took place at a homestead in Sofala three hours drive west of Sydney.

It was a wonderful weekend surrounded by wonderful people.



Click here to see more photos from: Kenneths Wedding/Slideshow

Contents . . .

My photo collection is vast. Many of them are in my albums, others scanned as images here. I have tried to include the best of the best, and will keep doing so. Feel free to explore any of the links - it make take some time to peruse them all...

( We recommend viewing of the photos through MS Explorer )

AUSTRALIA - HOME
Cockatoos at Home	Narrabeen Beach	New car	My Jobs

MY FAMILY
Grandmother's 85th	Grandmother's 80th	Donkey Day Out	My Brother Claus	My Father

2001
New Zealand (Mt Cook)	South-East Asia

2000
Chilli Festival	Ecochallenge Borneo (Sabah)	Sydney Olympics

1999

Home 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Trip with family 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet hunter valley trip with family Share Last weekend we made an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley a couple of hours drive north of Sydney. The main reason was to see the lights in the Hunter Valley Garden (see separate post), but also to go and taste some wine and generally have a good time. Pretty soon after we arrived the girls were distracted by the chocolate and cheese places. We did however go to a couple of places for wine tasting. We also had some really nice food up there. I was especially impressed by a really nice gnocchi salad I had....it was yummi. Outside it was really hot...like 39 degrees in the shade. There were a couple of horses relaxing under a couple of trees. We decided an alternative approach of checking into our hotel and jump in the pool to cool off. In the evening we went to the light show and on the following day we just did a number of wineries before heading back to Sydney. 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Ten Pin Bowling 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet ten pin bowling Share On the weekend we did some ten pin bowling with the family. Kim had managed to secure some cheap tickets so it was great to play against the family. We had one lane for the kids (with rails) and one lane for the adults. I had a bad start and was behind much of the game, but my luck eventually caught up and I started playing a good game. Afterwards we had a bit of a play in the games arcade Aiden was absolutely terrified of the big scary bear (I can see why). The kids also tried to figure out what this machine was for: I love some of the old 50's style decor. 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water Play 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet water play Share It is summer and Lucas and Aiden is enjoying a bit of water play in the back yard on warm days. 15. January 2014 02:32 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baptism 15. January 2014 02:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet babtism Share This Sunday we had Aiden and Lucas baptised in the local church in Maroubra. Lucky that both Aiden and Lucas behaved throughout the 2 hour long service. 15. January 2014 02:29 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - Rocks 15. January 2014 02:29 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay rocks Share The rocks at Malua Bay were quite spectacular and dramatic. A couple of times I ventured down to try my luck with some photos around sunset (grey every day)...I really suck at this style and constantly got my tripod soaked. These were the two best results. 9. January 2014 11:38 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - The Beach 9. January 2014 11:38 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay the beach Share Having the beach so close was great. I went for a run every morning before breakfast. We also had a lot of fun playing at the beach with the kids. And everyone was just really enjoying the time there. 9. January 2014 11:33 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - Indian dinner 9. January 2014 11:33 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay indian dinner Share On news years day we had a very nice dinner at an Indian restaurant (I was soooo full afterwards). The restaurant also had lice indian music as entertainment. 9. January 2014 11:29 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - Amusement Park 9. January 2014 11:29 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay the fair Share On New Years eve there was a fair on and we let the kids have a couple of rides. They also had a visit to one of the fire engines. I actually did a ride as well, which is the most awesome one I have seen in years...but because of the scare factor it is censored from this site. 9. January 2014 11:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - Fishing 9. January 2014 11:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay fishing Share Chong brought his little tinny along and him and Kims dad went fishing every second day. I went along one morning out in the open water. I caught a small flathead (and a puffer fish) which was too small to keep. 9. January 2014 11:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malua Bay - Playground 9. January 2014 11:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet malua bay playground Share At the beach not far from the house there was a playground. It was great to let the kids play together. Aiden was obviously keen on going on the swing. But also the other kids had a go. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 ... 92 93 Older posts Home 28. July 2001 10:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mandalay . . . 28. July 2001 10:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet mandalay Share 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. 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. 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 Japa Home 28. July 2001 10:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mandalay . . . 28. July 2001 10:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet mandalay Share 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Burma Religion & Politics . . . 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet politics Share Politics . . . 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. The girls here are very young, some have barely reached puberty and are doing some very hard work. There is a lot of critique by Amnesty International, of Burma's use of young girls to provide maintenance for the roads. 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Medicine . . . 28. July 2001 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet medicine Share 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. You will see the antlers of various animals such as deer or even rhino. There are also skulls from different animals - some of these animals may be endangered species, but somehow you will see them being sold in these markets. These skulls are definitely not being used as “trophies” around the house! The Burmese, like many Asians, believe in using very 'natural' remedies to cure common ailments. A Medicine Man may not necessarily be a “doctor” according to western standards - that means he may not have a university degree. However, a Medicine Man, may be what we know as “witch-doctors”. Some of the remedies they know are very natural and useful. Unfortunately, not all of these remedies work. Around Asia, you will see shops or Medicine Man selling items like tigers' paws and skulls, or ground ivory tusks. Many of these are sold as cures or enhancements for the sex life. In Burma, there is virtually no wildlife left. You will even find that even tobacco is sold naturally. Not in cigarette form, but in leaf form! The laws in Burma are not quite the same as they are here. Marijuana is also sold very freely. Lotus Fruit . . . Quite often in Asia, you may see lily pads floating on the water. In fairy-tales, you hear about frogs sitting on a lily pad. You will be amazed to associate that this fruit here, comes from the flowers/plant growing out of the water near the lily pads. The yellow seeds come from the flower itself. The seeds are used often in many Asian desserts, and said to promote better blood circulation. While, the root of the lotus plant is also a delicacy. It is white when cooked, and has a crunchy texture, similar to that of the water chestnut. Mainly used in savoury meals, although used as a dessert as well. Personally, I think it is too much hassle retrieving the fruit! *smile* Created: 31 Oct 2001 28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Schwedagon . . . 28. July 2001 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet schwedagon Share Schwedagon was a holy place with extremely large and beautiful temples. To get to Schwedagon, you had to travel up very long escalators. I took this photo because these escalators were the only escalators I had seen during my whole trip in Burma. As Schwedagon is a very religious place for the locals, I guess to travel up these escalators give the sense of travelling to a higher and holier place. The temples at Schwedagon were really impressive. I was told that collectively, these temples were built with 39 tonnes of pure gold. At the end of the day, the locals all contributed in cleaning the place. They clean all the tiles and are very organised. Here is the 'Big Stuba'. All that gold... Up close, the temples are a glorious sight. Especially at night! Can you see those lights at the base of the Big Stuba? Each is a 'mini temple', illuminating a Buddha. You can really see the magnificence of these temples! There are lots of rules or procedures about the way one prays to the Buddhas - very complicated to an outsider! I saw a couple of the buddhists pour water onto the statue of the Buddha. Depending on the day of the week a buddhist is born, the individual would pour the respective number of bowls for the day of the week. A buddhist believes that by doing this, it would bring them luck. At Schwedagon, I noticed there were hardly any tourists, mostly locals paying homage. Can you see how intricate the carvings are in the foreground? The monks rung this bell to announce prayer times. It brought luck to ring the bell. For example, if you were born on the 1st day of the week, you rung it once to bring good luck. If you were born on the 6th day of the week, you rung it 6 times etc. 28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Myanmar ( Burma ) 23 July ~ 5 Aug 2001 . . . 28. July 2001 10:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet myanmar burma 23 july 5 aug 2001 Share Burma/Myanmar surprised me in many ways. I would have liked to see more of Burma than I did, but due to military restrictions, I only had access to certain parts of Burma and was not able to see any of the indigenous people along the border as I had initially planned.Burma is a very poor country. It was difficult to travel... travelling 100 kilometres could sometimes take up to 6 hours. One of the most beautiful places in Burma, I thought, was Bagan. I took many photos in Burma, and tried to order them in the following pages: I spent some days in Yangon, which had a heavy colonial influence. Schwedagon was another place full of temples, a place laden with pure gold. Whilst travelling, I could not help notice how influenced the people were by religion, and Burma's politics is one thing an outsider should not get involved in. I was fascinated by what the Burmese used for medicine. They also had some rather interesting local fruit. Mandalay also had an interesting colonial battle history. Whilst there, I watched the “Mandalay Marionettes”. With the restrictions up north, I did not get to see much. But you would not believe how the Burmese play volleyball! Finally, at Mt Popa, I went there to see a local monastry, and saw a lot of wild monkeys there. Yangon ( Rangoon ) . . . This is the city-centre of Rangoon. Rangoon is the capital city of Burma. It is actually a pretty big city if you compare it with other parts of Burma on a map. Most of the buildings are from the old colonial period when the British occupied Burma. Unfortunately they have not been very well-maintained. Can you see the green bits on the clocktower? If you are thinking it is vegetation growing on it, you are right! There is quite a bit growing on most of the buildings in the city. There were so many pigeons! I managed to catch a pictures of a pigeon flying mid-air - can you see the blurred grey thing near the tree in the middle of the photo? Next Return to SE Asia menu Return to Top Created: 22 Sept 2001 28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Burma newspaper 28. July 2001 01:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet burma newspaper Share 15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments 3rd Place in Photo Competition! 15. June 2001 10:27 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet competition photo 2001 Share I took part in a photo competition in November 2001, using one of the photos I had taken during my trip to Mt Cook in January 2001. This photo was of Kevin, the alpine guide from my group in the technical climbing course. The following photo and comments appeared on the Planet Fear website, in the Front Line Photography Competition - not long after I was notified that I was one of 20 winners, and I was even more surprised to find out that I had come third! The comments above the photo were my comments that I had emailed to them when I sent the photo. The comments below the photo were (one of the judges) comments about my photo. 3. Rene Pallesen The attached photo was taken in New Zealand on the main range near Mount Cook. The valleys to the west are filled with clouds formed by the moisture from the forests underneath. The snowcovered mountains in the north are visible through the clouds. The photo was taking using a Nikon FM10 using a Fuji Sensia 100 film. Literally bathed in atmosphere. It would be easy to muff this high key exposure but Rene is spot on. The vertical format adds to a shot capturing all the euphoria of life on the tops. Reminds me of the legendary Mountain mag front covers. ~ Comment by Ian Parnell, Planet Fear Feel free to see my photo on their website. Also, you could go to the Planet Fear website to view the other winning photos. 15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook 15. January 2001 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet mt cook Share Created: 18 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001 15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 ) 15. January 2001 10:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet mt cook 15 28 january 2001 Share Mt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 ) I decided to do a Technical Ice-Climbing course with Alpine Guides in New Zealand. I spent 10 days at Mt Cook doing a very challenging course, but I learnt a lot. I learnt all the techniques required to do ice-climbing safely. I also learnt the necessities of surviving in the icy mountains. Prior to the trip, a lot of preparation was required. Everyday, I went jogging to build up my fitness, so by the time I left for New Zealand, I could run 3km on the sand without getting puffed. I also had to buy some of the equipment. I had to buy cramp-ons (looks like spiked metal soles) to attach to my boots; ice-axe and ice-hammer; a new Gore-tex jacket (I needed a new one anyway) and some other clothing and equipment. The photo on the right became a 3rd-place winner in a photo competition. Our group consisted of 4 other doing the course. There were no prerequisites, other than a love for the mountains and a very high fitness level. Not all of us who do this course go on to climb the great mountains. We also discovered it takes guts and courage to stand on top of the world and feel confident. One cannot be an ice-climber if there is a fear of heights or if unsteady on the feet. All of us in the group had come from different backgrounds. Søren was an experienced climber, who had aspirations of going to the Himalayas. Alan was a rock-climber who wanted to try the challenge of ice-climbing. Rob too loved the mountains and wanted the experience and challenge of being on the icey slopes of New Zealand. I had had quite a lot of climbing and mountaineering experience, but this was my first time ice-climbing. The person holding the camera is Søren. I met him in NZ, whilst waiting for the bus for Mt Cook. To my surprise, he was a Dane living here in Sydney. He was a professional photographer (hence you see him holding the Nikon). He and I had similiar experience so our speed through the course was pretty much the same. I actually ended up cracking a rib whilst on the course. I did this during a 'self-arrest' technique, where we actually throw ourselves down a steep slope and try to use our ice-axe to stop ourselves from falling any further. This technique is used in case you fall down a crevass and have nothing to hold onto. Rob was the other person doing the course. He once dropped his ice-axe and one of us had to abseil down to collect it, as an ice-axe is a piece of equipment that is vital and you only carry one of these each. We worked in pairs, but had to swap partners as our guide took turns working with each of us. Ice-climbing is nothing like rock-climbing. You cannot use your fingers (well, they will freeze if you take your gloves off), so you really on equipment like ice-axe and ice-picks to anchor yourself into the ice. These pieces of equipment are really important, especially if you are sleeping on a ledge or stopping for a rest. Other than someone belaying you, using ice-picks to secure yourself into the ice is the backup should your belay fail. We each took turns at ice-climbing! Alan is the one in the blue jacket, Søren is the one in the red. I guess Søren has more photos of me climbing, whereas I can't take photos of myself! In the following section, you will see a series of photos of Mt Cook. If you want to have a look at the black & white version of this (quite artistic), click here. 17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Olympic Day Out ( 17th Sept 2000 ) 17. September 2000 10:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet olympic day out 17th sept 2000 Share Last September, Sydney held the Olympic Games. I saw a lot of the events on TV but was disappointed with the coverage of other countries' involvement. However, I did manage to be at Olympic Park during the Games and also see the first handball match - Denmark vs Norway. I managed to get tickets for the game and had a very nice day with my girlfriend and the Lenehans. I also managed to get some pretty spectacular photos of the Olympic torch. Here is Stadium Australia, where the Olympic torch is held. Most of the major track & field events, as well as athletics were held here. It is a pretty spectacular building - and HUGE. During the Olympics, you could not go into just any of the buildings at Olympic Park. You had to have a ticket for an event before you could enter the building. As you can see me, I am wearing my T-shirt supporting Danmark! This is one of the few days that I can wear the T-shirt. It was a very sunny and warm day and the place was full of people. During the Olympics, you could only get access to the whole of the Olympic Park if you had a ticket. They had quite tight security, and had to go through a detector on the perimeter of the grounds after you got off the train/bus. The handball game started at about 2pm and we managed to wander round for quite a bit before going into the arena wear the handball was. The food as amazingly expensive! Normally a fruit salad would only cost about AUD$3, cost up to AUD$8 that day!. Bottles of water was double the price. They really made it a money-making event for tourists! The funny thing too, we noticed that as you entered Olympic Park, all of the signs were in French and English, and all the announcements were given in French first, then English. It was most peculiar! As we got closer to where the handball games were being held, we saw a lot of Danes and Norwegians dressed in country colours! Danes in red and white and Norwegians... well, there was a guy there who had lots of cow bells around his neck and attached to his clothes. He was wearing a traditional metal helmet and dressed in old-fashioned gear. It was amazing to feel all the atmosphere - just to be there. We were all in the true Danish spirit! Even my girlfriend was dressed in a white T-shirt and red pants! We painted flags on our faces with some face paint. We were definitely there to support the Danish team! Even Lance could not help get caught in the moment with us! *smile* A break in the handball game - Danmark vs Norway! Danmark in red & white, Norway in blue & white. We had pretty good seats - it was a matter of whoever got there first, had the best seats, although we had to enter through certain doors. All the journalists and officials sat on the left. We even heard that the crown prince of Danmark was there for the game, even though we could not spot him. There were flags everywhere, Danish and Norwegian waving about. Everytime Norway scored, you could hear countless numbers of cow-bells being rung! A few times, some of the people tried to start a Mexican wave, but that did not work out. It was a very fast and furious game. It was the only handball game that the Danish lost in the whole Olympic Games, and they eventually came first in the finals! Just after entering Olympic Park, we managed to get a group photo! As you can see the place is very crowded but very festive - you just had to be there! A most glorious sunset! After the handball match, we wandered around for a bit longer. The day had been quite warm, so the night was a beautiful clear night. After the Lenehans left, Arumi and I had a look at a small Aboriginal art exhibition located at the Park. We sat on one of the few grassy patches, to watch the flickering of the lights and just enjoy the day. We eventually went home, but Olympic Park was still swarming with people, who were there to watch events that went on later into the night. Although we did not get the chance to see any other events during the Olympics, it was definitely worth the day we spent there. We would have loved to see the final game when Danmark won, but as usual, we were not very organised... Below, I have included photos taken on the night of the Closing Ceremony. These were taken from Graham's apartment on a hill at McMahons Point. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks that went off after the Closing Ceremony. It was really windy on the balcony, but I managed to get some photos of the Olympic rings that were placed on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Beautiful, isn't it? << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 Older posts Home 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 25 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet week 25 Share It is now week 25 and almost the third trimester. Kim is certainly getting a lot bigger these days but is still very active with swimming, yoga and walking (According to Kim baby is very active too). Both baby and mum are so far doing fine. They say that most of the growth is in the third trimester...she could be huge! We have finished painting the baby room and we have bought the most essential furniture such as a cot, a chest of drawers, car seats etc. It is now up to Kim to decorate the room so that it looks nice. 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Taste of Sydney 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet taste of sydney Share Today Kim and I met up with Sasha and his wife to go to 'Taste of Sydney'. This is an annual event where the premier restaurants of sydney and food and wine producers showcase their food and wine. This year it was held in Centennial park which is the largest park in sydney which is pretty convenient for us. At the event they had what the call 'Chef's table'. This is where you can sit down with the chefs of some of the premier restaurants and they will tell you about their restaurants, their food and you can ask them questions. In the mean time they were serving us seafood, wine and cheese (I discovered a new cheese that I in particular really liked). They also had showcases where some of the chefs from some of sydney best restaurants show you how to cook different dishes. We went to one session where we saw Matt Moran from Aria prepare a lovely cured trout. This was cured like Gravad laks using salt, sugar, coreander and fennel and then cured a secod time using dijon mustard and dill. The different restaurants were also having some of their food for sale. Some of it was quite nice (I had a nice yellowfin tuna), but I don't think it was a proper representation of their food. It is difficult to prepare and cook in large quantities without access to proper kitchen facilities, so most of the food was more fancy fast food. 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments King Lear 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet king lear Share Last weekend Kim and I went to see King Lear at the Sydney Opera House. Kim had managed to get cheap preview tickets on the third row from the stage which is pretty unheard of. The play wasn't anything fancy in terms of stage production, costumes or anything (Actually some of the actors were wearing fairly modern denim jeans). On the side of the stage they had positioned a drumkit and a girl was banging away all throughout the first half of the performance. I found this very distracting and annoying since I was already trying hard to concentrate on understanding the old Shakespearean English. During the second half they moved the drumkit off the stage, so I must say that I actually started to enjoy the play a lot more. Given that we got pretty cheap tickets I found the evening pretty good value, but I don't think I'd pay full price for this one. 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming at Maroubra 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet swimming at maroubra Share Sunday I convinced Kim that we should go to the Beach. I wanted to try my underwater casing for my pocket camera in the waves to see if I could get some good photos. In 2000 I went to the World Press Photo exhibition and saw these great underwater photos from the surf and was inspired to see if I could re-create them. Kim insisted that we picked up a beach shelter on the way there so that she would have some shade. We found on in K-Mart and then went on our way to the beach. The first few minutes folding up the beach shelter was a disaster (It was one of those quick fold out ones where you just pull a string...junk!!) and eventually we just threw it all back in the bag deciding to return it on the way home (we'll get a pop-up one instead). Taking the photos turned out to be a lot trickier than expected. It was fairly windy and the visibility wasn't great. Also the pocket camera tries to auto focus prior to taking the photo which was difficult with everything moving around constantly so most of the time the camera didn't take the photo.It was also quite hard to aim the camera while being battered around by the waves. I did however manage to take these photos that turned out somewhat alright. I might try again one day when the conditions are better (and I've figured out how to lock the focus on the camera) 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Uncle and Auntie in Sydney 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet uncle and auntie in sydney Share For the past three weeks my uncle and auntie (Eli & Henning) has been travelling in New Zealand with a tour group. On the way home they did a 24 hour stopover with the group so do some quick sightseeing before continuing their journey. They had a tightly packed program arriving late in the afternoon, out for a late dinner and then spend then morning next day on a tour around the city before heading back to the airport. Kim and I managed to catch up with them in the evening for dinner at Nicks at King Street Wharf. Afterwards we went for a walk down to Circular Quay so that they could have a look at the Harbour bridge and the Opera House at night. By the time we got back to the hotel it was midnight and they had to check out of their hotel early next morning. We hope that they enjoyed the sightseeing the day after (it was a fairly warm day) and that they had a good journey back to Denmark. Apparently there is a lot of snow there currently so they were prepared for the fact that they would have to do a fair bit of digging to get to their car and into their house. It is not very often that we have visiting family from Denmark so it is always a pleasure to see them. 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments More garden critters 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet more garden critters Share Today the Rockstar (Andy) and the Prong went climbing at Berowra. The news media had gotten the hint of the occasion and the paparazzi were there in full force taking photos. The bureau had told us that it was going to be a cool day, but it turned out to be rather hot for Berowra (29 degrees) and around lunch time the face was pretty much in the sun...so it was skin cancer territory. We started out by me leading on an easy(iere) climb called "The Wall Thing 18" ...very pleasant climb with a fairly reachy finish. We then did (I led) the "Boundary Rider 19" which was equally pleasant with an extremely long reach to the anchor and the first time I went for it I missed the hold on top (I had no idea where to aim) and peeled off giving myself a rockstar manicure in the process (This is when you feel off all your skin on your hands to the point where it starts bleeding). We then did "Mental Fatigue 18" and by this time the face was getting hit by the sun and warming up. The sun was in our eyes and it was hard to see where to go. Last time May did this climb she peeled off half way up. This time there was a significant amount of blood stains on one of the holds despite it being a fairly simple and straightforward climb with good protection. We started getting hot now and the Paparazzi had left so we decided that we didn't have to show off any longer and decided to do a direct variant to "Mental Fatigue" (sopposedly grade 20) on Toprope...very pleasant but would not have been very good on lead as the first bolt was up very high. The last climb of the day was "Palm Sunday 21" this was the highlight of the day even though we did it on top rope. Next time I go to Berowra and have a good day then I'll definitely come back to this one and try and lead it. Editors note: It turns out that the paparazzi weren't taking photos of the Rockstar and Prong. The reason why they were there was because Paris Hilton was there showing off her latest outdoor collection...seriously...who gives a sh..! 4. January 2009 10:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing Bardens Lookout - Blue Mountains 4. January 2009 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet climbing bardens lookout Share Saturday morning we drove out to the Blue mountains to spend the day there climbing (Unfortunately Andy couldn't go on an overnight trip). When we got up there it was cold, covered in clouds and drizzling. We decided to have a coffee and breakfast to check if it would clear up...and fortunately it did. We were planning to go to Shipley, but after studying the guide we decided to go to Bardens Lookout instead. It was completely dry and it turned out to be a day with a perfect temperature and we did some really nice and varied climbs (I would tell you the climbs but someone stole/took my guide book during the day). We started on a grade 16 (Karinya I think) for warmup, and then moved to a very pleasant grade 18 (Jolly Good Fellow). I then had a go at a grade 20 (Dr Do Little) with a very reachy and balancy move up the top which almost made me fall off (Andy had a hard time on this move). We then did a grade 19 (Little Triggers) and by this time my strength was gone so I only just managed to lead it (almost came off clipping the top anchor as I was drained). The climbs are fairly long at Bardens Lookout and I don't have a lot of endurance because the climbs in the gyms are too short. Phil had a go at a grade 21 (Hang on to Yourself) and was really struggling on it and came off 4-6 times one of which was captured on video and once he came off upside down. Eventually he got through it and I toptoped and cleaned it (With a lot of grunt and swearing). Download video of Andy Climbing 1 Download video of Andy Climbing 2 Download video of Andy being Lowered Download video of Phil Falling 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Day...golf at Brighton Golf Club 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet new years day golf at brighton golf club Share As tradition dictates we played golf with Sasha on new years day. And he had booked a time at Brighton Golf Club (Moorebank) at a civilised hour (1.30pm). Kim and I hadn't played for about 10 months as we had been too busy with all the other things in 2008 (see the rest of the blog postings). I think we played a fairly decent game considering the time since we'd last played but both Kim and I were fairly tired after the 18 holes. It was a hot day with temperatures in the mid thirties and the course was fairly hot...so we drank lots of water as we went. 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Eve 2008 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet new years eve Share Every year both Kim and I have been in the Sydney harbour area to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. But this year we decided to have a quiet new years eve just the two of us with a visit to the movies and then a nice dinner at home. We did however watch the fireworks from our balcony at midnight and it looked just as spectacular as previous years (I borrowed the photo above from another site). 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Smiths Lake Christmas Trip 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet smiths lake christmas trip Share Between Christmas and New year we drove with Kims family up to Smiths Lake (300km North of Sydney). We rented a house on the lake up there. We hired a tinny (small aluminium boat) a couple of days and went fishing and managed to catch a lot of breams (a lot too small to keep). Kims dad loves fishing and he quickly found out that in the morning and evening the fish were at the shore just outside the house. In the evening we cooked nice dinners and BBQ's and the cookaburras came to the balcony around dinner time to check if there were leftovers. We had a bit of fun with them as you can see. In the evenings we played Blackjack (Kim and I cleaned up) and had nice food and wine. Chong (The husband of Kims sister) showed his more feminine side. The rest of the time we spent at the beach playing in the waves and playing with Kims sisters kids. 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Day 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet christmas day Share Christmas day was celebrated with Kims family at her sisters house. A lot of people were there and everyone had been asked to bring some food. Kim had cooked Red Duck Curry the day before while I was preparing the Christmas Eve dinner. Again...lots of food, playing table tennis, jumping the trampoline and all the kids got to open their presents. 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Eve 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet christmas eve Share Christmas even was celebrated in the traditional Danish way in the evening of the 24th December. Kim and I had invited some friends over to out new house and prepared the traditional roast duck, ris-a-la-mande and large tiger prawns for entrees. It was a nice evening and we didn't finish until well after midnight and all of us were really full by the time we finished dinner. There was a couple of kid and after dinner they got to open their Christmas presents. 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims dads Birthday 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kims dads birthday Share Every year on Kims dads birthday we celebrate with the family. Every couple brings a couple of dishes of food and we all share it. 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Diving at Tulamben - Honeymoon in Bali 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet diving at tulamben Share On our honeymoon in Bali I really wanted to do this scuba dive that was recommended to me by my friend Andy. It is this old wreck of a US cargo ship (USS liberty) that was torpedoed by the japanese in 1942 and then beached to save the men and the cargo. The wreck has since slided back into deeper water (during a volcanic eruption in 1962) and it now in 5 to 27 meters of water just off the coast. I did two dives on the wreck while Kim was snorkeling in the surface on top of the wreck and it is without a doubt the most amazing scuba diving experience I've had. The ship is huge and you can swim through the cargo hulls and there is an amazing variety of fish and corals on the wreck. I saw a 1.5 meter barracuda, a 1cm tall seahorse, a garden of eels and a great variety of other fish including a large school of travelly. I had my personal dive master for the day and I got him to take some photos and some video with his camera while we were diving. On the first dive we went all the way around the wreck (max depth 27 meters) and on the second we went through the wreck itself. Kim had a really good experience as well and really enjoyed the 30 degree warm water and managed to get her bum burnt while snorkeling for several hours. I think we'll both go back there if we get the chance. Click here to download video of me feeding fish Click here to download video of me diving 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bali Honeymoon 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet bali honeymoon Share Our Honeymoon day after the wedding went to Bali in Indonesia. We did have some hesitation going there considering that the Bali Bombers had been executed the week before and that the Australian government discouraged all travel there. The plane up there (and back) was only 25% full so plenty of space to get a good sleep. We stayed in Nusa Dua Westin....a nice hotel although the rooms are a bit small. On the first day we slept in and later in the day drove to Kuta to have a look around and do some shopping. Later in the evening we went to Jimbaran Bay for dinner. This is a whole beach where all the restaurants have put their tables and chairs out onto the beach itself...very romantic but quite expensive compared to local restaurants. The second day we hired a car to drive us to Ubud in the hills, Monkey Forest and later in the day down to a small place called Tanah Lot. Especially the last one was very nice around sunset and we ended up not getting back to our hotel until 8.30 in the evening much to the dismay of our driver. Dinner took place near the hotel and we found that the value of the food/prices was much better here. A couple of days later we went for another drive (In between we went to Tulamben...see posting below) up to some beautiful lakes and temples up on the north of the island as well as rice paddies and we had a really nice trip despite driving with the most grumpy driver. Time was running out and Kim felt that she hadn't spent enough time shopping so the last two days were spent shopping and sitting at the pool and on the beach. One evening we booked a really nice restaurant called "The Living Room" in Seminyak and I booked the whole outdoor area (cost a fortune) just so that we could have a romantic evening in the garden just the two of us with personal waiting staff. The week was way too short and we never got to do everything we wanted to do so I have a feel we will be coming back in the future. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ... 92 93 Older posts