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.

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.

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

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.

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?



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Created: 22 Sept 2001

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 n Home 6. May 2022 22:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments All brown belts 6. May 2022 22:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet We just finished another grading as a family. This time the boys and Kim graded to their first brown Share We just finished another grading as a family. This time the boys and Kim graded to their first brown belts and I graded to my third brown belt. We were supposed to have graded about a month ago, but because of Kims dad's funeral we had to postpone it for a month. It therefore turned out to be just a mini grading with just the four of us as a family. Now it will be quite a while before any of us are grading again. The boys need to get a fair bit stronger before grading for the next belt based on the feedback. I will need to start working towards the black, so Kim will probably be the next one grading towards the end of the year. \ \ 25. April 2022 20:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Camping Lake Lyell 25. April 2022 20:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet The boys putting up the tent.Our campground from across the lake.Teaching the boys to fish (only cau Share The boys putting up the tent. Our campground from across the lake. Teaching the boys to fish (only caught seaweed). The kids spent hours climbing up and down this little hill. Lots of brains trying to put up a gazebo. Eventually we had to consult the instructions. Sunset scenery It was raining so we gathered under the canopy. Lots of curious ducks (waiting to be fed). Spotted a 2016 vintage from Coonawarra...had to try it. Scenery from our camp ground. Great selfie with Lucas and I. More spectacular scenery. Cuties in the hammock. I have seen steam tractors in museums before, but this is the first time I have seen one that is still functioning. This one is from 1913. One day we went mushroom picking. These ones you definitely can't eat. And these ones you can. First time I have seen a Leopard Slug. A pretty good picking... The kids found a bird skeleton. It could be a dead lyrebird, or maybe a dodo. 20. April 2022 14:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Various 2022 20. April 2022 14:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Here are some various photos from first part of 2022.Here is one of Aiden in his happy space at the Share Here are some various photos from first part of 2022. Here is one of Aiden in his happy space at the Piano and Guitar. At Cabramatta we sat down having an asian drink. It looked so much like one of the birds from Angry bird that I just had to get a photo. See the resemblance? This is a Lego truck that Lucas built. At karate Aiden is sometimes asked to teach the newbies. It is great to see how it gives him confidence. Aiden went to a birthday party with a Virtual Reality experience...a bit scary for him. The local corner shop was refitted for a TV show. Easter egg loot. What do the boys get up to in their room sometimes??? Family photo at QVB Having desserts in the city A seal resting on the rocks at the opera house. 20. April 2022 14:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments National Park Walk 20. April 2022 14:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet While at Warilla Beach we one day did a walk at the Macquarie Pass National park. This was an easy w Share While at Warilla Beach we one day did a walk at the Macquarie Pass National park. This was an easy walk with the reward of a waterfall at the end of the walk. 20. April 2022 13:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Nan Tien Temple 20. April 2022 13:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet One one of our trips down south we visited the Nan Tien temple south of Sydney.It is a Chinese Buddh Share One one of our trips down south we visited the Nan Tien temple south of Sydney. It is a Chinese Buddhist temple that is worth a relaxing visit for anyone with some time. 20. April 2022 13:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Warilla Beach 2022 20. April 2022 13:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet During the Christmas holidays we rented a place at Warilla Beach a couple of hours south of Sydney.W Share During the Christmas holidays we rented a place at Warilla Beach a couple of hours south of Sydney. We discovered that the beach has pipies in the sand, so every day we made sure that we harvested a plate full of them for dinner. We brought Aidens new guitar, so that he was able to practice his music while enjoying the scenery. The kids also attended online drawing lessons. It was a beautiful spot to sit on the balcony, enjoy the view and have some great food (including fresh pipies). One day we also visited the Jambaroo Water park. This was a disappointment with long queues at every ride and Aiden was too scared to do any rides so it was a bit of a miserable day. 13. April 2022 10:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Ethans 21st Birthday 13. April 2022 10:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Last weekend it was Ethans 21st Birthday. He had a bit party with the whole family and his friends.T Share Last weekend it was Ethans 21st Birthday. He had a bit party with the whole family and his friends. They had arranged for catering with lots of Cambodian, Laotian and other asian foods. 5. April 2022 19:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Dad in Sydney 2022 5. April 2022 19:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet It has been three years since I last spent time with my dad. This is due to Australia closing its bo Share It has been three years since I last spent time with my dad. This is due to Australia closing its borders for two years due to the Covid pandemic. As soon as they announced opening the borders again in February my dad booked his ticket to come a visit. It was really nice to have him here and different from when he has been here previously. For starters, he was here by himself which was a different dynamic and also Aiden and Lucas have grown older and really enjoyed bonding with 'Bedstefar'. Especially Aiden and my dad found that they had music in common and Aiden took great prise in being able to play some of the pieces on piano that my dad was able to sing. I really enjoyed having a few beers (and other good stuff) with him while he was here. A couple of years ago I bough a machine to transfer my dads and grandads old 8mm film to digital. Because of the pandemic I was never able to try it out. My dad brought one of his films to do a trial transfer. It worked really well and he'd now brought it back to Denmark with him to transfer the rest. One afternoon dad and I went up to the Barrenjoey lighthouse. My dad is still able to do it although he is a bit slower and not as strong as he used to be. 5. April 2022 19:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Father in law passed away 5. April 2022 19:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Kims dad passed away 92 years old. He will be greatly missed by his daughters, grandchildren, grands Share Kims dad passed away 92 years old. He will be greatly missed by his daughters, grandchildren, grandsons and friends. It was a beautiful funeral following chinese traditions with wearing white clothes to celebrate a long life. Aiden played a beautiful song on the piano in front of everyone and we had put together slides showing his life. Day after we did the traditional cleaning of the tomb stone and also the burning of paper clothes and money (theory is that it will then go to the afterlife for him to wear). I hope that the boys are old enough to remember their time with him. Even though his old body was failing him, his mind was still sharp enough to play Mahjong and other games with us. These photos are from our last trip with him down to Bowral. 5. April 2022 15:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Lucas awesome checkmate award 5. April 2022 15:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Lucas is part of the schools chess club.The other day he was very proud that he&#39;d received this awar Share Lucas is part of the schools chess club. The other day he was very proud that he'd received this award. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 92 93 Older posts