During Easter Kims Family had borrowed a house at Mackarel Beach, so we went up there the whole family, Kim and her three sisters, her brother in law, her dad and two nephews and one niece.

The only access to the beach is by boat from Palm beach one hours drive north of Sydney. There are no roads or shops on the beach. The ferry only leaves once an hour and only between 9am and 6pm. The beach is on the opposite side of Pittwater from Palm Beach and it has got a community of about 50 houses.




Most of the two days we were up there it rained, so we spend the time indoor eating, playing games and sleeping. The TV and VCR was out of order and the place didn't have a DVD player. At least it did have a CD player so we could listen to music.

We cooked dinner on the BBQ and the Kookaburras came to get fed. They were really tame, so you could touch them which is exceptionally rare.

I was on breakfast duty both days, so the first morning I made Bacon and Eggs for everyone and the second day I made pancakes. Sometimes it was a little stressful with that many people in the kitchen while trying to make breakfast, but it went alright! I am coming from a fairly small family,so I am not used to have that many people around.


Easter Monday Kim and I played golf at Mona Vale golf course which is one of my favourite courses to play on.



It is right next to the coast and the course is normally in a great condition. Even though the course is long it is not that difficult.

I was playing pretty average on the first nine holes but improved my game significantly on the second nine and managed to play a number of the holes at par. On one of the holes a Currawong (big black bird) flew down and stole Kims golf ball. I had to chase after the bird for 200 meters until it eventually landed in a tree and then dropped the ball.

This weekend we rented a house at Lake Macquarie in a place called Overnight Reflections at Fishing Point near Newcastle.


The place is an easy 1.5 hours drive north of Sydney assuming that there is light traffic.

It was a fantastic and very relaxing weekend. The house was right at the water, so we could hear the water and see the full moon (almost) reflect in the water at night.



Saturday afternoon we went playing golf at Toronto Golf and Country club. This was quite an experience. The course itself is nice enough although it needs some maintenance (especially the bumpy greens)...but some of the people playing there should not be allowed onto a golf course.

One of the players stole Kims golf ball and on several occasions started bashing up his own golf bag while shouting Fu...k!!! Fu...k!!! Fu...k!!! Obviously it wasn't a great idea confronting him regarding the ball. We were planning to complain to some of the members of the club...but there was no-one else around and eventually we lost track of the guy (fortunately...because he was quite scary).

In the evening we went to a very expensive restaurant (even by Sydney standards) at Warners Bay...it was ok, but not a place I'd recommend. Kim and I wanted a bit of a special night out to celebrate and this seemed to be the best we could find outside of Newcastle itself. From living in the Newcastle area years ago I know that it is hard to find a decent restaurant up there...most people regard fish'n'chips as a romantic night out!


Anyway...the place we stayed at was very nice although it troubled the owner of the place that we didn't want to have breakfast until after 10.30 in the morning...what IS WRONG with these Sydney people!!! Kim and I enjoyed catching up on some sleep and just relax without having to rush around for set meal times, be a tourist etc.


Especially Sunday troubled her at we didn't want to check out until 2pm because we wanted a snooze. She even sent down her grandchildren to make a bit of noise to wake us up.


Anyway...it was actually quite amusing and Kim and I didn't mind, the woman running the place was actually quite sweet....and $300 for the two nights in a lake front cottage was good value. It is definitely a place I'd go back to.

This Saturday Kim and I went to Hunter Valley with a couple of her Colleagues from Epicor. They had one of her colleagues visiting from the US office.

I was invited along as Joanne was the driver and kim doesn't drink, so I was the only person who could drink with the visitor (I didn't mind :-) ).

Normally I go for all the red wines, but I decided on this trip to dry some of the white wines, especially try and find a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio...which I eventually did at the Bimbadgen Vineyard.

Kim also bought a couple of really nice desert wines that I'm sure I will be allowed to share.

Saturday Kim and I want to see La Traviata in Sydney Operahouse.

For Christmas I got a couple of tickets for the opera from Kim. It was an opera I hadn't see before and the stage setup was really good and the performance was excellent. Kim had gotten us really good seats...we had front row seats in the dress circle upstairs.

During the performance they were broadcasting the show to the steps in front of the operahouse as well as to one of the parks in Melbourne. They wanted to show what Opera is like to a wider audience.


Afterwards we had dinner at Circular Quay close to the Opera House.





Sunday we drove down to Catherine Fields to Camden Lakeside Country Club to play a round of golf. Sasha and one of his friends dad visiting from Canada also came along.

It was really hot, so for the first time I was actually glad that we were driving a kart rather than walking the course. The guy from Canada was almost dead by the time we got back to the club house.

I played a really good round (43 points stableford, HCP 13) and Kim played almost at her handicap.

It is obvious that there is a drought on. Most of the lakes were dried out, I was looking for a photo online to post here, but the course is totally unrecognisable because of the missing lakes.

This year Kim met her targets at work. This meant the she got invited to Hawaii (with a partner...me) as part of the Chairmans club.

We got back two weeks ago and had a fantastic trip. The first few days we spent in Honolulu at Waikiki Beach...we got to see all of Oahu, went snorkeling and Kim went shopping. One night we all went to a shooting range in Honolulu.


After this we went to Kauai where we were staying at a big resort. Here we went snorkeling, sailing and played golf.

There was parties every night and we also managed to find a bit of time to ourselves.






See the rest of the photos from our trip here: Hawai Photos/Slideshow

In Mid 2006 I went to a work meeting in Krabi in Thailand.

This happens to be a few kilometers away from one of the best rock climbing destinations in the world. So, after the meeting I took a few days off to go rock climbing.

Kim happened to be travelling in the Northern part of Thailand with some friends who had to leave on the same day my meeting ended. Kim flew down to Krabi where I picked her up at the airport.

Unfortunately it was rainy season, so most of the time in Railay it was raining, but we did manage to get one day of climbing done and the rest of the time we spend in the restaurants and playing cards.


Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow

I have now started adding photos from 2005. For this I have created a new blog just for 2005, the plan is that I will add blogs for the remaining years as well.

Click here to see what happened in 2005

I have now added photos from 2004. The highlights from this year was a trip to the United States and Canada as well as a family trip to Egypt. This was also the year that Australia entered the war in Iraq, so there are a couple of photos from the anti war demonstrations.

Click here to read about 2004

In Mid 2006 I was in Portugal for our International Partner Conference with the company.

It was a week of being busy setting up for the conference, socialising but also a lot of fun and partying.


Click here to see more photos from:Portugal/Slideshow

I quite regularly head up to the Blue Mountains to go Rock Climbing.

We normally camp overnight and then depending on the weather and temperature decide on the day what walls we are going climbing on. The photos in the gallery are a selection of some of the photos I've taken in 2006, but there will be more to come in 2007.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of photos of me climbing as I tend to forget to pass my camera to someone else.

Most of the time I go with my friend Sarah, but she has now moved to Canberra so she doesn't come up there as often as she used to.


Click here to see more photos from: Climbing in the Blue Mountains/Slideshow

This weekend we went up to Barrenjoey...a beautiful day. It was 31 degrees in Sydney but this time of the year the rocks here are mostly in the shade all day and there was a nice sea breeze running through the area.

We started with a couple of nice warm-ups and then moved onto one of my test pieces "Pillar of Mordor (19)". It is thin and sustained and really not very well protected so I have always back off leading it. Both Phil and I did lead it although not completely clean.

After this we did "Mescalito (19)" which is one of my favourite climbs there. Phil placed a cam in one of the breaks and it fell out and dropped down to the next bolt...fortunately he carried another cam to put in the break and eventually got up to the next bolt and through the climb.

The day was almost over and I had to go to the airport but Phil had his eyes on this climb "...Cab Sav (19)". The bottom bit of the climb is all protected by cams and the top bit is really thin and pumpy. Phil got up past the natural gear and clipped the first bolt. He then moved on and was struggling when clipping the second bolt but eventually got it. He then moved to the thirt and last bolt on the climb and as he moved up his foot caught the quickdraw and without him noticing the boltplate came off the bolt (He had clipped the botlplate upside down). He kept climbing up and got up to the third bolt, but because the previous bolt had fallen off it would have been a ground fall if he had fallen off. Phil was really struggling clipping it but we were so relieved on the ground once he did.

That was a really close one and it is the second time I've seen someone clip those types of plates wrong...bloody dangerous.

We have bought a house now. We have signed the contract from our part and paid the deposit and our solicitor has received the signed contract from the Vendor. The property has now finally been pulled off the market by the real estate agent (that idiot) and we are looking at moving into the new place in mid/late October (before 24th October). Now we just need to go through all the mortgage application documents which if anything like last time I applied for a home load will be a lot of bureaucracy filling out triplicates, getting copies certified by rocket scientists (whom you have known for at least 40 years and who have worked in the industry since the Apollo program).




This will be perfect as it means that Kim and I will have something to live in after the wedding (The current apartment is not really suitable and I would like Kim to feel like it is her home as well).The place is in Botany in the Eastern Suburbs and it is very close to Kim's family (about a 200 meter walk to one of her sisters and 5 minutes drive from her dad). And more importantly it is reasonably close to the city (10km) and away from the flight path of the airport.


We don't have much furniture so the place will be a bit empty in the beginning until we get the essentials. Kims sister has already donated us a dining table but we need to get items such as a bed and a washing machine immediately and then also items such as a sofa, entertainment unit etc.


It is a terrace house and has got the potential to do some really nice things to it. It is spacious on the inside and has got a small backyard that doesn't require too much maintenance. There is a bit of painting and maintenance that needs to be done immediately to the outdoor areas but nothing that cannot be managed. I am also sure that Kim would like have some painting done internally. My dad will arrive just after we have moved in so I am sure he won't get bored while here.




This Torrens title oversized terrace offers an ease of living combined with great design features spread over three very generous levels. Be immediately impressed by the flawless presentation and the impeccable renovation of this striking tri-level terrace. Enjoying an elevated position.
A handy convenient setting with ample street parking. Generous living with separate formal and casual areas. Tranquil north facing backyard and outdoor entertaining. Modern kitchen with breakfast bar stainless steel appliances. Upstairs bedrooms with built-ins, two with private balconies. Well appointed for care free modern living. Intelligently designed to maximise space and light. Dressed in fresh contemporary tones and polished floors
Automatic garage for two cars with internal access. Easy walk to local parks, schools, shops and transport


If you read the score further down in this blog, then you will know that the score now is 4 out of 5...just the wedding to complete to get 5 big events done within the same 6 months timeframe.

This weekend we went climbing up at Berowra (northern part of Sydney). It has been raining a lot and been very cold lately, but this day was sunny and very pleasant so no need for the down jacket and the gloved that I had brought with me.

Andy had just bought a new HD video camera and was keen to try it out and he got some really good footage og me climbing as well as Phil falling. Click here to see video


I actually had a really bad day climbing. I think work is stressing me out at the moment and one one of the first few climbs I freaked out when I got to a section with only slopers as hand holds (if you see the video then it was at the section where Phil shouts "YES!"). I was pretty upset when it happened and I was unable to get back into the right headspace.

The rest of the afternoon I was doing top ropes but had blown my strength and self esteem.

Last week I was in Brisbane for some SharePoint training for the company. It was four days of intensive training but it was worth it and it was nice going up north where it is a bit warmer than here in Sydney at the moment.

I flew up there Tuesday morning leaving home at 5am to catch a 6am flight. It was the morning after my Birthday so Kim and I decided to just have a quiet evening and then celebrate some other time (Kim is going to take me to a nice restaurant).



I found a couple of good restaurants in Brisbane and one night I had Moreton Bay Bugs (Look like a giant cockroach). I also went for a walk to Kangaroo Point which is a big climbing area along the river in Brisbane. It is all lit up and actually looks like good climbing. I was surprised to find people climbing at night and also surprised to find that almost everyone was toproping rather than lead climbing (Everything is nicely bolted so there really is no excuse).

This year we again went skiing on the weekend closest to my birthday. We tried to get the same house as we did last year, but unfortunately it was already booked so we had to settle for an apartment. This did mean that we only had two bedrooms instead of three so it was only Soeren and Nui (and Freja) and Kim and I staying there. Kims ex-colleague Mark had to settle with staying at a caravan park.

The first day Soeren and I drove up to Perisher in my new car (first long trip in it) while the girls did their own thing. When we got back late afternoon after a whole day of skiing they had organised all the ingredients for a nice BBQ and marinated all the meat…yummy. Mark came over for dinner with Daniel and we had a nice evening with a couple of bottles of wine.

Next morning we got a late start (it took the other guys a bit of time to get ready) and we went to hire some additional gear for the girls to go skiing as well. This time we went to Thredbo which is much better in terms of variation of the runs and also the length. The longest run there is 3.7 kilometers. The girls took an instructor class (I think it is better if Kim gets an instructor by herself next time as she will get more attention).



It was a fairly short skiing day as we finished at three and then went on our way to the 5+ hour drive back to Sydney. Next year I think I'll take a lesson as well...I am getting pretty good at it now, but just need a few pointers to get even better especially at black runs and moguls.

About two months ago a crashed and wrote off my old car...pretty silly but what can you do. Fortunately it was old and was already starting to cause problems and cost me a lot in repairs. Kim had already hinting that maybe it was time to get a new car and that the car was trying to tell me something.
The car was 11 years, the engine was leaking every fluid imaginable and the gearbox was slipping and there was rust developing so the timing to get a new car was pretty good.

The insurance paid me a good price for the old car...a lot more than I would have received if I had used it as a tradein to buy a new one.

After chasing around the city for a second hand car...amongst which there were some pretty dodgy deals the choice came down to either buy an 6 months old ex-rental or a new one. There was a $4000 difference and by the end of the day the decision came down to us needing that money once we buy a property so I decided to get the ex-rental. It is a nice blueish gray (Aztec Blue) Toyota Corolla. It will have its first test run this weekend when we go down to the snow in it.




Kim and I could probably have gotten by with just one car, but hers is too small to fit golf gear, ski & climbing gear etc. into and the new car is harder for her to drive because of the size...so for now we'll have two cars.


The score so far is:

Kim new job: Done
Rene new job: Done
New car: Done
Wedding: Pending
House: Pending


3 out of 5 aint bad

Some years back my mum had a stroke while my parents were traveling in Thailand. This left totally paralysed in the left side of her body and she has been bound to a wheelchair ever since.

The stroke was most likely caused by heavy smoking and drinking and in general an unhealthy lifestyle.

This all happened a few years after my parents retired and were planning to spend most of the winters traveling in warmer countries. They have always been traveling a lot and never liked the winters in Denmark.
The realisation after the stroke for my parents was that suddenly those dreams were burst and that my mum would need constant care. My dad negotiated with the council that they would look after her one week a month which left my dad with some time to realise some of his dreams and at leaft do some traveling and at the same time provide some relief from looking after mum. It has been a hard blow to my mum and it is still very hard for her to accept that she will be bound to a wheelchair and dependent on other people for simple tasks such as going to the toilet, washing and getting dressed.


My mum some time ago discovered that some of the traveling my dad had done hadn't taken place alone but with an old female school friend (How intimate they were/are I don't know and don't care) but obviously my mum got very hurt and set the ultimatum that either he stops seeing her or she moves out. My dad said that he didn't want to stop seeing her and that he would still keep looking after my mum except for that one week every month.


It has now come to the point where my mum has found an apartment in a care facility and it going to move there this month. I am sure that it hurts a lot for her to move out.

Another blow has been that I am getting married in a few months time and that it is not possible for her to attend my wedding but that my dad is. It will be really hard for her on the day itself and I wish there was something I could do to make it easier for her or somehow allow her to attend.


So how do I feel about this? I am disappointed, angry and understanding at the same time. I am angry at my mum because she insisted smoking and drinking the way she did and tat this caused a stroke.

I am angry at my dad that he's found someone else and that is causing my mum to move out...she is the one totally loosing out. I am disappointed that their marriage and thereby also my family is breaking up.

I also understand why my dad has been longing for some company on different level and at the same time I also understand why my mum is so hurt about it. I am hurt because I know that my mum needs some support but that I am so far away but at the same time my life is here and I am about to get married here.I just hope that she understands that my happiness is dependent on me staying here. Especially since the stupid danish immigration laws will prevent me from moving back to Denmark with my future wife.


I am also hurt because my parents during the last decade has been through so much hardship first with my brother, then with the stroke and now with all this.


This is certainly a year of change...

A new climbing area in Sydney suddenly popped up on our radar. A new area up in the Mt Ku-Ring Gai national park near Berowra. And and May went there while I was in Hunter Valley and they said it was really hard to get to.



I wanted to experience it myself and convinced Andy that we should go there again. Yes, it is a long walk in (40 minutes) and yes it is hard to find the way but it helped that he'd been there before and it also helps that the track has seen a bit of traffic and marked with cairns.

The first few climbs the rock was a bit cold so the fingers went a bit numb which adds 2-4 grades to a climb. Later when the rock heated up a bit it was really good climbing. The area is new so rock still breaks here and there so it is important to be careful and safe but it is not as bad as Otherland and Stables where the rock crumbles.

During one of the last few climbs we heard some noises in the bushes but couldn't see what it was. Once we finished the climb Andy had a closer look and spotted an Echidna (A large porcupine). I grabbed my camera and went over there and it turned out that there was three Echidnas there trying to hide under a branch.



There are some other cliffs in the area that are being developed so I am sure that we will be spending a fair amount of time there in the future.

Late June is Kims birthday. We went out for her birthday with a lot of her friends to a restaurant called the Mantra. It was a fun evening with entertainment in the restaurant in the form of belly dancing. Kim also had a go at the sword dance. I thought the belly dancer was pretty good, but Kim having done belly dancing herself said that she'd seen better.



My present to Kim was a trip to the Hunter Valley. I had hired a nice romantic place up there with a Spa, served breakfast on the balcony with a view from the mountains of the whole Hunter Valley. My aim for the weekend was to really spoil her and she loved it. Saturday morning we met up with a couple of Kims friends Linda & Warren do go through the wine districts. As usual we found some really nice surprises and also got confirmed that some of our choices in wine from earlier trips are excellent choices (I can recommend the Silvereye from Misteltoe and the Shiraz from Petersons).



In the evening I took Kim to this really nice restaurant called Mojo's. It is not cheap ($60 for two courses) but the scallops Kim had for entrees were without a doubt the best I've ever had before. They were fresh and just marinated and cooked slightly and still raw inside and really tasty. I had Quail for my entree and for the mains I had a beef ribeye fillet and Kim had the Lamb chops. After two courses we were absolutely stuffed. I saw some of the food other people were eating and it all looked very delicious. After dinner we went back for a nice warm spa bath as it was freezing outside all weekend.



Sunday morning we went to another couple of Vineyards and then drove back to Sydney...a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

After 4 years I decided it was time to change to a new job in a different company. There was several reasons why it was time for a change and it was hard to let go as I have loved working with the company and there are a lot of aspects of the job that I will really miss.

The new job I have accepted is with a large consulting firm here in Sydney. They are about 800 people in the branch itself and they are part of one of the large telecommunications and mobile phone networks here in Australia and Asia which has got tens of thousands of employees. So hopefully in the long term some better career opportunities as well as more money in the short term.


I have now been in the job for about three weeks and is still trying to decide whether I like it or not there. I am more used to a consultative selling process where you talk to clients and really try and understand their business and then become their trusted advisor in making decisions and guiding them how to improve their business.

I was expecting this new consulting company to follow similar approaches as this in my opinion is the best way to secure business. It seems however that this company is following a more opportunistic approach where they respond to tenders and requests from customers. This means that it is in a very competitive area where other business also are responding to the same type of requests from the same customer. It also means that a large part of my function so has has been in preparation for customer demonstrations and writing proposals. I would rather engage with the clients more and understand their business before we jump to demos and proposals.

Another thing is that there was no induction process a such. They have an overwhelming amount of processes in place and there is no one who can really explain what applied and when it applies.


Anyway so far I am not very impressed...but it is really still too early days to tell.

My whole family was in Morocco to celebrate my grandmother's 80^th birthday.

This is my grandmother. Even as an 80-year-old woman, I find her pretty cool (you should see some of the pictures I’ve got of her with dark Blues Brothers sunglasses).

(No need to say that the flags are Danish.)

It was a family reunion. We do not all live in the same place, but all of us make this journey as it is one of the few times that we all get together. Unfortunately, there were a few of us who could not make it.

It was important for me to be there it was hard to tell whether the whole family will ever come together again as a large group, as my grandparents are no longer living there.











My brother, Claus!

Another person I find pretty cool is my brother.

He has not been well in the last few years, but I love him anyway
( Definitely can't do without my big brother )




Mum's pretty cool too! She will probably hate me for putting this photo on my homepage. But it is a really nice photo of Mum with a big smile.

She hates the idea of me climbing mountains, but at the same time she bought me a climbing helmet as a Christmas present. She thought it will keep me safer when I am so far off the ground.

Thanks Mum for supporting me.

I also find my dad pretty cool. He’s a bit of a nerd just like me which means that we probably understand each other better than anyone else in the family.










This is my dads brother and his wife. The resemblance is unequalled. My dad and his brother looks very much like each other. They have the same bad habits (just like my grandfather) and both their wives are smoking like chimneys.




Finally, a picture of me...

I do belong to the family even though most of them have probably forgotten about it by now!

I am sitting outside one of the food places on the local market. We each got a serve of excellent calamari, shrimp and fish. I think this was the best meal I had while I was in Morocco.

Most tourists would avoid a place like this just because of the hygiene, but I have never had diarrhoea because I had been eating local food.

Perhaps all this travelling I do has made me immune to germs and bugs! Or maybe I just pick good food!



Do you want to see my family on a Donkey Day out?
Click Here!






Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001

Laos is not a place one can forget.

One day I would like to go back there again in my travels.

It is a beautiful place with friendly people who welcomed me with open hearts.

It is also a place of sorrow because of war and loss.
Yet the people try to go on with their lives despite the war.
They live in hope and their beliefs keep them going.

There are tribes there who seem unaffected by western influence and change and keep to their tradition after all this time.

I met many children there, some happy, some sad.

I also spent time with a special family and also managed to enjoy the local food.




War . . .




All the eastern parts of Laos was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. More bombs were dropped in this area than the number of bombs dropped during the entire Second World War (approximately 10,000 bombs for every citizen of Laos). Laos has the sad reputation of being the most heavily bombed country in the world ...

Ever.

The Ho Chi Min trail went through Laos, and the Americans tried to destroy it with every means. They tried everything from carpet bombing, dropping cases of Budweiser Beer (hoping that the Vietnamese soldiers would get drunk) to dropping washing detergent during the wet season (hoping the trail would get slippery). It is estimated that the Americans only succeeded in stopping 10 percent of the traffic on the trail.


In Vietnam, the Americans were not allowed to bomb within 500 meters from temples and hospitals. Their rules of engagement furthermore said that they were not allowed to return to their home base with a bomb load. The result was that they flew across the border to Laos and dropped all their bombs there. In Laos, there were no rules of engagement. They could bomb whereever they wanted to bomb.






This also means that there is quite a large amount of UXO (Unexploded ordnance) in the country. Land mines and unexploded cluster bombs (shown on left) are some of the biggest problems.

In Laos, there are still approximately 4 accidents per day resulting from UXO.






Sad as this may seem, people have been pretty creative about using some of the leftover bombs. In this case they have used a couple of 2000-pound bombs as decoration outside the house.





No matter where you go you are reminded of the war.

In all the local villages there are unexploded bombs and shells from the cluster bombs.






A lot of the remains from the war are sold as scrap metal. In this pile there are shells from cluster bombs, wheels from tanks etc. >>>






<<< Shells from the cluster bombs have been used to make this bridge.







Here as fence posts outside a house. >>>






Outside a school, the schoolyard was surrounded by the shells from the American cluster bombs.













Sorrow . . .




This girl's parents were both killed by Hmong guerillas in 1997.

There are still areas where there are lots of problems with guerilla warfare. This is especially the case on Route 7, along the eastern border towards Vietnam and in the western part of Laos west of Vientiane, in the area between the Mekong River and Thailand.

The government is trying to control these problems, but it is difficult with such wast areas of jungle.

Unfortunately such incidents have affected a lot of people. This girl is not the only person in Laos who has lost her family.

Remember that the area has virtually been a permanent warzone since the Vietnam war, until the mid 90’s.

The person behind the girl is her grandfather.
He is now looking after her to make sure that she gets an education

He is after all, her only family left.













Hope . . .




Looking at this beautiful photo, it seems really serene and calm.

You couldn't really tell that things are pretty bad in some parts of the country.

The northern part of Laos is especially poor. The mountainous terrain limits what can be grown. Outdated farming methods using “slash-and-burn” of whole mountainsides are not very appropriate for feeding a growing population. A lot of the western countries are represented in Laos with health care workers. What Laos really needs at the moment is help using more environmentally-friendly farming methods, which at the same time improve the growing of crops. The slash-and-burn method basically means they burn a whole mountainside to grow rice. There is nothing left to hold back the nutrients in the soil, and fertiliser is not added. After a few years there are no more nutrients on this mountainside and they move on to the next mountainside. They need to learn how to grow crops in terraces and add fertiliser from their animals to the soil.




One of the problems with growing rice is that the men are unempleyed most of the year while they are waiting for the rice to grow.

Vinchu is working for the Swiss Red Cross. She intends to buy a piece of land in the 32-kilometre village of Muang Xai, and convert it into a fish farm. This would keep some of the men occupied for most of the year. The profit from the fish farm could be used to take care of the village’s basic needs such as education of the children and buying medicine.

Vinchu is one of the few catholics in the country. She is fluent in English and has had a primary healthcare education. This has enabled her to get a job for one of the foreign representatives in the country, which means she is getting a salary that is considerably higher than what her peers get. Also she gets paid in US dollars instead of kip, the local currency.

On average, the government employed in Laos receives 100.000 kip a month (approx US$30). This is not enough to survive on, so most people have either two jobs or let the wife work as well. Lots of people have small vegetable gardens. This allows them to grow a few things to sell at the markets.









The employees from the hospital in Muang Xai have not received any money from the government for more than 6 months. The government declared that they should participate in the annual dragon boat race.

Vinchu paid for transportation of the employees to the local river, and other expenses, from her own paycheque.

Most of the people in the boat are doctors and people from the hospital.






Vinchu and I in a sailing raft!















Religion . . .




Buddhism is a big part of Laos.

The holiest place in Laos is the stupa in Vientiane. There are practically no temples in the eastern part of Laos due to heavy bombardment during the Vietnam War. The only great temples around is the one in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.







The Buddhists in Laos are a bit less extremist than in Thailand. People do not have small alters in their homes, and it is not compulsory for the males to become monks.

In Laos, becoming a monk is voluntary. It is mainly people from the poorer parts of the country that become monks, because it is a good and cheap way to get an education. Some of them are studying English and are therefore very eager to practice their English on the tourists.








When they call the monks in for prayer, they either beat a big drum or the use a wooden ram to chime the bell.











Tribes . . .



There are three main tribes in Laos. One of these tribes is called Lao Tsung (or HMong).

They live mainly in the northern part of the country.



The women still wear traditional clothing. I am wearing a traditional Hmong hat.



The Hmong have a dialect that is different from the other tribes. They keep to themselves and are very isolated from the rest of the society.



The difference between the Hmong village and the other villages is that the Hmong build their houses on the ground instead of on stilts.



The Hmong is responsible for most of the opium growing and trading in Laos. The government is trying to stop this trade, but it is difficult as the Hmong live in areas that are not easily accessible.

The Hmong are also responsible for most of the problems in the area around Route 7.









The Children of Laos . . .

The kids in Laos are wonderful. There are always kids around you no matter where you go and they are always very joyful and curious to find out who you are.



You see a lot more kids playing with each other in Laos than in the western world. I guess it also somehow encourages them to grow up being socially responsible. This could be the simple reason why people are so friendly and welcoming in this country.

Lots of people say that it is because of the religion but I believe that it is something more fundamental than that. People in the western world have just forgotten how to be responsible towards each other. Why? Maybe they do not spend enough time in one another's company.



In Vang Vieng, I saw a kid playing around with a snake. It did not seem to bother him or his parents that it might be poisonous.
I don't know if the pad on his chin was caused by the snake. I doubt it though since he had been very sick.

He was pretty proud of his snake.
I am not sure what kind of snake it was. I did see a few other snakes around, especially at the temples.




It tends to be the elder children’s task to look after their younger brothers and sisters while the parents are busy. The system seems to work fairly well since the whole group of children play together, no matter what their age group. It is therefore not such a big burden as some might think.

The photo was taken approx 40 kilometres north of Muang Xai (where Vinchu was).












This photo on the right is one of my favourites.

It was taken in the northern part of Laos, at the 32-kilometer village outside Muang Xai.

The girls were collecting flowers outside one of the local schools.





The younger kids tend to be afraid of Europeans. Most of them have never seen a white face before.

This little fellow here was a bit worried about my presence...






This is the girl’s first piece of chewing gum... Pretty interesting to watch! *smile*





In the cities kids love to have their picture taken.






















The Tanoy Family . . .

I stayed a few days with a family running the Tanoy Guest house.

The eldest daughter of the place was called Tanoy.

The girl on the left of this photo is one of Tanoy’s friends from school.
The woman on the right is Tanoy's mum. Tanoy’s mum is 40 years old and has had 6 kids. She does not look that old and still looks absolutely stunning.






Below are a series of shots of Tanoy herself.

I guess she will one day take over the guest house.




Whilst I was staying at the Tanoy Guest House, I saw the preparations for the annual Water Festival.

Every year when the monsoon ends and Water Festival coincides with the full moon, The festival included Dragon Boat racing.



Everyone was taking part by making lanterns for this festival, including the monks!

All the monks were making lanterns to decorate the temples.



The festival lasts for three days.

During the festival, they celebrate with all their friends and families. They also drink a lot of “Lao Lao” (or Laos Whisky), which is a kind of rice wine.

Everyone walks down to the river during the day to watch the boat races.

Later in the evening, everyone parties some more and drinks more beer. It does not matter that it is pouring down. The whole village is at the party and everyone is happy.



On the night of the festival, people light candles. They also float the candles in the rivers.

Unfortunately it was raining a lot that night, so people had difficulties keeping the candles lit.



At the end of the day, I managed to get a photo of me sitting outside the Tanoy Guest House!








Food . . .



The food is excellent in Laos.
It takes some time to get used to eating noodle soup for breakfast, but once you get used to it, it is excellent.

There are pigs and turkeys all over the place. Above is a pig being weighed.

An essential part of farming is the water buffalo - it is important for pulling the heavy plough and there feet are designed to walk in water-logged gxround.



All ingredients used are very fresh. People are walking around selling vegetables on the streets.

It is hard work getting the rice ready for eating. First the rice is to be pounded to break the husks. Then thrown up in the air to remove the husks from the rice itself.









Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001

Thailand ( 1999 ) . . .

On my way back from Laos, I stayed in Bangkok for a few days, visiting a friend whom I have known for a long time.

On the right, I am standing in front of a huge statue at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. There are many statues like this, very ornate and detailed. They are brightly coloured and some of them can look scary! As you can see in the background, the architecture and design of the roof is also very detailed and many of these were built a very long time ago by very gifted artists.






Here is Nui on the left.

She was the girlfriend of one of my friends at University in Denmark. She used to be a lecturer at the University of Bangkok and specialised in software design.

I stayed at her family's house for a few days in the outskirts of Bangkok. It was very nice to get away from all the pollution, noise and chaos of inner city.

You will now be happy to know that Nui has finally married Søren after all these years!




I am on a canal cruise!

Much of the water near the cities are very polluted, but it is very interesting to see the floating markets in Bangkok - yes, you will see people selling vegetables and meat from little boats...










Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001

I can apply a lot of Dilbert's Principles to my work, that is why I always go to the Dilbert website to see what else Dilbert has come up with. More importantly, I thought Dilbert an accurate description of what I do, hence the first think you see on this page is... Dilbert!



I had the privilege of working as a contractor in the world's leading company in bionic implants, Cochlear. I worked there for 1½ years as the head designer/developer of the software programming the bionic implants. I worked with some of the best developers, and had a lot of fun whilst I was at it.



I had the chance to go on the Harbour Bridge climb, organised by the company. It is quite an expensive trip up over thte top of the bridge and normally would not pay to do it, but had the opportunity to do this with my colleagues. It is very windy up there and the view spectacular. There is quite a lot of people on the bridge climb - average about 10-15 per group, with about 3-5 groups on the bridge at a time. The whole walk from the bottom, to the top and back the other side takes about 2 hours. Many tourists take the opportunity to try out the climb, and I am told that the trip at sunset is spectacular.



I took this trip on a Douglas DC-3 (from the 1930-40's) with PMP Software. PMP Software was the company I worked for during the years I was waiting to get my permanent residency in Australia. I had the chance to see this state from an aerial view. There were quite a few Danes working for PMP, and at present, Kenneth is also working for them.

New Zealand ( June 1998 ) . . .


My first trip to New Zealand took place in June 1998. I travelled with the Lenehans - friends I have known since my arrival in Australia. This was one of many trips I took with Lance and Anne. We rented a campervan and decided to explore the south island of NZ.

I have since been to New Zealand again - NZ has some of the most beautiful mountains and I had the chance to go there again in January 2001 to do a technical ice-climbing course.

I took so many photos and would have loved to place all of them on this webpage.

Instead, I have selected a few to show some of the places I managed to go to, such as Milford Sound, Nelson, Arthurs Pass and Mt Cook.

There were many glaciers in NZ and lots of seals to go with them!

NZ is a beautiful country with many unusual natural formations. It is a photographer's haven. We ended our trip with a farewell dinner in Christchurch.




Seals . . .

The Lenehans and I decided to spend 2 weeks in New Zealand in the winter of 1998. We flew to Christchurch from Sydney, and drove north to Nelson.

On the way to Nelson, on the east coast of the southern island, there are hundreds of seals. It was a spectacular sight and I managed to get quite close to them to take photos.



They did not seem to mind me taking a few photos. Some of the seals look tired - I guess even seals, like humans become tired. Who wouldn't like to pet a seal? They look different when they are wet though.



This was taken near where the seals were. I like the blend of colours and the harmony of the picture.

A lot of friends have commented on this photo! Most of them really like the photo, and feel there is something calm about it.








Nelson . . .

Nelson is located at the northern most part of the southern island.

We explored the area around Lake Rotoiti.




These were taken from the ridge itself.

There is a lake at the end of the mountain ridge. From here, it is all downhill. We camped just below the lake at 1,500 metres altitude.

It was snowing the next morning and all water was frozen. We estimated the temperature to be around -7 degrees celcius.




The side of the ridge was one big stonefall.

It was very cold and the wind was strong that day so it was necessary to wear gloves hat.

We managed to get a group shot from the top of the ridge. The mountains in the background are knows as the McAngus ridge at Lake Rotoiti.

Here are the mountains at Lake Rotoiti.




The mornings are incredibly beautiful at Lake Rotoiti. Here you can see the morning mist floating gently on the water.

It is also very cold here - that is why there is ice on the bridge in the foreground.


The photo on the right shows the Lenehans crossing one of the suspension bridges at Lake Rotoiti.

At this point we had walked 15 kilometres, with a 1,000 metre descent. We had yet another 7 to 8 kilometres to go that day!



This is what happens when you do not use a tripod. The effect is quiet interesting and makes the photo look like a painting by Monet.

This photo has has been dubbed "The Renet" among my friends.









Arthurs Pass . . .


We drove to Arthurs Pass, on the way from Nelson to Queenstown further south.

There is a place called Goat Pass, and there is only one way in - on foot.

Here, you can see Anne climbing up ladders on the Goat Pass track.



It was raining so much that we were not able to get down through the canyon on the other side of the Pass. We therefore decided to go back the way we came.

Further down the track, we had passed a bivouak and decided to stay ther during the night. It was very dirty and Anne would rather sleep outside in the rain.

Everything was wet so she changed her mind and came back in. *laugh*



She wore plastic bags on her feet, in her boots are so that she could wear her boots without getting cold feet! Aussies will never get used to the cold.

Here is Anne crossing one of the rivers.

Every time she crossed a river, she would sit and massage her feet for 10 minutes until they warm again.

I guess Aussies will never get used to the cold. Neither will Danes for that matter! An Australian winter is like a Danish summer - so you can imagine how cold Denmark is! Still, Danes cannot get used to it - just ask Kenneth or Soeren!



Sleeping ???

Aussies will never learn to live with the cold!

I must admit I hate the cold. I loved it when I lived in Kenya - so hot and humid!

Even living in Denmark for all those year did not make me like cold weather any more than I used to. That is why I love Australia - warm summers and mild winters. Sometimes winter in Australia is a bit too cold for me! But I do not usually wear more than a T-shirt or a thin jumper in winter. My girlfriend was complaining about me having the heater on full-blast in the car during spring!

Okay, so I love the heat!





Inside the campervan.

Temperature was down to -10 degrees Celcius during the night and there was no heating in the van.


This explains why Anne was wearing a thick blanket. There was only enough water for a two minute shower. That is why Anne is wearing a hat indoors.


See the expression on her face? She knows I will write a stupid description for this photo.




In the campervan I had the top bunk.

This is one of my girlfriend's favourite photos!












On the way to Milford Sound, we saw some unusual formations - The Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks are located near Hokitika, between Kumara and Ross.



They do not taste as good as real pancakes - you get sand in your teeth...



At Queenstown, we had the most glorious view of "The Remarkables". The Remarkables are the mountains in the background - don't ask me why they call The Remarkables, I don't know. But the photo on the left shows Queenstown with these mountains in the background.

The photo on the right shows the a sunset at The Remarkables (with snow on top!) Pretty 'remarkable', huh?








Milford Sound . . .


Milford Sound is located near the southern-most tip of the south island of NZ. It is the series of 'islands' that you can see on the western tip of NZ on the map.

To get to Milford Sound, we had to take a huge detour from Queenstown. To come back from Milford Sound, we had to take the same detour before heading east from Queenstown.

Driving down to Milford Sound, we had to put chains on the tyres of the campervan.

In the pass, there was at least 10 centimetres of snow on the road, and it was illegal to continue on without chains. Chains help create friction on the roads and makes it easier for the vehicle to drive on in icy conditions.

We managed to rent a set of chains in Te Anau because we had heard rumours about chains being mandatory.

If you go to New Zealand during the winter, then make sure you have a set of chains for the car.





How many postcards have you seen from Milford Sound, where there was snow on top of the mountains?

It is beautiful, but nothing compared to the Mount Cook area.






The sun rising in the Milford Sound area.






Glaciers . . .



Most of the glaciers we went to were located on the main range.

We had to drive inland when we were heading south on the west coast because the Westland was too rough and wild to drive through.

Here on the right is the Tasman glacier near Mt Cook village. It is 35 km long - a hundred years ago it was 85km long. The ice is 600m thick and used to be 1,300m thick.

Where the glacier ends at the water on the photo, the ice is more than 200m thick.





Both the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are located on the west coast.

On the left is The Fox Glacier.

It is so huge that if you built a house at the end where the ice begins (or ends since it is a glacier), you would not be able to see it on this picture.




The pile of ice behind me are 3 to 4 times bigger than the size of a house.

I am standing about half a kilometre from the glacier.




At the Franz Josef glacier, people have been feeding the keas. The kea is the only alpine parrot in the world.

This means the keas associate every man-made thing with something edible.

They are therefore making the attempt to eat the cars. You can see the keas on the roof of our campervan.

It is a very weird bird. They can survive in extreme conditions with freezing temperatures and snow.








Mount Cook . . .


On the way back to Christchurch, we went to Mt Cook.

Here is Mt Cook as seen from the west coast.

I achieved my goal to climb it in January 2001! You can see the photos from this trip.




Take a look at the colours. The photos were taken at Lindes Pass, just north of Mount Cook.

There was no sound up there. You could not hear the wind or any birds. The only sound you could hear was yourself breathing.




Lance praying towards Mecca???

No just Lance in a weird posture taking a video of Mt Cook.




One of my favorite photos.
"The man and his mountain". Kerenyaga.

Here is Mt Cook in the background (almost 4,000 meters). I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go back to NZ and actually climb on Mt Cook!







Farewell Dinner . . .



From Milford Sound, back to Queenstown, we then drove back to Christchurch via the east coast. We saw some pretty spectacular sunrises along the way.

During our last night in New Zealand, we went to a restaurant called "The Sign of the Takahe". We had our farewell dinner at Christchurch before returning to Sydney.

It is an old castle/house built in the same style as the old English castles. The atmosphere and food is excellent.

This is the place to bring a date.

Someone was playing quiet piano music in the hall.

The photo is taken with a long exposure because I wanted to capture the atmosphere with the woman playing the piano in these old surroundings.






Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 19 Sept 2001

I have the most spectacular view from my home in Narrabeen.

It is an apartment on the beach, only 10 metres away from the sand. As you can see from the picture on the left, this was taken from my balcony, with the beach in the background.

Almost every morning, these beautiful white birds, come in abundance to visit me. I usually hand-feed them sunflower seeds, but you have to be extremely careful because sometimes they mistake your fingers for food!

Cockatoos are approximately the same size as a duck. They are very intelligent and not afraid of humans. However, along with the cockatoos, I also get the pesky pigeons - I wish I could get rid of them!!!




Created: 12 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 25 Oct 2002

During my first year in Australia, after coming from Denmark, I was contracted out to work at Port Macquarie - a quiet, but beautiful and peaceful seaside town a few hours north of Sydney. The first pictures were taken in Port Macquarie during Easter 1998.

Lance, Anne and Graham, some good friends of mine, decided to do some exploring around the area...

Graham here, on the right, The Admiral himself... (also called "Wobber") "Is that a chicky-babe in the water ?"

The photo is taken on "Kermit" (Note, the green seats...) in the river at Port Macquarie.




Lance seasick ???? No, just a little tired !

This is one of many photos I have of Lance sleeping - he has a knack for taking a nap just about anywhere - just ask Anne! *smile*

It's a great day to sail on "Kermit".




Whereas, who do we have here?

Me! I love sailing, and as usual, like to be a'head' of things...

"Clear water ahead Navigator?"

"Aye-Aye Admiral!"



"The Admiral" is giving Anne a good whacking.

Poor Anne...












Lance and The Admiral in front of the lighthouse at Port Macquarie





In the mangrove at Port Macquarie, there are millions of these small blue crabs (Taste like shit). It's pretty amazing though - crabs do not exist only on a beach. They live wherever there is enough water and they can burrow quickly and easily away from danger.

The photo above is taken on a sandbar in the river at Port Macquarie.

There are also a lot of pelicans in Port Macquarie. I managed to get a picture of one flying. And one yawning!

There are quite a few pelicans here in Narrabeen, on Pittwater Rd - a main street near where I live. Narrabeen lakes draws its salt water from the sea, and at one point on Pittwater Rd, there is a bridge. This is where I see most of the pelicans - perched on top of the flat heads of street lights! It's quite funny to see them there, and have never managed to get a photo of this yet, as I usually see them when I am driving over the bridge.



We went bushwalking in the mountains and forests at Port Macquarie and found this beautiful rockpool. We used the opportunity to go for a swim.











Off the beaten track in the forests around Port Macquarie!







Moi!

One of the few pictures of me (as you will notice in this whole website). I tend to prefer taking pictures of other people and places - but my girlfriend is trying to remedy that! (she's still trying not get blurry pictures...)














As you can see, this place is really good for getting comfortable, enjoying my lunch, no worries, good place to get a bit of sleep...



Like my new haircut?

I wanted to do something radical. I needed a change, I wanted people to look at me when I was walking down the street. So decided to change my hairstyle. By the way, you like it green? I can't be a dumb blond forever...







A picture of Lance and I with the beaches at Port Macquarie and one of the Brothers in the background !







There was a storm in Newcastle. These were the biggest waves I had ever seen - some were 7-8 meters high. The waves were washing all the way up to where I am standing taking the picture.

The kids in the photo were waiting for a big wave to hit them and wash them into the rock pool. You know the big wave coming towards them? They were still a couple of hundred meters away from it...





Henrik, Lance and I made a bet with Anne about whether or not we would be able not to use a computer in our sparetime for two weeks while we were up in Newcastle. We accepted the bet and won it simply because it was impossible for us to lose since we didn't have access to any computers!

That meant that Anne had to cook us a dinner... Australian Style!









Aussie?

We had to dress "Australian style" for the dinner (at least to start with). Reckon it is Aussie with a billabong hat? (Need some flies for the corks to chase away). But it is DEFINITELY Aussie with that holey surfie t-shirt and a Fosters (disgusting) in hand!












Can't see, can't hear and can't talk, who am I?

No actually he was trying to wear his wife's earrings but didn't want it on a photo!

I have often said that Port Macquarie was a beautiful place, but it is much too quiet for me in the long run. Working there during 1998 was good, but I was also glad to be back in Sydney!

We celebrated Anne's birthday at a restaurant called Pete's Bite. The only access to the restaurant is by seaplane or boat. It is located 2 hours north of where I live.

The food is marvelous and bloody expensive. It is definetely worth trying (once)!



It was 40-45 degrees that day and no wind so everybody moved out on the lawn in the shade of palms!




So this is what a heat stroke looks like !

Narrabeen Beach . . .

My apartment is situated right on Narrabeen beach - one of the nicer and quieter northern beaches.

Now that I've said this, you're probably wondering about that surfer in the middle of that photo... and is the wave real?

You betcha!

I even have a photo of this surfer being 'chased' by this HUGE wave, on the wall in my apartment.



Narrabeen is renowned for its great surf and dangerous rips. Many famous lifesavers come to surf at this beach. However, usually after a big storm, the beach is closed as the waves can get pretty rough and dangerous rips pull you out to sea.

These photos were taken outside my apartment during the annual National Surf and Lifesaving competition.

Just outside Luang Prabang there is this amazing waterfall cascading down a limestone creek.

We decided to get up early to go a take photos, so that we could be there early before all the crowds arrived.





















At the entrance to the park there is also a Bear rehabilitation centre. They rescue bears from captivity and keep them until it is safe to release them back into the wild (if ever). The bears have a big area and seem to love climbing and sleep in the hammocks provided.

Our kids had a blast of a time in Laos. They loved each other company (for the most part) and sometime looked like real little travellers.








They were respectful at the temples and even offered a prayer.





At other times they behaved like animals and should be lock away in a cage.





But for the most part they liked exploring things that us adults wouldn't see such as this crater from a crash landed U.F.O.

What I especially remember from my last trip to Laos was the kids. One of my most cherished photos is one of two little girls holding a bouquet of flowers that I took 20 years ago (it is on this blog if you look for it through the search function).

The children are still there. They are still very shy, dirty and smiling.











They make up their own games such as these kids at a school playing marbles with tamarind seeds.







These kids were playing a game where the kid under the table had to poke the feet of the kids above the table.



And some things never change, kids teasing each other.





The girls in the school yard 'hang out'.



Visiting a local school was great for our kids to get a glimpse of how other kids live.







Along the road we stopped and a family was outside with the mother breastfeeding her son in their outdoor living room. This is where everything happened such as the cooking, washing, feeding etc.





The chicken were running around freely



Here is a rare shot that Kim took with my camera in it.



It is a very family oriented life they live

For getting around the towns in Laos we mainly used Tuk-Tuks. These are small motorbike powered minibuses and the experience can be very mixed. Most of them are generally good, but some have bad brakes have a plume of smelly two stroke engine smoke trailing behind them. We could easily fit our two families into one and I'd joke that there would even be room for another couple of adults.



The kids loved the tuk-tuks and have the fresh air blowing in their hair while riding.



The only downside is that you'd never quite know what the fare would be until you started bargaining and from town to town the fares seemed to be very different. Even though I believe I am reasonable proficient at bargaining, I'm still confident that we paid more that the locals would be paying for the same trips.











For the longer trips we would catch either local buses (mini vans) or in some instances it was worthwhile us hiring a private bus as we were enough people to fill it.

From Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang we hired a private van taking us across the mountain pass at Kasi. Last time I went through here it was in an open bus and at the pass it was raining and really cold. This time round we had a beautiful clear day with a great view of the valley below from the top.





The week before they had a lot of rain and a landslide had taken out large parts of the last section of road (I read in the local newspaper a few days earlier that the road was closed). Our little van was struggling getting enough grip and our driver had to reverse to get enough of a run-up in the next attempt to make it through the steep and muddy section.

The larger trucks were really struggling getting through.

The morning markets are interesting. This is where the locals still go to buy their fresh produce and all kinds of specialties are being sold here. It would be easy to go here and get the ingredients for some really delicious food.

There are also some unusual things that we don't see in our western kitchens. such as:

Dried Squids:



Fresh fish - of cause, but this have sharp teeth.


A protein and herb table that would make most chefs (and diners) salivate:






The Chillies in Lao are more hot than in Thailand - We loved the heat.


A pig:


River crabs:


Beetles:


Dried rats:




Caterpillar - these are yummi when fried:


Frogs:

River snails:


Dried squid, shrimps and fish:

During the dry season the people of Luang Prabang builds traditional bamboo bridges across the smaller river. This saves them a lot of time (and cost) to cross directly into the centre of town rather than a long detour to the other larger bridges.

It also earns them a small income to charge foreigners a small fee to cross the bridges.

They still manufacture silk they way they used to. It was interesting for the kids to see the process from small caterpillar eggs that hatch to worms to the production of the silk itself.






I had always wondered where the colour blue (Indigo) came from. I knew it used to come from a seashell, but I was fairly certain that this wouldn't be the case here. It turns out that they use a special leaf from a plant that when mixed with water and left fermenting/oxidising turns into a blue dye.





They also use plants for most of the other colours.





After they spin the thread they use traditional weaves to make it into pieces of garment. These days the silk garments are fairly expensive - hundreds of dollars, but it used to be really cheap.

A two hour boat ride north of Luang Prabang is the Pak Ou cave. Since we were traveling two families the best way to get there was to hire a slow boat just for us.



The flow boats are long narrow boats that are ideal for navigating the Mekong River. This part of the river is full of underwater rocks but the boats seem to navigate these treacherous waters with ease.

Having the boat for ourselves gave us more flexibility with regards to how long we wanted to spend at the cane and also meant that we have more room to move around.



The front of the boar is where the captain sits and steers the boat. After this there is a section for the passengers followed by a small pump toilet and then the living quarters for the captain and his family. Out the back there is a small kitchen for them to do the cooking.

The cave is upstream into an area full of limestone mountains.



The many boats moor at a long and wobbly floating bamboo bridge that takes you to the cave itself.





The cave itself is not big but it is full of small Buddhas that have been put there over hundreds of years. You can tell that this used to be an important place of worship.





Now however the place is so crowded with tourists (guilty here too) coming in on boats that it is hard to move around. I could not stop myself from taking this photo of Buddha holding up his hands to stop more boats arriving.



At the top of the hill the hill there is what I think is a more 'pleasant' cave. It is equally interesting and much less crowded because most tourists don's make it up the many steps to the top.

The traditional Lao Lau is still being made. Just north of Luang Prabang on the river there is a little village on the river called Whiskey village whos main income is from the production of Lao Lau.



When I was there two decades ago this is what the locals were drinking (now they drink beer instead). I still remember the foul taste from the home brew that was distilled in large oil drums after having been fermented in large clay pots. Whenever I see it I always wonder if distilling strong alcohol right next to an open flame is the wisest of ideas!?!?





The process itself hasn't changed, but these days most of the whiskey is sold to tourists and I tastes a lot more pleasant that it did back then.

The food in Laos is good. It is traditional cooking mostly still cooked over an open fire.





You see them start cooking the food well before sunrise in big pots.

The food itself is mostly a fusion of Thai and Vietnamese. It has all the noodle soups from Vietnam, but with the more street food and spice of Thailand. The picture below is a typical noodle soup with a traditional cube of coagulated blood.





We were eating a lot from small street type restaurants following the rule that is had to be popular with the locals. The logic behind this is that the locals would know what is good and would also be choosy regarding the quality of the food, so chances are that it would be fresh and not cause food poisoning (none of us or the kids had any issues on the trip).






There are some dubious food there, such as some of the meat BBQ where they sometimes have the meet cooked earlier on the side of the BBQ and then just re-heat it when you order it.







Also be careful with some of the food stalls where the food may have been sitting there for most of the day and often from the day before.





From a 'snack' perspective there are some personal favourites that I absolutely love such as the BBQ fried squid - the packet stuff is just not the same.



Also the Bamboo and coconut fried rice is delicious - they sell them at bus and train stations and especially the purple rice one is yummi!



The freshly made puffed breads over an open fire - they will use two rakes to flip them until they are done.

You would think that a country with access to some of the best seafood and freshest produce would have fantastic food.

Although the food was Ok, we didn't find it fantastic and generally very over prised.



There was plenty of restaurant in and around Port Vila and some of them serving specialties such as coconut crabs and flying foxes.

We tried the coconut crab...but it was overcooked and dry and had surprising little meat on it (no meat in the body itself).




So we stuck to more traditional seafood which most often was battered and deep fried.



And as usual Aiden got into the free kids menu desserts

This weekend we went up to Lake Macquarie with the family to stay for a couple of night at a resort. I didn't take a lot of photos because we either didn't do much or were too busy with the family.

I did however take this one photo one evening at Katherine Hill Bay.

The beach at the hotel was full of really big and colourful star fish....couldn't help but take a few snapshots.

Lucas is now 7 Months and for this month we decided to take his Monthly photos while he was on his first overseas trip to Vanuatu.

This series of photos was taken at Eton Beach on the east side of the island of Efate in Vanuatu...he loved the water and had a hard time to understand that it is unpleasant to eat the sand and drink the salt water.

He is now almost able to crawl...he just needs to figure out that it is not enough to just move the legs...you also have to move your hands.

I know it was a couple of months ago, but I only now got around to processing it.

Here is another photo that I took of Lucas when he was 4 Months.

The other night we went for dinner at Marks place. He asked us if we could help him take some photos of the kids Axolotls...our response was 'Their WHAT??'.

Anyway, it turns out to be some sort of Mexican Salamander and he'd attempted to get some photos using his point and shoot camera, but wanted something better that he could print and hang on the kids wall.

Here are some of my efforts:

When Lucas doesn't have any toys to play with then his favourit pass time is to suck his feet. Here is a quick snapshot from the other day when he was at it again.




He's now got two teeth, so hopefully he wont chomp off his toes.

Lucas is now 6 months and is enjoying the easy life...

On the weekend we went down to La Perouse to do these creative shots of him at sunset.

I always said that I would take a photo of him and put it in a frame...but not sure if this is what everyone had in mind.




It was pretty good fun trying to set it all up. A lot of other walkers on the beach were wondering what we were doing.

I have been planning this photo for a while.


The frame I had picked up from a garbage collection day last month outside a block of units with this particular photo in mind.

The chair and table are bath aids and foot stools from home.







It was really cool to see everything come together in the end. Unfortunately we missed just the end of the sunset as there were a few clouds on the horizon.


A lot of lessons learnt came out of it. Even though the photos came out almost as I had envisioned...I still had a few things that I could have done better....just small things such as two flashes to light frame and Lucas independently, CTO gelling the flash to match the ambient, using an umbrella to avoid hard shadows, bringing a mid range zoom to have more composition options and be able to get a bit closer, use black string to hold up the frame instead of white, bring a pillow to keep his head up and then stripping his clothes and then bring my light meter to check the setting to start with instead of chimping.

It was the first time I've used the D800 for this (in the past I've been using my D50 with a different shutter system) and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to balance out the ambient with the flash and still stay below the sync speed...but it worked out like a charm...or maybe I was just lucky!

Last night Kim made a very nice Creme Brulee...Yummiiiii!!!!

She asked me to take a couple of photos which I think turned out quite nicely.

On the weekend we went to the Sydney Wildlife Park at Darling Harbour.

It was good fun to show Aiden all the different animals (Although he was pretty tired by the end).

The highlight of the exhibition is the 4.5 meter long Saltie (Saltwater Crocodile). He is such a darling and he loved his girlfriends so much that he had them over for dinner (Ha Ha).





Aiden wasn't sure about the crocodiles and definitely wasn't happy with the big mouth and all the sharp teeth...



...Daddy came to the rescue and threw himself at the monster.



He was a bit more happy with the smaller cuddlier animals...



Such as the wombats...



...the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies...



...or even the Tasmanian Devil.



The start of the exhibition is pretty amazing as you wank through a large enclosure with lots of butterflies flying around.



And besides from that there is of cause a lot of lizards, frogs and snakes on display.

I finally managed to take the 1 year portrait of Lucas that I had planned and it turned out really well I think.



He is a big boy now and he is able to walk by himself (took his first unassisted steps just before his birthday).

The other day we went to Centennial park to take some 1yo photos of Lucas using a balloon.




What we had in mind was to take the photo down a row of trees.



...but it was impossible to get both the balloon and Lucas to behave in the same photo and the light wasn't great anyway with patches of sun and shade in the middle of the day.

We instead tried to be creative with other photos.

A couple of weeks ago we went to centennial park to take some photos of Lucas for his birthday (see separate post).

I also took this photo of Aiden running across the bridge at Centennial park.

Here is some more test shots of Lucas...his facial expressions are priceless.

The other day I was setting up for a portrait using my new beauty dish strobe.

I was using myself as a subject and this one turned out rather well.

Sculptures by the sea is on again and Kim and I managed to find a couple of hours to go and have a look.

I was carrying Lucas in my backpack and didn't bring my camera, so these photos are all shot with my phone...I seriously regret that I didn't bring my larger camera.

Recently I have been doing a lot of work with a client in the Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney CBD.

It has been great working in the city as the commute is a lot easier and more interesting in general.

This is the building I have been working in.

One day Kim and I managed to go for a romantic (and long) walk from Coogee to Bondi and back along the coast.



It was a beautiful day and this area have some of the worlds best beaches and coastal views.

We have started giving Aiden and Lucas a bath together when we are not too rushed. They are playing very nicely together in the bathtub.

Lucas is starting to be able to walk by himself and stand for long periods of time without holding onto furniture. The longest we have seen him walk so far was around 2 metres.