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 north are visible through the clouds. The photo was taking using a Nikon FM10 using a Fuji Sensia 100 film. Literally bathed in atmosphere. It would be easy to muff this high key exposure but Rene is spot on. The vertical format adds to a shot capturing all the euphoria of life on the tops. Reminds me of the legendary Mountain mag front covers. ~ Comment by Ian Parnell, Planet Fear

Feel free to see my photo on their website.

Also, you could go to the Planet Fear website to view the other winning photos.

Created: 18 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001

Mt Cook ( 15 ~ 28 January 2001 )


I decided to do a Technical Ice-Climbing course with Alpine Guides in New Zealand.

I spent 10 days at Mt Cook doing a very challenging course, but I learnt a lot. I learnt all the techniques required to do ice-climbing safely. I also learnt the necessities of surviving in the icy mountains.

Prior to the trip, a lot of preparation was required. Everyday, I went jogging to build up my fitness, so by the time I left for New Zealand, I could run 3km on the sand without getting puffed. I also had to buy some of the equipment. I had to buy cramp-ons (looks like spiked metal soles) to attach to my boots; ice-axe and ice-hammer; a new Gore-tex jacket (I needed a new one anyway) and some other clothing and equipment.

The photo on the right became a 3rd-place winner in a photo competition.



Our group consisted of 4 other doing the course. There were no prerequisites, other than a love for the mountains and a very high fitness level. Not all of us who do this course go on to climb the great mountains. We also discovered it takes guts and courage to stand on top of the world and feel confident. One cannot be an ice-climber if there is a fear of heights or if unsteady on the feet.





All of us in the group had come from different backgrounds. Søren was an experienced climber, who had aspirations of going to the Himalayas. Alan was a rock-climber who wanted to try the challenge of ice-climbing. Rob too loved the mountains and wanted the experience and challenge of being on the icey slopes of New Zealand. I had had quite a lot of climbing and mountaineering experience, but this was my first time ice-climbing.

The person holding the camera is Søren. I met him in NZ, whilst waiting for the bus for Mt Cook. To my surprise, he was a Dane living here in Sydney. He was a professional photographer (hence you see him holding the Nikon). He and I had similiar experience so our speed through the course was pretty much the same.



I actually ended up cracking a rib whilst on the course. I did this during a 'self-arrest' technique, where we actually throw ourselves down a steep slope and try to use our ice-axe to stop ourselves from falling any further. This technique is used in case you fall down a crevass and have nothing to hold onto.

Rob was the other person doing the course. He once dropped his ice-axe and one of us had to abseil down to collect it, as an ice-axe is a piece of equipment that is vital and you only carry one of these each.

We worked in pairs, but had to swap partners as our guide took turns working with each of us.



Ice-climbing is nothing like rock-climbing. You cannot use your fingers (well, they will freeze if you take your gloves off), so you really on equipment like ice-axe and ice-picks to anchor yourself into the ice. These pieces of equipment are really important, especially if you are sleeping on a ledge or stopping for a rest. Other than someone belaying you, using ice-picks to secure yourself into the ice is the backup should your belay fail.

We each took turns at ice-climbing! Alan is the one in the blue jacket, Søren is the one in the red.

I guess Søren has more photos of me climbing, whereas I can't take photos of myself!


In the following section, you will see a series of photos of Mt Cook.
If you want to have a look at the black & white version of this (quite artistic), click here.

Last September, Sydney held the Olympic Games. I saw a lot of the events on TV but was disappointed with the coverage of other countries' involvement.

However, I did manage to be at Olympic Park during the Games and also see the first handball match - Denmark vs Norway.

I managed to get tickets for the game and had a very nice day with my girlfriend and the Lenehans. I also managed to get some pretty spectacular photos of the Olympic torch.







Here is Stadium Australia, where the Olympic torch is held. Most of the major track & field events, as well as athletics were held here. It is a pretty spectacular building - and HUGE. During the Olympics, you could not go into just any of the buildings at Olympic Park. You had to have a ticket for an event before you could enter the building.



As you can see me, I am wearing my T-shirt supporting Danmark! This is one of the few days that I can wear the T-shirt.

It was a very sunny and warm day and the place was full of people. During the Olympics, you could only get access to the whole of the Olympic Park if you had a ticket. They had quite tight security, and had to go through a detector on the perimeter of the grounds after you got off the train/bus.




The handball game started at about 2pm and we managed to wander round for quite a bit before going into the arena wear the handball was.

The food as amazingly expensive! Normally a fruit salad would only cost about AUD$3, cost up to AUD$8 that day!. Bottles of water was double the price. They really made it a money-making event for tourists! The funny thing too, we noticed that as you entered Olympic Park, all of the signs were in French and English, and all the announcements were given in French first, then English. It was most peculiar!

As we got closer to where the handball games were being held, we saw a lot of Danes and Norwegians dressed in country colours! Danes in red and white and Norwegians... well, there was a guy there who had lots of cow bells around his neck and attached to his clothes. He was wearing a traditional metal helmet and dressed in old-fashioned gear. It was amazing to feel all the atmosphere - just to be there.



We were all in the true Danish spirit! Even my girlfriend was dressed in a white T-shirt and red pants! We painted flags on our faces with some face paint. We were definitely there to support the Danish team!

Even Lance could not help get caught in the moment with us! *smile*




A break in the handball game - Danmark vs Norway!

Danmark in red & white, Norway in blue & white.

We had pretty good seats - it was a matter of whoever got there first, had the best seats, although we had to enter through certain doors.

All the journalists and officials sat on the left. We even heard that the crown prince of Danmark was there for the game, even though we could not spot him. There were flags everywhere, Danish and Norwegian waving about. Everytime Norway scored, you could hear countless numbers of cow-bells being rung! A few times, some of the people tried to start a Mexican wave, but that did not work out.

It was a very fast and furious game. It was the only handball game that the Danish lost in the whole Olympic Games, and they eventually came first in the finals!










Just after entering Olympic Park, we managed to get a group photo!

As you can see the place is very crowded but very festive - you just had to be there!







A most glorious sunset!

After the handball match, we wandered around for a bit longer. The day had been quite warm, so the night was a beautiful clear night.

After the Lenehans left, Arumi and I had a look at a small Aboriginal art exhibition located at the Park. We sat on one of the few grassy patches, to watch the flickering of the lights and just enjoy the day.

We eventually went home, but Olympic Park was still swarming with people, who were there to watch events that went on later into the night. Although we did not get the chance to see any other events during the Olympics, it was definitely worth the day we spent there. We would have loved to see the final game when Danmark won, but as usual, we were not very organised...


Below, I have included photos taken on the night of the Closing Ceremony.

These were taken from Graham's apartment on a hill at McMahons Point. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks that went off after the Closing Ceremony. It was really windy on the balcony, but I managed to get some photos of the Olympic rings that were placed on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Beautiful, isn't it?

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13. March 2005 09:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Photos from Sydney

13. March 2005 09:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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During the year I took a number of photos in Sydney. If you would like to know what the inner city of Sydney looks like then have a look at this photo collection.



Click here to see more photos from: Sydney/Slideshow

13. March 2005 08:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Climbing 2005

13. March 2005 08:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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In 2005 I managed to do a fair bit of climbing. Sarah and her boyfriend at that time were climbing almost every weekend and climbing with them definitely boosted my confidence and allowed me to increase the difficulty of the climbs I was able to tackle.

The photo below is a photo of me climbing at Centenial Glen.

Click here to see more photos from: Climbing 2005/Slideshow

13. March 2005 07:42
by Rene Pallesen
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Canada 2005

13. March 2005 07:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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I went a trip to Calgary (as well as to Seattle) in the end of 2005. It was lots of meetings and in Calgary we were invited to provide input to our workflow product from the field.

While we were there they had the Chinook, which is a warm wind that appear during the winters...so during the day it was really pleasant.

One night we went to see a game of ice hockey against the Calgary Flames and Chicago...it was the only game that Calgary lost that season.


Click here to see more photos from: Calgary 2005/Slideshow

13. March 2005 07:33
by Rene Pallesen
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Mum and Dad in Sydney 2005

13. March 2005 07:33 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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At the end of 2005 my Mum and Dad escaped the winter in Denmark by travelling to Sydney for a couple of weeks.

They stayed here over Christmas and New Years Eve. While they were here we went for a drive up to Graemes house at Taylors Lake near Port Macquarie where we Christmas Eve cooking traditional danish Roast Duck, and Ris-a-la-mande.

New years even we celebrated at Graemes place at McMahons Point here in Sydney.

New Years day was the hottest on record...48 degrees.

Click here to see more photos from: Christmas and New Years Eve 2005/Slideshow

14. November 2004 12:59
by Rene Pallesen
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Afternoon Sailing in a Felucca

14. November 2004 12:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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14. November 2004 12:58
by Rene Pallesen
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Grandchildren's Meal for Bedstemor

14. November 2004 12:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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Normally Bedstemor's fest is for paid by her children, but this year, all of Bestemor's grandchildren decided to also treat the family in return. They chose the Italian restaurant in the hotel.

It was a 3-course set menu at US$8 per person. For starters, it was thin minestrone with salad vegetables and grated cheese. For entrée, it was 3 pieces of ravioli with mushrooms and white sauce (ravioli suprisingly had cinnamon in it...) For mains, we had a choice of either chicken or veal scallope with fettucine... But all our meals were served with the same sauce and somehow we all ended up getting french fries... When we asked the waiters about the fettucine listed on the menu, no-one had any idea... And our surprise dessert was a scoop Home 14. November 2004 10:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aswan Dam 14. November 2004 10:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet aswan dam Share The High Dam was built in the 1970s. It was higher and wider than the old Aswan Dam. At its highest point, the High Dam was 111m high, 3.8km long and 980m wide at the base. It was built with 3 times as many stones that was used to build Cheops' Pyramid. The High Dam is a high-security military area so no video cameras were allowed. Should the High Dam be destroyed, than most of Egypt will be under water and it would be a disaster for the country. Lake Nasser is a man-made lake to the south, created as a result of the building of the High Dam. Because of this lake, some great monuments, villages and many of the Nubian tribes had to be moved or they would have been submerged under water. I think much history has been lost to these waters. This temple had to moved onto higher ground after the High Dam was built. Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005 14. November 2004 10:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments The Alabaster Factory 14. November 2004 10:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet the alabaster factory Share This alabaster factory was one of Adam's commission-based stops. Alabaster is a cheaper type of marble - the corridors of the Mohammed Ali Mosque was made of this marble, as was the small sphinx statue in Memphis. It was also used for King TutAnkhAmun's canopic jars Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005 14. November 2004 02:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Streets of Luxor (cont....) 14. November 2004 02:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet streets of luxor cont Share 14. November 2004 02:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments The Rooftop 14. November 2004 02:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet the rooftop Share 14. November 2004 02:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Streets of Luxor 14. November 2004 02:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet streets of luxor Share 14. November 2004 02:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Temple of Luxor 14. November 2004 02:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet temple of luxor Share 14. November 2004 02:07 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another Part 3 14. November 2004 02:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet temple of philae moved from one island to another part 3 Share 14. November 2004 02:06 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another Part 2 14. November 2004 02:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet temple of philae moved from one island to another part 2 Share 14. November 2004 02:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another 14. November 2004 02:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet temple of philae moved from one island to another Share 14. November 2004 02:02 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tomb of Nobles 14. November 2004 02:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet tomb of nobles Share << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 ... 92 93 Older posts Home 25. December 2009 10:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Expecting 25. December 2009 10:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet expecting Share Good news everyone...we are expecting a baby and the stork should be delivering around mid June next year. I guess most of you guys already know by now....for the rest of you...Surprise!! It is not unexpected as we were trying. Now there is a busy time ahead preparing for the baby. Kims wants the baby room painted (Even though in my opinion the baby doesn't care what colour it is). We will also need to get hold of stuff like prams etc. If there are any baby items that you can spare (especielly items such as car baby seats, pram and changing table) then we would be very grateful. We don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet (We should know by the end of January). 17. November 2009 08:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments One year Anniversary 17. November 2009 08:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet one year anniversary Share yesterday it was Kim and I's one year anniversary. We actually celebrated it on Saturday with a visit to one of Sydney top restaurants called Bilson's. Yesterday we instead planned to have a nice evening out watching a movie in the evening. Kim was apparently waiting for me to deliver something to her office (or so her colleague said) but after work I was waiting at the car with a bunch of flowers. Kim was so excited to go out in the evening that she forgot to get off the train at our station with the result that she by accident ended up in Parramatta (western Sydney)...it took her one and a half hours to make it to the car...but fortunately the flower still looked fresh. When we got home I spend some time experimenting with some photos and some lighting of the flowers before we went out, and here are the results. The Macro photos are taking using a 35/50mm lens reversed. The light comes from a single strobe reflected of a mirror. The movie was really good and entertaining. We saw 2012...and it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. 2. November 2009 08:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Sculptures by the Sea 2. November 2009 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet sculptures by the sea Share Every year in October & November there is an exhibition called Sculptures by the Sea. The city exhibits close to 200 sculptures on the stretch of coastline between Bondi and Tamarama. The public can go for a walk and have a look at the sculptures and vote for their favourits...if they are able to find parking that is. Some of them are really good and some of them at just plain weird. Here's some photos I took of my favourites. 12. October 2009 11:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments An almost non-climbing event 12. October 2009 11:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet an almost non climbing event Share It has been raining almost constantly for the past two weeks (since the dust storm really) and Andy and I had organised to go climbing in the Blue Mountains together with a friends of his (Dan) who's never been on on real rock before. We looked a the forecast and it didn't look promising for the mountains so the night before we decided to go to plan B and go to Barrenjoey instead. The quality of the climbing is more limited, but at least it is a shorter drive and walk-in in case you have to bail. We arrived up at Palm Beach in the morning and the roads were still soaked in water from all the rain the night before. We therefore decided to stop at a cafe and have some breakfast and let the cliffs dry out a bit before walking in there. While eating breakfast we were having a look at the latest radar pictures and we could see that it was pouring down in the mountains and we could see rain approaching the Sydney area. After breakfast we were trying to decide whether we should bail or go climbing. After much procrastination we decided to climb and went to the carpark. Andy pulled out the insect repellent and started rubbing it into his genitals (or so it looked) saying that it would keep the chicks away (which I'm sure his wife appreciates)...or was it ticks. For Dans benefit we started out on one of the easiest climbs around there called Jezebel. Andy did the first lead and as he finished we could feel the first rain drops. I then did the second climb and once I reached the top the rain became heavier. The plan was to have Dan follow me up so that he could try an absail from the top. Once he reached the top it really started pouring and all of us became drenched while setting up the absail and clearing the gear. Dan made it down in good style (although nervous) and once I'd made it to the ground as well we quickly packed our gear and headed back home for a nice warm shower. Mostly a non-climbing day really...but Andy did get his sugar-hit with the pancakes. 12. October 2009 11:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wicked - How did the wicked witch become wicked? 12. October 2009 11:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet wicked Share Saturday evening Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Capitol Theatre to see the Broadway play called Wicked. The play is about how the Wicked witch became wicked in 'The Wizard of Oz'. The play very cleverly provides the background for the Wizard of Oz. This was Kims birthday present to me earlier in the year...satisfied the criteria for presents: Must be an experience or a consumable. It was a really nice evening and the play was very funny...especially the Wizard of Goodness (a real blonde) 23. September 2009 04:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Freak weather and dust storms 23. September 2009 04:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Home 14. November 2004 02:02 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Nile Cruise 14. November 2004 02:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet nile cruise Share 14. November 2004 01:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments An Egyptian Perfumery 14. November 2004 01:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet an egyptian perfumery Share 14. November 2004 01:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments The Unfinished Obelisk 14. November 2004 01:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet the unfinished obelisk Share 14. November 2004 01:54 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Memphis - the Ancient Capital of Egypt 14. November 2004 01:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet memphis the ancient capital of egypt Share 14. November 2004 01:52 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kom Ombo's Temple - Dedicated to Horus & Sobek, the Crocodile God 14. November 2004 01:52 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kom ombo s temple dedicated to horus sobek the crocodile god Share 14. November 2004 01:51 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Valley of the Kings 14. November 2004 01:51 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet valley of the kings Share 14. November 2004 01:49 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Karnak - "the Most Perfect of Places" - Part 4 14. November 2004 01:49 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet karnak the most perfect of places part 4 Share 14. November 2004 01:49 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Karnak - "the Most Perfect of Places" - Part 3 14. November 2004 01:49 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet karnak the most perfect of places part 3 Share 14. November 2004 01:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Karnak - "the Most Perfect of Places" - Part 2 14. November 2004 01:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet karnak the most perfect of places part 2 Share 14. November 2004 01:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Temple of Horus - the Most Complete of Its Kind Part 4 14. November 2004 01:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet temple of horus the most complete of its kind part 4 Share << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 ... 92 93 Older posts Home 17. August 2009 10:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Rosenborg - Denmark 17. August 2009 10:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet copenhagen denmark Share On the last day in Denmark our flight wasn't leaving from Copenhagen to Milan until early evening, we therefore decided to head into the capital a bit earlier in the day and spend a couple of hours sightseeing with my parents. We went to a place called Rosenborg (Rose Castle) which is where the Danish royals keep their crown jewels. It is also the place where they train the soldiers that protect the royals. Some of the jewels are absolutely stunning. There is lots of ivory, old weapons, saddles, gold etc. everything coverved with diamonds, perls, emeralds, rubys and other jewels. My mum and dad was waiting outside (half asleep) while we were inside looking at all the awsomeness. 17. August 2009 10:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Knuthenborg Zoo - Denmark 17. August 2009 10:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet knuthenborg zoo Share While we were in Denmark we went to the local zoo called Knuthenborg. It was created by the owner of one of the big farms who had a vision to create one of Europes larges open air zoos. What is so special about this particular zoo is that you drive around amongst the animals and in certain areas are allowed to leave the car and interact with the animals. The first place we went was the monkey area. Here we were able to walk around some of the Lemurs (Half monkeys) from Madagascar. Driving around we also saw a number of other animals such as the asian water buffalo (which loves mud), zebras, Zobel Antelopes, Goats Kim even found a horse her own size We had a bit of fun with the camels. I don't know what they were thinking but they kept eating my hair and I think one of them was in love with me. They also have some more exotic animals there such as tigers and rhinos (The wouldn't allow us to get out of our car to pet these). 17. August 2009 10:11 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Medieval Centre in Denmark 17. August 2009 10:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet midieval centre Share Not far from where my parent live there is an open air museum displaying how people lived in the medieval time which in Denmark was the late 14th century. For Kim and I it felt like we suddenly were a princess and a knight from that time. Besides from houses, ships and other buildings the place also displays various handicraft, weaponry and how people battles in those times. They have working Trebuchets there to throw massive stones (or dead animals and burning tar) accurately for distances of more than several hundred metres. Every day they show people how they work and hurl massive stones into the water. We tried some of the weapons. I used to be fairly alright with a bow and arrow when I was a kid. I tried the bow and arrow here and it was a total disaster. Obviously Kim went straigh for the shoes and the furs (I am not a fur person myself): They also had a knights tournament on while we were there. Two knights would fight using their lances which would shatter on the impact against the shields. 17. August 2009 10:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Sailing in Denmark 17. August 2009 10:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet sailing Share On one of the days in Denmark we had a really nice and relatively calm day. This was perfect for us to go sailing and bring my mum along. First we had to get my mum onboard. The Sailing clum has a crane for removing masts from the boats. This is perfect for lifting her in a specially designed harness from her wheelchair to the boat. The water between the two islands (Lolland and Falster...the island I grew up on) is fairly narrow and long and we spent time sailing north for a couple of hours, had some lunch whereafter we turned back again. It was a beautiful day and my mum really enjoyed it as well. We managed to take some really nice family photos on the trip. On the same evening we had a beautiful sunset. 17. August 2009 09:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Denmark 2009 17. August 2009 09:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet denmark Share When Kim and i got married last year we promised my mum that we would come to Denmark this summer (European) and have a little party with her as she was unable to attend. Our journey there didn't start well. A five hour delay from Sydney meant that we missed our flight in London. British Airways told us that we wouldn't be able to get on a flight until next day but we insisted that they get get on us a flight the same day. They waitlisted us on a couple of flight and eventually we managed to get to Copenhagen late the same evening. Thanks to modern technology my parents were updated with the flight details so they didn't have to wait around and they arrived to the airport just before we arrived. It took our luggage another two days to catch up with us, this meant that we had to do some essential clothes shopping. The first couple of day we spent with my parent, cooking for them, taking my mum to the forest, the beach as well as going sailing. It is summer time in Denmark at the moment, so the weather was a lot more pleasant than the last time we were there and there was more people at the beach etc. It was a bit weird visiting this time. My mum and dad are no longer living together and they had sold the house week before we arrived. This meant that we were staying in my dads apartment (Which used to be my brothers) and visiting my mum during the day. My mum has got a really nice little apartment in a facility where there are people around to assist her whenever she needs help. My mum has also still got the car, so it is easier to take her to places as it has got a lift and special belts to secure the wheelchair. At the end of the week my dad had organised a party for my family and friends. It was in the middle of the holiday season, so a lot of cousins and other family members were unable to join. It was especially good to see my grandma (who is 89). We were in Denmark a total of 10 days before then heading to Italy. 7. July 2009 09:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims Birthday Party 7. July 2009 09:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kims birthday party Share Kim likes to have a lot of parties (Pre-Party, Party and Post Party) when it is her birthday. This weekend we had a big group of her friends over for a BBQ. It is currently winter here, but it was nice and sunny, so the backyard was still warm in the mid twenty degrees so we were able to sit outside. Kim had baked cupcakes the night before and used the cupcake stand from our wedding to present them and it looked fantastic. 28. June 2009 09:20 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims Birthday & Blue Mountains 28. June 2009 09:20 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kims birthday blue mountains Share Last year I took Kim to Hunter Valley for her birthday. This year we decided to head up to the cold Blue Mountains. We hired a cabin that we stayed in a couple of years ago. It is a nice little self contained cottage in the Blue Mountains...loads of privacy and a nice little woodfire and spa. It was cold up there so the wood fire was very convenient. Saturday morning we had booked a round of golf at Leura golf course. The first thing you notice here is that everyone plays really slowly. We got let through two groups but still managed to complete the round in less than 4 hours. It is a beautiful course and it was one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I'd played for a long time. And as you can tell Kim was very relaxed too. And here showing the latest in golf fashion. In the afternoon we had a look at Leura (Kim had the munchies for scones) and we had a look at the local shops. In the evening it was time to celebrate her Birthday so I took her out to dinner at Echos Point Restaurant. Food was ok, but overprices compared to many really good Sydney restaurants. But there was plenty of food so we skipped the desert...and had a really nice and romantic evening, so Kim was very happy. Next morning we woke up early to have a look at a few shops and gardens around the place. First we went to a garden called Everglades...nice, but would have been nicer once the flowers are out in late winter (It is winter here in Oz now) . After that we went to Mount Tomah botanical gardens. These are very nice, there was plenty of flowers and the layout of the gardens is really nice. I bought a new tripod for photography last week so we decided to have some fun around the place with jump shots. 14. June 2009 07:40 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vivid Sydney 14. June 2009 07:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet vivid sydney Share This year Sydney has put on a fantastic lightshow in the city centre. Purpose is to draw people into the city here at winter time. One evening after having dinner with a couple of friends, Kim and I went in there to take some photos of some of the light shows....and here are the results. 12. June 2009 03:41 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Adam is here (another nephew) 12. June 2009 03:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet adam is here another nephew Share Yesterday on the 11th June Adam was born by Kim's sister Dao. He is an impatient little bugger and decided to arrive two weeks early and later at night while all the other boys in the family were out watching the soccer match between Australia and Bahrain. Suddenly Wednesday evening Dao called saying that she'd started going into labour. Normally Wednesday is my climbing night but luckily I was home this evening. Kim and I quickly picked up KC (Kims other sister) and they took the car (while I stayed with KC's kids) to go and pick up Dao and bring her to the hospital. She was in labour until after midnight and in the early hours Thursday arrived. We all went there yesterday to have a look and both mother and child is doing fine. And Dylan (on the left in the photo) is excited to have a baby brother. 18. April 2009 05:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing at Cathedral - I have been here before 18. April 2009 05:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet climbing at cathedral i have been here before Share At Vang Vieng we did do some water sports. Again we were extremely lucky kayaking a section of the river back to Vang Vieng and having the entire river to ourselves. The three kids were all in a kayak with our guide sitting on top of their life jackets - fortunately they can all swim. Kim and I was in one Kayak and Sacha and Mavis in another. Just where we started out there was a rapid with water flowing over a large boulder but with plenty of flat water on the sides. Kim was little impressed when I headed straight into the rapids and with perfect skills paddled us through them...her being soaked and the kayak being full of water may have had something to do with it. She's later said that the kayaking trip was one of her favourite and most fun activities on the trip, so maybe she was somewhat impressed with my brilliant paddling skills!! Along the river are still some of the remains of the bars and zip lines - but all very quiet now. Approaching Vang Vieng we went past some really scenic locations with bungalows etc. The experience at the end got and all thumbs up! Another water activity that Mavis and I did was tubing through one of the caves. You essentially sit in an inflated car tyre and then pull yourself along a rope inside a cave. It was fun for the kids, however this place was packed with Koreans trying to do the same thing. Aiden initially didn't want to go, but I am proud that he eventually managed to get the courage to do so. We also went to one of the lagoons. There are a number of them and some of them are very popular. We organised with a driver to drive us to one of the less popular ones. It was still scenic and it had platforms of the trees to jump from and you could see why some travelers would have killed themselves jumping off them. There were also a couple of rafts which reminded me of the first time I went to Laos and paddles across a local river on a raft. It got on one of them in the lagoon and the whole thing literally sunk under me - I only just managed to get off in time before getting soaked. The second one was able to hold my weight and I took the boys for a little paddle. 9. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments A silent prayer - Laos 9. January 2018 19:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet At one of the caves in Laos there is this amazing Buddha statue inside the cave.I couldn&#39;t help but Share At one of the caves in Laos there is this amazing Buddha statue inside the cave. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the diffused light was falling onto the statue itself and through the entrance to the cave. We were there all by ourselves and I asked Kim to sit and offer a little prayer in the ray of light coming in through the cave. I didn't bring a tripod with me to Laos, so everything had to be shot handheld which was tricky as there wasn't much light there. 8. January 2018 18:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vang Vieng - Caves 8. January 2018 18:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet In Vang Vieng we also went to some caves. Again we were the only ones there - I don&#39;t know if this w Share In Vang Vieng we also went to some caves. Again we were the only ones there - I don't know if this was just because no one else were interested or because we went there at a time when everyone else were doing other activities. The caves are in fairly pristine condition, they are dark, moist and other than descending a makeshift ladder walking through them gives a feeling of exploring the caves for the very first time. Some passages were really narrow And other parts of the caves were massive. Overall the caves are beautiful and again it was amazing having them to ourselves. 7. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tribes - Laos 7. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet The tribes of Laos still exist although it is no longer as noticeable. They no longer wear their tra Share The tribes of Laos still exist although it is no longer as noticeable. They no longer wear their traditional costumes but it is possible to glimpse the occasional traditional head wear or dress in one of the shops. It is especially sad to see the Hmong tribal wear gone as worn below by Mavis and Kim. The Hmong traditionally lived in the mountains. The government has forced them down into the lowlands where they can be controlled and 'integrated' into the the rest of Laos. 6. January 2018 20:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vang Vieng Countryside - Laos 6. January 2018 20:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet On the first day in Vang Vieng we hired a local guide to take us through the country side and some o Share On the first day in Vang Vieng we hired a local guide to take us through the country side and some of the villages around Vang Vieng. Hiking through the countryside in Laos is partly magical and at the same time an eye opener. It is not until you get into the country side that you get a glimse of the real Laos and its people, the way of living and their beliefs. Walking into the first village a group of boys came walking towards us. One of the kids was holding his head with blood dripping down his face. The other boys were taking him home to his parents. I couldn't help but notice that there was a green substance smeared across the wound and asked our guide is he knew what it was. He went over to some bushes and plucked a couple of leaves and said that if you crush them then they will help stop the bleeding. This is when you realise that a lot of the plants in the villages serve a purpose as natural herbal medicine or for eating. The village was a HMong village and at one of the houses we spotted the little girl above standing in a door opening with her grand mother. There are very few of the traditional bamboo shacks still standing and instead being replaced with brick buildings. A bit further up the road we heard a sound. Someone was hitting a gong and chanting. Thinking it might be a monk we went to investigate. The sound was coming from one of the local houses. At the back of the house the family was in the process of preparing food, but we couldn't see where the sound was coming from. Our guide asked them and was told that they had a newborn (possibly sick) child and that the Shaman was in the house talking to the 'other world to' attract the good spirits and chase the evil spirits away. As we walked on we could see him through the opening of the door and I snapped the above photo which is one of my favourite photos of the trip. In the village people go about their normal life such as this woman removing lice from her daughters hair. As we walked on we had to walk through the local school. It happened to be recess and the kids in the smaller classes were outside playing. There was a small stand selling them lunches who also sold lollies, so Kim got the idea to spoil the kids with lollies - but also turned out to be a great opportunity for our kids to interact and see what a classroom in Laos looks like. The area is still very un-developed. Although there seems to be electricity, this is mainly used for lighting. Cooking is still done by collecting wood and done on wood fired stoves and people still wash their clothes in the rivers and streams. Although there are still a number of water buffaloes these are mainly used for eating along with any other non-human living animal - such as pigs, dogs, birds etc. It was very healthy for the boys to see where their food 'potentially' comes from and understand that this is part of life. The area is full of rice paddies, but these are now worked with mechanical tools rather than buffaloes. The government has built bridges across the large river to allow access to the villages. But the smaller streams have bamboo bridges - in this case wide enough to drive a motorbike across, others just a single bamboo to allow a person walk across. At the far village (Lao and not Hmong) there was a limestone cliff with a small cave in it. This was called elephant cave and inside there was a small shrine along with some bizarre images. The whole area is spectacular - I can only imagine what it would be like during rice planting season - yes it would be muddy but also stunningly beautiful. During this whole hike we saw no other travelers. Other than at the cave we didn't get a sense that there frequently came any groups through and I think the feedback from all of us was that this was one of the highlights of the trip - no adrenaline required. 5. January 2018 16:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vang Vieng - Laos 5. January 2018 16:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Vang Vieng is an interesting tourism destination in Laos that has undergone several iterations of re Share Vang Vieng is an interesting tourism destination in Laos that has undergone several iterations of re-inventing itself. When I first visited for an overnight stopover it was a sleepy little town with maybe a handful of backpackers going tubing (more on that later). I also remember the deserted airport runway from the 'secret war' going through the sleepy little village (Lima site 6) and the stunning mountain scenery in the background. Other than that there wasn't much there. Ten years later my mum and dad visited the place and told me stories how the place had transformed. It had grown and was full of drunk backpackers with loud rave music and parties throughout the night. During the day they were floating down the river in car tubes again with beers and drinks in their hands. Then again about 5 years ago, Laos appeared in the Australian news media with stories of young backpackers breaking their necks doing somersaults off the tree branches on the river and lagoons and hitting the rocks. Stories of high highly available drugs were also emerged. The Lao government stepped in and closed the majority of the bars along the river, stopped the parties and the drugs and implemented a number of other safety restrictions. It worked, the parties stopped and the young party seeking backpackers fled. A new crowd has now moved in - this is bus loads of adrenaline seeking Koreans. They go there to go kayaking, zip lining, tubing, buggy riding etc. They eat at the Korean restaurants and stay at the same hotels, but otherwise mostly keep to themselves. This also means that some of the same old sleepy feeling has returned to this town. It also meant that is was easy (or just plain luck from our side) to avoid the tourists. The airstrip is still there, but I recon most visitors would walk across it and not notice and definitely wouldn't know the history behind the secret war in Laos, let alone the American involvement and the little airstrips around the place. It is a fascinating story and has very much shaped Laos into what it is today. The area is just absolutely stunning with steep limestone cliffs and rice paddies. I could easily have spent more time there taking photos in the surrounding area. 3. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Pha That Luang - Laos 3. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet A must see in Vientiane is Pha That Luang - It is on every bank note in Laos and they are very proud Share A must see in Vientiane is Pha That Luang - It is on every bank note in Laos and they are very proud of it. Unlike Buddha Park it is surprisingly quiet when it comes to tourists. The majority of people visiting seems to be either Laos or Thai people offering a prayer. The correct way here is to get the insense and flowers and then walk clockwise around the Stuba on the inside of the covered corridor (mostly to keep out of the sun I assume). Although it is not particularly old (The original 1st century structure was mostly destroyed and has undergone a number of more recent restorations), it is stunningly beautiful and impressive in size. For me to get some of the panorama photos here with the selection of lenses I'd brought along I had to take multiple photos that I then had to stitch together. Outside there is a temple that is equally interesting, although nothing compared to further north in Luang Prabang. There are also street vendors selling cage birds that are supposed to bring good luck and prayers to anyone releasing them. 2. January 2018 10:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Buddha Park - Laos 2. January 2018 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet One of the sights we wanted to visit was Buddha Park outside Vientiane (close to the border crossing Share One of the sights we wanted to visit was Buddha Park outside Vientiane (close to the border crossing back into Thailand). Trying to figure out the most comfortable way to get there we settled on taking the local bus. There aren't any taxis as such in Vientiane and we weren't keen taking a tuk-tuk for 30 kilometers. Most of the tuk-tuks are in an extremely poor shape with failing brakes, wobbling wheels and thick smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes. They are perfectly fine for shorter trips inside the city (such as hotel to bus station), but not recommended for longer trips. The bus turned out to be easy to find and we were early enough to all get a seat. The bus was later packed with passengers going to Thailand and it would have been tough to stand up for the one hour bus ride. The bus is also really convenient in that it stops right outside Buddha Park which is the last stop before the bus turns around and heads back to Vientiane. Buddha Park itself was apparently established by a Monk building the statues for religious purposes as education of his religious beliefs. It is actually a nice little area and quite interesting with lots of (to us) weird statues showing bizarre things. The most obvious is the massive 'pumpkin' at the entrance that you can climb. Each level inside the the sculpture itself represents hell, earth and sky. The entrance is a head with a clock above it - meaning swallowed up by time? There is also a massive reclining buddha. And my favourite was the large centre sculpture carrying the body of a woman...no idea what this is supposed to represent. 2. January 2018 09:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vientiane - Laos 2. January 2018 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Vientiane is no longer the sleepy capital city it used to be. It is hustling and bustling with peopl Share Vientiane is no longer the sleepy capital city it used to be. It is hustling and bustling with people, cars, motorbikes and shops everywhere. The once neglected colonial buildings have all been renovated and the red dust flying everywhere is long gone as the roads have been paved. In the outskirts of the city high-rise office towers have started shooting up and I think that given another decade this city will look like any other East Asian capital. The most striking difference was the banks of the Mekong River. Last time I was there it was really just a dirty path and following it north long enough there would be a string of wooden shacks with local restaurants that would serve some beautiful local dishes, fish and other seafood. The water then would come right up to the bank and the boats could pull up and during the day the local kids would jump from the trees and swim in the river. The old path has been replaced by a modern walk way (which actually is really nice) and the shacks have been replaced by some bars closer to the centre catering more for a western clientel - still with some nice seafood on the menu. The water of the Mekon has receeded and there is now a massive sand bank moving the river 2-300 meter back from the city. Although Vientiane doesn't have a massive amount of things to see, it is definitely worth a visit. The Wats are beautiful and the vertical runway (local Arc de Triumpe - called so because they used cement intended for building an airport) is worth the climb to get a view of the city (and the main road which used to be the only paved road). There is certainly plenty to do for a couple of days. About 100 meters from the Arc down a side street we had what was probably the best noodle soup of the whole trip. It was just a local mum, dad and grandma run place and it met the critia of being busy having locals eating there which means that it is likely that the food is good and relative fresh. Even with it being in the middle of the city there was no access to gas or running water, so everything was cooked over wood fired stoves with the broth for the soups likely cooking overnight and the rest cooked fresh on the spot. On the first afternoon we were sitting in a local coffee place and I started speaking to the girl working there. I asked her for local places to eat great authentic Lao food - not touristy. She recommended a place up neat That Dam (the black stuba) called Soukvinam and she showed me some photos. It looked more like a fine dining place, but the food looked delicious so we decided to give it a go. It was a quiet place with a nice ambience. We were sitting outside in the courtyard which was ideal with the kids. We ordered a lot of food sticking to specialties we had never tried before such as stuffed frogs, fermented fish eggs etc. and it was all really nice. By Lao standards it probably wasn't cheap, but for the whole group of us the entire meal ended up costing approximately $100 AUD. On that 'note' it is easy to be an instant millionaire as a foreigner in Laos - change $150 Australian dollars you are there. We also celebrated New Years Even in Vientiane which was fairly low key with a couple of late night drinks. 1. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Returning to Laos 1. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Returning to Laos Share This year our holiday was going to a country in South East Asia called to the Laos with the boys and some close friends. I went there almost 20 years ago. I had just migrated to Australia and was going on my first holiday. Laos which had only just been opened up by the communist regime, was very much undeveloped after two decades of isolation and happened to be one of the first places I visited in Asia and it was a country that I immediately fell in love with. It wasn’t the things to see and do in the country that I fell in love with - but the people. I loved the smiles, how welcoming everyone was, and I especially loved the joy of the dirty kids playing in the streets. Everyone was living at very simple lifestyle and yet everyone had what they needed and were happy. Back then I had no firm plans, but made them up as I went along. I traveled light, caught local transport, I met locals and other travelers along the way on a budget of less than $10/day, and still remember the sticky rice sold to passengers when passing through towns. I had some incredible experiences in an amazing country. I managed to have a full busload full of locals break down laughing from me trying to read up sentences from my little pocket Lao phrase book. Through this I was invited to visit families and join their local celebrations through festive events. The only local I met up in Northern Laos who could English was a girl working for an NGO. She invited me to join her visits to remote local villages where we had to cross the rivers on bamboo rafts to get to them and experienced the local dragon boat racing. Since this distant time I had heard and lots about the country from other travelers including my Mum and Dad who visited the country ten years ago. I heard how the country had changed and how mass tourism had ruined the experience. I had heard about the young backpacker rave parties, the drugs and adrenaline junkies in Vang Vieng. I heard about the modernization, cars an Home 18. January 2009 10:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing Berowra 18. January 2009 10:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet climbing berowra Share Today the Rockstar (Andy) and the Prong went climbing at Berowra. The news media had gotten the hint of the occasion and the paparazzi were there in full force taking photos. The bureau had told us that it was going to be a cool day, but it turned out to be rather hot for Berowra (29 degrees) and around lunch time the face was pretty much in the sun...so it was skin cancer territory. We started out by me leading on an easy(iere) climb called "The Wall Thing 18" ...very pleasant climb with a fairly reachy finish. We then did (I led) the "Boundary Rider 19" which was equally pleasant with an extremely long reach to the anchor and the first time I went for it I missed the hold on top (I had no idea where to aim) and peeled off giving myself a rockstar manicure in the process (This is when you feel off all your skin on your hands to the point where it starts bleeding). We then did "Mental Fatigue 18" and by this time the face was getting hit by the sun and warming up. The sun was in our eyes and it was hard to see where to go. Last time May did this climb she peeled off half way up. This time there was a significant amount of blood stains on one of the holds despite it being a fairly simple and straightforward climb with good protection. We started getting hot now and the Paparazzi had left so we decided that we didn't have to show off any longer and decided to do a direct variant to "Mental Fatigue" (sopposedly grade 20) on Toprope...very pleasant but would not have been very good on lead as the first bolt was up very high. The last climb of the day was "Palm Sunday 21" this was the highlight of the day even though we did it on top rope. Next time I go to Berowra and have a good day then I'll definitely come back to this one and try and lead it. Editors note: It turns out that the paparazzi weren't taking photos of the Rockstar and Prong. The reason why they were there was because Paris Hilton was there showing off her latest outdoor collection...seriously...who gives a sh..! 4. January 2009 10:46 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing Bardens Lookout - Blue Mountains 4. January 2009 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet climbing bardens lookout Share Saturday morning we drove out to the Blue mountains to spend the day there climbing (Unfortunately Andy couldn't go on an overnight trip). When we got up there it was cold, covered in clouds and drizzling. We decided to have a coffee and breakfast to check if it would clear up...and fortunately it did. We were planning to go to Shipley, but after studying the guide we decided to go to Bardens Lookout instead. It was completely dry and it turned out to be a day with a perfect temperature and we did some really nice and varied climbs (I would tell you the climbs but someone stole/took my guide book during the day). We started on a grade 16 (Karinya I think) for warmup, and then moved to a very pleasant grade 18 (Jolly Good Fellow). I then had a go at a grade 20 (Dr Do Little) with a very reachy and balancy move up the top which almost made me fall off (Andy had a hard time on this move). We then did a grade 19 (Little Triggers) and by this time my strength was gone so I only just managed to lead it (almost came off clipping the top anchor as I was drained). The climbs are fairly long at Bardens Lookout and I don't have a lot of endurance because the climbs in the gyms are too short. Phil had a go at a grade 21 (Hang on to Yourself) and was really struggling on it and came off 4-6 times one of which was captured on video and once he came off upside down. Eventually he got through it and I toptoped and cleaned it (With a lot of grunt and swearing). Download video of Andy Climbing 1 Download video of Andy Climbing 2 Download video of Andy being Lowered Download video of Phil Falling 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Day...golf at Brighton Golf Club 1. January 2009 10:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet new years day golf at brighton golf club Share As tradition dictates we played golf with Sasha on new years day. And he had booked a time at Brighton Golf Club (Moorebank) at a civilised hour (1.30pm). Kim and I hadn't played for about 10 months as we had been too busy with all the other things in 2008 (see the rest of the blog postings). I think we played a fairly decent game considering the time since we'd last played but both Kim and I were fairly tired after the 18 holes. It was a hot day with temperatures in the mid thirties and the course was fairly hot...so we drank lots of water as we went. 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments New Years Eve 2008 31. December 2008 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet new years eve Share Every year both Kim and I have been in the Sydney harbour area to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. But this year we decided to have a quiet new years eve just the two of us with a visit to the movies and then a nice dinner at home. We did however watch the fireworks from our balcony at midnight and it looked just as spectacular as previous years (I borrowed the photo above from another site). 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Smiths Lake Christmas Trip 27. December 2008 11:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet smiths lake christmas trip Share Between Christmas and New year we drove with Kims family up to Smiths Lake (300km North of Sydney). We rented a house on the lake up there. We hired a tinny (small aluminium boat) a couple of days and went fishing and managed to catch a lot of breams (a lot too small to keep). Kims dad loves fishing and he quickly found out that in the morning and evening the fish were at the shore just outside the house. In the evening we cooked nice dinners and BBQ's and the cookaburras came to the balcony around dinner time to check if there were leftovers. We had a bit of fun with them as you can see. In the evenings we played Blackjack (Kim and I cleaned up) and had nice food and wine. Chong (The husband of Kims sister) showed his more feminine side. The rest of the time we spent at the beach playing in the waves and playing with Kims sisters kids. 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Day 25. December 2008 11:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet christmas day Share Christmas day was celebrated with Kims family at her sisters house. A lot of people were there and everyone had been asked to bring some food. Kim had cooked Red Duck Curry the day before while I was preparing the Christmas Eve dinner. Again...lots of food, playing table tennis, jumping the trampoline and all the kids got to open their presents. 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas Eve 24. December 2008 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet christmas eve Share Christmas even was celebrated in the traditional Danish way in the evening of the 24th December. Kim and I had invited some friends over to out new house and prepared the traditional roast duck, ris-a-la-mande and large tiger prawns for entrees. It was a nice evening and we didn't finish until well after midnight and all of us were really full by the time we finished dinner. There was a couple of kid and after dinner they got to open their Christmas presents. 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims dads Birthday 12. December 2008 08:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kims dads birthday Share Every year on Kims dads birthday we celebrate with the family. Every couple brings a couple of dishes of food and we all share it. 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Diving at Tulamben - Honeymoon in Bali 18. November 2008 02:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet diving at tulamben Share On our honeymoon in Bali I really wanted to do this scuba dive that was recommended to me by my friend Andy. It is this old wreck of a US cargo ship (USS liberty) that was torpedoed by the japanese in 1942 and then beached to save the men and the cargo. The wreck has since slided back into deeper water (during a volcanic eruption in 1962) and it now in 5 to 27 meters of water just off the coast. I did two dives on the wreck while Kim was snorkeling in the surface on top of the wreck and it is without a doubt the most amazing scuba diving experience I've had. The ship is huge and you can swim through the cargo hulls and there is an amazing variety of fish and corals on the wreck. I saw a 1.5 meter barracuda, a 1cm tall seahorse, a garden of eels and a great variety of other fish including a large school of travelly. I had my personal dive master for the day and I got him to take some photos and some video with his camera while we were diving. On the first dive we went all the way around the wreck (max depth 27 meters) and on the second we went through the wreck itself. Kim had a really good experience as well and really enjoyed the 30 degree warm water and managed to get her bum burnt while snorkeling for several hours. I think we'll both go back there if we get the chance. Click here to download video of me feeding fish Click here to download video of me diving 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bali Honeymoon 18. November 2008 01:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet bali honeymoon Share Our Honeymoon day after the wedding went to Bali in Indonesia. We did have some hesitation going there considering that the Bali Bombers had been executed the week before and that the Australian government discouraged all travel there. The plane up there (and back) was only 25% full so plenty of space to get a good sleep. We stayed in Nusa Dua Westin....a nice hotel although the rooms are a bit small. On the first day we slept in and later in the day drove to Kuta to have a look around and do some shopping. Later in the evening we went to Jimbaran Bay for dinner. This is a whole beach where all the restaurants have put their tables and chairs out onto the beach itself...very romantic but quite expensive compared to local restaurants. The second day we hired a car to drive us to Ubud in the hills, Monkey Forest and later in the day down to a small place called Tanah Lot. Especially the last one was very nice around sunset and we ended up not getting back to our hotel until 8.30 in the evening much to the dismay of our driver. Dinner took place near the hotel and we found that the value of the food/prices was much better here. A couple of days later we went for another drive (In between we went to Tulamben...see posting below) up to some beautiful lakes and temples up on the north of the island as well as rice paddies and we had a really nice trip despite driving with the most grumpy driver. Time was running out and Kim felt that she hadn't spent enough time shopping so the last two days were spent shopping and sitting at the pool and on the beach. One evening we booked a really nice restaurant called "The Living Room" in Seminyak and I booked the whole outdoor area (cost a fortune) just so that we could have a romantic evening in the garden just the two of us with personal waiting staff. The week was way too short and we never got to do everything we wanted to do so I have a feel we will be coming back in the future. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ... 92 93 Older posts