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26. August 2013 10:35
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden in Fiji

26. August 2013 10:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden in fiji


Aiden is a bit of a worry...although he is a social kid he is quite scared of a lot of things and requires a lot of help doing things.

Because he has been delayed on a lot of fronts including his comprehension he would like to play with the other kids but doesn't understand the games they are playing.

This means that he in a lot of cases finds comfort just playing by himself rather than with the other kids.





It does mean that whenever they have group games then he will require someone who can give him step by step instructions until he understands the game.



Mind you when he does find someone who is interested in playing the games he does understand then it is great to see.





26. August 2013 09:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Fiji 2013

26. August 2013 09:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

fiji 2013


Last week we made the trip to Fiji with the kids.

Kim is just about to finish her maternity leave and my work asked me to reduce my accumulated annual leave days by taking some time off so we decided to go away for a week.

We stayed at the Hilton close to Nadi (we found it too far to travel with the kids to the coral coast). This is the view from our room.




Aiden and Lucas had lots of fun playing on the balcony (Lucas enjoyed throwing toys off the balcony).



And we did spend some time in the sand as well.





And trying to teach Lucas to walk (he can almost stand by himself now).



But all the swimming was done in the swimming pool at the hotel.



We didn't venture out much, but on most of the evenings we would walk over to the local Marina to eat (the food was better and cheaper).



One day we hired a nanny to look after Lucas (with little success as they were unable to feed him and settle him, so we still had to be there).

16. August 2013 07:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Centenial Park memorial

16. August 2013 07:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

centenial park memorial


The other day I went for a walk in Centenial Park. For the first time I ventured into the memorial (normally there are lots of dogs and poo in this area so I generally avoid it).

The ceiling of the memorial is quite pretty and I can see myself coming back to do some more photos at some stage.


16. August 2013 07:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Harbour walk with friends

16. August 2013 07:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

harbour walk with friends


Last weekend I went for a walk along the harbour with a couple of friends and Aiden (in my backpack).

It was a beautiful winters day being sunny and 25 degrees.

We started out at Waverton and walked almost across to Greenwich. It wasn't a long walk but very pleasant (especially since I also had Aiden to carry).

5. August 2013 09:17
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden and Lucas at the Beach

5. August 2013 09:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden and lucas at the beach


The other day we went to Maroubra beach to let the boys play in the sand and also to try and get some photos of them together.


It is currently winter here in Sydney which sometimes provides this beautiful cool light.





Lucas and Aiden are now really good at playing together...Lucas is doing his best to copy everything that Aiden does and at the same time tried to keep up, whic is difficult when you cant walk yet.

...And Aiden is good at sharing his toys and make sure that Lucas has something to play with.



5. August 2013 09:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Test Portrait shot

5. August 2013 09:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

test portrait shot


The other day I did a couple of test portrait shots...I wanted a portrait that was a bit more moody than usual.

It is not easy getting the low key lighting right...much easier to do high key where you can pretty much blast the subject with light.

I haven't had the time to experiment further to accomplish what I wanted...but here is what I did get after 10-15 minutes experimenting.



31. July 2013 06:53
by Rene Pallesen
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Clever boy

31. July 2013 06:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

clever boy


Yesterday Kim caught Lucas grabbing her car keys and the trying to use the keys to unlock the front door...with a bit of practice and some extra height me might succeed one day.

I think he just wanted to take the big red car outside for a spin...

30. July 2013 08:36
by Rene Pallesen
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Family picnic at the beach

30. July 2013 08:36 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

family picnic at the beach


On the weekend we went to the beach for a little family picnic...ham and cheese sandwiches.

we also wanted to get some photos of Lucas and Aiden playing together in the sand.

We especially wanted to get one of them sitting together look at the waves. Normally Aiden is terrified of the waves, but because Lucas was there we were able to get him to sit still.

It wasn't the best light in the middle of a sunny day but I love the cool winter light this time of the year. It is hard to describe...but the light has a less warm feel the during the summertime.

Aiden and Lucas are now best of mates and having a lot of fun. Once Lucas learns to walk they will be big trouble and we will constantly have to chase after them. Aiden can sometimes get a bit rough, but Lucas is a tough little bundle of muscles and loves copying him.

30. July 2013 07:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Climbing on my birthday

30. July 2013 07:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

climbing on my birthday


On my birthday this year I went climbing at Barrenjoey with some friends. It was the first time for over a year that I have done any climbing...let alone outdoors, but fortunately it was all top ropes.

Barrenjoey is one of the most beautiful spots in Sydney.



I am totally out of shape but still managed to get through the climbs we set up.

We were supposed to have had a dinner the night before but most people were busy so we decided to cancel the dinner and the let me go climbing instead. I was supposed to have been taking Aiden with me (Barrenjoey is relatively safe for kids), but he was still a bit unwell from his hospital visit. I think I will start looking for a good climbing helmet for him so that we have it for next time.




I had a great day out with friends and it was great to get back on the rock.




27. July 2013 05:02
by Rene Pallesen
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A bit of a scare

27. July 2013 05:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

a bit of a scare


Last night we had a bit of a scare when we suddenly had to rush Aiden to the hospital in an ambulance...

He was over at grandads place most of the day playing and when he came back we noticed that he had a bit of a temperature and didn't want to eat, but otherwise ok and playful. We decided to give him a quick shower before giving him some panadol and then bedtime.

In the shower he was playing as usual with water and his plastic cups when I left him to get dressed. When I came back a few minutes later to turn off the water and get him dressed I could tell that he was not his normal self and was shaking a bit. Thinking that he was cold I quickly took him out to get him dressed but could then tell that he was pretty bad...I couldn't get in contact with him and his breathing was irregular and shallow.



I quickly called Kim and had her call an ambulance. While we were waiting he started having some muscle spasms and started throwing up. Fortunately we are close to the ambulance station so they arrived pretty quickly and took myself and Aiden to the children's hospital which is also close by.

At the hospital he started responding again and the doctors there think that a spike in his fever caused it. They kept him there for most of the evening until his temperature had dropped and they were sure he was well hydrated which was around midnight.

Good that all turned out ok...Aiden has been pretty happy today even though he hasn't eaten much and slept much of the day.
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21. December 2020 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
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School award

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

It is not often gets an award from school, so he is super proud when he gets a little encouragement.
It is not often gets an award from school, so he is super proud when he gets a little encouragement.


16. September 2020 16:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Pool and Beach Photoshoot

16. September 2020 16:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Boracay I did another shoot with some beautiful models. It was a fun shoot on the beautiful beach

At Boracay I did another shoot with some beautiful models. It was a fun shoot on the beautiful beach and at the hotel pool.












26. July 2020 10:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Gold Coast 2020

26. July 2020 10:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Early in the year we made an extended weekend trip to the Gold Coast in Queensland. Main attraction
Early in the year we made an extended weekend trip to the Gold Coast in Queensland. Main attraction here was for the boys to visit Movieworld and Seaworld.




















19. July 2020 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Indoor boudoir with Kateriina

19. July 2020 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

These photo are from a workshop I did with Kateriina as a model.It was mainly studio with fixed (hot
These photo are from a workshop I did with Kateriina as a model.

It was mainly studio with fixed (hot) lights instead of strobes which I am more used to.

Advantage of the fixed lights in a workshop setting is that it is easier to see what the light is like before taking the photo as well as having multiple photographers shooting at the same time.





















21. June 2020 17:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Aidens 10th Birthday

21. June 2020 17:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aidens birthday was during the covid lock down.Fortunately we were still allowed to have a couple of
Aidens birthday was during the covid lock down.

Fortunately we were still allowed to have a couple of his school friends over for a little celebration (his school was still open anyhow).

We decided to have it in the garden with a fire pit with roasted marshmellows, sparklers followed by cake.






5. March 2020 20:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Shooting - 800m range

5. March 2020 20:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Recently I had the chance to visit the shooting range at Malabar headland with a group of friends.I
Recently I had the chance to visit the shooting range at Malabar headland with a group of friends.

I used to do a lot of shooting in my younger days, so I was curious to see if I still had it in me.

On this day we were shooting on the 800 meter range (which is a very long distance) with 7.62 NATO rounds.


The distance means that you cannot see where you hit, so they have an electronic readout next to the shooter. The two circles in the middle are about 25cm in diameter at the far end.

Below is the group of shots from my round.


This photo gives a better idea of the distance we were shooting at (It was also a very windy day)




Apparently I shot the best round of the day including the regulars...


Conclusion is that, yes, still got it and I may pick it up as a regular activity some time in the future.

20. October 2019 19:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Boracay Phillipines

20. October 2019 19:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

With Kim having a few weeks gap between jobs and badly needing a break she wanted to go somewhere re
With Kim having a few weeks gap between jobs and badly needing a break she wanted to go somewhere relaxing and where the water and weather would be warm.

After a bit of research we settled on a week to the Phillipines to an island called Boracay.

This is a small island with the most beautiful beach we have seen anywhere outside of Bora Bora (interesting that both have the name 'Bora').









The boys (and adults) managed to get a mighty sunburn already on the first day.


The island also has the most amazing sunsets at the beach.










Also lots of activity on the beach in the evenings whereas during the day is is mostly empty.


We stayed in a large resort built around a golf course. It had seven swimming pools and we spend a lot of time here relaxing with the boys and sipping cocktails.










It was really nice in the evenings to sit in a bar listening to cruisy music. Most of the restaurants and bars would have live entertainers on in the evenings.


One day we went on a snorkeling trip around the island. The boys are well accustomed to snorkeling now and love it. Unfortunately I didn't bring an underwater housing on the trip, but I can say that the coral reef looks to be in a good shape although a lot of the larger schools of fish and large predatory fish seems to be scarce.







We also did a day trip to the main island where we went through one of the local caves.



The cave was full of little bats and also had other creatures that were attracted to the bats and insects such as a snake and spiders I've never seen before.
We even spotted a large hermit crab (size of a hand).




We also went to a local river where there was waterfalls and also rafts for the boys to have a play with.




The food in general was pretty good although we only tried a couple of local dishes (Phillipines is not famous for its food). Especially some of the seafood was really nice.



The way we got around the island was on these small tricycles. There are two types, the old ones pulled by a small moterbike and then the new ones which are all electric. The government wants to have all the old ones off the roads by 2024 which is very sensible both environmentally and economically as even the locals say that they make more money on the new ones.






The main road however is horrendous. In late 2018 the island was closed for 6 months to any visitors due to them sorting out a lot of issues with the sewage system. This means that they have dug up the entire road to install large pipes along with a road widening. A lot of this was still ongoing with the main road being full of holes, but given that it is such a small place it was alright to still get around.




10. October 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate

10. October 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year the boys started doing Karate.It was something that I've always wanted do do with them, so
This year the boys started doing Karate.

It was something that I've always wanted do do with them, so we looked around for a place where initially they could join some kids classes and then along the way I'd join as well.

Initially they got their red and white stripe belts (automatically)


And then later they went up for grading to get their Red belts.


They love training with some of the equipment that we have at home for it.




Late in the year I joined as well once the sensei established some adult classes and I have now after 20 years (I did a bit of karate back in 1998) finally received my Red belt.







Even Kim has taken a couple of classes - maybe she will even grade on of these days.



1. October 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden Holy Communion

1. October 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden as part of his school had to do his holy communion.He looked very handsome in his little suit.
Aiden as part of his school had to do his holy communion.

He looked very handsome in his little suit.




10. September 2019 21:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Canoeing with family at Royal national Park

10. September 2019 21:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One weekend we went to the Royal National Park (half an hour south) to go canoeing with the Family.I
One weekend we went to the Royal National Park (half an hour south) to go canoeing with the Family.

It was a fun day out and fortunately we can still fit the boys into a single canoe unlike Chong who had to get a rowing boat for his family - they are a lot harder work.











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22. August 2019 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden - awards card

22. August 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud
It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud.


10. August 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping - Barrington Tops

10. August 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydn
Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydney.

It is a very tall mountain range with some excellent walks, rivers etc.

We had a great weekend with friends sitting around the fire roasting marshmellows, walking and canoeing.

























8. July 2019 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate - Boys getting their red belts

8. July 2019 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.We thought it would be a good activity for them to bui
Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.

We thought it would be a good activity for them to build strength, motor skills and discipline.

Especially Aiden is really enjoying it and putting in the hard work at home practicing. He has become stronger throughout the classes which is great. Before we started he had almost no core strength and now he is able to do sit-ups and pushups.

This weekend both Aiden and Lucas were pulled up for their first proper graduation from the white belts to the red belts and they both passed.



17. June 2019 20:06
by Rene Pallesen
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Bali - 2018

17. June 2019 20:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.
Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.




































































































































































































































2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka aquarium

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middl
The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middle with two large whale sharks and which is also full of other sharks such as hammerheads.














2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Dontonburi Osaka

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese rest
Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese restaurant.

It is also full of actual restaurants and other oddities such as more exotic places. It has what is known as Osaka's best Ramen restaurant (the one with the long counter in the photos below) - and Yes, the Ramen was very good.

Here it is also possible to eat specialties such as the Puffa fish.








It was also one of the few places where I saw real Samurai swords for sale.





2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka tower

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.The area was once a very modern p
Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.

The area was once a very modern part of Osaka, and worth a visit during the night.




2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka Castle

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts w
Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts with several layers of defense.











2. April 2019 18:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Toei Film Studio Osaka

2. April 2019 18:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional
In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.

This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional Japanese movies and where they have all the old houses and also some theaters.

It is also used as a bit of an entertainment and cultural area to teach the Japanese about their culture. Surprisingly we seemed to be the only foreign tourists there and it was definitely worth the visit even though we didn't understand a word of what they were saying.
























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30. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas 2021

30. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This Christmas was almost normal with the Covid restrictions lifted.As usual we did our annual Chris
This Christmas was almost normal with the Covid restrictions lifted.

As usual we did our annual Christmas photo.


Kims dad is staying at Kims sisters place over Christmas after haing been in hospital. He is looking the best he has for years.



















29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Surfing 2021

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Lucas and Aiden got themselves a surfing lesson. Aiden was too scared to go, but Lucas had a great t
Lucas and Aiden got themselves a surfing lesson. Aiden was too scared to go, but Lucas had a great time.





Because he liked it so much we decided to get him (and Aiden) a surfboard for Christmas as well.




29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Various 2021

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This are from various events of 2021Lucas Holy CommunionLunar EsclipseSwimming at Yarra Bay in the m
This are from various events of 2021

Lucas Holy Communion

Lunar Esclipse



Swimming at Yarra Bay in the middle of winter

Aidens Learning award

Empty Maroubra Beach during covid lockdown

Seafood dinner with family

Chillies harvested from the garden

Cooking lobster at home during lockdown

Spotted Herbie in our local area

Monkeys in a tree

Playing games at home during Covid lockdown

Enjoying a hot chocolate during Covid lockdown

Boys make a mess and have to clean the house


Dinner at home during Covid lockdown

Conference call with family during Covid lockdown

How many people can you fit into a dinghy?

Pho at the local cafe

Going for a walk after Covid restrictions lifted

On a conference call with Dalai Lama from home

Kim received a Hoodie to keep her warm in the cold winter evenings. I thought it was something else and wrote instructions on the packaging.

Aidens birthday was bowling with his friends and dinner with family

Kim dressed appropriately for walking 20 meters to the car

The boys learning to use a hammer.


Spending time at Yarra bay


Aiden still struggling, although him now having a piano seems to help him.

Lucas got some more awards at the Athletics carnival to add to his swimming awards.



29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Guinea Pigs

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We were looking after a couple of guinea pigs for a couple of weeks while one of Aiden friends was a
We were looking after a couple of guinea pigs for a couple of weeks while one of Aiden friends was away.

The boys had to do all the work cleaning and feeding them.





29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate 2021

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Again we did karate this whole year. This included a number of gradings followed by social events.I
Again we did karate this whole year. This included a number of gradings followed by social events.

I treated myself to a new gi (uniform) when I graduated to my 3rd Kyu.














29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing Chess

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Lucas has joined the chess club at school, so for fun (and to give him practice) we sometimes play.
Lucas has joined the chess club at school, so for fun (and to give him practice) we sometimes play. I was very proud that I one day managed to checkmate him with just two pawns and my king.



29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Piano and Guitar

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Mid year I decided to get an electric piano. I've always wanted to learn and we wanted to boys to st
Mid year I decided to get an electric piano. I've always wanted to learn and we wanted to boys to start playing as well.

We have been using an online lesson system and it has been working really well for us. Especially Aiden seems to pick it up quickly.

Aiden has also been begging to get an electric guitar, so this Christmas we got him one. It is fortunate that the same online lesson subscription also covers guitar playing.






29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Kims 50th

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim had a big birthday this year. All the plans were ruined so it because a low key affair with just
Kim had a big birthday this year. All the plans were ruined so it because a low key affair with just a family dinner.

Plan:
A - Europe trip - Covid cancelled
B - New Zealand Ski trip (travel bubble was open) - Cancelled day before we were to leave
C - Staycation in Sydney - Locked down to local council
D - Staycation in same council - Restricted to 5 Km radius
E - Dinner at home




We did however make up for it later with some golf and spa while she wasn't working.







29. December 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Hunter Valley

29. December 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We did another Hunter Valley Trip with Sasha and Richards families.Again we stocked up on a lot of w
We did another Hunter Valley Trip with Sasha and Richards families.

Again we stocked up on a lot of wine.







29. December 2021 16:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Basketball Game

29. December 2021 16:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

KA had some spare tickets for a basketball game between Sydney Kings and Melbourne Phoenix, so we to
KA had some spare tickets for a basketball game between Sydney Kings and Melbourne Phoenix, so we took the boys.





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22. August 2019 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden - awards card

22. August 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud
It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud.


10. August 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Camping - Barrington Tops

10. August 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydn
Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydney.

It is a very tall mountain range with some excellent walks, rivers etc.

We had a great weekend with friends sitting around the fire roasting marshmellows, walking and canoeing.

























8. July 2019 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Karate - Boys getting their red belts

8. July 2019 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.We thought it would be a good activity for them to bui
Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.

We thought it would be a good activity for them to build strength, motor skills and discipline.

Especially Aiden is really enjoying it and putting in the hard work at home practicing. He has become stronger throughout the classes which is great. Before we started he had almost no core strength and now he is able to do sit-ups and pushups.

This weekend both Aiden and Lucas were pulled up for their first proper graduation from the white belts to the red belts and they both passed.



17. June 2019 20:06
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Bali - 2018

17. June 2019 20:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.
Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.




































































































































































































































2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Japan - Osaka aquarium

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middl
The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middle with two large whale sharks and which is also full of other sharks such as hammerheads.














2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Japan - Dontonburi Osaka

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese rest
Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese restaurant.

It is also full of actual restaurants and other oddities such as more exotic places. It has what is known as Osaka's best Ramen restaurant (the one with the long counter in the photos below) - and Yes, the Ramen was very good.

Here it is also possible to eat specialties such as the Puffa fish.








It was also one of the few places where I saw real Samurai swords for sale.





2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Japan - Osaka tower

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.The area was once a very modern p
Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.

The area was once a very modern part of Osaka, and worth a visit during the night.




2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Japan - Osaka Castle

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts w
Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts with several layers of defense.











2. April 2019 18:10
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Japan - Toei Film Studio Osaka

2. April 2019 18:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional
In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.

This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional Japanese movies and where they have all the old houses and also some theaters.

It is also used as a bit of an entertainment and cultural area to teach the Japanese about their culture. Surprisingly we seemed to be the only foreign tourists there and it was definitely worth the visit even though we didn't understand a word of what they were saying.
























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15. September 2000 11:05
by Rene Pallesen
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New Car in 2000 . . .

15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new car in 2000


In September 2000, just after I returned from my trip to Borneo, I had to buy this new car because my girlfriend had written off my car whilst I was away! *smile*

I did not look forward to hunting around for a new car, but I found a good buy locally. This car is a 1997 Ford Futura, with 4.0 litre, 6-cylinder, 220-horsepower, power-steering, central locking and electronic windows (I think I am starting to sound like a car advertisement...)

Frontal view of car


Side view of car

It is pretty much the same colour as my old car, and it feels so nice to drive!

As you can see, pretty similar, but I also really miss my old car! It had a lot of computerised features - from a digital odometer, to adjusting the internal temperature of the car. It was a pretty cool car and wished I could have kept it for another few more years.

Frontal view of car


Side view of car

My first car in Australia!

A huge contrast to my first car!

It is a red hatchback that I bought early 1998, a few months after I arrived in Australia. But someone wrote it off a few months after I bought it. It was a pretty bad accident, but luckily I was alright. I was only covered by Third Party insurance, and to go through a lot of paperwork just to get reimbursement for the car!

15. August 2000 10:43
by Rene Pallesen
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Away from Headquarters . . .

15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

away from headquarters
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Village people
Away from Headquarters . . .

I managed to explore the villages at Silam.

The people here wore this white stuff on their faces - I guess their form of sunscreen.

These people were refugees from the Philippines.

Kids in the village

The kids were fighting to fit into the photo!

Kids in the village



The kids here were really cute.Caught Monkey

These kids here, had caught a monkey and was trying to sell it at the camp for 5 ringgit (AUD$2.50).


No-one wanted to buy it because they knew if they bought it, and set it loose, the kids would just catch it again, and try to sell it.

In general, there were lots of great photos at Silam village.

Car in a ditch



One of the helicopter pilots was driving through the jungle roads, took a corner too fast, and had a minor mishap.


All of us having dinnerHuge crab dinner!

We headed into Lahad Datu to get some seafood!

An escape from camp food. Camp food was disgusting. There were live worms in the vegetables (yes, after cooked). Most of the food was not fresh, and was pretty boring. The seafood was fantastic here. Whenever we had the chance, we ate lots of seafood.

Yum... Paul did not get to eat all of the crabs - all of us had a portion of it.

Huge lobsterHuge lobster

Yummm... they were huge, but we did not eat them. They were too big for us to eat, pretty impressive though. They were the biggest lobsters I have seen in my life. We saw these at the same place we ate our seafood and frogs (below).

Frog



We had this frog for dinner about 2 min after I took the photo.


This was actually when I went out with Glen in Kota Kinabalu - he asked me to pick some food and to surprise him.

I did not tell him till a year later that he ate frog meat. He asked me what it was, because he reckoned it tasted funny, but I did not tell him at the time.

I think he will only eat it again. Only if he really had to.

The tallest building in the world



Petronis Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world.

Actually, they are the tallest buildings in the world, followed by the Sears Towers in Chicago.

The towers are joined by some sort pedestrian platform.

These towers are located in Kuala Lumpur.

I went to Kuala Lumpur to pick up my Permanent Residency for Australia.

Woohoo!!! After 2 years of lots of paperwork, and correspondence back and forth with Berlin, I finally managed to get it!

The inconvenience of it all, was that I actually had to leave Australia ie collect my PR before re-entering Australia.









Below, is the only photo I have of the Lateral Linking Team that I worked with during the race.

The radio communications team

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:42
by Rene Pallesen
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Helicopters . . .

15. August 2000 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

helicopters
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Helicopters . . .
The radio communications team had to arrive a few days before that because we had to hand out over 2,000 pieces of radio equipment. We had problems getting the necessary approvals for helicopters so they were grounded! I ended having to hand out most of the equipment as Glen and Paul had to sort out our use of the helicopters.

We had to fly all the equipment to Silam before the start of the race, and our team managed to fly to Silam the day before the race started.

Do you believe that Paul managed to take a photo of me whilst I was flying the chopper? He was standing to the side of me, and took the photo at night time, with the door open ...

Jeez, I would love to be the pilot!Don't you think I look good as the chopper's pilot?

Just kidding.

A couple of days before the race started, I was at the airport most of the day. We had some problems with the radios in the helicopters... I must have been in and out of those helicopters at least 200 times.

I did manage to get someone to take some photos of me in a helicopter, looking very much like the pilot!

I had hoped that I had the time to explore Kota Kinabalue, but we were so busy, it had to wait.

Helicopters at HQ

Here is the 212 or "Huey" - a twin-turbine Vietnam helicopter taking off. It is a hell a lot more powerful than some of the other helicopters we were using, which were 206s.
Landing at HQ


Here are the medical guys practising abseiling out of the helicopters (Aussie style)!

At the start of the race, I was sitting there listening to the first rescue on the radio.

3 hours after the start, four boats had capsized... helicopters and boats were very busy!

The competitors were due to arrive at Silam (another checkpoint) the next day (21st Aug).

For the first few days after the race started, I had to help organise to get the fuel to the top of the mountain.

After that the helicopter came in useful. It brought up 100 litres of fuel on the 4th day so I did not have to ferry fuel anymore!

Glen with repeater stationAt site of repeater station

At the end of the race, we had to sling-load the repeaters, to get them off the mountain. That means we had to strap them onto the helicopters, and pull them off the mountains that way - quite effective really.

Transporting Equipment Photo 2Transporting Equipment Photo 6Transporting Equipment Photo 4Transporting Equipment Photo 5
Transporting Equipment Photo 1Transporting Equipment Photo 3




Repeater station finally airborne!



You can see a pole in the right photo.
My girlfriend asked me what it was for - it helps balance the load so that it does not keep swinging whilst airborne.



Below, you will see some pretty good photos from the chopper.

View from chopper - over the riverView from chopper of jungles belowView from chopper - over the river


Towards the end of the race, we had to scan the rivers for the last competitors coming in - to make sure they had completed this section of the race course. It was low-altitude flying of the river-bed.

The photo on the left shows the chopper approaching Silam Village. This village was located just outside of Silam HQ.

Aerial view of the villageMe sitting in helicopter


Glen liked wanted to have a photo of the back of my head - and I ruined the photo by turning my head as he took it...

Here's a sunset shot of the helicopters flying around.

I had to put in this fantastic photo - the lighting gives a really nice feel to the photo.

Sunset shot


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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:42
by Rene Pallesen
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The Wildlife in Borneo . . .

15. August 2000 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the wildlife in borneo
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Jungles of Borneo
The Wildlife in Borneo . . .


The jungles in Borneo are really dense, dark and humid.

You will find that some of the photos look as though they have been over-exposed, but in reality, it is just the humidity in the air.

Me in the jungle




I have a photo of this at home - Glen enlarged it for me, and framed it!

Don't ask me why - I think I look rather wasted there.

Glen and I tried to race through the jungle.

The climb to the top of the mountain is rated as a 1.5 hour climb... Glen and I have done it in 26 minutes... actually I was confident that I could do it in less than 20 and so I did!

I held the record of taking 17 minutes to race to the top of Mt Silam, covering a distance of approx 4 kilometres through the jungle, up a mountain.

I was getting really fit (My girlfriend was proud of me).

Glen in the jungleGlen in the jungleGlen in the jungle

This photo shows how dense and dark the jungle can be. It was so humid there... no, not because I hadn't cleaned my lenses.

Glen in the jungleMe in the jungle


You can see how muddy it is in the jungle - I became quite dirty after many trips into the jungle.

Look how big these trees are!Me standing in front of one of these big trees!They look almost as big as the Californian Redwoods!

I think these trees are just as big as the Californian Redwoods. They might not be as old, but definitely just as big.

Beetle



This was taken with a 300mm lens, from 1.5 metres.


The most amazing thing about them, is when they are scared, the curl up into little "marbles".

It looks like a small bug, but it is actually at least 7cm long, which is actually quite big.

Moth in palm of hand


I noticed in Borneo, most of the insects there were huge.


The wingspan of the brown moth was about 15cm wide - huge!

They are mostly active at night, which is quite common for creatures in the jungle.

A couple of the girls stationed in the jungles, was stationed here. Not a wise decision, considering these girls were paranoid about the insects.

(Note: in the photo below, I still had conjunctivitis) I had the red eyes for most of the trip.
Moth on my elbowBrown moth

Big and beautiful, don't you think? You can see how big the black moth is compared to the size of the telephone.

Black mothMoth on wall

Plant with leaves in hexagon formation



These plants were kind of special because each branch split into two, so by the end of it, they formed a hexagonal pattern.


Below, are plants known as the "pitcher" plant.

The pitcher plants are meat-eating plants - you have watch out not to fall into them because they will swallow you whole.

Pitcher plant

If you just believed that, you are very gullible! *laugh*


The pitcher plant, like other carnivorous plants, feed on insects.

They have sweet-smelling nectar that attract the unsuspecting insect to it.

When the insect lands, it finds the surface slippery and fall straight into the “pitcher”, where the plants juices drowns it and is digested by the plant.

You may have heard of other type of carnivorous plants such as the Venus Fly Trap, and the Sundew plants.

Me holding a dead snake

Yes, you see me holding the snake with a leaf.


It was a poisonous snake, and I was worried about it's venom getting on my skin.

For example a puff adder, contact with the venom numbs the skin.

I was not familiar with the snakes in Borneo, and was not about to risk it.
A Tarantella


The tarantella was sitting inside the catering tent hunting.

Everyone was looking at it and admiring it, which was pretty amazing, considering I know many people who would willingly kill a spider in sight.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
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Repeater Stations . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

repeater stations
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Repeater Stations . . .

Paul and repeater Station in aircraftMe and repeater Station in aircraft

Here, you see Paul and I transporting some of the repeater stations by air.

From Silam, we flew down to DFVC. We stayed there for three days before going back to Silam.

Me at site of repeater station

I am at one of the repeater sites. Here, the top of one of the mountains was cleared, so we could safely land a helicopter there.

Oh... did I forget to mention that I almost chopped one of my fingers in half at the repeater site?

On top of my infected eye, I had another thing for the medical team to look at. The fingernail had been chopped in half and there was not much I could do about it except clean it up and try to avoid infections. The medical team was great there... they were extremely good.

Site of Repeater Station


We had a few problems with some of the communications gear.


Paul and Glen were handling it, and at times I tried to assist.

The first few days had been really tough.

Solar Panel Photo 1Solar Panel Photo 2
The top of Silam is covered in clouds for most of the afternoons, so the solar panels are quite useless. A survey of the conditions made prior to the race was useless.


If you ask any of the locals, they would have told us that the peak is always covered in clouds... but apparently no-one asked them!!!

Generator


We had problems keeping the generators running - they were using more power than predicted and there was no sun on the top of Silam to recharge the batteries.


The generator itself was a re-built petrol engine with a car alternator on it.

We basically tried to use a system where we used a jerry can, cut holes into it, and relied on the force of gravity to transport the fuel to the generator.

This design ended up working best for us.

Site of repeater stationSite of repeater station
Our helicopter pilot sitting on the side there, just grinning...


On the third day of the race, I hiked up the mountain three times. I was really tired and all I could think of was getting a bit of a rest and some food. I managed to get a bit once I got to Danum. In Danum I managed to get 6 hours sleep before someone woke me up and told me that the repeater had died in Silam... again all the cars had to leave in a convoy... so rush, rush to find my driver and managed (just) to get into the convoy!

The road to Danum closes at 6.30pm and all the cars had to go in the convoy.

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 1Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 2
The helicopter flew all of us to the top of the mountain, and waited there for us till we were finished. Glen quite often told the pilot, "You don't have to shut down, because we'll only be here for 5 minutes." Well... quite often, we were there for as long as an hour and half! (Don't worry, the pilot was sensible enough to shut down immediately... he got to know Glen very well.)


I went up there often make sure that it was still running. It is much better getting a helicopter to fly me up there so that I can bring some fuel with me !

Glen fixing generator Photo 1Glen fixing generator Photo 2

Glen has mostly been on top of the mountain getting the generator back online.
We have to keep the generator running 24 hours per day until the end of the race.


Glen fixing repeater Photo 1


On the third night after the race started, one of the repeaters went dead.


I had to hike up the mountain on the previous day as the generator had died.

I did not leave the mountain until it was dark, so I had to climb down through the jungle in the dark!

Fortunately I had my torch with me!

Glen fixing repeater Photo 4



Paul later gave me strict instructions to make sure that I leave the mountain so that I could be back at HQ while there was still light!


I found out that I did not have any problems navigating at night... I even offered Paul to go back up when the repeater died!

Anyhow, we ended up having to send the airborne repeater up!

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 3Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 4
Glen fixing repeater Photo 2Glen fixing repeater Photo 3



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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
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The Competitors . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the competitors
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

The Competitors . . .

The competitors did not rest... three of the teams were half way through the 600 kilometre course after only three days... pretty amazing!

Two of the teams were Australian. 18 teams were out of the race. At least 10 of these were due to medical problems.

Hardly any people around here get enough sleep... the place is active 24 hours per day because there are always competitors coming in!

I was keen to find out how the Danish team would turn out. At the beginning of the race, they were not very sociable. But by the end of the race, I think the tension of the race had gone, and I managed to have a chat with them. By the third day, the Danes are doing pretty well... they had a 22nd place!

Race on mountain bikesRace on mountain bikes

This was the mountain-bike leg of the race.

The guy you see being transported to hospital in the helicopter (photos below), was doing this part of the race. He was rounding a corner on his bike and rode straight into a large branch.

Rush to medical facilitiesRush to medical facilities

We had a lot of medical urgencies... we almost lost a guy with a punctured lung !
I got some great photos and helped getting the guy into the mobile hospital. There was a lot publicity on the website and through the media about it.


Fortunately, he was only 15 minutes away from HQ, so it was possible for us to get him to the helicopter very quickly, and to the nearest hospital.

River Race

Another leg of the race involved rowing in these “sampans”, a Malay term for “boat”. At some point, the teams in the race had to also split up - some of them swimming, some of them rowing, to complete the water leg of the race.

Below, the competitors had to use a flying fox to cross the canyons. I managed to have a go at it - compared to rock-climbing... well, I found it pretty boring *smile*. I imagine most people would find it quite fun though.

Setting up of flying foxSetting up of flying fox


There are no places to climb here.

I had hoped to take one of the helicopters to Madai Caves to check out the 200 metre abseil. The road to the Madai Caves lead directly through the tiny village of Gua Madai - a small cluster of homes, their wood bleached grey.

The town’s main sources of income are tourism and birds’ nests. The nests are found high up the walls of the cave, tucked away in cracks and crevasses, and can command thousands of dollars. They are harvested about three times a year.

My girlfriend mentioned trying "bird's nest soup" whilst I was there. She said normally the bird's nest they use belong to the swallow. It is a delicacy to many Asians, and similar to shark's fin soup - that is if you have tried it. Normally the nests are made out of the birds' saliva.
Headquarters flooded!



There was so much rain at Silam that HQ was often flooded.


Many of the competitors took the opportunity to get some sleep and the slept on whatever they could find.


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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:40
by Rene Pallesen
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Silam and Jungle Ops . . .

15. August 2000 10:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

silam and jungle ops
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Silam and Jungle Ops . . .
It is so bloody hot in Silam! It must have been at least 40 degrees and 100% humidity!

Silam was the overall headquarters, and Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) was referred to as Jungle Ops. Jungle Ops controlled all radio communications and conducted the race through the the jungle.

From Kota Kinabalu, we flew to Lahad Datu and drove the rest of the way to Silam. Silam was the site of one of the repeater stations. We had to set up a HQ a few kilometres from this station... heaps of opportunities for a few walks in the jungle.

The operation at Silam was huge!... I had never seen such a busy place before. The place was crawling with energy. It was bigger than any military operation I had ever seen! You would be amazed to see the logistics involved in this project ! At the time I did not have the time to take a lot of photos.

We had many army trucks transporting the competitors' equipment - very good cooperation from the military. They helped out with the preparation and set-up of HQ, and with the transportation of fuel.

Arrival of army trucks at SilamArrival of army trucks at Silam

Office at HQ

This is the headquarters on the left.

The whole Ecochallenge race is governed from this office.

The map in the background contains the position of all the checkpoints at which the competitors have to go through.

View from helipcopter

Aerial view of headquarters
Both of the above photos are aerial shots of HQ and were taken from a helicopter.


I managed to get a nice aerial shot of Silam HQ. The big white patch in the middle is where the competitors stored all their equipment. Just to the left are the containers from where the race is controlled. The 4 'finger-like' white pads on the right are the heli-pads. The long rectangle to the left is the eating area, and just above it is the hospital.

Aerial view of Jungle Ops HQ


Approaching DVFC in helicopter.


This is actually a research centre in the middle of the jungle - commonly known as DVFC (Danum Valley Field Centre).

DVFC is not normally accessible the tourists and the general public, only to researchers.

DVFC is concerned about contamination into the jungle.

Jungle Ops HQ


Outside Jungle Ops HQ.

The green boxes contain bottled drinking water.

By the time the race was over, most of this had been consumed - quite amazing really, considering there were really only 10 people at Jungle Ops.

During the competitors were not allowed any help from us, and that included the provision of drinking water.

Paul at HQ



Paul with some of the radio equipment at Silam.


He is standing next to the HQ matrix, which contained all the communications equipment for headquarters.

Paul is also standing next to the only 2 beds in the HQ building. These were used by the radio operators to nap in between shifts.


Below, you see me sitting in the catering tent at Silam.


I think it must have been a good day, to have been sitting there, smiling... I am just guessing here, because obviously I did not take the photo, and I cannot remerber the place.

Me relaxing at Silam

Bad hair day

Bad hair day?


I did not have a shower for a very long time, and to hold my hair in place, I adopted various techniques, such as the sunglasses-hairband...

This place is a breathing ground for tropical diseases!

As you can see, my right eye is really red. I somehow managed to get conjunctivitis and did not know it was contagious. I did not want to trouble the medics as they were pretty tied up with the competitors. When my vision on the left eye was getting blurry and I had problems seeing what was in front of me, I was ordered to get it checked. Just as well I did!

In Kota Kinabalu, I had the same problem on the other eye... at one point both my eyes were infected. It started on my left eye on the way to Kota Kinabalu in the plane ! It then spread to my right eye. The nurse at Silam told me that I should be careful because it could re-infect to my left eye. It started to look and feel a lot better after using the eyedrops that they gave me.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:39
by Rene Pallesen
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Preparations at the Magellan Hotel

15. August 2000 10:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

preparations at the magellan hotel
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

View from from balcony of our room


Preparations at the Magellan Hotel
( Kota Kinabalu ) . . .



All the Ecochallenge teams gathered together at the Magellan Hotel in anticipation of the race, which was due to start on 20th August.

During our stay at Kota Kinabalu, we were staying at the most extravagant hotel - as pictured on the right. It is huge! It has 3 swimming pools, and takes us an hour to walk around the perimeter.

The radio communications team had to arrive a few days before the start of the race because we had to hand out over 2,000 pieces of radio equipment. We had problems getting the necessary approvals for helicopters so I ended up having to hand out most of the equipment whilst Glen and Paul sorted out the issue of the helicopters. We had to get all the equipment and our team to Silam before the the race started.

Paul & Glen preparing the equipmentPaul & Glen preparing the equipmentPaul & Glen preparing the equipment

Glen and Paul checking all the equipment and re-programming some of the radios.
Yes, I'm busy working too!



Behind me are all the radio equipment, ready to be handed out. I am standing here waiting for the competitors to arrive as I have to sign out the equipment as I give them out.


We had to improvise a lot of the furniture, using old crates to set up tables.

Vegging in really nice rooms




After the race, Glen and I decided to make most of the luxury and just veg... aaahhh... bliss!

Relaxing on our balcony













Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:39
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

15. August 2000 10:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

ecochallenge sabah 2000
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Click here for full size map of Sabah, Borneo

Ecochallenge in 2000 was held on the east coast of Borneo, in the jungles of Sabah. It was an extreme race where the competitors taking part have to endure 10 days of running through the jungles; kayaking and swimming many kilometres offshore; and mountain-biking for 150km on dirt roads. All in all, the fastest competitors travelled 600km in a space of just over 5 days!


I had the privilege of being there, being the developer of software that was used by the radio communications team. I also helped out with the setting up of all equipment and made many trips to the repeater stations.

Being in the jungles of Sabah, let alone part of the Ecochallenge preparations, has proved to be a challenge and an experience worth remembering, and hope to be part of any future Ecochallenge events.

As shown in the map, the red trails are where most of the competitors either ran or walked. The purple trail was the kayaking/canoeing leg. The orange trail was the mountain-bike leg and the blue trail was where the competitors had to swim with all their equipment.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

4. March 2000 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Chilli Festival ( 4th March 2000 ) . . .

4. March 2000 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

chilli festival 4th march 2000
Three Dancing girls


On this particular Saturday, I drove to Terrigal to see the Mexican Chilli Festival... it was excellent. I shot two rolls of film up there. Some of these pictures have turned out beautifully!

A couple of my Mexican friends were doing the entertainment there. Victor is very good at playing the mexican harp. His wife, Shiraz, is an excellent dancer.

I took a series of shots in colour and a series in black & white. I shall first show you the ones in colour and then in b&w, as the b&w ones are very artistic!

Victor playing the harp

Victor playing the harp

Victor playing the harp

Victor plays the harp like a dream!

I was once at Lance's place - Lance was helping Victor record his music onto CD. The harp does not look like your ordinary orchestral harp. It was ornate and somehow different. It is was a very beautiful instrument.



One of 3 dancers

Shiraz

One of 3 dancers

As you can see, these women are gorgeous! Something about silk stockings, I think...

Shiraz is the photo in the middle. She did quite a few numbers, and this was one of them. All 3 girls danced in a colourful combination!



Dancing couple

Dancing couple

Dancing couple

Here you see Shiraz dancing in a duet.

I have seen her do this dance at a similiar concert May last year, here in Lindfield. Victor and a couple of guitarists provided accompaniment to the dancing. Shiraz moved so fast that at times, all you could see was this colourful wave of skirts.

Her partner's costume reminded me of the costumes the Spanish toledos wore (except without the cape).



Shiraz in white

Shiraz with feathers

Shiraz in red

As you can see, Shiraz danced a number of dances that day.

It takes a lot of energy to do those dances!
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10. June 2012 08:18
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden's 2yo Birthday with the Family

10. June 2012 08:18 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden birthday with the family


Today we celebrated Aidens birthday with the family.

In the morning we all had Yum Cha and afterwards we took all the kids to Little Dynamos to play.



In the evening we had the family over for steamboat and cake. Great opportunity to take a new family photo with the latest member of the family...Emma.





8. June 2012 11:00
by Rene Pallesen
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One year

8. June 2012 11:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

one year


Today it was one year ago that my my Mum and Aidens Grandma passed away.

I am still sad that Aiden never met her but I am hoping that he will get to know Bedstefar better as he is growing up.




I am also glad that Aiden will have a brother to keep each other company and I hope the two of them will be close and grow old together.

I still have a suitcase sitting here full of photos that I one day will get the courage tp go through...but not anytime soon.

7. June 2012 04:26
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden's 2 yo Birthday

7. June 2012 04:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden s 2 yo birthday


Today was Aidens second birthday...time flies!



We had a Birthday cake for him with the family and sang Happy Birthday and let him blow out the candle.

6. June 2012 02:28
by Rene Pallesen
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Passing of Venus

6. June 2012 02:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

passing of venus


Today is a very unique day in that the planet Venus passed over the disc of the Sun. The next such passing wont happen for another 105 years.

And it is even more interesting since we recently returned from Tahiti where Captain Cook observed the last passing several hundred years ago.



Here in sydney it was a very cloudy day, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos using a very powerful lens covered with dark filters. It is a planet Venus at the 7 o'clock on the sun in the photo.


5. June 2012 07:50
by Rene Pallesen
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Camera returned for warranty

5. June 2012 07:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

camera returned for warranty


Bummer...I had to return the camera yesterday. It was driving me mad with back focusing...not what you would expect from a $3000 camera. Hopefully they will be able to fix the issue, but unfortunately they are saying that there is a 21 day turnaround. The focus was 5cm off which is critical especially then taking portraits.


I did however manage to take a couple of photos that were ok and a bit of video with it on Sunday inside a very dark ten-pin bowling place (it was Kayla's birthday party) with all kinds of weird lighting. I was shooting at insanely high iso (12800) and I must say that I general I was pretty impressed.



Especially impressed with how fast I could shoot with lots of kids running around. They are totally usable for my blog and online posting although I wouldn't enlarge them. There was a lot of noise at these high ISO's, but most of it could be managed to a certain degree in Lightroom.






Later I was shooting with KC's camera at the lunch table...there was more light and I was strugling with taking photos using natural light.

31. May 2012 07:59
by Rene Pallesen
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New camera - Nikon D800

31. May 2012 07:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new camera d800


Today I picked up my new camera. It is the new Nikon D800 and is currently one of the most sought after cameras on the market.

I have been wanting to get a full frame camera for some time now and this was the one for me to get...the reviews are excellent.


I pre-ordered it shortly after is was announced and has been waiting for over three months for it to arrive...but it is finally here.




It will be a steep learning curve to get used to all the new features of the camera and it will be a sad goodbye to my almost 10 year old D50 entry level camera.

I am now moving from 5 auto focus points to 51...from 6 Megapixels to 36 megapixels...max 1600 ISO to 25600 ISO...no bells and whistles to having features such as Video, Timelapse, HDR, face detection, live view, aparture preview...and the list goes on...



The D50 has served me well, but it is definitely time to move on as the technology has advanced so much. Not sure what I do with the old camera...but I will most likely end up selling it.



14. May 2012 06:55
by Rene Pallesen
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Mothers day with Autumn colours in Mt Wilson

14. May 2012 06:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

mothers day with autumn colours in mt wilson


It is Autumn here in Sydney and today the forecast was for 19 degrees and sunny...the first cool'ish day here. In the morning we went with Kims family to the cemetry to visit Kims mum. After this we were planning to head up to the Blue Mountains to Mt Wilson to visit some of the private gardens to take photos of the Autumn colours and get some new family photos of Kim, Aiden and I.


When we arrived it was really windy and only 7 degrees (later it dropped to 5 degrees). We had dressed for the cold, but Dylan who had joined us on the spur of the moment was a bit underdressed and cold so he borrowed a spare jumper I had with me. We immediately found a pile of leaves and they started having fun throwing them up in the air.

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We decided to visit the Yengo Sculpture garden and the owner came to greet us, tell us about the garden and charge for the entry.

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The garden was very nice and the colours were awesome.

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There were lots of sculptures hidden around the garden.

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Dylan got a bit upset because we had to scold him for running around (this was a private garden so deserved a bit of respect), throwing pebbles, thrashing my camera gear and keeping to run into the frame of the photo I was trying to take. I had also been trying to get a bit interested in what he is seeing around him to learn more things and asking him if he was interested in some of the lookouts to experience one of the most beautiful places in Australia, as well as look at the things in antique shops etc., but he was totally dis-interested..."you can drag the horse to the water, but you can force it to drink".

Click here for more photos

After the garden Aiden was really tired and cold and we were getting hungry, so we decided to head back and stop along the way for lunch. It was good timing as it started to rain a little. I decided to drive on the great western highway as there were more options for food and I though it would be quicker getting back...turned out everyone else had the same idea so it was at a crawl.



12. May 2012 07:56
by Rene Pallesen
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An Officer and a Gentleman

12. May 2012 07:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

an officer and a gentleman


Today Kim and I went to the Lyrics Theatre to see the 'An Officer and Gentleman' musical.

It was a remake of the 1982 movie, but on the stage.



It was ok but nothing special. The acting and singing was great, but the screenplay itself as well as the music/lyrics could have been more original and the stage setup was pretty basic.

7. May 2012 05:45
by Rene Pallesen
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Halfway there - Baby brother for Aiden

7. May 2012 05:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

halfway there


Kim is pregnant again and we are now halfway there and on Monday we went for the halfway scans (due late September).



Everything is on track and looking good so far (5 fingers and toes etc.). For the first time we were able to tell the gender of the baby and it turns out that we are expecting a little brother to Aiden.

This means that Aiden very soon will have someone to play with here at home.


25. April 2012 03:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Kurnell walk

25. April 2012 03:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

kurnell walk


Today was Anzac day. We decided to use the day to explore some of the local area in the National Park on the other side of Botany bay near Kurnell.



It was very windy (Aiden wasn't happy with the wind). The walk along the coast is easy an quite scenic. There is even a small lighthouse about a kilometer down the track and the rocks have cook textures.






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11. March 2008 10:00
by Rene Pallesen
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Potosi - Bolivia

11. March 2008 10:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

potosi bolivia


The drive from La Paz was pretty uneventful. The bus was a double decker as promised and our seat was in the front of the bus...but so was the toilet. Fortunately they kept the toilet locked pretty much the whole trip so no-one could use it (except Kim because we figured out how to fiddle the lock to get her access). Kim had bought herself a cheap headtorch so the toilet wa now lit.

The drive turned out to only be 9.5 hours as opposed to the promised 14 hours so that was a nice surprise. We arrived at Potosi at 6am in the morning it being freezing cold and pouring down with rain. We got a taxi to drive us to our preferred hotel and it turned out to be fully booked. Our second preference has only got room for one night and is then fully booked (and so is every other hotel in town)...we have a booking confirmation from a hostel tomorrow as a backup but we are not sure if it has got hot water and heating.

Potosi is a lot different from what I had expected. I had expected that the deeper we entered into Bolivia the more traditional it would get...but to the contrary. Potosi is another polluted city with little infrastructure...although a great number of travellers pass through the city there is no restaurants or cafes or even proper accomodation to cater for them. Someone with flair forwhat travellers desirecould make a killing here as well as in La Paz.
It wouldn´t take much...proper accomodation with heating and hot water, A heated restaurant serving a good selection of western style and local dishes (NOOO...Pizza and pasta does not count) an some evening or afternoon entertainment in the form of Bolivian music and dancing.

Click here for more photos

Also Potosi is totally void of any souvernirs (but also beggers etc.)...and again they could make a killing by start selling some of those lovely locally made handicrafts that we could but up near lake Titacaca.

Because of the cold, the rain and the fact that all museeums are closed today because it is Monday makes it pretty depressing to here. We have however booked a tour into the mines tomorrow afternoon which should be exciting and I´d like to see the Mint museum.

Click here for more photos

We are also considering what to do next before going to Brazil on the 17th...so far looks like we will go to Sucre (3 hours from here) day after tomorrow and then fly to La Paz from there (maybe even re-shedule flight to go to Rio a day or two earlier). Click here to see more photos from Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:29
by Rene Pallesen
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La Paz - Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:29 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

la paz bolivia


The bus ride to La Paz was interesting. It was a local bus so full of locals heading into La Paz 4 hours away. After about one hours drive through the high plains (4300 meters altitude) we suddenly arrived to a strait. I hadn´t studies the map properly and hadn´t realised that Copacabana was on a peninsular with no Bolivian direct access to mainland Bolivia (you would have to pass back into Peru to drive directly)...so at the strait we got offloaded from the bus and then had to get onto a smaller boat for the passengers while the bus was ferried across on a big wooden pram.

Click here to see more photos

Also at this strait is the only division of Bolivias Navy (I think they still hope to eventually get access to the ocean through Chile (They lost 350 kilometers of coastline in a war with Chile back in time).
On the other side Kim missed using the toilet so when we stopped at a petrol station a couple of hours later we took the oppertunity...when the bus took off she wasn´t back yet...and she would have been standing there alone if I hadn´t told the bus driver that we were missing a passenger.
Unfortunately it was cloudy so we could only see the bottom bits of the Huyana Potosi and Illimani (6500 meters).

The drive into La Paz is stunning...they outer suburbs is totally disorganised with mud houses and mud roads...but suddenly you drive over the escarpment and see all of La Paz in a big crater below.

Once we got out of the bus we were however less impressed. La Paz is a town like any other...it is full of traffic, pollution and there has been no city planning whatso ever. Once you get over the escarpment wow factor it is really an ugly city full of social problems, beggers, street kids, pollution, crime etc.
Even the backpacker area is totally uninteresting and has been totally spoiled by young kids going for white water rafting, mountain biking without any interest whatsoever in the local culture.

Our plan was to spend a day here and then continue down to Potosi and we decided we would spend the next day before heading south looking around and see if the city would reveal its more beautiful side. In the morning I went to the bus station to organise bus tickets and I hope I´ve got the promised ticket (sleeper bus, with toilet onboard and sitting in the front of the bus away from the toilets...but Bolivia is full of surprises...but that is part of the adventure).
Afterwards wewent for a walk around the city and found a couple of nice spots but not enough to convince us that this is a city worthwhile spending a lot of time in.

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The witches market if full of souvernirs that are no-where near as good quality as what we saw in Copacabana, The museums were all closed on Sundays (except the music instrument museum which was interesting), and we are unable to find any decent local food in La Paz (only pizza, pasta etc.).

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We did however have a good laugh sitting observing people at Plaza Avaroa close to our hotel. People were out walking their dogs and they were all dressed in cute little costumes like small humans...and I thought the Honkies were crazy.

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I am hoping that the south is nice. I have kept Kim from buying too many things so far promising her that there would be plenty of chances...I hope that this is correct as some of the things we saw up north were really nice.

Bolivia is pretty cheap to travel in (same prices as Thailand) and my dad would love it here (as well as in Peru). I could however travel a lot cheaper if I got to choose the mode of transport and the hotels...Kim gets to choose the hotels we stay in which from a local aspect is the upper range hotels (but still cheap by australian standards) and the criteria is hot water, blankets, heating, cleanetc. We have however been lucky with a couple of hostels we have found (one that we will stay in once we return to La Paz and we stayed in one in Copacabana). I think over time I will get her hardened up enough to check out the hostels first and then afterwards increase the comfort levels if we dont find anything of a decent standard...but so far it is ok that she gets a bit of comfort...it is her first backpacking/roughing trip and she is doing really well so far (getting into the spirit of finding cheap restaurants etc.). Click here to see more photos from Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:00
by Rene Pallesen
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Copacabana - Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

copacabana bolivia


The bus ride from Cusco was interesting...but probably more for Kim than I (she called it horrendous). The company that we had bought our ticket from in Cusco came and picked us up at the hotel at 9.30 pm in a taxi and then drove us to the bus terminal a couple of kilometers out of town. The ticket was a direct ticket to Copacabana in Bolivia in a sleeper bus...but when we got to the station it turned out that the bus was going to drop us off 15 kilometers out of Copacabana...the guy from the company gave us a little cach and told us to use it to bribe the bus driver to drive us all the was to Copacabana.
We then had a talk to the company and they agreed to organise with the bus driver to drive us all the way. The bus was ok and full of other gringos also going to Copacabana or La Paz. Kim was greatfull that the bus had a toilet and less gratefull that it was pitch black in the middle of the night and couldn´t flush...so very stinky. About 30 kilometers from the border we got dropped off by the bus (so much for the promise of a direct bus)and loaded into a minibus with far too little seating. The bus wouldn´t start so we had to get out and push. It then started to rain and there was 2-3cm of snow on the road at certain places (4000 meters altitude) once we reached the Peru border we were again off loaded and had to walk across the border...the border crossing itself was smooth although we had to wai a while for the office to open at 7.30am.

On the bolivia side we then took another bus (which we had to pay for) to Copacabana about 8 kilometers away.
Copacabana is a small town next to Lake Titicaca and Kim had researched hotels...but after looking where some of the other people on the bus would stay she agreed to stay the same place (after we got some towels and a heater).
The rest of the day we spent in Copacabana which is a pleasant but very small place and hos got a cheap backpacker feel to it in a positive way (A lot of backpackers out searching for the meaning of life rather than partying an ruining it for others).
In the evening after dinner we found a little cafe playing live music. For dinner they had these set 3-4 course menus for around $2 USD per person at the various restaurants which is a lot cheaper than a-la-carte.

The next day we took a boat to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) on the lake and spent a couple of hours walking the 11 km from one end to the other (I am quite proud of Kim on this trip being happy to walk long distances with me) and then in the afternoon we took the boat back to Copacabana. On the Island I bought a jumper made from Alpaca wool for around USD $7 and Kim bought a local scarf.

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Back in Copacabana Kim found some really nice local jewellery so she was busy spending the rest of the evening shopping (I have told her not to buy too much because it is difficult to carry).

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In the morning next day we took the bus to La Paz (about USD $2 per person for a 4 hour drive).
Click here to see more photos from Bolivia

4. March 2008 02:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Cusco - Peru

4. March 2008 02:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

cusco peru


Sunday we flew from Santiago to Cusco in Peru via Lima.

Lima is very dry...almost a desert whereas the flight into Cusco was spectacular surrounded by tall green mountains. The hotel came to pick us up from the airport and the hotel is very centrally located in the middle of the city. It is a spectacular place, the people are very different from elsewhere (indians) and you can buy craftmanship everywhere really cheap.

Click here to see more photos

You can see the remains of the inca buildings everywhere. Cusco is located in 3500 meters altitude so we decided to take it easy on the first day to acclimatise (none of us have got any headaches so far)and then head up an see Macchu Picchu in a couple of days time. So on the first evening we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner where we got the most important menu items out of the way...alpaca and cuy (Lama and Guinea Pig). The lama was really nice (like a tender beef) but the Guinea Pig was a bit tough (especially the skin) and there wasn't much meat on it (but tasty).

Click here to see more photos

Click here to see more photos

Tuesday we bought a train ticket to Macchu Pichu (USD 96...so quite expensive and then on top comes bus up to the site $12 and the entrance to the site itself $40...so a good $150 USD per person) which is a 4 hour ride each way. Despite the expensive trip there it would be a shame to come all this way and not go there...and believe me...it is worth it. Just the train trip there is pretty spectacular between deep gorges and roaring rivers. The first hourin the train is spent climbing the hillside in Cusco...the train rides along for one kilometer and then stops, changes direction and then goes another kilometer before doing the same again...in total it takes the train 7-8 direction changes to make it to the top of the hill.
And the Macchu Pichusite itself is really spectacular in itself. We spent close to 6 hours exploring the area and had we known earlier that they closed access to one of the peaks at 1pm then we could easily have spend more time exploring.


Click here to see more photos

Click here to see more photos

Wednesday we checked out of the hotel in Cusco and booked ourselves a night bus to Copacabana in Bolivia. The remainder of the day we spent visiting other Inka sites around the area by local bus. Some of the sites especially the one closest to Cusco called Saqsaywaman is pretty spectachlar.

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We had a really scary incident where we got attached by two really vicious dogs. The first dog went for me an I kicked ouut after it and just missed it, but it was just enough to surprise the dog and make it back off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the second dog attack Kim and I saw her try and kick it as well whereafter it also back off (probably because the fist dog got scared). After that they kept their distance...a close encounter but walked away unhurt but with our hearts pounding. Click here to see more photos from Peru

2. March 2008 10:14
by Rene Pallesen
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Santiago de Chile

2. March 2008 10:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

santiago de chile

The last couple of days Kim and I have been in Santiago de Chile. Kim arrived a day late due to mechanical problems with the aircraft from Sydney and I arrived 6 hours late with Chris (my colleague) at 3am in the morning. Chris and I got ripped off by the taxi due to us not having studied the local conversion rates...but after that we had no other problems.

The first day we spent sleeping and familiarizing ourselves with the area around Providencia and Bellavista. There are some gorgeous little bars and restaurants in these areas. Santiago is a very modern city. It is very clean and you don´t see the same problems as for instance in Buenos Aires with street kids. I can see why my cousin Ulla decided to live in this city for a while.
The Metro in Santiago is really good...there are trains every few minutes and they cost about $1 USD regardless of where you get off...a lot cheaper than catching taxis and a lot faster too.

Next day we went sightseeing around Santiago city centre. The highlight was Cerro Santa Lucia which is an old castle converted into a lovely park area used very much by couples out for a romantic afternoon.
As for food...it seems that most locals eat hotdogs and pizza for lunch so we had a hard time finding something reasonably healthy.

We spent a lot of the late afternoon and evening sorting out luggage storage. We are staying in a serviced apartment with no storage facilities so we had to go to the bus terminal on the other side of the city to store it. When we got back we received an email from the lady renting us the apartment saying that she´d store it for us. I feel a lot more happy about her storing it than in the terminal especially as my work laptop is in the bag.

Next morning it was again time to go to the Airport...this time to fly to Peru.

23. February 2008 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Buenos Aires - Argentina

23. February 2008 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

buenos aires argentina


This week I am in Buenos Aires in Argentina for our annual International Partner Conference and sales Kickoff meeting.

I arrived Thursday night after a long flight with my colleagues and early Friday morning we started our meetings with new product introductions as well as briefing on what is going to take place the next week or so...and as the week progresses I will keep you up to date here.

Friday night we went to a restaurant called the winery and had finger food and tasted a range of different wines. Afterwards in the late evening I decided to go for a walk through the streets of Buenos Aires. It seems to be a very cultural city with some of the normal problems for a large city. There are a lot of people in the streets in the evening especially around the pedestrian areas.

Awards night

It is interesting that all the tourist maps here display the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) as belonging to Argentina. I think the Argentinians really should move on and start accepting that the islands belong to the UK and that they cannot claim them just because they captured them for a few months back in 1982 or because they are closer to Argentina than to the UK.

Buenos Aires is not a place to go for a beach holiday. The water is brown and muddy...I though it was because of the recent rain, but looking at other photos it seems that is is always muddy.



On the first evening we had an opening party at the local Yacht club. Two girls were singing and providing some pleasant entertainment and the morning opening ceremony also provided entertainment.



On the official opening night we went to a restaurant displaying some extremely good tango dancing. It is some of the fastest and most impressive dancing that I've ever seen live.









And of cause I needed to have a try as well.



On the closing night we went to a local restaurant and one of the sponsors provided the entertainment in the form of some dancing girls.

Click here to see more photos from Argentina

11. February 2008 12:49
by Rene Pallesen
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Mexico - Mexico City

11. February 2008 12:49 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

mexico mexico city


This week I am in Mexico City assisting some of our partners.

I flew in Saturday evening and had Sunday to do a bit of sightseeing before meeting up with our partners in the evening. I took a tour to the big pyramids outside Mexico City (Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world...apparently the largest is also here in Mexico). It was fantastic seeing the Pyramids and it is one of the few things that I've always wanted to see in Mexico...so now: been here done that.



The whole complex is huge it is 3-4 kilometers long so it takes a fair amount of work to walk from one end to the other...especially with all the stairs and sections.

Click here to see more photos

Pyramid of the Sun

We also saw the most holy cathedral in Mexico...a place where they keep a piece of cloth with an image of Virgin Mary that was left after someone carried flowers in the cloth. It is a beautiful piece of cloth...but I don't buy the flower story.

Click here to see more photos


Monday to Friday was work days and the first couple of days were spent training with our partners and customers. Here in Mexico they don't start work until around 10am...but also don't finish until after 6-7pm and then followed by dinners etc. with the partners mean that some days go on until around midnight.

I find that Mexican food here is very different from the Mexican food that we get in Australia and elsewhere (but I already knew that). The food is still very unhealthy and full of meat and cheese...but much more tasty and much more variation. Our partners were very impressed on the first evening with them that I was able to eat whole chillies in the tacos...but when I explained to them that I was used to Asian food and to chop up fresh chillies into my day-to-day food then they understood.


In the big intersections in the city there are children dressed as clowns doing tricks to earn a few pesos. The other day I say three kids standing on each others shoulders which was very impressive...I also saw an older woman dressed as a clown walking around with a bucket with a dark cloth in it and throwing it at the cars...very freaky and I think she needs to change her tricks if she want to make any money. One of the more disturbing was a mother with a three year old kid who lay down on the street in the middle of the traffic while the kid was making somersaults on top.


On the last evening we went to Plaza Garibaldi. This is the place that all the great Mariachi bands came/come from. The whole square is filled with bands that you can hire to play music for you. When you drive to the square the Mariachis line the streets and run alongside the car trying to convince you that you should hire them to play some music for you.

Click here to see more photos

We went into a restaurant where they besides the Mariachi also had other entertainment such as cockfighting and lasso dancing. Afterwards we went this cantina where a lot of bands were playing simultaneously at various table. All very Mexican and a great tradition. I wonder if the Mariachis will still exist in 20 years from now...but seeing the reaching of the mexicans they probably will. The food was excellent and I tried another couple of great traditions such as beer with lemon and chili in it as well as the mandatory Tequilas (El Tequila Loco).

Click here to see more photos

The hospitality of our partners here has been excellent. They have taken me out every night and made sure that I tried everything Mexican.

Here's some videos:


Cockfightting
Indian Dancers
Lasso Dancing
Plaza Garibaldi
Mariachi


Click here to see more photos from Mexico

1. February 2008 12:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Travelling

1. February 2008 12:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

travelling


I haven't blogged much this year yet. Mainly because not a lot has happened this month (January traditionally is a quiet month) but also because it has been very hot and wet which is not a good combination for outdoor activities.

The next two months however are going to be really busy as I will be traveling in Latin and South America.

I am looking forward to the trips as it will take me to most of South America such as Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.

As I travel I'll start posting pictures and entries in this blog.

4. January 2008 12:50
by Rene Pallesen
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New Years Day

4. January 2008 12:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new years day


I was glad that I didn't have too much to drink on New Years Eve, because the day after turned out to be a busy one.

In the morning we had breakfast with Kims family at the cemetery where her mum is buried.

Right after this we went to the golf course at the coast and played 18 holes. It was a pretty hot day, but there was a nice breeze along the coast and the course is in such a spectacular location.

Click here for more photos Click here to download video of Playing Golf #1
Click here to download video of the Golf Course #2


Most of the beaches in Queensland and New South Wales were closed due to dangerous surf conditions. There is a hurricane off the coast of Queensland creating some huge waves along all of Australia's east coast.

In the evening we had dinner with Kims family having steam boat and those rice paper things that you roll up (not sure what it is called)...and it was yummi.

They have this fermented fish that has been fermented over 3-4 years and it is really nice as a dipping sauce with a few chillies mixed in. Click here to see more photos from New Years Day

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

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

2007 has ended


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

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

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

Click on this link to see the events of 2007

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