Arrived in Chile

Arrived in Santiago as per plan where it was upper 30's yesterday afternoon. A minor incident (though not minor for those directly involved) on departure from Sydney. One Chinese passenger was taken ill on our plane before departure and as he was on a group visa all the 18 in the group had to leave. They were not happy about this and it was only after several police came on board that they eventually left! We departed about 90 minutes late, though regained most of that during our refuelling stop in Auckland.

Catching up on photos

Pictures from my trip to Flinders Ranges, nearly a month ago now.

I've just come from a great Christmas in Queensland at Barbara and Ken's and am now at Sydney airport awaiting my flight to Santiago where I should arrive the "same" morning due to crossing dateline - but it's a long flight.

Adelaide to Perth

Loads of photos of the trip.

Adelaide to Coodlie Park

Surfing and Sandboarding

Coodlie Park to Norseman

Norseman to Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay to Perth

Sun and sailing - Perth

Just had a nice relaxing weekend staying with a friend, Iain, in Perth. Got out for a cycle ride each day and also watched the 49er's race (ISAF world championship and qualifying for London 2012 I understand). Picture shows David Evans and Edward Powys crossing finish line, 4th in race and 6th overall.

Now at Perth airport, having travelled across the city using two buses but in between took the train from Stirling to Perth!

Cambodia - the Final Part

Photos from the final part of my visit to Cambodia. Sunrise at Angkor Wat and a trip to the floating villages on a nearby lake.

Australia

I've now been in Australia for 3 weeks and had little time to update the blog. Photos are running well behind as still not dealt with end of Cambodia pictures.

Spent first few days in Oz with my friends, Paul and Linda, in Queenscliff, south of Melbourne. Weather was mixed - 33C one day and 13C the next. On the hot day we had a very pleasant day touring wineries in the Mornington peninsula.

From there I flew to Adelaide from where I did a 3 day tour to the Flinders Ranges, a one day city day and a day of wine tasting in the Barossa Valley. Then a 10 day overland trip across the Nullabor Plain to Perth. This was a great trip, though the weather for the second half was rather cool and damp - wet indeed at times - so some activities were changed a bit.

Temples of Angkor Wat 1

We spent the first day of our Siem Reap stay visiting 3 temples. The first was Angkor Thom, a very extensive (more than 1km square) site, though many parts are very ruined, whereas the number one tourist attraction, Angkor Wat, our third that day, is less ruined thought still needing restoration. The other we visited was Ta Phrom which is well known from its use in films such as Lara Croft - Tomb Raider.

All the temples are made from sandstone, which is one of the reasons they have suffered over the years more than some other major sites in other parts of the world.

Cambodia 2 - To Siem Reap

From Phnom Penh we travelled for about 6 hours north west to the city of Siem Reap, the major tourist destination for Cambodia as it is the base for the Angkor Wat (and many other) temples. In the 12th century it had a population of 1.5 million, though now much smaller (50,000?).

We stopped en route a couple of times and at one of these stops I tried deep fried tarantula in garlic - quite tasty!

A sobering day

After viewing the spectacular Royal Palace in Phnom Penh we spent the remainder of the day visiting the genocide museum and the memorial to the Killing Fields. Very moving; by coincidence this is the first day of the trial of one of the leading perpetrators of the genocide of Pol Pot's regime.

Vang Vieng and Vientiane

From Luang Prabang we travelled south to the capital of Laos, Vientiane, stopping en route for a couple of nights at the small town of Vang Vieng. This is in a hilly area and we went over a 1400m pass from where there were great views, even though one of the best was marred by a large pylon! On our free day in V.V. I took a walk into the countryside and to the Blue Lagoon, a beautiful place for a swim. Vientiane did not seem to have too much to offer but it was only a short stay before our onward flight to Cambodia.

Luang Prabang

A great town and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Luang Prabang is full of temples. It also has a great night market with good value textiles and other local artifacts. I also attended a performance of Laotion dance which was very good entertainment and very colourful. Also featured in the album are some nearby waterfalls. (For some reason the photos in the album are not in order).

Cruising down the Mekong

From crossing the Mekong River into Laos and heading downstream to Luang Prabang. We stopped off at a couple of small villages and also spent one night in the small town of Pak Beng.

Thailand 1 Photos

Photos from first few days in Northern Thailand

Cambodia

Nearly at end of Cambodia visit with great temples such as Angkor Wat. The scale of these temples is absolutely amazing.

In Laos

I'm now a week into my trip and had a couple of days in Northern Thailand visiting Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle (once the centre of the opium trade). Did not get into Bangkok due to floods though no problems at or around the airport. Then crossed the Mekong River into Laos and spent two days travelling down the river to Luang Prabang. This is a very interesting town, well desrving its Unesco World Heritage status. Not uploaded pictures yet as rather a lot to sort!

Fireworks

A great display at Banchory on 5 November before a perfect blue sky day on Lochnagar.

Going Solar

A long time since I've written anything!
Just had solar PV fitted to my house; though it's not the best time of year I am at least generating something.

I'm off on a round the world trip in mid-November and will endeavour to keep my blog a bit more up to date.