Phew! Dubrovnik is hot. It teems with so many tourists. It”s like a Disneyland.


My room in the little 3-Star Hotel Stari-grad within the walls of the old city is quaint but I didn”t feel that way last night lugging a 26kg suitcase up four flights of steps to my room. Not only for my knees, but I was tired after a 21-hour, door to door marathon on three flights from Beijing to Dubrovnik. And, after all that, I didn”t get to fly on the new Lufthansa A380. It now starts only next week. 

Only seagulls for company, on the roof of the hotel sipping my orange juice at breakfast

All is forgiven now, however . . .

Beijing is charging into the 21st century – it”s hard to believe that on my first visit here in 1985, there was not one single neon light; the traffic jams were with bicycles; and at the one major hotel, you had to line up at  breakfast to put a slice of bread through a toaster that really didn”t do anything.. 


My hotel, the hip new Opposite House, is part of a major retail and restaurant re-development in the east of Beijing. The name derives from the Chinese traditional courtyard architecture in which a secondary structures sits opposite the main residence. In the overall design of the whole area, the Japanese architect conceived the location of the hotel as the Opposite House. His use of natural woods throughout including sinks and bathtubs is also opposite to what other luxe properties feature.

Stark but stunning corridor of natural wood

Art Exhibitions are a major feature of the ground floor areas of the hotel.

Painstakingly sewn shards of broken pottery recovered from ancient archeological digs, Li Xiaofeng has created “porcelain clothing” at Opposite House, Beijing.

I decide to take a tour of the old hutongs and step away from the hordes following flags hoisted in the air and slip into the quiet of a traditional Chinese double courtyard house with a walled garden to find the smaller authentic version of an opposite house.

The walled gardens in the 1920″s Guo Moro traditional Chinese double courtyard house signify the basis of Taoism – related to nature. “No action” is the primary goal Taoists try to attain. “This walled garden is not only of “nature” but it separates you from society”, says my Chinese guide, Allen.

I have read so much about the 798 Art Zone District . . . but what I see is a little too contemporary for my tastes. What is wonderful though is to see that the younger generation appear to be fearless, and enjoy a role and a voice in the “new China”.

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In the evening, I go for a wonderful Peking duck dinner at Duck de Chine in the new and  celebrated 1949 “Hidden Village”.

The 1949 Beijing Machinery and Electric Institute factory in the industrial suburb of Sanlitun is now a hip conclave of wonderful restaurants, including Duck de Chine.

For a small island in the tropics,Singapore never ceases to amaze.  


The Singapore that was . . . in a small street near my hotel.

The Singapore that is . . . with the Sands SkyPark infinity pool floating 200 metres in the sky atop the three soaring Marina Bay Sands Hotel towers. On a clear day you can see Indonesia!

Difficult to fathom that this pool goes over the edge – 200 metres up in the sky!

The new Singapore Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the SkyPark cantilevered out over the top

I was reading the now famous Stieg Larsson “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” most of the way from Sydney to Singapore so I placed my everyday “distance” spectacles in their little orange case in the “safe” cubby hole in the seat in front of me.

Singapore Airlines A380

You guessed it. I walked off the plane in my “readers”. I soon realised my mistake, (as I nearly tripped down the escalators to Immigration at Changi), and rushed back to the gate where passengers were still being disgorged from the big A380. An attractive young lady offered to go on board but didn”t return. With all the passengers now on their way, another escorted me on board. There was a conflab of crew around my seat and all I could see was an empty cubby hole where I know I had carefully placed the orange case.


One of the bossier stewardesses (in a “red” sarong kebaya that denotes seniority), whom I had observed during the flight as a possible casting choice for “Madame Lash” with a well preserved figure but painted iron mask for a face, was clearly of the opinion that I had misplaced them elsewhere. “Check in your pockets! Put your case over there. Open it!” – all the time peering over my shoulder. I could almost feel the woosh of the whip.


I was then told that I had been observed during the flight wearing only the “readers” that I now had on, and I got the impression that they thought I was making the whole story up. The cleaners had not come on at this stage, and the purser came on the scene and asked a few more questions. He called an engineer to pull the seat apart; we checked the pile of newspapers that had been taken away from around me; and then asked for my business card.


I was of the firm belief now that one of the crew was attracted to the little orange case (of a ritzy brand of spectacles that my optometrist in Sydney had given me to help me locate it more easily in my man bag), and “lifted” them. In retrospect, it could also have been the scruffy guy with hairy legs or girlfriend in shorts and bare feet in the seats across the aisle who saw an opportunity while I was at the loo to souvenir them.


Anyway, I reported the loss to “Lost and Found” after Immigration and their main interest seemed to be to give me a piece of paper for an Insurance claim. There was no question as to how they would get them to me (like a lost suitcase) if they turned up tomorrow! I was given a number to call  but after ringing it 10 times before leaving for Beijing next day and it never being answered, I gave up!


The concierge at the hotel directed me to a local optometrist and it will take 5 working days to make my prescription. I will not be in a hotel in a city for another 4 weeks so I”m in a “right pickle” as they say.

On my way to Europe, I”m looking forward to my first ride on the Lufthansa A380 Airbus from Beijing to Frankfurt.

The new Lufthansa A380

And on August 28, ten of us join a 25-metre gulet in Dubrovnik to cruise amongst the islands off the Dalmatian coast for a week.

Our gulet “LINDA”

Bauhinia

Hibiscus

The “paper bark” tree – Melaleuca

Hibiscus

Kookaburra

Lorikeet

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Fauna?

Canna lily – from my Spetses, Greece photos

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Cherry from USA

Fresh Artichoke – first photograph shot in a RAW Manual Setting

Queensland Strawberry

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Tangello

Paul and Kim”s relatives and close family friends fly  into the airport right on Hamilton Island. Within minutes, we are comfortably ensconced in our cliffside apartments among the gum trees with stunning views out over the sea. 

Virgin Blue gets me to Hamilton Island from Sydney in a  2 hour non-stop flight.

What an opener! – The view out to sea from my bedroom in Shore Line apartments on the windward side of the island.

Kim”s sister Cassandra, dad Bob, and friend Lloyd

Paul and Kim “not nervous at all”?

My sister Anne and Trevor, Michael, brother Mark and Jenny

All Saints Chapel is perched beautifully on a hill overlooking the sea – an idyllic spot in the late afternoon for all of us to witness Paul and Kim exchange their marriage vows. Father Bill comes across from the mainland to officiate.

Father of the groom, Bob Alexander

Paul (looking every bit like my late sister Cathie”s son), and Uncle Michael

Kim with her two sisters, Cassandra and Kirsten, and her father Bob

Paul and Kim with his dad Bob, and his brother Dan and his wife Kellie ready to toast the union

The guests

UNCLE MICHAEL”S BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST


Coincidentally, the wedding day falls on my birthday. Of course, I choose to believe that it was with “careful planning” that this was the case and I am truly honoured that the young couple invited everyone to a “morning tea” on their special day to celebrate it.


Later in the evening, in Bob”s “Father of the Groom” speech, he opens by telling Paul how proud he is of him, and Kim how gorgeous she looks and then proceeds to thank all the guests for sharing this special day . . . . . . “Michael”s birthday!”

Infinity-edge swimming pool of the apartments

Bob meticulously removes the fat from the bacon while Cass makes the bacon and eggs

I love golden eggs that are so fresh that the yolk sits high on the white.

Bauhinia

Butterfly supping from the new Grevillea blossom

A baby Kookaburra on the branch of a gum tree

PICASA WEB ALBUMS
Take your time and browse through three Photo Albums and Slideshows. Double click on the picture and the album will open into full screen view.

THE WEDDING

UNCLE MICHAEL”S BIRTHDAY AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

COCKATOOS AND OTHER FLORA AND FAUNA ON A TROPICAL ISLAND

My earlier blog posts below give good coverage of our adventure flying into the outback of South Australia and southwest Queensland last weekend.


Now, I’ve made a movie! I’m a novice movie-maker, but an earnest student of iMovie on my new Apple iMac. 


I hope you enjoy.

“The Tailor” is a tour company in Adelaide that bills itself as a “designer of handcrafted journeys”.

This weekend, we are all set to experience the extraordinary natural phenomenon of seeing water from a deluge of rains in three states many months ago that is only now flowing into the usually dry salt pan of Lake Eyre.

Seldom do flooding rains reach Lake Eyre in the arid heart of the Australian continent, but it has now happened two years in a row, triggering a spectacular explosion of life in the region.

Our party of eight including my good friends, Andrew, Juanita, Pam and Ken, starts off in Adelaide on a Saturday morning and flies north to Angorichina Station homestead in the Flinders Ranges. We fly in a brand-new Pilatus turbo-prop aircraft with Garry Williams in command.

Our hosts, Di and Ian Fargher, make us welcome at the homestead and Ian accompanies us for the flight over Lake Eyre, and to remote Birdsville in the southwest corner of Queensland.

On Sunday evening we return to Adelaide and catch our flights back to Sydney. What a weekend! What an adventure!

 

 

Our party of eight including friends, Andrew, Juanita, Pam and Ken, starts off in Adelaide on Saturday morning and flies north to Angorichina Station homestead in the Flinders Ranges. We fly in a brand-new Pilatus turbo-prop aircraft with Gary Williams in command.

There is no flooding rain here – just peaceful, dry creek beds and rugged mountain ranges. Its a little difficult to describe some of the sights we see as “rugged”, when really, they are of delicate and breathtaking beauty. I went expecting reds and purples, but instead I”m given a kaleidoscope of blues and yellows.

The central Flinders Ranges at sunset

. . . and of course, the oranges of the burnt outback are always there.

My travelling companions, Andrew, Juanita, Pam and Ken with host Ian in the hat. Also pilot Garry with other guests, Jan and Sue.

 

Its “all hands on deck” in this outback Australian family.  Ian came over to the Shearers” quarters to put wood under the “donkey-burner” so we would have hot water for a shower (I decide to “go dirty” of course after last night”s experience in the cold), while Di stokes the log fire in the nearby shearers” mess and starts on breakfast.

This area of the Flinders Ranges is picture-perfect beautiful – eucalypts languishing in the stony, dry creek bed waiting for the occasional thunderstorm that brings rushing torrents of water and debris in its wake.

2,000 feet above sea level

Our rooms in the shearers” quarters on the left, and the shearers” mess on the right – simplicity itself!

And it wouldn”t be Australia without a kangaroo, or two. (These kangaroos are of the  “Euro” variety)

Again spectrums of blues and yellows. These are the true colours of Lake Eyre and the Warburton Groove that feeds the waters from catchment areas in three states, as seen from 2,000 feet

Glistening waters of silver and blue creeping towards the lowest point in the basin of Lake Eyre, 16 metres below sea level.

 

The “filigree” of waters in Goyder”s Lagoon in Lake Eyre is simply stunning now flying at an altitude of 18,000 feet.

. . . and the greening of the desert is amazing

And for how many years have I heard about the famous Birdsville Pub in southwest corner of Queensland?

The Sturt Desert Pea, the State Flower of South Australia was elusive, but we finally find it in Birdsville.

. . . just after “tucking-in” on a “whopper” of a hamburger at the Birdsville Hotel – beetroot, pineapple and all.

The land formations of the Australian Outback seen on the flight back to Adelaide continue to change.

There”s grasses and not much bush cover in the Sturt Stony Desert Sand ridges can be 40 feet high.

I wonder why one body of water is blue and the other brown.

Mining is a major contributor to Australia”s economic success. We fly over rigs in the middle of nowhere.

The “Dig Tree”, the tree at the depôt camp that Brahe marked the location of the buried supplies still stands on the banks of Bullah Bullah Waterhole on Coopers Creek in south-west Queensland – famous in 19th century Australian history for the expedition of Burke and Wills.

. . . and at the end of our 32-hour, 2,250 kms marathon outback adventure, Pam and the ladies can still laugh.

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MORE PHOTOS IN PICASA WEB ALBUMS

DAY 1 – THE FLINDERS RANGES

DAY 2 – BIRDSVILLE IN REMOTE SOUTH WEST QUEENSLAND

Enjoy the pictures of our couple of hours in Birdsville where we visited the Museum, had lunch at the iconic Birdsville Hotel, and took a walk around the town.

DAY 2 – FLYING OVER LAKE EYRE


Seldom do flooding rains reach Lake Eyre in the arid heart of the Australian continent, but it has now happened two years in a row, triggering a spectacular explosion of life in the region.

Click on the “Comments” link just below to leave your thoughts on the blog.

After waiting for an hour at the check-in desk of Royal Air Maroc in Marrakech, they finally find a solution to our overbooked flight to Berlin – and Jason and I are re-routed through Milan and Frankfurt, finally arriving in Berlin sans baggage!

My old Amex friend, now Father Frank, meets us at Tegel Airport and takes us home where dinner is waiting. This stopover is really about Father Frank, so we meet up again for dinner at his favourite restaurant, Mario’s, where we also meet up with another of my old Amex friends, Ursula Willenbrock.
 

 
Sightseeing by hop-on/hop-off bus is our only option in the cold and drizzle, and I rather enjoy it. I always like driving down the avenue towards the Victory Column with the gold Berolina Angel on top. I think I relate back to my first visit to Berlin with Alan in 1967 when I was so impressed with the grand scale. Before me, Hitler used to review grand parades, and more recently, Barack Obama reinforced his rockstar status by ‘wow-ing’ the local German people.
 

 

 
Berlin is on the River Spree and its little known that with its hundreds of tributaries, it has 226 kms of navigable waterways – more even than Venice! 996 bridges is a greater surprise. A boat ride on this 9 degree chilly day under grey skies is perhaps not the best way to view old and new monuments and museums, but a glass of hot glühwein helps me brave the chill out on deck.

Among the stark wintry trees lining the banks, streaks of colour are starting to emerge. That good old bellwether of spring, the forsythia, is bursting forth in the brightest of yellow, while the weeping willow is just ‘colouring’, but the cherry blossom is thick with white.

Lunch on two days at Ka De We is a highlight – rabbit terrine one day and mustard herring the next. And then to a neighbourhood not far from our hotel near to where Ursula lives for a farewell lunch in a very cosy Italian restaurant frequented only by ‘locals’.
 

Here is the link to the fully illustrated STORY of Edmundo”s return to Cuba in January 2010 after living in eXile for 50 years in the USA.

'The Children of Cuban Exiles' - Miami, December 2009

We visit a small church in search of a painting of Jesus being baptised in the River Jordan for which Edmundo’s stepfather, Humberto had posed many years ago. A friendly old lady explains that she remembers the painting but it is now stored in the sacristy that is locked. Edmundo presses on in his quest and the lady mentions a name of the person who holds the key and he recognizes it to be Humberto’s sister.

What incredible luck – an unexpected living relative! We immediately drive to the home which Anadelia shares with and her sister Esther and brother Fidel. They’re all speechless as they greet Edmundo in wide-eyed wonderment, remembering him only as a little boy. The strength of their faith in God is not lost on a very observing Boris. Anadelia is a pillar of the church and we see a picture of the Sacred Heart hanging on the wall; Esther has her miraculous medal pinned to her blouse; and there is a palm cross from Palm Sunday pinned to the front door. They proclaim their faith with pride.

In addition to rediscovering so much of Edmundo”s early life, we have taken the opportunity to see some of the sights that tourists always enjoy on a visit to Havana. We share some with you in this Photo Album. If you double click on the screen below, the Album opens into a full screen where you can read the captions more easily. They tell a short story in themselves.