I went to meet with Thea and Sjane by Train from Berlin, and fly out to London
Amsterdam
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Amsterdam Europe
Amsterdam Europe
I went to meet with Thea and Sjane by Train from Berlin, and fly out to London
Amsterdam
I went to meet with Thea and Sjane by Train from Berlin, and fly out to London
Amsterdam
Cambodia..Siem Reap
http://animoto.com/play/e1746QqdmbwlF0Hl1oXJaQ#
Sihanoukville.. A Fishing Village
Temples of Siem Reap
Floating Village Sien Reap
Sihanoukville.. A Fishing Village
Temples of Siem Reap
Floating Village Sien Reap
Outback West Australia ... Broome to Perth
I drove a Hi Ace Campervan 3,000 kms from Broome to Perth following Highway 1 and the coastal Route.
Outback Australia
Broome to Coral Bay
Outback Australia
Broome to Coral Bay
Phillippines..Bohol, Underwater Dumaguette and white Water Rafting Laguna
http://animoto.com/play/3qjmXZX6Jk0RvOafNH6Qsg
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands.[1] Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of 4,117.3 square kilometers (1,589.7 sq mi) and a coastline 261 kilometers (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. [2] To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.
The province is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts.[3] The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is famous for its diving locations and routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts dot the southern beaches and cater to divers from around the world. The Philippine Tarsier, considered the second-smallest primate in the world, is indigenous to the island.
Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the "Republic of Bohol" with both conviction and pride.[4] A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos. Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.
BoholDancing.avi
http://animoto.com/play/ZA9FcM4L0NNm7wXROhIEVQ
Dumaguete remains one of the Philippines best kept secrets.
Awesome walls and drop-offs, stunning coral gardens, electrifying drift dives and many rare and truly unique creatures are waiting for you! All the dive sites are replete with huge numbers of splendid fish (triggerfish, parrotfish, pennant fish, moray eels, surgeonfish, snappers, groupers, Moorish idols, lizardfish, gobies, batfish, lionfish, trumpet fish, puffer fish, filefish, emperors, wrasses, fusiliers and trevallies to name only a few).
Invertebrates from the tiniest transparent shrimp and neon-coloured nudibranchs to huge basket sponges adorned with hundreds of multi-coloured crinoids; anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish and worms reside with vast numbers of hard and soft corals and gorgonian sea fans. Turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, manta rays, eagle rays and sharks make guest appearances.
See the Underwater photos....
http://www.diveadventures.com.au/pages/destinations/Philippines/Dumaguete.htm
From Manilla we went to Laguna where we went White Water Rafting at Pagsanjan Falls.
Phillipines Manilla to Bohol
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands.[1] Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of 4,117.3 square kilometers (1,589.7 sq mi) and a coastline 261 kilometers (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. [2] To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.
The province is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts.[3] The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is famous for its diving locations and routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts dot the southern beaches and cater to divers from around the world. The Philippine Tarsier, considered the second-smallest primate in the world, is indigenous to the island.
Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the "Republic of Bohol" with both conviction and pride.[4] A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos. Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.
BoholDancing.avi
http://animoto.com/play/ZA9FcM4L0NNm7wXROhIEVQ
Dumaguete remains one of the Philippines best kept secrets.
Awesome walls and drop-offs, stunning coral gardens, electrifying drift dives and many rare and truly unique creatures are waiting for you! All the dive sites are replete with huge numbers of splendid fish (triggerfish, parrotfish, pennant fish, moray eels, surgeonfish, snappers, groupers, Moorish idols, lizardfish, gobies, batfish, lionfish, trumpet fish, puffer fish, filefish, emperors, wrasses, fusiliers and trevallies to name only a few).
Invertebrates from the tiniest transparent shrimp and neon-coloured nudibranchs to huge basket sponges adorned with hundreds of multi-coloured crinoids; anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish and worms reside with vast numbers of hard and soft corals and gorgonian sea fans. Turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, manta rays, eagle rays and sharks make guest appearances.
See the Underwater photos....
http://www.diveadventures.com.au/pages/destinations/Philippines/Dumaguete.htm
From Manilla we went to Laguna where we went White Water Rafting at Pagsanjan Falls.
Phillipines Manilla to Bohol
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Halong Bay Vietnam
http://animoto.com/play/LkNq4L26pujUfcgx80UnIg
Ha Long Bay (literally: Descending Dragon bay; Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters.
Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553km², including 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334km² with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate.
The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem.[3] Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species[4] and 60 endemic faunal species.
Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7,000-5,000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 3,500-5,000 years ago.[7] Ha Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.
500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Ha Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky" In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Ha Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Ha Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criteria vii, and listed for a second time according to criteria viii. Together with Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay is recognized as one of the 33 most beautiful bays in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay
This was a wonderful experience. We went by Launch to the start of the tour and spent all day sailing the Islands in a wonderful boat. We visited the Caves and purchased fruits from small boat vendors.
According to local legend, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the earth, and then decided to live here. The place where the mother dragon descended was named Hạ Long, the place where the dragon's children attended upon their mother was called Bái Tử Long island (Bái: attend upon, Tử: children, Long: dragon), and the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch Long Vỹ island (Bạch: white- colour of the foam made when Dragon's children wriggled, Long: dragon, Vỹ: tail).
The bay consists of a dense cluster of over 3,000 limestone monolithic islands (although locals claim there are only 1,969 as this is the year of Ho Chi Minh's death), each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Ha Long area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuần Châu and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities including hotels and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.
Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have been given names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys, and lizards also live on some of the islands.
http://animoto.com/play/LkNq4L26pujUfcgx80UnIg
Ha Long Bay (literally: Descending Dragon bay; Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters.
Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553km², including 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334km² with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate.
The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem.[3] Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species[4] and 60 endemic faunal species.
Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7,000-5,000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 3,500-5,000 years ago.[7] Ha Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.
500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Ha Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky" In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Ha Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Ha Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criteria vii, and listed for a second time according to criteria viii. Together with Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay is recognized as one of the 33 most beautiful bays in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay
This was a wonderful experience. We went by Launch to the start of the tour and spent all day sailing the Islands in a wonderful boat. We visited the Caves and purchased fruits from small boat vendors.
According to local legend, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the earth, and then decided to live here. The place where the mother dragon descended was named Hạ Long, the place where the dragon's children attended upon their mother was called Bái Tử Long island (Bái: attend upon, Tử: children, Long: dragon), and the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch Long Vỹ island (Bạch: white- colour of the foam made when Dragon's children wriggled, Long: dragon, Vỹ: tail).
The bay consists of a dense cluster of over 3,000 limestone monolithic islands (although locals claim there are only 1,969 as this is the year of Ho Chi Minh's death), each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Ha Long area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuần Châu and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities including hotels and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.
Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have been given names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys, and lizards also live on some of the islands.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
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