tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72939802011-08-27T14:39:35.770+10:00chronicles of my travels<br> Australia, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, SingaporeDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-11593502553850889722011-08-06T18:04:00.000+10:002011-08-06T18:04:36.070+10:00

Back in 2005 I posted a map showing the countries of the world I have visited. From the time I visited Sri Lanka in 2003 up until this year I hadn't visited any new countries. However, in the past few months I have visited Japan and Singapore so it is time to update the map. *create your own visited country map

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-27713986413061436892011-08-06T17:53:00.000+10:002011-08-06T17:53:31.781+10:00

On 26 July 2011 I spent a day in Singapore. The one day stopover was necessitated by the schedule of JetStar, which has a 22 hour gap in the arrival and departure times of its flights from Taipei and to Darwin. I arrived at the rather inconvenient time of around one o'clock in the morning. I had booked a bed at The InnCrowd Hostel in Little India. After arriving there by taxi the check in was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-71973904677099397682011-06-29T22:00:00.039+10:002011-07-12T23:30:30.217+10:00

I have dreamed about visiting Japan for a long time. I finally made my dream come true by visiting Kyoto and Nara for five days. Japan was everything I ever imagined it to be and a whole lot more. After arriving at the Kansai Airport I took a train to Kyoto. The train travelled with clockwork precision through the urban conglomeration of Osaka. The conductor bowed as he entered and exited the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-23379004758424680352008-08-16T15:38:00.012+10:002008-08-26T23:02:47.960+10:00

A trip to Darwin to visit Ween and her new baby Max was the first time I had visited the Northern Territory. To see Kakadu National Park I chose to join a tour organised by 4wd Wilderness AdventuresDay 1 - 10 August 2008I was picked up early in the morning from Ween's house and the Toyota Landcruiser troop carrier then headed out of town. We stopped at the Corroboree Park Tavern which was a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-19615695059251359562008-08-06T20:04:00.011+10:002008-08-07T09:52:45.004+10:00

It is hard to believe it is almost ten years since I last lived in Melbourne. Since then I have only been there for a few short visits. After being back in Australia from Taiwan for almost two weeks it was time to head from the bush to the big smoke. I caught the 8:29 V/Line express train from Kyneton to Melbourne. The first thing I noticed that was different was many new buildings in the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-32697103855730112442007-02-27T17:35:00.002+11:002011-08-06T17:44:07.421+10:00

During the Chinese New Year vacation I travelled to Indonesia for six days. Indonesia was the first Asian country I visited some 11 years ago. It was interesting to return. My sister and her boyfriend live and work in Bogor and my parents flew over from Australia so we could all travel together. I was lucky that my sister and her boyfriend were both fairly competent in Bahasa Indonesia and they

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1157323649814283972006-09-04T06:41:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:22:31.990+11:00

create your own China mapI found this online tool that shows the provinces of China visited. It is similar to a tool at World66 that creates a world map showing countries visited. You can see my world map in an earlier post. PLEASE NOTE: Even though Taiwan is coloured in red, it is an independent country. It is NOT a province of China.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1136284267455786702006-01-03T18:21:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:19:11.128+11:00

Na and I spent the new year in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. Getting there involved a long haul overnight train journey to Sungai Kolok, followed by a walk across the border and then a relatively short bus ride to Kota Bharu.Kota Bharu is the capital of Kelantan State, in the northeast corner of the Peninsular Malaysia. It is the most distinctly Muslim area of Malaysia and the city prides itself on being

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1130146101466554722005-10-24T19:25:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:19:11.128+11:00

Good things come in small packages. This is certainly true of the city of Georgetown on Penang Island in Malaysia. The city may not be as big or as glamourous as Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, but it makes up for its lack of size with many small but special attractions. What most impressed me about the city was its ability to surprise. It is a place where you can wander the streets and discover

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1130145562731139482005-10-24T19:13:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:19:11.129+11:00

Continuing on the theme of signese here are a few photos from my recent trip to Penang, Malaysia. The earlier posts about signese can be found on my other blogs. See Not Chinese but Signese, Siamese Signese and Signo-Thai.TeaLok LokHairdresser's shopEast Xiamen Delicacies

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1110864602197335842005-03-15T16:22:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:22:31.990+11:00

I found this interesting little tool online that allows you to create a map showing the countries you have visited. The red on my map seems to be confined mostly to a certain corner of the world, but spending a few days in Canada allowed me to colour in half of North America! If you want to create your own map click here.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1110342614025465902005-03-09T15:26:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:16:40.329+11:00

I set out early in the morning with my bike fully loaded planning to ride from Taradale to Yackandandah. I expected it would take me three days to cover the 300 kilometre distance. It was the first time I had done any serious cycling since my tour down the east coast last year so I wasn’t sure how my legs would cope.My first stop was the small town of Redesdale about 25 kilometres down the road.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1108079036019658402005-02-11T10:35:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:20:24.981+11:00

The Thai town of Ranong is located on a broad inlet of the Andaman Sea. It is a beautiful spot surrounded by mountains and a broad stretch of water dotted by islands.A short distance across the water from Ranong lies the Burmese town of Kaw Thaung. It is the southern most part of the Burmese mainland.From Ranong it is possible to take a boat across the water to Burma. Indeed hundreds of farang do

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1106011197264091392005-01-18T13:19:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:21:56.073+11:00

Leaving Chiang Mai I headed for Pai. At the bus station in Chiang Mai I was surprised how small the bus to Pai was considering that many people want to go there. Once on the road however I discovered why the bus was so small. The road had so many twists and turns that a bigger bus simply wouldn't be able to negotiate it. Anyway after about four hours the bus safely reached Pai. I had heard a lot

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1105791964755371892005-01-11T23:20:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:27:15.125+11:00

After almost a week in Bangkok it was definitely time to move on. I jumped on a bus and headed north to Phitsanulok. When I arrived there I met my friend Ying, another of my classmates from Tasmania. Phitsanulok is her home town.I had visited Phitsanulok last March but I was keen to return and see a few things I missed last time. The first stop was Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat. This temple is

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1105081041909905962005-01-03T17:45:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:20:01.402+11:00

After leaving India I flew to Bangkok. It took a couple of days to get used to the different living conditions. In India I spent a lot of time outside, sitting on the ground, eating with my hands and so on. Suddenly I was in Bangkok were everything is modern, air-conditioned and relatively well organised. It was a shock to my system and I felt a little unwell for two days!I normally stay at my

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1105076116772658922004-12-23T16:29:00.001+11:002010-01-09T18:47:55.785+11:00

The Permaculture Design course began the day after the natural building course ended. It was a busy time for me as I was the coordinator and also taught some parts of the course.The day before the course began I had to make a trip to Chennai to pick up Max Lindegger from the airport. Max was the main teacher for the Permaculture course. I thought the trip to Chennai would go smoothly as I just

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1104316648019088292004-12-05T21:32:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:26:57.426+11:00

The last week of the natural building course was perhaps more notable for some cultural events rather than the building activity. A little work was done on the foundation, but it was clear there wouldn't be a chance to start building the mud walls of the Interfaith Meditation Hall during this workshop. There were still some building activities going on though. The play structure we had started

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1101454996564419452004-11-26T18:11:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:26:57.427+11:00

It took a few days to lay the stones in the foundation trench. The group is smaller than the last workshop so the work tends to be a bit slower. After we had the stones in the foundation up to ground level work on the building came to a bit of a halt. Nothing happened for a couple of days and there wasn't a lot we could do until the concrete was poured. To fill in the time we start working on a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1100934709831086232004-11-20T13:00:00.000+11:002007-03-21T12:26:57.428+11:00

I arrived in Vellore two weeks ago after a 36-hour train trip from Delhi. It was only ten months since I was last here and I was back to continue working on the school project for Buddha Smiles. I was greeted by a lot of rain when I arrived in Vellore due to a large low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal. It continued to rain every day for the next week. The rain prevented me from doing some of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1099841141379639932004-11-05T14:21:00.001+11:002008-03-26T17:25:32.895+11:00

I first travelled in the Himalayas in 1996 while visiting India and Nepal. Eight years later I returned. I arrived in Dharamsala in the afternoon after a two day bus trip from Delhi via Amritsar. Later in the afternoon while walking up the street I turned my gaze upwards and was met with a stunning view of the snow capped peaks of the Dhauladar Range. I had forgotten how truly beautiful the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1096441326482639622004-09-29T16:49:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.313+11:00

Sydney to Bateman's Bay I pedalled out of Sydney early on Saturday morning. I made good time to get to Woollongong for lunch. I then spent the afternoon visiting Nan Tien Temple. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. The next day I rode to Jervis Bay which was a beautiful spot to camp for the night. I had a long ride the day after that to Bateman's Bay. When I got

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1095977694807511642004-09-24T08:11:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.314+11:00

Bellingen to Sydney After seven weeks of cycling covering over 4,500 kilometres I have made it to Sydney. Arriving in Sydney and crossing the Harbour Bridge gave me a real sense of accomplishment as I realised how far I had actually travelled on my tour. The ride from Bellingen to Sydney has also included a number of highlights so read on. Leaving Bellingen I had another great ride on a gravel

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1095210213114394142004-09-15T10:49:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:25:01.787+11:00

Byron Bay to Bellingen After Leaving Byron Bay rather than heading south I headed northwest to the peak of Mt Warning (Wollumbin). Mt Warning is what remains of the core of an ancient volcano and its pointy peak stands out above all the others in the area. I got up at 3:30 am to make the climb to the summit and hopefully see the sun rise. When I got to the top it was engulfed in cloud. It was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1094465628559483592004-09-06T20:06:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.315+11:00

Ipswich to Byron Bay I have now crossed the border from Queensland into New South Wales and seen some absolutely amazing country on the way. The Lions Road crosses the Border Ranges and was my chosen route into NSW. It is an amazing road and contained the steepest climb I have yet encountered. It was worth the effort. Once into NSW I entered the Border Ranges National Park. There is whole group

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1094100219471876412004-09-02T14:36:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.316+11:00

Bundaberg to Ipswich I've covered a lot of ground since my last post and it has been some of the best cycling and scenery of the trip. I have also encountered the first major hills of the ride. Although some of them have been tough to ride up that is more than made up for by the great views and long easy downhill sections! Coming south from Bundaberg I travelled along the Cooloola Coast. This

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1093233535129397422004-08-23T13:52:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.316+11:00

Rockhampton to Bundaberg Just south of Rockhampton I came across a woman walking down the road. I talked to her and was amazed to find out that she was walking around Australia. She had left Melbourne last October and expected to arrive in Melbourne on 9th October this year. Have a look at her website if you want to know more: Walk Around Australia. The most interesting place I visited in the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1092876130883623562004-08-19T10:29:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.317+11:00

Airlie Beach to Rockhampton I have travelled quite a few miles since my last post and seen some beautiful places. One of the highlights has been a trip around the Whitsunday Islands. I didn't do it on my bike though! I went on a boat called the Whitehaven Xpress. It was a great day and we visited Whitehaven Beach, a seven kilometre strip of pure white sand that is one of the most beautiful world

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1092118321854228842004-08-10T16:05:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:17:47.318+11:00

Tully to Airlie Beach I've ridden all the way from Tully to Airlie Beach since my last post. I've been averaging more than 100 kilometres per day which is a lot more than expected. However, now I'm in Airlie Beach I'm taking a much needed rest day! Some of the highlights of the last few days have been the magnificent views of Hinchinbrook Island from around Cardwell and the Jourama Falls, just

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1091683778906338912004-08-05T15:21:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.100+11:00

I flew up to Cairns from Melbourne last Thursday. It was a case of escaping the worst of a Melbourne winter for the best tropical north Queensland weather. I spent a few days in Cairns staying with my friend Ian. I used to work with Ian many years ago when we were both based at Dominion Mining in Meekatharra, WA. Ian has since gone on to study medicine and is now a doctor at the Cairns Hospital.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1091419290972151332004-08-02T13:57:00.001+10:002011-04-16T13:38:03.290+10:00

Friends of the Earth organised the Radioactive Racism Tour to inform and educate people about the impacts of the nuclear industry in Australia. The tour took 45 students and activists to the deserts of South Australia for ten days in July. They visited the state's two operating uranium mines and met with indigenous communities affected by the nuclear industry. It also gave the chance to see some

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1091418163974786552004-07-16T13:36:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.101+11:00

A revolution in television programming began in Melbourne last night. A pilot of Eco-TV Activist News was shot in front of an enthusiastic audience at Latrobe University. The audience was made up of people attending the week long Students of Sustainability conference. The program was produced by a collective that came together at the conference. Spokesperson for the collective, Pen O'Brien, said

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089868078880233032004-07-15T15:06:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:28:06.485+11:00

As part of the Students of Sustainability conference I went on a field trip to Daylesford. The trip visited two sites in the area: David Holmgren's property Melliodora at Hepburn Springs and Fernleigh Farms at Bullarto. Although less well known than Bill Mollison, David Holmgren is the co-originator of the Permaculture concept. His property is not surprisingly a very well ordered model of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089709945737283502004-07-13T18:49:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.102+11:00

I am currently at the Students of Sustainability Conference at Latrobe University in Melbourne. It is an amazing event that brings together environmental activists from all over Australia as well as a few international guests. The conference is an annual event and although the main participants and organisers are university students it is open to anyone. The name of the conference, "Students of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089265824153725812004-07-08T15:41:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:32:08.006+11:00

I recently picked up my new bike from Cecil Walker Cycles in Melbourne. It is a Trek 7100 FX Rigid. If you want to see a picture of what it looks like and details of the specifications check this page from the Trek website.I investigated a range of bikes before I decided on buying this one. One of the main reasons for the choice of this model was the reasonable price. It cost AU$599. The main

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089253968742261352004-07-08T12:31:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:26:22.733+11:00

Macadamia nuts are the only native Australian plant that has become a commercial food crop. It is somewhat ironic that Hawai'i is now the world's largest producer of macadamia nuts. Normally grown in the sub-tropics South Gippsland is not a place where you would expect to find macadamias growing. Think again, because I discovered that they can and do grow there and it is a great example of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089252159949327592004-06-23T11:56:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.104+11:00

Contrary to worldwide popular opinion the capital city of Australia is not Sydney. It is in fact Canberra. Canberra is a a planned city and before it was chosen as the site for Australia's capital it consisted if little more than a pub. It officially became Australia's capital in 1927. Before that Australia's Parliament sat in Melbourne. I took the time to visit the old Parliament House where

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1089251774141358012004-06-21T11:53:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.105+11:00

Today was the shortest day of the year, for those in Australia and the rest of the southern hemisphere at least. For me the day was marked by a long bus trip. At 9:00 am the "Buchan bus" picked me up from the Buchan Lodge. The little 14-seater bus only does the run to Bairnsdale twice a week so you wouldn't want to miss it. There were only three passengers on the bus and all, except me, were

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1088139775880475822004-06-20T14:53:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:18:15.105+11:00

Buchan seems to exist in a meteorological vortex. While the rest of Victoria experiences a the full force of winter -- gale force winds and snow down to low levels -- Buchan enjoys pleasant sunny days. The village of Buchan lies in a picturesque valley half-way between the Gippsland Lakes and the Australian Alps. Tourism is the town's lifeblood. Visitors come to see the limestone caves or use

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293980.post-1087107159743521472004-06-13T16:03:00.000+10:002007-03-21T12:22:49.847+11:00

I have had several websites online for a while now, but I've never tried blogging. I thought I might experiment a bit and see how it works. I won't write anything interesting in this first post. However, over the next few weeks and months I will be doing some interesting things. I won't give any details right now. Please check back here again soon.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.com0