Some of the great photos of Indonesia are now on the blog (adam.nomadlife.org) and the hundreds others, including some cool videos, are on the flickr site (www.flickr.com/adamsphotos) along with over 10,000 other photos. Eat your heart out!
It has been over 3 weeks since Chinese New Year - it ended with a bit of a bang, and not just the fireworks. Andrea and I went out to the countryside to visit a friend's friend's family who lived in a fairly poor, rural village of just a handful of small traditional houses. We set off the obligatory firecrackers, watched a local comedy performance, ate fairly unedible local food, drank plenty of alcohol and then clamboured up the hillside behind the house to a watchtower that is what remains of the Great Wall. It was a fairly memorable experience and nice to get into the local chinese way of life, even if it is painful on the liver!
Beijing finally broke its precipitation duck getting some snow around two week ago. It went 110 days or so without any rain or snow; which was pretty impressive, and certainly not enough to solve the drought situation which threatens to raise food prices even more. On Saturday it started snowing again and I got on a plane to come to Hong Kong for a couple of days. It was warm enough to wear a t-shirt and relax in the sun. I ventured to Hong Kong Park where I found an aviary, which is an undiscovered secret garden. a few minutes walk from downtown, literally, there is a tiny piece of rainforest with 600 birds from across Asia. The sounds of the birds, the joy of the children, the flowing water, and the fresh air from the trees made it a wonderful afternoon. And it was free. Another great legacy from the British. Hong Kong does make me feel proud. London too.
Today, at lunch in between meetings, I say overlooking the ocean at a trendy cafe, eating fancy (i.e. small portions of) food and enjoying the warmth and sunshine. A few more weeks to wait for the sun in Beijing; but there is no ocean or breeze. There is not quite the intimidation you feel in HK, dwarfed by the size of the buildings and variety of architecture that are everywhere, with the dramatic backdrop of the hills and port. Of course Hong Kong also has a huge number of very nice bars and cafes, conveniently quite close to the office. I recommend Life especially their African Stew and Carrot Cake. Not particularly cheap, but fantastic!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Ash billowing from Bromo at dawn 1
At dawn, as the sun rose and we waited, shivering, we were rewarded with this impressive view.
Ash billowing from Bromo at dawn 2
Plumes of ash billow out of a volcano and drift overhead. Nature rules.
Ash erupting from Bromo 4
Seeing an erupting volcano is pretty impressive. Thankfully it was just ash!
Black dominates everything making it look like hell around Bromo
When 2-3 feet of ash covers everything on the floor and growing and in the air; one considers if hell might look similar. Dark, black and depressing.
Mast in the ash cloud
Sunlight through the ash clouds aligned with the top of the Mast makes this a scary image.
Landscape around base of Bromo mars-like
With the ash floating above the edge of the crater, one could be forgiven for thinking this was shot on another planet
White houses in black landscape amid ashfall around Bromo
Incredible comparison between the white buildings covered in ash and the sun scraping through the ash clouds that dominate everything.
Kawah Ijen 2
The sulphuric lake that rewards a tough trek up to the top of the volcano in Eastern Java
Ijen panorama
An incredible steaming volcano from sulphur bubbling to the surface of the lake in the crater. Locals collect the sulphur blocks and carry them down the mountain. It is back-breaking work in every sense of the word.
South side of Gungung Batur strewn with old lava flows
Up close lava viewing opportunities-a-plenty along with fun motorcycling through the dried up lava flows and around and around the volcano through idyllic villages and fields.
Gunung Batur and Danau Batur panorama
An amazing Volcano in a massive Crater of another Volcano. The lake in one side of that crater as well as the other Volcanoes in the background just add to the extraordinary view.
Kids in Penginapan Village
A nice photo of some Indonesia kids that we came across in the amazing "village of two halves" which was split between a densely packed agricultural half and a beautiful model village that was full of quaint little houses with gardens and paths between them.
Friday, February 04, 2011
A Ghost Town
It's Chinese New Year. Of the 20 million people in Beijing probably a third have left town to see their families and the other two thirds are holed-up inside eating, drinking and watching TV for several days. This means the roads are pretty empty, a rarity that is worth enjoying on our bikes! Most restaurants have closed for 2 days, and a lot of shops too. It just shows how seriously the Chinese take tradition -visiting friends and family, giving gifts and feasting.
Some anecdotal proof that China is getting richer: there are way less firecrackers this year and much more actual fireworks (which are more expensive). Further proof comes from the stacks and stacks of fruit in fancy boxes that are piled up in supermarkets and on carts on street corners ready for purchase - fruit is one of the various things (along with money, alcohol and sweets) that are given as gifts when going to friends for meals at this time, but since winter is not a good season for fruit, a lot of it is imported and thus expensive but this is not a barrier any more. Further evidence comes from the huge amounts of wine that the Chinese are buying from supermarkets for the occasion as well. Though much of it is still cheap, there is still the strong desire to buy the most expensive (or expensive-looking) bottle to impress business partners (who it is also customary to visit over the week-long festival).
The one time people leave their houses is to go to Fairs, which in theory are called Temple Fairs, and are supposed to take place at Temples, but now tend to take place in parks and revolve around eating snacks, playing games (the kind that you can win prizes from) and buying stuff (mostly crap). Tens of thousands pile into these outdoor fairs every day leaving an insane amount of rubbish. Most of the food is fairly mundane, though some concoctions are a bit strange. Most of it comes on sticks or in plastic bowls. I hate to think how much the environment suffers, or the waistlines of the kids. Andrea and I quite enjoy seeing the awful attempts of boys to impress their girlfriends at the various stalls. Almost all fail miserably as the chances of winning anything apart from the tiniest teddy bear is insanely low. Doesn't stop them though...
Some anecdotal proof that China is getting richer: there are way less firecrackers this year and much more actual fireworks (which are more expensive). Further proof comes from the stacks and stacks of fruit in fancy boxes that are piled up in supermarkets and on carts on street corners ready for purchase - fruit is one of the various things (along with money, alcohol and sweets) that are given as gifts when going to friends for meals at this time, but since winter is not a good season for fruit, a lot of it is imported and thus expensive but this is not a barrier any more. Further evidence comes from the huge amounts of wine that the Chinese are buying from supermarkets for the occasion as well. Though much of it is still cheap, there is still the strong desire to buy the most expensive (or expensive-looking) bottle to impress business partners (who it is also customary to visit over the week-long festival).
The one time people leave their houses is to go to Fairs, which in theory are called Temple Fairs, and are supposed to take place at Temples, but now tend to take place in parks and revolve around eating snacks, playing games (the kind that you can win prizes from) and buying stuff (mostly crap). Tens of thousands pile into these outdoor fairs every day leaving an insane amount of rubbish. Most of the food is fairly mundane, though some concoctions are a bit strange. Most of it comes on sticks or in plastic bowls. I hate to think how much the environment suffers, or the waistlines of the kids. Andrea and I quite enjoy seeing the awful attempts of boys to impress their girlfriends at the various stalls. Almost all fail miserably as the chances of winning anything apart from the tiniest teddy bear is insanely low. Doesn't stop them though...
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