Travelling Asia as a Regional Manager
My first time to Philip Island and what a weekend. Everyday was different and even the cancelling of MotoGP qualifying and the crazy Saturday weather just added to the whole experience.
What a great place to to watch motorcycle racing! I will post my loitering paddock photos and stories later but here are some MotoGP photos from wandering around the track on Friday and the race on Sunday watching at turn 10.
A quick blast of photos from several walks with my lovely wife around Whakatane, Ohope, Ohiwa, Lake Okataina in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. This will not be a comprehensive description of walks you can do around Whakatane, there are loads! But some useful links if you are interested can be found below:
Whakatane walking map: https://www.whakatane.info/files/docs/whakatane.info_walks_map.pdf
Descriptions of walks in and around Whakatane and nearby locales: https://www.whakatane.com/activities/walks-and-tramps
A spare hour in Seoul enabled me to cross the road from the hotel into the Bongeunsa Temple grounds. As is often the case with a temple in the the city it is amazing how the tension of the metropolis evaporates shortly after entering the grounds. Regardless of your religion, faith or lack thereof I find that people wandering the grounds are usually trying to make sense of life, connecting with friends, thiniking and praying for loved ones and family or just wandering around and enjoying nature and beauty. It is certainly a more noble use of time than going to the mall.
I was particularly intrigued by the numerous small stone pebble constructions which maybe were made by temple visitors as some lesson in patience and concentration by their monk guru.
It is amazing to think that this temple was initialed constructed well over a 1,000 years ago and in it’s current form since 1498. Hard to imagine the surroundings back then but it has survived the progress of mankind springing up it all around it with dignity.
Links for more information: Bongeunsa Temple Wiki and Visit Korea Website
Map:
Always a good evening with Coldplay! End of school year for Tahn before heading back to Bangkok for summer break. She made me go when the gates opened and boy was it a good idea, right at the front, a long wait but so worth it!
Touted as Tokyo’s 16th favourite toursit destination I have been tempted to go for a number of years. Today was the day…
Restaurant is not really an apt description but if crazy neon Japanese madness is what you are after then you get that in spades. It seems expensive at Yen8,000 for a restaurant where you do not actually get a meal but well worth it all the same. There are robots despite lack of photos of them. Hard to describe the whole thing so just put it on the list for your next visit and experience.
This October I spent a couple of weeks in New Zealand with my daughter cruising around the South Island. It was my first time to spend any length of time on the West Coast and these shots are of the fascinating Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki. They are located right on highway 6 about 45km north of Greymouth and are easy to find taking about 20 to 40 minutes to walk the well laid out track.
For more information visit the Offical website
Shot: Canon Powershot G7 X
I go a bit mad using the panorama feature on the iPhone so have accumulated many panoramas on my bike travels. Believe it or not here is a cut down selection along with the Thai province or place in which they’re shot:
A quick little bike holiday with David and Kenneth resulted in my first exploration of the west side of Sinakharin reservoir. The aim was to search for the mythical ferry that crosses up the north part of the reservoir. It does exist and 50 Baht will see you and your bike across to the other side.
Spent an overnight break out of Bangkok in Khao Yai to to check out a few new camping gadgets and of course have a ride!
The Petromax Firebox is a great little stove for camp cooking from twigs and leaves laying around; compact, cheap and fun! The Canon G5X star mode was fun to learn can see how produce for point and shoot, but will certainly get better results the next time.
Lastly the North Face Talus 3 tent courtesy of United points was quick to set up and pack up and roomy and a very useful loft storage rack.
Back next weekend…
Following on from photos from U2 @ the O2 is this video of “Even Better Than The Real Thing”. It is combined from two nights over 29 and 30 November 2015.
For full concert info for 29 November visit U2gigs – Show 1896
For full concert info for 30 November visit U2gigs – Show 1897
