Travel Photography
Places I've been, newest visits first. Click through the image to get to a slide show of images. Still a work in progress as some recent trips are still missing and old ones with various film cameras are yet to be scanned.
Manila
I got a chance to visit Manila in order to conduct a workshop but before the workshop started I had a free morning and taking Bani's advice I headed to Intermuros early in order to visit another UNESCO World Heritage site.
Port Moresby
I conducted a number of workshops for the APNIC Foundation in Port Moresby.
Singapore
Flying home from Yangon I decided to break the trip in Singapore and spend the night there, which allowed me to do some sightseeing that evening and the following day.
Yangon
APNIC asked me to help out with a workshop for the Myanmar Internet Exchange in Yangon so I joined Tashi in travelling once again to Myanmar.
Christchurch
I escaped the obvious clusterf*ck of the Australian census to pay a visit to Christchurch.
Rapa Nui
The Lindblad/National Geographic cruise to South Georgia and Antarctic had an optional extension to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). South America is quite a trek so it seemed sensible to take the opportunity to have a guided visit to the famous island.
Ushuaia
The cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica started and ended in the Argentine city of Ushuaia. According to the Argentines we never left Argentina either.
Antarctica
Ice, and more ice, but also penguins and history. A visit to the Antarctic peninsula allowed me to tick off continent number seven.
South Georgia
South Georgia is only accessible via ship, which limits the number of tourists able to visit it but those that do are rewarded with massive colonies of King Penguins, Elephant Seals, decaying whaling stations and some wonderful landscapes.
Falkland Islands
Perhaps it could have been considered as a warm up for what was to come later but the Falklands had their own charms, including the feisty Rockhopper penguins.
Bhutan
Another National Geographic Expedition, this time to the Land of the Thunder Dragon - The Kingdom of Bhutan. Our small group joined a National Geographic photographer and we toured around western Bhutan, experiencing the mask dances at the Punakha Tshechu, as well as visiting a school in the beautiful Phobjika Valley.
Myanmar
Another National Geographic Expedition but unlike the others this was truly a photographic expedition. Although the ships were tagged as photographic expeditions they were nothing like this as this one was laser focused on photography, turning the itinerary on its head so that we could shoot in the best light (out before dawn, shooting around sunset and being inside during the day). It also meant that if we needed monks, fisherman, boats, etc., for the shoot then we had them. All in all an outstanding experience and one I want to repeat.
Melbourne, Victoria
Another quick visit to Melbourne, this time in order to attend a Grand Designs Live talk by Kevin McCloud. Also took in Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion exhibition at the National Gallery Victoria. I was again disappointed by the way the NGV lit an exhibition. Having recently looked at some photos I took at the Louvre just emphasized that they seem to have no idea at the NGV.
Southbank, Melbourne
A quick visit to Melbourne in order to attend a National Geographic Live talk and see the Monet's Garden exhibition.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
I missed the grand opening of Burj Khalifa by a week or so when I was last in Dubai and so I wanted to return and see what it was like from the observation deck. I managed to arrange it so that I got a day in Dubai on my return home from Europe so I booked a tour of Burj Khalifa. I also booked a night at a hotel on the lake as it provided 24 hour rooms which made it very convenient with my late night arrival and departure.
Chartres, France
When I previously visited Chartres my Nikon D3 was a very unhappy camper and it was having a hard time focusing. Another visit to Paris, this time with the D3's replacement (a Nikon D3s), provided an opportunity to revisit Chartres Cathedral. As an added bonus some of the interior had been cleaned since I was last there. Hopefully they will get funding to finish the job and force me to visit yet again.
Paris, France
At the end of another European trip and here I am in Paris again. Time to visit the Louvre again.
Bratislava, Slovenská republika
A short train journey south from Prague took me to Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic. Bratislavia sits on the Danube and borders Austria and Hungary. First order of business was working out how to get a public transport ticket and the timetable to take me out to Devín Castle, the ruin of a 9th century castle. Bratislava seemed to be a much smaller city than Prague and had a lot less tourists wandering around.
Praha, Česká republika (Czech Republic)
I wandered around the streets of Prague for a few days in May. I ended up looping around the Castle a couple of times. A number of times I recalled my first visit when I travelled to Prague with (the late) Steve Coya and his wife after the Munich IETF.
Mezquita, Córdoba, España (Spain)
The Mezquita–catedral de Córdoba is a Catholic Cathedral build inside the medieval Great Mosque of Córdoba, itself built on the site of a Visigothic church.
La Alhambra, Granada, España (Spain)
Rising above the modern lower town, the Alhambra and the Albaycín, situated on two adjacent hills, form the medieval part of Granada. To the east of the Alhambra fortress and residence are the magnificent gardens of the Generalife, the former rural residence of the emirs who ruled this part of Spain in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Inside Spain and Portugal
Another National Geographic Expedition (NGE), this time visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites in Moorish Spain and Portugal.
Istanbul, Türkiye (Turkey)
A short stopover, prior to heading to Lisbon for the start of a National Geographic Expedition in Spain and Portugal, provided an opportunity to see some of the sights in Istanbul.
Lānaʻi, Hawaii, United States of America
Lānaʻi was known as the Pineapple Isle when Dole grew pineapples all across the island but they are largely consigned to history and now the island is mostly owned by Larry Ellison. It's the smallest publicly accessible inhabited Hawaiian island.
West Maui, Hawaii, United States of America
After returning from Hana we stayed a couple of days in West Maui so we could visit the ʻĪao Valley State Monument and then catch the ferry from Lāhainā to Lānaʻi.
Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii, United States of America
The Road to Hana is an iconic drive down the east coast of Maui. The road itself is a twisty one lane wonder which got even narrower once you past Hana.
Oʻahu, Hawaii, United States of America
Possibly the final "Techs in Paradise" (TIP2013) meeting drew me back to Honolulu (I'd been to all the others so how could I miss it). Before the TIP2013 meeting Paul, Guy and I headed to the north shore of Oʻahu to escape Waikiki for a day and during the week I walked from Waikiki to Diamond Head and back.
Montevideo, Uruguay
On New Year's Day I was due to have a tour but no one showed (it was later claimed that they did turn up but they couldn't find me). As a consequence I borrowed one of the hotel's bicycles and went out for a ride instead. I took my little Canon S100 with me and it froze up the first time I tried to use it, iPhone camera to the rescue.
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
I took the fast ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and had a quick tour of the city before catching a coach to Montevideo.Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, Colonia del Sacramento is located at the tip of a short peninsula with a strategic position on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Another place where I should have stayed longer as I didn't even really scratch the surface before taking the ferry to Uruguay. I did manage to ride the Subte Line A before they replaced the original wooden trains with new Chinese ones. Quite an easy city to walk around even without diving into the Subte. The Palermo district, where I stayed, was quite nice with some excellent restaurants.
Cementerio de la Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Not just the place where Evita (Eva Perón) is buried, although that grave is very popular, but a very interesting collection of tombs, sculptures and no doubt stories. The tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak is particularly nice.
Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis
A day trip into Argentina to visit the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis, yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. Three different missions in different stages of restoration.
Iguassu Falls
The Iguassu Falls (Portuguese: Cataratas do Iguaçu; Spanish: Cataratas del Iguazú; Guarani: Chororo Yguasu) are waterfalls of the Iguassu River on the border of Brazilian state Paraná and Argentine province Misiones. The falls are shared between two national parks with both parks listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. As the majority of the falls lie in Argentina the best panoramas are available from the Brazilian side.
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (Brazil)
I wished that I had left the cruise early as I really didn't have enough time in Rio. I stayed in Santa Teresa, which was somewhat bohemian, and it is on a hill and quite picturesque. The tram (bonde) is out of action due to a fatal crash in 2011 and so getting around meant either walking up and down the narrow streets or taking mini-buses (and taxis).
Cruising the eastern Caribbean
I discovered that some people had bailed from the cruise in USVI and flew home. If I had know that when I had booked I might have done the same thing and headed to Rio earlier but as it was I got a couple of days at sea instead. Fortunately a Brown Booby came along to entertain me, gliding along the side of the ship and occasionally diving into the sea to catch fish. It gave me plenty of panning practice but made me wish for a longer lens.
Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands
I didn't have high expectations for my stop in the USVI given my experience with Waikiki and San Juan, Puerto Rico and it didn't disappoint on that front. It's amazing that the USA can turn out these plastic imitations of real places but it shouldn't be too surprising given the evidence of the World Showcase at Epcot.
The island of Saint Martin
Saint Martin is an island of two halves, the Dutch half (Sint Maarten) and the French half (Saint-Martin). I organised to take an afternoon tour that included both sides of the island but while out on shore in the morning I got an offer from Jason and Mel to join them in a rental car. It was an offer too good to refuse and so we spent the morning in a small (evil) Jeep doing a circumnavigation of the island.
Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy
Finally the cruise visits a French island and it's like visiting the Côte d'Azur. Wall to wall motor yachts in the harbour and very fine but expensive restaurants. Clearly the other extreme from Dominica but quite nice anyway.
Flying over Montserrat
The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active volcano on the island of Monserrat and when it erupted in 1995 it destroyed the town of Plymouth, which at the time was the capital of Monserrat. There is still an exclusion zone around the volcano and all of the population are confined to the northern end of the island.
St John's, Antigua and Barbuda
Flying in a helicopter to Monserrat to see the volcano there was on offer so not much time spent in St John's. I probably should have tried to work together two tours but obviously didn't so a quick walk around town had to suffice once I returned from the helipad.
St Kitts, Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
Another UNESCO World Heritage site, Brimstone Hill Fortress, but before I got there there was a visit to Fairview Great House and the Wingfield Estate Yard. A quick walk around the capital, Basseterre, before it got too dark and I had to return to the ship.
Roseau, Dominica
First tour of the trip was in Roseau when I took the Dominica Highlights tour. This set a standard that wasn't matched for the rest of the cruise as the guide was excellent and the sights beautiful (naturally including a UNESCO World Heritage site). In the afternoon I walked around the town of Roseau. Of the eastern Caribbean islands I visited this is one I would consider returning to for a longer visit.
Castries, Saint Lucia
First stop on the cruise where I hadn't booked onto a planned tour and so I was left to wander around the capital of Castries. Discovered the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception which had a beautiful interior. The drizzle turned into rain and so I returned to the ship. That evening I was one of the few people who braved the outside bar area for a dinner.
Bridgetown, Barbados
Bridgetown was the starting point of a cruise through the eastern Caribbean to Florida. I flew in from Port of Spain and managed to check in early. This allowed me to get rid of my luggage, have a bite to eat and go for a short walk around Bridgetown before the ship was set to depart.
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
The National Geographic Expedition to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal didn't exactly mesh with the Silverseas cruise through the eastern Caribbean and so I had an opportunity to squeeze in another country. Looking at the flight options between Panama and Barbados it seemed that the reasonable choices were Port of Spain or Kingston, Jamaica. Even though I didn't quite know what to actually expect Port of Spain seemed like the better choice.
Transit of the Panama Canal
A highlight of the National Geographic Expedition (NGE) of Costa Rica and the Panama Canal was the transit of the Panama Canal. Uniquely for NGE they split the transit in half and spend the night in Gatun Lake, which allows time for a visit to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Barro Colorado Island.
Costa Rica and the Panama Canal
My third trip with National Geographic Expeditions (NGE) was a cruise down the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama with a transit of the Panama Canal.
Liechtenstein
The grand plan was to stay in Austria and visit Liechtenstein but the weather didn't cooperate fully. After going all the way there I wasn't going to let rain completely ruin the plan but I spent more time in Feldkirch and didn't get to Vaduz.
Paris, France
A quick stop in Paris in my way back from Greenland and before I head to Liechtenstein. Just chilling out really but I checked out the Musée d'Orsay.
Nuuk, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
Nuuk is the largest town, and capital, of Greenland and I didn't really know what to expect.I had a brief tour of the town when I arrived and then I was on my own to explore. Nuuk is certainly significantly bigger than Ilulissat and the museum is well worth a visit.
Greenland Ice Sheet
Kangerlussuaq doesn't have much to offer except the international airport (formally a US Air Force base built in World War 2) and easy access to the Ice Sheet. An afternoon trip in a four wheel drive bus takes you on a road, originally built for Volkswagen when they planned to have a proving ground on the ice sheet, to Isunngua and the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Ilulissat, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
Well Hello Greenland!I seem to be attracted to UNESCO World Heritage sites and here I am at another one, Ilulissat Kangia (Isfjord/Icefjord). Photos hardly do justice to this beautiful place, even flying over it you still struggle to grasp the scope of it all. Walking along the trail by the fjord you just stare at these huge icebergs floating in a sea of ice.
Akureyri, Ísland (Iceland)
I could have done a day trip to Grímsey from Reykjavík but instead I decided to investigate the northern town of Akureyri. A German cruise ship was in port when I arrived which was a bit of a surprise. The church on the hill is quite a landmark.
Grímsey, Ísland (Iceland)
Poor flight connections between Oslo and Ilulissat gave me a couple of days in Reykjavik but as I'd already been there I decided to do what I missed out on doing last time and visit Grímsey and stand on the Arctic Circle. OK not so important now that I've been to 80N but still something fun to do. It also gave me another opportunity to photograph Puffins.
Svalbard - Land of the Ice Bear
I was privileged to be able to cruise around Svalbard on a Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions cruise during July 2012. Svalbard is a high Arctic archipelago situated between Norway and the North Pole, and is a place of deep fjords, snow-capped mountains, massive sheets of ice, and magnificent polar bears.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Prior to boarding the National Geographic Explorer for a cruise around Svalbard I spent some time in the main Norwegian settlement of Longyearbyen.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
My final stop in the Caribbean was San Juan in Puerto Rico. I decided to stay in the old town and explore it.
Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Knowing that a National Geographic Expedition that went through the Panama Canal would not spend any time in Panama City itself I decided that I would visit it on a separate trip (which turned out to be my first trip to Panama). After a bit of research I discovered that I could stay in Casco Viejo, the old city built after Henry Morgan sacked the original site. This seemed like a much better idea than staying in the modern glass and concrete city across the bay. It turned out that I pretty much spent all of my time in Casco Viejo. It was an interesting collection of beautifully restored buildings, buildings under restoration and "buildings" looking like they were about to fall down. It also contained the very interesting Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá (Panama Canal Museum).
La Habana, Cuba
Get there before it's invaded by American tourists! La Habana Vieja is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and it needs a lot of restoration work but I hope they don't ruin it in the process. Everyone seems pretty laid back and aside from the few hawkers wanting money for photographs you can safely wander around Old Havana day or night, just be aware of the holes in the street. Similarly there seemed no problems heading into any of the back streets of the other neighbourhoods.
Cayman Islands
I decided to visit Mark Treacy in Grand Cayman on my way to Cuba. He suggested that I might like to spend some time on one of the Sister Islands and so I spent a couple of days on Cayman Brac.
Winter in Vermont
A quick stop in southern Vermont to visit Hollie and Paul before (sensibly) heading south for warmer climes. It's very pretty with a light dusting of snow on the ground, although the bear tracks in the snow remind you this isn't suburbia.
Bicycle ride to Sluis, Netherlands
The map indicated that the Netherlands wasn't far away and it seemed that it would be a nice ride to go out to the closest town and then return. There was a bike path along the canal and so I hired a bike for the day to do a bit of exploring on two wheels. Real brakes on this bike rather than the death trap from Utö.
Flanders Fields: Battlefields of the Western Front in WW1
A visit to Brugge provided the opportunity to take a tour of the Western Front. A small group in a mini bus lead by a Belgian (who is married to an Australian). The tour included visits to Passchendale, Hill 60 preserved battlefield, Commonwealth cemeteries, bunkers and craters, restored trenches, the town of Ypres and the Menin Gate. Highly recommended, see Quasimodo Tours.
Brugge (Bruges), België
Brugge (or Bruges if you prefer) is the capital of the province of West Flanders in Belgium and the historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the middle ages Brugge was a major trading city in the Hanseatic League.
Paris, France
By the time I reached Paris my Nikon D3 was really playing up, exposures all over the place plus it didn't like focusing. Not all that helpful but that said I still used it on a walk though Paris. I tried to keep it away from the drizzle but still had a nice walk down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, around the Louvre and eventually across to Tour Montparnasse.
Luxembourg
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
I had been to Saint Petersburg in 1987, when the USSR still existed and the city was called Leningrad, and so I was looking forward to seeing how it might have changed. Also the first afternoon included a lecture by Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the USSR, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, at the State Academic Capella.
Tallinn, Eesti (Estonia)
The weather continued to follow us so it was a rough crossing to Tallinn during the night and a cloudy day greeted us.
Mariehamn, Åland
Leaving Stockholm behind we set off for Åland. Unfortunately the storm that had caused so much trouble for the people flying out of New York had now caught up with them. Looking out my cabin window it didn’t look promising and sure enough it was deemed too rough to visit the pilot station of Kobba Klintar via Zodiac.
Stockholm, Sverige (Sweden)
More questions! This time did I want to stay on the ship as we entered Stockholm or did I want to take the Zodiac option? I decided on the former. I thought that it might be more interesting (and drier) sitting in the ship’s bridge watching the action as we negotiated the waterways into Stockholm harbour. The ship has an open bridge policy and so it’s possible to visit it while a pilot is on board and watch the captain in his “office”.Visiting Stockholm naturally means a trip to the Vasa Museum. Following the Vasa it was off to the City Hall to see where the Nobel Prize dinner is held and to visit the stunning Gyllene Salen (Golden Hall).
Utö, Sverige (Sweden)
Continuing towards Stockholm we made a stop on the island of Utö in the Stockholm archipelago. Utö is a summer holiday destination and while we’d arrived at the end of the season there were still bikes to ride!
Stora Karlsö, Sverige (Sweden)
In the afternoon we headed to the small island of Stora Karlsö. After Yellowstone National Park it is the second oldest established protected nature area in the world. There were a number of organised walks but I went off on my own to the Lighthouse. Vinnie Butler invited us to a small cave so he could demonstrate his archaeologist skills and then I made the trek out to Rösju, a Bronze Age cairn sporting a weather beaten ash tree.
Visby, Sverige (Sweden)
We left the south coast and headed back across the Baltic towards Sweden, with the first stop being the island of Gotland. We arrived at Visby, yet another UNESCO World Heritage site, early in the morning and, surprise, surprise, headed out for a city walk. This time it was with a group of photographers, led by Sisse, Cotton and Stewart. I stayed with them until we reached the Cathedral where I wandered off in search of a better shot of it and the city walls. The group would have visited the Fornsal Museum and its collection of Viking artefacts but I never caught up as I found the beautiful ruin of Saint Karin’s church.
Riga, Latvija (Latvia)
Riga, what can I say? Surprise packet of the trip! Get there before it's flooded with tourists like Brugge and make sure you see the Dzintarinš children'sfolk dance troupe while you are there.
The stop in Riga followed the now usual plan. We had a walking tour of the old town in the morning, which included the performance of the Dzintarinš children's folk dance troupe in a Guild Hall and a short walk around the Art Nouveau district. A more extensive tour of the Art Nouveau district was on offer for the afternoon but I decided to spend it just wandering around instead.
Klaipėda, Lietuva (Lithuania)
The next day we were in Klaipėda, Lithuania. While most people went to visit an Amber museum I wasn't overly interested so I grabbed a map from reception and wandered around the old town of Klaipėda instead. It turned out that it was a market day with a number of the main streets turned into a market (in addition to what seemed like a regular fruit and vegetable market).
Gdańsk, Polska (Poland)
In the morning we walked around the old town of Gdańsk, admiring the Hanseatic buildings, the medieval Gdańsk Crane and St Mary's church, which is the largest brick church in the world. In the afternoon I elected to join the photographic walk of the old town with Sisse Brimberg and while we covered a lot of the same ground as the earlier walking tour we were now spending time looking for interesting things to photograph, picking up tips from Sisse and I was forcing myself to take photos of people. When it came time to return to the ship we were given the option of returning via Zodiac through the historic shipyards. I think that most people elected to use the Zodiacs, and those that didn't were kicking themselves later. While clearly less busy than during their heyday there was still plenty of activity.That evening we are treated to a talk from Lech Wałęsa. leader of Solidarity, President of Poland and Nobel Prize winner, back on the ship.
Bornholm, Danmark (Denmark)
Next up was the island of Bornholm itself. First stop was Sankt Ols Church, one of Bornholm's four round churches. Built in granite in the 12th century, its stones are natural fieldstones. Like other round churches it has three storeys. The third storey shows traces of large openings and multiple arrow slits, suggesting that the church served as a stronghold in times of conflict. We then continued onto the fortress of Hammershus, the largest medieval fortification in Northern Europe and believed to have been built in the 13th century.
Ertholmene, Danmark (Denmark)
Overnight we sailed back to the small Danish islands of Ertholmene. Christiansø and Frederiksø are about 16 km northeast of Bølshavn, Bornholm. Christiansø is dominated by the fortifications built by Christian V in 1684 with a circular stone fortification known as the Store Tårn (Big Tower) housing a lighthouse.We arrived early in the morning and with the ship anchored off shore we transferred to the islands via Zodiac. The Zodiacs pulled up next to the dock on Frederiksø, the smaller of the two islands, and we commenced a short walk around the islands. Christiansø is conveniently connected to Frederiksø via a pedestrian bridge.
Lübeck, Deutschland (Germany)
Our first port of call was the Hanseatic city of Lübeck in Germany. The ship docked near the Burgtor and we boarded canal boats for a cruise through the waterways surrounding the medieval town. This was followed by a walking tour. After the tour I elected to stay in town rather than return to the ship for lunch but that turned out to be the signal for the heavens to open and so the hunt for a restaurant to hide in was on!
Exploring the Baltic
In Aug/Sep 2011 I took my first cruise with Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions across the Baltic. The expedition started in Copenhagen and visited Lübeck, Ertholmene, Bornholm, Gdansk, Klaipeda, Riga, Visby, Stora Karlsö, Utö, Stockholm, Mariehamn, and Tallinn before concluding in Saint Petersburg.
Hong Kong, China
Another visit to Hong Kong, this time for the joint Apricot and APAN meeting. Arrived early to talk about AusNOG at one of the many side meetings and that allowed additional camera walkabout time with Matthew Moyle-Croft. One of the social events took us to a suite at the race track.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
I fled Las Vegas to attend the SANOG meeting in Colombo. The sign on my window was somewhat off putting, as was being hassled when I tried to go for short walks between sessions but getting gastro on the day I had off (and was planning on visiting LEARN in Kandy) really put a damper on my visit to Sri Lanka.
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
I haven't been all that interested in going to Vegas but Juniper had a Global Sales Conference there. There weren't many opportunities to escape outside but one night Mark Williams, Todd Lowe and I made a run for it with our cameras and walked down the strip.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
A quick stopover on the way home from Jordan in Abu Dhabi allowed me to check out the Yas Marina. A very fine hotel surrounded by a Formula One race track.
Amman, Jordan
My trip to Jordan began and ended in the capital, Amman. When I arrived I went out for a short walk around the hotel area in a bid to bet Mr Jetlag. For some reason I seem to have an affinity with city with hills as Amman is another one. I tried to avoid being "dragged" down a hill as that would mean needing to walk back up it. I had an interesting episode while trying to take a picture of a Mosque behind the Grand Hyatt. I had security chasing after me! It would appear that a suicide bomber had detonated a bomb there in 2005 and so they were ultra cautious when it came to people photographing the building. That explained the metal detectors at my hotel.
Jerash, Jordan
Jerash, one of the great cities of the Decapolis League. While earthquakes haven't been kind it is still very easy to be impressed by the ruins of this Roman city and get a good feel for what a Roman city was like.
Qala’at ar-Rabad, Jordan
Having visited the Crusader castle at Kerak I was keen to also visit an Ayyubid castle that was built to protect against the Crusaders. This wasn't on the original itinerary but my driver contacted his office and we were off to visit Qala’at ar-Rabad (Ajloun Castle). It turned out to be a fairly miserable morning but that just added to the atmosphere and acted as a reminder of what the soldiers would have had to put up with as they guarded against a Crusader attack.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Jordan
I rejoined my driver and we headed to the Dead Sea resorts. I was hoping this meant we travelled along the edge of the Dead Sea but no we went back up the Desert Highway nearly to Amman instead. The reason, security checkpoints, one of which we passed through in order to enter the Dead Sea resort area. The next day I was off to visit Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
Wadi Rum, Jordan
Another of Jordan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, this time a natural area in the south of the country associated with British officer T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).
Petra, Jordan
No trip to Jordan would be complete without a visit to Petra, the rock-cut capital city of the Nabateans. Of course it's also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Kerak Castle, Jordan
One of the famous Crusader castles in the Middle East, perhaps not as famous nor as complete as Krak des Chevaliers in Syria but nevertheless quite interesting. Of note were the cavernous rooms within the main castle structure.
Wadi Mujib, Jordan
I wasn't expecting to find the Grand Canyon in Jordan but as we travelled from Madaba to Kerak we came upon Wadi Mujib. I would have loved to have spent more time in the reserve but after some time at the lookout we were off again driving across Al Mujib dam and then up the other side. Fortunately there was time for a coffee stop at the roadside camp on the other side. More great Jordanian hospitality!
Mount Nebo & Madaba, Jordan
First stop after leaving Amman behind was Mount Nebo. The mosaics were out in a tent as the structure protecting the church was under renovation! A nice but hazy view across to Israel. After leaving Mount Nebo it was onto Madaba to see the Madaba Mosaic Map, which is an index map of the region, dating from the 6th century, preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George.
Random Beijing
Some more random shots from my IETF inspired visit to Beijing. Mark Williams took me off to another interesting restaurant, this time not regional Chinese.
Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to their web site:The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and that of its individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven – the human world and God's world – which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that relationship.
Great Wall of China
The IETF brought be back to Beijing and this time I managed to go visit the Great Wall. I took the easy option and joined a group of IETFers for a visit to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. As expected there were a lot of tourists there.
Athína (Athens), Greece
Short visit to Athens to see the major sites, the Panathinaiko Stadium and of course the Acropolis. I took the metro down to Piraeus one afternoon to look at the port.
St John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada
My taxi driver suggested that I should walk up to Cabot Tower so that's what I did immediately after checking in at the very nice Ryan Mansion. Marconi had used a location near the tower to receive the first trans Atlantic wireless message from Poldhu in Cornwall.Prior to heading to the airport I went out to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America. While I was there a whale decided to put on a show.
Saint-Pierre & Miquelon, France
A small part of France remains in North America in the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon just off the coast of Newfoundland. I lucked out and my stay coincided with the Basque Festival.
Prince Edward Island, Canada
After crossing the Confederation Bridge we headed to Charlottetown, PEI. We mostly stayed at the eastern end of the island (away from the Anne of Green Gables locations). We found a winery and a distillery (where I purchased some local moonshine) and the remains of PEI's railway.
New Brunswick, Canada
Paul and Hollie picked me up at Boston Airport as they drove up from a family holiday on the Cape and we headed towards Prince Edward Island via Saint John, New Brunswick. After overnighting at a nice B&B in Saint John we spent some time on the Fundy Trail Parkway.
Hà Nội, Việt Nam
Another trip to Hanoi, this time for an APAN meeting.
Sydney Harbour
APAN came to Sydney and so did I. Jetlag can be useful if you want to get sunrise shots so one morning Glen Turner and I went out to Mrs Macquarie's Chair and waited for sunrise.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Back from Oman and time to check out the Dubai Creek area of town and Burj Khalifa (although it opened a week after I left and so was still called Burj Dubai and I couldn't visit the observation deck).
Hajar Mountains, Oman
I decided that hanging out in Muscat, Oman, could be a relaxing way to spend the Christmas/New Year period. The patio of the Executive club at the Hyatt turned out to be a very relaxing place to chill but on one of the days I decided to take a day tour in a 4WD with a driver out into the Hajar Mountains. If I had realised how beautiful it was I would have done it sooner in the trip and then tried to get to a number of places in the mountains.
Burj al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On my way to Oman I created a stopover in the UAE. When flying business class with Etihad they will drive you to any location in the UAE so I saw this as an opportunity to stay at the Burj al Arab! Of course if I was staying there I had to hire a helicopter and do a heli tour of Dubai starting (and finishing) from the helipad. This made my butler happy, even though he wasn't joining me, as it provide him with his first opportunity to visit the helipad (via the "secret" lift). Is the Burj worth the seven stars it claims? It's certainly a step above any five star hotel I've stayed in over the years, the staff are very well trained, you'd find it hard to complain about the facility itself, and I'd go back if someone else was paying!
San Francisco, United States of America
Quick weekend visit to San Francisco between SC09 in Portland and a visit to the (Juniper) mothership in Silicon Valley.
Thames Walk in London
Assorted Iceland
A few shots around Reykjavík taken with my Canon IXUS 850iS.
Helicopter tour on Iceland
I also took to the air and revisited the Golden Circle from a helicopter with http://heli.is
Vestmannaeyjar, Ísland (Iceland)
The Westman Islands, or Vestmannæyjar, are a group of islands off the south coast of Iceland, famous for the island of Surstey and the eruption of Eldfell on Heimæy in 1973.
Golden Circle, Ísland (Iceland)
The Golden Circle tour in Iceland includes visits the the Geothermal areas, the World Heritage site at Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir.
Sørvágur, Føroyar (Faroe Islands)
Final stop before heading to Iceland was the Airport Hotel on Vágar. The plan had included a day on Mykines but the weather intervened so I stayed on Vágar and still didn’t manage to exhaust the list of things to do.
Runavik, Føroyar (Faroe Islands)
Just an overnight stop in Runavík but they had a very nice bakery that I managed to visit twice! It also had two restaurants so I had choice for dinner.
Klaksvik, Føroyar (Faroe Islands)
The second stop on my trip to the Faroe Islands was Klaksvík in the Northern Islands (Norðoyggjar). My stay coincided with the Summer Music Festival, featuring Robin Gibb, but I didn’t attend it. Instead I took a boat trip to the bird cliffs.
Tórshavn, Føroyar (Faroe Islands)
The first stop on my trip to the Faroe Islands was the capital, Tórshavn. While I was there I hiked across to Kirkjubøur.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The APAN meeting in KL not only provided an opportunity to witness a performance of a traditional dance group but also meant I had company for a night time photo walk around the KLCC.
Sky Tower, Auckland, New Zealand
Finally decided to take in the view from the observation deck of the Sky Tower. Watched some people do the base jump from the top but wasn't remotely interested in doing that!
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
An APAN meeting brought me to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
Return to Beijing
Another visit to the Juniper office in Beijing. This time was just after the Olympics and Paralympics so I walked around the Olympic Park district.
Changdeokgung, Seoul, Korea
A weekend in Seoul allowed time to visit another World Heritage Site, Changdeokgung Palace. No English language tour available when I arrived but I could join a Japanese tour! A somewhat interesting exercise given I don't understand Japanese but at least they led me around the sights, until I grew tired of their slow pace.
Singapore Flyer
A Juniper customer event in Singapore was concluded with a visit to the Singapore Flyer that had opened earlier in the year (2008).
Beijing, China
First visit to the Beijing office allowed for some sightseeing in the Forbidden City.
Barcelona, España
I interrupted my holiday to attend a meeting at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center as a colleague who was due to attend had to miss the meeting as his wife was due to give birth.
Strolling of the Heifers, Brattleboro, Vermont
Paul Love had suggested a number of times that I visit Brattleboro and see the Strolling of the Heifers parade. Finally NANOG brought me to the USA east coast at the correct time of year so ...
Manhattan, New York City
A brief walk around lower Manhattan and Wall Street while in NYC for NANOG.
Brooklyn Bridge
NANOG held a meeting in Brooklyn just a short walk from the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan.
Tokyo Stopover
Mostly Shinjuku
Assorted Hawaiʻi
Flying into Hawaiʻi, over Kauai, and then the final day on the Big Island and a quick drive out of Hilo to the Akaka Falls
Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi
In 2008 I made my third visit to Mauna Kea. We were concerned when the road to the summit was closed in the morning but it turned out to be a fine day on the summit. We had tours of Gemini North and Keck, both excellent. The school kids in the limited visitor area of Keck were surprised when we arrived and were ushered though the foyer and into the facility.
Volcanoes National Park, Hawaiʻi
The Techs in Paradise meeting provided an excuse to head to the Big Island (again) and this time Paul, Hollie and I visited Volcanoes National Park. Of course the visit included yet another visit to the telescopes of Mauna Kea.
Singapore (Marina)
Singapore again! Stayed at the Conrad in the Marina area again and the Marina area was full of military types making preparations for the National Day celebrations.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Only time for a quick day trip (via train) from my base in Dublin so I tried one of those double decker bus tours. Interesting but I kept wanting to get off and spend more time at the interesting places.
Dublin, Éire (Ireland)
I hadn't previously been to Ireland, and I have no idea why, but that was fixed recently. I based myself in Dublin and as usual I just wandered around. Lots of interesting architecture, especially down the back streets. The conversion of the Storehouse at Guinness was brilliantly done, pity I ran low on battery power in the Canon otherwise I would have taken more shots.
Zürich, Schweiz (Switzerland)
Wandering around Zürich on a fine summer's day.
Flight to Zürich
I took the Swiss business jet service from Newark to Zürich. Mostly just some test shots out the window.
Charlestown Navy Yard
Boston seemed to be out of hotel rooms for the night so that forced a stay at the Constitution Inn near the Charlestown Naval Yards. Paul and I went out of a walk late in the evening where we found a poorly lit Korean War Memorial and other mysterious structures. A walk the next morning provided some explanation.
Concord, United States of America
Paul Love and I travelled from Brattleboro, VT to Boston, MA. Along the way we stopped in Concord to check out the North Bridge site where the American Revolution began.
Road Trip
A trip from Aurora, Illinois to Salem, Massachusetts, via Grand Rapids, Buffalo and Vermont.
Québec, Canada
Gone walkabout in Vieux-Port and Vieux-Québec. No agenda, just a nice walk around town.
Vancouver, Canada
I have a new toy, a Canon IXUS 850iS (yes a Canon and not a Nikon) and here are a few test shots of Vancouver while I played with it. The Canon is not a bad little camera although we do have our disagreements on what it should be focusing on!
Honolulu, United States of America
Space Needle, Seattle, United States of America
A brief stop in Seattle to replace equipment at the AARNet POP in the Westin Building (not to be confused with the Westin Hotel).
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis in February! What was I thinking?
Nassau, Bahamas
I was crazy enough to want to attend both NANOG, in Toronto, and Joint Techs, in Minneapolis, during the northern winter of 2007. There was a week's gap between the two but I wasn't crazy enough to want to stay "enjoying" winter in North America so I fled to the warmth of the Bahamas. I stayed at the Hilton in Nassau and just wandered around, watched the cruise ship tourists rush around, and enjoyed the warmth. I wasn't tempted to go across to the casinos on Paradise Island.
Macau, China
I hadn't been to Macau since it transferred to Chinese control and so a TEIN2 meeting in Hong Kong provided an opportunity to take a helicopter ride across the Pearl River.
St Louis, United States of America
I was in St Louis for a NANOG meeting, as well as a Quilt meeting, in October 2006. Jetlag worked in my favour to get the early morning shot of the Gateway Arch from my hotel window.
Singapore
I spent a few days in Singapore with Andrew Walton. It could have been a holiday or just an excuse to see the basketball :-) The DHL Balloon is certainly worth doing.
Hiroshima, Japan
I took a day drip to Hiroshima from Osaka via Shinkansen. It was a beautiful day in Osaka so I was hoping for the same in Hiroshima. No such lucky. As I arrived in Hiroshima it was drizzling with rain and as I hadn't brought an umbrella with me I bought one at a kiosk at the railway station. Suitably equipped I was ready for a walk to the castle and then onto the Peace Park.
Osaka, Japan
Tokyo (Daiba)
In 2006 I managed to get to Tokyo three times. On the third visit I finally managed to escape the meetings and have a wander around. Daiba is on Tokyo Bay where there is an amusement park, with one of the world's largest Ferris wheels, and even a beach!
Tokyo Tower
During my last visit to Tokyo I finally found my way to the Tokyo Tower and went up for a look. It seemed to be a very popular place with the locals and provided a great view of Tokyo.
Imperial Palace East Gardens, Tokyo, Japan
I went for a very pleasant walk from my hotel and ended up in the Imperial Palace East Gardens.
Hà Nội, Việt Nam
The TEIN2 meeting in Halong Bay ended early so that provided an opportunity to visit Hanoi.
Vịnh Hạ Long, Việt Nam
There was a TEIN2 meeting in Halong Bay, Vietnam, to coincide with the ASEM ICT SOM. This provided an opportunity to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site as a boat trip was organised on one of the days when we weren't required in the meeting.
Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim, Deutschland
Glen and I had some time to kill before our flight so we took a train out to Sinsheim to visit the Auto & Technik Museum. It is one of the new homes for the remaining Concordes (plus a rare TU-144 "Concordski"), although it was very sad to see it bolted to the roof of the museum, and equipped with bird spikes, rather than waiting at an airport for its next flight.
Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland
AARNet obtained access to a STM-4c on SEAMEWE3 and so Glen and I made the trip to Germany to install a POP at DE-CIX in Frankfurt. We ran "metro" Ethernet products from there to LINX (London) and AMSIX (Amsterdam). Fortunately we managed to also find some time to play tourist.
Hamburg, Deutschland
While in Frankfurt to install the AARNet POP at DECIX Glen and I made a side trip to Hamburg to visit ghip system and talk about their optical 3R fibre converter/repeater.
New Mexico and Arizona, United States of America
After the Joint Techs meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Paul Love and I took some time out to travel on Route 66 and visit the Navajo Nation.
Hong Kong, China
In September 2005 there was a TEIN2 meeting in Hong Kong. This nearly clashed with the GLIF meeting in San Diego but as it didn't I managed to do them both and get two bites at Hong Kong.
København, Danmark (Denmark)
A pleasant day in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi
The 4,200 meter high summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaiʻi houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared and submillimeter astronomy. My visit in February 2005 was a case of second time lucky. In 2004 when I visited the summit we were evacuated off the summit due to a white out (yes it does snow in Hawaiʻi). In 2005 the weather played nice so we got to visit the Gemini North and the Canada France Hawaii (CFHT) telescopes.
Big Island of Hawaiʻi
Prior to the Joint Techs "Techs in Paradise" meeting in 2004 George McLaughlin, Shaun Amy and I went to Mauna Kea. It was a white out and we had to evacuate off the summit but we got to see Hilo and Kona anyway.
Wellington, New Zealand
I visited Andrew Walton while he was doing time at Telecom New Zealand in Wellington during 2003. It's normally a very windy city (which doesn't explain why they only have one experimental wind turbine) but I lucked out and there was only a slight breeze. Quite unlike a previous visit there where I was blown down the road!
Sydney, Australia
Everglades National Park, United States of America
So what would you do if you had a day to spare in Miami? That's right run away!
Portuguese Macau
Hong Kong had been handed back to the Chinese in 1997 but in 1999 Macau was still Portuguese. As an added bonus I managed to fluke being there during practice for the F3 Grand Prix and witnessed Jenson Button display his F1 bound talent.
Jungfrau, Switzerland
In 1998 I met up with Grant Ward in Interlaken as we were both holidaying in Europe, and making our way to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Keeping an eye on the relevant web cams allowed us to check the weather at the summit and as it looked good we headed to Jungfrau, Top of Europe.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
On my first "Grand Tour" in 1987 I visited the USSR, Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad to be precise. Back then I was using a Mamiya ZE-X 35mm SLR film camera.