The original challenge
I realise folk who don't do Facebook won't have seen the original set of pix so here they - and the text - are.
Day 1 of the travel photo challenge after being nominated by Rob Ey. 10 days, 10 travel photos and and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. My opening image is a Pit Viper from Sri Lanka. It doesn't have a tour guide in its jaws.
Our first stop outside Colombo was in the Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve. One of the Big-ticket items here was the Serendib Scops Owl only discovered in about 2000. So at a known site we wandered off a road up into the jungle and peered for the owl, playing back its call a couple of times. Nothing. As we got back down to the road our guide Hettie pointed out this beautiful snake coiled up in a bush. That is the one in the photo.
Fast forward a few days and we were at Kithulgala which is famous for (1) being where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed; and (2) being a site for this Owl. Our first adventure this day was the 5 of us – Rob, Carol, Frances, myself and Hettie – piling into a dugout canoe to be ferried across the River. (see https://tinyurl.com/ya4w3swg ) We then walked about 2km through variable habitat to another stream. This one needed wading and Frances and Carol decided they would wait for us to return.
Hettie led us to a clearing in the jungle where a farmer had a small hut. Hettie checked inside the hut which was apparently necessary as snakes could be dangling from the rafters. They weren’t so he suggested we sheltered in the hut while he checked up the hill in the jungle for the Owl. He crashed off – I will point out here that he was built along the lines of Mal Meninga: a big lad. After a few minutes we heard Owl calls. Soon thereafter there was more crashing and a less than happy Hettie appeared. On being asked if he had found the Owl he said “No, a snake bit me.” More questioning revealed it was another Pit Viper.
Problemo. We’re about 2.5 km from the River and Hettie is also Heftie. No way Rob and I can carry him. He says he’ll walk so we set off and he rings his brother (also a Jetwing Guide) and the owner of the Lodge we’d stayed at at Sinharaja (who had many years forest experience) for advice. Aspirin was good (except Hettie is allergic to that) as was the leaf of some bush which might be in the area. We got back to Carol and Frances and explained the situation – Frances had a few Paracetamol in her bag so we chucked those into Hettie and kept going. He also rang the hotel we were staying at so they could organize a hospital trip and let Jetwing HQ know the situation.
Back in the dugout and across the main river where about 8 locals were waiting and they carried Hettie off and inserted him into an ambulance. The Hotel manager said we should stay in the Hotel until things got sorted which we did. Jetwing soon rang back to say they were sending a driver to take us on to our next stop (Kandy) and a replacement guide would join us the next day. The new driver (Bundulu) turned up and we were on the road again. Bundulu was not a slow driver like Hettie (he wasn't paid to look for birds we passed etc, but to get clients from Point A to somewhere else, such as Point B) but didn't do daft things. As we left Kitulgala I noticed a sign on the road pointing to the site where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed, but in the circumstances didn't request a stop!
Day 1 of the travel photo challenge after being nominated by Rob Ey. 10 days, 10 travel photos and and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. My opening image is a Pit Viper from Sri Lanka. It doesn't have a tour guide in its jaws.
Fast forward a few days and we were at Kithulgala which is famous for (1) being where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed; and (2) being a site for this Owl. Our first adventure this day was the 5 of us – Rob, Carol, Frances, myself and Hettie – piling into a dugout canoe to be ferried across the River. (see https://tinyurl.com/ya4w3swg ) We then walked about 2km through variable habitat to another stream. This one needed wading and Frances and Carol decided they would wait for us to return.
Hettie led us to a clearing in the jungle where a farmer had a small hut. Hettie checked inside the hut which was apparently necessary as snakes could be dangling from the rafters. They weren’t so he suggested we sheltered in the hut while he checked up the hill in the jungle for the Owl. He crashed off – I will point out here that he was built along the lines of Mal Meninga: a big lad. After a few minutes we heard Owl calls. Soon thereafter there was more crashing and a less than happy Hettie appeared. On being asked if he had found the Owl he said “No, a snake bit me.” More questioning revealed it was another Pit Viper.
Problemo. We’re about 2.5 km from the River and Hettie is also Heftie. No way Rob and I can carry him. He says he’ll walk so we set off and he rings his brother (also a Jetwing Guide) and the owner of the Lodge we’d stayed at at Sinharaja (who had many years forest experience) for advice. Aspirin was good (except Hettie is allergic to that) as was the leaf of some bush which might be in the area. We got back to Carol and Frances and explained the situation – Frances had a few Paracetamol in her bag so we chucked those into Hettie and kept going. He also rang the hotel we were staying at so they could organize a hospital trip and let Jetwing HQ know the situation.
Back in the dugout and across the main river where about 8 locals were waiting and they carried Hettie off and inserted him into an ambulance. The Hotel manager said we should stay in the Hotel until things got sorted which we did. Jetwing soon rang back to say they were sending a driver to take us on to our next stop (Kandy) and a replacement guide would join us the next day. The new driver (Bundulu) turned up and we were on the road again. Bundulu was not a slow driver like Hettie (he wasn't paid to look for birds we passed etc, but to get clients from Point A to somewhere else, such as Point B) but didn't do daft things. As we left Kitulgala I noticed a sign on the road pointing to the site where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed, but in the circumstances didn't request a stop!
Day 2 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Getting the herpetophilia out of the way early, this is the last snake photos, the image is a Mojave Rattlesnake (about 2m long) from Southern Arizona.
If there was a sound track to this photo it would be Frances yelling "Don't get any closer.". Certainly the reptile doesn't look happy.
The story behind this one is that when we were living in New York (2006) we went to Southern Arizona for a birding trip. It was very good for that purpose, but involved us in travelling a lot of backroads which meant we came across lots of Border Force activity. Some examples:
Nowadays I suspect anyone wandering around there with optical gear would find them selves being harassed every 5 minutes.
The story behind this one is that when we were living in New York (2006) we went to Southern Arizona for a birding trip. It was very good for that purpose, but involved us in travelling a lot of backroads which meant we came across lots of Border Force activity. Some examples:
- We stopped to look at a raptor and after 3 minutes an SUV a BF truck pulled up to check what we were up to;
- About every 5 miles there would be signs saying "Don't pick up hitchhikers":
- A huge barrage balloon hovering over Fort Huachuca - apparently laden with infrared imaging technology - to pick up illegal immigrants and drug mules;
- On a walk with a birding group which went into a riverine forest we were told not to involve ourselves with anyone jogging along with a large backpack.
Nowadays I suspect anyone wandering around there with optical gear would find them selves being harassed every 5 minutes.
Day 3 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Todays image is of the Carpathian Mountains between Chisinau (Moldova) and Vienna.
Obviously taken in flight, I think at about 6,000 m. I went to Moldova in 2004 on a mission for Statistics Sweden to assess Moldovan plans for their Census. They were pretty good.
One of the things that had intrigued me was that the flight from Vienna to Chisinau was listed as about an hour, while the return leg was nearly 2 hours. That seemed a bit much for into the wind vs tail wind. (I have tried to check the current situation and the sector seems not to exist at present - thank you COVID? )
The LAUDA flight into Chisinau in a 60 seater plane was interesting as the fellow passengers included a German brass band who had all their instruments - including a tuba - as carry on.. My luggage was a tad overweight but no-one had worried about that.
After an enjoyable 2 weeks I went to the airport for the return trip, with Aero Moldova as carrier, and found that the baggage limit was vigorously enforced. $400 in excess fees. The reason for this, and the difference in times was revealed as the bus took us out to the plane. It was a 20 seater at best. They did offer cabin service, from an esky, sitting, unsecured across the aisle from me. I spent the flight looking the other way and not thinking about turbulence which meant I did get nice views of the mountains in Romania as we trundled along.
We made it to Vienna..
One of the things that had intrigued me was that the flight from Vienna to Chisinau was listed as about an hour, while the return leg was nearly 2 hours. That seemed a bit much for into the wind vs tail wind. (I have tried to check the current situation and the sector seems not to exist at present - thank you COVID? )
The LAUDA flight into Chisinau in a 60 seater plane was interesting as the fellow passengers included a German brass band who had all their instruments - including a tuba - as carry on.. My luggage was a tad overweight but no-one had worried about that.
After an enjoyable 2 weeks I went to the airport for the return trip, with Aero Moldova as carrier, and found that the baggage limit was vigorously enforced. $400 in excess fees. The reason for this, and the difference in times was revealed as the bus took us out to the plane. It was a 20 seater at best. They did offer cabin service, from an esky, sitting, unsecured across the aisle from me. I spent the flight looking the other way and not thinking about turbulence which meant I did get nice views of the mountains in Romania as we trundled along.
We made it to Vienna..
Day 4 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Todays image is of Santiago, Chile.
Today's story is not that complicated. We were going on a tour of Peru and decided to break our travel to Peru in Santiago. Overall it was a very interesting and enjoyable two days.
An issue on the first day was low cloud and smog (it is in a valley and has some 6 million inhabitants so pollution wasn't really a surprise). On the second day the sky cleared, and there were the Andes! So close you could touch them!! I have a memory that there is a ski resort about 40 kms from the city.
An issue on the first day was low cloud and smog (it is in a valley and has some 6 million inhabitants so pollution wasn't really a surprise). On the second day the sky cleared, and there were the Andes! So close you could touch them!! I have a memory that there is a ski resort about 40 kms from the city.
Day 5 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Todays image is from somewhere on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.
The reason we were in Tanzania was because I got a job with Statistics Sweden as an adviser on the 2002 Population Census. Believing firmly in the idea that one needs to get a little dirt on one's Xij's I was taken out to observe one of the enumerators at work.
There is an awful lot about real life in Tanzania in this image. The little stove, the chickens the yams, the grater and basket. The fact that the cooking is obviously done out in the yard. There is some interest in the contents of the bottle against the wall, with a strong suspicion it was gongo (ie moonshine).
There is an awful lot about real life in Tanzania in this image. The little stove, the chickens the yams, the grater and basket. The fact that the cooking is obviously done out in the yard. There is some interest in the contents of the bottle against the wall, with a strong suspicion it was gongo (ie moonshine).
Day 6 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Todays image is from the West Kilimanjaro Ranch, Tanzania.
We visited some friends who owned a coffee plantation near Moshi and were excellent (actually better than that) birders. They took us out for a day with the objectives being (a) general birding and (b) purchasing some wild-born guineafowl to add genetic diversity to a domestic flock.
Somehow they had heard that a family who live on the Ranch had got a clutch of these birds that they were willing to sell. So we rolled up and Liz negotiated the price. Where were the birds? "There they go", was the answer, pointing at a speckled blur heading through Tanzania's equivalent of saltbush.
The lad in the photograph was part of our friends household while the girl was a daughter of the guineafowl vendors. They both joined in the chase, which lasted about 15 minutes. As both of them were 40+ years younger than me, and were used to the altitude of this area (~1800 m AMSL) they spent less time with their hands on their knees than I did and actually caught the birds. It was nice to hear that one of the subsequent bursts of Kiswahili translated as "The old bloke runs really fast." I thought that an athletics coach should have recruited the girl: she had a great turn of speed and stamina.
As we headed home in the truck the guineafowl were held by the young bloke and Frances. Frances earnt the distinction of being one of the few people upon whom a guineafowl has chundered.
Somehow they had heard that a family who live on the Ranch had got a clutch of these birds that they were willing to sell. So we rolled up and Liz negotiated the price. Where were the birds? "There they go", was the answer, pointing at a speckled blur heading through Tanzania's equivalent of saltbush.
The lad in the photograph was part of our friends household while the girl was a daughter of the guineafowl vendors. They both joined in the chase, which lasted about 15 minutes. As both of them were 40+ years younger than me, and were used to the altitude of this area (~1800 m AMSL) they spent less time with their hands on their knees than I did and actually caught the birds. It was nice to hear that one of the subsequent bursts of Kiswahili translated as "The old bloke runs really fast." I thought that an athletics coach should have recruited the girl: she had a great turn of speed and stamina.
As we headed home in the truck the guineafowl were held by the young bloke and Frances. Frances earnt the distinction of being one of the few people upon whom a guineafowl has chundered.
Day 7 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Today's image is from suburban Kabul.
Another one from a work trip, in this case while working for UN Statistics Division. The mission was to assist a UNFPA project on the planned Census We traveled each day from our fortified guest house in the city to the UN compound on Jalalabad Rd. As would be sensible the driver took us a different way each day.
One morning we drove past this pile of Russian tanks. The story we were told was that when the Russians left they decided it was too expensive to take some of their kit so just disable it (so the Taliban couldn't use it) and piled it up. So its still there, surrounded by quite flashy villas.
I'm not sure if "view of military scrap heap"is a plus on the Kabul edition of All Homes.
One morning we drove past this pile of Russian tanks. The story we were told was that when the Russians left they decided it was too expensive to take some of their kit so just disable it (so the Taliban couldn't use it) and piled it up. So its still there, surrounded by quite flashy villas.
I'm not sure if "view of military scrap heap"is a plus on the Kabul edition of All Homes.
Day 8 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Today's image is from Cusco in Peru.
We visited Peru mainly for birding but did do one day in the city of Cusco, where we had a free morning.
We had planned to spend quite a bit of time in the cathedral but the City Council had sold entry rights to Amex and they were charging some outrageous amount for entry. It was free to enter for Mass but we'd missed that. Another large church nearby had a Mass so we attended that - assuring the security dweet that we were there for the Mass not tourismo. The singing was very good and we did get to see the architecture etc.
However it didn't take that long so we wandered up the main street and found the Central Market. It was a wonderful place. Absolutely a genuine local event - as can be judged by the faces in the crowd. There were a few stalls selling tourist oriented stuff (at about half the price seen at the craft market in Pisco) but 95% were selling what you needed to live in Cusco. One of the stalls was selling woolen goods and Frances purchased several pairs of gloves which she still wears when gloves are needed for warmth.
We passed on our finding to the rest of our group who went there after lunch, and enjoyed their visit. We spent that time trying to find a vendor of crucifixes. We failed, but did meet the grumpiest nun in all of Latin America.
We had planned to spend quite a bit of time in the cathedral but the City Council had sold entry rights to Amex and they were charging some outrageous amount for entry. It was free to enter for Mass but we'd missed that. Another large church nearby had a Mass so we attended that - assuring the security dweet that we were there for the Mass not tourismo. The singing was very good and we did get to see the architecture etc.
However it didn't take that long so we wandered up the main street and found the Central Market. It was a wonderful place. Absolutely a genuine local event - as can be judged by the faces in the crowd. There were a few stalls selling tourist oriented stuff (at about half the price seen at the craft market in Pisco) but 95% were selling what you needed to live in Cusco. One of the stalls was selling woolen goods and Frances purchased several pairs of gloves which she still wears when gloves are needed for warmth.
We passed on our finding to the rest of our group who went there after lunch, and enjoyed their visit. We spent that time trying to find a vendor of crucifixes. We failed, but did meet the grumpiest nun in all of Latin America.
Day 9 of the travel photo challenge. 10 days, 10 travel photos and each day nominate someone to take up the challenge. Today's image is from the bank of the Mekong in Phnom Penh.
I just like the photograph. Kite flying is not usually associated with Cambodia - its more talked about for Japan and Afghanistan.
The most unusual bits of this trip (another UN work trip) were to do with the flight home. I left Phnom Penh and flew to Bangkok where I left the plane and hopped on a bus to go to the terminal. As the bus headed off I noticed that all the other passengers were military and had significant amounts of braid and medals on their uniforms. I'd obviously got on the wrong bus! We got to the terminal very quickly and they all waited for me to clear off before disembarking. I apologised but they weren't fussed.
The next bit of the trip was interesting as it was a direct flight to New York. This is (or was, I don't think they fly the sector any more) a 17 hour flight in an A340. We left Bangkok about 2300 hours on Friday in total darkness, heading North. After 5 or 6 hours we hit daylight as we crossed the Arctic Circle. It stayed daylight for about 7 hours, and we turned South about halfway through that, going dark again somewhere about Nunavuk. After 2 hours the sun came up again for the last couple of hours into Kennedy at about 0800 on Sunday. Anyone for jetlag?
The most unusual bits of this trip (another UN work trip) were to do with the flight home. I left Phnom Penh and flew to Bangkok where I left the plane and hopped on a bus to go to the terminal. As the bus headed off I noticed that all the other passengers were military and had significant amounts of braid and medals on their uniforms. I'd obviously got on the wrong bus! We got to the terminal very quickly and they all waited for me to clear off before disembarking. I apologised but they weren't fussed.
The next bit of the trip was interesting as it was a direct flight to New York. This is (or was, I don't think they fly the sector any more) a 17 hour flight in an A340. We left Bangkok about 2300 hours on Friday in total darkness, heading North. After 5 or 6 hours we hit daylight as we crossed the Arctic Circle. It stayed daylight for about 7 hours, and we turned South about halfway through that, going dark again somewhere about Nunavuk. After 2 hours the sun came up again for the last couple of hours into Kennedy at about 0800 on Sunday. Anyone for jetlag?
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