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David Hooper
My wife Denise & I like to travel "on paths less travelled" that capture our imagination, inspire my photography & where we mix with locals & remain safe.Dancing Dave
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SYDNEY: Vivid one day...beautiful the next...the Vivid Festival
Published: June 13th 2013Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney
June 13th 2013
SYDNEY: Vivid one day...beautiful the next...the Vivid Festival. I saw the Sydney Opera House get built...walked around it heaps of times...photographed tourists against it so they could all be in the photo...even seen the odd recital there. Love the cream white tiles on it...like scales of a fish or exotic reptile. Love the sails that always evoke feelings how this building was so radical for its day...radical in design any day. But this week I've seen the Sydney Opera House in a new light...in hundreds of lights...hundreds of colours...in moving pictures splashed on its frame...spectacular. Vivid Sydney...A Festival of Light, Music & Ideas...24 May to 10 June 2013...6 p.m. to midnight...miss out and be square. As the blurb goes "Colouring the city with creativity & inspiration, Vivid Sydney highlights include the hugely popular light instalations & ... read more
MISCHIEF ON THE MEKONG Part One...Preparing the Mind & the Body
Published: June 6th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
June 6th 2013
MISCHIEF ON THE MEKONG Part One...Preparing the Mind & the Body. It was snowing as we crossed the tarmac to our plane in Shanghai...snow settling on my face as I wait for the stairs to clear...bet its not like this in Vietnam. 4 hours later touch down in Ho Chi Minh City...31C...somewhat overdressed I feel. Big crowd to meet the arrivees...one man towering over the others...arms raised...biggest smile...has to be Cockle...hugs us like a long lost brother...his wife Quynh likewise...Welcome to Vietnam. 10 minutes later a plane arrives from Malaysia...then minutes later a guy in khaki with a familiar hat...and a mountain of luggage...gotta be ...his welcoming committee now doubled. Was really exciting having arrived after all the planning. Never met these guys before...fellow admiration society in the ether on Travelblog...now in... read more
THE TRAVELBLOG MUSIC AWARDS...Welcoming the Travelblog Big Big Band
Published: May 18th 2013Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney
May 18th 2013
THE TRAVELBLOG MUSIC AWARDS...Welcoming the Travelblog Big Big Band. The moment you have been waiting for, thousands of Auditions, anxious moments, incredible music, artists, fans aplenty. Just turn to World Music thread, and join the party. World Music from all corners of the globe. Rock, Blues, Rhythm, Swing, Ballads, Chill, Electronic, Classical, Country, Pumping, Gentle, Cruisy, Modern, Traditional, Old Time...even a bit of Jazz. Thanks to "youtube" and Travelblog's Code invented by our Patron...the one & only Ali Watters (Applause) we have been able to share our favourite music...discover new music...put on our dancing shoes...or just sit back and enjoy music...to add to our Travelblog experience. Our panel of esteemed judges have been sifting through the Auditions. Their votes are in...time to declare the results...& welcome the Travelblog Big Big Band.... read more
CHINA: Inspiring the Nomad...How I lost my 3 dots, my camera & my name.
Published: May 2nd 2013Asia » China » Shanghai
May 2nd 2013
CHINA: Inspiring the Nomad...How I lost my 3 dots, my camera & my name. In the beginning...there was the apostrophe, comma & full stop. Punctuation was developing with civilisation...and it was good. From scratching in sand with sticks, on papyrus, hieroglyphs, writing, many languages, the printing press, now computers...man had determination to express himself by the written word...only separated by spaces and punctuation. Then from 2002...there was Travelblog...where like minded people...sharing a thirst for travel...sharing their experiences, thoughts and photographs...made contacts, friendships and liaisons in cyber space...and it was good. In 2011...out of the wilds of Mali & Ethiopia...3 dots germinated...carried to Travelblog by the Dancing One...then nicked in China in 2013...by an anthropologist...and hidden behind a firewall...refusing to give them back! ... read more
April 24th 2013
CHINA: FACES OF JIANGSU. Slow train to Suzhou...overnight soft sleeper from Anhui...woken by blaring music somewhere under Simon's mattress. Denise & Anna-Lou brush their teeth in the wash room...man clearing his nose...filling the basin...changed our minds they declare...still can't find how to turn the music down. Chatting to an Aussie who leads school groups into Tibet...what a life...our fond memories of Lhasa...hope to go back there one day. Train sitting at a station...3 white snub-nosed trains pull in...surely can't be bullet trains...surely not. But they are. Taxi from the station...drops us off...pointing down a narrow lane...by a canal...entering another world of eons past...the ancient canal city of Suzhou. Ancient Ming Dynasty mansion...our digs for several days....massive rooms...4 poster bed...wooden bath...perfect. Or so I thought... read more
WOMADELAIDE 2013...Music to save the Planet
Published: April 15th 2013Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Adelaide
April 16th 2013
WOMADELAIDE 2013...Music to save the Planet. They call it Mad March...Mad because a year full of delights is crammed into one month...Mad because you'd be mad to miss it. I'm talking about Adelaide of course...that peaceful state capital of South Australia...that for one month of each year becomes the cultural capital of the World...showcasing Art (Turner landscapes), Comedy (Fringe Festival), Kite Festival, French Film Festival, vroom vroom V8s, Music (Future Festival) & more Music (the Big Daddy of them all)...Womadelaide...88,000 fans strolling, swaying, rockin' & boppin'...over 4 days...in the Botanical Gardens...the best organised music festival on the Planet. But this year reminded of the wounds to humanity...music silent in the home of Desert Blues, my beloved Mali...and the massacre of children in Syria...messages in music...reminding me what music can... read more
March 2nd 2013
CHINA: FACES OF ANHUI. I lost a tooth in Shanghai...bit on a peppercorn in a duck-laced caesar salad...affecting my smile for the rest of the trip...smiling for photos with my mouth shut! Waited for a train...heavy packs...zillions of Chinese also waiting. Then one seat became vacant...walked towards it to try to secure the seat for Denise...the guy next to it smiling broadly to me...beckoning me forward. He had no teeth...no...he maybe had two...made me feel quite at home smiling to each other...both with our toothless grins! If there were no other people around I may have asked to take his photo...face full of character...a crowded railway station...not appropriate! But on Yellow Mountain, in a lonely locale in Anhui or an ancient village..."May I take your photo please?" Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) I was in Heaven up there...beautiful ... read more
CHINA: Beginning to Believe & the Black Tiger
Published: February 21st 2013Asia » China » Anhui » Huangshan
February 21st 2013
CHINA: Beginning to Believe & the Black Tiger. Sixteen today...my sixteenthth Provence in China...Anhui...and special it should be...sweet sixteen for me! Left Christmas Eve 2012...night train from Shanghai to Huangshan...eleven & a half hours ...soft sleeper...Denise & I bottom bunks...Simon & Anna-Louise on top. Going to Yellow Mountain...my perfect destination for Christmas...the atypical mountain in Chinese paintings...with trees growing out of rocks...the holiest of China's holy mountains...Huangshan. The word is Winter is a shocking time to visit...just fog...nothing to see...I'll take that as encouragement. When on a "David Hoo Tour...Your Travel Experts with Minimal Experience but Maximum Optimism"...Winter...few other tourists...no better time. Forecast for minus 7 degrees Celsius...Simon from Toronto, Canada says that's warm...and he should know! ... read more
February 10th 2013
CHINA: Returning to Greet the Old & the New. I was last in Shanghai 10 years ago. My memories were a city where skyscrapers appeared in competition for the most unusual...4 lane highways unable to cope so 4 lanes were built on top...the Pearl Tower reached by a psychedelic tunnel under the river from the Bund...the best museum I have ever seen, the one under the Pearl Tower...and roads choked...always choc-a-block traffic. So imagine my amazement...2012/13...two weeks...city of 20 million...heaps of traffic...but can't remember a traffic jam! As the Chinese say "Need to be rich of the road first. If no road no-one visit you" i.e "For wealth you must first build roads". But this trip...spent a lot of time with locals...there's that Chinese blogger Aspiring Nomad...reunion of my Aussie family...and with our new Chinese family. ... read more
January 30th 2013
CHINA: PROPAGANDA & ART. My 5th visit to China...and I'm pretty excited...18 December 2012...touch down in Shanghai...met at the Airport by friends of my Xiondi (Chinese younger brother)...yep pretty excited. Was invited to join the Caravan of Artists for Peace from Mauritania through Mali to Burkina Faso...but March not suit...so where to go in December/January? Our daughter Anna-Louise studying at East China University of Politics & Law in Shanghai. Arranged to meet her and flying our son Simon to join us from Canada...going to Yellow Mountain for Christmas...family reunion. I've contacted Aspiring Nomad for a meet up in Shanghai. Sort of next door...then meeting up with Cockle & Quynh in Vietnam. Travel Camel is also going to join us on his way to Dubai...for "Mischief on the Mekong"...never met any of these guys...but should be fun. ... read more
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