CHINA...Beijing...The Summer Palace...Walking on Water. When I visit Beijing...David & his wife Pauline are in town. David took Denise and I to the Summer Palace...special entry...different to other routes I have taken...old men swimming in parts of the lake not frozen...no way I'm crossing the ice this time...no way...so we sit in a tea house...just us...and David tells us his story. His father was an Admiral in the days of Mao...the Cultural Revolution. David often visited the Summer Palace as a kid...at night...hiding from the vicious guard dogs with his mates...areas out of bounds. As history shows...Mao turned those in favour...to those "Not in favour"...and when it was David's Dad's turn...David at age 17 was sent to a village in Inner Mongolia...for re-education. To break the spirits of the relocated for re-education...the local party boss had ... read more

CHINGLISH...Wisdom to Those in Need of Instruction. I come from a country...where there are signs everywhere..."Stop"..."Walk"..."Do Not Walk"..."No Smoking"..."Speed Limits"...Arrows bent & straight..."Wrong Way, Turn Back"..."Hospital"..."Police"..."Road under Repair"..."Bushfire Warning"..."One Way"..."Give Way"..."Children Crossing". Then there are street signs...names of shops...names for everything. But it was not until I reached Dali in Yunnan Provence...on my first trip to China...that I saw the sign that said it all...made me stop and think...to reflect on its wisdom...yet still makes me wonder..."What does it mean?" Couldn't say it better myself: Dear Guestes: Don' t Garn Animals. Couldn't help but think "OK...I won't"...yet there were no animals within coo-ee to explain it to me..! ... read more

FACES OF JAVA: THE WOMEN...Lifting the Veil...the Burqa Debate. Entering the most populous Islamic Nation on Earth...I had preconceptions. Would it be like Dubai...where veiled women walked hidden behind layers of cloth...or walked behind their husbands...where the men would invite me for coffee & a chat...confident in my portraits...but their women forbidden to my lens? But from the moment we hit Java, my preconceptions were blown out of the water...here the women were confident...predominately in headscarfs...faces open and not hidden...walking next to & confident in their husbands...in their very being...happy to grace my lens. I travelled around Java constantly marvelling at the openness of the people. But one night for me...it was like a slap in the face...my blissful sojourn was dashed. I didn't ask for it...but...I walked into the 'Burqa Debate'... read more

JAVA: Surabaya...Graffitti & Submarines. Long final breakfast...breathing in the majestic beauty at the Ijen Resort...one last time...aahh...now have to return to Surabaya...and infernal traffic. I think Fandi our Guide was happy to go...pretty boring for him to hang around for several days...sometimes only seeing us for meals...Hady our driver happy to see us again...and then there was the music. When we travel I bring along compilation CDs of my favourite Blues & Rock tracks...Fandi singing along...Hady happy to rock along...we happy as our previous guide Joe preferred Javanese temple music..!!! Down to the coast...waving to the poor souls on that island close enough to wave to...known as Bali...suckers...you can't swim over to this side...the current is against you...sailing craft and happy swimmers on this side...suckers..!!! Stop at one of the beaches for another ... read more

JAVA: Bromo Jeep Club. Up at 3.30am...no time for a shower to wake up...into thermals, wet weather gear, head torches, cameras, video, boots...check... meet Fandi our Guide at 4am...jeep ready...time to head off for the photo opportunity we have come so far to see...the Penanjakan Sunrise. The Dutch saw nothing at sunrise yesterday...clouded in then and raining...will we be lucky today? To travel anywhere in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park...the home of five volcanoes and the Tengger people...you can walk...which if you are travelling distance is silly...or promote the local Tengger economy...and travel by jeep...known in these parts as...the Bromo Jeep Club. As we leave Lava View Lodge...along the edge of the Tengger Caldera rim...pitch black...no volcanoes yet visible...immediately join a line of jeeps snaking to higher ground...cover a couple of kms...stop...... read more