mapMyflickr - geotagged images in Google Earth We've created a new way of viewing photos after developing this from the trans-siberian trip - mapMyflickr is a way of showing photos from flickr which have been geotagged by downloading a link to browse within Google Earth. You can view sets by interestingness, or just the geotagged pictures in your current view. We've just got the site up and running - currently in beta, so please drop an email to beta(at)mapmyflickr.com, or message me if you're interested in taking a look. We're after any feedback - either positive, negative, or just s [View Full Entry]

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Google Earth/Flickr Picture Show OK, all is looking good! We now have a working flickr/google earth plugin. Peter has managed to put together a php script to allow Google Earth to dynamincally update from Flickr. What that means is that when we add new pictures, and have them geo-tagged (tagged with the location, according to GPS location) that they will be automatically show on Google Earth. http://tsr.no-ip.org/flickr.kml is the link, and all you need to do when you click on it is make sure you have Google Earth installed, then select "Open with Google Earth". [View Full Entry]

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And, yes we are still here, I thought I'd do a quick update, as I am getting there with the photos (slowly, but getting there!) So the latest batch are on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_gray/collections/72157619877350665/ And we're now arriving in Mongolia on the photos, so it;s takign longer to tweak and upload the pics, than it did to do the trip...DOH! Ah well....all good memories :) [View Full Entry]

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Well....we are still here, and have finally started sorting the photos! I know...it;s taking ages, but I took so many it will take me a while longer. So, to be going on with here's some from the first few days....taking us over the first 4 days, up to departure for the trans-siberian proper! So we have the transit through 7 countries: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_gray/collections/72157619877350665/ UK France Belgium Germany Poland Belarus Russia..... I am aiming to get the rest of the photos processed & up on flickr in the next few weeks!!! Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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Just round the corner is some very useful advice for those living in high rise flats. I have some sympathy for the authorities who put up the second example. A literal transaltion is "Circular public open space"; not very snappy and I know of lots of squares in the UK that are not geometric squares. How to put it in English? Well, not that way. And then there's the utterly incomprensible. Philip [View Full Entry]

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You will have gathered that David did not think much of Russian food. It was not all bad. I enjoyed my fish cakes stuffed with chopped eggs and fresh herbs served with potatoes in a light paprika sauce. My chicken with strawberry sauce was decidedly odd. Eat your heart out Hector Blumenthal. All food was strictly a la carte down to individula slices of bread. My "pee garnish - 5 Roubles" was cold tinned peas and not at all salty. China is a lot more exciting. I think they have just discovered chili. Every dish is laced with the stuff [View Full Entry]

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During the trials and tribulations of our dodgy guts (Peter got it 24 hours after me), and eventually we both had trouble for 3 days, we managed to also squeeze in a trip up to the Great Wall - Mutianyu - a relatively unknown/newish section of the wall, nicely refurbished. It was a cable car ride to the top after fighting our way through the people selling "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts and hats, but then it was as we expected....a fantastic view of the wall....and wow!!! what a view!!! And fortunately there were very few other people around too... [View Full Entry]

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We arrived at just after 2pm, and approximately 11000 Kilometres on the train. Time for a few days of sightseeing now! The Gobi was certainly interesting, with scattered herds (?) of camels, horses and occasional remote villages, but it was certainly a relief to wake up to the Chinese landscape, not least becuase we spent most of the day in the Gobi being very fractious... The final run in to Beijing was certainly pretty damn spectacular, down through some fantastic gorges, and stereotypical mist shrouded hills & mountains, and we were greeted on arrival by Sue (dad's wife), and then wh [View Full Entry]

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Wow! That's all the 3 of us need to say about this place... It completely took us by surprise. The people are brilliant, the food was great, and the atmosphere was generally so friendly. We arrived at the crack of dawn, after spending most of the previous day travelling down from Irkutsk, with some fantastice views across Lake Baikal at dawn, and enduring an 8 hour border crossing for the departure from Russia - and I must say it was a bit of a relief to be leving Russia! We found a hostel after the friendly girls at the station pointed [View Full Entry]

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Moscow - Irkutsk The afternoon in Moscow was perhaps the closest we've come to arguing thus far, after walking round the Kremlin (I only just managed to get the camera in and had to leave most of the lenses outside) - we were all tired and irritable, and somewhat lacking in the ability to make any real decisions....fortunately after some aimless meandering we found a restaurant, which had a great view over Pl Revolyutsii Square & the statue of Karl Marx, and good quality food (they stopped doing beer at 7...but we stayed anywyay!) We got the train dead on time [View Full Entry]

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