How we got to Aqaba We arrived in Aqaba for the first time on the evening of Thursday 5 November after a 3 1/2 hour drive from Amman. We had borrowed a car so we only had until the Saturday to visit, and we stayed with a friend who works as a flight instructor. On the first night, we visited a tourist complex with a bunch of different restaurants. We sat in an 'English' pub while we waited for our friend. The next day, we went for a PADI discovery dive at Adventure Divers next to the Bedouin Moon Hostel down towards Aqaba's South Coast. The dive was amazing. We were driven down to the beach from the dive centre in an old minivan. Because it was Friday, most of the locals were having barbecues on ... read more
Our trip to Bahrain was an unexpected bonus during my sabbatical. My brother-in-law lives in Bahrain and as luck would have it, we had enough frequent flyer points with Emirates to score a return trip from Amman for JOD 36.15 (AUD 56.89) each, flying via Dubai. Tourist visas for Australians are available on arrival and cost a measly BHD 5 (AUD 14.25) each. The line up through customs took a little while (about 1/2 hour) but was trouble-free. My brother-in-law met us at the airport and we were welcomed by the warm weather. We stayed in a new suburb of Bahrain in a three-storey apartment situated on a lagoon connected to the nearby sea. The water was perfect for swimming, but there is also a pool as part of the apartment complex. Although we were only ... read more
We borrowed a car and went on a day trip to Madaba, about 25km south of Amman. Known as the City of Mosaics, Madaba is an old Christian part of Jordan with a very long history. Madaba is mentioned in the Bible (as a Moabite border city) in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9. The city was ruled by the Romans and later the Byzantines. A typical tourist destination in Madaba is the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. In the floor of the church is a mosaic map of Holy Land dating from the 6th century AD. The map shows details of Palestine and the Nile Delta. Apparently, this map is one of the few records of how Jerusalem looked after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD. Local stories suggest that mosaics exist underneath every ... read more
Stayed in Pigalle, about five minutes walk from the Moulin Rouge. Visited The Louvre, the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame et al. Took a boat trip on the Sienne, went to several art galleries and saw many original Picassos, Rembrandts, Monets, Manets, Matisses and even some Da Vincis. Will add more to this later because I need to consult my scrapbooks!... read more
London 2007. Saw 'Fiddler on the Roof' in The Savoy, 'The Merchant of Venice' in the Globe Theatre. Bought two guitar picks from Harrod's, went for a row on the Hyde Park lake.... read more
Overview: Stayed at a hotel for two weeks, conducting interviews with telecommunications industry experts. Worked from the University of Ottawa. Travelled by bus to Trois Rivieres in Quebec. Saw Renoir exhibition at the Canadian National Gallery. Exchange Rate approximately AUD$1 = CAD$0.90... read more
Diary Notes: Hong Kong Trip 21 to 25 June 2007 Exchange Rate approximately AUD$1 = HK$6.70 I wanted to see the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but it was closed on the Saturday. I caught a ferry to Central, it cost me HK$2.20 one way, and I walked towards the International Finance Centre (IFC) as per the guidebook I had read the evening before. IFC1 and IFC2 are two large buildings with shopping complexes and various other buildings attached to the complex. I found the HK Stock Exchange after walking around and the guards informed me it was closed (during business hours, a tour is available). I took photographs of the front of the building and the surrounding sculptures, and then walked to the Hong Kong Gardens. Here, I ventured into the Hong Kong aviary and then ... read more
Dr Michael de Percy FCILT is Senior Lecturer in Political Science in the Canberra School of Politics, Economics, and Society at the University of Canberra. He is a graduate of the Australian National University (PhD) and the Royal Military College Duntroon, and he is a Chartered Fellow (FCILT) of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Michael maintains a blog on his research, teaching and community engagement activities at www.politicalscience.com.au and you can follow him on twitter @madepercy.... full info
