Here I am in Ethiopia! And in spite of three flights to get here, I still haven’t received a pat-down like they show on TV. Getting here was a hassle with big delays in Frankfurt. One security person in Frankfurt asked me how old I was. When I answered that I was 75, he said, “That’s the first time I’ve seen that---a person your age with a laptop!”
My hotel in Addis Ababa is interesting, if run down. It was built by the king’s wife, Taitu, in 1898 and is the oldest hotel in Addis. The…
This morning I went for a walk with my camera to look at the Li River & wonder at the very low level of water there. Back home in Australia its flood devastation along with other countries. We keep having very light showers that keep the ground wet & muddy, but thats all. Just makes our cold days feel worse. Xingping is an old village so no such thing as heated buildings. Everyone finds their own heat via various methods. Those with street stalls have their little fires burning nearby. In my…
One major goal was easily achieved when the SPLM (the South’s ruling party) announced that 60% of the people had voted in only the first 3 days of the week-long procedure, a claim that is not being contested. This was one of the requirements for the vote to be recognised. The other important target is that, for secession to be agreed upon, a score of 50% plus 1 more vote must elect for freedom from the North’s domination. Nobody in his right mind considers this to be a problem.
Talking of right…
Tonight we are going on our dinner cruise on the Seine, so are getting into dress-up clothes. Although we had not discussed it beforehand, we each brought a bit of our mother with us. Roe has her mother’s watch, into which her sister had put a new battery for her; I have brought a pair of earrings that belonged to my mother. It seems fitting that they, who never had the chance to travel that we have, should be with us in spirit.
We are headed to the Bateaux-Mouches, and to get there I consult…
As expected, in the South it is party time while in the North, apart from the tactical deployment of armoured cars, water cannons and pick up loads of troops, all of whom are enjoying a paid relaxation period under spreading acacias, each day is as dull as any other. In the border territory of Abyei, however, tempers are ragged. This state (which the press keep calling “oil-rich” but which has only one, drying-out well) is a complete enigma. Due to have been holding a separate referendum at this…
Note: This trip begins in Vancouver, BC continues through US states to Eagle Pass, Texas where we will cross into Mexico and continue down to Mexico City. From there we'll fly to Ecuador for a month. On return to Mexico City well travel down to the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and Guatemala before returning to Canada through the mid-west of the US.
We are finally at the end of stage one of this trip - through Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas ...sitting tonight in Eagle…
Gday, heading of to middle east next april/may .Just wondering if anyone had some good insurance companys they could recommend.I am an australian and 55.
re mick
With 97% supporting secession, according to the latest survey, even interference from North-backed gerrymanderers should find it virtually impossible to turn the results. To add weight to those supporting a free and honest vote (in Africa! Is that possible?) US Secretary of State Clinton is leading a heavyweight team that includes former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former US special envoy to Sudan John Danforth, while the official foreign observers’ delegation is led by Kofi Annan and…
Hello lovely people
Forgive me for changing my mind so quickly but as I have explained in another thread, hubby and I have some misgivings about Vietnam........so when we saw the great special advertised by Air Asia, decided to book flight to Bangkok instead.
Will only stop over in Bangkok for a couple of days as we really would like to explore Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and perhaps further north. Has anyone been to these parts of Thailand recently? If you have, can you please be kind enough to…
Sitting on the patio, nursing a steaming mug of Lao tea and waiting for the weather to warm up, I was summoned to join the family for lunch. A huge bowl of lettuce and mixed herbs took centre stage and a slightly smaller dish sat by the side. We were dining on Laap, a local staple. A lettuce leaf forms the base, you select your choice of herbs from the mint, dill, chicory and others that are new to me. Next comes a dollop from the second bowl, a steamed mash of rice noodles, sticky rice…