Filipina

This lady was posing for a group of visitors from a photo club, in an old house in Taal village, South of Manila. Taken in November 2009.

Jeepneys

Manila's iconic jeepneys lined up and waiting for passengers. Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have also become a symbol of Philippine culture.

Cambodia skulls

Detail of the commemorative stupa erected at the Choeung Ek Khmer Rouge killing field, just outside Phnom Penh. The stupa contains some 5,000 skulls. For details and photos of this site see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek. Photo taken in 2000.

Blowing bubbles

Photo of a children's birthday party taken in Manila, 2003. The performer was hired to make large bubbles, and this he did. They were actually huge, and the children fitted inside.It was amazing.

Palau island

In Palau, a Pacific Island nation, situated about 800 km east of the Philippines. One of the attractions of Palau, besides diving, are the limestone rocks sticking out of the ocean. The waters are a clear aqua, and you can see them for tens of meters below the surface. They can easily be reached from the capital Koror by boat. Photo taken in 1994.

Dictator Marcos

Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos during a televised speech, in December 1982, at the time of my very first visit to Manila. Little did I know the that we would move here in 1994......

Source of the Nile

This photo from ca 1989 shows the source of the Nile, near Jinja in Uganda. The source of the Nile remained a mystery for a long time, ever since the Egyptian times. Lake Victoria was first sighted by Europeans in 1858 when the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore whilst on his journey with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate the great Lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after the then Queen of the United Kingdom. Burton, who had been recovering from illness at the time and resting further south on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, was outraged that Speke claimed to have proved his discovery to have been the true source of the Nile when Burton regarded this as still unsettled. A very public quarrel ensued, which not only sparked a great deal of intense debate within the scientific community of the day, but much interest by other explorers keen to either confirm or refute Speke's discovery. The well known British explorer and missionary David Livingstone failed in his attempt to verify Speke's discovery, instead pushing too far west and entering the Congo River system instead. It was ultimately the Welsh-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley who confirmed the truth of Speke's discovery, circumnavigating Lake Victoria and reporting the great outflow at Ripon Falls on the Lake's northern shore.

Village in Portugal

Just a shot of a village in Portugal, somewhere near Sintra. Taken in 1995.

Wall detail on Crete

Somewhere on Crete. We took a week off and went to Crete just as the first Gulf war got underway, and the US invaded Kuwait in order to remove the Iraqi army. The US army entered Kuwait late February 1991 and we went on holidays a few weeks later. Because of the fighting in the middle east, and especially the threat of Iraqi missiles, many people cancelled their holidays in Greece. It was tough for the Greeks, but we loved the peace and quiet, and bargains everywhere. March 1991.

Crossing the river

Crossing the river in Bangladesh in 1997. This is most likely a daily commute for many on the "boat".

Baobab tree in Senegal

A typical scene in northern Senegal. Baobab trees are common in Africa (1 species), Madagascar (6 species) and Australia (1 species). It also commonly referred to as bottle tree or upside down tree. Baobabs store water inside the swollen trunk (up to 120,000 litres) to endure the harsh drought conditions. All occur in seasonally arid areas, and shed their leaves during the dry season. Some baobabs are reputed to be many thousands of years old, which is difficult to verify as the wood does not produce annual growth rings,

Hotel in Malaysia

In one of the many courtyards of the new Pullman hotel in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia. Putrajaya, being newly built from scratch, has a lot of interesting architecture ranging from the beautiful and friendly to scenes from Gotham city. It is a paradise for architecture photography. This hotel had just undergone its soft opening on October 2009 when I took this photo. The place gave a strange feeling, with its courtyards, many fancy decorations and no people. See http://www.pullmanputrajaya.com/

Flores crater lake

This is one of a set of three volcanic crater lakes in central Flores, and island in eastern Indonesia. The three lakes are part of the same volcano, Kelimutu,and have 3 different colors. At the time of taking this photo, in 2002, they were aqua, black (although it was meant to be blue, see below)and red. Over time, the lakes change or even exchange color, sometimes unexpectedly.

Wikipedia says: Kelimutu is a volcano, close to the town of Moni in central Flores Island of Indonesia containing three summit crater lakes of varying colors. Tiwu Ata Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red in color, respectively. The lake colors do vary on a periodic basis.

Cambodian farmer

While driving around in the area surrounding Anchor Wat,I came across this smiling farmer, who was happy to pose for a photo. Cambodian farmers have a very hard life in general, with little irrigation and often simple tools to work the land. Taken in 2001.

Greek water tap

A public water tap on Chios, in Greece. Taken in 2003.

Yap stone money

Yap is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia. A very interesting island and a fascinating history. Yap is especially known for its stone money, pictured here. The Wikipedia says:

Yap is notable for its stone money, known as Rai: large doughnut-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite, up to 4 m in diameter (most are much smaller). The smallest can be as little as 3.5 centimetres in diameter . Many of them were brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea, but most came in ancient times from Palau. Their value is based on both the stone's size and its history. Historically the Yapese valued the disks because the material looks like quartz, and these were the shiniest objects around. Eventually the stones became legal tender and were even mandatory in some payments.

The stones' value was kept high due to the difficulty and hazards involved in obtaining them. To quarry the stones, Yapese adventurers had to sail to distant islands and deal with local inhabitants who were sometimes hostile. Once quarried, the disks had to be transported back to Yap on rafts towed behind wind-powered canoes. The scarcity of the disks, and the effort and peril required to get them, made them valuable to the Yapese. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island.

As no more disks are being produced or imported, this money supply is fixed. The islanders know who owns which piece but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes. Their size and weight (the largest ones require 20 adult men to carry) make them very difficult to move around. Although today the United States dollar is the currency used for everyday transactions in Yap, the stone disks are still used for more traditional or ceremonial exchange. The stone disks may change ownership during marriages, transfers of land title, or as compensation for damages suffered by an aggrieved party

Village in eastern Portugal

 Medieval village in eastern Portugal. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name. We stayed in a hotel nearby, and went up a number of times to enjoy the narrow streets, terraces, old buildings, the country food and wine. Great place. Taken in 1995.

Buddhist flags

Taken in Nepal in 1997, during a trek in the Langtang region. These flags on strings are literally everywhere you go, and are printed with Buddhist prayers.

Alien invasion

Taken in 2009 on the back beach near our house.Yes, it is Toby.

Inside a Long House

I lived in Baimuru, Gulf Province in PNG for some time in 1981-1982. This photo was taken inside a long house (house where men gather, eat, and sleep). The skull and the so-called ancestor boards below play an important role in village life.