Come on lettie
 

Well lettie you have been back of your hols for a month now so how about you showing use some of those pics you have taken on your travels:)

They're all really boring Mick. The photos from the digicam have come out really well. Took my memory card into Lloyds and had them developed, but they are all views and stuff. I'll try to put some on in the next couple of days.

Mick, I've managed to put some of the photos onto my computer, but have no idea how to get them on the site. Everytime I've tried I get a message on my screen saying that the file is too large. Above 100 kb. Sick of messing with it now. (The piccies look ok on my screen though)

hi lettie. the system wont accept images that are straight from the digital camera as they are to big. For the internet pictures should be reduced in size so that they load quicker. I'm sure the software that your camera came with will have options to convert the pictures to a smaller size, but make sure you back up your originals as you don't want to lose them if you make a mistake! If someone knows of some simple software that you can download for free and converts images so they can be easily published to the web please let us know, and I will make it downloadable from here and do a guide...

Thanks Roy, I'll have a look through the software. Haven't had time to mess with it properly since I got it. Have had my memory card developed, so it won't matter if I lose a few.

Try this Roy http://www.irfanview.com/
this is the download link http://www.irfanview.com/main_download_engl.htm

Re: Come on lettie
 

Hong Kong...

Re: Come on lettie
 

The first image was taken when I was on a sampan on the river in Aberdeen. Directly in front of me is the Jumbo Palace floating restaurant. Many people still live on junks and sampans here, rarely setting foot on dry land. In the first 2 photos you can see large blocks of flats, which are the government housing, they look pretty grim.

Photos 3 and 7 are of Hong Kong Park, this is an artificially made oasis crammed amongst the gravity defying buildings. Definately well worth a visit. There's an aviary, and a massive conservatory housing native bamboos and loads of flashy looking plants. Outside in the park, there are various pools and waterfalls, the pools contain coy carp and plenty of turtles. There is a bonsai collection in the Tai Chi garden and the whole place is really tranquil considering you are in the middle of the city. Photo 6 was taken from the observation tower in the park, it puts into perspective the fact that the city is all around you.

Photo 5 was taken from the top of the 552m high Victoria Peak. You cannot visit HK without taking a trip up here. I went up on the tram, which was constructed in 1888, and is quite a feat of engineering. If you go up on the tram, sit on the right, as you get the best views of the city that way, although you may be a bit queasy if you don't like heights, one section of the tram ride is pretty much vertical. It was a misty day when I went up, but looking through the tall buildings, you can see the Kowloon district across the water. Photo 4 was taken from the top of Vic Peak looking south and shows the town of Stanley. Stanley has a brilliant outdoor market and easily reachable by bus from the top of Vic Peak. The ride to Stanley is quite an experience, the road coming down the peak is steep and bendy, great views though, well worth the nausea..

Loved Hong Kong, to say that I went on my todd, I never once felt unsafe. The people are friendly and polite, the transport systems cheap and efficient, it's dead easy to get around. Three days here was definately not enough.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, known to us as New Zealand. I started off in Auckland, but didn't really spend much time there. I'm not a city dweller, and after Hong Kong wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle. There's no better place to do that than New Zealand. Seeing as I started in Auckland, here's a couple of views of the city. One of them was taken from Mission Bay, showing the Sky Tower, the other was taken looking over from Devonport and to the far right of this photo, you may just be able to make out the harbour bridge. The weather was a little erratic at times, as you will see by the clouds. Although it was quite warm, it was spring over there and short, heavy bursts of rainfall were quite a feature of this holiday. Good job I never let a bit of rain bother me..

Re: Come on lettie
 

Nice pics lettie, looks like an interesting place to go for an holiday, but it wont be in this liftime for me unless i win the lottery.

Re: Come on lettie
 

After a brief spell in Auckland to get over the jet lag at my step brothers, I hired myself a little car and beggared off for a while on my own. The first place I went to was Rotorua. The Kiwis call Rotorua 'Rotovegas' a popular destination for stag and hen do's. I didn't let that put me off, and am so glad. Rotorua is at the heart of the volcanic plateau, and is thermally very active. Pools of bubbling mud, geysers and boiling sulphurous pools are all to be found in this district. The whole place smells of hydrogen sulphide gas (rotten eggs) and you can smell it on your clothes long after you've left (even after washing them). I thought it was wonderful. You're never short of something to do in Rotorua, lots of outdoor activities here bungy jumping, zorbing, jet boating, windsurfing, kayaking and the list goes on. I took these pictures in the Maori village of Whakarewarewa, the best place to view the geysers. It was a rainy day and there's steam everywhere, it was even coming up from the gutters on the main road. In the 2nd piccy is the dormant Pohutu geyser, and the 3rd Pic it's in full flow, with the smaller Prince of Wales Feathers geyser going off at the same time.

Re: Come on lettie
 

About 15k from Rotorua is the village of Te Wairoa, let me set the scene. In the 19th century, this was a village that housed many visitors. People came from all over the world to view the famous pink and white terraces. The pink and white terraces were a natural phenomenon made of silica deposits, they were often depicted as the 8th wonder of the world. On 10th June 1886, Mount Tarawera (previously thought to be extinct), erupted with such ferocity that it left a 6km long 250m deep crater in the top of the mountain. Lake Rotomahana, beneath the mountain exploded with a noise heard as far away as Auckland and Christchurch (Auckland is 3 hours drive away). Rescuers arrived from Rotorua the day after finding scenes of total devastation. 3 villages, Te Wairoa, Moura and Te Ariki were buried under 20ft of mud and volcanic debris. The eruption killed 153 people, and completely obliterated the pink and white terraces. In 1936 excavations began and the village of Te Wairoa can now be seen again. There is a small visitor centre and museum which tells the story of the terraces and the eruption. This place is well worth a visit. The Maori guide will also seranade you on his guitar while you look round the gift shop. He had a lovely voice and did a fabulous acoustic version of Pokarekare ana. It was the best version of this song I've heard (and you cannot have a day in NZ without hearing this song, it's everywhere) Here are some pics of excavated Te Wairoa featuring the storehouse, barmans house, flourmill, blacksmiths, Maori whare (house) and the lovely scenery and waterfall in the area.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Hi lettie.
Looks like you've been very busy. All interesting stuff.
Thanks.

Re: Come on lettie
 

oo lettie how very interesting it is to finally see the piccies & the narration to go with them is wonderful, how have you remembered all this //

Re: Come on lettie
 

Mez, the people in this area are wonderful story tellers, the Maori guide at Te Wairoa was brilliant and theres so many information leaflets about this event and they're all free. The local Maori here, fully expect Mt Tarawera to erupt again and don't mind telling you that it could be any time. I drove back to my motel that day, had a meal on the way back and fell into bed. I'd just gone over to sleep when I heard the most horrendous explosion, shot out of bed thinking 'that bloody volcano!' to find it was a very powerful thunderstorm. My stepbrother reckoned they had had it in Auckland earlier that day, but it was a humdinger.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Before leaving the Rotorua area, I decided to have a gander round the New Zealand Maori Arts and crafts Institute. Here, they teach young Maori traditional skills like wood carving, there is a song and dance show put on for the visitors and the women show you how they make their traditional dress using flax, which grows just about everywhere in this area, despite the sulphorous conditions. Here are some photos, there's one of the carving workshop, female Maori dancers with the little white poi balls made of flax fibres and stuffed with reeds. These things are swung around quite skillfully during the dancing. It's a good job they know what they're doing because they'd have your eye out if they hit you with one. Male dancers performing a traditional 'haka' and one of the intricately carved wooden canoe type boats.

I'm hoping to re-visit this area, as there's so much I didn't get to see. I was only in the Rotorua district for 2 days and tried to see as much as possible, but time was limited.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Re: the piccy, second from left - above:-

WHICH ONE'S YOU?

Re: Come on lettie
 

I'm the one taking the piccy...:camera8: I know I'm not a brilliant photo taker, and most of these piccies are totally boring (which I warned everyone of in an earlier post), but I remember exacly where I was when I took them, and most of the details to explain them. I did write a lot of stuff down on postcards/receipts etc. in the evenings before going to bed. I reckoned that if I'd gone all that way it would be worth remembering, and I knew my step-mum would want every detail cos she loves NZ and lived there for a few years when she was younger.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Did you add Mount Cook to you tick list whilst in New Zealand, Lettie? :)

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Was desperate to do South Island, everybody there says it's the most scenic of the 2 islands (and North Island is gorgeous) didn't have time to do South, but am aiming to go back in march next year, provided I can get 2 weeks off in April as well. Hoping to have some time on South Island then. Would love to see Mt Cook area and Arthurs Pass. There's a driving tour you can do in that area, stopping over at villages and then out walking/climbing for the day before moving on. Due to the gradient on some of the roads and the altitude, some of the roads close after snowfall, and many are unsealed anyway. The weather is very unpredictable here. While I was there in December, Dunedin, on South Island had a blizzard in the morning, followed by a heavy rain shower then the sun came out at about 3pm and it was about 70 F. The weather forecasters were laughing their heads off on the news that night, as none of them had predicted that!

Re: Come on lettie
 

where is the pic of the fridge door you took lettie ? hehe

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hehehehe, my 6 year old nephew took that one, he was messing with the camera. Meant to remove all those odd ones before I brought the photos to your house Mick, but typically, I was in a hurry and forgot.

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A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have sufficed. :mad: I'm as jealous as...;) It sounds worth doing...go for it!

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On leaving Rotorua, I headed north. An old school friend had contacted me while I was in Auckland, and invited me to stay with her for a night, so off I went to the Coromandel Penninsula. This place has very rugged coastline, it's great for fishing. Tramping through Coromandel forest park and it's multitudinous trails is a very popular pastime here. Coromandel was once famous in the mid 1800's for its gold mines. Some lucky beggar struck gold and the small town of Thames became a boomtown. The mines were soon emptied and closed, and mining moved further south. Thames is the principal town in the Coromandel area and is where my friend lives. About an hours drive up the coastline from Thames (and a very steep, bendy, nauseating drive at that) lies the pretty town of Coromandel, obviously taking its name from the penninsula. Abot 5 miles or so from Coromandel town, along an unsurfaced and sometimes bumpy road, I found the brilliantly innovative Waiau Waterworks. The guy who made this was originally an engineer and his wife an artist. Together they made this fun little park in which all the features have moveable parts and are all powered by water. I was there alone, and it didn't stop me from having a go on all the little bikes, various jets and fountains. You can play on everything here, and there's a full explanation of how things work. Got all the brochures for my step brother to take my nephew, as he'd love it. On the pics, there are a couple of views of Coromandel coastline overlooking the Firth of Thames, Thames main street (this was taken friday morning 9am rush hour, dead innit??) Coromandel Town visitor centre and courthouse, the same building funnily enough, town picnic area, and some of the water features of Waiau Waterworks.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Keep em coming Lettie - enjoying the views and the geography lessons! Almost feel like I was there myself!

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After Coromandel, I took the Firth of Thames coastal road and headed back to Auckland for the weekend, I'd promised my nephew video and chocolate night, and as I hadn't seen him for nearly 2 years it was the least I could do. On the Sunday, I then set off north to the beautiful Bay of Islands. There was a christmas parade taking place in Auckland city centre that day, so I set off at the crack of dawn in order to miss the city traffic crossing the harbour bridge. There are only motorways through major cities here and they are awful to drive on. Exits in Auckland can come off the left and right lanes, undertaking is acceptable, road rage common and if there is a space between you and the car in front, someone will cut in at 100kph. My only advice is, if you are ever travelling through Auckland to go up north stick to the middle lanes. These lanes will take you through the city and straight over the bridge without incident. I was given this advice by just about every New Zealander I met. Once out of the city, the road suddenly becomes dual carriage way, then one track roads with passing places. Well signposted and lovely to drive on, barely any traffic. After about 3 1/2 hours I arrived in Paihia. The first thing I did was go to the wharf and booked a boat trip. It's the best way to see the Bay of Islands. There are well over 100 small islands here, the locals reckon 144 islands, but some guide books say 150, so who knows?? The first photo is of Cape Brett, taken from the bay end, as you round the Cape, there is a massive hole in the rock, big enough to get the boat through. Unfortunately, as we went through the rock, my camera film ran out. Some of these Islands have lovely beaches, which are all public beaches. some islands are privately owned, but NZ law states that beaches have to be public, so even on the private islands, you can moor your boat and use the beach. Some views of the islands, and Pilot Whales playing in the area are in the pics.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Lettie - you should be a travel writer! Forget Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) or Bill Bryson (Notes from a Small Island)....you should write a book, quick. In fact, you could become more famous than that Lesbian writer who comes from Accy...what's her name? Never mind, it's not important.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Thanks Tea, got my eye on Judith Chalmers job.... :bigglasse

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While in Bay of Islands, I took the ferry from Paihia to the charming little town of Russell. The ferries run approximately every 20 minutes between the 2 towns, and are quite cheap. To wander around Russell looking at the old colonial style houses, little tea shoppes and lovely little church, it's difficult to believe it's history. At the turn of the 19th century, the town was called Kororareka (hope the spelling is right). This town was the main shore station for the Whalers, and was a rowdy, lawless town. It was nick named the ' Hell Hole of the Pacific' It was re-named Russell in the mid 19th century, to honour the British colonial secretary of that time. It's a beautiful peaceful little town and I fell in love with this place. Russell is also the home of the oldest church in NZ called Christ Church. The oldest industrial building in NZ, Pompelier House can also be seen here. Originally opened by French Roman Catholic Marist missionaries to house their printing press, Pompelier has been extensively restored and still houses a printing press and book bindary. Here are some pics of Russell, a view of the wharf from the ferry, Pompelier House, and the lovely little Christ Church.

Re: Come on lettie
 

On my last day in the Bay of Islands, I decided to take the short drive to what must be one of the most historically significant places in NZ, Waitangi. In 1840, concerned about increasing lawlessness and violence amongst rival Maori tribes, leading chiefs asked Queen Victoria to provide a framework for law in NZ. Concerned that the French or Americans would step in and lay claim to NZ the British did just that, and drew up the Treaty of Waitangi. This was signed on 6th Feb 1840 at James Busby's house (the British resident at that time) 50 Maori chiefs signed the treaty and it gave sovereignty of NZ to the British and allowed all Maori people to have rights as British citizens. In 1936 James Busby's house (the Treaty House) became a national landmark. This Treaty is heavily flawed, the translation into Maori lost some of the meaning that it has in English. The Maori had no concept of what sovereignty meant and therefore legal issues concerning Maori land rights are still raging to this day. Every year on 6th Feb, Government bigwigs and Maori chiefs visit Waitangi Treaty Grounds to celebrate Waitangi Day. At the Treaty House there is an audio visual presentation which is excellent. This tells you the story of how the Treaty came to be. James Busby's house is a small museum and depicts the life of the Busby family and locals at that time, a copy of the signed Treaty is there for you to see. You can walk round the grounds and see the large ceremonial canoe, carved out of the wood of 3 Kauri trees, and the flagstaff, which is supposed to be on the actual spot where the Treaty was signed. Just up the road from the Treaty house is a lovely little walk which takes you through the Mangrove forest to Haruru Falls, at the end of the Waitangi River. As it was a nice day, I did the walk. Some of the paths are good along the way, and some not so good. I didn't see another living soul during this walk and as part of the walk is through heavily forested area it was quite spooky at times. It's about 5km to the waterfall, and of course, I had to walk back too, as I'd left the car at Waitangi. All in all a great way to spend the day. Pics here of the Treaty House, the Maori Meeting House, the boardwalk over the mangrove swamp and Haruru falls.

Re: Come on lettie
 

I returned to Auckland to spend my final weekend in NZ with my family, and I also had a little job to do. My Dad had bought a Stanley shirt for a fella that he met in NZ last April. So I had to go to his house and have the official presentation of the shirt. He's a big fella is Brian, and the shirt didn't fit, so he has hung it on his living room wall along with lots of other English football memorabilia. The last photos from NZ are of Brian and his new favourite shirt, and of my step-brother, sister in law and nephew being very patriotic on Rugby World Cup Final night. We attended a big party that night, as the game didn't start until 10pm over there, we were all well oiled and face painted. Great atmosphere with a good mixture of Poms, Kiwis and Aussies. I didn't want to come home...

Re: Come on lettie
 

When I left Auckland, I flew to Sydney to get a connecting flight to Bangkok. By this time, I was absolutely dreading Bangkok, for a couple of reasons. Some Americans I met in Hong Kong, had just come from Bangkok and hated it, and the rest of my holiday had been so brilliant and disaster free (and I always have at least one crisis) that I reckoned that something was bound to go wrong. When I arrived, it was late at night and the airport is pretty grim. The roads were packed with traffic, the taxi had no rear seatbelt and the driving reckless! When I arrived in the city, Christmas lights were cascading down from the rooftops of all the tall buildings, it looked spectacular, my hotel was fabulous, so this cheered me up no end. My hotel was directly across the road from a skytrain station, so first thing in the morning, I hopped on the skytrain and went to explore the river. The Chao Phraya River is Bangkok's main artery, and it's quite relaxing cruising up here in a river taxi. Bangkok is meant to be viewed from the river, the grand buildings lining the banks of the Chao Phraya, temples, Chinatown, Grand Palace and shopping complexes can all be accessed from the river. Here's a couple of views from the river taxi.

Re: Come on lettie
 

You can't visit Bangkok without a visit to The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) Easily accessible by water taxi, I decided to take a trip there. On the boat I met an American couple (Robert and Penny), who decided that it was unsafe for a lass to be on her own in Bangkok, so they came with me. Wat Phra Kaeo is the holiest of all the temples here, and is always crowded with worshippers and visitors. Photography is not allowed inside the temple and the guards have guns, so I wasn't arguing. The Emerald Buddha is a tiny little statue, and can barely be seen from the entrance to the temple. It's impossible to get close to it, as hundreds of people are on the floor praying. Later that day, I visited Suan Lumphini (Lumphini Park) A lovely green space in the middle of this highly polluted, noisy city. I just sat for 2 hours watching the world go by. All in all, I enjoyed Bangkok. The people are friendly and polite, the food is excellent and I did nothing but eat all the time I was there. Transport is cheap and efficient, although the tuk tuks are highly dangerous. The deadliest thing in this city is trying to cross the road. On my last day, I'm ashamed to say that I did nothing but doss by my hotel pool with a drink in one hand, and my unread book which I had fetched with me in the other. The petite Thai people are quite a contrast to the huge Samoan people of NZ. I was starting to feel like Gulliver, so I came home....

Here are some shots of Wat Phra Kaeo and the little pagoda in Suan Lumphini.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Who or What are "Tuk Tuks?".......

a) Hot mints?

b) Thai condoms

c) Ricksaw Bikes

d) Men dressed as women (or vice versa)

e) Ferral monkeys

Please explain, Lettie........

Re: Come on lettie
 

Tuk Tuks are motorised 3 wheeler death traps. If you are offered a cheap tuk tuk, the driver will take you where you want to go.... eventually. Your journey will be via his family/friends shop.

Re: Come on lettie
 

My mate got offered one of those, but he misheard and he was'nt too happy spending an hour down the driver's in-laws cake shop....

Re: Come on lettie
 

Panto time - Oh no they're not!!! They are great fun. Do you want to hear a confessional about the time Roy, Wingy & Sparky nearly burn't one out whilst joyriding in Dongguan?

Re: Come on lettie
 

Oooooh.... Step into the confessional and tell us what you did..:biggrin8:

Re: Come on lettie
 

hehehehehehehehehehe
Go on sparkie tell all

Re: Come on lettie
 

Only if you coroborate the story with a photo or two, to prove that it's not just a fig-leaf of my imagination :D

Give me a few minutes to dig up the e-mail

Re: Come on lettie
 

Will try but the photos are really bad, and the video clips are even worse!

Re: Come on lettie
 

Who cares if the photos are bad.... C'mon spill the beans..

Re: Come on lettie
 

This is a copy of an e-mail sent to Workmates, Curly, at Xinxiang in the cold north of China, whilst we were sunning ourselves down south, in Dongguan. Curly had a good idea of what to expect because he has worked in China many times.

It is almost verbatim, just the names have been adjusted to protect the innocent? and a dead funny but very politically incorrect comment has been removed, so as not to offend some of the more unfortunate members of our society...

Title:Whoops. Oh dear!


Ne hao Curly & Co.

As you may have guessed from the title, we have had a little problem out here. Luckily, it didn’t occur at the factory. Unluckily, it might have cost one of the locals his livelihood. Father, forgive us, for we have sinned. Yep, it’s confessional time.

It goes something like this. On the way home from work, on Saturday evening, we got the Ne Hao Bus, (that’s another story), to drop us at Whoa-Mah, that's Wal-Mart yo you. This meant that we were left to our own devices regarding the journey to New World Gardens. On exiting the store, Wingy suggested getting 3 motorbike taxis. TUK-TUK, screamed Roy, in reply, as he legged it after the driver, to make sure no-one else beat us to it. Our bargaining / haggling technique needs brushing up, because we could only get him down to 15 bananas, which is about 3 ‘nanas over the odds. A look of abject terror spread across his mush when he realised that all 3 of us were fighting like the Three Stooges to shoehorn ourselves onto the bench seat under the canvas lid, not neglecting the fact that non of the Stooges were ever as fat as Roy! (Sorry, Royski. Hehehe.)

It was like a scene from a Jimmy Bond film, as we accelerated? more like chugged our way across the pavement. Bodies were diving out of the way in all directions. Probably they were falling over and dying laughing! We made mighty damn fine sure we got our ‘nanas worth of a journey coz he didn’t know that he would be lugging over 40 stone of finest English brawn up the road. It was not possible to benchmark a 0-60 time, and even 1st to 2nd gear took a calendar month. We were partaking in the Wacky Races, once again. This time, we were riding shotgun on the Arkansas Chuggaboom. How many near misses and potential prangs we caused, as a result off double takes, we can only guess at.

If it moved, and was within earshot, it received a raucous ‘Ne Hao’! If we thought it was out of earshot, we just pumped up the volume, and gave it NE HAO! It was a good crack reaching out and tapping the bike riders on their tin-lids when they pulled alongside, at a junction, and offering to race them to the next set of lights. Turning was a dodgy affair. We soon adopted a motorcycle sidecar, ‘lean into the bend’, system to totter round corners in comparative safety. The man at the helm just kept looking round and laughing at us, thinking we were having a wail of a time, not wrong there fella.

Not why, but, how did the chicken cross the road? Answer, a damn sight faster than we did! Imagine the crossroads outside the Regal Hotel, in Nanchang. Imagine it again, but BIGGER. Four lanes on each carriageway, intersecting, with us stuck in the middle coz Sirry Pirrock up front thought it would be fun to run a red light, Holy Samosas! It was like being stuck on the starting grid at a motorbike GP, but facing the wrong direction. The cheeks of my ars* were gripping the back of my kecks, that’s for sure. During the age that it took to cross the junction, I had converted to Christianity, repented my sins and said the Lord’s Prayer.Twice! At this point, the Lord intervened, and punished Sirry Pirrock for putting our necks on the block. The Arkansas Chuggaboom started to chug more, and boom less, then it developed a death rattle. We were stuck in lane 3 with traffic tearing us up from both sides, and as it pulled like a slug to reach the kerbside, the death rattle began to sound like a ....... ...... . .... .. . .......!

We began to feel slightly guilty that we had maybe seen off his engine, then we realised that he had already had us sideways over a barrel with his extortionate rate of 15 ‘nanas. Being the kind and generous souls that we are, we each coughed up 10 ‘nanas, which somehow ended up as 26 ‘nanas. As we made our way home, pied a terre, we looked back to see Sirry Pirrock limping his tuk-tuk back to town, listening to it cough and splutter like Tommy when he had run out of fags.

Laugh? I nearly wee’d my knicks! It’s sh**, is China! I hope you're enjoying it as much as we are...Sparky.

Re: Come on lettie
 

:rofl38: :rofl38: :rofl38: :rofl38: You never told me that one at the meet up Wingy. Do you have piccies????

Re: Come on lettie
 

i have 1 of the motor but the light id really bad, will see if i can brighten it up, have some vid clips and you can hear it die'ing, at 1 point a woman passes us on a push iron!!!

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Sparkologist, for making me nearly pee myself laughing. Here are some pics especially for you. Everyone else will think they are boring. There is a shot of Mer de Glace, taken from Le Lac Blanc in Aug 2002. The cloud was descending on us fast, and we were soon pretty much engulfed in it. There's a closer one of Mer de Glace, taken from Montenvers, and a shot of Aguille du Plan taken from Forbes Signal.... Enjoy!! Tried to give you karma, but as I have done so already, I have to spread it around a bit....... oooh er!!! Hope the pics will do.

Re: Come on lettie
 

here ya go lettie..

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now we know why they are so friendly, lettie :hehetable

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I'd forgotten how small tuk tuks were, how on earth did you three manage to squeeze in there. You either used a shoe horn and some industrial strength lube, or you were sat on each other's knees... :D

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Oh dear....I did'nt realise the lads were that way inclined

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oops now there another topic ha ha ha //

Re: Come on lettie
 

Hehe - i couldn't believe we all got on it, it was a real sight!! Anyway, I've attached a photo I took last year of some real bangkok tuk tuks, should refresh a few memorys. I've a different opinion then you over the tuk tuk's, I loved them and thought they where the best way to travel... but that's me that drives land rovers down silly hills and the like!! :)

Re: Come on lettie
 

still dont see how you can get three of you in there //

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it was damn hard i can tell you!!

Re: Come on lettie
 

Who said there were three of us sat on the seat?

Because Royski was first to see it and fastset out of the blocks, he bagged the comfy seat all to himself. Wingy had the creature comforts of the offside chrome handrail all to himself, whilst i had to make do with the nearside equivalent, and as much of the canvas roof as i could cling on to. :eek:

Somewhere there is a video clip of the tuk-tuk just about to try and limp back to its home port, accompanied with a commentary in the broadest Lancashire accent you are ever likely to hear... "This is what a broken down tuk-tuk sounds like!" :rofl38:

Re: Come on lettie
 

Who has the video clip?? It will have to be shown at the next meet up...:D

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There was also a more scientific reason why Royski had the bench seat... something to do with fulcrums and centres of gravity. If he'd perched? more like lurched on either of the handrails, there would have been a minimum of one wheel in the air. In all probability, there would have been three wheels in the air as it would have gone belly up :D

Re: Come on lettie
 

Never mind scientific, he beat you to it....


Seriously, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Mick for helping me with this thread. Mick kindly put all the photos on disc for me, downsized them etc. I did the Alps ones myself, as I have been messing with the paintshop thingy, but can't quite remember how I did em, (definately going to have to start writing stuff down) Cheers Mick.:foryou:

Re: Come on lettie
 

Fankoo for the piccys, Lettie, especially the one of Aguille du Plan. Who cares if they are regarded as boring by some. They are pictures of freedom and a stress free existence away from concrete and tarmac. When you have time, take a look at www.earthgallery.net It is a website by a Scottish photographer called Colin Prior. You'll be wishing yourself away, back up the A82 to the Highlands.
Royski found this site when we were in China, http://www.terragalleria.com/ There are many high quality photos by Quang-Tuan Luong, a climber and travel photogapher, from all over the world. Big-up-respect to Royski for finding that site. :thumbsup:

Re: Come on lettie
 

Thanks for the info, have just turned a photo of Aguille du Midi and Mt Blanc du Tacul into my screensaver. It's nearly 2 years since I was there, and my feet are still scarred from the blistering....

Re: Come on lettie
 

raggamuffin

Re: Come on lettie
 

wingy WOT ragamuffin were YOU nissed last nite ////

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I dont think the piccies are boring Lettie an i have upped your Kama.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Thankyou Anne, :foryou: I certainly wasn't having a boring time when I took them. I'm really looking forward to going back to New Zealand, hopefully in March (cash permitting).

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Great photo's Lettie well taken

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Don't know how I managed to miss this thread previously but love all the photos Lettie not to mention the mental image of '3 men in a tuktuk' Sparky & Wingy :D

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I also missed this thread completely.

Thank you Lettie...everything you have produced in this thread is great, especially the piccys and your very good description of your travels.

I hope you do go back to NZ...and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Thanks Darby, I have managed to get the time off work at the end of March and First 2 weeks of April so I'm definately going back. Hoping to go to the South Island this time and haven't yet made up my mind about stopovers. It's such a long, soul destroying flight that I can't face doing it without a stopover.:)

Re: Come on lettie
 

Have you thought about flying via Tahiti? or Singapore.

We are going to visit my son next year in Sydney, and plan to go via HK. The wife has a cousin who's been there for over 30 years. A Chuch lad as well, use to play cricket with him for Church seconds...Mick Walsh...I haven't seen him for more than 35 years. So I'm looking forwards to visiting HK again (last time was in 1962).

I wouldn't fancy a stop-over in the Phillpines or Bangkok, and you can rule out India, the middle east and Gulf. One of my collegues went via Hawaii, but the prices weren't too good. We fancy coming back via Los Angeles (my only nephew lives there). But there again...prices!!

Don't forget to take your camera..I'll look forward to your travelogue on site.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Been thinking of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. HK was great and I'd definately go there again. Bangkok was also much better than expected, but because I've been to those places I want to go somewhere different. May try to get a few days in Sydney or Brisbane this time too.

Re: Come on lettie
 

Well we're sorted. Off to New Zealand again in the middle of March and Sparky is coming with me this time. Planning to visit South Island so I'll make sure we get some pics. Having 1 night in Bangkok on the way, just for somewhere to sleep really. Going to Singapore for 3 days on the way back. I've never been before so I'm really looking forward to that.:D

Re: Come on lettie
 

really jealous..but hope you have a fab time .....nothing as exciting as that for me this year just a fornight in Turkey in May.