tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87757537841846370342024-02-19T20:48:16.048+13:00frontlawnTales from the frontlawnAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-67667142973735952702012-06-07T09:30:00.002+12:002012-06-07T09:30:27.200+12:00Transit of Venus photos
Nikon D3100 at 200mm, f5.6, half second exposure & shot through a solar filter. Venus is clearly visible near the bottom edge of the sun, in the centre.
Nikon D3100 at 200mm, f36 and no filter! Shot using the "live view" screen in order to avoid looking directly at the sun. Venus is just visible at the edge of the cloud.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-15859018945235211062011-12-13T21:43:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:50:09.280+13:00Zealandia
Another batch of Zealandia photos --- I've been making an effort to get better use from my annual pass there. I have a soft spot fro the Wellington jeweled geckos; at least I think that's what they are called. They were all out in the sun this time, and finally, I saw one eat a fly. They are very fast when they want to be!
&Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25743507845888962622011-12-13T21:21:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:26:30.981+13:00Tararua Peaks Photos
We avoided the Rugby World Cup final by heading for the hills and making a round trip from Otaki forks, over the Tararua peaks and along to Junction knob then down via Waitewaiwai hut. Three days of pretty nice weather as these things go, but no views from the main range.
The gpx file is here here.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-72458857378574693682011-12-13T21:10:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:18:01.403+13:00Shanghai
Maglev!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-72917937217662848642011-12-13T21:07:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:10:34.414+13:00Back in Xining
At the Xining museum.
And in the market...
Temples and such on the hill behind Xining.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-30113077899226522642011-12-13T21:03:00.001+13:002011-12-13T21:04:42.900+13:00Lhasa to Xining
Back on the train from Lhasa to Xining.
And in Xining, at night.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-47622461499580564392011-12-13T20:37:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:51:29.707+13:00At Lhasa Zoo
These are the animals that weren't actively showing psychotic behaviour from being kept in small cages. The snow leopard and bears were particularly upset.
The only animal not in a cage. This Yak had complete freedom throughout he gardens around the zoo.
&Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-85055624045748056452011-12-13T20:29:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:50:56.387+13:00In and around Lhasa
Morning exercises for the department store staff.
The Potala Palace
View from the Potala Palace.
Outside Lhasa, heading to the hot springs
Is that giant Tesla coil?
At the hot pools, the beauty of the setting seemed to be lost on whoever builtAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-53544599551131028682011-12-13T20:23:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:50:10.744+13:00In Lhasa
Potala palace
Pilgrims outside the Jokang temple
On the temple roof
It was over 30 degrees in the sun, but some people seemed to have preconceptions of Tibet that they were unwilling to let go of.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-71708371456706335482011-12-13T20:19:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:49:20.903+13:00Still on the train to Lhasa
The altitude change caused my pre-packed novelty breads to puff up in their plastic packages with the pressure change.
Yak yak yak yak yak
There were several rock arches like this along the ridge.
More yaks, at around 5000 masl
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-39596701947065147672011-12-13T20:12:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:48:38.734+13:00From Xining to Lhasa, Tibet
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-13991561859512760062011-12-13T20:09:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:48:09.149+13:00Xining, China
In, and around, Xining in Qinghai.
At about 4000 masl
At the barley "wine" factory
Hmmm….
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-48384067858288030562011-09-23T21:18:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:47:30.485+13:00The terra-cotta warriors
As good as the warriors were, the drive there was just as interesting;
particularly the bit where the mini-bus crashed into a car in the
middle of a six lane roundabout, then stopped there, blocking traffic,
while the drivers of the two vehicles got out and argued in the middle
of the road.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-78876674564888068782011-09-23T21:04:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:46:41.224+13:00In Xi'an
...where the excellent 7 Sages hostel can provide kitty snuggles in
addition to the good rooms and a good restaurant in a courtyard.
Other photos are from the bell tower and the drum tower in the centreof the city.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25939403945556806882011-09-23T20:59:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:46:14.472+13:00On the train to Xi'an
We arrived three hours late. Heavy rain for two weeks beforehand meant
there were lots of track repairs going on. But when we weren't
traveling at 15km/hr we managed. A respectable 100-160km/hr. I know
because the GPS told me so.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-15738791311050586232011-09-23T20:53:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:45:50.783+13:00The Temple of Heaven
...for sacrificing animals in order to ensure a good harvest. Most
impressive, and set in another nice park.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-55605414358424338382011-09-23T20:46:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:45:26.021+13:00Chinese Railway Museum
Since we are doing a lot of traveling by train on this trip (something
like 4000km of it) it seemed appropriate that we should visit the
railway museum in Beijing. It's rather fun! Lots of train related
bits-and-bobs, including various pieces from the new 350km/hr trains
that run in parts of China (but not the parts we're going to).
Also, the original Apple store?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-24221955858605884012011-09-23T20:40:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:44:55.321+13:00Tiananmen SquareAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-83270129964063536992011-09-23T20:37:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:44:26.038+13:00It's a sign! And Bei Hai park
From our last day in Beijing. I highly recommend Bei Hai park for a
nice stroll around the lake. The entrance fee is about $7 and includes
entry to the temple on the island in the lake, with good views south
over the Forbidden City.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-38313458052818703032011-09-20T14:33:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:43:59.672+13:00A successful day!
We'd only been able to get train tickets as far as Xian, and it seemed
like we would have to give up on our plan to go to Tibet since no one
seemed to know how to get the necessary travel permits, and everyone
said there were no train tickets available. Then we found Michael Wang
at the travel desk in the Beijing Dreams Travel Hostel. This is a
total plug for him; he phoned around Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-44333638792189861412011-09-20T14:16:00.001+12:002011-12-13T20:41:52.686+13:00Pets in China
If one wants, one can buy a small (10cm^3) sealed plastic pouch,
filled with coloured water, and a small goldfish of turtle. I guess
they live for about a day before the colouring or the lack of air or
the general being trapped and worn on a neckless kills them.
These fish were much luckier. They happily live in a cafe near ourhotel in Beijing. There are many excellent cakes!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-48520993142111099362011-09-20T14:09:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:43:27.525+13:00A fried thing for breakfast.
Puffy deep-fried bread and a bowl of hot soy milk.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-43764641107777365202011-09-20T14:08:00.001+12:002011-12-13T20:39:59.846+13:00More from the Military MuseumMore delights from the Military Museum! it had the most amazingmish-mash of military bits-and-bobs, all set out with no real focus oninformation or education, but rather, the overall effect that a hallfull of silver missiles and large guns might have on small children.What were we doing there, you might ask? We were on our way back fromgetting train tickets to Xian and the museum was the biggest,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-59597770655748274622011-09-19T23:14:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:39:59.882+13:00How to make a Beijing pancake, in picturesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-78153295086698142602011-09-19T23:11:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:42:59.457+13:00At the Chinese Military Museum there are communists everywhere!
There is also a least a dozen other types of weird crap, including a
golden gun thing and a secret Chinese weapon - a dragon! More photos
to follow soon. I can only post five at a time via e-mail for the
moment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10942482128671298286noreply@blogger.com0