Getting My Act Together

This post is more like putting my thoughts on paper so to speak (or in this case typed in a post). When I created my first blog (Melbourne Daily Photo) it was to have a blog like others I'd seen and do one on Melbourne. About the same time I thought I'd love to do one about my travels, hence "The Travelling Teapot" was born. Originally I was going to document my trips and travels and I started off with my Alice Springs trip, didn't finish it, then started on my time in the Top End (Darwin and surrounding areas). Then it sort of became blogged down (no pun intended) and I didn't post here for ages.

I had this bright idea of starting a blog about a trip to Queensland, then one to New Zealand, then came the one on Malaysia and Cambodia. And now I have one about my next trip which is in February 2011. Somewhere along the way I seem to have lost the focus of what this blog was all about. I have all these blogs floating around and haven't finished one of them. A little like the jack of all trades but master of none.

So, what to do? Some travel blogs have a photo of a different place they've been and each post is separate from the other. I realised I had fallen into that mode with the last four or five posts. But is that really how I want this blog to be? Is this what I really intended at the beginning? I don't think it was and now I have to stop, take a step back and have a good long look at it, which I've done.

And so.....I have to finish what I started - that is go back to the beginning and finish writing about the Alice Springs and Red Centre, then, and only then, move onto Darwin and continue with that one, instead of posting random photos here and there. And so....the next post will be a continuation of Alice Springs.

No Digital Camera
I didn't have a digital camera until September 2006 and so all the photos of my previous travel were taken with an Instamatic ($29.95 from the local chemist). Taking photos of a photo doesn't give a very good result, but it is very expensive to have them done at a camera shop. (Think hundreds of dollars!) Anyway, that's about it for now folks, and I thank all those who have taken the time to read this.

It'll be back on track now, back to the original idea of this blog. I am also going to add this to the Pages at the top as well. Until then, keep on blogging and enjoy. And remember, old bloggers never die - they just get blogged down in blogland!
Cheers.

 

Buddhist Monk

Monk in deep saffron robe
Photo taken at Preah Promreah Pagoda, built in AD 1371. Deep saffron represents sacrifice and salvation.

Facing The Sea

From the verandah of the E & O Hotel in Georgetown, Penang.

Queenstown Post Office

Post Office
Queenstown is a mining town in the west coast of Tasmania. The Post Office was originally built of timber in 1896. The current Post Office was built in 1902.

Otehei Bay

 

Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island
This lovely bit of Paradise was once home to Zane Grey, a well known American writer and adventurer. Located on Urupukapuka Island, the largest of over 140 islands in the Bay, Otehei Bay is a beautiful beach with grassy picnic areas and the perfect place to enjoy a spot of island life.

Waikato River

The longest river
This beautiful flowing river is the Waikato and is New Zealand's longest. Rising from the slopes of Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro NP as the Tongariro River, it then flows north through Lake Taupo and issues from the lake's north eastern corner, tumbling over the Huka Falls and flowing northwest to enter the Tasman Sea south of Auckland. The Waikato is 425 km long with a gentle gradient and carries a heavy load of ash from the volcanic highlands. The Waikato has formed numerous lakes and lagoons along its lower reaches.

How the river got its name
The name Waikato originated during the voyage of the Tainui canoe, which had journeyed from Polynesia. Arriving just off the mouth of the river, the crew remarked upon the kato (the pull of the river current in the sea) and the name Waikato (wai meaning water) was given to the river.

I took this photo between Rotorua and Taupo in the North Island.

Today's Quote: No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning - Native American proverb.

Kek Lok Si Temple

 

This lovely pagoda is part of the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang. The base is inset in a lotus flower and there is a buddha in each window. I was fortunate to be there while the Chinese New Year decorations were still up - don't they add a festive colour?
The temple consists of prayer halls, temples, monasteries and lovely landscaped gardens.
Kek Lok Si means Temple of Supreme Bliss and is the largest temple in Penang and the most well known.
Overlooking the town of Ayer Itam, the temple is set in a hillside and you get maginficent views of surrounding areas and Georgetown.

London Court

Above: London Court
London Court in Perth, Western Australia was built in 1937 and is located between the Hay Street Mall and St Georges Terrace. The court was built in the Tudor style buildings of England.
The clock is a replica of France's Great Clock of Rouen. The inscription under the clock reads
"No minute gone comes ever back again
Take heed and see ye nothing do in vain."

Today's Quote: A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours ~ John B. Priestly