The tourists stood gazing at the Bagan, Myanmar sunset. The ball of fiery orange turned more and more red as it slid down the sky. The colours reflected on the stone and wood temples and pagodas that spread across the plains. The gold on the roofs sparkled in the light. Faintly a star started to emerge. The hairs on the backs of the watchers tingled at the sensations: colour, noise and smells of this ancient, magical, holy place. All were entranced. Well almost all. The young Australian tourist turned to her companion and loudly screeched…
Australia
Tag Archives for Australia.
MH 370 Update -report due next week
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board. This week, material was found on Australian beach that some thought may have been from the plane. Investigators have concluded it was not connected. Bluefin-21, the robotic vehicle has now searched more than 80 per cent of the underwater search zone for Flight MH370 and nothing of any interest have been found. In the same week, sources suggested that the plane may have landed after all. This news fuelled the on going speculation over the plane’s fate. There are more conspiracy theories about what happened…
Avoiding damaging the sights/sites
On a visit to Australia‘s Gloucester Tree, two tourists jumped as I barked at them. 350 plus years old and standing at 72 metres tall, this Karris is the second tallest fire lookout tree in the world. Over one million tourists have climbed the tree in Pemberton, Western Australia since 1947. These two tourists had decided that the tree needed their names carved into the tree and were engrossed in the task with a knife when chewed out by me . Furious at this intrusion into one of my favourite spots, I was determined to make…
Mexicana Exits (at last)
The privately-operated Mexicana flew from 1921 to 2010 making it one of the oldest airlines in the world. It kept company with Australia’s Qantas, Colombia’s Avianca and KLM of the Netherlands. The airline was grounded before it made its 90th birthday, just months after joining the One World alliance. The grounding stranded passengers in 16 countries and impacted 8,500 employees. Mexico’s Federal Judiciary Council ordered an end to efforts to revive moribund airline through bankruptcy proceedings, saying no credible new investor had expressed interest in the carrier. The decision means an administrator will be appointed…
MH370 “Pings” detected?
Reports are coming in that a Chinese patrol ship Haixun have detected electronic “pings” which could be coming from the black boxes of Malaysia Airlines MH370. The pings are coming in from the 217 559 square kilometre (84,000 square mile) area the Boeing 777 is believed to be lost in. At a press conference Sunday morning in Perth, Australia, Air Chief Marshal “Angus” Houston, who was appointed to lead the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, outlined the facts and realities of the situation as captured in the conference transcript. Related Posts 3 weeks 3 questions unanswered MH370 ended in…
MH370- 3 weeks 3 questions unanswered
It has been three weeks since MH370 “vanished” from our views. Despite a massive 26 country hunt utilising ships, planes, satellites and investigators, no debris, no passengers and no black box have been found. There are three questions still unanswered. These questions have bothered me since day one: 1. Where is the plane? 2. Why did it end up so off course? 3. What can we do to avoid a repeat? Frustratingly, while it seems the answers are close, they are still out of reach. Based on the length of time it took to find…
MH370 Indian Ocean Day 2: No Trace
Despite a multinational force of planes and ships deployed in the southern Indian Ocean, 2600km off the Australian coast, no sign of the debris spotted by satellite has yet occurred. The search concluded at 7pm Malaysian time and will resume tomorrow Saturday (local time). Related Posts MH370 Search Update Australia MH370 Continues in two corridors MH370 Debris Found? (March 20) 26 countries now in search for MH370 (March 17) MH 370 Map: Two Possible Route (March 15) Sun rises on a new day in Malaysia (March 8) Malaysia Airlines Missing Plane (March 7)
Reviving Qantas
The news that Qantas has been devalued by two rating agencies to “junk status” filled many of us with dismay. In 2020, Qantas should be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Only two airlines: KLM and Aviannca are older. Qantas has survived the Great Depression, World War Two, 1970s hyperinflation and oil crisis, the Asian Financial Crisis, the bombing of the World Trade Centre, SARS and the the global financial crisis. It has outlived other Aussie competitors: Ansett (1935 to 2002), Australian National Airways (1936 to 1957), Compass (1990 to 1993) and East-West (1947 to 1993). Today,…
My 58th country: Vietnam
Crossed the border into Vietnam making this nation the 58th I have been to in my life. The crossing was made smoother, thanks to Mekong Express Limousine Bus. They are easily the best coach operator in Cambodia and I would not use anyone else. It was one of the best land crossings I have ever experienced! My goal is to visit or live in 99 countries by the age of 70! This gives me an average of two new places per year to achieve that. Related posts I visit my 57th country/
Driving on the wrong side of the road
An endless source of discussion with international friends is the division of the world into countries that drive on the left and countries that drive on the right. Which side is “wrong”? For my US friends, Australia drives on the “wrong side”. We feel the opposite. My understanding is that up to the 17th century, all rode on the left. In fact, in 1300AD, Pope Boniface VIII stated that all pilgrims heading to Rome should keep left. Napoleon reversed this. Some say because he could. Others say because he was left-handed and others so he…
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