Jeritilley A picture is worth a thousand words..

Posts tagged “transport

Big Brother is coming -1984 is on the way.

Thought for the day “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”   Phyllis Diller

“The mystery of government is not how it works but how to make it stop.” P. J. O’Rourke

I picked up an interesting story on YouTube today, posted by an American lawyer, Ben Hart, who is resident in Thailand.   There is a proposal in Thailand by one of the big political parties there, to give citizens there a 10 000 THB payment (about 265 euros) together with a new digital savings account and digital I.D.    Even worse is the proposal that this digital money will have to be spent within a 4km radius of the resident’s home.

This is a very dangerous move if it does actually happen.  What government has the right to tell a citizen where he/she can spend THEIR money ?   And the linking of your digital identity to your money is a very dangerous move, as then governments will have total control over both you and your money.   Say something wrong (politically incorrect) and your digital money is locked.  If your ‘social credit’ is too low your digital money might also get locked.

There is a lot of news from England about Nigel Farage having his bank accounts at the Coutts Bank (part of National Westminster Bank – partly government owned) closed because of his political views and political associations.   This is one sign that governments may already be taking control of people’s money.

But the proposal in Thailand to even limit somebody’s use of money to a 4km radius of their home is very worrying.   No government should have this sort of control over where somebody spends their OWN money.   It will become even worse if this is also linked to the ’15 minute cities’ idea, as then governments will also be to effectively limit spending and movement, all controlled by the digital I.D and linked digital money.   Frightening.

If you would like to see the video by Ben Hart on YouTube, the link is –

The photo today is an early morning local train from Interlaken to Meiringen waits at Oberried in Switzerland.

And another photo from the archives….the lakeside at the town of Pembroke Wanaka, New Zealand.

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“Its because of coronavirus”

Thought for the day…..”Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.”

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

Far too  many companies are now trying to excuse their own inefficiencies with the excuse that “it is because of coronavirus”.      Airlines in particular seem to be especially bad at the moment, and their excuse is always “coronavirus”.     Same story with a lot of other companies too.  Emails are going unanswered and customer ‘service’ is falling even more.    Given that a lot of people can work online from home for things like refunds and answering emails then the coronavirus excuse is wearing very thin now.

Airlines such as SAS and Norwegian Air Shuttle (both of whom seem to be ignoring emails for months) are not going to see my money for a long time.

But in the long term these companies are going to lose.    Companies (such as airlines) which are now failing to reply promptly are going to lose some or all of my business.  The World is still turning, despite coronavirus, and businesses cannot use coronavirus as an excuse for everything.

And staying in Switzerland, a Piper Cub seaplane on the Brienzersee during a recent seaplane meeting.  The village of Ringgenberg is in the background.

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Lufthansa German Airlines group and Economy class travel

Thought for the day…”Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”

“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind.”

Too many companies are using coronavirus as an excuse now.   Often it is being used to cover up their own failures but the excuse of coronavirus is being overused.   Joining the bandwagon of companies blaming (conveniently) coronavirus is the Lufthans group (LH) airlines.    Now this is why I am getting angry…..according to Lufthansa, they are no longer giving ECONOMY class passengers tea, coffee or food on flights of less than 150 minutes.  This is to protect “your health and the health of our employees”

https://www.lufthansa.com/ch/en/current-onboard-services#short-haul

BUT if you are travelling Business class then you will still get food and drink.   Now would the managers at Lufthansa like to tell me why Business class passengers are not seen as any risk whereas Economy class passengers are seen as a risk?   Or is the real reason that Lufthansa just wants to save money and is conveniently using coronavirus as an excuse to make further cuts to Economy class services?   I know which answer my money is on.   And also why do Lufthansa no longer service food when other airlines ARE still serving food to economy class passengers?

Companies should stop trying to blame coronavirus for everything.  Be honest with customers, and if you are going to cut out meals and drinks for Economy class passenger then BE HONEST and tell us the real reason….to save money.   Do not try and blame it on coronavirus.  We are not stupid.

And another photo from the archives, Ometepe in Nicaragua at sunset….

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The positive side of coronavirus

Thought for the day…”Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Despite all the doom and gloom at the moment, there are some positive sides to coronavirus.   Staff in shops and cafes have become noticeably better recently, and are happy to serve you now.   Not only that but they have time to help and, with the lack of customers, are actually trying to help out.   Shops and cafes have become more polite, with people waiting patiently in spaced-out queues.    Cafes have started putting most items in plastic to prevent contamination, hand disinfectant is now common and for the time being, people are being very good at using disinfectants.  And another bonus, the enforced free time is giving some of us some a great opportunity to catch up on things that previously we never had time for.   So it is not all negative at the moment !!   Stay safe.

The southbound Oslo to Kiel ferry passing the coast of Norway at Drobak.

and another photo from the archives….sunrise captured with the Fuji X-T30

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Joys of travelling

Thought for the day…”Reach for the stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus”

It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”

The joys of travelling….exciting new places and destinations.  But it is not always fun.   One of my pet hates (one of many) is that hotels often do not have a list of TV channels.   Given that some hotels can have upwards of 100 channels, why can they not put a list in the room to save endless channel surfing trying to find the 5 or 6 interesting channels??    A simple card or print out listing the channels would be so good.   And linked to this pet hate are hotel TVs that as soon as start them are at maximum volume, hardly ideal for a hotel when guests are trying to sleep.

Next pet hate……Many hotels are no longer giving the small bottles of shampoo and conditioner or individual soap, preferring to have dispensers on the walls instead.   All very well IF the hotel refills them but so often just when you are in the shower you discover that the dispensers are empty.

And staying with hotels and pet hates…..the annoying habit that more and more hotels are only putting in one rubbish bin/trash can in the whole room and bathroom.  Saves them a little money, but is hardly good for the guest experience.

Another hate….modern hotels whose managers have decided that THEY know the temperature that guests want the rooms to be at, and have removed individual temperature controls in the rooms….I am seeing this more and more and it is also not good for the guest experience.

Topping the list of pet hates for hotels…..any hotel that has slow internet or has a poor internet signal in the room deserves to go out of business….no excuse for this in the 21st century.    Excuses such as “it is the number of guests in the hotel” or “it is the rainy weather” just get me irritated.  It is not rocket science to get fast, reliable internet in a hotel, but it seems to be a major problem for some hotels.

The list goes on….to be continued………

Today’s photo is of the lakefront in Pembroke, South Island, New Zealand, on a perfect Summer’s evening.  One man and his dog admire the view….

and another photo from the archives…..driving hazards on the roads of Scandinavia….these are a much bigger problem at night when they tend to freeze in the car headlights.   A male elk can be over 300 kg, so can cause a lot of damage to a car.

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Oslo to Copenhagen ferry

Thought for the day..”Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.”

“It is not the strongest of the species which survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” Charles Darwin

Oslo harbour and the ferry which goes between Norway and the Danish capital, Copenhagen.   Prices onboard this boat have gone up a lot, and the journey time has also been increased, making the trip now more expensive and also slower. This boat was previously owned by Viking Line, and sailed from Sweden to Finland.   Whilst the ferry was previously a good option, with the high prices onboard and also with the improved road connections to Denmark, it is no longer a good option.  Quite why the company thought that slowing the trip down was a good idea is a mystery, as is the logic of increasing the prices onboard.  Just like the airlines, DFDS have started to charge for things (eg. internet onboard and the bus connections to/from the boat)  that used to be included in the ticket price.   It appears that nearly all the public seating onboard has also been removed, presumably to try and force people into the bars and restaurants onboard to spend more money.   Sad to see the decline in standards on these ferries now, and the need to pay extra for so many things.     The kayakkers had a great view of the ferry though……

and another photo…A dramatic sunrise over the hills of Pembroke, New Zealand.  Great cloud formations are not unusual on the South Island of New Zealand due to the prevailing winds crossing the Southern Alps, which often leads to banding and wave clouds.   Add that to the first sun of the day and the result is a great photo.

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An aviation classic – the Hawker Hurricane

Thought for the day…”I haven’t failed. I just found 10 000 ways that won’t work” Thomas Edison.

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadow falls behind you”.

Wanaka, New Zealand hosts the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow every two years, and was at one time, also home to a number of Warbirds, such as this Hawker Hurricane.  This particular aircraft had an interesting history, having flown in 1940 and crashed in Preswick, Scotland, then after a rebuild was damaged several more times before being transferred to the Soviet Air Force in 1941.  It crashed again near Murmansk, Russia in 1943 and was recovered around 1990 and partly rebuilt in the UK from 1992 to 1995.  It was fully restored in Wanaka and flew again from Christchurch, NZ in January 2000.    It was later sold to a French owner based in Cannes.   The photo was taken in Wanaka about 2010 prior to the sale to the new owner.

And a photo from Oslo harbour in Norway.   The DFDS ferry travels overnight down to Copenhagen, Denmark.  Unfortunately, journey times have been increased now and prices onboard are very high, making it much less attractive than previously, especially when the highway down through Sweden is a fast alternative.  Why management wanted to slow the trip down is a mystery, as the boat is now much slower and leaves both cities too early to be much use to business travellers or people wanting a full day trip.

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Decluttering and moving on.

Thought for the day…”If you count all your assets you always show a profit.”

“We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.”

Over the years it is easy to accumulate more and more stuff.   It is very easy to end up with boxes and boxes of books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and a host of other possessions which were stored in the hope that they would be needed again in the future.    I am currently having a major decluttering session, so all the CDs and DVDs are being scanned, old photos sorted out and boxes of books thrown out.    It is surprising that so much of what was stored turns out to be just junk or things that are no longer important.   Whilst it might have been important years ago, now that I look back I find box loads of things that are not relevant or no longer mean anything.

There is a very easy solution to this….decluttering.    And declutter have I done….getting rid of so much stuff and am moving on.    A sort of mega Spring-cleaning exercise.

Here is a photo from the collection, originally a 35mm negative taken about 1990 in England.   The negative was scanned then destroyed, so now it is just a digital copy (but reduced here for the internet).   A British Rail HST125 at Penzance train station waiting to depart back to London Paddington.   A very unusual clear blue sky too !

and another photo from the archives – a steam train on the Brienz Rothorn Bahn BRB in Switzerland.

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Boats and planes, Morocco and Madeira

Thought for the day…” Reach for the stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus”.

” Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.”

A photo of an Airbus A320 about to land at Funchal, Madeira for the photo today.  This aircraft was involved in an emergency descent on 8th July 2014 when on a flight from Lisbon to Amsterdam.  The aircraft declared an emergency and descended rapidly from FL380 (38 000 feet) down to 10 000 feet.   The passenger oxygen masks were deployed, but the aircraft landed without further problems.   This aircraft regularly does 5 flights during a single day, and is seen here at one of it’s regular airports, Funchal.     It was flying at around 130 knots (240 km/h) when the photo was taken. LOW-RES-TAPAnd another photo out of the archives…fishing boats in Essouria, Morocco.   Spot the figure on one of the boats….

Wordpress-Morocco-Boulmane

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Two from the photo collection

Thought for the day….”Life always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow”

“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”

Winter is a great time to sort out the photo collection, and also get rid of the duplicates and not-so-good photos.    Far too many photos in the collection, so some serious pruning is needed, although it is a lot of fun going back through the old photos and reliving the moments.    A couple of photos here taken not long back, trains around Brienz, Switzerland.   Brienz is a Swiss town very much in the shadow of its famous nearby neighbour Interlaken, which receives nearly all the tourists.   But Brienz has its own charms, such as the steam train up the Rothorn mountain.   Add to this a superb lakeside location, some great bakery cafes and it makes a great alternative to Interlaken.    Both photos were taken with the Fuji X-T20 camera.

and another photo from the archives….

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Video or not. That is the question

Thought for the day…”One fails forward toward success.”

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

One of the big decisions that I am wrestling with at the moment is whether to concentrate on taking still photos, or take videos as well.    Taking videos is a whole different ball game, needing more equipment (including a much heavier tripod)  and a host of other bits and pieces.   Not only that, taking videos takes more time to set up and then even longer to edit.

Not only that, but I am beginning to question just how much photographic equipment I am sometimes carrying….a Fuji still camera, extra Fuji lenses (including a zoom lens that weighs 1.4kg), battery charger, spare batteries and trip.   Add to that 2 action cameras (Garmin & Go Pro), their battery chargers, their cables and all the special fittings that both need then the camera bag starts to get very big.     And on top of this, there is the quadcopter, again with its own battery charger, extra batteries and controller.   Of course, the leads and plugs for each are different.

So the camera bag is getting fuller and fuller, heavier and heavier.   Sometimes I think that going out to take photos is becoming a bit like a National Geographic photo trip.    So once again, I am trying to decide whether or not to concentrate on still photos, or to continue with videos as well.   Not an easy decision.   The quality of videos on sites like YouTube and Vimeo is SO high now….what was acceptable 10 years ago is not not, so videos have to made much better than before.

Not an easy decision, and one that needs a lot more thought.

Two still photos today, the first from the Brienzersee lake in central Switzerland, with one of the BLS lake boats, the second photo from the military air base at Meiringen, and a photo of an F-18 Hornet taking off for a practice flight prior to the recent airshow.

and another photo from the archives…

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Road rage, air rage and now airport rage

Thought for the day…”The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more.”                                                                                                                                                                                                    “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”

Road rage has now spread to airports as well.   The security checks, long queues and long waits and hassles over baggage mean that people are more stressed than ever.    Airlines have shot themselves in the foot by charging for baggage, as now you see people trying to drag on as much as they can…not uncommon to see them with 3 and sometimes 4 bags.    Airline policies may be wrong, and a lot of the things that airlines are now doing ARE unreasonable, but what is not fair is when you see people’s anger at airports directed at the wrong people – the people working on the check-in desks or at the gate.  These are not the people who have made the rules, they are the ones who are given the unfortunate task to enforce them though.   So it is sad to see passengers at airports getting angry with the wrong people, especially as many of them work for ground companies who are only contracted by the airlines.   By all means get angry with the airlines and the people who have made the mistakes, but make sure that the anger is directed at the correct people.   The person in front of you at the desk or gate may not be the right one.

Late afternoon low sunlight lights up the main street of Brienz, Switzerland for the photo today.  Many of the houses in this area date from the 1700s.

and another photo from the archives – a boat waits at Brienz, Switzerland for the return trip to Interlaken.

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Flags of Convenience

Thought for the day….”A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.”

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”

There is an interesting story in the news in Norway at the moment about Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) overselling seats for the summer.   SAS has set up an Irish based division (SIAL)  and uses cheaper, Irish contracts to avoid Norwegian taxes.   But the plan seems to have backfired, as many staff have left the new Irish division because of lower pay and also having to work longer hours.    It is unfair that companies like SAS can use ‘flags of convenience’  to circumvent local procedures.   Same job, same aircraft and same routes, but different levels of salary for the same work, all because of flags of convenience. So SAS have been left in a position where they have sold many more seats than they have staff to operate because of a lack of staff.  I hope that all those passengers persue claims under the EU 261/2004 regulations.    The same thing happened in shipping previously, now it is spreading to other areas too.   Cheapest is not always best, and the same work should get the same pay.

Two colourful photos from Fiji for the photos today….

and another photo, a Fokker 100 aircraft seen here in Papua New Guinea, about to fly from Mount Hagen back to the capital Port Moresby.

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Not doing it, not for fun anyway

Thought for the day..”You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.”

“Words are often seen hunting for an idea, but ideas are never seen hunting for words.”

Just had an email from an online travel agency trying to encourage me to book some cheap HOLIDAY flights.   The prices were very good and the destinations interesting….Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Entebbe (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya) etc.    Stress the word ‘holiday’ for these flights.  But when you read the details, the flights arrive at around 0200 or 0300, returning at around 0300 or 0400.   Now on holiday, I like to enjoy normal sleep, so these cheap flights would ruin at least 2 nights sleep.   Arriving at 0200 in a foreign country (especially a place like Nairobi or Johannesburg) is not only no fun, but also dangerous too.      And the thought of a departure around 0300 or 0400 means another ruined night.   All of this for a HOLIDAY, which is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy.    So this time, I will pass over these cheap offers….life is too short to have this sort of cruelty on holiday.    And the good thing….holidays are optional, so I can choose better flight timings.    Many birds do not fly at night, and for good reasons.   I like my sleep too !    And I like to enjoy my holidays too.   Good luck to those who choose these cheap offers…..arriving into somewhere like Nairobi (sometimes called ‘Nai-Robbery) at 0200 then they are going to need it.

A peaceful evening at this bay on Praslin island, Seychelles for the photo today….

and another photo from the archives…a railman looks on as a railtour backs into Penzance station, in the far west of England

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Houston – we have a problem

Thought for the day…”Happiness is good health and a bad memory.”

“Prosperity tries the fortunate, adversity the great.”   (Rose Kennedy).

You just have to feel sorry for the NASA astronaut who discovered recently whilst on a space walk that he had forgotten to put a memory card in his GoPro camera.    We have all done that, or have forgotten to recharge the camera batteries, but to be out in space on space walk and discover that you have no memory card in the camera must feel very bad, very bad.     And to make it even worse, the omission was even broadcast, the link for the video from NASA is here –

Back down on Earth, here is a photo from a religious even held in the Swiss town of Brig recently –

The Interlaken (Switzerland) to Lucern express train of the Zentralebahn arrives in Meiringen.

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Aviation variety…..aid flights in PNG and military flights in Switzerland

Thought for the day….”Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

Two aviation photos today, the first from the highlands of Papua New Guinea, where the missionary aviation companies fly into the most incredible (and near impossible) airstrips on the hillsides and ridges.  One photo from a typical landing…with the aircraft on one of the flatter parts of the runway.   If you check on Youtube, you will see some great videos of the flying in this part of the World, it is extreme to say the least !  Camera for this photo was the Fuji X-T10.   The second photo today is from Switzerland, and from the town of Meiringen, where the Swiss Air Force has an important air base.  Seen here is an F-18 Hornet aircraft and in the rear of the picture the nose of a Northrop Tiger fighter jet.  Camera for this photo was the Fuji X-T20 coupled with the 100-400mm lens.

and another photo…a F-18 Hornet of the Swiss Army, seen here in the Meiringen Air Base.

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Now it is SWISS airlines turn.

Thought for the day…”It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”

“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.”

More evidence of how bad things are getting for Economy Class passengers.   SWISS airlines have now announced that on routes to/from Geneva GVA, that passengers on the cheapest economy tickets will now only get free water.  Gone are the  (included) meals and tea/coffee for those travelling on the cheapest fares.   So given that SWISS airlines are using aircraft such as the Airbus A320, the same as some budget/Low cost carriers (LCC) are using then what is the point of paying extra money to fly with SWISS airlines??   Seats and interiors are very similar, and both are going for a buy-on-board system, flight times are very similar, and increasingly, departure and arrival airports are the same.    So the legacy carriers believe that people will continue to pay higher prices for the same service as on a budget airline?  Not me for one.  Airline managers may have looked to the USA and have been inspired by what airlines there have been able to get away with, but I am drawing the line now.    With SWISS airlines announcing these cuts to basic economy tickets (not to mention the devaluing of the frequent flyer points system), I may end up flying a budget airline such as Wizzair in future.   No point to pay more money for the same service.  At least the budget airlines do not try and pretend that they are full service airlines.  Swiss airlines have gone too far with the latest cuts.

A black & white for for the picture today, one from Iceland taken in 2005.

and another photo from the archives…early morning on the lakefront in Pembroke, South Island, New Zealand.

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Good Customer Service – Fujifilm

Thought for the day…”Prosperity tries the fortunate, adversity the great.”

“When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.” (Dylan Thomas)

For the last 5 weeks, I have been without the camera, which suffered a cracked screen after being dropped onto the floor.    Sent it back to Fuji, but Norwegian Post (and there is a company who deserves to go out of business if ever there was one)  took 9 days to get it to an address near Oslo.   Then, after that delay, the camera got delayed for weeks due to the virus in the TNT Courier computer systems.   TNT seemed unable to get the camera delivered, and it just sat there for weeks, getting nowhere near the repair shop.   But here is the happy ending….Fuji (who are normally very good with customer service and backup) have offered to send me a new camera.  That was something that I did not expect, but it is good to know that there is good customer service around.   The feedback online is also good for Fuji, as other users have also written about similar good treatment.    So I am happy to continue using Fuji, just have to wait a little longer (now over 5 weeks) for the replacement to arrive.   Then back to photographing again.

Back in 2008, Singapore Airlines (one of the World’s great airlines) were still using 747s on the route from Zurich to Singapore.  The ‘Queen of the Skies’, weighing almost 400 tonnes,  is seen here taking off on 23rd May 2008 for the 10 294km journey back to its’ home base.  Flight time was around 12 hours and 10 minutes.

and another photo, an art gallery in Honningsvag, in the Artic north of Norway.

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How lucky is lucky ??

Thought for the day…”Talent does what it can; genius does what it must.”

Did you see the story in the news about a survivor of the recent air crash in Dubai?    Mohammed Khadar was returning to Dubai from India when the Emirates 777 aircraft crashed on landing.  All 300 passengers got off the aircraft, which later burnt out.  Mr. Khadar, who works in Dubai, purchased a lottery ticket in the duty free shop in airport, and won a USD 1 million cash prize.   Commenting on his win, he said that his escape from the crashed aircraft was a miracle, but that the money would make enemies.   Lucky !!

The photo today comes from the famous dye pots in Fez, Morocco.

LOW-RES-Dye-pot

and another photo from the archives…..the night sleeper train from Trondheim, Norway to Oslo.

LOW-RES-NOR-Trondheim-night-train-1

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Not even standing room – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.

Thought for the day…..” If communication is the key, then why not open the door?”.

”  If you can never manage to be happy where you are at, you will never be happy wherever you go’.

A crowded colourful local bus in Apia, capital of Samoa for the photo today.   Samoa is made up of 7 main islands, and its residents (which number around 200 000) are known as ‘the happy people’.  It became independent from New Zealand (2900km away from Samoa)  in 1962, although still maintains strong ties.    Often hot and humid, it experiences frequent typhoons and earthquakes.   Buses leave when VERY full, and then stop anywhere.   And if you want to bring a large bag, then good luck !!

LOW-RES-Samoa-busand another photo out of the archives….

LOW RES PORTMadeiraFunchal23May2010244

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Ethiopia travel – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.

Thought for the day….” Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’.                       ”   The Earth is the insane asylum for the universe”

No prizes for guessing the destination of the photo today……easy one.    With sometimes very slow local transport, then air is the easy way to travel around Ethiopia.    Ethiopia was the birthplace of coffee, and now it is the arabica coffees that are the most important crops for many farmers.   Due to the big differences in climate and altitude in Ethiopia, coffee is grown in 4 different zones.   Coffee is the most important export for Ethiopia, and the coffee industry is a major employer.   Often visitors to a home are welcomed with a traditional coffee ceremony, where the beans are roasted in a large wok-like pan before making the good, fresh coffee.   Most of the coffee beans in commercial production are dried in the sun for 3 to 4 weeks, which is said to give a much better taste over machine dried beans.   Ethiopian coffees also have less caffeine in them, as lightly roasted coffees contain less caffeine than dark-roasted ones.   The coffee tree is actually related to the cherry tree.    Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world (oil is first).     So a combination of great scenery, good coffee and interesting culture, make Ethiopia a great place to visit.

LOW-RES-Q400

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Photo of the Day Saturday 9th February 2013 – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.

Thought for the day…”The first to apologise is the bravest, the first to forgive is the strongest, the first to forget is the happiest”.

“The only real mistake is the one that we learn nothing from”.

Melbourne, Australia and St. Petersburg, Russia have the largest tram systems in the world, but the photo today shows a preserved tram in the southern Swedish city of Malmo.  Interesting to read that at one time, Milan had hearse trams which were used for funerals up until 1920.  Also, at one time, Melbourne had a dog car tram, which was used to transport dogs to the showgrounds.  As well as the usual restaurant trams, they have also been used as a mobile library ((Munchen, Germany) until 1970, and also as cargo trams.  Amsterdam has again experimented with using trams for moving goods inside the city.  And a few cities still use double-decker trams, such as Hong Kong.

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low-res-SWE-Malmo-tram--1-S

ALL PHOTOS ON THIS SITE ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.