Cuenca, Ecuador (Saint of Saint Peter & Paul). Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 984 KB.

This clip was shot in Cuenca in Ecuador on the 28/06/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Lets say they don't hold safety in high regard and fireworks go everyplace. One went through my pants and gave me a nasty burn!! Still the craic was good and pure alcohol healed my injury.

Market Day in Sigsig, Ecuador. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 984 KB.

This clip was shot in Sigsig in Ecuador on the 29/06/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Market Day in Sigsig. guinea Pigs are simply impaled and roasted. In 1996, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, about 583,000 U.S. households kept at least one guinea pig as a pet. Many more than that are eaten in South America every year and yes, they are tasty.

Bull racing, Madura Island, Indonesia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 984 KB.

This clip was shot in Sigsig in Ecuador on the 29/06/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. The Madurese take grat pride in their race bulls. They are reared specifically and it costs them lot of money. They are powerful big animals. They are fed the leaves of corn, beans and soybean trees and good grass. They are also fed the mixer of traditional spices like crushed ginger, pepper, chili, honey, beer and tens even hundreds of eggs. The mixture is later forced into the mouth of the bulls with using a bamboo lath. A owner gives a bull up to 50 eggs a day!!! To make the bulls strong and health the bullowners sometimes also massage them by way of treading their backs, train every weekly and at times lulled to sleep especially when the racing day is approaching.

Seals at Pisco - Peru - Islas Ballestas. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 464 KB.

This clip was shot in Pisco in Peru on the 08/07/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Though the islands cant possibly live up to the locals touting of them as the "Peruvian Galapagos," the Ballestas do afford tantalizing close-up views (without allowing visitors on the islands) of the habitat's rich roster of protected species, including huge colonies of barking sea lions, endangered turtles and Humboldt penguins, red boobies, pelicans, turkey vultures, and red-footed cormorants .

Boat Ladies at Tam Coc near Hanoi in Vietnam. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 576 KB.

This clip was shot in Tam Coc near Hanoi in Vietnam on the 04/12/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Tam Coc is an awesome site of giant limestone karst formations jutting out of the rice paddies that surround the Ngo Dong River about 9km southwest of Ninh Binh, North Vietnam. these ladies row you for about 3 hours using their feet. I never saw any guys doing it. Its a nice earner for local ladies. Sustainable Tourism in action.

Mekepung Ladies (Bull Racing) near Negara Indonesia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. I have include two movie clips. If you want to view the first movie clip, click here and the second one here and they both open in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and here.

This clip was shot in Tam Coc near Hanoi in Vietnam on the 14/09/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. The Mekepung was originally held as a part of the harvest festivities. The carts and buffaloes were, until quite recently still used for transportation. The Mekepung consists of a race between two carts pulled by water buffaloes. The colorfully decorated animals race on a two kilometers course. These days, championship events are organized under the sponsorship of the local government..

Waterfall in Torres Del Paine Park, Chile. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 612 KB.

This clip was shot in Pisco in Peru on the 09/04/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. The Torres del Paine National Park, declared Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO in 1978, was increibile. The national park is a popular hiking destination. You goota see by pictures on my blog (above link). Words do not describe the beauty of nature and the beauty of this palce.

Honda Strret Cruising, Saigon, Vietnam. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 612 KB.

This clip was shot in Saigon (HCM) on the 09/04/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Its increible to see thousands of bikes every night with few cars. You take your life into your own hands as you cross the road. On Friday's and Saturdays, the boys and girls dress up and cruise on thier bikes with friends swapping numbers and exchaging glances.

Musical Group at Zhonghe Si temple, near Dali in China. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 612 KB.

This clip was shot in Dali on the 14/12/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. I decided to walk. The Lonely Planet says an hour but it took me 25 minutes to get to the base of the mountain. It took me some time to find a path. I was worried that no other tourists were about. I was a little apprehensive about this hike since a German tourist had been robbed and murdered on this path in 1997. it took me 50 minutes to climb there. I saw no other people. When i was a bout to leave back down a TV crew arrrived with about 20 girls dressed in ethnic clothing and a 4 man band. They were filming a tourism poromotional video. I watched as the music played (it was excellent) and the girls danced.

Moreno Glacier and Mountains, Argentina. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 648 KB.

This clip is a shot of the Moreno Glacier and Mountains on the 2703/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. View of the Moreno Glacier and Mountains. This glacier is particularly famous because of its impressive dimensions and its continuous downward movement, which produces accumulation and rupture of huge pieces of ice. It has a front of 5 km with a height above the lake level of 60 to 70 meters. It is about 30 km long and covers a surface area of 250 square kilometers (40 km2 more than the surface of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires!!). It was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer that studied the region in the 19th century.

THEEMIDHI Festival at Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. I have two movie clips. If you want to view the first movie clip, click here and click here for the second clip. Size: 648 KB and 892 KB.

These clips are shots of the THEEMIDHI Festival at Sri Mariamman Temple on the 13/10/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. I passed Sri Mariamman Temple and it was a hive of activity. They were preparing for THEEMIDHI. This was the reason I was staying so long in Singapore. Witness the faith, courage and endurance of Hindu devotees at this breathtaking fire-walking ceremony honoring Goddess Draupadi. According to the Indian epic poem Mahabharata, she proved her innocence by walking barefoot on burning coals. With intense concentration, barefooted devotees likewise brave a four-metre bed of red-hot embers - completing the challenge miraculously unscathed. During this festival, a great number of faithful Hindu devotees work themselves up into a trance. Then they walk over burning embers. What is so amazing about this is the fact that the devotees' feet do not have any traces of scars or burns at all after performing the feat. The devotees' purpose in doing this is to fulfill all their wishes.

Plouging with Oxen near Kon Tum, Vietnam. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 648 KB.

This clip is a shot of Plouging with Oxen near Kon Tum on the 18/11/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Kon Tum is a province to the North end of the the Central Highlands with the important strategic position: Crossroad of Indochine, adjacent to Laos and Cambodia with its border of 275 km. Topography is complicated, difficult transport system. The majority of the local inhabitants are made up the Ba Na, one of the several ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands. See my blog link above for more pictures and information.

Zorbing near Rotorua, New Zealand. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 856 KB.

This clip is a shot of me Zorbing near Rotorua, New Zealand on the 06/08/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. When/Where else are you going to find yourself inside a giant plastic bubble, with the option of being wet or dry as you roll 250m (820 ft.) down a steep, slippery slope? It's like nothing you've ever done before. A dry ride will cost NZ$40. I took the wet option. I hired shorts and a t-shirt for 2 AUS. Basically you get into the ball barefoot at the top of the hill. They pump in hot water. You must do it with water to make it an experience. You then have the choice of rolling straight down the hill or down a zig zag course. I did the zig zag. It was great fun been thrown around the inside the ball, slipping and sliding doing 360 and 180 head over heels. It was so good I had a second go for 20 AUS. It was great craic. You get soaked but you get a towel and a changing room at the end.

Festival and Trek near Pisac, Peru. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 760 KB.

This clip is a shot of Festival and Trek near Pisac, Peru on the 15/05/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Pisac is a pretty, Andean village picturesquely situated at the eastern end of the valley. Though Pisac seems to be known principally for its Sunday artisans' market, it should be more widely recognized and visited for its splendid Inca ruins, which rival Machu Picchu. Perched high on a cliff is the largest fortress complex built by the Incas. They are, quite literally, breathtaking. See my blog Pictures above. I was invited to a town festival when I approached the town after the walk. the whole town was involved (and all the cattle too) in order to make a blessing for the wheat harvest. Town Festival. It was great.

Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen near Paucartambo, Peru. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. I have two movie clips. If you want to view the first movie clip, click here and click here for the second clip. Size: 752 KB and 1.7 MB.

These clips are shots of the Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen near Paucartambo, Peru on the 15/07/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Most visitors who venture to very remote Paucartambo (and there aren't many of them) do so for the annual Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen, one of Peru's most outrageously celebrated festivals (it lasts several days, and most attendees, be they villagers or foreigners, camp out because there is nowhere else to stay). The peaceful colonial town, once a mining colony, has cobblestone streets and a lovely Plaza de Armas with white structures and blue balconies, but not a whole lot else--that is until it is inundated by revelers donning wildly elaborate and frequently frightening masks and drinking as if Paucartambo were the last surviving town on the planet. The colorful processions and traditional dances are spectacular, and a general sense of abandonment of inhibitions (senses?) reigns. BTW, I got pickpocketed (the only time ever) here.

Gysers near Uyuni in Bolovia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 428 KB.

This clip is a shot of Gysers near Uyuni in Bolovia on the 24/04/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Day 1 of the three day trip to Uyuni in Bolovia from Northern Chile. More Gysers.They were pretty good when one really large vent where one could disappear. See the Pictures from Day 1 wth the blog link.

Ritual killing of a llama near Uyuni in Bolovia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 616 KB.

This clip is a shot of a ritual killing of a llama near Uyuni in Bolovia. on the 25/04/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here.

Iguassu Falls in Argentina, Brazil. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 880 KB.

This clip is a shot of Iguassu Falls in Argentina, Brazil on the 04/03/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Wow, one of the world's natural wonders and I was impressed. Impressed with the waterfalls - the biggest in the world and so powerful.

Salar de Uuyni (salt Flats), Bolivia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 880 KB.

This clip is a shot of the Salar de Uuyni (Salt Flats), Bolivia on the 26/04/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Day 3 of the trip to Uyuni in Bolovia. Salar de Uuyni, is the world’s largest salt flat. Sitting 3650 meter high, Salar de Uyuni sits in the Departmento of Potosí in southwest Bolivia near the crest of the Andes. 40,000 years ago the salt flats were a part of Lago Minchin, a giant prehistoric lake. When this lake dried, it left behind two modern lakes, Lagos Poopó and Uru Uru, and the two major salt deserts, Coipasa and the larger Uyuni. Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tons of salt of which less than 25,000 tons is extracted annually. Every November Salar de Uyuni is also the breeding grounds for three breeds of South American flamingos - Chilean, James and Andean. Salar de Uyuni is also a significant tourist destination in western Bolivia.

The Black market Minstrels La Paz, Bolivia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 1.4 MB.

This clip is a shot of the The Black market Minstrels La Paz, Bolivia on the 06/05/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. I love visiting the Black Market. Did it again after the prison visit. From the central boulevard Plaza de Los Heroes upwards almost until El Alto there are literally hundreds of thousands of stalls. I saw on another website the following. "A good illustration of the sheer number of sidewalk stalls is a recent protest by the stall owners that stopped all traffic on the central boulevard for several hours. It was estimated that 100,000 stall owners came out to state that they have difficulty earning a living wage – it was also estimated that not even half of the stall owners participated in the protest". The stalls tend to be loosely geographically organized by items sold. Remember the barber shops. This type of geographic concentration is fully to the advantage of the buyer since cost comparisons can be made and it is easy to move from one seller to another when the price is not right. You can buy everything here.

Famous rickshaws of Melaka, Malaysia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 832 KB.

This clip is a shot of the famous rickshaws of Melaka, Malaysia on the 19/10/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Melaka - The famous rickshaws because they are so colorfully decorated. See the full blog story above. Malacca was founded around 1400 by Parameswara, called Iskander Shah in the Malay Annals. After he was chased from Palembang in southern Sumatra by invading Javanese, he set up a kingdom in Singapore (Temasek), and after being overthrown by invaders there, ran up the west coast of the Malay peninsula to Malacca, where he settled and established a port city. The site was an ideal midpoint in the east-west trade route and was in a favorable spot to take advantage of the two monsoons that dominated shipping routes. Malacca soon drew the attention of the Chinese, and the city maintained very close relations with the mainland as a trading partner and a political ally. The Japanese were also eager to trade in Malacca, as were Muslim merchants. After Parameswara's death in 1414, his son, Mahkota Iskander Shah, converted to Islam and became the first sultan of Malacca. The word of Islam quickly spread throughout the local population.

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah near Jakarta, Indonesia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 900 KB.

This clip is a shot of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah near Jakarta, Indonesia on the 05/10/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. In the south-east of the city is a huge park, conceived by Mme Tien Soeharto in 1971 and opened in 1975. The idea - to represent the traditional cultures of Indonesia''s 27 provinces - promised to be a landmark to tackiness on a monumental and expensive scale. As it turns out, however, the 100-hectare (250-acre) park is pretty impressive, and is Jakarta''s most visited attraction. The display of 27 full scale houses features regional handicrafts and clothing. The houses are dotted around a lagoon, and can be reached by small boat or viewed from a cable car. Taman Mini also houses museums, theatres, restaurants, an orchid garden and a bird park. It's 18km (11mi) from the centre of Jakarta, and can be reached by bus and metro-mini.

Maori dancing at the Auckland Museum, New Zealand. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 584 KB.

This clip is a shot of Maori dancing at the Auckland Museum, New Zealand on the 01/08/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Auckland's imposing museum building stands in the Auckland Domain on the rim of an ancient volcano surrounded by parks and gardens. It has the largest collection of Maori and Polynesian artifacts in the world, and for this reason alone is worth a visit. Major refurbishment of the museum is now complete, and the extensive Maori Treasures Gallery is a must-see. Key attractions in this area are the impressive 82-foot war canoe chiseled from one enormous totara trunk and covered with intricate carvings. That same artistry is reflected in the 85-foot meetinghouse, with its carved and painted walls and rafters. Also on display are magnificent greenstone weapons, tools, and feather cloaks. Three times a day--at 11am, noon, and 1:30pm--Maori concerts by the Manaia Maori Performance Group bring this culture to life.

WAYANG KULIT Live Puppet Show near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 360 KB.

This clip is a shot of a WAYANG KULIT Live Puppet Show near Yogyakarta, Indonesia on the 01/08/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Wayang is a Javanese word meaning "shadow" or "ghost" and is a theatrical performance of living actors (wayang orang), three dimensional puppets (wayang golek) or shadow images projected before a backlit screen (wayang kulit). Wayang Kulit is probably the most famous and imaginative form of Indonesian Wayang. Finely carved and painted thin leather puppets move behind a white linnen screen, such that the audience on the other side of the screen sees the shadows only. The wayang kulit use two-dimensional puppets chiseled by hand of buffalo or goat parchment; like paper dolls, but with arms that swivel. A wayang kulit puppet is a stylized exaggeration of a human shape. Of the many different style of wayang kulit, by far the most popular is the form practiced in Central and East Java, the most populated island of Indonesia. It was really nice watching them and there was full Gamelon Orchestra in the back playing away. They use about 50 puppets with 3 men on the left and three men of the right giving the master puppetier the right ones. A man told the story on loudspeaker.

River were playing La Plata near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 1 MB.

This clip is a shot of River were playing La Plata near Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 16/03/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Had a great time at the match where River were playing La Plata. Alot of security and La Plate fans were penned in, but they were very vocal. The Antonio V. Liberti stadium (known as el Monumental) is located in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It has room for approximately 57,900 people, and was renovated for the 1978 World Cup (the opening and final matches were both held in the Monumental, which had a capacity of 78,000 at the time because some sections were standing-room).

Saint Patrick's Day Cermony, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 1.9 MB.

This clip is a shot of the Saint Patrick's Day Cermony, Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 17/03/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. Saint Patrick's Day and as it should, I was suffering from a major hangover. The cermony from from the city cathedral to the Admirals statue. Flanked by the Irish embassey staff and navy top brass, the band played loud. Schools kids had the flags. I think i was the old Irish tourist there. i was introduced to the Ambassador and the staff. I fact I went to the pub with one of them later.

Tuol Sleng, Museum of Genocide, Phoem Penh, Cambodia. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 1.9 MB.

This clip is a shot of the Tuol Sleng, Museum of Genocide, Phoem Penh, Cambodia on the 27/10/2003 and you can get my full story and pictures here. he grounds of this high-school-turned-prison-and-torture-chamber are like they were in 1979 at the end of Cambodia's bloody genocide. The whole impression of the atrocities committed at the site is visceral, too much for some visitors. From 1975 until 1979, an estimated 17,000 political prisoners, most just ordinary citizens, were torturedat Tuol Sleng and died, or were executed in the nearby Killing Fields. If you don't come with a guide, you'll certainly want to hire one at the entrance, although you're free to roam the grounds on your own. Local guides often have personal experience with the prison and are vital sources of oral history. They are open to questions, but go easy on any debate. Recrimination against the arbiters of these horrible events is an important issue here; just as Cambodians hope to move on into the future, they fear revisiting the past in international tribunals. The prison population of Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, was carefully catalogued; in fact, the metal neck brace employed for holding subjects' heads in place for the admitting photograph is on display. There are some written accounts in English, paintings done by a survivor, and gory photos of the common torture practices in the prison, but perhaps what is most haunting is the fear in the eyes of the newly arrived; one wing of the buildings is dedicated to these very arrival photos. There was also an interesting exhibit of "Where are they now?" photo-essays and information about former guards, what they looked like then, what happened, and where they are now (only 7 prisoners survived). This site is a bit overwhelming for some, so be prepared.

Girl at airport. Click the thumbnail to enlarge this image. If you want to view the movie clip, click here and it opens in a new window or alternatively save this file to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse here and "Save Target as ....". Size: 1.9 MB.

I don't know where I took this. tt was at a bus sation or an airport.