Rocks on the Hill There is no shortage of rock in Mongolia. On our last day of driving across the country, we lunched in the shelter of the fascinating stone formations and tumbled granite on a high ridge, not far from Nogoonnuur in Mongolia’s western-most province of Bayan-Ölgii.
A serpentine track of crushed rock switches back and forth across the almost-empty Mongolian landscape.
One has to wonder why there are so many bends in a road of ruts and rocks and puddles when it only has to cross a relatively flat plateau! Yet, our Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel-drives refuse to follow a straight line – or even a long curve.
I – and a small group of photographic enthusiasts – were in the care of Mongolian guides G and Segi of Shaman Tours, and photographers Jeffrey Chapman and Winslow Lockhart from Within the Frame. We were on the long road west from Ulaanbaatar. On this, our sixth day of bumping across the country towards the Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ölgii, West Mongolia, we set out from Uureg Lake in the Altai Mountains and drove into dustings of snow falling in flat light. Outside our truck windows, granite boulders were coloured by rusty-pink lichen. Rocky plains were punctuated by clumps of sparse yellow grass, stunted bushes in soft rust, sage, and yellow-green, and of course, by rocky cairns and litter.
Always, the litter! Plastic bags, plastic bottles, and toilet paper. The Mongolian landscape – unspoiled by buildings, infrastructure or formal roadways, was never-the-less covered in litter.
It was the last segment of our journey west across this vast landscape, towards our destination in Mongolia’s westernmost province, where we would pitch our ger camp for several days. Our drivers continued to thread their sturdy, utilitarian vehicles through flooded rivers, over rocks, rocks and more rocks, and finally along the side of a gravel mountain that had slid down itself …
Often, it was best to ignore the “road” and just appreciate the scenery!
Morning on Uuleg Lake Day dawns cold over Uureg Lake and the Altai Mountains as we set off on the last day of driving westward.
View from the Truck Our UAZ follows the winding, pitted dirt tracks west into the snowy hills. (iPhone6)
Rocky Peak After a long morning of bumping over dirt and gravel, we reached the plateau between Uvz and Bayan-Ölgii provinces …
Rocks Formations … where we stopped for a lunch break among the fallen granite boulders.
Lichen on the Rocks Not much grows in this windswept environment: a few lichens on the rough granite, …
Grass in the Rocks … and clumps of dry grasses tucked into rocky crevices.
Tumbled Boulders Fallen granite boulders are piled in heaps …
Rocks on the Hill … and scattered across the sandy ground.
Packing up Lunch When our meal is finished, our chef Yagaanaa and her team pack up the dedicated kitchen-truck.
Rocks on the Plateau The mountains stretch off into the distance either side of us.
Rocky River The landscape on the other side of the plateau, into Bayan-Ölgii province, is subtly coloured: river-rocks and autumnal grasses and trees. (iPhone6)
River Crossing We have to cross a number of rocky waterways; … (iPhone6)
River Crossing … several without the benefit of bridges or causeways.
Rivers Winding Onward we travel, across endless twisting rivers, through flooded valleys, and over rocks, rocks, and more rocks.
Endless Plains We are sitting at a reasonable altitude here: high in the Mongolian Altay, nestled in that triangle of Mongolia between Russia and China. (iPhone6)
Dead Village Our next stop is at the ruins of a deserted village. Derelict houses or factories sit at the foot of a gravel hill …
Wrecks on the Foreshore … and rusted wrecks of cars and machinery lie on the foreshore of a lake – Dund Lake, I think.
Barbed Wire
Rusted Vehicles It’s as if the rusted bits have been blown against the wire fencing.
Rusted Refuse The ground at our feet is littered with skeletal bits of animal and vehicle.
City in the Distance Another hour on the roads, and the provincial capital of Ölgii (Ulgii) swims into view in the distance.
Mosque outside the City Bayan-Olgii is Mongolia’s only Kazakh-majority Muslim province, and is, therefore, culturally very different from the rest of the predominantly Buddhist country.
Houses outside the City The late afternoon autumn sun lights up new houses on the outskirts of Ölgii.
Inside my Ger Finally! I have my room for the next several nights – a large ger on a grassy field. Even with the bare bulb and the fire lit, it is dark: this photo is taken at ISO 25600 on 16 mm at f/2.8 and 1/60 sec, and it still needed boosting in Lightroom!
After a long day of bouncing in our vehicles, it was a relief to get out and explore the markets of Ölgii. The shops had a haphazard, “wild west” feel, but we were able to stock up on necessities, like wine, and blankets and warm socks. We also bought gifts for our host Kazakh family, whom we would finally meet the next day.
Is it possible that I was going to miss all that driving? For the first half of the night, the blazing fire in my wood-heater warmed my ger to sauna-like temperatures, and I slept in fevered dreams of bumping across rough roads …
Guard in an Alcove The security detail in Amer Fort – which is perched on a hill outside Rajasthan’s capital, Jaipur – is ready with a smile for the visitor.
When I think of northern India, it is the incredible Rajput (Hindu) and Mughal (Islamic) architecture of Rajasthan that I remember: fortified walls and sandstone edifices climbing across hillsides; exquisite turrets floating in the hot, dusty air; delicate lattice work shielding windows and casting intricate shadow patterns in the cloistered rooms behind them.
But, I also think of the people: tall, elegant people with dark eyes and quick smiles; casually seated in corners or lounging in doorways – almost as if they are waiting for someone with a camera to notice how perfectly they compliment their surroundings. Without hesitation, they pose, or they hug the foreign tourist and lean in for a quick “selfie” with their new “friend”.
Amer (Amber) Fort, in Amber (or Amer – the spelling seems to be interchangeable!), the small town 11 kilometers from Jaipur whichwas Rajasthan’s capital until 1727, has both: magnificent architecture and people ready and willing to be photographed.
Amer Fort From the other side of Maotha Lake, we can see the paths zig-zagging up the hill towards different fortress entry gates.
Hindu Shrine You are never far from a Hindu shrine in India! This small one honouring Lord Brahma affords a view of the extensive fort on the hill.
Dil Aram Bagh and Hillside Ruins On the northern end of the lake, we will cross past the pergolas in the 18th century Dil Aaram Bagh garden.
Young Women A group of women who have finished their morning visit of the fort pause for a quick picture.
Feeding the Birds Our guide DV took a few minutes to feed the pigeons before we rounded the lake.
Fort on the Lake
Fresh Food Cart
Women on the Steps On the steps, women in their colourful saris stop to rest and chat.
Woman in the Ruins Near the ruins at the top of hill, I came across the incongruous sight of a woman in a beautiful sari searching through the rubble; I have no idea what she was hoping to find.
View from the Hill From the top, there are views back over town, and to the fortified walls that continue along the ridge of the hills in the distance.
Family on the Steps At another rise in the stairs, a large group gathers for a rest.
Angel-Face The youngest member of the group was very excited with her orange soft drink. Nail polish and kohl or eyeliner is common on children in India.
Security Guard There is a visible security presence around the fort, …
Security Guard … but the guards are all very friendly.
Ganesh Pol Entrance The palace buildings are beautiful; this shot is an old one from my first visit in 2008.
Visitors to the Fort Amer Fort is one of India’s most-visited forts; most of those visitors are from other parts of the country.
Visitors to the Fort A young couple poses at a window overlooking the fortress turrets and hills behind.
Marble Arches A courtyard houses the Diwan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) with its beautiful marble pillars.
Ornate Entry All the buildings around the various courtyards are intricately decorated.
Mirrored Rooms The Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences) is the best known part of the fort: …
Mirrored Wall Detail … the elaborate decorations were crafted using glass imported from Belgium.
“Mirrored” Sheesh Mahal
Domes on the Hill The palace rises up four levels, each around a courtyard.
Latticed Views Ornate lattices look out over the upper courtyard and the hills behind.
Door Detail
Painted Wall Detail
Upper Courtyard Garden There are new delights at every turn.
Rooftop Rooms
Women in a Window
Guards at Ease
I never tired of wandering around these buildings, admiring the craftsmanship and the architecture, and taking impromptu portraits of people in the various nooks and crannies.
But, I had an appointed time to reconnect with my group, and we would be setting off to somewhere equally intriguing.
That’s the thing about India: every palace is more beautiful than the last, and every corner is another adventure.
Ships that Pass … The locks on the Danube in Central Europe are an engineering marvel.
Charlemagne (c.742-814), the medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814, dreamed of traversing the European continent, from the North Sea to the Black Sea by water. All that was needed, in theory, was a trench around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) long, connecting the Rhine River and the Danube.
In the absence of pumps, his medieval engineers faced problems with incessant rain, poor soil, and the consequential riverbank slippage. Remnants of the ponds and dams – attesting to the skills of medieval water engineers – can be seen today near the village of Graben in Bavaria, but no one is sure if the 2-metre (6.57 ft) deep ditch, now referred to as Charlemagne’s“Fossa Carolina”, was ever completed.
Napoleon Bonaparte “Napoleon I” (1769-1821) also hoped to connect the Main and Danube rivers, but met his Waterloo before he could implement any plans. King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1786-1868), inspired by canals in France and England, built a system of 101 canal locks – the Ludwig-Danube-Main Canal – which operated from the mid-1800s until its damage during WW II and closure in 1950.
The current Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, connecting the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, was constructed – after a long and controversial planning process – from 1960 to 1992. It runs 172 kilometres (106.25 m) between Bamberg on the Main River and Kelheim on the Danube.
Almost 20 percent of the €250,000,000 overall cost of canal construction went to environmental protection projects. So, it’s not surprising that I found it hard to recognise when we were on the canal, or on the Danube itself. What I did notice was the locks: there are 16 locks on the canal – 13 of which are designed to conserve water – with an elevation rise of 175 metres (574 ft), and drop of 68 metres (223 ft). The Danube end of the canal is 107.3 metres (352 ft) higher than the Main end. There are a further 18 locks on the Danube itself, each a part of a hydro-electric dam generating power.
It is fascinating watching the whole lock-passage process. My husband and I were on one of the new boats that act as floating hotel rooms for tourists, travelling from Nuremberg (see: Altered views of History) to Budapest (see: Buda Castle Hill). With the exception of our cruise down the magnificent UNESCO-listed Wachau Valley (see: “Picturesque” Personified), much of our sailing happened over night, and we spent our days exploring charming cities and historical features (e.g.: Regensburg; Kelheim to Weltenburg; Passau; Melk; and Vienna).
So, when we were transiting some of the many locks in daylight, we got out onto the boat-decks to watch with interest.
On the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal As our canal-boat leaves Nuremburg, a lock comes into view.
Into the Lock The door to the lock is open as our vessel approaches: use of the locks is carefully scheduled, and we have our appointed time. It is a quiet day: there is no one on the viewing platform. (iPhone5)
In the Lock The locks are 12 metres (39.37 ft) wide, which limits the size of the boats on the waterways.
Wet Walls The walls of the lock are so close we could touch them as our boat rises on the filling waters.
On top of the Lock Once the waters reach their new level, the gate opens and we cruise through to the next section of canal. (iPhone5)
Scheitelhaltung – The Continental Divide Just before dinner time the same day, we passed the highest point on the Main-Danube Canal – 406 meters above sea level. The European Watershed or “Continental Divide” is marked by a concrete monument.
Passau Two days later, we have left the canal far behind. While our boat is docked in Passau, we climb the 200 steps of the Oberhausleiten-Stiege – the Upper House Stairs – and watch the traffic on the Danube below. The waterways are important goods-transport channels.
Statue of Bavarian Folk Poet Emerenz Meier (1874 – 1928), Danube River Tourism is becoming more economically important, and the countless canal boats docked on the Danube in Passau are a testament to this.
Altenwörth Lock The Danube can be far from “blue”. The next afternoon – after cruising through the picturesque Wachou Valley – we came back into the open on muddy-looking waters under an overcast sky. Downstream, the green light gave us the go-ahead at the approach to Altenwörth Lock, above Vienna.
Altenwörth Lock Altenwörth Lock is one of the many canal- and river-locks that have two chambers, allowing two boats to traverse at the same time. Our side of the lock is full of water already.
Altenwörth Lock Mechanism As we get closer to the gate, we have a view of the mechanics which allows the gates to open and close.
Altenwörth Lock Once we are fully inside the lock, the doors will shut behind us, the valve will be opened, and water will be drained from the chamber.
Altenwörth Lock Another boat comes in behind us on the approach channel.
Porthole in Ships that Pass … Heading into the lock, we are so close to the TUI Allegra that we can see into her portholes.
Reflections in the Radar From the bow of the boat, we can look into the bridge – and back at our own reflections.
Captain Peter As we wait for our final go-ahead, our ship’s captain shows us around the pilot house.
Captain Peter in the Pilot House There are plenty of bells and whistles, …
Controls in the Pilot House … knobs, handles and dials.
The Gates Open The water-tight lock chamber seems to close in around us as our boat lowers on the ebbing water. Once we are level with the downstream waters, the giant gates open.
Guiding the Boat out of the Lock Our radar is no use to us here! Once the doors are fully open, Captain Peter has no more time to chat. He monitors the vessel’s progress closely as we exit the narrow lock.
Captain Peter When we are clear of the lock doors and heading towards the open Danube, our captain relaxes.
Exiting the Lock Behind us, the TUI Allegra exits the Altenwörth Lock.
I loved the old European cities we visited, and the views of the villages and landscapes as we glided down the canal and river.
But, I also found traversing the locks a fascinating insight into the mechanisms of a busy, working waterway.
Enriching and relaxing at the same time, isn’t it, Mary. We loved it.ReplyCancel
Mary -July 17, 2019 - 12:01 am
Have just read your wonderful blog on locks. I did the Danube last year, and yes, why did I wait so long to do a river cruise. I must do another.ReplyCancel
Thanks for the nice pictoral view of the trip. We hope to take the Budapest-North Sea Donau/Main/Rhein tour in 2022 if/when COVID/variants are no longer an existential danger to all of the planet’s inhabitants.
Nice job indeed. I see now in the footings of this pate that you and I have planted footsteps on many of the same continents. I will read more later. I was only attracted initially to this blog because of this entry and our current registration for a “Viking Cruise”.ReplyCancel
Hi Douglas,
Thanks for your visit and kind words.
I don’t think you will be disappointed! I can’t praise Viking highly enough; even before Covid, their food service and hygiene standards were top-notch. The river cruises are a great way to get an overview of an area.
Cheers, UrsulaReplyCancel
Milne Bay Dancer Festivals of music and dance are a great means of expressing and sharing cultural traditions. Here, a proud dancer from Milne Bay Province is ready to perform at a special Alotau Cultural Day in Port Moresby.
How can one talk about “the people” or “the culture” of Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. Comprising the eastern half of the world’s second-largest island, it is home to hundreds of different ethnic groups and 852 known languages. And, who knows how many pockets of uncontacted peoples – with as yet unknown culture and languages – are still hidden in the interior jungles?
The coastal provinces of Oro and Milne Bay are home to people of Motu and Polynesian descent. In Milne Bay alone, the roughly 276,000 inhabitants speak about 48 different languages: mostly from the Eastern Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. In other words, most of these various groups are distinct, but have similarities to one other.
What little I knew about the coastal people of Papua New Guinea and their customs before I arrived in the country, I learned from Drusilla Mojeska’s wonderful 2012 novel: The Mountain.
Giving the reader a feel for the country’s tumultuous background, much of this book takes place across the five years leading up to Papua New Guinea‘s declaration of self-governance in 1973 after years of Australian administration and British rule. Although the characters are fictional, the story and the settings are firmly grounded in history and the author’s experience of having lived in the country during that time.
It seemed to me, when I visited last year in August, that little had changed. The figurative road to democracy was still bumpy and fraught: results from the recently-held election were being fiercely (and sometimes, bloodily) contested. And the real roads outside the few urban centres continued to be predominantly unnavigable. The majority (over 85%) of people in the nation live a rural agrarian lifestyle outside the city.
A festival of music, dance and food is one way that groups can share their distinctive cultures with each other. On my second day in Port Moresby on a Jim Cline tour with photographer Karl Grobl and a small group of photo-enthusiasts, I was treated to the Alotau Cultural Day.
This was the first of several sing-sings – or annual get-togethers of a few tribes or villages – that I attended while I was in PNG, and in some ways it was the most genuine. For while this gathering of performers from the Milne Bay area was not as polished or flashy as others I later attended in the Sepic River and Mount Hagen regions, it was aimed at the “city-folk” in Port Moresby in general, rather than us tourists in particular. As such, it felt like a authentic attempt to share and communicate one’s culture, rather than just a pitch for the tourist dollar.
Because of the relatively informal nature of the day, I had the opportunity to speak with many of the dancers and other participants at the festival. Some of the people I talked to were university students, happy to chat about how important it was to them to keep the traditional practices alive, and to talk about how involvement in music and dance added meaning to their lives, and helped keep young people focused and out of trouble.
Join me on a dusty sporting ground in the heat of a tropicalsummer day and meet just a small sampling of Papua New Guinea’s many different peoples.
Tattooed Mother with Child Everywhere I went in Papua New Guinea, people were happy to make eye contact with me, smile, and implicitly allow me to make pictures.
Portrait: Male Dancer Around the sporting field, young musicians and dancers wait in their costumes and body paint for their turn to perform.
“Support Crew” Friends and family are in attendance to support the performers and to give them an audience. Tattoos – traditional and modern – are in evidence everywhere.
Dancers Meanwhile, with their drums and music as a backdrop, other groups take their turn on the “stage” – the stage being a grassy corner of the field.
Feathers and Leaves Performers’ costumes feature local natural materials: bird of paradise feathers, seeds, leaves and grasses.
Female Dancer Some groups also feature face paint in traditional, stylised patterns. In this troupe, the men and women’s faces are painted on opposite sides.
Children at the Stalls Children at the stalls that skirt the field wear colourful face paint in different traditionally-inspired designs.
Stall Holder Evidence of the effects of chewing the seeds of the Areca catechu palm tree – the ubiquitous betel nut – is in many of the smiles that greet me.
Skewers on the BBQ A lot of the food on offer around the the perimeters of the field looks beautifully healthy and fresh.
Motorcycle- or Motor-Dance Anyone who has spent any time in a developing country knows how important small two-stroke motors are. I couldn’t understand the voice-over on the PA system, so I’m not sure exactly what type of motor the young man was pulling the starting chain on – but I was impressed to see the traditional dance-forms being used to tell modern stories.
On the Outside There was a small entry fee to the grounds; clearly not everyone could pay it.
War Dance Every community has its own version of a war dance, and the various groups entered into these dances with gusto.
War Dance
Warrior in the Wings
Heads Together
Untangling the Seeds With their heads together, two young women try to disentangle their necklaces.
Faces in the Group
Man in a Feathered Headdress Feathers, bone, coral, shells, leaves and grasses are everywhere.
Young Girl The dancers start young!
Hair and Feathers As the hot sun climbs overhead, it bounces of curls …
Young Woman in Feathers … and feathers.
War Dance Another group of warriors in grass skirts and boar teeth …
Warrior … take to the “stage” with their spears.
Another Warrior The young men put a lot of energy into their threatening advances. Meanwhile, the young women behind have mouths full of betel.
All the people I spoke to were eager to invite me share their beautiful corner of the country. A couple of young men even told me where to find the birds of paradise: just follow the path around the bay, then turn left. The birds are right there!
Towards the end of my trip, I did enjoy a blissful couple of days in their native Milne Bay Province (see: Innocent Eyes and Head Hunters), and – even though I never found the birds – I can concur: it is a most beautiful place.
I hope these young people continue to maintain the best things from their rich traditions.
Oh Ursula, you never cease to amaze me. Thank you thank you for your most recent trip down memory lane, this lane and memory of PNG. I love your history lesson and narrative, and of course, the great pics too. you are truly an inspiration. Hope you and Gabe are well and having yet more fun and adventures. We are good here in Florida and soon off on our 3-month Utah adventure. Hugs and thanks, JanReplyCancel
Hi Jan,
Many thanks for your lovely comments! We are road-tripping a lot at the moment, but off on a European adventure soooooon …
Have a wonderful time in Utah – Love to you both! xReplyCancel
[…] main locations: Port Moresby (see: A Slice of Life and Life on the Edge); Milne Bay (see: Portraits from the Dance and Innocent Eyes and Head Hunters); the Middle Sepik (see: Ursula’s Weekly Wanders Sepik […]ReplyCancel
Women in the Window Four women laugh together as they watch our passing along the road below.
The smiles from the windows and doorways along the trekking trail between Panauti and Namo Buddha in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley, are as warm as the bright sun overhead.
I was walking with a friend and local guide Angfula Sherpa (our porter had long since left us behind!) towards the sacred pilgrimage site of Namo Buddha, where we were to stay overnight at the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery.
We had spent the morning – after driving from Lazimpat – sampling food and chatting to people (see: Dirt Music and Sunshine). We weren’t moving very fast: every step was a visual feast, so we were stopping and taking copious pictures – and pretending that these stops were not an excuse to rest our ageing lungs and aching joints!
Contrasts of light and dark shimmered all around us, as the sun angled into the narrow lanes of the tiny hamlets and bounced off the brickwork, highlighting the resilience of the people and the rough edges of the damage from the 2015 earthquake.
Join me as we slowly make our way up the hills out of the Kathmandu Valley:
Corn Drying and Cracks in the Mortar Following the devastating earthquake in 2015, life goes on: corn for seed and animal feed is stacked in windows and attic spaces to dry in preparation for the long winter. Everywhere we walk, we see reminders of buildings that have come down completely, and neighbouring buildings that have suffered very little.
Cat on a Stoop
Light and Shade A “shopkeeper” sets up his goods in a shady corner on a dusty street.
Doing Laundry In another corner, a woman does her laundry.
A Man and his Dog
Shrine in the Fields The textured, terraced fields are punctuated with small shrines.
Minding the Baby Everywhere, the windows and door-frames are graced by locals.
Yoga Master in the Window As we walk down the narrow dusty street, a man leans out of a window overhead; a sign on the shaded building advertises yoga. Much as we’d have loved to have joined him, we still had a long way to walk before our final stop for the day.
Women in the Road Two women stand chatting in a patch of light at the end of the village.
Newari Woman One of them pauses to have her picture taken in the bright sunlight before she heads back up to her home – high on the hill above the village we have just passed through.
Dusty Tracks As we head out of the little hamlet, the road once again reduces to a dusty track …
Mustard Fields … rising through the terraces of blooming mustard plants. Farmers here alternate their crops of potato, mustard, and seasonal vegetables to use their limited agricultural land to the absolute maximum.
Minding the Grandchild At the top of one rise, we come across an elderly man looking after his grandchild.
Dusty Street Less than twenty minutes later, we are entering another row of homes …
Corn Drying … with more corn hung out to dry.
Making Momos A little further along the way, we came across a “restaurant”: a dark hut with rickety benches outside. Inside – in the gloom – a husband and wife team were making over-sized momos, or Nepali-Tibetan-style dumplings.
Dumpling Maker The man engages in an earnest conversation with our guide.
Pots I absolutely love momos! So naturally, we had to wait for a fresh batch to be steamed, …
Steaming Dumplings … dished up, …
The Momos are Ready! … and served with a rich, spicy sauce. Just delicious! Fortified, we continue on our way.
Woman in a Window
Laundry
Houses on the Hillside The terraced hills rise around us …
Flags on the Hill … as we climb up to our first collection of Buddhist prayer flags.
Signs of Spring
A Heavy Load I marvel as I watch petite women with overwhelming loads walk up the steep hill, …
Heavy Loads … overtaking us easily.
Rhododendron We are thrilled to see Nepal’s national flower: Lali Gurans, or Red Rhododendron, blooming in the tall forest over our heads.
Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery Finally! We get our first sighting of the monastery – which we will explore more fully in the morning.
View from my Room This evening, I will bed down on a simple bed with this marvellous view back down the hillside. What a treat!
After finding our simple rooms in the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery Guesthouse, and taking quick, well-earned showers, we joined the monks and novices in evening prayers, and ate a simple meal of dahl and sticky buns.
It was a perfect ending to my first glorious day of walking in the clean, Nepali mountain air.
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
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Until next time –
But, I also found traversing the locks a fascinating insight into the mechanisms of a busy, working waterway.
Bleak but also beautiful.
Thanks! Yes, it reminded me of living in The Prairies. 😀