On hearing that there were koalas (albeit of the ceramic variety) in my local botanical gardens and being in need of a walk one glorious autumn morning I decided to go and have a look. Continue reading “Koalas in the Australian National Botanic Gardens”
Chollima Morphs To Mallima Under Kim Jong-un
If you have read some of my Panmunjom entries you will be aware that the Korean War, which started in 1950, continues to this day. However, hostilities, barring a number of minor and not so minor infractions, came to an end in 1953 with the signing of a military Armistice Agreement outside Panmunjom, a small village, in what is now the Demilitarised Zone, around the border with South Korea. Continue reading “Chollima Morphs To Mallima Under Kim Jong-un”
The Ryugyong Hotel In A Whole New Light
For a country that can build buildings in a day or two (for example, the Armistice Signing Hall in Panmunjom in the DMZ) and whole streets full of high rise buildings in a year the 330 metres high, 105 story Ryugyong Hotel (Ryugyong – ‘capital of willows’– a former name for Pyongyang) remains uncompleted after 27 years and until 2018 has been a major embarrassment for North Korea. Continue reading “The Ryugyong Hotel In A Whole New Light”
Palmerville Heritage Park – Imagine the History
Strolling down the main red gravel avenue within Palmerville Heritage Park my mind wandered back one hundred and fifty years. I was imagining a Victorian couple out for a Sunday promanade along the pathway lined with gorgeous elms and poplars. It had that feel, notwithstanding the very un-British temperature when I visited – somewhere in the mid thirties (centigrade). Continue reading “Palmerville Heritage Park – Imagine the History”
The Straight Line Border Walk
As I write this review borders, border security and cross border trade are very topical issues in many parts of the world. So much so that it got me wondering about the border between the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the state of New South Wales (NSW), here in Australia. I needed to know if we, in the ACT, were safe from the evils of NSW! Continue reading “The Straight Line Border Walk”
Fine Public Buildings and a Gaol Museum in Cooma
With the discovery of gold at nearby Kiandra in 1859 and a resultant gold rush starting in 1860 – short-lived though it was – Cooma rapidly expanded from a minor settlement. Between 1851 and 1911 the population grew from 47 to 2,330. Continue reading “Fine Public Buildings and a Gaol Museum in Cooma”
The Cooma Cenotaph and Corey Memorial Plaque and Diorama
The Cenotaph, a grey granite obelisk, was unveiled on ANZAC day in 1926 to commemorate soldiers from the town and district lost in World War I. Due to a cost overrun, the memorial cost £1,050, there was insufficient funds remaining in the kitty to have the names of the missing soldiers inscribed on the obelisk. Almost half of the £1,050 was contributed by spectators at the Memorial’s opening. Continue reading “The Cooma Cenotaph and Corey Memorial Plaque and Diorama”
No Horns Or Tails Were Removed – A Pictorial Review
When many people think of North Korea, due to propaganda in the press, sensationalised blogs/ other social media and other biases and preconceptions they often think only of a wicked dictatorship now in possession of nuclear weapons and readying itself to take over the world while its people are brainwashed, starving and sent to gulags and re-education camps for the most trivial of offences or no offence at all. A growing number of people believe that the best way of dealing with these problems is to blow North Korea of the face of the earth. Continue reading “No Horns Or Tails Were Removed – A Pictorial Review”
Getting to North Korea by Air and Pyongyang Airport
Two airlines fly into North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), the national airline, Air Koryo and Air China. Invariably you will fly in from Beijing to Pyongyang though a few tourists enter from Vladivostok and there are on again off again flights from Shanghai. The airline also has a (very) small number of other international routes (not currently used by tourists). Continue reading “Getting to North Korea by Air and Pyongyang Airport”
Let’s do the Time Walk in Cooma!
Ok, it’s the Time Walk and not the Time Warp but the name did remind me of Rocky Horror!
The Time Walk is a very interesting and rather unique presentation of the history of Cooma and the Monaro District from Aboriginal times to the present day, though with a concentration on the last two hundred years. Continue reading “Let’s do the Time Walk in Cooma!”
The Rambling Wombat 