In a separate review, on Willowvale Rest Area just outside Balranald, New South Wales, I have pointed out that the biggest issue facing long distance drivers in Australia is fatigue. There is only one solution to this problem and that is to stop driving and rest. On our regular 1,200kms trips between Canberra and Adelaide Andy and I swap driving at regular intervals. While those in the know say you should pull over and rest every couple of hours we often change drivers more frequently than this. Our bodies tell us when it is time to stop and have a rest. Continue reading “Yanga Lake”
Rules Around Photography in North Korea and Their Enforcement – With a Side Comment on Mobile Phones
There are numerous rules for tourists in North Korea. The ones around photography are the most complicated, confusing, inconsistent and inconsistently applied. While the rules themselves seem to have been relaxed only very marginally, if at all, since my last visit in 2014 the enforcement of the rules seems not to be as strict – apart from in more remote and less visited parts of the country.
Very few visitors, apart from those who have no camera, make it through a tour of North Korea without being counselled on their photography – or rather, being told off for taking a photo when they should not have. Continue reading “Rules Around Photography in North Korea and Their Enforcement – With a Side Comment on Mobile Phones”
Money And The North Korean Economy
My reader will perhaps be rather puzzled as to why my first picture in a North Korean money review is of a 100 Chinese Yuan bill after which I feature some Euros and an American note while the local currency of North Korea, the Won, is relegated to fourth place. Continue reading “Money And The North Korean Economy”
Get To Know And Respect Your Kims
The purpose of this review is to introduce you to the key people (Kims) you should be familiar with prior to visiting North Korea. You will certainly be well aware of them before you leave unless you close your eyes and plug your ears for the duration of your trip! Should you read my other reviews you will encounter reference to, and more details on, these people with, perhaps, monotonous regularity. Welcome to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea!
North Korea – An Encore – Back for More in 2018
My first visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was in 2014. That was a nine-day trip coinciding with the 102nd anniversary of the birth of the country’s eternal president, Kim Il-sung and the Pyongyang Marathon in which foreign amateur runners were permitted to run for the first time. I watched the marathon! Continue reading “North Korea – An Encore – Back for More in 2018”
I’m Back!
I have had a rather hectic six months at work and doing other things since my last post here in February 2018. About a month ago I resolved the ‘work problem’ by taking early retirement and now look forward to restarting writing again on this blog and, equally importantly, catching up on the wonderful blogs I was previously reading – plus some new ones.
The Demise And Rebirth Of The British Monarchy
At around 2pm on 30 January, 1649 one of the most extraordinary things to ever happen in Britain happened. The reigning king was executed and, more than this, the British monarchy ended as a Bill had been hastily pushed through Parliament such that no one else could succeed Charles I to the throne. Continue reading “The Demise And Rebirth Of The British Monarchy”
Banqueting House – A House of Indulgence
When Cardinal Wolsey fell out of favour with King Henry VIII in 1530 he lost his Thames-side abode, then called York Palace, to Henry. While far from a slum, Henry set about turning Wolsey’s Palace (which he renamed Whitehall) into a place fit for a king and within a short time it was the grandest and most ostentatious palace in Europe. The Banqueting House we see today (added in 1619) was but one of the many buildings within the Palace confines. Continue reading “Banqueting House – A House of Indulgence”
Monty Python’s Foot
Hanging alongside works by Michelangelo and Raphael in Room 8 (Jan 2018) of the National Gallery in London is the beautiful medieval Mannerist masterpiece by Bronzino depicted below.
The picture entitled Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time or An Allegory with Venus and Cupid was painted for King Frances I of France in the mid-1500s and depicts Cupid kissing his mother Venus. Continue reading “Monty Python’s Foot”
Keeping An Eye On The Peasants In Trafalgar Square
One might be forgiven for thinking that this construction, on the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square, was an ornamental light. Indeed it was exactly that when it was constructed in the 19th century. Various sources cite that the light came from Nelson’s HMS Victory. That is pure legend. Continue reading “Keeping An Eye On The Peasants In Trafalgar Square”
The Rambling Wombat 