Fallen Sycamore leaf. (Platanus occidentalis.) They seem to take the drought stress worse than most other trees here. I walked out of a meeting last night and felt like I was stepping into a sauna. It's hot, it's been hot, it will be hot... but you really don't expect 90°F at 9:00 PM. (That's 32°C, for those of you in the metric world.)
Walk through Eden's Garden and then Wonder as you go.... -- Midnight Oil. I awoke this morning to the sound of rain and buffeting wind. I decided to ride anyway, and just wear a spray jacket for some reason. The strength of the wind at dawn (when it's normally at it's weakest) surprised me, but this is where it becomes liberating. When the wind is so strong that attaining a decent average speed is just about impossible, one tends not to focus on such things, and instead concentrates on just enjoying the ride. It was in the vicinity of 50-60km/h on that early stretch down the coast, so I just accepted what it was doing to my speed, and enjoyed the scenery. With the showers still falling lightly, it was over Bilambil and onto Urliup road, in the mud! This actually wasn't so bad, again, once covered in the mud to the point of no longer caring about it. The scenery was already warming up. Winding through the rainforest on the dirt, almost totally encased in mud, over the "summit", down into the Tweed Valley briefly, before the climb of Tomewin, where I would follow "the track" along the NSW/Qld border. This promised to be interesting, with the rocky sections wet, and probably slippery. First, however, there was the small matter of a detour that I hadn't taken in three years, Garden of Eden road, a western detour along the southern side of the ridge. This was one of those "why did I wait so long?" rides. The scenery here is stunning. It's a short detour, and a dead end, meaning a return on the same route, but it's definitely worth it. After the return, and more covering in mud, it was over to Glengarrie "road", the track I'd come here to follow. It really is an entrancing ride, through the dense forest, the occasional mountain views, the old shacks on the mountain that have been here for years and somehow survived the wild weather these parts get occasionally. Today I'm focused on the wildflowers that are blooming up right now, and the shapes being thrown around by the clouds. The slippery rocks provide some interesting moments early, but I soon find my rhythm here. It's a matter of timing one's bursts, putting in a huge effort on the uphill slippery parts, then relaxing on the in between parts in order to recover for the next huge effort. The top is reached soon, and it's a muddy descent toward Bilambil punctuated by a couple of climbs and some really nastily positioned intersections, before the final screaming descent into Bilambil and back into suburbia. At least I'll have a tailwind for the ride home. There is a final tale to tell here. After an extremely invigorating ride, I'm pedalling through suburbia pondering the task of somehow cleaning the mud and dirt off the bike, figuring that the occasional light rain that's falling is having no effect on this whatsoever. Then at Burleigh Heads, some 7km from home, the heavens open up and a huge downpour makes it's presence felt. Now most of the mud and dirt has been washed away, and the rain was just beautiful. A fitting end to a memorable morning!
The demon guarding the moat outside the walled city - Angkor
Angkor, also known as Angkor Wat from the name of its most famous temple, is the biggest and most interesting archeological site in Cambodia. It is the best preserved architectural complex of the Khmer Age and of the Khmer culture. It is situated near the Cambodian town of Siem Reap, two hours away from the Thai border.
After visiting Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai amazing temples and the beautiful island of Kho Tao in Thailand we thought was time to visit Angkor. If you are visiting Thailand you should absolutely plan at least four days to visit Angkor.
Angkor is distant only 10 hours from Bangkok by train or bus or an hour and a half away by plane with a daily flight Bangkok - Siem Reap.
You will be amazed by the size and the beauty of this complex of temples and imperial buildings, once the capital of the Khmer Empire.
When you visit Angkor you visit the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate system of infrastructure connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres that you can still visit today. Surrounded by the jungle and by large rice fields Angkor is an archeological area with around 1000 buildings including temples and ruins.
Female figures in the South-West corner pavillion of Angkor Wat
Every temple has wonderful decorations, statues and sculptures.
Historical Angkor was more than a site for religious art and architecture. It was the site of vast cities that served all the needs of the Khmer people. Aside from a few old bridges, however, all of the remaining monuments are religious edifices. In Angkorian times, all non-religious buildings, including the residence of the king himself, were constructed of perishable materials, such as wood, "because only the gods had a right to residences made of stone."
Life in Cambodia - Tuk Tuk driver resting in front of a mountain of art! - Angkor
Indigenous religious cults a royal cult of personality, identifying the king with the deity, Hinduism, especially Shaivism, but also Vaishnavism, the form of Hinduism focussed on the worship of Vishnu and Buddhism, in both its Mahayana and Theravada varieties are represented.
Here some practical info you need to bear in mind before to visit Angkor:
1) It is impossible to see Angkor (and not even just Angkor Wat) in one day, so buy the three day ticket pass and save money.
2) It is impossible to visit Angkor walking so either you hire a tuk-tuk or you rent a motorbike or a bike (although with the bike it will be very tiring as the temples are quite far away one from the other!)
3)Only hire an official guide. If you hire a tuk-tuk contract the price before to start your tour, tuk-tuk drivers can ask extortionate rates!
4) Bring with you plenty of water as it will be incredibly hot! On the site many drinks are sold, but most of them well after the "best using before" date! Same is true for food unfortunately.
The 54 demons holding the tail of the multiheaded snake on the cause way towards the walled city, Angkor
5) Angkor is only an archeological area, there is no accommodation there. Base yourself in the nearest town: Siem Reap, possibly in the area of the night market that it is very interesting to visit after dinner!
6) Although the most famous temple is Angkor Wat, there are many more interesting temples to be seen at Angkor: don't miss at least Bayon and the walled city and Bateay Den!
7) Try to buy a book about the Archeological Area of Angkor and particularly a map before to visit, it is worthwhile and it will help you to understand more.
Giants in the palace - Angkor
8)Don't rush but take time to visit the most important temples, they are so full of details that a quick visit will not be enough to enjoy them.
9) When you visit Angkor don't forget when these temples have been built (around the year 1000) and be impressed of the refinery of their details!
10) Keep in mind that most of the statues were originally painted and try to imagine how even more impressive the statues and the temples should have looked at the time with their original colours on (I tried, working on the photos, to show you how the statues should have looked with their original colours: see for example the picture above of the Female figures in the South-West corner pavillion of Angkor Wat to have an idea!).
11)Don't believe in all the stories you hear about crossing the border from Thailand to Cambodia. Buy your visa through internet on the official website of the cambodian governement and you will not have any problem. Don't trust anyone who want to sell you any kind of visa!
12) And finally be adventurous and go off the beaten track! Visit also Koh Ker.
Koh Ker is the modern name for an important city of the Khmer empire. It is situated about two and half hours away from Siem Reap. It is not yet as famous as Angkor and only basic visitors facilities are now being built. This makes of Koh Ker a very interesting and adventurous destination for anyone who would like to experience lonely temples in a much more quiet enviroment. We publish below the teaser of a great project from Akasa Studio, raising raise awareness about this wonderful monument and seeking support for their feature documentary they are going to produce. We think this video is wonderful!
Hope you enjoyed this post and photos and you will enjoy visit Angkor.
Read below for more great destinations in Asia or use the index on the right column of this page!
Angkor Wat in its amazing magnificence! - Angkor, Siem Reap - Cambodia
The City Walls gates protected by the divinities - Angkor
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ARE YOU TIRED OF BANGKOK AND YOU WANT SOMEWHERE TO RELAX? KOH TAO (KO TAO) IS THE PERFECT DESTINATION! - 7 SIGHTS OF KHO TAO - THAILAND
THAILAND -7 SIGHTS OFAYUTTHAYA - AN AMAZING INSPIRATIONAL PLACE JUST 2 HRS FROM BANGKOK
THAILAND - 7 SIGHTS OF CHIANG MAI - THE HOLY CITY
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7 SIGHTS OF RHODES - GREECE - A MARVELLOUS ISLAND FULL OF INSPIRATION! ...AND GUARDED BY A GIANT!
7 SIGHTS OF CINQUE TERRE / ITALY - THE ENCHANTING 5 FISHERMEN VILLAGES PART OF THE UNESCO HERITAGE IN THE ITALIAN REGION OF LIGURIA
HUNGARY - EXPLORING BUDAPEST IN A COLD WINTER NIGHT WITH ANNE J LO PHOTOGRAPHER FROM CHICAGO - 7 SIGHTS OF BUDAPEST
This could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Yesterday the Beechmont range turned on just about the perfect conditions for riding, or indeed any kind of human habitation. The temperature was pleasant, the rain kept things cool and there was very little sunshine. The early part of the ride had been a little more difficult as it was an extremely humid and muggy morning on the coastal lowlands, but once on the range enjoying the sweeping views, everything changed. It was the perfect place to debut my new bike (if I don't count the previous day's commute or dawn 43km) after getting totally forked two weeks previously. There were a couple of interesting things to come from the ride. First of all there was the process of adapting to a 9-speed cassette for the first time. This was easier than I expected, and it took no time at all to find a suitable "cruising" gear. Then there was the latest stupid road construction fad to take off in this part of the world. The response of the local authorities to having a road toll among the highest per capita in the world is to pave the corners (note: only the corners) of narrow mountain roads with a smooth, frictionless surface that becomes extremely slippery in the wet. I suppose the idea is that people will somehow mysteriously become more careful in the conditions, but I'm not sure how this applies to drunks (i.e. the ones who actually represent the majority of road fatalities), or tourists who arrive from somewhere more civilised and don't know what to expect. Perhaps I should just try to take something positive from it, set up a betting agency and offer odds on how long it takes them to scrap that ridiculous idea. The final tally from the ride was 119km, and around 1,700 metres of climbing once I'd factored in the detours around Beechmont itself. I'll be taking more this afternoon, but for the moment, it was just what I needed.
Thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes for Saturday, most of them came via facebook which means I really should try actually logging in there one of these days. To be honest, I hadn't expected to be sitting at this particular computer typing this. Had things gone as I had planned them, I would have been in the South of France, but a red light runner put paid to that. Then, of course, I had some bones that needed to heal so I could get back on my feet, so here I am. It's quite interesting the way a crash like that can change your perspective on the world. There are some things I appreciate more than ever, and there are other things about which I have become even more cynical than before (even though I didn't previously think that was possible). I did manage to buy myself an early birthday present (pictured above), so that is some compensation for the lost time. Either way, I'm glad to be here, hopefully with many more adventures to come.
Thankfully, we got some clouds this morning. Instead of normal Saturday Ham Radio breakfast, I attended the THOR Lake Manawa Trail Day. Stopped by Panera Bread to pick up a dozen of bagels for the crew.
I headed to the second section of the trail with my loppers. I had not been down there since late April. WOW, have the weeds have been growing! This photo depicts the hemp "forest" that the trail cuts through.
Didn't cut much. Mostly, I wanted to check out the trail and get a couple photos. The are section of the new trail that a lined by 10+ foot weeds, some sections of flowing singletrack in the woods, and some fine (silt) sand.
Met up a trail crew group rerouting a section of the trail. By the time I made it trough the trail section, I had enough for the day. While a nice breeze today, there was just no air moving in the woods.
It was ther first time I rode the full section of the trail. Did not check my computer then I headed into the trail section, but the times I looked, guessing there is over 1.5 miles of trail in there.
Brought the older point&shoot camera with me. Should have brought the newer one. Another day. Need to get out there to check out the first section of the trail and grab some photos.
Another trail day tomorrow morning at Manawa. Supposed to be hotter. Think I am gonna skip it and do normal Sunday morning at Panera.
I thought about my Aunt Phyl a few days ago. At the beginning of November the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos and the Feast of All Souls remind us of family members who have died and my aunt has been gone for many years. Remembering her now might be appropriate but the calender didn't bring her to mind - it was an unexpected bud on a plant. Phyl loved clothes, parties, plays and gourmet cooking, but she was also a gardener. I can remember being a child in her flower border, watching as my aunt showed me how to squeeze the sides of the blossom to make Snapdragons talk. A few decades later, when impatiens was a newish, trendy annual, she showed me how to snap off a few flowering stems and arrange them on needlepin holders for a sunny table, telling me that way they'd look good while growing roots to make more plants for the garden. She handed out divisions of Siberian iris and Annabelle Hydrangea and Jack-n-the-Pulpit - all still growing in the gardens of my family back in Illinois.
Aunt Phyl gave me starter plants of another passalong back in the late 1980's. It grew as a houseplant in Illinois but has been a porch plant since I brought it to Texas. Here's that bud unfolded: Its names are Starfish flower, Carrion flower, and Stapelia - possibly Stapelia gigantea. The thick stems look almost like a cactus but are relatively soft and have no spines.
I brought one plant with me and have started several more in the last 8 years. I lost a few to sudden cold snaps - this plant is happy outside in mild weather but the pots must be taken in and out of the garage when the temperatures approach freezing. This was the first flower in a couple of years - strange and spectacular, with long hairs all over the edges, and they emit a faint scent of meat to attract a pollinator - flies! Once the flies showed up I realized that white shelf was a little too close to the door and the floral display moved down to the other end of the veranda. It seems ironic that such an odd plant brings memories of my rather glamorous, well-groomed aunt - but it's the only passalong from her that made it to Texas. Maybe she'd be amused.
The Gales: A Storm Gathering will be a great place to learn or improve your rough-water paddling skills.
Daybreak with waves.
During one recent foray in Lake Michigan waves, a fellow coach and friend mused about how few paddlers go out on truly rough days. Are they intimidated, he wondered, or just uninterested? What would it take to bolster both their confidence and ability?
One answer is the upcoming rough-water symposium, The Gales: A Storm Gathering, which will be held October 8 through 10 in Marquette, Michigan. Over the course of three days, there will be courses in surf kayaking, sea kayak surfing, rock gardering, rough water rescues, incident management, and open-water and night navigation, along with "long boats in current" classes on the nearby Menominee River. Registration is still open. Local accommodations are very affordable. So if the following images represent the kind of paddling you'd like to enjoy, sign up soon!
Sharon gets ready to launch. Waves always look smaller from the shore. Learning to estimate wave height is a useful rough-water skill.
Punching through the surf zone requires timing and technique.
The same is true of surfing back in.
Boat control in rough water is essential.
Clapotis offers rough-water opportunities, too.
We'll be there, paddling and coaching. We hope to see you there, too!
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THAILAND -7 SIGHTS OFAYUTTHAYA - AN AMAZING INSPIRATIONAL PLACE JUST 2 HRS FROM BANGKOK
THAILAND - 7 SIGHTS OF CHIANG MAI - THE HOLY CITY
7 SIGHTS OF RHODES - GREECE - A MARVELLOUS ISLAND FULL OF INSPIRATION! ...AND GUARDED BY A GIANT!
7 SIGHTS OF CINQUE TERRE / ITALY - THE ENCHANTING 5 FISHERMEN VILLAGES PART OF THE UNESCO HERITAGE IN THE ITALIAN REGION OF LIGURIA
HUNGARY - EXPLORING BUDAPEST IN A COLD WINTER NIGHT WITH ANNE J LO PHOTOGRAPHER FROM CHICAGO - 7 SIGHTS OF BUDAPEST
I thought about my Aunt Phyl a few days ago. At the beginning of November the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos and the Feast of All Souls remind us of family members who have died and my aunt has been gone for many years. Remembering her now might be appropriate but the calender didn't bring her to mind - it was an unexpected bud on a plant. 
Phyl loved clothes, parties, plays and gourmet cooking, but she was also a gardener. I can remember being a child in her flower border, watching as my aunt showed me how to squeeze the sides of the blossom to make Snapdragons talk. A few decades later, when impatiens was a newish, trendy annual, she showed me how to snap off a few flowering stems and arrange them on needlepin holders for a sunny table, telling me that way they'd look good while growing roots to make more plants for the garden. She handed out divisions of Siberian iris and Annabelle Hydrangea and Jack-n-the-Pulpit - all still growing in the gardens of my family back in Illinois. 
Its names are Starfish flower, Carrion flower, and Stapelia - possibly Stapelia gigantea. The thick stems look almost like a cactus but are relatively soft and have no spines. 
I brought one plant with me and have started several more in the last 8 years. I lost a few to sudden cold snaps - this plant is happy outside in mild weather but the pots must be taken in and out of the garage when the temperatures approach freezing. This was the first flower in a couple of years - strange and spectacular, with long hairs all over the edges, and they emit a faint scent of meat to attract a pollinator - flies! 
Once the flies showed up I realized that white shelf was a little too close to the door and the floral display moved down to the other end of the veranda. 
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