Author: Paul
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Benalla let’s it all hang out
The rural city of Benalla in Kelly Country, North East Victoria, recently held its second Wall to Wall street-art festival, where town buildings are set aside for local and international artists to use as their creative canvas. As a former Benalla boy, I can say that past things ‘arty’ haven’t always been greeted with unanimous enthusiasm, but the whole community […]
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 5
15th November, 2012 Chiang Khan to Sangkhom (and first sightings of a UFO): Woke to Thai and Laotian roosters duelling across the Mekong; a croaking crow-fest that fell away in sputters like a slapstick comedy routine. Pim was nowhere to be seen yesterday – she had been in Leoi. She was downstairs now and chatty. She pointed at my bamboo […]
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Songkran and the war against evil
At 1400 hours Bangkok time, in the Buddhist year of 2559 (AD2016), I unwittingly found myself caught in crossfire during the crusade against calamity. Water was the ammunition of choice. There were skirmishes everywhere. None were spared. Samsen Road was lined with citizens in hand-to-hand combat, many camouflaged by white face paint. H2O ammo was launched wilfully in long spouts […]
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When the Black Knight Cats overcame King Rodney and his Knights of the Oval Table
“Oh! Had enough, eh?” taunted the Black Knight while defending a feeble bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, refusing to admit defeat after King Arthur rendered him armless and legless. That’s how it was on the fair fields of Kardinia against the Suns as the Cats lost teammates instead of limbs, protected a vulnerable lead (minus the Python […]
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 4
Thailand. 14th November, 2012, Chiang Khan. After a night disturbed by revellers, a crying baby and crowing roosters became the wake-up call. In the early morning, a few Thai tourists were out and about in the main street cycling and taking photos, but there were no cafes open yet. “Free,” a woman on a bicycle said, pointing to a bunch […]
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 3
Sangkhom to Chiang Khan Thailand. 13th November, 2012 Spectacular riding, off-duty cops and chance encounters. Woke to more primrose skies. …And descended to a deserted reception. Perhaps everyone was sleeping off a hangover. No one emerged, so I left the keys on the counter, loaded the bike and throttled-off into the morning. I didn’t travel far, though – stopped at […]
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Is Melbourne’s White Night losing its shine?
I attended the first two White Night festivals in Melbourne and wrote ‘glowing’ accounts about them HERE and HERE, but was overseas for last year’s spectacle, the third. Apparently, organisers intended to address congestion concerns and disperse locations, but by all reports it was still a great White Night. So, I was keen to attend again this year, but have […]
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Tak goes with the flow
Loy Krathong, the annual goodbye to bad karma, part religious ceremony/part festival, is held throughout Thailand in November. People in Chiang Mai ‘let go’ Khoom Loy, candle-fuelled wish lanterns, into the night sky; elsewhere, candle and flower arrangements are launched adrift on miniature rafts made from banana leaf; but in Tak the vessel of choice is a coconut shell, released […]
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Chiang Mai in Flower
These photos were taken in Chiang Mai at the beginning of its Flower Festival in February. Thailand has about as many festivals as smiles and their itinerary can be just as inscrutable, but that doesn’t detract from enjoyment when accidently encountering them (which is what I did here). It was an entertaining night.
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Winton Wetlands – Adding Water
Earlier in the year I visited Winton Wetlands near Benalla in north east Victoria. It is the largest wetlands restoration poject in the Southern Hemisphere, and I wrote about it HERE. At that time it was like a miniature Kakadu in the dry season. The volume of water varies from year to year and I returned recently, following a not […]
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