Articles from this Category
19 October 2004
Getting ready I woke at 0500 and lay till 0630. We got packed up and headed out for a brief walk around the town of Hama before breakfast at 0715. I wanted to see what changes, if any, since our visit two years ago. Text continues after this gallery. Pat and Fiona joined […]
18 October 2004
Above: Temple of Bacchus. See the size of the man at the bottom? Roman Ruins of Baalbek Today is a big day. We plan to start from Beirut to Baalbek for sightseeing, then hopefully continue to Hama in Syria. I have concerns that the border in the north of Lebanon may not be open to […]
17 October 2004
Hill summer retreats Breakfast at the hotel took a turn downhill today with no tomatoes and cucumber. It was quite a surprise as both are basics of a Mediterranean breakfast. We took a brief walk outside the hotel, recognising Starbucks and the juice shop from our previous visit to Beirut. We met Zakaria, our driver […]
16 October 2004
Taking a day-trip I loved my Middle Eastern or Mediterranean breakfasts! Tomato, cucumber, cheeses, hard boiled eggs, bread, cake, strong coffee/tea and the token cornflakes perhaps to make the selection more “international”. Fiona didn’t seem too comfortable with the food and stuck to the mini French bread, toasted and buttered with tomato slices on top. […]
15 October 2004
Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beirut We woke at the Kuala Lumpur airport’s Airside Transit Hotel at 0545 and walked down to the departure gate at 0630 for the 0720 departure to Beirut on Malaysia Airlines, via Dubai on the same aircraft. With about 20 passengers arriving late from Melbourne, we departed a little late. […]
13 October 2004
Due to my body being on Auckland time, I woke at 0330, then 0430 and 0630. But I lazed till 0730. Kim’s mum, Fiona rang while we were having breakfast. Last night, their taxi driver had a little trouble finding their hotel. Then their aircon malfunctioned which necessitated a shift to a different room. Kim […]
22 June 2004
Above: Dog walker on the streets of London. Morning in London Today we will hopefully fly to Los Angeles and then to Auckland. With departure at 1615, we had some time to spend in London. Breakfast at the hotel around 0830 was a pleasant continental but the star of the buffet for me was the […]
21 June 2004
Tourist trap Today we leave Krakow for London for a one-night stay. We have the morning to kill, so I took the tram to Old Town once again, for one last look. Kim opted to read and relax in the room. Text continues after this gallery. We checked out around 1220 and hopped […]
21 June 2004
We landed at Gatwick around 1700 and took the slow train into London for GBP8 instead of the Gatwick Express which cost about 50% more but only saved 3 minutes journey time. In London, we had booked to stay at the modest Stuart Hotel where we had stayed less than a year ago. But they […]
20 June 2004
Trip to Auschwitz & Birkenau It was a rainy day. Rather heavy rain actually. After breakfast we took the tram and bus to town where we had about five minutes to spare before our bus ride to Auschwitz. The trip took about 1h30 but couldn’t see anything on the outside due to condensation on the […]