THREE GENERATIONS ON A ROAD TRIP - W AUSTRALIA

In March, my son invited my wife and I to join his family for a road trip in Perth, W Australia. Settlers' Rest in Swan Valley was our home for the first few days when we caught up with friends and relations. Settlers' Rest is a farm where horses are trained, and other animals are kept. There is a separate house used as guest accommodation which is in high demand.
 

 

This is the best part of the house for with a fire going, we sang, talked and played some games after dinner.

Catching up with Pema Fernando, an old and cherished friend, who migrated there with his wife, Malika. 

We also met up with Jeremy Ho who lived in our estate and has undertaken to work in Perth.

At Sandalford Wines for wine-tasting - their Founder's Reserve has an average age of 30 years and is styled as a classic port-style liqueur.

Cheers to a Blanc included in the wine-tasting package!

Where the children played while we tasted wines.

At the Belmont Forum - a tribute to Australia's First Nation. As we had an MPV in Perth, in Belmont, my son picked up a camper van suited for his family of four. From that point, we drove a "convoy" of two vehicles down south.

Pemberton Tramway offers a popular ride through the bush to visit the Cascades featuring small rapids along Lefroy Brook set within a Karri Forest. Kangaroos and Wallabies may be sighted on the way.

Tumbling rapids of Lefroy Brook at the Cascades.

Father and daughters (the small one is partially hidden) hunched for a good view of the brook.

Mother and her daughters, with the small one endeavouring to be a ninja?

Featuring one dish from Oz Cuisine which I enjoyed with their craft beer

The Gloucester Tree (named after the Duke of Gloucester) which I first visited in the late 80's. It serves as a lookout for fires. It used to be that if anyone climbed all the way to the fire lookout tower on top, a certificate attesting to the feat would be awarded.

The Gloucester Tree was closed for repair when we visited so climbing was off limits. Eight trees are used for fire lookout purposes in the area and each is around 65 m tall.

Our young adventurers on the Dave Evans' Bi-Centennial Tree. They were very brave to climb on the metal spikes fixed to the tree. Had they not been stopped, they might have gone higher.

Can you spot the bigger girl in front of the Dave Evans Bi-centennial Tree?

 Its girth is huge requiring three adults and two children locking hands to go round it! 

Grandmother is happily leading the young ones for a train ride in an animal farm

She proudly told me that she was levitating on the beach of Busselton, as if to try and forget our unsuccessful outing to spot dolphins. A lesson learnt is that in trying to spot dolphins, one should go in summer or autumn when the weather is hot and the seas are less choppy.

 

At the Bridgetown Road Bridge where the bridge is supported by wooden columns and beams. It is also named the Blackwood River Bridge after the name of the river it spans. It is the longest yarrah timber bridge in W. Australia.

The Cidery (also Blackwood Valley Brewing Co.) in Bridgetown is a craft producer of boutique ciders, beers and spirits. We stopped here for lunch. Food was good and the ambience was excellent. 

Kirup is a small town where we stopped at their pub for dinner and tasted a legendary red wine blend associated with it. Dinner was noisy as locals watched their favourite team play Aussie Football, after which many of them adjoined to the bar. These three friendlies were having their drinks outdoors and were happy to be photographed.

Wellington Dam in Wellington Forest featuring an 8k sq. m mega-mural depicting workers who worked on it and locals who lived in the area. The mural is aptly named "Reflections".

Picnic lunch at Stockton Lake. The camper van provided the chairs and tables for the picnic. It is a great place for camping and outdoor activities. 

Collie town reminds one of the small towns seen in Cowboy movies. It has its own Chinese restaurant

Collie's Victoria Hotel was established in 1898.

One of the past activities of the town was mining, There is a disused coal mine which now serves as a museum. These trains on display were used for transporting coal.

These rare living rock-like formations, found in Lake Clifton, Yalgorup National Park, offer a rare glimpse into Earth's earliest days. They produce oxygen that enabled all subsequent life. Those seen here from a boardwalk are reckoned to be about 2k years old and are part of a reef considered the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The best views of them can be had between January and May when water levels are lowest. 

The two small ones at Bell Rapids of Brigadoon. It all seems dry as it is not the rainy season, thus enabling them to explore what are only pools of water..

During the rainy season, white-water rafting events are held here at Bell Rapids. As it is now, one has to imagine it.

My wife and I stayed at this cabin at the Pemberton Caravan Park. It was good as all six of us could use its facilities to cook dinner (and breakfast) and also wash up before going to bed. It is preferred for this reason as the camper van space is crammed.  

CENTRAL ASIA - MELTING POT OF GREAT CIVILISATIONS AND RELIGIONS

Where in Almaty do such beautiful tulip flowers grow? Read on to find out.

 

28 Panfilov Guardsman Park (commonly called Panfilov Park) in Almaty is a very famous attraction. It was established in the 1870's as a city garden. It was renamed in 1942 in honour of 28 soldiers from an Almaty Infantry unit who died in WWll. It encompasses Ascension Cathedral, Glory Memorial with an eternal flame commemorating the fallen soldiers, and an 18-hectare urban park.

The Eternal Flame for fallen soldiers.

Ascension Cathedral (also Zenkof Cathedral) is one of the most iconic landmarks in Almaty. Renowned for its colourful exterior and outstanding wooden construction, it was completed in 1908. It is regarded as one of the tallest wooden churches standing at 56m tall. Architect Andrei Zenkov created an engineering feat by building it out of wood, almost entirely without nails. It survived an earthquake and a period as a Soviet museum but is now under the Russian Orthodox Church. A major restoration was also made in 2020.

Kazakh musical instruments displayed in Central State Museum

An AI created portrait of Ordu, eldest son of Jochi who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan and his wife Borte. This was taken from a museum display about the kingdoms of Genghis Khan's sons.

A museum mock up of the burial of a high-ranking official of the Steppes possibly during the Golden Horde era.
 

Lagman (noodles) fried with beef. Such noodles, likely originated in Xinjiang, are a crucial part of their cuisine. The Xinjiang name is "La Mien".

Fried horse meat served with raw onions and Coriander. I reckon it's healthy as there is hardly any fat. 

Almaty (capital of Kazakhstan) on a cloudy day from Kok Tobe, an amusement park like Ba Na Hills in Vietnam, albeit on a smaller scale. On that day, it was not well patronised with the cable car down and inclement weather.

The Beatles are assigned their own corner on Kok Tobe. Beatlemania likely affected youngsters in the 60's and 70's for our Russian driver, who is 62 years old, knew about the Beatles song, "Back in the USSR", when I mentioned it during my conversation with Elaman.

About 40 km from Almaty is Huns Ethno Village created to show life in days of old. It can't be ascertained if the Kazakhs are direct descendants of the Huns. 

 

Two Kazakh "warriors" welcomed us.

Introduction to making Bauyrsaks, a traditional fried dough snack. Visitors were also encouraged to try their hands at making it.

A mock wedding was staged where one of the visitors married a local man. It was good fun.

At the end of a demo for how eagles hunt, the trainer got Chong to carry the bird which weighs about 5 kg. But, Chong's gait suggests he was afraid the eagle would peck at his eyes even tho' it was hooded.

Finale of a horsemanship show staged by two male and two female performers.Children were especially thrilled by it.

Visitors were invited to dance with the "villagers" and mingle with horses before lunch.

Fruit vendor at Almaty Green Bazaar which serves as a central market selling all essential food produce needed for daily sustenance.

Meat stall at the bazaar. Shops selling other essentials like medicines ring the bazaar. Unlike markets in S E Asia, such bazaars are clean and dry.

 

Charyn Canyon lies in Charyn Canyon National Park, along the Charyn River, It runs for about 180 km. It ranks No 2 in the World after the Grand Canyon of America, 

Unfortunately. our visit to the canyon was rushed because it not only takes fours to get there. The restaurant there could not serve us lunch as it ran out of water. So, we had to leave to drive back for about two hours to a restaurant before we could have lunch. More time is needed to explore it. Often adventure seekers camp to have a real feel for its beauty and ambience.

Ala-too Square features one of two Manas Monuments in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The building behind is the National History Museum. Manas is a semi-legendary war hero whose name was linked to one of the longest epics in world literature.

 

Burana Tower of the once thriving Balasangun City in the 9th to 13th Centuries. It served as the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate as well as the Qara Khitai Empire. It was a very important trading centre in the Silk Road. The most famous survivor from the city is Burana Tower which used to be 40m tall but became only 26m following an earthquake. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site,