Yala National Park

After a long drive through beautiful central Sri Lanka passing tea and rubber plantations and the highest peak of the country, we arrived at Yala in the south-east to visit the national park. We took two safaris, one in the afternoon (from 2:30-6:30p.m.) and one the next morning, beginning at 5:30. Just the two of use in the vehicle which was comfortable. The driver knew the place well and out on board guide was very good at spotting animals for us. The park is nearly 400 square miles in area and we saw quite a lot of it. There are over 200 species of bird. We saw hornbill, bulbul, spoonbill, stork, bee-eater, pelican, eagle and kingfishers galore, plus many more.

 The mammlas and reptiles we saw included buffalo, spotted deer, dozens of crocodiles, a jackal, a cobra crossing the track in front of us, troops of athletic langur monkeys, elephants and, glory be, a leopard lying in a tree. It was dusk and I could not get a decent photo of it with my low end compact! Alas, we did not see a sloth. The elephant below was just about to cross the track for a drink.

 Our accommodation was great. It was quite a way from the 'hotel' bar and restaurant and at night we had to be escorted two and fro by camp staff. On the 2nd evening there, we were on our way back to our room with our guide when a very large male elephant came walking silently towards us. We quickly hid behind a bungalow! It was surreal seeing such a large wild creature amongst the domesticity of holiday cabins.

 Our cabin seen from the beach.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala elephant orphanage is about halfway between Colombo and Kandy in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It was originally set up to look after elephants found wandering or orphaned and who were either at risk or who were posing a risk to villagers. They are captive but have a lot of space and freedom. There are upwards of 80 elephants at Pinnawala, probably the largest herd anywhere. Groups are taken to the river each day to cool down, wash, drink and mess about. The one above and below is pregnant and just wanted to rest. I tried to listen to the baby inside but either mum's skin was too thick or my hearing is fading because I didn't hear a sound or feel a kick.

 The small group willingly leave the water when asked. The stick is for 'guidance'!

 The group walks in an orderly manner from the river, up through a street of shops and across a main road. Quite a shock for the uninitiated tourist.

 The next group down to the river was very big, we counted 48, with the largest males bringing up the rear. The group has a lot of babies in it and they like to run so the chap front left of the photo has a loud hailer to warn people to get out of the way. I am standing pretty much in front of them.

 Here's one of the big guys bringing a snack with him.

 We had a different kind of snack!

Old Cracow

We went for a walk around Kazimierz, where the Jewish culture thrived before WWII. That culture is coming to the fore once again  as part of a more multicultural area with cafes, bars, shops and a flea market included. Important synagogues such as the Kupa and the Isaak, sit close to some of old Cracow's 150 catholic churches, such as the huge Corpus Christi (below). The wooden pulpit is fishing boat shaped, complete with oars, nets and mermaids

A sadly derelict children's playground, unused except for the cat. Can you spot it?

 More baffling than the two gentlemen outside St Mary's Basilica. How does she do it?

Plenty of good quality street music about, but happily for us, the streets are not crowded.

 Refreshment...

Birkenau

Very few buildings remain on the vast Birkenau site. The Nazis hastily destroyed the gas chambers and crematoria as the end of the war approached.

Extremely hot in summer, well below freezing in winter, with virtually no food, a few seconds a day to go to the 'toilet' (the holes in the centre of the block) if you were lucky, no washing or sanitation facilities and crammed three to a bunk, conditions would have been horrific.

The good news was that after our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, we drove through the beautiful Polish country side to Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II. his former house is now a museum and is next to the church where he was christened. Heading back towards Cracow we drove into the hills to the fabulous monastery at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.

 When the place gets busy they use  outdoor confessionals. Pictured are just a few of them!

Auschwitz (the Nazi name; Oswiecim in Polish)

Many words have been said and written already so I will add only a few more. Below is what the Nazis called the kitchen. They did not want prisoners to last very long, the aim was to work them to death so the 'food' was nothing more than occasional watery 'soup'.

 I was certainly upset at some of the things that we saw at the 'camp'. More often I was disgusted at the lengths to which the Nazis would go to make the prisoners suffer. for example, below are two posts. Victims would be pinioned by their arms and made to hang for hours just above the ground. Shoulders would become dislocated and when finally released from this torture, the victims would be expected to work; either that or be shot. You could be tortured for nothing more than looking at one of the guards. About 1.5 million people suffered here, mostly Jews, Poles, Russian POWs, gay people, the disabled. Some prisoners on outside work managed to smuggle messages to Polish resistance fighters. One set of messages included the names of the most brutal of the SS in the camp. Their names were then published in British and US newspapers, causing the cowards to be upset and providing the inmates with small but morale boosting satisfaction.

 A relatively minor number of the SS were brought to justice after the war. The gallows below were used to hang prisoners, usually in front of others to add to their terror. A small satisfaction for some was that after WWII the camp commandant was hanged here, just outside his residence. Having been inside the buildings and seen the rows of photographs of prisoners, the collections of hair, spectacles, toothbrushes, suitcases, false limbs, babies' shoes for example, I understand why the people at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre continue to hunt down the perpetrators of the appalling crimes of the Nazis and I wish them well in their efforts.

 Last stop on the tour is to enter a gas chamber.

Cracow, beautiful, inspiring and relaxing

Cracow, the former capital of Poland is a marvellous place to spend a few days. Below you have St Mary's Basilica in Rynek Glowny, europe's largest medieval market square. Every hour (24hrs a day) a bugler appears near the top of the tower and plays a warning to the four points of the compass. He then waves to the crowd who then wave back. Not sure what the crowd was like at 3:00a.m. though.

 The weather was great, as you can see. A bit warm for the horses perhaps but they are all well cared for and in beautiful condition.

 This is Wawel Cathedral, a short walk form Rynek Glowny. As in all the churches we visited in Cracow, the inside was awe inspiringly beautiful, including the ornate sarcophagi of Polish monarchs and national heroes. Our admiration for the Polish people grows as we hear how they finally gained independence in 1918 after a series of invasions and rule by Swedish, Prussian, Austrian empires. Then followed the dread of the Nazis and 45 years of Soviet repression.

 I would be very grateful if someone would tell me how this is done!

 Cracow is very relaxing, especially with a glass of Wyziec. Not bad in the back of a horse drawn carriage either!

Highgate Cemetery, London

A great place for a walk. We went on a sunny afternoon but I guess a windy Autumn or a spooky night would be just as uplifting.

£3 to enter or £7 if you want a guided tour. Some say it is pricey but there’s a big acreage to maintain!

Don’t the photos just make you want to visit?

Famous Residents:

Although its most famous occupant in the East Cemetery is probably Karl Marx there are many other prominent figures, Victorian and otherwise, buried at Highgate Cemetery. On a mainly literary and

artistic theme, residents include:

Douglas Adams, (E) author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and other novels. Next to him is Eddie Rosen, son of Michael.

Beryl Bainbridge, (W) novelist

Farzad Bazoft,(E) journalist, executed by Saddam Hussein's regime

Jeremy Beadle, (E) TV presenter, writer and producer, "curator of oddities"

Robert William Buss, (W) artist and illustrator

Patrick Caulfield, (E) painter and printmaker known for his pop art canvasses

John Dickens and Elizabeth Dickens, (W) parents of Charles and models for Micawber and Mrs Nickleby

Catherine and Dora Dickens, (W) wife and daughter of Charles

George Eliot (Mary Ann Cross), (E) novelist

William Alfred Foyle, (E) founder of Foyles the bookshop

Stella Gibbons, (W) novelist

Alexander Litvinenko, (W) Russian dissident turned critic, murdered by poisoning in London

Malcolm McClaren, (E) performer, impresario, manager of The Sex Pistols, 'godfather of punk'

Ralph Miliband, (E)  left wing political theorist, father of David Miliband and Ed Miliband

Henry Moore, (1831–95), (E) marine painter

Sir Ralph Richardson, (E) (1902–83), actor

Christina Rossetti, (W) poet

Frances Polidori Rossetti, (W) mother of Dante Gabriel, Christina and William Michael Rossetti

William Michael Rossetti, (W) co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Feliks Topolski, (E) Polish-born British expressionist painter

Patrick Wymark, (W) actor

Garway Hill, Herefordshire

I won’t reveal too much about Herefordshire because it is a largely rural county that in many ways modern life has passed by and I hope it stays that way, beautiful, lush and green.

We walked for a couple of hours from our hotel, the Bell at Skenfrith, through fields and farms to get to the summit of Garway Hill. Incidentally, the Bell at Skenfrith has great rooms but I would not recommend the place to anybody. The dining room service was poor and the barman offhand. The tone was set when the five of us arrived and instead of saying ‘Welcome to the Bell, I hope that you have an enjoyable stay’ the host said ‘name please.’

You would be better off at the Garway Moon Inn which we visited on the way down. It has good food, real ale and a friendly welcome.

Garway is a village in southwest Herefordshire, lying approximately equidistant from Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth. Above the village stands Garway Hill, a prominent local landmark rising to over 1200 feet.

From the top of the hill there is a view of seven counties in a 360-degree panorama. White mountain horses graze there most of the year and raise their foals amongst the bracken. Sheep roam freely. A pond near the summit provides a water supply for the animals which lasts all the year round, despite there being no visible source to keep it topped up. The pond is also home to a protected species of newt.

Here’s us at the summit, is Pete the first Australian up there? Perhaps not.

Old Dubai

Additional metro stations have opended in the two years since I was last in Dubai, including the one at Al Karama. The district of Al Karama is one where 'genuine' watches, handbags and designer clothes can be bought. How do you like the bag below? Someone looks pleased with their purchase!

Away from all the glitz of Downtown Dubai is Bastakiya. Here, traditional sand and stone wind tower houses have been restored. The alleys offer calm and shade and amongst the art galleries and museums. There are small hotels such as the one below where we enjoyed a nice pot of tea!

An abra ride for 1 dirham is a bargain but don't sit at the front unless you want to get wet from the wash of a passing cruiser. Across the Creek from Bastakiya there are dhows loading and unloading everything from tractor tyres to three-piece-suites. As you can see, they are not the most modern of seafaring craft and it must be a tough life for the traders as they ply the Persian Gulf and contend with oil tankers and Iranian coastguards - 'Cigarettes? Of course not, it's all tractor tyres on board sir!'

It's a lengthy walk from The Address to the sea but worth it!

Burj Khalifa

100dirhams if you book in advance but advance is a week away so we go so called VIP which means 400dirhams each, instant entry and no queuing. Late afternoon is a great time to go because you get daylight, the onset of evening and then the bright lights of downtown Dubai at night.

It is 160 floors to the top (828m) and though 'At the Top' (the observation deck) is a mere 124 floors up it is still quite an elevation. That's our hotel down below with the fountain area in front. The dark blue is that lovely pool I mentioned earlier and the Dubai Mall is on the left.

This is looking down Sheikh Zayed Road past the Emirates Towers and towards the Creek.