2011 HSBC Rugby Charity Dinner

On Friday night Queenie and I had the privilege of attending the annual rugby charity dinner whose guest speaker was none other than dual code (union & league) international rugby player John "Bentos" Bentley who featured on the 1997 Lions tour to South Africa.

Paul, Queenie & John Bentley

The dinner is an annual event now and was first initiated after the Bali Bomb Blasts in 2002. The dinners were aimed at raising funds for the families of members of the Taipei rugby community that were murdered in the bomb blasts and also helps those who suffered injury. The charity has also expanded to assisting a young man that was injured playing rugby here in Taiwan, The Harmony Home Aids Orphanage in Taipei and the development of rugby in Taipei. All worthwhile causes. We went with some of our friends including Andy, his wife Julia, Hector and Mark as well as a bunch of other friends we have got to know over the years watching rugby at the Brass Monkey.

The main speaker at the event was John "Bentos" Bentley. John was a dual-code international playing both Rugby Union and Rugby League at the international level. He was a member of the British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1997 and beat the Springboks. John was an amazing speaker and entertained the audience for an hour with his jokes and perspectives on rugby. It was truly a pleasure meeting him. I have linked to two videos on the history of the tour below:

Lions Tour 1997 - Part 1:


Lions Tour 1997 - Part 2:

The event was amazing and we had a lot of fun. The best part was catching up with all our friends. Pictures of us and our friends are below.

Queenie and Hector


Andy and Julia


Hector, Mark & Paul


Queenie and Julia


John Bentley & Hector


John Bentley and Hector


Paul and Bernie


Table Center Piece


Hector


All of Us


Some of the Taipei Baboons

Queenie and I had a truly awesome time and we will be sure to attend the event next year. It is for a worthwhile cause. The food was awesome and the speaker was great. We had a truly wonderful time with our friends.

Rugby - The Lifeblood of New Zealand

Queenie and I are huge fans of New Zealand and rugby. I have been watching rugby for as long as I can remember and Queenie really enjoys watching the games with me. I played before but recently not so much. We are fans of rugby but I suppor the South African team and Queenie is a huge All Blacks supporter. Anyway, a friend shared this wonderful video with us on facebook. I decided to share it here.

New Zealand 2004

Queenie and I visited New Zealand in 2004 (seems a long time ago) and we loved the country so much. It is truly beautiful and the people are incredibly friendly. In fact, all over the world, wherever we meet Kiwis, they seem to be the nicest people we know. So I was happy to find this video that looks at rugby in New Zealand and what it means to the New Zealand people and how everyone seems to be involved in rugby from the youngest to the oldest. The video is Embedded below.

I hope you enjoyed.

Shek O (石澳) Beach - Hong Kong

From Wikipedia - "The name "Shek O" literally means the "rocky bay". The entire area is a peninsula on the southern coast of the Hong Kong Island, facing the South China Sea. Shek O is surrounded by Shek O Country Park, Big Wave Bay and Cape D'Aguilar."

Beach Model

The first time we went to Shek O (石澳) was way back at the end of 2005 with our friends Annie and Dennis at the back end of our six week China trip (see our China Travelogue). It was a cold mid December night and the streets of Hong Kong were wild with rioters at the WTO meetings. globalization protestors had gathered outside the HK Convention center and were charging the police lines. I remember watching the television and seeing police desperately trying to fight protestors back. At the time we were sitting in a Thai restaurant relaxing with a few cold beers in the chilly December air. After that we went to an outdoor beach side bar and were warmed by a giant fire before heading back into Hong Kong. We have always meant to go back but never got round to it until this last weekend.

Us in Shek O in 2005 with Annie and Dennis

On Saturday one of our friends (an ex coursemate of mine from business school Sam) took us on a hike over the mountains behind Shek O. We walked for about four hours (at a leisurely pace) along the trail (will write more on this hike later) which had spectacular ocean views of both Shek O and Stanley. After the hike we were all hungry so jumped onto a bus and landed up at a beautiful Thai restaurant near the beach. The food was pretty good and fortunately they were showing the rugby too so we could watch the England-France RWC 2011 quarter-final. Once the food was finished, and the rugby finished, Queenie and I headed to the beach.

The beach was bigger than expected. There was a long lead up to the water which gave people plenty of room to spread out and relax. On the side of the beach were some restaurants (some seemed to be doing BBQs) and of course the regular beach crowd hanging out and playing beach games or swimming. The beach was pretty and is in a nice natural bay. There were some waves but the waves weren't that big and there were some good views. We enjoyed just hanging out on the beach and relaxing. We didn't have bathing suits (and it was getting late) so we decided not to swim. But the water was a bit chilly but still pleasant to walk in. Below are some pictures of the beach and the people on the beach at Shek O.

Quite close to us on the beach was a model that was trying to do a portfolio of shots. We managed to take a few pics of her in a few poses.

Beach Model - 01

Beach Model - 02

Beach Model - 03

There were also enty other people hanging out on the beach.

Shek O Beach

Me at Shek O Beach

We also spent some time just relaxing on the rocks at the back of Shek O beach. It was such a beautiful place to relax.

Queenie on Shek O Beach

Paul on Shek O Beach

The view from the rocks

Shek O is a great place to hang out and relax. Some good Thai restaurant, far away from the main centres of Hong Kong so you feel away from the crowds. The beach wasn't too crowded and it looked pretty clean. We hope to go back and swim there someday in the future. Until then why dont you go?

Lizard and Cicada in Pinglin (坪林)

Earlier this summer we revisited Pinglin (坪林) (see A Riverside Walk in Pinglin (坪林)) with my mom, Sister and nephew. As we were walking down the trail we heard this terrible screeching noise. We looked on the tree and saw this Cicada being eaten by a lizard. The picture is below.

Cicada Trapped in Lizard's Saliva

It may seem cruel but this is nature and the cycle of life and happens everyday in every wilderness in the world. It was a fascinating sight and I was lucky enough to get the picture. As we got closer, the lizard got more nervous and nearly dropped its prey. As you can see in the picture above, the cicada is stuck in the lizard's saliva and hanging suspended in space.

Beijing August 02: Morning in Tianamen Square

Tianamen Square is, as per the lonely planet, the center of the Chinese Universe. Most people have heard of it beacause of the student uprising that occurred in Tianamen Square way back in 1989. I have also read that Falun Gong members have regularly been arrested there for acts of protests. At any rate, Tianamen Square is one of the places a person must go if they go to Beijing. But once is enough I think!

Sculpture in Tianamen Square

Thousands and millions of words have already been written about Tianamen, and all of those are no doubt far more eloquent than anything we can say. What is Tianamen Square: well, it is just that, a big, flat square in the middle of Beijing surrounded by official buildings and the Heavenly Gate that leads to the Forbidden City. So apart from that we will not say too much about the square itself (and no, we didn't visit Mao's Mausaleum).

Mom in Tianamen Square

For Queenie and I it is the second time we have been to this famous/notorious bit of real estate in the middle of Beijing. The first time was way back in the winter of 2005 on the back end of a six week tour of China. It was the middle of a deep winter and the temperature at the time was -9C - FREEZING - and the square was empty (see China Travelogue 8: Lanzhou to Beijing). Anyway, this time around it was a muggy, hot, humid August day - and there were a lot of people moving in and out of the square. They even had a security check point with x-ray machines (this wasn't there the last time we visited)and it is probably only there for the summer (at -9C Queenie and I were the only two people in the Square).

Mom & Queenie in Tianamen Square

Mom & Queenie in Tianamen Square

The good thing about going to Tianamen Square this time was that we could actually get our pictures taken in the square. The last time we were here we took pictures but our memory chip got destroyed so we don't have any pictures of this part of our trip round China! Not good. So we go some pictures of us here and also a video (see below) but other than that, it was a fairly uneventful visit and walk through the square. If back in Beijing would I visit it again: depends on the weather. In the heart of winter no and in the heat of summer no - probably a cool spring/autumn evening would be nice, but there is nothing else that is compelling to draw me back there.

After visiting Tianamen Square we visited the Forbidden city (but didn't go in as too many people) and also Beihai. All in all it was a pretty awesome day.

Photowalk in the Taipei Flower Market - Pt. 1

Over the weekend we went on our second photowalk with our friends Ron and Melody in the Taipei Flower Market. The theme of the photowalk was Macro photography. As per wikipedia: "Macro photography is close-up photography of usually very small objects. The classical definition is that the image projected on the "film plane" (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject"

The Sphere

This Sunday saw us with our friends Ron and Melody going on a photowalk through the Taipei Flower market under the highway on Chienkuo South Road. The theme of the photowalk was Macro photography. As noted above, Macro photography is the art of taking close up pictures of objects where the image and the object are roughly the same size. It was an interesting learning curve to say the least and both our cameras have a Macro function which makes it easier to do. Well, my camera certainly did have some limitations and the images below, as per Ron, are not all Macro pictures but we tried and, most importantly, we all had fun and awesome day. All the pictures below were edited in the "ViewNX 2" suite that came with Queenie's Nikon P7000. I was using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3.

The pictures below are taken by me. Queenie will post her pictures when she has some time.

The laughing Buddha face was a close up of a wooden sculpture. The picture is cropped to show just the eyes, nose and mouth. I liked the definition in the lines on the wood and also the fullness of the face in the frame. I think it could have been cropped better as I don't like the dark patch in the top left hand corner.

Wooden Scultpture of Buddha

The frogs below are ceramic and normally used as decorative items on indoor water features. The were positioned above a small water fountain and seemed to make a nice picture.

Balancing Frogs

The picture below is a close up of the bottom of a water bottle held up agains the light. The picture is cropped and the original wasn't too bad either. I did modify the birghtness, contrast & color on this picture slightly and I think it came out ok.

Bottom of a Plastic Bottle

I liked these cherries, and yes they were plastic. Was trying to get in as close as possible but as you can see, the cherry in the foreground is slightly blurred.

Plastic Cherries

This was just a cute ceramic sculpture. I think the picture says it all. Once again I got as close as possible but not sure it came out the way I wanted it too. Still liked the picture and the way it came out though.

Sunflower Child

The close up of the bird I also liked. I did enhance color and contrast on the picture but once again it came out a bit blurred, which is the challenge of identifying how close I can actually get to an object with my lens and understanding how to use the light.

Bird on a Stand

The trinkets shown in the image below are about the same size as the trinkets themselves (or close to it) so I suppose in that sense it would be a macro picture (although I may be corrected). Once again color, contrast and brightness have all been enhanced in this picture, as well as sharpness.

Trinkets

The "flower organs" picture below is a heavily cropped picture. The actual picture included the entire flower and the some of the background leaves. I cropped all that out just to get a picture of the inside of the flower and also did some additional enhancements.

The Heart of a Flower

More trinkets on sale. These are actually pretty cheap plastic items but I liked the color contrast between the gold extrerior and the red interior.

Trinkets

I just liked the way the stem here is framed by the leaf and also the soft green tinges.

Nature Uncut

This is possibly my favorit picture of the day. Very little modifications were made on this picture. I love the symmetry of the leaves and the rich color of the leaves.

Leaves in a Circle

This picture at first I didn't like. It seems a bit blurred but the lines on the petal are fairly sharpe and the light that comes through the petals of the flower helped make it better in my mind. I did enhance the brightness of the image a bit and I think it makes it look a little better.

Light through a Flower

Just a basic close up of some small fruit growing on a tree. I did enhance the sharpness, the color and the brightness in this one.

Fruit on a Tree

All in all it was a pretty awesome day. Both Queenie and I enjoyed it and we certainly learned a few things. So thanks again Ron for taking the time to show us.

A Riverside Walk in Pinglin (坪林)

Pinglin (坪林) is a small town south of Taipei that is most famous for its tea production. The town itself has a Tea Museum. Pinglin (坪林) is nestled in the mountains and the tourist department there have initiated a tourist promotion scheme by providing free shuttle buses to take people to places of interes. A really beautiful and wonderful place.

Next to the Jingualiao River(金瓜寮溪)

Turkish Delight Pt. 04: Beautiful Bozburun

As per Wikipedia: "Bozburun is a small seaside town with own municipality in Marmaris district, in southwestern Turkey. The permanent population is about 2000. It is situated on the coast of the peninsula of the same name (Bozburun Peninsula) which extends in parallel to Datça Peninsula in the south. The town faces across the sea the town of Datça and the Greek island of Symi (Sömbeki in Turkish)"

Boat off the Bozburun Shore

Bozburun is a beautiful, quaint very old town nestled against the Mediterranean in the South of Turkey. It is a beautiful, peaceful town where, on a sunny winters day, people can relax on the sea front and enjoy a beer and some snacks with good conversation. The gentle sound of the water, the sun glistening off the water like a million diamonds and the sight of small fishing boats and yachts slowly drifiting on the sea sets the relaxed ambience of one of our favorite spots in the South of Turkey. Without a doubt, this little town, an hours drive from Marmaris, is a little gem hidden away and is a classic Mediterranean town (as I always imagined it).

Bozburun Sea Front

We had the good fortune to go there twice while we were in the South of Turkey, and both times we were trying to get to a restaurant in a town called Suud futher along the coast. Our sister Judith thinks the restaurant is amazing. The first time we went the restaurant was closed. The second time, it was open. Since we had to pass through Bozburun, we stopped on both occasions and on both occasions we went to the same restaurant, drank a couple of Efes beers and snacked on french fries. Bozburun also has a lot of memories for Judith and Ahmet as the first time Judith visited Turkey 16 years ago, Ahmet took her to this idyllic little town. They share some of their stories in the video below:

As per Ahmet an Judith, Bozburun is very famous for manufacturing Gulets which are two masted traditional sailing vessels. And as we drove along the coast in and around Bozburun we saw many shipyards manufacturing and working on the Gulets. Depending on the size and quality of the Gulet, each vessel can cost up to over US$1,000,000.

Gulet

Also, as you saw in the video above, Ahmet was trying to teach Tibet how to fish. They managed to catch a few small fish but nothing of significant size. At least Tibet had some fun learning with his Dad and it was great to see.

Ahmet Teaching Tibet to Fish

There were also a lot of very friendly dogs in Bozburun that always came out to greet us. On the last visit there we took Judith's dog Bonnie with us for a day out. She had a blast running around outside and chasing the other dogs. It was good to see her happy and having a good day as Bonnie is normally in a bad mood.

Judith with Bonnie

Friendly Golden Spaniel

Another Friendly Bozburun Dog

As I mentioned above, part of the charm of Bozburun were the small fishing boats and yachts that float on by. But it should be remembered that in the summer, the sea is filled with day trip boats and yachts of people cruising the Mediterranean so I think in the summer the quaint quietness of the town might be lost.

Small Fishing Boats

Without a doubt Bozburun is an awesome place. In the winter, without the business of tourists, there is a peace and tranquility to this place that is magical.

Magical Bozburun

We all enjoyed it and easily relaxed in this little town.

Tibet in Bozburun

Ahmet Taking it Easy

Judith Taking a Break

Queenie Enjoying the Winter Sun

Me Taking a Stroll in Bozburun

Both of us in Bozburun

Queenie, Judith and Bonnie

Tibet in Bozburun

Judith in Bozburun

Ahmet with His Friend in Bozburun

So anyway, we loved Bozburun. I think in summer it gets hotter and more crowded (both the town and the sea) but is probably still worth the trip. However, for peace and quiet in the deep South of Turkey, I think this is a perfect place to stop and spend a few days. Chances of anyone finding you there is pretty small. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the post and look forward to your comments.