Cool Mountains

Annapurna Range, Pokara, Nepal

Swiss Alps in the distance

Bhutan Tibet border, Himalayas, Dochu La Pass, Bhutan

Ring of Kerry, Ireland

The Hermitage, Gorge de Galamus, Pyrenees, France

Mount Sondor, Larapinta Trail, West MacDonnell Ranges, NT

Mount Warning, from The Border Track, Lamington NP, QLD

The Brindabellas from Black Mountain Tower, Canberra, ACT

Thanks to Ailsa of Where’s My Backpack I have been searching through my mountain photos. We have visited mountains overseas, in Nepal, where the Himalayas almost encircle Kathmandu, and creep right up to Pokara, in Bhutan which is built amongst the Himalayan foothills, in Ireland where as usual we always search out the wildest places, in southern France with the Pyrenees, and in Switzerland where even a distant view of the Alps is breath-taking. Included here are mountains of Australia, an ancient land whose peaks have been wearing away for a very long time. Mount Warning is the centre of an old shield volcano, near the Border Ranges of NSW and Queensland. The Brindabellas, a small mountain range just south west of our nation’s capitol, Canberra, are often snow capped in winter, making a pretty sight from the city. Mount Sondor is part of the West MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia, a mountain made famous by iconic aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira.

Sunday Post: Valuable

In our world of troubles religion is sore point for many people, with wars fought to eradicate those who do not think quite the same way as someone else. Here Buddhism is so valuable, showing the way towards accepting others as they are, towards valuing each different view, towards loving one another in the way that Jesus taught. Buddhist countries build beautiful temples decorated with valuables as an expression of devotion to the teachings of the Buddha and man’s search for enlightenment. Here is a photo of Swayambhunath Stupa Kathmandu, also known as the Monkey Temple.

To see other entries look at http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/sunday-post-valuable/

Sunday Post: Vehicle

Jake’s challenge of the week is Vehicle, so much fun to research I ended up with lots, so here is a gallery!

bicycle carrier nepal

dudley canal boats, walsall england, take you into underground coal mines

tuk tuk new delhi

motorbike rajasthan

our local flight in and out

like a ride?

jeep safari in rajasthan

waiting for their drivers

If you are interested in canal boats you might like the link to http://www.dudleycanaltrust.org.uk/ where we took a trip into a hillside riddled with canals, where men mined for coal many years ago.

Here are some other great entries:

http://adinparadise.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/jakes-sunday-post-vehicle/

http://ceeslifephotographyblog.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/jakesprinters-sunday-post-vehicle/

http://weirdandcoolstuff.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/sunday-post-vehicle/

http://jayjaysfavorites.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/water-dragon-weekly-sunday-post-vehicle/

http://jullianeford.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/sunday-post-vehicle/

A-Z Archive: K is for Kathmandu

A few years ago we went to Nepal to work with a charity organisation for three weeks. We were based in PepsiCola Town Planning, a suburb on the fringes of Kathmandu, where large houses are built on prime market garden land along the river. Families generally live in one or two rooms and rent the others. The hustle of the city was very close, and thick smog lay over the whole valley which is surrounded by the peaks of the Himalayas. Rubbish was burnt in the street, adding to the fumes of cheap petrol, and almost everyone had respiratory problems.

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The city has beautiful Buddhist temples, fascinating old architecture, and marvelous markets where artisans display their wares. However the crowding, rubbish and smog make it quite unpleasant now. We were very glad to fly away to Pokara for a short break, where the air was clear and you could see the surrounding mountains!

Check out the other “K” photos here, and join in with your own “K” image http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/a-z-archive-k-challenge/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Hope

three boys excited about their new clothes, sitting on the roof to watch us work

In 2007 my husband and I spent three weeks working with a charity in Nepal. One of our projects was to sort bags of donated clothes for children in an orphanage on the outskirts of Kathmandu.  We traveled out there each day on local buses, or walked if we could not get on …they were so crowded that men sat on the roof. The children in the orphanage were there not because they were orphans, but because their families could not care for them. They were too poor, or ill, or dislocated due to fighting, to provide a home, or the children were ill and needed extra care. After many days of sorting bags of clothes in a freezing, damp, mildewed concrete block room we had found what we thought would be useful. The children entered in little groups to receive their share.

it fits!

Simultaneously we were providing each child with a metal trunk, in which to keep their belongings, whereas previously everything was communal property. My husband was painting the name and specially chosen symbols onto each shiny trunk.

Everyone involved was very excited and full of hope for the future of these children and the orphanage project.

us with the finished trunks

and here is the orphanage building, a place where through the hard work and generosity of many people, children in need could find food, shelter and education. Hope for a better life!