Seebrugge, Belgium, where summer isn't always summer

It was once and only time that my ship stopped in Seebrugge, and thanks for my luck, I was free in the afternoon, so, went to discover the place a little. Soon I realised that though it is July, that doesn't necessarily mean the summer is like i used to it. It was definitely a sunny day, all right, but it was a cool for that matter, maybe only like 14 Celsius degree. Not my dream beach holiday weather.
The town is pleasant, very clean,as you would expect, with many cobblestone walking streets with small shops, cafes, restaurants. But remember, Belgium is not a cheap place!
The architecture is the usual European style, though they got many houses more remind me to those in England.
And yes, Seebrugge also got a beach, like most of the seaside towns. For my shock, also people who went to sunbathe though most others were wearing coats and sweaters. I was between this too kind, having a T-shirt only, but I was freezing.
Guess I still prefer those other kind of beaches.
But it was nice to see a new place, buy some of the famous Belgium chocolate, and most of all be a bit away from work even for a short time.

Recovering deleted files from Hard Disc

I think I am neither the first, nor the last who got some computer problems. Recently my computer got some virus, and I had to get all system reinstalled on it. So far so good, I know this coming, and as it should be, I made some file backups on DVDs. But as it was many to make, and I was in a hurry, I didn't check that all was OK and fine.

And you guessed it correctly, it wasn't. As it turned out my DVD writer likes DVD-R discs, and I last picked up some DVD+Rs, not having the usual brand I use to buy. This little mistake almost turned out to be a nightmare, as I ended up a couple of useless DVDs, as I just after the install find it out.

Maybe one lucky thing was, that I chose a little upgrade once the system needed to be reinstalled, and that included a new, bigger HDD as well as another 1GB RAM.

The old one was not reformatted, yet, so, when I called the same night my computer repairman, he calmed me down that there is a good chance to get back files from HDD, even deleted files.

What files we talking about here?

Mostly JPEG photo files, Acrobat files, .doc files, mp3 files, etc. I was really the most concerned about losing my photos. They are near impossible to replace, and I really like to use in my blog my own shots. I do, all I posted so far is mine!

So, it all happened as my repairman told, he got a wonderful ( and easy to use) program, called Recover My Files. And after scanned the HDD, it found more then I hoped, and I was able to recover all my photos, documents, music, and ebooks, and some more, I didn't even remember so old files. Now I have to select true the whole bunch, to remove unwanted, but I will be glad to do.

All I can say: ever you are in a similar situation, don't panic, there is a very good chance to recover your deleted (maybe by mistake) files from your HDD!

A happy day indeed for me today, after the worries last night.

Banknotes from around the World, No.3

The Hungarian 200 Forint bill

This banknote is special for many reasons:

First and most, because it is my homeland's currency.

The 200 Forint banknote is the smallest denomination in Hungary, and not for long, as they announced that they will very soon replace it with a 200 Forint coin.

What also make it special as prior this note, we didn't have in the older set 200 Forint, only in the latest series was featured such.

The Banknote itself I think look fine. In the front it feature a famous medieval king's portrait, King Karoly Robert ( Charles Robert), who was the first ruler from the Anjou dynasty.

On the back, one of his favorite castle, or actually the picture of its ruins can be seen.

The name of the castle Diosgyor, it is a smaller town in North-East Hungary, and apart from it's castle, it is also famous from it's chocolate factory. Would you wonder, I love chocolate, and had lots of those from my childhood made in Diosgyor. I can really say sweet memories about this place!

My favorite blue water lillies

I like flowers, if someone wouldnt know by now.

But I like more to look at them, and adore their beauty, then actually have them, though those orchids are real nice addition of the house, and anyway my wife is the one who really take care of them.

Where I come from, there we also have water lillies, but usually they are white, sometimes with some pinkish shade, and rarely there are some yellow.

I have never seen any blue colour water lilly prior coming to Thailand. Never even think there is one exist. And here I am now, and they have plenty of beautiful blue water lillies, some just dark blue, and some goes to more toward the purple. But they all look just great, and I think they look perfect on photos too...

Crocodile wrestling show

With a friend, during his vacation and sightseeing visiting to us to Thailand, we went to see this place near Samut Prakhan, where they offered crocodile wrestling along with a small zoo, a orchid garden, elephant show, and a big park to walk around a lake.
The most exciting was the crocodiles of course! They also have there many farmed, separated by their age, all different sizes. I assume most ends up in the local souvenir shop by the entrance, some as wallet, some as belt or shoes.
But a few bigger they keep for the show.
I don't know these local guy make a good living for doing this or not, sure I wouldn't want to try to do this after them. No way. Also I saw a YouTube video where the crocodile just closed its mouth when the guy head was in it.
This didn't happen here. Good for all of us.
The guys were pro, pulled the crocodiles left and right, lie on their back, slide to then on their stomach to give then kiss, and yes, put their heads in the mouth of the crocodiles. Crazy.

Nai Harn Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Phuket is Thailand biggest island, and boosts many popular and beautiful beaches.

Nai Harn beach is one of the more picturesque one, located near to the Southern tip of the island.

It is not too developed, which I didn't mind at all. It has only a Le Meridian hotel with a yacht club, in one end of the beach, and a monastic center in the middle. Otherwise white sand, clear water, beach umbrellas and sunshine. They were planning to built a pier here, but later they find that the wave direction wont support these plans. Better for me.

To really see and enjoy the view, you have to go up the hill opposite to the hotel, on the far end of the beach. Once there, you will be amazed, the view is spectacular!! There is a small lake behind the beach, which connects to the sea, the white sand, the forest covered hills, and the turquoise blue water. I just hope the photo give back some of the beauty of this beach.

Our orchids, Part 3.

Once, again, some more of our new orchids.

Really try to have different looking ones, and they all beautiful. Luckily, we have plenty of space to hang them up around the house, and they really look great, a nice addition to our house.

Also, a good thing they hang is that when the rabbits are out, they cant attack them. They already ate some of out other flowers, particularly a purple-green kind is their favorite. But I wont give them the orchids too!!

Portofino, Italy

Portofino is located on a peninsula near Santa Margherita, on the Italian Riviera.
This picturesque little seaside village has lot to offer. First, myself coming from the sea, as I was there on a cruise ( yes, work again) I saw all the nice, pastel colour houses, and the fishing boats on front of them. It is a real pretty harbour, with the main square just right at the edge of the harbour, offering lots cafes and restaurants. Since it was a hot day, I rather settled for a good portion of Italian gelato ( ice cream). I started out with a not too long but bit steep hike up to the Castello Brown, which is more like a villa with a nice garden, and probably the best view to the harbour and the village. It is also a museum.
On the way down, I took a detour to see the San Giorgio Church, which also has a panoramic view, but from a different angle then from the Castle. I met a friendly Italian family, who even fed me with some homemade cookies.
Down the village, actually it is a tiny one, very few street, but all pretty, all has cafes, and souvenir shops. The place is pricey, lately is very popular retreat for those rich and famous, so, it is more for looking the buying, but nevertheless, became on of my favorite Mediterranean port, with its charming beauty. I am really lucky, as I could visit here some more since, and I still love the place just like I did at first.

My new Blog banner

After some days and a few tries, finally I have a nice looking banner for my Blog.
There was first a temporary static banner, but it wasn't the real thing, that knew from the start. Found this nice photo banner template, where I could upload 5 photos. And this is around how far I could get on my own.
But there are friends, and friends are helping when one is in need of help.
My good friend Susan gave me a helping hand, and did a lot of work on the banner, effective converting my ideas into what is the final banner.
She is not only great with computer staff, far more then I ever will be, but also not a give up type of person. I am so glad having her as my friend, and I am very proud of her for her work, and the results.
Finally my Blog get a banner, so, I can promote it better from now on.
Thank you very much Susan!!

This is a not clickable image of the banner. ( no need to click, anyway, you are on the site already. Certainly, there is a clickable version, I already posted on some forums).



I hope all will like it. I do, for sure.

Getting to the locks:The Panama Canal story, part 2

Here I am, with the second part of the Panama Canal story.
After the many details of the Canal previously, let me tell you a bit about how the things work when a ship crossing the Panama Canal.
First of all, like in most ports, crossing The Panama Canal they have a special person who help to navigate the ship: the Pilot. The Pilot is actually a ship captain, who is familiar with the local waterways, much more then a usual ship captain. Actually it is mandatory for big ships to have a Pilot in board, who takes full charge of the ship in the Canal.
Even with Pilots, I still saw 2 accidents during my 20 or so crossing of the Canal, both ship was hitting some small island in Gatun Lake.
So, Pilot on board, all fine.
The most difficult thing is to get the ships safely to the lock, and to get them threw of the locks. For this, there are first the tugboats. These small looking boats has extraordinary power compare to their size. They have usually 2 of them to tow a mid-size ship into the lock, in case a real big ship sometimes 3 of them needed. I assume it also depends a bit on weather conditions, namely the wind.
After the tugboats did their jobs, there are trains to move the ships in the locks.
They attach cables to the ship, not only to pull it forward from one chamber to the next, but also to keep the ship safely away to hit the walls of the locks.
Usually they have 4 trains attached to a ship, but again, for the real big and heavy cargo ships they attach a total of 8 engines often, for extra power.
It is really a well organized teamwork to get the ships threw the locks. And it is a non-stop work as well, as the Panama-Canal has a busy schedule, with many ships waiting for their time to cross. The advantage is being on a cruiseship, that these crossings are in the daytime, so, you can watch and really enjoy the adventure and the nature itself, as it is amazing just as well as the Panama-Canal.

Pacific to Atlantic: the Panama Canal crossing

Crossing the Panama Canal is one of the most fascinating cruise you can have. I was lucky and did it several times on board Crystal Symphony, a 52000 ton luxury cruise ship. Before anyone start to wonder how I could pay for all those trips, I have to disappoint: I was working on board Crystal Symphony, so, it wasn't all a luxury vacation, however, I had great chance to see this man-made wonder: the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal is connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic, and it is one of the most important shipping route for cargo ships, and also being an attraction by itself the Panama Canal also became an increasingly popular cruise for passenger ships.
It is not a similar experience to Suez Canal, where you just cruise threw a narrow channel. Not at all! Opposite to all my imagination, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans water level isn't the same!! Matter of fact, the level of Pacific Ocean is 26 meters higher then those of the Atlantic's. To handle this, they created a lock system in Panama. There is 3 locks, from the Pacific they are: Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, and finally on the Atlantic end the Gatun locks. To cross the Panama Canal takes around 8-9 hours, a total distance of 77 km.
Most my photos here taken at the Miraflores locks.
The locks used to lift or lower the ships during there passage between the two Oceans. For this, they actually don't use anything but the water from the Gatun Lake. The Gatun Lake not only a huge water storage; it is maybe the most spectacular part of the Panama Canal crossing, after the gates. The lake is full of small inlets, and bigger islands, all covered with the lushest emerald of jungle. Rainforest in its best, as it is nothing, but the frequent rain help to refill the lake, thus make possible to work the locks. And they need all the water: every time a ship cross the Panama Canal, they "waste" around 200000 cubic meter of fresh water from the lake!
On the photos, you can see some moments of passing threw the Miraflores locks, a lift of 16.5 meters coming from the Pacific Ocean. You can see easily this lift of the container ship just in front of mine.
I will write a bit more about the Panama Canal in a next entry.

Banknotes from around the World, No.2.

The Malaysian 5 Ringgit banknote (RM 5)

I have been in Malaysia for a short 3 days trip with my best friend just a few years ago. I picked up this beautiful and special 5 Ringgit banknote.

It is special, as it is a polymer banknote ( or as I simple call it: plastic), the first of its kind in Malaysia. The little transparent window really look nice on it. But for me it isn't that why I like this banknote. It is special for me, because on the backside, it depicts all my Kuala Lumpur memories: the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where I had so much problem with Gulf Air, that we were flying with; the famous Petronas Twin Towers, where we could arrange to go up to the Skybridge, which is with its 170m above ground (41st and 42nd floor) is the World highest, connecting the two towers; and also there in the Menara Kuala Lumpur (or Kuala Lumpur Tower), which also serve as an observation point, with a fantastic view over the city, being the World's 5th highest tower.

On the front side, they show the first elected Malaysian King, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Great city, great memories, all on a banknote!

Nakhon Pathom daytrip, Part 2

As I mentioned on the previous part, we stopped on the way to see another Wat (temple). I spotted this one on the way to Cha-Am the other day, but then was running a bit late, so, decided to see this time. And it was a great decision for a change. The temple called Wat Sisa Thong or the Temple of the Golden Head, and it is near to Nakhon Chai Si, about 30 km from Bangkok. But that wouldn't make it special, as in Thailand nearly every small village got a decent looking Wat. What made Wat Sisa Thong special is the newer section of this the temple complex. Opposite to the more common Thai Buddhist temples, this one has a uniquely different decor, a fusion of the Thai and the Indian Buddhism. The buildings are covered with marble, got the usual bright ceramic roof tiles like most temple, but the roof also richly decorated with sculptures, what better describe Indian temples. Also these sculptures are less colourful, mainly white and gold. The doors and window palettes are beautifully painted with Buddha images, and flowers. Even the surrounding fence they decorated nicely, so, the whole place has a well rounded tranquil beauty, with the gold applied in enough to break the coldness of the marble.

A truly beautiful and different Wat.

Nakhon Pathom daytrip

Thursday we went Nakhon Pathom to see the famous Phra Pathom Chedi. It was a long planned trip. The distance isn't that great from us, only 49km, so, we used our motorbike. I have a GPS to help navigation, however we still encounter some difficulties. Later I found out the reason: I left the setting in 'walker' mode, so it tried to navigate me the fastest way including some rarely used footpaths too. Anyway, we made it there.
Phra Patom Chedi is one of Thailand's holiest Buddhist place, and also the tallest Chedi in the Kingdom with its just over 120 meters height. Chedis are built over relics, so, they doesn't function as real buildings, ie. you can't go into them.
It was a bit bad timing, as they are renovating it now, so the Chedi looks a bit like a hedgehog. There is a pleasant walk around it, with many Buddha statues in different positions, and countless leelawadee trees with different colors of flowers. Certainly we donated some money to our birth day Buddha, which is the mighty looking seated one with the 5-7 headed snake behind his head. All 3 of us born on same day, Saturday.
It was a great trip. We also stopped another temple, but I will write a different entry for that!