Forbidden Memories

Posted on May 18, 2018 by vanbraman

What do you do when your picture software decides that it needs an update and you can’t download the pictures from your camera?

You dig back into your archives.

Yesterday I wrote about upcoming trips to China and South Africa. Because of this I have been thinking of another trip that I took at the end of 2001. Shortly after returning from South Africa I took a trip to Shanghai and Beijing. This year I will visit Shanghai and Johannesburg in reverse order.

Since I have been thinking of these trips I will share a few pictures from the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Memories, Early DigitalHere is the big sign about the Forbidden City and The Palace Museum. This was at the entrance and at that time the weather was just cold and overcast.

The pictures in this post were all taken with an early digital camera that saved images to a floppy disk. Therefore, not too much resolution 🙂

Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Memories, Early DigitalThe palace complex in Beijing is commonly called The Forbidden City. This comes from the fact that no one could enter or leave the complex without the permission of the emperor.

There are many long passageways like this throughout the complex with red walls on both sides.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Memories, Early DigitalThe weather soon started to turn and it started to sprinkle. Umbrellas started to appear and it became dark and gloomy.

Here you can see one of the grand stairways in the complex.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Memories, Early DigitalHere is a large gilded lion that is in front of one of the pavilions. There were so many cool sculptures and carvings in the complex.

It was fun to imagine what it would have been like in the Ming dynasty in the 1600’s.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Memories, Early DigitalBy the time that we left the Forbidden City the weather had deteriorated and it was hard to keep dry. It was then time to get inside and visit museums. There are some good museums in Beijing.

Someday I want to again go to Beijing and visit the Forbidden City.

For now I have some good memories.

Steven

 

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Upcoming Wanderings

Posted on May 17, 2018 by vanbraman

In the next couple of months I will be doing a bit of wandering.

Yuyuan Garden - Night Picture at Yuyuan - ShanghaiLate next week I will be taking off to head across the Pacific to Shanghai. Of course I have a lot of work to do on the trip.

Lunch, Chinese Food, Shanghai Food, Chinese CuisineHowever, I am also looking forward to some good food.

Chinese Noodles, Handmade Noodles, Xian Noodles, Chinese FoodEspecially some noodles at one of my favorite noodle shops. See: Xian Noodles

I will only be in China for a week and then it will be back home for just two weeks before traveling again.

The next trip will take me much further away than Shanghai. I will be flying east across the Atlantic to Zurich, Switzerland and then south to Johannesburg, South Africa. It will take more than 20 hours of flying to get there.

South Africa, Near Johannesburg, African HutI have not been to South Africa for almost 17 years, so am looking forward to the trip.

Unfortunately, I don’t have very many good pictures from that trip. This was one of the last trips I took where I took a film camera with me. When I got back home I found out that the camera aperture was not fully closing and all the film was overexposed. Luckily I did have an early digital camera with me and do have some pictures.

South African Indigenous people, Johannesburg, PerformanceI remember taking this picture. This was from an interesting native dance performance in Johannesburg.

September 11, 2001 - 9/11 - Planes on runway in Edmonton, Canada - Long JourneyThe journey home from South Africa back in September 2001 was one that I will never forget. See Remembering September 11 to read about my long journey home.

For many years I have had blocked many memories from the trip, but some of the good memories came flooding back today as I started making travel plans.

Nando's Chicken, Quarter Chicken, Portuguese Style Chicken, Peri PeriOf course, one of those memories is my first taste of Nando’s Chicken.

Other memories are of some of the great people that I know around the world who are from South Africa.

I will fly over 30,000 miles and spend more than 60 hours in the air between the two trips. I will also be on four continents in the same month. I am trying to think if I have achieved this before 🙂 I know that I have been on three continents in a month many times.

Now for some rest before all the wandering.

Steven

 

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