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Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

April 23, 2015 by David Herd

Around the World again.

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok was a fantastic trip in 2003. Add to this two visits to Vietnam, 3 times to Thailand, Singapore and a 13,000 km road trip through Australia’s outback. Overall one of my most frantic years for travel and fun was certainly 2003.

The photo above is Copacabana Beach with Sugarloaf mountain in the distance.

 This it not part of my travel blog, just part of my personal photo & travel history from 2003. Mainly revolving around the many people who helped make it another fantastic year of travel.

My friends in Copacabana

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

These were very happy Times in Copacabana in 2003, from the left is Doug Rourke, (RIP) Marcelli, Dave Wylie, Dave Sommer (RIP) Tatiane and I forget the last guys name. 🙂

Carla at Copacabana

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

The most magnificent colour skin I have ever seen.

CopacabanabeachNov2003-124      CopacabanabeachNov2003-128

CopacabanabeachNov2003-121      CopacabanabeachNov2003-123

 

I often wonder where she is now.

Lunch with Jackie at Mea Pataca

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

A regular spot opposite the beach.

Mea Pataca restaurant in Copacabana

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

This seafood soup was fantastic.

Angra dos Reis

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 Today, because of its beautiful beaches and nearby regions, the municipality has become a focal point for tourism – not only state wide but on a national scale also. Within the municipality are over three hundred islands, many of them owned by national and international celebrities. Distance from Rio de Janeiro: 168 km; São Paulo: 411 km.

Angra dos Reis

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

An interesting place to get away for a quiet weekend.

 Buzios

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Two hours north of Rio de Janeiro is Buzios.  In the early 1900s  Búzios was popular with the Carioca’s high society, who wanted to escape from the chaotic city life of Rio de Janeiro and enjoy over 23 beaches that the peninsula offers.

Beautiful Brigitte

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

It wasn’t until 1964, when the famous French Actress Brigitte Bardot visited Búzios, that it grew to be a popular tourist destination.

Buzios

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 Búzios is located at 105 miles NE from the city of Rio de Janeiro, about a 2 hour drive from that city. You come to a fork in the road, straight ahead for Cabo Frio and left for Buzios.

Tin man at Copacabana

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

One of the great Copacabana characters. 

Copacabana Palace

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The most famous hotel in Rio.

Dinner at the Palace

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

I took these cute Scandinavian girls to dinner at the Palace, cost me a bloody fortune. 🙂

Does my bum look big in this?

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Definitely not. 🙂

The last of the Rio shots before checking out Santiago.

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 Valparaiso on the coast of Chili

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

I was not too impressed with Santiago, I really preferred Valparaiso.

Valparaiso

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Valparaiso central Chile about 100 kilometers from Santiago. I bet this fantastic house has been photographed millions of times, perched on the edge of a sheer drop you would not want to be a sleep walker. This is one of the escalators (Ascensores) connecting the harbour area to the hills, and the building is the restaurant Las Brujas.

Statue from Easter island in Vina del Mar

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Vina del Mar is just to the north of Valparaiso.

Downtown Santiago.

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

I only spent two nights in Santiago and must admit I was not too impressed. I found it a fairly dull city overall, unlike Valparaiso and Vina del Mar which are more to my liking. However when it comes to drinking wine Chile has some wonderful examples. Although I live in Thailand most of the wine I drink here comes from Chile.

Barcelona

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 Old Customs building beside the harbour.

La Rambla

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 La Rambla is a street  popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.

Casa Mil

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera, is one of Gaudí’s main residential buildings and one of the most imaginative houses in the history of architecture.  This building is more a sculpture than a building.  The façade is a varied and harmonious mass of undulating stone that, along with its forged iron balconies, explores the irregularities of the natural world.  UNESCO recognized this building as World Heritage in 1984.

Final stop Thailand

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Koh Chang is the 2nd largest island in Thailand and is located near the border of Cambodia.

My friend from Beijing

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

In September 2002 I met Mable in Beijing and we enjoyed a nice time together. Consequently I sent her a ticket to meet me in Thailand and we spent time in Pattaya, Koh Chang and Bangkok.

Mable at the Sabai Lodge

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

It is now 2015 and from my balcony in Pattaya I look down on the pool at the Sabai Lodge in Soi 2, a very good low price hotel.

Chinese ladies don’t like direct sun. 🙂

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

                               Thanks for visiting my Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok photo blog.
                   
                   Here are some more posts to check out 

 

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               Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
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 That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

Atlantic bar Pattaya

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

 

Ah! Thankfully some things never change in Thailand. 🙂

 

Jump ahead to 2005  Rio Carnival

That’s all folks

Beckington Trowbridge

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Valparaiso central Chile

October 22, 2013 by David Herd

Living on the edge in Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile about 100 kilometers from Santiago. I bet this fantastic house has been photographed millions of times, perched on the edge of a sheer drop you would not want to be a sleep walker.

This is one of the escalators (Ascensores) connecting the harbour area to the hills, and the building is the restaurant Las Brujas.

Funicular or Elevator

Valparaiso central Chile

In 1996, the World Monuments Fund declared Valparaíso’s unusual system of funicular elevators (highly-inclined cable cars) one of the world’s 100 most endangered historical treasures.

Heroes of Iquique Valparaiso

Valparaiso central Chile

Iquique is a port city and region in north Chile. Territorial disputes between a united BoliviaPeru and Chile triggered the War of the Pacific in 1879. The Battle of Iquique was fought in the harbour of Iquique on 21 May 1879. Now commemorated as Navy Day, an annual public holiday in Chile. The outcome of the war gave Chile this portion of Peruvian territory.

Chilean Navy Office in Sotomayor Square

Valparaiso central Chile

The Sotomayor Square is the main square of beautiful Valparaiso central Chile. Valparaiso is a UNESCO world heritage site of Chile. The beautiful building is the Chilean Navy Office.

Friendly Llama

Valparaiso central Chile

The young guy is fascinated by the cute Llama.

Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile

A very distinctive building style here in the city.

Overlooking Valparaiso.

Valparaiso central Chile

Winding down into the city we get a view of the port.

The port of Valparaiso

Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile is a very interesting city, Viña del Mar  is the next seaside town.

 Valparaiso central Chile

Valparaiso central Chile

  The long winding road entering Valparaiso comes down from the hills.

Vina del Mar

Valparaiso central Chile

Viña del Mar  meaning “Vineyard by the Sea”, is a city and  on central Chile’s Pacific coast right next to Valparaiso. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. Known as La Ciudad Jardín (“The Garden City”), Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located in the Valparaíso Region. Viña del Mar has a population of 286,931 (according to the 2002 census), it is Chile’s fourth largest city.

Vina del Mar.

Valparaiso central Chile

 Valparaiso central Chile was an interesting stopover on my way from Brazil to Australia.

Here I am at Vina del Mar in October 2003.

Valparaiso central Chile

I’m very pleased I took this tour to this ancient port of  Valparaiso central Chile.

Statue off Easter island in Vina del Mar

Valparaiso central Chile

Easter Island is certainly not on my travel agenda. 🙂

Downtown Santiago.

Valparaiso central Chile

I only spent two nights in Santiago and must admit I was not too impressed. I found it a fairly dull city overall, unlike Valparaiso and Vina del Mar which are more to my liking. However when it comes to drinking wine Chile has some wonderful examples. Although I live in Thailand most of the wine I drink here comes from Chile.

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Pattaya Hilton

Pattaya hotels, Hilton & Holiday Inn

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposite the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate. 

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                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
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1g Duck

 

Pattaya live webcam
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  Click here to see the other side of this great continent.  

 

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