Vietnam.

Ho Chi Min City ( Saigon ) :  VIETNAM.:

What a lovely card.. I am so glad that this card finally arrived after such a long trip of 112 days...but certainly worth the wait.. Card shows the student girls cycling to school in their beautiful Ao Dai dresses and Non La conical straw hats..all with their briefcases in the bicycle baskets...typical of the region.. This is a lovely card and I thank you Trang. Also for the lovely  Chinese New Year stamps"Year of the Horse " issued by Vietnam Postal Service..Thank you...Cam on..!!
Posted Saigon 23 October 204.: Arrived Sydney 20 January 2015.: Traveled 112 days.. (a record )

Czech Republic.

Prague: CZECH REPUBLIC.:

 Thank you for this nice map card of the Czech Republic...I know how hard it is sometimes to find such a card and this will go nicely in my map collection..The card shows the different counties (areas ) within the country..Thank you so much Lenka for this card.

 Also thank you for explaining the stamps...I really like that as the stamps are so much a part of the card ..The first stamp of  Lidice is in commemoration of the many innocent male civilians that were killed here by the invading German army in WW II and to the many women and children deported to the concentration camps..The other stamp shows Agnes of Bohemia.. thank you again..
Posted 12 January 2015: Arrived Sydney 22 January 2015.: Traveled 10 days..

New Caledonia.

Back soon..                AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE BEAUTIFUL ISLE OF PINES

Isle of Pines.: NEW CALEDONIA.

New Caledonia.

THE HAPPY SMILES OF LOVELY CHILDREN IN THE ISLANDS.

                                                Isles of Pines :       NEW CALEDONIA.

The Isles of Pines was for me the best island stop on this whole trip.The island was such a change from the Vanuatu group of islands. This community here was just so well organised..The land is owned and allocated by local Cheiftan rule and is all native land ..and foreigners cannot own it...although the administration is French. The people that I came in contact with were very friendly and helpful  although I understand the tourist dollar is sort after there is no pressure to buy anything..My trip around the Island was of great interest stopping at various sites..The Old Prison ,The Church ,some various beaches..all very photogenic..The day like all was very hot with the temperature being around 33 degrees. I love this type of climate and the only downside was the daily rain showers  always when i was on the beach..I liked also the markets here were the best as well with many more variation in the items for sale.. All in all a great Island to visit..



                                                

Local outrigger canoe by someones home.

A really peaceful small Island in such clear turquoise waters.

Some of the many handmade bracelets

Locals welcoming visitors ashore..

New Caledonia.

WHAT A WONDERFUL ENTRANCE TO THIS HOUSE..

A TRADITIONAL KANAK WOODEN CARVED POLE

A NICE PHOTO OF THE ISLANDS' PINE TREES.

 

the Isle of Pines for me was the nicest island stop of all. This lovely small community on this Island is really how one would picture living in the islands. The French do a great job here as the Island seems to be well looked after with its great roads compared to most islands I've seen . This Island had the most wonderful beaches and was also really wonderful for swimming and snorkeling with its amazingly clear turquoise waters. Although they are different this reminds me of the special island pines grown on Norfolk Island not far away to the South west of this group of Islands. A very popular pine tree and are exported world wide. They are famous for their presence on a lot of Australian beaches.

ONE OF THE MANY CARVED FACES ON THE ISLAND.

  Here also our group got togeather for a very interesting trip around the Island looking at the many different sights to be seen of great interest was the old Gaol with the figures  "1881" above the door in the walls entrance, it was not hard to conjure up thoughts of the brutality that would have emenated through the corridors of the prison with thoughts of Isle du Diable  (Devils Island ) off the coast of Guyana in South America...another French prison. A walk through the prisons grounds and decaying structure showed the cells that were there and their sizes were quite small.                                                                                                              

Australia.

Berry.:  N.S.W.

A lovely card from the town of  Berry on the N.S.W. southern coast.. Thank you so much Heather for this card.. This truly is a lovely town..very popular for its antique shops.
 Posted Berry 13 January 2015. Arrived Sydney 14 January 2015: Traveled 1 day.Thank you.

New Caledonia.

Local Karnak  wood carving Art

A scene out of Adventures in Paradise.

enjoying the day and the location..

Well it's New Years Eve.. I am not feeling really well and am having an early night.
bummmmer.
not to worry tomorrow is a new day..and a new place to enjoy this great part of the world. This is a card that I sent home as a souvenir.