Sunset at Rawa Island - South China Sea

Lots of people around the world are sharing photos on Fridays. My memories from the period in Asia Pacific mid 90s could of course be part of this. The relaxed position or bathing in tropical seas make me smile and remember.
Sunset at Rawa Island is beautiful.
If you want other skywatch photos go to Tom

Singapore memories

Scanning old photos from our stay in Asia will in the coming days (and may be weeks) result in some presentation of the fantastic adventures and experiences we had in the mid 90s, individual and as a family.
Most of our photos are from traveling around in the fantastic diversity of cultures and countries more than twelve years ago in Asia. Being Director of Human Resources in DNV Asia Pacific resulted in lots of duties in areas/countries like Dubai / Oman, India, China / Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, South East Asia and Australia, and traveling between airports and cities all over Asia. Lot of work but also the possibility to gather memories of places and peoples.
This post will cover some of our relaxed periods in Singapore:
My wife in our home at Ardmore Park.
and on the jungle track (rough path) from home and the Orchard Road.
Relaxing in Cafe Flora at Orchard Road on the way to our local Emerald Hill No.5
where a Tiger Beer always was ready to cool you down.
Sometimes we went for a day-trip to the islands Bintan/Batan (Indonesia) where I felt like The Old Man and the Sea and can be seen as a quiet recovery only 45 minutes from Singapore.

For Norwegian Readers. ORGANET 2/2008

For those of you reading Norwegian, ORGANET, the information Magazine by the Heart Lung Transplant Association in Norway can be downloaded from the organization´s websites here (pdf)

ABC Wednesday - U

U is for Uncovering Nature

at the Mount Kinabalu (13,435 ft above sea level) in Sabah Malaysia Borneo.

Put yourself in the situation where you wake up in the complete dark at 06.00 am. From the east the glimpse of light starts to uncover that you are at Low´s Peak or the summit of South East Asia´s forth highest mountain. The sun rises fast at 06°05′N 116°33′E
and within minutes it appears above the horizon
At the 20th most prominent peak in the world the day is wakening and you start to see nature
and soon "half" of the northern part of Borneo
The uncovered nature is there for you to visit at 4095 meter above sea level.
But before you start on the journey see some of the photos taken in April 1995 when Tullen, Rikke and Mette Kjønø (a friend) came, saw and conquered Kota KinabaluUse of ropes are mandatory up and down for climbers like Rikke and some other conquerors :
At the summit the temperature is much lover than the starting point at 1583 m, so you have to cary warm cloths when you start (in +5 dgr C) on the last climbing ( aprox 2-3 hours) from base station: Laban Rata at 10.800 ft (3300m). Going for the sunrise you have to start in the dark at 03.00 am, so don´t forget your flashlights.
The day before, the path (between 1800 - 3300 m) was exhausting for the 14 years Rikke, and you too will certainly feel happy when reaching the Laban Rata (3353,7 m) after ab 5 hours walking and climbing.
15 months later Rikke reached 6.000 m in Ladakh, north India, when she as a student at UWCSEA was tracking 14 days in this Kashmir plateau.On the tour to or from the sleeping cottage on steep paths you may be passed by female climbers carrying all the supplies (30 kg each) needed at Laban Rata, or come in contact with nice fellow climbers from all over the world.

for more ABC Wednesday = U adventures please go to Mrs Nesbitts place

Tuesday Facts - Møre og Romsdal

I have not got a penny to bring you this advertisement, but sometimes I just feel you need to be professional informed about one of the most beautiful parts of Norway, Møre og Romsdal. (Click on the link)
This time I am not only promoting Ålesund and Sunnmøre but bring you my own photo of Hustadvika and Atlanterhavsveien:Fishing in the stream may be dangerous
The bridges are fantastic.
But I am asked by anemone to give some facts about myself :
1. What did I do 10 years ago:

Recovering after combined Heart and Kidney Transplantation. Creatinine increased this week in 1998 to ab. 270 due to body refusing my new Kidney. SoluMetrol made everything in order after a few weeks. Pacemaker justification by el chock after Flutter on the new heart, was also necessary.

2. Five items from my time-manager list today:

Blogging. To Ullevål Hospital for Eye check (medication side effect). Shopping groceries for the days to come including T´s Team-meeting tomorrow. Sketching my next painting. Making dinner (trout). Relaxing by gardening.

3. Snacks I love:

Lakrisbåter. Paprika chips. Gjende biscuit without chocolate. Crispo chocolate.
I believe wine or beer is not under the category of snacks

4. Bucket list if being a billionaire:

Being a billionaire would probably have changed me totally, so I rather will change the challenge to What would you do if you had 1.000.000.000 Norwegian Kroner.
I would first give 100 mill to each of my daughters. Tullen would have 300 mill separately so she had the possibility to choose her future with no economical problems, and the rest 500.000.000 nok I/we would have spent on art, traveling and just doing some of the things that we today have no chance to dream about.
One billion is a lot of money to spend.

5. Places I have lived:

The question is not places I have visited so:
Ålesund, Troms, Oslo (Lamberseter, Tåsen, Ulsrud, Sinsen, Ammerud, Ullern, Frogner and 31 summers at Solvang Kollonihaver) plus Singapore.

6. Somebody I want to know more about:

Everybody in the web that feel they can contribute to this challenge with interesting facts about themselves even if they face the threat of sharing secrets

Photo Safari and something real odd

The pink Beautybush (Fagerbusk or Kolkwitzia amabilis) starts the Photo Safari on my 500 sqm parcel at Solvang 4. Walking around on sunday afternoon I see more and more of the flowers that are blossoming, and behind the bench my Chives (Gressløk or Allium schoenoprasum) are showing their beautiful light purple color.
This flower showoff is meant to be my contribution to the PhotoSafari, and if any non Norwegian also want to participate see the rules at Petunias Blog

On the other side of the cottage the Pink Peonies (Peon or Paeonia) are opening up their petal and spreading their flower sense all over the area.

The Iris and the Rosebush and the one with the blue bells (we call her "Aunt Ragna" because she infiltrated the ground many years ago) will also show their beauty
This monday I have not forgotten the Odd Shots.

Since the Photosafari are connected to new life, my Odd Shots Monday is connected to death.
At my visit to Portugal a month ago I entered one of the largest Chapels of Bones in the Portuguese city of Evora. At the Church of St. Francis, built by Franciscan monks between 1460 and 1510, the chapel is constructed of the bones of some 5,000 people. The inscription above the entrance carries a ghoulish message to visitors: “We bones that are here are waiting for yours.”Click to see more of the Chapel`s History
More Odd Shots? Go to Katney

Solvang - News in Brief Sunday

Sunday News in Brief from Solvang 4 cover the start of our BBQ party at Bitte and Terje´s cottage "Toppen" where the ladies salute you all with Cremant de Bourgogne and strawberries (and Bittes selected napkins).

The view from their Parcel is amazing and you can see the Oslo Fjord with Bunnefjorden and the hills of Oslo East. The photo also includes Vestre Aker Church to the right, the City Hall Towers, Ullevål Haveby in the centre and in front of Bekkelaget and Sjursøya, Oslo Plaza Hotel and "Postgirobygget" covering Ekebergrestauranten (where the Oslo photo at ABC Wednesday is for Oslo was taken), and the top of Ullevål Hospital to the left.
Living at Frogner two thirds of the year, the value of this place cannot be underestimated.

Due to the very dry weather conditions at present the water spreading (24 - 7) gives a nice photo shot during the sunset over Vettakollen .

Friday night sky - Introducing Reiseradioen

Last night the new Moon opened up for this summer´s main event - Reiseradioen!!!!!

Normally I listen to P2 every morning, but today when Nat King Cool sings his Those lazy hazy crazy days of summer, in NRK P1, we know that the summer is here.This photo was taken yesterday at City Hall Square on our way to Aker Brygge and a cold Beer or a glass of white wine.Good to have the down town visit done yesterday. Now the sun has top priority.

A surprising visitor - Nina Volden.

Suddenly she was on the other side of the hedge. New color on the top, but as smiling as always; one of my very good friends from the Heart / Lung Transplant Association - Nina Volden.
She was at "Rikshospitalet" for her annual evaluation, 17 years after she became the "first successful" Lung-Heart transplant patient in Norway. And still successful.

A year ago when I had to get a new pacemaker she was one of the happy persons I met at the hospital, and I blogged about her and others in the FHLT Blog .
She showed up at Tullarbo in time for dessert (strawberry) and the ending of the bottle of white wine we had for the BBQ Salmon today. Next year she will call earlier and join us for dinner as well.
Nina is at the moment well prepared for the European Sport Games to be held in Vichy, France between June 21st and 26th this year. She is the most winning transplant in the EHLTF history, and I am convinced she will return from this year games with new trophies.
Thank for the visit and good luck in Vichy to you and all the other Norwegian participants.

Summer in the city

The film "Sex and the City" is on the movies around the country these days. I have not followed the TV-series and have no intention to see the movie either.
The summer heat makes it more interesting to have Summer in the city and stay outdoor. Posh (port out starboard home) and visitors was attending my candle light dinner yesterday, and the chef at the BBQ delivered as expected - always.

Rikke and Tor Marius left the "party" when the mosquitos became too interested in blood sucking from our skin. We had to withdraw to the cottage where calls from the Wales family always are nice. Outside the summer night and the northern light kept us safe

T is for Tullen - part 2

Although I posted my ABC Wednesday on T yesterday, I see no excuse in not continuing to do so this on the real ABC Wednesday for T.

T is for Tullen

After the last 4 month of blogging in different Memes, my wife made the comment that she almost never appeared on our photos anymore. That´s why I does all the photos of her this week. Yesterday from 2002 till date, and today from our return from Asia Pacific 12 years ago in 1996 till 2002.

Today photos are scanned from paper prints. The one on top was taken at Christmas 1996, and the next in Rome, Italy six month after our struggle during my Combined Hearth and Kidney transplantation in 1998.

During summer 1999 we joined a group of people from Ålesund and Sunmøre on an evening voyage with D/S Børøysund to the inner fjord of Oslo
Prior to that we visited Amsterdam´s Flower Market on the way to see the BA graduation of Trine in England
In 2000 we arranged the Sport games for Heart / Lung Transplanted at Sandefjord, Norway.
and had a great time at the end of the year in front of our kitchen fireplace at home.
Early 2001 we visited the painter Terje Fagermo at his Studio in Ålesund. He is as I have blogged about earlier one of our most recognized painters.
Barcelona and Park Guell made by Antoni Gaudi was on the travelling list that year, and I will highly recommend the Miro museum in this fantastic city.
If you did not know, Here is the model for Edward Munch´s painting the Schream
Autumn 2001 at Bjorli, Norway with beautiful colors in the Norwegian Mountains
Early summer 2002 we went to Cote D´Azur and Eze Village.
and also had a walk on the Croisette during the Cannes Film Festival in May
In August 2002 we celebrated a combined 50 + anniversary with 55 friends including our two beautiful daughters. Tullen in her dress from Cannes.
That concludes this week ABC Wednesday.