Posted by Coquito
Esato Dominican Republic
Posted by tranced
i was at beach yesterday(jan 1st):
this was at Guayacanes Beach @ Santo Domingo
Posted by goldenface
@tranced
Oooo, do you have to post such pictures?
I just popped out to get a sandwich for my lunch and my knees began knocking with the cold.
Posted by tranced
why not?
would you like to come over?
Posted by goldenface
@tranced
I might not wanna come back.
Great pictures though.
Posted by tranced
disappointed?
Posted by ofiaich
Hi Folks !
please check back later will do lots of editing and add more photo's tomorrow...
Just got back from Japan! I took lots of photo's and will add them, most have my Esato paper included but some do not. All of these were taken during this trip!
I travelled from Narita Airport 成田空港 to Maebashi City 前橋市 in Gunma-ken 群馬県and stayed with friends for 3 nights!
These are my best friends, and I feel like family when I stayed with them !
Japan has lots of strange snacks お八つ and foods 食べ物 ! This is white bread coated in white chocolate ! Packet is designed French Style!!
It was quite delicious 美味しい !!
The next meal at a western style hotel, with a Japanese style restaurant was excellent !
Many different small dishes all attractively displayed on the tray!
and ...
me looking a tad silly !
This is the corridor of the restaurant, the dining rooms, adjoin....
and outside, across the river, is Gunma Ken's Municipal Office!
I think it has 25 floors and is the only really tall building in Maebashi City. Another view of Maebashi!
I also visited my friends parents home and helped to make the evening meal ! This is Takoyaki 蛸焼, made on a hot-plate 蛸焼き器 The Takoyaki is turned using a long toothpick to make them cook into a ball shape !
There were many dishes served but I didn't get to take photo's of all, too busy eating !
And just to get back to reality, I snapped the control panel for the toilet !
I guess this adds another dimension to a 'Paper-less Society' !
The toilet seat is heated and you can adjust the washer for your rear end, and change the water temperature too! It also has bidet functions and a drier !
Off to Nagano ken 長野県 now !
Then, passing through Shinjuku 新宿 to catch the high speed bus. Here in Shinjuku 新宿, there are huge electronic stores 電気屋さん! Everything from refrigerators, to usb pen drives to mobiles to programmable toilets !
I went to Iida City 飯田市 in Nagano-ken 長野県for one night. I took a quick photo inside the bus!
The Iida City views can be seen earlier in this thread from last years trip!
Next morning, I drove in a rental car to Kiso Valley 木曽路 to visit the old towns of Tsumago 妻籠 and Magome 馬籠 and stayed one night in
this ryokan
This is the kind of scenery in Kiso Valley 木曽路 ! The sign is requesting not to throw litter away ! Villages often have 'litter days' where the villagers spend all day clearing streams and making their village tidy!
There were road works on route and the traffic lights displayed a 'countdown' from 59 seconds to zero, showing when the light would change !
The hotel was rather grand ! The front desk area was very wide with a large chandelier,
seating area
and shop !
Later, I went on to the old towns of Tsumago and Magome! There is a lot of information here
Magome and Tsumago are two restored and preserved Edo-period way stations on the Nakasendo 中山道 in the Kiso Valley in Nagano Prefecture.
The next day, I went to onto Gero Onsen for one night and stayed here ! More information about Gero
Onsen can be found by clicking here ! The page is in English!
These are views from the hotels coffee lounge...
and the other direction ,,,,
and there are also a dolls display. I think these are for Hina-matsuri, 雛祭り and is held on March 3rd ! More information
here !
Gero Onsen has a small village with Gasho Zukkuri 合掌造り . These are old farmhouse buildings with steeply sloping rooves! I will add more photo's of these further down !
From Gero Onsen, I travelled to Shirakawago bipassed Takayama and then returned to Takayama and stayed there for one night! The ryokan in Takayama can be seen by cicking here !
More information on Shirakawago can be found here
Hida Takayama is another famous city! It is quite isolated and has old style streets preservered!
Evening meal !
Dolls Festival
And a special photo for Mobile Lovers !! Specifications to follow! But I know it is locked! So no, will not work outside of Japan !
I then returned to Iida City via Matsumoto and returned the rental car in one peice! The service areas on route have these kinds of views !
and I found my favourite Kit Kat chocolate waifer but with Apple and Grape flavours !!!
Oh ! The Sat Nav in the car was pretty good ! Pioneer System !
The next day, I took the bus back to Shinjuku in Tokyo, stayed one night
The mobile phone stores are amazing! They are the same as anywhere, I guess, for the mobile company only, i.e Docomo. Au, SoftBank and EMobile, but also stores that have all products !
On the right here, is the Japanese TyTn II! Available on EMobile and SoftBank, I think....
And me looking quite pleased with myself !
There was quite a variety of small sized notebooks but with big sized prices !
This was the view from the hotel window ! Western Style hotel with a comfortable but smallish room.
Note the cemetery below! The spirits rise after 9.00pm !
Shinjuku is considered to be a potential dangerous place...
There was a lot of police activity at night ! Five police cars and one unmarked all passed in a 15 second period! Something big going down ! It was Jumbo!!
The next day, I set off for Hakone for another one night stay! The ryokan in Hakone has a homepage here
The high speed train was called The Romance Car!
Packed lunch - Obento ! お弁当
The bus had extra seats that folded down into the aisle. I certainly would not want to have to get off in a hurry !
This is the ryokan where I stayed !
My room !!
This is the front area with a souvenir shop !
Just outside there was a very old post box!
I then returned to Shinjuku and met a good friend and ate Okonomiyaki ! The restuarant windows are very interesting and have airbrushed models of the meals and drinks on offer ! They look very realistic !
Not sure where my paper Esato sign went ! Maybe I ate it in my sleep!
This is perhaps my favourite food ! Okonomiyaki ! お好み焼き ！One for me and one for ? !!
The next morning, went to Narita Airport ! I didn't want to come back but life moves on! I will make plans for my next trip soon!
Ofiaich
[ This Message was edited by: ofiaich on 2008-03-24 13:12 ]
[ This Message was edited by: ofiaich on 2008-03-24 13:22 ]
Posted by paul101
wow!!!!!
nice pics
Posted by ofiaich
thanks paul101!
I will add more tomorrow! 1.30am and I am tired... just getting over the jet lag!
Also mobile phone photo's to be added !
Ofiaich
Posted by Dicky Snapples
great pics! look forward to seeing more
Posted by Rishone
Great pics
[ This Message was edited by: rishone on 2008-03-26 10:47 ]
Posted by ofiaich
Thanks !
I have added some more, will try to complete by this evening, and add more text !
Ofiaich
Posted by DarkKrypt
nice photos ofiaich
keep them coming mate:)
always appreciated photos of different societies and life
Posted by Danny_BFC
Wow Nice Ofiach! Japan Looks really quite cool (Y)
Posted by fatreg
anyone would think you went with the sole reason of taking photos with an esato bit of paper!
nevertheless, nice pics!
Posted by ofiaich
Hi!
all pictures uploaded now ! Just add some more text and Japanese later!
Not sure if everyone can see the Japanese characters though!
@fatreg! I had some free time so I thought I would add more to Boba's thread !
Maybe there are 100 photo's here, but I took about 500 !
Ofiaich
Posted by Sony α
GREAT PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im even more charged up lol!!
Posted by strizlow800
Must say that ofiaich's pictures are really amazing
...In quantity and quality too + the places are very interesting
Posted by ofiaich
Thanks strizlow800!!
Must say that ofiaich's pictures are really amazing ...In quantity and quality too + the places are very interesting
...In quantity and quality too + the places are very interesting Next post will be from The Lake District. I will add to the Lake District photos posted earlier!
Ofiaich
Posted by Dicky Snapples
i love the Lake District ! have you been there recently,or are you off there soon?
Posted by ofiaich
Hi!
I will be there from July 11th, until 18th !
I like it second to Japan !
Ofiaich
Posted by ofiaich
Hi !
back from the Lake District, and have posted, below, photo's as promised !
The first one's are of Armathwaite Hall. More information can be found here -> Armathwaite Hall
Armathwaite Hall is a large hotel set in very nice grounds. This is the view to the north....
It is close to Skiddaw and is at the far end of Bassenthwaite Lake.
Interesting, Basenthwaite Lake is the only lake in the Lake District !
Why you may ask !
The others are Mere's, Water and so on! For example, Coniston Water, Derwent Water, Ennerdale Water, Windermere, Crummock Water, Buttermere, and so on! Wastwater is 3 miles long, half a mile wide and 260 feet deep, and the deepest of all the lakes.
In the picture below, you can see my spooky reflection
The gardens and grounds are quite tranquil ....
and the evening meal is a six course, no trainers and jeans, kind of meal !
The food was very good indeed!
However, it did seem strange to me, coming back from long treks, and then sorting out a shower, and a change for the evening meal !
Breakfast was a help yourself, with waiters poised to remove the dishes, ready for the next course
I did enjoy there and I think it is a popular venue for weddings
The picture above is one of the rooms! Check out the link at the beginning for more information
Below is a nice tea room in Keswick. Lovely selection of cakes, all designed to help you put the weight back on,,,, The weight that you were walking all day to loose
These views are of Derwent Water....
I think it takes about 6 hours to walk around,
but you can also take the ferry boats and get off at any stage, walk to the next stage and catch the next ferry.
There is more than one ferry, and they run both clockwise and anti-clockwise around Derwent Water
Whilst walking from Keswick to Lodore, I came across this unusual rock! It was like a Geode but not, you can see what I mean...
Later, I crossed Derwent Water, to Cat Bells and followed the path that hugged the base.. oops! My Esato sign slipped
This is Derwent Water, looking towards Lodore...
Then I climbed to the ridge, and headed towards the summit..
The view below is towards Keswick and Skiddaw ....
and to the Newlands Valley, Braithwaite and Bassenthwaite Lake...
and then to the other rounded peak of Cat Bells...
and a happy me
looking not so worn out
After leaving Armathwaite Hall. Loweswater and the Kirkstile Inn, was the next destination !
Loweswater is very peaceful and it is possible to walk around it, ,,,,
and only meet a few other walkers
Loweswater does have a Blue-Green Algae problem
More information ->
Blue Green Algae
The monitoring buoy is that small mark in the middle of the water...
and another view looking back to Melbreak .
On the east side of Melbreak is Crummock Water ..
and Buttermere is in the distance! An interesting sign that I saw, after crossing a field, was Beware of the Bull!
So a freshing pint of Grassmoor Dark was needed
One thing that would not suit some Esatonians, was the lack of a signal for nearly all networks ! Literally, 5 metres either way, and the signal was lost
Back to Buttermere now
a slight change of direction here for Bonsai lovers! This is - Raft-style, or 根連なり （ねつらなり） Netsuranari, bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree topples onto its side (typically due to erosion or another natural force) and branches along the exposed side of the trunk, growing as if they are a group of new trunks.
Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft-style bonsai can have sinuous, straight-line, or slanting trunks, all giving the illusion that they are a group of separate trees -- while actually being the branches of a tree planted on its side.
You can see more 根連なり <- here
click on ZOOM to enlarge the picture
The weather, aaah! At last! Let's talk about the weather
was generally very good, ......
but these next photo's show how quick, things can change
I think this photo shows well
The next two photo's look towards Honister Pass and Fleetwith Pike Height 648 metres/2126 feet
and from the other side of Buttermere,,,,
.......
and then a view looking back towards Buttermere village..
A drive through Honister Pass leads to a slate mine. More information on the mine can be found here ->
Honister Pass Slate Mine
You can take the mine's tour bus to this point, and then see the driver do a 33 point turn, to take the bus back down the side of the mountain
There are a variety of tours and activities,
including a guided climb on the outside of the mountain, where the workers carried the slate down
not for the faint hearted
Inside the mine is also fascinating
and the guide gives much information to help people to understand exactly how harsh the conditions for working were
Here is a view back to the workshop, and souvenir shop....
Nearly finished
This is me, getting ready to go up the west side of Melbreak
This is a view from the west side of Melbreak towards Ennerdale Water !:-) It is quite an easy walk through, then back over the ridge that you can see to the right.
From Buttermere, there is a road leading over the mountains to Newland Valley.... it is not such a tough walk
Here is the waterfall that is at the top of the Newland Valley!
The road goes down to Braithwaite and is very picturesque
but not so much in that weather
The Kirkstile Inn and Loweswater Brewery are excellent !!
and the bar
where Yates Bitter can also be found
Cheers
to everyone for reading !
Ofiaich
[ This Message was edited by: ofiaich on 2008-07-19 22:46 ]
Posted by Dicky Snapples
fantastic pictures! i love the Lake District.
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by NightBlade
Stunning shots! I'd love to go there some day.
Posted by ofiaich
thanks !
please send your votes
to whizkidd for the Esato Awards
I hope to win something after all of these years being here ;-D
ofiaich
Posted by PeterKay
Lovely pics indeed, beautiful viewing.
May go there myself soon
Posted by amawanqa
Awesome pics! Brings back fond memories of Buttermere for me.
http://www.esato.com/phonephotos/viewphotos.php?pid=6525
http://www.esato.com/phonephotos/viewphotos.php?pid=6535
I see you did the (counter-clockwise?) route/ walk around there.
Posted by tranced
hey ofiaich!
great pics there mate. everytime you leave esato for not so long time, you come back with a bunch of awesome pics
Posted by ofiaich
Hi amawanqa!
I went both ways this time. First tme, clockwise and a few days later, anticlockwise ! I also climbed to the top of quite a few mountains and looked down on Buttermere
@tranced! Hi! I haven't been away so much,since returning to the Uk! I get feedback about what's happening, even when I am away...
Thanks PeterKay! I hope you enjoy when you go there!
don't forget to vote for me in the Esato Awards
Ofiaich
Posted by Sony α
@Ofiaich
Nice one!
Far cry from say, Akihabara, or Tokyo!
I always link you to Japan lol!!
Posted by ofiaich
Thanks Sony α!
Wish I was in Japan now !
I got my examinations results for a Japanese language module last week !
Got a distinction but still feel my level of Japanese is not good! Need to live there so please give me a high paid job!
Ofiaich
Posted by tranced
bump
here are some pics of my trip to Salinas Beach, Bani, Dominican Republic:
Posted by aldrinus
great "documentary" shots, mate
Posted by goldenface
Great stuff tranced. So, when you did you say it was OK for me to come stay again?
Posted by ofiaich
Hi tranced !
nice photo's! No esato written on the surface of the water?
Book me a seat on the same air plane as goldenface!
Ofiaich
Posted by tranced
thanks guys
@goldeface: whenever you want
@ofiaich: huh? it took me like 10 minuted to write down my nick
Posted by Rishone
Great Pics tranced. i love that beach (and the coconut trees).
Posted by tranced
@rishone: hehehe, you can even see that the wind was blowing hard. it never stopped from blowing since i first got there.
btw, there were some guys doing windsurf.
Posted by tranced
Faro a Colon(Lighthouse in honor of Christopher Colombus)