Monthly Archive for September, 2009

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On Walkabout At: The Incheon Landing Memorial

Published on September 20, 2009 in Northeast Asia. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

This week is the 59th anniversary of General Douglas MacArthur’s Incheon Landing Operation that changed the course of the Korean War. In honor of this anniversary I have decided to post some pictures I took from when I visited the Incheon Landing Memorial in Korea that commemorates this important operation. The Incheon Landing Memorial Monument Hall is located just south of the actual landing location in Incheon in the neighborhood of Songdo. The memorial is fairly new and houses a nice collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the landing operation and the Korean War. The best part is that admission into the museum is free.

The Incheon Landing Memorial Hall

The entrance to the memorial features a large archway adorned with the flags of the 16 countries that participated in the Korean War. This is common with Korean War memorials in Korea. Even though the US provided the overwhelming amount of combat forces during the war, every memorial gives equal recognition to all 16 countries that provided forces to fight the North Korean communists during the war. I climbed up the stairs to the second outside level of the memorial and I was able to see a static display of aircraft and equipment used during the Korean War. The display also included a modern day landing craft that is used for amphibious operations by the Korean Army today:

Modern Day ROK Army Amphibious Landing Craft

The third level of the memorial houses a large statue that honors the soldiers that fought at Incheon Harbor on September 15, 1950. The statue is detailed and quite impressive:

Statue Honoring the US Forces who Liberated Incheon

It should be noted that US Marines, US Army soldiers, as well as troops from the South Korean Army all fought during the landing. However, the 1st Marine Division were the first troops to land at Incheon to free the port from the communist occupiers. In recognition of the US Marines, near the statue is a bronze plaque that pays tribute to the US 1st Marine Division that spearheaded the Incheon Landing Operation. Like the Marine heroes in action at Incheon that fateful day, today’s 1st Marine Division was the same unit used to lead the November 2004 successful assault to retake the terrorist held city of Fallujah in Iraq:

Plaque Honoring the 1st Marine Division

It will be interesting to see if there will ever be a 1st Marine Division plaque ever stood up in Fallujah one day as well. From here I headed back down to the first level of the memorial to enter the museum. The museum is actually put together quite nicely with events of the Korean War and the Incheon Landing Operation presented in chronological order complete with explanations of the exhibits presented in Korean, English, and Japanese by the push of a button.

Uniforms of the Korean War Combatants

Magazines Chronicling the Incheon Landing

If anyone ever ends up in Korea for whatever reason make sure you visit the Incheon Landing Memorial. It is free and really well put together to help visitors understand the significance of this operation. To reach the memorial just get off at the Incheon train station and have a taxi taking you to Songdo where the Memorial is located.

Andy & Hamish Bring Ghosting to the Jay Leno Show

Published on September 18, 2009 in Humor. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I saw these guys last night on the new Jay Leno and they were hilarious:

HAMISH and Andy will be Jay Leno?s first guests on tonight’s episode of the top rating US talk show.

The comedy duo is taking the US by storm after trekking 5000km from Miami to LA on their American Caravan of Courage tour.

We are tipping friend Rove McManus, who appeared on Leno’s Tonight show numerous times, might have had something to do with their guest appearance.

Blake and Lee bounce on set wearing synthetic red and blue tracksuits which Leno dubbed “Australian tuxedos”.

The funny men then took to the streets of LA to show Americans “ghosting” – a sport where they invade unsuspecting strangers personal space.  [Herald-Sun]

Here is video of their appearance on the show:

My Australian Wish List: Lord Howe Island

Published on September 18, 2009 in New South Wales. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Here is a place in Australia that I absolutely want to go to one day:

Once upon a time, travelling responsibly meant taking only photographs and leaving only footprints. Now it’s about the size of those footprints, and one of the best places in Australia to keep them small without even trying is Lord Howe Island, 600 km northeast of Sydney. Unless you have access to a boat, the only way to get to Lord Howe is to fly. But arriving by air makes sure you’re properly acquainted with what is widely regarded as the most beautiful island in the entire Pacific, before you even step off the plane.

After gazing out at the featureless blue from my windowseat for two hours, Lord Howe suddenly appeared, like an aquatic oasis. The first things you notice are the twin peaks of Mt Lidgbird and Mt Gower, real mountains that dominate the island’s southern end. Then the 6 km-long blue lagoon encircled by the most southerly coral reef in the world. There, below you, are isolated beaches accessible only by sea kayak or on foot, and populated by hundreds of thousands of seabirds. And finally, like an afterthought amidst all this natural beauty, a settlement of 350 locals and just 400 visitors. Even David Attenborough once wrote that Lord Howe is “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable…Few islands, surely, can be so accessible, so remarkable, yet so unspoilt.” But Lord Howe is not just a pretty face. Because of its isolation, the island is an important site for “in situ” conservation of many rare and endemic species – almost half its 241 native plant species are found nowhere else in the world; the same goes for both the island’s reptiles, a skink and a gecko, and almost a thousand insect species. According to Ian Hutton, Lord Howe’s resident naturalist and author of 10 books on the island, including A Guide to World Heritage Lord Howe Island. “People talk about the Galapagos Islands because of Darwin’s connection, but there’s more diversity on Lord Howe Island and it’s so intact – the island is very much as it was when it was first discovered.”  [Australian Geographic]

Make sure to click the link to read the rest because this island just looks to be an incredible place to visit.

Putting the T Into Tea Party

Published on September 14, 2009 in Humor. 0 Comments Tags: .

No matter what you think about Tea Parties you have got to love this T-shirt:

Via Tim Blair.

On Walkabout At: La Vina Winery, New Mexico

Published on September 13, 2009 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Whenever we spend a day out over at La Mesilla, New Mexico my wife and I always make sure to make a stop at the La Vina Winery on our way back to El Paso which is overlooked by the rugged peaks of the Franklin Mountains:

To the North the winery also has a fine view of the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces as well:

It may be hard to believe but here in the middle of this arid desert is a handful of wineries, which are only possible because of the Rio Grande River which cuts out a swath of green in the middle of the brown desert that can be seen for miles around.  The waters of the Rio Grande provide water for not only these wineries but the various farms and ranches located along the river as well.  My wife and I really got into wine when we were living in Australia and were members of two different wineries there and visited many others.   Our wine cabinet here in El Paso is still stocked full of Australian wines we brought back with us.  The New Mexico wineries totally fail in comparison to Australian wineries, but La Vina is one we like the best in the area:

La Vina claims to be the oldest winery in New Mexico that has a pretty good selection of wines, and some nice grounds which is often used for functions such as weddings:

Oddly La Vina had no cafe, it was strictly just wine tasting with a bit of cheese.  In Australia my wife and I had a number of wineries we used to go check out and have lunch at.  It was a really good way to spend a half a day out with my wife.  Unfortunately that is not something we are able to do with the southern New Mexico wineries and thus instead we go to La Mesilla for lunch before driving over to a local winery.  As far as the wine at La Vina it isn’t too bad, with a decent merlot.  The shiraz I thought was pretty poor, but then again I love the shiraz wines in Australia so it is tough for La Vina to compete with that.  Overall not a bad place and decent wine for the El Paso area.  That is why the La Vina winery is the place my wife and I most often stop by compared to other wineries to pick up a few bottles of wine from.

On Walkabout In: La Mesilla, New Mexico

Published on September 13, 2009 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A really nice little place my wife and I like to drive to from our home in El Paso, Texas, to have lunch from time to time is the historic village of La Mesilla, New Mexico.  La Mesilla is located just outside of the much larger city of Las Cruces and is a popular weekend destination for people who live in the area.  One of the unique features of the village that really gives it charm is the fact that nearly every building is made of adobe architecture to include the Post Office:

Mesilla was founded in 1848 and is Spanish for the “little table land” due to the nearby mesa that borders the Rio Grande River that runs by the village.  Since its founding the village has had a colorful history that is easy to imagine when walking around the streets of La Mesilla:

Pretty much all the roads in Mesilla eventually end up at what is known as the Plaza.  When La Mesilla was first established buildings were built around the Plaza in order to better defend the city from Apache raids.  Something else of interest is that when Mesilla was founded it was actually a Mexican city, but when the Gadsden Purchase was completed between the US and Mexico, in 1853 the American flag was raised in the Plaza to designate the signing of the treaty and the transfer of the town to the US.  There is plenty of historical significance with the Plaza, but there is also a building of great architectural significance as well, the San Albino Church:

The church was actually first constructed in adobe in 1855 and was reconstructed into its present structure in 1906.  It is easily the most striking aspect of the Plaza and a popular destination for tourists:

Another historic structure on the Plaza is the Billy the Kid Gift Shop.  It may be hard to believe but this building dates back to 1850 and once was the Capitol building for both Arizona and New Mexico at one point.  Later on it would become the county courthouse where in 1881 Billy the Kid was once tried and sentenced to hang at:

In the middle of the Plaza is a park that is popular for holding events and festivals especially during Mexican holidays:

During these festivals local vendors also set up tents and some great bargains can be found here:

The buildings that surround the Plaza are filled with nice little shops where art, books, clothes, and collectibles from the region can be purchased.  Here is another destination on the Plaza I encourage everyone with a sweet tooth to check out, The Chocolate Lady which is a great chocolate shop:

There are times though that lines at this shop can be long due to how small the store is, but it is definitely worth the wait.  La Mesilla is also well known for its variety of great Mexican restaurants.  The favorite place for my wife and I like to eat at when in La Mesilla is the El Comedor restaurant, which is just off the main road that runs through town:

The restaurant is located in an old adobe building that used to be a private home.  The place has a really good atmosphere and even better food:

Another great place to eat in La Mesilla is La Posta which is located near the plaza and is very popular with locals in the area:

La Posta has been around for over a 150 years and has served a wide variety of famous people such as Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, Pancho Villa, and even General Douglas MacArthur.  The final thing my wife and I did the last time we visited La Mesilla was to buy some red chili peppers:

La Mesilla has a number of places to buy chili peppers, but the place pictured above is by far the biggest store with the widest variety of chilli peppers in La Mesilla.  My wife bought a big bag of dried chilli peppers to bring home to use in her cooking.  Since we did plenty of shopping and had a great meal we decided to call it a day and head back to El Paso, but not before we made a stop at the local winery on the way home.

Next Posting: La Vina Winery

Picture of the Day: Floating Above the Li River In China

Published on September 9, 2009 in China. 0 Comments Tags: .
A hot air balloon flies over the famous karst limestone peaks and Li River in Yangshao, China.A hot air balloon flies over the famous karst limestone peaks and Li River in Yangshao, China.

Via National Geographic.

I just thought this was an incredible picture of a place in China I have always wanted to visit.

On-Walkabout In: El Paso, Texas

Published on September 8, 2009 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Here are some pictures of my current home city of El Paso, Texas taken from the summit of Scenic Drive that skirts the southern edge of El Paso’s Franklin Mountains:

You can see in the Google Earth image below the route the road takes below the summit of Mt. Franklin:

There is a couple of parks along the road with the first one being the El Paso Scenic Drive Park which is really just a place for people to dump garbage and beer bottles:

Just a short drive further up the road is the main viewpoint of the Scenic Drive at Murchison Park:

From Murchison Park is the best available of downtown El Paso:

The El Paso area has a long history of Native Americans and later Spanish explorers passing through the area following the Rio Grande River through the mountain pass.  It is this natural pass that gave the El Paso area its first name of El Paso del Norte (Northern Pass).  However, not enough people ever settled in the area to make it big enough to be classified as a city until the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848 and established the Rio Grande as the international border.  This made El Paso’s location to an international border significant and a military post was established, which meant even more people moved to the area to service the soldiers and conduct trade with Mexico.  Since these early days of El Paso, the city has grown in size to where it has become the 22nd largest city in the US with a metropolitan area population of over 730,000 people. 

Downtown El Paso isn’t the only place that Murchison Park provides a good view of, but El Paso’s sister city of Juarez, Mexico as well:

Ciudad Juarez is a much older city than El Paso since this was the location that Spanish explorers first established a settlement in the area in 1659.  Since then Juarez is now home to 1.5 million people jam packed into a city now noted for its extreme drug violence that continues to claim hundreds of lives every year.  From Scenic Drive and just about any elevated area in El Paso the location of El Paso is easily spotted because of the huge Mexican flag that flies over the city near the border:

The border between the two cities is composed by the Rio Grande River that is canaled and has very little water flowing through it as it passes through the cities:

A portion of 1-10 that travels through El Paso actually runs parallel to the border and it is possible from the highway to see the poverty of Mexico from the comfort of your car.  It is a bit surreal when you first see this.  After 1-10 passes through downtown El Paso it continues out to the east where it passes through the ever growing suburbs of east El Paso:

To the northeast from the park I could see the major military base in the city, Ft. Bliss:

Ft. Bliss was actually first established closer to the river and nearer to downtown El Paso before it was relocated to a mesa overlooking the city in 1893.  As the above picture shows, the military base has now been completely surrounded by the ever growing city of El Paso. 

To the west of the park I could see part of western El Paso and the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP):

The campus area of UTEP is actually pretty nice and the school’s stadium the Sun Bowl was easily visible from the park as well:

As everyone can see El Paso is a sprawling city located in a hot and arid desert environment, which really makes the pollution from all the factories in Juarez that much worse.  The air pollution is the single worst aspect of living in El Paso for me.  We moved here from an area in Australia that just had some incredibly fresh air to this place that when we first moved here I got a severe lung infection.  I was sick for two weeks from the illness, but now I have acclimated to the pollution though whenever I leave the city I can definitely tell the difference in air quality.  The city is actually does have plenty of good aspects about it as well.  The cost of living is cheap, the crime isn’t that bad, the people for the most part are pretty cool, and unsurprisingly there are lots of good Mexican restaurants.  Nevertheless my wife and I have no plans to ever settle here long term, but we are fine living here for a couple of years. 

AG Outdoor Now On Facebook

Published on September 6, 2009 in Touring. 0 Comments Tags: , .

For those who use Facebook and read AG Outdoor they now have their own Facebook group worth checking out:

AG’s Six Best Train Journeys In Australia

Published on September 6, 2009 in Touring. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Australian Geographic has a list of their top six train journey’s in Australia.  Here they are listed in order:

  1. Kuranda Scenic Railway, Cairns – Kuranda, QLD
  2. Gulflander, Normanton – Croydon, QLD
  3. The Ghan, Adelaide – Alice Springs – Darwin
  4. West Coast Wilderness Railway, Queenstown – Strahan, TAS
  5. Indian Pacific, Sydney – Adelaide – Perth
  6. Puffing Billy, Belgrave – Gembrook, VIC

Click here to read more about these train journeys from the Australian Geographic website.  Personally my wife and I have each rode on the Ghan train, the Indian-Pacific, and the Puffing Billy.  All are great rides and we will have to eventually get to riding these other great railways as well.

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