Adventure Babies If there is sin against life, it consists... in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-04-20:/blog/?domain=Shack 2007-07-20T14:38:07Z Shackers img/travel-blog-feed.png Tangier: Morroco tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-07-20:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=25&entryid=72166 2007-07-20T14:38:07Z 2007-07-20T14:38:07Z On a sunny morning in January, i awoke and walked the several footsteps to a small port, along the way i thought about the upcoming day, its tribulations, the loneliness of sitting on modern sea vessels alone, the indifferent sea, the beauty i was about to endure.. would it be too much for the weakness of morning. alas no... the sun shined on my arkward features, illuminating me.. a sea God smiled down from his axis of portal rock, ... On a sunny morning in January, i awoke and walked the several footsteps to a small port, along the way i thought about the upcoming day, its tribulations, the loneliness of sitting on modern sea vessels alone, the indifferent sea, the beauty i was about to endure.. would it be too much for the weakness of morning. alas no... the sun shined on my arkward features, illuminating me.. a sea God smiled down from his axis of portal rock, his face of stone unchanged... for it were only Tangier, but this was my first trip to Africa, Where the colours of excess and tribulation... combine with the tumult of history....... to haunt the mind.... one can't escape the errings... Africa is the heart of it all..........but nay Tangiers, many a bum has washed himself to its bosomed carcass.. its where Burroughs wasted himself, ragamuffins stole, women toasted their sorrow! criminals, spies, international zone, opium, pirates.... illegals..... a decayed mystique.. a suitable place to start then... Tarifa in Spain is one of those unique places where the land and sea merge so that you can see yourself as if soaring above, your place on earth at that time easily marked.... you can see where the Atlantic coast of Iberia bends and makes verticalism with Africa, forming that inland sea... Mediterranean: Mediterraneus Middle Land Sea.. From Tarifa you leave south and west away from the kissing lovers, and arrive fifty minutes later..., Tangier, bustling with labyrinth alleyways, creaked faces poking from hollows, curry spices, a cacaphonous symphony of sound beckons around, klaxons, bartering, fish markets, iron mongers, metal gridings.... decrepid colonial buildings, the esteem of fading granduer, the rot........ exotic and entrancing to a fool like me, an outsider from beginning to end... perhaps even.... an innocent abroad? interesting.......

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]]> Amsterdam/Brussels/Dour/Cologne tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-07-17:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=24&entryid=71648 2007-07-17T20:20:41Z 2007-07-17T20:20:41Z a prosaic journey through time and space is about to take place, in your mind and in the soul, it will evoke searing images on your fragile mind, but alas will they be false, can i describe to a degree exatly what i saw, or will i be deluded my self, have i forgotten, for only i saw it the way i did, you will see and definately imagine something different, for no two men are the same, and at ... a prosaic journey through time and space is about to take place, in your mind and in the soul, it will evoke searing images on your fragile mind, but alas will they be false, can i describe to a degree exatly what i saw, or will i be deluded my self, have i forgotten, for only i saw it the way i did, you will see and definately imagine something different, for no two men are the same, and at the bottom we know this, but to appreciate a tasty beer after a commercialised flight, to taste the liberty of dirt and and air, this is common ground! my non existent phantomatic cell combinations!!! this is amsterdam!! brussels was quaint and pandering to all bourgeois tastes, including seafood and civic blandness, but alas it was unoffensive to the sensibilty of a miscreant! this miscreant tis not me but Brendan Sharp, an evil spy sent from the planet yulos, providing man with street poetry, pseudo racist obervations, insightful architectural faints, copious amounts of laughter, inaudible intellectalisations on things as variet as the impossibility of home made gravity kits and the visualisation of the naked popeye serending jesus on tin rafts! he is a random man, but true invention is but the art of the liar, but i do not lie i never lie, to write is to be truthful, though everyone know lies spout forth when i speak! but this is a different world! ok Dour festival was hot and sweaty, baked alive in a human box of death called a tent, moles tried to dig above us, french bums jumped us, but we never yielded! we danced into the small hours, danced and laughed and spent days swimming in an azore quarry filled with the freedom of young kissable youth, grotesque dead trees grew upwards out of the cold water, i decended the deadness into the darkness, the contrast between laughter and silence, this awful dead trunk, the blindness, and then when the lungs and brain coerce me, air action and stunning blue colour, a true oasis in the Belgian countryside! to Cologne at six in the morning no passport needed, a huge beamoth of a cathedral , strange sculptures, ice cream whilst dipping my toes in the Rhine, railways, cargo ships, sculptures, lovely bars with eccentric features, conversation with our hostel friends whilst drunk.... lying upside down in the warm wind at night, intoxicated the cathedral became a huge obstacle, a seperation between me and the sky, i wanted it to fly off and never return, to become something exotic and fantastic.... but alas it was still there.. a monument to a great and hideous lie............. but i laugh still...... i love still..... i live......

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]]> Rum tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-05-03:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=23&entryid=58786 2007-05-03T13:03:50Z 2007-05-03T13:03:50Z well as no one no longer reads these fabled pages of the phantomatic word; and the reflection on my new moments and snipets of consciousness that they procreate with, i dictate that i have a journal to myself, a record of preserving myself and my emotions vis a vis travel, on a system that could survive our current Zeitgeist of budget travel and commodifyed experience, into a realm of a newer more brutal brutality, think Inca, think Aboriginal, think ... well as no one no longer reads these fabled pages of the phantomatic word; and the reflection on my new moments and snipets of consciousness that they procreate with, i dictate that i have a journal to myself, a record of preserving myself and my emotions vis a vis travel, on a system that could survive our current Zeitgeist of budget travel and commodifyed experience, into a realm of a newer more brutal brutality, think Inca, think Aboriginal, think west, think again,what exicitement and new found horrors lay ahead!! truly wonderfully ghastly!! it is to be a man, to have the liberty as i have, right now in England and the world! And so it becomes that i acknowledge Blake when he suggests that there is no collective consciousness, just millions of indepedent minds, each with a indivdual consciousness acting to their own volition, experience becomes something highly original, spectacular infinity! such as i find it so!!!! And with a cheerful boast and no money i head to the Scottish island of Rum to toast the night, and sleep o'er vales and under stars! they, who rejoice at the dark delights of thine eyes! as we gaze at each other against the ark of time.

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]]> Tanger Management with the human insects tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-01-18:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=22&entryid=39701 2007-01-18T18:03:16Z 2007-01-18T18:03:16Z in short i have been on this jaunt mindful of the consternation i have for bad english weather; as it is dastardly and terrible, especially in the way it instigates the passage of pie into my mouth and causes the inches of my hithertho well formed waist to expand. somewhere lurks dark lunar musings. anyway Sevilla was pleasant enough, nice and temperate, tapas, beer , the alcazar, the giralda, lovely islamic gardens, the smell of spring, orange groves and piff ... in short i have been on this jaunt mindful of the consternation i have for bad english weather; as it is dastardly and terrible, especially in the way it instigates the passage of pie into my mouth and causes the inches of my hithertho well formed waist to expand. somewhere lurks dark lunar musings. anyway Sevilla was pleasant enough, nice and temperate, tapas, beer , the alcazar, the giralda, lovely islamic gardens, the smell of spring, orange groves and piff tiff walks by the river, pause serial number d55650 and tosh and off to gibralter which is seemingly and inplausibly existing under British traditions, traditions which quickly disspated my excitement as i crossed the runway in the night, only to be confronted by mothercare, motherfucker! more like, the resident apes were all drinking in the local pubs and cheering on manchester city, tax dodging man city barbary macaques! the whole lot of yers... however the apes on the rock were charming and inqusitive lil scamps plus they only attacked me three times, me thinks the plastic bag full of bananas and muffins was a bit silly on my part te hah, so i came down from the mount to the half way moon and cable station where i lay down, back to the vertical drop below the ramp, and face gazing up and the cliffs, full of raptors, gulls and other noisy birds, a piece of metaphysical manna, then i desend into Tarifa for beautiful sunsets, soothing winds, greek takeaways, singing birds and views over to Morroco, which i visited today on what was possibly the most exciting few hours of my small bastard life, chapter to follow..............

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]]> Assimilated Hippo Unit tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-10-23:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=21&entryid=28661 2007-01-18T17:39:37Z 2006-10-23T14:31:05Z we cast our eyes languidly over this lapsidarian, lacksidaisical lifestyle and try to muster enough joules to jaunt off somewhere for the day.Tonight we shall dine in the nightlight and murmur irreverently of the fauna around us.perhaps a tipple of a living laughing love. [b]Assimilated Hippo Unit Assimilated 13 August 2006 ... we cast our eyes languidly over this lapsidarian, lacksidaisical lifestyle and try to muster enough joules to jaunt off somewhere for the day.Tonight we shall dine in the nightlight and murmur irreverently of the fauna around us.perhaps a tipple of a living laughing love. [b]Assimilated Hippo Unit Assimilated 13 August 2006

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]]> Pornography tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-12:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=20&entryid=19809 2006-08-12T08:12:21Z 2006-08-12T08:12:21Z He knew that the distance between himself and the world of women was getting greater. Each night, as he entered the Borgesian metropolis of electronic pornography—with its infinities, its immortalities—Clint was, in a sense, travelling towards women. But he was also travelling away from them. Martin Amis: Yellow Dog ... He knew that the distance between himself and the world of women was getting greater. Each night, as he entered the Borgesian metropolis of electronic pornography—with its infinities, its immortalities—Clint was, in a sense, travelling towards women. But he was also travelling away from them.

Martin Amis: Yellow Dog

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]]> Down Under tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-10:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=19&entryid=19662 2006-08-10T13:41:01Z 2006-08-10T13:41:01Z her site with all the photos.. including polar bears and Whales is http://www.fish-fairy.blogspot.com/ atherton tablelands I am soo tired... had a fantastic 2 days tho.. on the atherton tablelands. Yesterday we drove up to 750m above sea and visited 2 different crater lakes - lake Borrine and lake Echam.. lake echam had little freshwater turtles which breath through their bottoms - exactly how I'm not too sure!! will have to look that one up! We also went to Mt. Hypipamee. ... her site with all the photos.. including polar bears and Whales is http://www.fish-fairy.blogspot.com/

atherton tablelands
I am soo tired... had a fantastic 2 days tho.. on the atherton tablelands. Yesterday we drove up to 750m above sea and visited 2 different crater lakes - lake Borrine and lake Echam.. lake echam had little freshwater turtles which breath through their bottoms - exactly how I'm not too sure!! will have to look that one up! We also went to Mt. Hypipamee. Hypipamee crater is a diatreme formed by an explosive eruption of volcanic gases which blasted through solid granite. Angular blocks of granite as large as refrigerators can be found in the surrounding rainforest, giving testimony to the power of the explosion that hurled them there. The lake which has formed in the crater has not been mapped completely by divers...
Lake Barrine ( Echam) was formed around 10,000 years ago when a large volcano erupted, leaving a crater that over time filled up with water to create a lake. The crater was formed around 95,000 years ago as a result of a series of volcanic explosions. These explosions were caused by the hot molten rock coming into contact with groundwater. This caused a buildup of steam, gases and pressure which blasted the central core from the volcano. This massive explosion left a huge crater, which filled with rain water to create Lake Barrine.
The lake is 730m above sea level, on average it is 65m deep, it is 2km wide at its widest point and has a circumfrence of 6km is the largest of the natural volcanic lakes in the area. No streams or springs feed the crystal clear lake; it is filled only by rainwater.
There are some huge fig trees which have grown from seeds which were deposited high up in another tree. they grow roots to the ground, and grow around the host tree which eventually dies. There are 2 huge ones in the Atherton Tablelands, the curtain and cathedral fig trees. We visited both, and they were a fantastic sight!
There was a chance to swim at lake Echam, but I didnt take it, the lake didnt look that attractive but apparantley it was warm (ish)!
We then headed to Millaa Millaa Falls - named by the aborigines - 'water water' The waterfall is beautiful, absolutley breath taking, and then I had to get in the water and swim beneath them... the water is SO cold it completely took my breath away & only managed a couple of shallow breaths on my swim out to the rocks behind the falls! Looking up from underneath was well worth the pain though!
We stayed in a little village on the atherton tablelands in a logde run by the tour company ' On The Wallaby' which was great...!! The lodge is run by a couple of very friendly young men. Before dinner we went on a walk along the creek looking for Platypus. It took a while, but we eventually spotted one on the surface of the river, and then it dived down to get some food from the bottom of the river and returned to the surface. They are amazing animals.. so much smaller than I expected!! It was a great sight watching them feeding.
We would have like to have gone night canoeing, but they need a minimum of 4 people and we couldnt convince any of the other guests to spend 25$ to come and spot all the nocturnal wildlife on the lake. Instead we took out a couple of spotlights and walked along the road towards the curtain fig tree. The main noctural animal we were looking for was the Tree Kangaroos. But not far up the path to the fig tree we heard a dog barking on the farm nearbly, and a huge dog was running down the road straight towards us. we didnt know if he was friendly or not...!! It turned out he was! But the problem was he was running into the rainforest before we got there, scaring off any potential wildlife we might have spotted!! There was also a full moon though, and animals tend to be scarce as its a lot easier for predators to see them!
In the end I was scared off by a tree that made a strange growl-croak sound everytime i shone the torch near it!!
Today we had a fantastic time walking around Lake Echam with our guide Matt, and in the afternoon we went in a canoe on lake timaroo spotting Pelicans, Comoronts, Kingfishers - SO beautiful!) We also saw an eastern water dragon, and a tree kangaroo sleeping high up in the branches. It was an amazing day, and we had a personal tour for the full day. I ended the afternoon playing with a snake which the guys rescued from lake timaroo last year. It had been attaked by a kookaburra and had a wound on its head. they think it might have brain damage as it takes no interest when they try & set it free!!
posted by Rach at Tuesday, August 08, 2006 0 comments

Sunday, August 06, 2006
it's been a while....
i haven't written here for what seems like ages!! Mainly because we've been very busy and it's hard to find internet that doesnt cost the earth! There's loads to tell, I'm not sure where to start...
We arrived in Cairns after a long flight from Perth via Melborne, only to be one case short, which was dissapointing as it had to be the one with our dive gear in, so we couldnt plan our dives until it showed up. Luckily it was the day after, and then the following day we headed out on the Rum Runner which is a sailing boat, accommodating 16 people +crew, therefore not the biggest boat, and the swell on the way out was near to 2m, so it was a long jouney, a bit like a roller coaster lasting 3 hours! We were greeted however, by a humback whale! It was an awesome sight!!

The diving was fantastic we saw so many fish! there were Barracuda, anemone fish, wrasse, shrimps, loads more & beautiful coral! We did a night dive and there were hundreds of tiny bright red eyes illuminating the coral when we shone our torches, and a big Red Bass which was using our torch light to hunt. There were so many stars! I found it hard to sleep in a constantly rocking boat, and when we got back on dry land the next afternoon it took me a long time to get my land legs back!!

After a day off relaxing, we then went on a completely different boat to the Agingcourt Ribbon Reefs which are a lot further north from Cairns, we left from Port Douglas. The boat was huge! The diving was very organised with a strict 40 min dive time (Rum Runner had been very flexible, the only thing limiting our dive time was the fact that we got cold!). The dive sites were different, there was so much beautiful coral and loads of life. The highlight of the day was the shark on the last dive, which was about 10m below us on the sandy bottom, and was at least 2 metres long... We'd seen a couple of reef sharks, but this one seemed considerably larger, escpecially wider, than the comparably skinny black and white tip reef sharks. I couldnt get a clear photo as it was so far below us, but the dive guide was ushering us back to the reef and away from the shark, which dissappeared and came around again for a second look. Back on the boat the skipper had a closer look at the hazy photos I'd taken & identified the shark as a Lemon Shark... which aren't very friendly!! It can't be fun being a dive guide and spotting an unusually large shark when you're responsible for a group of divers!!

After a night in Port Douglas... which is a town for rich tourists.. it has a population of 3500 but has over 30000 hotel beds& 80 restaurants & many exclusive villas, we headed on a day trip to Cape Tribulation, named by Captain Cook when his boat hit a reef a way out from the headland, and he was stuck there for several days. We went to a wildlife park and saw a couple of big saltwater crocs, the biggest the guide has seen was 11m+....

To be continued........

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]]> Alone In the Dark tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-09:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=18&entryid=19634 2006-08-10T05:41:09Z 2006-08-10T05:41:09Z Whilst Tubing down the Mekong in the Dark.. and nearly drowing... i said hello to the angels.......... When I'm feeling lazy, it's probably because, I'm saving all my energy to pick up when you move into my airspace You move into my airspace And something's coming over me, I see you in the doorway I can't control the part of me that swells up when you move into my airspace You move into my airspace But each night, I bury my love around you... Oh each night, ... Whilst Tubing down the Mekong in the Dark.. and nearly drowing... i said hello to the angels..........

When I'm feeling lazy, it's probably because,
I'm saving all my energy to pick up when you move into my airspace
You move into my airspace

And something's coming over me, I see you in the doorway
I can't control the part of me that swells up when you move into my airspace
You move into my airspace

But each night, I bury my love around you...
Oh each night, I bury my love around you...
You're linked to my innocence

This is a concept
This is a bracelet
This isn't no intervention

This isn't you yet
What you thought was such a conquest
You're hair is so pretty and red
Baby, baby you're really the best...

Can I get there this way?
I think so
Can I get there this way?

We should take a trip now to see new places
I'm sick of this town
I see my face has changed.

Say hello, say hello, to the angels.

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]]> Speeding Demons: Lao Smiles tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-08:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=17&entryid=19415 2006-08-08T09:37:25Z 2006-08-08T09:30:45Z Lets recalls this trip to Laos from back to front, in reverse... I have arrived back from a sojourn that has taken me to the gate of Hades, where i have gazed upon the abode of the dead; i have burnt 25 km of spine crushing, stomach compacting road with such a dextrous turn of hand and speed of mind, the warm mud bent to my will; I Have howled in pain as my blood swam forth from my body; ... Lets recalls this trip to Laos from back to front, in reverse...

I have arrived back from a sojourn that has taken me to the gate of Hades, where i have gazed upon the abode of the dead; i have burnt 25 km of spine crushing, stomach compacting road with such a dextrous turn of hand and speed of mind, the warm mud bent to my will; I Have howled in pain as my blood swam forth from my body; and i Have gazed at the monstrostiy of darkness and space that inhabits the unending pitch into nothingness that we humans call caves; I have swam in cool open water, spreading its matter as if a human bomb; I have seen the path where no Farang tread, and jumped the bamboo gates; i have seen the glistening bodies of tiny children reflected on the lagoon; and encountered brilliant white smiles amomgst the snorts of baby pigs. I have travelled in the clouds amidst the mountains, in a world of bandits and guns..and wandered around ancient Wats with intelligent gaze; I have travelled the mighty Mekong and seen those gently awful stirrings that seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath. I Have my friends and fiends, enjoyed this trip to Laos!

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]]> Amazing Thailand: tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-30:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=16&entryid=18435 2006-08-08T09:34:52Z 2006-07-30T12:27:26Z OK.. Its been a while since i made my presence felt in the fantastical online community.. Even though nobody reads my diary anyway............. So after swimming with huge parrot bumpheads and making eyes at evasive black reef tip sharks.. we depart from our tropical island commune... back to Singapore/// here we are living in a huge high rise block of flats with 360 panoramas of the city, the port.. and the swaths of people..... jetting in and out of their ... OK.. Its been a while since i made my presence felt in the fantastical online community.. Even though nobody reads my diary anyway............. So after swimming with huge parrot bumpheads and making eyes at evasive black reef tip sharks.. we depart from our tropical island commune... back to Singapore/// here we are living in a huge high rise block of flats with 360 panoramas of the city, the port.. and the swaths of people..... jetting in and out of their corners having a brief meal betwixt buisness deals ooh.... Rach went to Perth and flew out into the night:

We'll collect those lonely parts and set them down
You come here to me........

After a night in a lonely hostel.... off to Chiang Mai to meet the enigma and mystery they call the Brain of Giles and his Valentine.. after wandering a myriad collection of streets in Thailand i arrive back at my hostel in a semi drunken state only to see his face against the black night calling my name so we swonce off for drinks, chats.... and end up in the armpit of Chiang Mai..... SPICEY nightclub.... dear mother of Love this place is where you come to shit out your humanity and self respect.... not Graham and Marelle anyway.. me: i ended up in a pathetic catatonic stupor... when will i learn some level of restraint?

met them the next day for a lovely day of walking and WAT exploration.. where we were blessed by a Buddist Monk... marvelled at the intricate architecture.. and wandered the streets... sitting for drinks by the river pong before... watching some Muay Thai ranging from kids to powerful athletes.. its technical also brutal.. the men love it.. they go crazy the arena is old and dilapidated.. i love it too... bloodied faces......... entertainment

So the next day we depart at 8.30 for some Elephant riding... up in to the mountains... north of Chiang Mai.....my elephant is tiny and small.. maybe a lady boy elephante..... Graham and Marelle have a huge mutha of an Elephant which Graham quickly sets his will to commanding.. with considerable sucess. on seeing those two jellies on this huge beast i have to stop and consider the advice of Creighton Abrams "When eating an elephant take one bite at a time." mmmmmhhhh as it turns out Graham was partially consumed by the ticks on its hairy head... but i have no doubt that the elephant could have been eaten whole if they set their minds to it.. no doubt.. alas enough of these thoughts... the Elephant ride took us on a short loop round the jungle road.. with various elephants stopping off for a snack of leaf or such type... After Lunch we make the excursion to the waterfall through the jungle; betwixt this we stop off at Hmong village tribes.. they sell Coca cola, they are used to tourists..... so not much of an ethnographic encounter.. interesting nonetheless.. Our journey contines though a myriad collection of river rocks, bamboo bridges and challenging scrambles..... we are rewarded by the refreshing splendour of a giant jungle waterfall in which i swim like a dungong.... and graham joins me... amazing...... We Trek back..... through the jungle over a hill extending above the surrounding terrain .. ofering the eye grand Vistas of the valleys and mountains beyond................................................................

Back to Camp for White Water Rafting.. at this point i am in danger of shortcircuiting from the tiredness in my legs... Graham and I sit at the top of the raft. Marelle at the back... some girls are betwixt of our persons!! we paddled downstream to be met by powerful awesome waves they nearly sucked us over.... i couldn't stop from laughing.. forget the log flume this was serious fun being in the midst of this power was awesome, thrilling.. bashed from side to side.... without life jacket it would be excitingly dangerous .. maybe you would drown.. whoa!

Today i visited the famous Wat .U Mong Thera Jan... an old set of Buddist tunnels with Shines at every turn.. It was like being in the midst of something old.. mysterious.. the dark tunnels lit by candles... the waft of incense everywhere.. monks, prayers chanting.. in the darkness... Buddas dimly lighted by the candlelight, obscured by the waft of insense smoke, murials on the wall.. completly awesome.... so Thailand has been amazing so far.. living up to its tag Awesome Thailand.. heading to Laos soon i think.. a river trip down the Mekong to the Ancient Indochine city of Luang Prabang...

Adios

It's in the way that she walks, her heaven is never enough
She puts the weights in my heart
She puts the, she puts the weights into my little heart

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]]> departures tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-26:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=15&entryid=18173 2006-07-27T06:55:59Z 2006-07-27T06:55:59Z After farewell at Changi... Rach departs for Perth; and today i am in the lobby waiting for my flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.. for some Wats and nightmarkets. Meeting Graham and Marelle tomorrow.. Think that we are going to explore the North by North East circuit of Thailand... The Golden Triangle... Don Ithanon ( tallest mountain in Thailand) and the delicious cliff perched temples that are in abundance in this part of the world. The plan is to head ... After farewell at Changi... Rach departs for Perth; and today i am in the lobby waiting for my flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.. for some Wats and nightmarkets. Meeting Graham and Marelle tomorrow.. Think that we are going to explore the North by North East circuit of Thailand... The Golden Triangle... Don Ithanon ( tallest mountain in Thailand) and the delicious cliff perched temples that are in abundance in this part of the world.
The plan is to head into Laos to visit the awe inspiring city of Luang Prabang.. and boat down the mighty mekong.. one of the bloodlines of South East Asia.. At this point we will be within the triangle of China just to the North.. Myanmar ( Burma) to the northwest and Thailand South and West. Laos has the unfortunate tag of being the most bombed country in the world; Due to the United States Kissinger sponsered bombings on the communist insurgents over from Vietnam. Yet the peope make foundations for their housing, spoons, forks, trailers and equipment from these shells; should be beautiful to see. Really looking forward to some mountain air and spectacular scenary.

Considering extending my staying, in fact trying definately to change my flight if the airline will let me so i can travel for longer, up till the end of August. Will update soon

Get well soon Gran x

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]]> A HISTORY LESSON tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-22:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=14&entryid=17720 2006-07-22T16:22:50Z 2006-07-22T16:22:50Z Sultanate of Malacca Malacca was founded by Parameswara, a Srivijayan prince who left Sumatra in 1396 in order to further his enmity with the Majapahit Empire. According to a popular legend, Parameswara was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. Impressed by the courage of the deer, and taking it as a propitious omen of the weak overcoming ... Sultanate of Malacca Malacca was founded by Parameswara, a Srivijayan prince who left Sumatra in 1396 in order to further his enmity with the Majapahit Empire. According to a popular legend, Parameswara was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. Impressed by the courage of the deer, and taking it as a propitious omen of the weak overcoming the powerful, Parameswara decided on the spot to found an empire on the very place that he was sitting. He named it "Melaka" after the tree under which he had taken shelter.

Parameswara converted to Islam in 1414 and changed his name to "Sultan Iskandar Shah". What started as a fishing village then grew into the most important port in the region, attracting traders from Java, India, Arabia and China, and served as a stopping point for China-India trade during the two monsoon periods. Mass settlement of Chinese, mostly from the imperial and merchant fleet occurred during the reign of Parameswara, occurred in the vicinity of the Bukit China ("Chinese Hill") area, which had among the best Feng Shui (geomancy) in Malacca then. Sultan Iskandar Shah died in 1424, and was succeeded by his son, Sri Maharaja.

Unfortunately, the prosperity of Malacca attracted the invasion of the Siamese. Attempts in 1446 and 1456, however, were warded off by Tun Perak, the then Chief Minister. The development of relations between Malacca and China was at that time a strategic decision to ward off further Siamese attacks.

Because of its strategic location, Malacca was an important outpost for Zheng He's spectacular exploration fleet. To enhance relations, Hang Li Po, allegedly a princess of the Ming Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry Sultan Mansur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married the locals and settled mostly in Bukit China.

A cultural result of the vibrant trade was the expansion of the Peranakan people, who spread to other major settlements in the region.

During its heyday Malacca was a powerful Sultanate which extended its rule over the southern Malay Peninsula and much of Sumatra. Its rise help to hold off the Thai's southwards encroachment and arguably hasten the decline of the rival Majapahit Empire of Java. Malacca was also central in the spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago.

Malacca was conquered on August 24, 1511 by the Portuguese viceroy of India, Afonso de Albuquerque and it became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies. Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Sultan of Malacca took refuge in the hinterland, and made intermittent raids both by land and sea, causing considerable hardship for the Portuguese. Finally in 1526, a large force of Portuguese ships, under the command of Pedro Mascarenhas, was sent to destroy Bentan, where Sultan Mahmud was based. Sultan Mahmud fled with his family across the Straits to Kampar in Sumatra, where he died two years later.

The Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier spent several months in Malacca in 1545, 1546 and 1549. In 1641 the Dutch defeated the Portuguese to capture Malacca with the help of the Sultan of Johore.

The Dutch ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1795 but they were not interested in developing it as a trading centre, placing greater importance to Batavia (Jakarta) in Indonesia as their administrative centre.

Malacca was ceded to the British in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra. From 1826 to 1946 Malacca was governed, first by the British East India Company and then as a Crown Colony. It formed part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Penang. After the dissolution of this crown colony, Malacca and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, which later became Malaysia.

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]]> Ta Mok tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-22:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=13&entryid=17715 2006-07-22T16:09:22Z 2006-07-22T16:09:22Z So Cambodia hits the news before i arrive, with the death of Ta Mok also known as the Butcher. military commander of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge movement, he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people during the Pol Pot regime of the late 1970s. Born in 1926, he was named Chhit Choen and trained as a Buddhist monk at Pali High School in Phnom Penh. During the 1940s he was an active opponent of both French colonial rule ... So Cambodia hits the news before i arrive, with the death of Ta Mok also known as the Butcher.

military commander of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge movement, he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people during the Pol Pot regime of the late 1970s.
Born in 1926, he was named Chhit Choen and trained as a Buddhist monk at Pali High School in Phnom Penh.

During the 1940s he was an active opponent of both French colonial rule and the Japanese occupation.

Joining the Cambodian Communist Party, he rose to become a member of its Central Committee, and commanded its forces in the south-west of Cambodia.

Under the alias Ta Mok - uncle Mok - he served as the Khmer Rouge's chief of staff, after having been a member of the Kymer Issarak movement, and lost part of a leg in combat in 1970.

During the Vietnam war, Cambodia's neutrality was fatally compromised. The Viet Cong used the country as a base from which to launch attacks into Vietnam.

And the United States began a secret bombing campaign in 1969, before briefly invading the country the following year.


Up to two million died in the 'killing fields'
By the mid-1970s, Cambodia was in civil war. The Khmer Rouge, which initially presented itself as a peace-loving and democratic organisation, finally took control of the country in 1975, renaming it Democratic Kampuchea.

With Pol Pot at its head, the five years of Khmer Rouge government saw up to two million people murdered.

In an ideologically-driven campaign against so-called "parasites" - intellectuals, city-dwellers and disabled people among them - mass genocide in "killing fields" became the order of the day.

Ta Mok, who became commander-in-chief of the army in 1977, was the driving force behind a number of purges. Massacres ascribed to him, including one of 30,000 people in the Angkor Chey district, earned Ta Mok the nickname 'Butcher'.

Late in 1978, Vietnam decided to act. Its forces invaded Cambodia, and the Khmer Rouge fled. Ta Mok went north, becoming supreme military commander of the remnant forces.


Ta Mok was captured in 1999
In 1997, following a split within the movement, Ta Mok became leader of one faction. He arrested Pol Pot, who was condemned to house arrest for life and who died in his custody in 1998.

After years of cat-and-mouse in the vast forests that separate Cambodia from Thailand, Ta Mok - the last major Khmer Rouge figure still at large - was finally arrested, inside Thai territory, on 6 March 1999.

Two days earlier, the United Nations had published a report which recommended the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

Transferred to Phnom Penh, Ta Mok was initially accused of membership of the now-banned Khmer Rouge before being charged with genocide and crimes against humanity.

If he had lived long enough, he would have been a key defendant in the trials of Khmer Rouge leaders, which are scheduled to begin in mid-2007.

Correspondents say his death deprives Cambodians of a chance to see justice done.

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]]> plants that harm & plants that heal.... tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-08:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=12&entryid=16451 2006-07-08T13:55:50Z 2006-07-08T13:55:50Z plants that harm & plants that heal.... The Cameron Highlands are so cool and airy!! When we travel to the Perhentian Islands tomorrow I'm sure we'll have a shock when the heat hits us again, we've got quite used to wearing jumpers and trousers in the cool evenings! We met other people who lost their bags whilst travelling with the kurnia bistari bus company, some fell out like ours, and others had simply disappeared from the bus when it arrived ... plants that harm & plants that heal....
The Cameron Highlands are so cool and airy!! When we travel to the Perhentian Islands tomorrow I'm sure we'll have a shock when the heat hits us again, we've got quite used to wearing jumpers and trousers in the cool evenings! We met other people who lost their bags whilst travelling with the kurnia bistari bus company, some fell out like ours, and others had simply disappeared from the bus when it arrived in C.H. So the hostels here are asking guests to use another company wherever possible.
Yesterday we went on an amazing tour. Our guide Kumar made us and the other 4 people on the tour laugh the moment we got in the jeep, with his ingenious method of passing a vehicle emmissions test the police had set up. He has a friend who is a police man who told him they would be there, and has previously shown him how to put a small piece of rolled up newspaper in the engine to significantly reduce the emmissions, and therefore pass the test!! He was a really good guide, pointing out lots of different places and always cracking jokes. We travelled up the mountains in a 4x4 to Mount Brinchang, the highest point on peninsular Malaysia at 6666 ft. The sun was shining and the views were fantastic, if a little hazy in the distance. On the way back down the winding road, Kumar stopped the jeep and we walked down the track. He pointed out various plants, and explained their uses, which varied from medicinal to poison! Bamboo contains water that is safe to drink, but the outer shell contains fibres which irritate the skin and if ingested can kill you, and blind you if they get in your eyes. He spotted a black millepied with red legs which was about 6 inches long he picked it up on a stick and it curled around it. He explained that the bite is so painful that, although it is not lethal, people have committed suicide because the pain is so bad. When he was younger he was amazed by the idea of a pain that would cause someone to take their own life, so went out searching for one of the insects and picked it up and it bit him. He wouldnt recommend it! Kumar showed us many more plants which can heal and harm, and then stopped by a very small gap in the trees of a near vertical slope, which looked as if it had been made by rain water flowing down the mountain. "Now we start the jungle trek" He announced, and there were gasps from a couple behind us. Kumar started to climb and scramble up the slope, which had tree roots & branches to act as steps and handholds above the crumbling earth. Rob followed straight behind, I could sense his excitement, and I followed, equally curious about the trail we were about to take. We climbed under and over fallen branches, and Kumar frequently stopped to explain which plants are used as medicines, and which are vital for jungle survival. We ate cinnamon leaves, and identified the Ti tree, the natural antiseptic (Among so many other plants) we saw the insect eating carnivorous 'monkey cups', and a species of orchid endemic to the cameron highlands. The walk was fantastic, and we didnt want it to end!!
Tomorrow we are heading to the perhentian islands, which are more remote than Tioman, but developing very quickly, maily due to the fact that they are featured in the highlights of Malaysia in the Lonely Planet guide, which we feel is rather irresponsible of LP, as visitors are flocking to the previously pristine island. Well, we shall see when we get there...
They only have electricity for 12 hours a day, and i'm predicting the internet will be painfully slow, so, I'm not sure when I'll next be able to write here, but you can be sure we'll be having a fantastic time lazing around in paradise!!

posted by Rach at Saturday, July 08, 2006

plants that harm & plants that heal.... remains copyright of the author Shackers, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> photos tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-28:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=10&entryid=15632 2006-06-29T06:39:55Z 2006-06-29T06:39:55Z view all my photos!!! just click shackers just up on the right hand side of the website and you can enter my online world.. which will outlive us all in dedication to techo posterity........... ... view all my photos!!! just click shackers just up on the right hand side of the website and you can enter my online world.. which will outlive us all in dedication to techo posterity...........

photos remains copyright of the author Shackers, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Mark Twain says........ tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-28:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=9&entryid=15630 2006-06-29T06:35:27Z 2006-06-29T06:35:27Z To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal. ... To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal.

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]]> Penang tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-28:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=15627 2006-06-29T06:16:31Z 2006-06-29T06:16:31Z OOOH YEAH!! I want everybody to freak out, freak out! The Macho Man is right here and I'm gonna take it to the limit, yeah!!"- so we are in Penang.. Georgetown is really interesting much more authentic chinese culture and style than in Singapore or KL lovely old colonial buildings and forts combine with old Chinese temples and lovely Chinese style housings. The gently crumbling but largely intact shophouses of George Town offer a glimpse into the town's colonial times; ... OOOH YEAH!! I want everybody to freak out, freak out! The Macho Man is right here and I'm gonna take it to the limit, yeah!!"- so we are in Penang.. Georgetown is really interesting much more authentic chinese culture and style than in Singapore or KL lovely old colonial buildings and forts combine with old Chinese temples and lovely Chinese style housings. The gently crumbling but largely intact shophouses of George Town offer a glimpse into the town's colonial times; a time when it attracted pirates intellectuals, merchants and prostitutes. (last night saw two lady boys with knives sat on the corner of Love lane) yesterday we got a rickshaw around the city with an old man who was very mch into giving us his life story from the third person... took us to a lovely temple called Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi where they filmed a film called Anna and the King and then to an old fishing village built on stilts stretching into the sea and where the Chinese have lived for centuries... very fascinating abit like stepping back in time... wooden houses,stilts, just the swell of the sea and stench of fish, the city seemed to be far away. Rach and i both had an amazing time with this old man and his stories we were sad to leave but he probably gives the same story to hundreds of different people every year and is probably plying his trade as we speak.... spent one nightime having a cobra massage with babyoil in my room at 1 am!!! to release the power of the cobra from a man called crazy doc banazonooka it was good... he said that rach would outlive me, and that i will have 3 children...... shoulders are good... but neck is weak... must sleep without a pillow on a hardbed.... must eat bananas and avoid ice............ fish/fairy.blogspot.com::::: A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.

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]]> Phantasmagorical Rumble tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-26:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=15488 2006-06-27T06:51:10Z 2006-06-27T06:51:10Z So..... we went to the Batu caves to gaze at Hindu deities and suck driplets of water from inside the earth. Went with our friend Siva who also took us out for dinner with his family where we tried shellfish and indian cuisine. Next day we ate with our hands in delicious local South Indian restaurant and i made love to the stars..... in a fusion of indian cuisine and sweetest kisses with blu scruffy and the spectacular Rachel Danielle ... So..... we went to the Batu caves to gaze at Hindu deities and suck driplets of water from inside the earth. Went with our friend Siva who also took us out for dinner with his family where we tried shellfish and indian cuisine. Next day we ate with our hands in delicious local South Indian restaurant and i made love to the stars..... in a fusion of indian cuisine and sweetest kisses with blu scruffy and the spectacular Rachel Danielle Summers... who i love so very much.. if you would like to see this look at the photos it is very beautiful.

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]]> thunder in the jungle basin.... monkey in my toilet. tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-23:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=15204 2006-06-29T06:17:22Z 2006-06-23T16:07:59Z oh well.... the don't forget seafood.. as in the name of that frog infested shit hole filled with expat offshore oil drillers has come back to haunt me and the rach master jizzy.. with a ms vengence... rach comes down with severe pain in the stomach... suspected pancreatitus....... spend days with trips to local clinic where mr woo plays wobble wobble with his jenga in between putting rach on a drip...... we followed the rabbit-frog down hole... and ... oh well.... the don't forget seafood.. as in the name of that frog infested shit hole filled with expat offshore oil drillers has come back to haunt me and the rach master jizzy.. with a ms vengence... rach comes down with severe pain in the stomach... suspected pancreatitus....... spend days with trips to local clinic where mr woo plays wobble wobble with his jenga in between putting rach on a drip...... we followed the rabbit-frog down hole... and we got burnt... rach admitted to gleneagles!!!! private hospital. where they are more concerned with paperwork and the parting of cash..... before the latent threat of treatment becomes a real reality... spend lonely night apart, rach in bed with another man...... blue scruffy mix master timmy!!!!!! while i get drunk at local bar... she recovers, out next day just a stomach infection... now we take it easy... but want to get out of kuala lumpur badly./... more cautious with the food but it is difficult to avoid hawker centres... maybe avoid white meat.... meet siva malaysian man with family... we go to his house to watch the football on sunday and get drunk with his family... he likes thai grass.. and drinking so sounds good to me.... convalescence in KL then outta here... this place to0 small now, the city shrinks as the imagination expands... i'm more enticed bout getting off the beaten track now than ever before... looking forward to taman negara. orang asli villages and indochina.... got a 2:1 on my degree and a first for my dissertation.. rach is much better now and we can get on with our holiday................

thunder in the jungle basin.... monkey in my toilet. remains copyright of the author Shackers, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> ... the fiend on my shoulder.... shallow water tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-15:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=4&entryid=14482 2006-06-15T11:32:17Z 2006-06-15T11:32:17Z spent week on tropical island called Pulau Tioman. Went snorkellng with thousands of fish and canoed out to secret white beaches with only monitor lizards and monkeys for company. Spent evenings eating with the locals at the restaurants and drinking beer in the BB shack. One day we did the jungle walk to Juara, passing through a jungle we inhabited only by ourselves, our way blocked by falling trees, monkeys armed with coconuts and devious snakes with martian faces and ... spent week on tropical island called Pulau Tioman. Went snorkellng with thousands of fish and canoed out to secret white beaches with only monitor lizards and monkeys for company. Spent evenings eating with the locals at the restaurants and drinking beer in the BB shack. One day we did the jungle walk to Juara, passing through a jungle we inhabited only by ourselves, our way blocked by falling trees, monkeys armed with coconuts and devious snakes with martian faces and poison hearts. Went swimming in fresh waterfalls and plunge pools and slept devilish nights in unbearable heat. The heat and humidity is difficult to get used to, at times oppressive, the cool ocean breeze is our only relief. Today we headed to Cherating half way up the east coast. A rustic lil town with a strange mis-mash of styles. Our chalet resembles some sort of pioneer's nebraskan farm house complete with stove....................................................................................................................................... then we head to beach , further to a bar hidden in the woods called the half moon at half past four...... the deadly nightshade....... an occultish, macrabre cottage with splintered ceiling that resembles some kind of new england hut, complete with pictures of ghouls, phantasmagoria, witchcraft collections and jagged almost incongruous trees that seem more artic than tropical... ............................ i drink two beers....... it cheap.... an offshore oil 'fisherman' called alan from great yarmouth drinks with our cambodian host.. from siem reap... ... he is mildly polemic in conversation but not enough to make me uncomfortable.......... the surroundings strange enough to save me from any yarn.... the beer making it more interesting than it would be.......... normally when i'm not drunk..... tomorrow we will try batik, a traditional malay form of art using wax and waterpaints..... maybe some horse riding.... booyakashah......... or even some turtle watching/voyeuring.....................................................................................................................................................................................

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]]> Singapore-Mersing tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-06-07:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=3&entryid=13855 2006-06-07T08:49:12Z 2006-06-07T08:49:12Z Arrived in Singapore after flight via Doha, which is a sweaty and sticky kinda place. Singapore is only 13 degrees north of the equator and the air is so humid, it feels difficult to breathe, like taking in a noxious gas and exhaling some sort of whizz glue type phantom. Singapore itself is an amazing place: walk from chinatown to little india and you will see the amazing difference between the two areas, like walking between two countries, and after ... Arrived in Singapore after flight via Doha, which is a sweaty and sticky kinda place. Singapore is only 13 degrees north of the equator and the air is so humid, it feels difficult to breathe, like taking in a noxious gas and exhaling some sort of whizz glue type phantom. Singapore itself is an amazing place: walk from chinatown to little india and you will see the amazing difference between the two areas, like walking between two countries, and after having a delicious indian meal served on banana leaf we head to chinatown which is full of hawker centres and bustling market stalls, spices and all sorts of incredible but useless tat. Hindu shrines and Chinese tao/buddist temples are dotted all over the city as well as a few mosques down where i am staying on Baghdad Street. The Hawker centres are amazing you can get fish head curry or even eminent frogs legs which is my personal fave, staying clear of green turtle soup, because i don't like the idea of digesting something so putrid in design.. and which belongs on the beach, crying dolorous tears for all of its lost hatchlings kidnapped mercilessly by the beading eyes of predator birds.......... Today we arrived in Malaysia, and we are now in Mersing, which is a little fishing port. Tomorrow(wed) we catch the longboat to pulau tioman in the South China Sea, where we will snorkel and jungle trek.... i tink its where south pacific the movie was filmed, but if its too overcrodwed we will explore the seribut archipegalo and surrounding isles, by boat.... People very friendly.... food excellent... bout 90 p for a three course indian dinner... hostel is 2 pound a night... and malaysia is suppost to be expensive in south east asian terms.............................!!!!!!!

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]]> Viewing Photos tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-04-20:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=2&entryid=9667 2006-04-20T23:32:07Z 2006-04-20T23:32:07Z To see Photos Click on Author/Shackers and my Photos will appear on the right hand side of the screen. ... To see Photos Click on Author/Shackers and my Photos will appear on the right hand side of the screen.

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]]> Hola tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-04-20:/blog/?domain=Shack&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=9664 2006-04-20T23:27:36Z 2006-04-20T23:27:36Z Off to Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia on 3rd June. Will post photos and discoveries/thoughts. ... Off to Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia on 3rd June. Will post photos and discoveries/thoughts.

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