On the side of a lonely hill in South Korea’s lovely Gapyeong Valley lies a memorial to the brave soldiers of both Australia and New Zealand who came from Down Under to fight for the freedom of South Korea over 50 years ago:

The 3rd Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) and the 16th Field Regiment of the New Zealand Artillery were tasked organized as part of the British 27th Commonwealth Brigade which was also reinforced with a platoon of American tanks.

The Australian and New Zealand soldiers are also known as ANZACs which refers back to both nations’ World War I history as the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps that fought and died in on the cliffs of Gallipoli as well as in the farm fields of western Europe on the allied frontlines. Australian and New Zealand soldier would fight together again in the hills of Korea where many of them like their ANZAC forefathers in World War I made the ultimate sacrifice to defend the freedom of a country and its people far from their homes. The memorial to honor these soldiers is located in the vicinity of quite possibly the ANZACs most heroic combat action during the Korean War, The Battle of Kapyong:

During the battle the Australians found themselves surrounded by a vastly numerically, superior Chinese force. They fought there way through the Chinese onslaught and backed by New Zealand guns and American tanks the Australians eventually launched a successful counterattack that crushed the Chinese enemy, which helped change the tide of the Korean War.

The ANZAC Memorial today is located near the very hills the Australians defended which is now little more then farmland along a small single lane country road which is about a 10 minute drive from the Canadian Korean War Memorial:

The first memorial that can be seen at the site is the memorial honoring the sacrifices of the Australian Defence Force soldiers:

The memorial was actually quite large but looked a bit old compared to other memorials I have seen:

Here is what the plaque on the memorial had transcribed in honor of these heroic soldiers from Australia:

The Australian Memorial also had a newer plaque on display that featured both a full scale map of the Korean War along with a map depicting the combat actions during The Battle of Kapyong:

The New Zealand Memorial on the other hand was much smaller then the Australian one:

The New Zealand Memorial is actually one of the smallest ones I have seen in honor of nations that fought in the Korean War. Why this is I don’t know. Anyway here is what the plaque on the memorial had transcribed in honor of the soldiers from the Land of the Long White Cloud:

Something I did not like about this memorial was how unkempt it was. There was weeds and garbage lying around which really took away from the experience of visiting the site:

The way I look at these memorials in Korea is how would a returning Korean War veteran feel to visit a memorial that is overgrown with weeds, trash lying around, and can’t even sit on the picnic table at the memorial built in your honor because it is about to fall down:

These memorials in Korea are usually maintained adequately, but occasionally I do find memorials like this one, which are in massive need of cleaning and repair. I know Korea can do better then this because every time I have been to the Taskforce Smith Memorial for example, it has been in immaculate condition. Maybe some of you Aussies and Kiwis out there reading this can contact your embassy to request to get the site cleaned and repaired. All the brave Kiwis and Aussies that served during the Korean War at least deserve a properly maintained memorial.

Overall during the Korean War, Australia suffered 311 killed in action and 1,230 wounded. New Zealand had 40 soldiers killed in action and 79 more wounded. The heroics of these soldiers are also honored at the British Commonwealth Memorial located in the very middle of Gapyeong City. For all you Australians and Kiwis out there, these memorials are well worth checking out if you love learning about the history of your nations’ involvement in the Korean War. If you are the type like me who likes walking around these old battlefields then the Kapyong Valley really should be a must see anyone because it is a heroic battlefield that also happens to sit in one of Korea’s most scenic valleys. Even if you don’t like these old battlefield tours, you will find something to like in the scenic Kapyong Valley.

So who thinks anti-Australian FTA protests will sweep the country if a FTA between Australia and Korea is ratified?:

South Korea and Australia agreed Monday to open “preparatory talks” on a free trade agreement to further boost bilateral ties.

The agreement came in a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who arrived in Seoul Sunday for a two-day visit.

Both leaders welcomed the results of a joint study on a Korea-Australia deal that said an agreement will be beneficial for mutual economic growth and trade expansion, the presidential office in Seoul said.

“The two leaders agreed that preparatory talks on a bilateral FTA will be held in the near future,” it said. [Korea Times]

The facts of the matter is that there will be no protests because there is no anti-Australia undertone in Korea for political demagogues to exploit like they did with the US beef issue that opened the way to a US-Korea FTA that may have now been shot down due to the protests.

What I am wondering is if Australia will import kangaroo meat under the FTA? For those who have never tried kangaroo you don’t know what you are missing out on.

India ran through the Australian top order in the 4th Commonwealth Bank Series One day International played between India and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia is struggling at 91 for 6 in 25.2 overs. Sreesanth gave the initial break through, Adam Gilchrist was unfortunate to be given lbw for 0 and thinks went on Indians way. Hayden blasted 15 runs of Isanth Sharma’s second over but Sharma won the battle, Hayden was out for 25 caught by Dhoni.
Wickets started falling at regular intervals, Ponting was Out caught by Tendulkar for 9, Ishath Sharma troubled Pointing in the Test series and again he got Ponting. Irfan Pathan gave another break through by getting Clarke at 11 caught by Rohit Sharma.
Andrew Symonds tried to dominate Ishanth Sharma and was caught behind at 14. Haddin was out stumped at 5 of Harbhajan.
Indian spinners are introduced and they are running through the overs quickly as India are short with a bowler. Runs are trickle to come by.
To conclude Australians were never tested by any team other than India.

Something which has appeared on the BBC a couple of times now, but not once that I have seen in our own local media, is the Rudd government’s plan to erect a firewall to block Australians’ access to certain websites. The “cyber-safety plan” apparently comprised part of the 2008-09 budget, but was unfortunately overlooked by the Liberals so they could complain about taxes on luxury cars. The plan’s stated aim is to “help protect Australian children from the dangers of the internet” (as seen on the DBCDE website). Sounds good, right?

Well no, actually, it’s not good at all. I don’t care how many government-appointed consultative committees there are, how much they educate young Australians on how to be “responsible cyber-citizens”, how many different groups they insist they will be “working with”, nor how many excuses they offer as to why a mandatory firewall is necessary. Plainly and simply, it is not. This plan is an erosion of our rights, nothing more and nothing less — and should be opposed.

Read more… (774 words)

The 26inches.com magazine ran bi-monthly over 8 issues. The first, and still the only, of its kind in Australia, it was based on a mix of written, video and interactive articles. Starting as a web based magazine, it progressed to CD and finally DVD for its last issue. It was ceased as the readership was ultimately not enough to sustain it’s increasing production costs and there was little desire by those involved to do a more traditional print based magazine.

CD 3 symbolised that we were getting comfortable with the medium and we feel was one of the best. This was the last of the CD-R deliveries as after this point we decided to take it a step further and move to an interactive DVD format.

Be warned:

This is the whole CD and nothing’s been cut down. The video content is big, 80Mb+, so it’s best looked at on a big pipe connection.

The presentation uses pop up windows.

The site is housed in a Flash wrapper, so make sure your browser is capable of seeing Flash files.

Written articles are delivered in Acrobat.

[Click here to launch CD3]

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Here you go, my photos from Wonder Down Under! My favs are the body paintings…the one with the Aussie flag with a koala is Mark Reids, the ragedy anne doll/clown is Yolanda Bartrams and the Purple Wonder Down Under Girl was painted by Lynne Jamieson! Enjoy!

If you like, send in your photos of the convention, and I’ll put them up on the blog!

And, I’d love to hear what you think, so please…leave comments on this post!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
Learn face painting the fun and easy way with FacePaintingTips.com!

Australia, body painting, convention, face painting, Melbourne, photos, Wonder Down Under

Wow! what a match that was. When India was trailing by 2-0 after sydney test match, It is a great come back. I would say the team effort that paid off with a jubilant win. Every one in the team contributed to this match - great batting performance from tail enders like RP Singh and Anil Kumble, unbelievable bowling by batsman - Virendar Sehwag and an all round effort by Irfan Pathan. This win will be remembered for a long time to come, thanks to the self dug grave by aussies. After the first test match of this current series, it looked like Indians will be sent back home with 4-0 white wash by cricketing maestro Australians. But this win will boost Indians self confidence to pull their socks up to gear for the final match of the series at Adelaide.

I would like to congratulate Anil Kumble for his captaincy abilities and also for getting the honors of being the 3rd bowler to get 600 wickets in cricket test matches. Best wishes for him to get more wickets in future.

ARTICLEURL

Saw this on Gizmodo today:

Yesterday ZDnet broke the story that Virgin would be launching the iPhone 3G within two weeks, but without any official confirmation, it was stuck into the “rumour” basket.

Today, Giz can happily confirm that Virgin will be launching the iPhone, hopefully as soon as Friday this week (although that’s not confirmed yet). So if you’re planning on getting yourself an iPhone in the next few days, you probably want to wait, especially if you’re a data fiend.

And if, like me, you just bought an iPhone, what you read below the fold is probably going to hurt a little bit…

From our source:

For $70 per month for 24 months, all Virgin iPhone 3G customers will get:

· An 8GB Apple iPhone 3G for $0

· $520 WORTH OF CALLS & TEXTS

· 1GB OF DATA each and every month

· FREE CALLS & TEXT TO VIRGIN MOBILES!

· FREE VOICEMAIL to receive and retrieve in Oz!

· 40¢ Call Rate per 30 seconds w/ 40¢ call connection

· 25¢ Text to others in Australia, 35¢ overseas

For $100 per month, you can get the same plan but increase your data allowance up to 5GB. Yep, 5 Gigs.

Want the 16 Gig version? Then that’ll be $4 extra a month on the Cap 70 plan, but no extra on the Cap 100 plan.

Since the mutinous days of Captain Bligh, Tahiti and French Polynesia have symbolized paradise for South Pacific travelers. The soaring volcanic peaks, white sand beaches, and emerald lagoons continue to feed escapist dreams. French Polynesia also caters to adventurers and sightseers, and the colorful histories of ancient Polynesia and French colonialism have produced many vestiges to explore. Culturally, the happy combination of Tahitian warmth and French style have engendered a milieu only enhanced by the natural beauty of the islands. French Polynesia is not an inexpensive destination but it seldom disappoints its visitors.

The top thing to do in Tahiti? Relax.

Thing to Do in Tahiti

Tahiti is French Polynesia’s biggest, most famous and historically interesting island. Most people arrive at Faaa International Airport on the outskirts of French Polynesia’s capital city, Papeete. Boulevard Pomare curves glamorously around Papeete Harbour, with yachts on one side and black-pearl boutiques on the other. The “Real Polynesia” is encountered at Papeete Market in the heart of downtown with flower and vegetable vendors downstairs and handicraft hawkers on the balconies above.

In the fashionable Vaima Center nearby are upscale shops, restaurants, cafes, and airline offices. Tahiti visitors can tour history museums, go hiking in the Faananu or Vaipoe valleys, or follow in Captain Cook’s footsteps at Point Venus. For a superb view of northern Tahiti and the silhouette of Moorea, the sunset dinner tour to the Belvedere Restaurant high above Papeete cannot be beat. The classic circle Tahiti tours include a stop at the Gauguin Museum in southern Tahiti where the painter’s final years in Polynesia are documented. Jeep safaris up and over Tahiti’s razer-sharp spine are also offered.

Things to Do in Moorea

Tahiti’s neighboring island, Moorea, has it all, including sparkling coral beaches, clear lagoons, archaeological sites, swanky resorts, intimate pensions, and some of the most striking scenery in the world. A 60-kilometer road circles the island with a sideroad to the Belvedere View Point high up in the mountains. The ruins of old Polynesian temples and compounds are scattered among the chestnut trees just below the view point. Exciting four-wheel drive safaris take visitors up dirt tracks to other high points around the island.

Those with a taste for culture can enjoy a spectacular Tahitian feast and show at the Tiki Theater Village. Moorea is famous for its marinelife and there are snorkeling tours, shark and ray feeding expeditions, and dolphin watching trips. One can swim with huge manta rays in the wild or be photographed with captive dolphins in an enclosure. Picnic trips by motorized outrigger canoe and sunset sailing cruises are available. In addition there are half a dozen scuba diving shops on Moorea and all the resorts have large watersports departments.

Things to Do in Bora Bora

Rooms with a view in Bora Bora

After the island of Tahiti, Bora Bora is French Polynesia’s (and the South Pacific’s) most famous island. On its reef, a chain of narrow islands surround a lagoon large enough to shelter a whole naval fleet (which actually happened during World War II). Sheer volcanic peaks soar from the lagoon, creating what James Michener called the “most beautiful island in the world.”

Exploring Bora Bora is fun. Circle-island tours by “le truck”, Polynesia’s breezy public transportation, follow the road around the island in a couple of hours. Alternatively, you can join a 4WD safari and roar up rugged bush tracks to spectacular viewpoints over the lagoon. Yet the best experience of all awaits you out on the lagoon. Join a motorized outrigger canoe tour and you’ll soon be snorkeling with sharks and manta rays as the animals are fed by experienced guides. Those looking for tamer stuff can stare at huge schools of tropical fish from a glass bottom boat. The two dozen large international hotels on Bora Bora aren’t cheap, but there are also lots of small family-operated pensions for budget watchers.

Things to Do in Raiatea & Huahine

If you have the time, it’s well worth stopping on Raiatea and Huahine on the way back to Papeete. Raiatea is French Polynesia’s most sacred island, the site of Marae Taputapuatea, one of the largest Polynesian temples in the South Pacific. All of the island tours call here. For something different, take a four-wheel drive jeep safari to places the tour buses can’t reach, available on both Raiatea and Huahine.

On Raiatea, you can board a motorized outrigger canoe for a ride up the Faaroa River or out to a black pearl farm in stilts over the lagoon. Huahine is French Polynesia’s undiscovered gem, its single large international resort inaccessible by road. The Maeva archaeological area on Huahine contains dozens of restored Polynesian temples, some on the mountain and others by the lagoon. Huahine is actually two large volcanic islands connected by a bridge and the circle island tours do a figure eight around it all. If you missed the motorized outrigger tours on Bora Bora and Raiatea, take the Huahine picnic cruise to get an entirely different look at the island.

Things to Do in the Tuamotu Islands

The Tuamotu Group is a chain of 78 coral islands and atolls stretching 1,500 kilometers across the South Pacific Ocean. Rangiroa, one of the largest atolls in the world, is a scuba diving paradise with strong tidal flows through the two passes into its lagoon. Divers from afar come to drift with the current back into the lagoon through schools of sharks, dolphins, and other fish.

Manihi and Fakarava atolls offer similar experiences. Manihi is the most accessible of French Polynesia’s major pearl farming areas and there are tours which demonstrate the pearl farming process. Motorized outrigger tours to isolated reef islands called motus are possible on all of the atolls with tourist accommodations. When you’re not diving, snorkeling is the thing to do here. Be aware, however, that there are no mountains to climb in the Tuamotus and few shops to visit, and those uninterested in watersports should choose another destination.

Things to Do in the Austral Islands

Few travelers reach the volcanic islands of the Austral Group south of Tahiti where the climate is cooler than in the rest of French Polynesia. The best time to go is in June and July when pods of humpback whales swim to Rurutu and Tubuai from Antarctica to bear their young. Each island has a dive shop which organizes whalewatching tours. Tubuai and Raivavae each have rings of reef islets around the main island, which makes them ideal for those into watersports. Rurutu is great for hikers with tracks to many scenic seaside viewpoints and few inhabitants. Lonely little Rapa, the southernmost island in the South Pacific, has intriguing Polynesia fortresses on its hilltops but the island is only accessible by infrequent ships.

Things to Do in the Marquesas Islands

The legendary Marquesas Islands are among the most prized destinations in the South Pacific. This chain of high volcanic islands, 1,400 kilometers northeast of Papeete, is an expensive plane ride or long boat trip from Tahiti. The Marquesas has its own unique Polynesian culture exemplified by the large stone tikis standing at archaeological sites on Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa.

Whenever cruiseships call, the Marquesans stage Polynesian dance shows and prepare island feasts. The best way to go is on the passenger-carrying freighter Aranui, which calls at all six inhabited islands once or twice a month on 16-day cruises from Papeete. On the island of Hiva Oa, shore excursions visit the graves of French painter Paul Gauguin and French chanson singer Jacques Brel.

-David Stanley

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Tahiti, from Moorea tours to things to do in Bora Bora and Papetee.

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Today we got the news that our application to move to the Illawarra has been accepted. Being a new area the house is exceptionally new and has very few, if any flaws. Personally I am yet to see the place physically, but the raw emotion and excitement that has come from those that have leads me to believe I will be very happy with the move.

Now for some photography of the place.

That is it folks. I am sure looking forward to getting into this place now across the Australia Day long weekend. We will though be doing the ocker thing on Australia Day and will be bludging the day away at the beach in anticipation of some fireworks. The days surrounding that Saturday though will be hectic.

I probably will be unable to blog on those days, so am now going to formulate some scheduled posts for the period. Rest assured it will become increasingly cheaper to advertise on my Entrecard for those of you interested.