Having done almost a decade of PAD I’ve had a few alphabet months so I decided to make this my month of people and places because what I miss most is travel and it’s all about the people you meet and the places you see
THE PROMPTS
MARCH 1st A IS FOR: To kick off my alphabet month of people and places, I’ll start with my amazing friend Amyssie
MARCH 2nd B IS FOR: Our first Aussie mate in Kep. That would be Bonzza Brian
MARCH 3rd C IS FOR: Cusco, Peru. This is the charming hat stall vendor in the central square, wearing his advertising
MARCH 4th D IS FOR: Dali, China. In 1996 when we lived nearby and when this photo was taken, it was sleepy little village, with a diverse population of minority nationalities, including the Yi woman in the foreground and the Bai women hawking their wares in the back ground. Sorry about the poor quality of the shot I had to get it from my own Facebook photos and it was posted at a time when all photographs were drastically reduced in size
MARCH 5th E IS FOR: Please meet Edward a Form 4 Graduate from Orkeeswa a Maasai School in Monduli, Tanzania, where we spent three months in 2013
MARCH 7th G IS FOR: Allow me to introduce one of our newest little monks. This is Gao/ Gaew/ Gkeel! We actually have no idea how to spell his name but it certainly does start with G. That much we all agree on and these are the possibilities that we and other boys in the class with some understanding of phonics have come up with. At age fourteen he has just begun his education as a novice monk and this was his second lesson mastering the basics of the alphabet with such focus and concentration
MARCH 8th H IS FOR: Hondori the main shopping street in Hiroshima, where we lived for a total of 8 years. These young women are dressed in their finest, festive kimonos to celebrate Coming of Age Day in 2009 if my memory serves me correctly.
MARCH 9th I IS FOR: Ian of course. I couldn’t have a month of portraits and not include the love of my life. This is another timer shot and to stick with the travel theme and the letter I, it was taken in front of the sacred sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine in 2009
MARCH 10th J IS FOR: Jane - a great friend with an incredible sense of adventure, style and commitment and a no-nonsense approach to life. I can’t thank you enough for all the support and encouragement you have given me over the more than 30 years of our friendship. As I have often said “On ya Jane!”
MARCH 11th K IS FOR: Katja. We met in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and she was our sanity saver in those final days in Tanzania. A fellow teacher, adventurer, fun-lover and friend. This photo was taken on the covered bridge in Thimphu Bhutan when she came to visit us
MARCH 12th L IS FOR: Luang Prabang in lovely Laos. This young novice monk was with dozens of others on the early morning alms walk through the streets
MARCH 13th M IS FOR: Monduli, Tanzania. This charming little girl was playing with her sisters in the cosmos fields as we walked by. We actually arrived in Tz on this day 8 years ago
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MARCH 14th N IS FOR: New York, New York and on New Year’s Eve. Just the best little bar in Harlem, with cocktails by a New Yorker with style and sass. We have celebrated two new year’s eves in this very bar and would go back in a heart beat
MARCH 15th O IS FOR: Oregon, USA. Dear friends Charly and Julia were in the same intake to teach in remote rural Bhutan as we were in 2011. Several years later we took the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight on an epic train journey from Washington DC to Chicago to Sacramento to Oregon to meet them on their home turf and marvelled at the natural beauty of the area in which they live
MARCH 16th P IS FOR: Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This happy cyclo rider was thrilled that I wanted to take his photo while he rested in the passenger’s seat, in the shade waiting for his next customer
MARCH 17th Q IS FOR: Qing She is one of the hundreds of international students I taught in Glenunga International High School. She stands out because she was brave, fiercely independent, mature beyond her years, diligent and sensitive. She took a big risk to complete high school in Australia before she was too old to qualify for the programme. Then chose to participate in this school trip, which I organised and supervised. With only a month left to prepare for final exams and her one shot at qualifying for an Australian university when we returned, she succeeded. In keeping with the travel theme, she is pictured tolling the Peace Bell in Hiroshima, Japan with other students on tour. She made her dreams come true and was a delight to travel with as well as in the classroom
MARCH 18th R IS FOR: Rangjung, Bhutan. Our first teaching post in Bhutan was in the far east of the Kingdom in Rangjung and the house we lived in faced the Woesel Choling Monastery. We often woke to the sounds long horns, trumpets or chanting. On our last visit back there to see old friends and former students in 2019, the whole town was immersed in the sound of the chanting of religious texts for three consecutive days. That’s when I spotted this young novice practising scriptures at the entrance to the main hall. To this day I find those sounds so calming and they transport me back to Rangjung
MARCH 19th S IS FOR: Sakteng, remote eastern Bhutan. This community of minority people known as Brokpas make their living herding yaks and trading yak cheese and skins. They live in the pristine mountains at almost 4,000 metres above sea level and when we visited it was an arduous 16-hour hike to reach their homeland. Being there was one of the most magical experiences of our time in Bhutan
MARCH 20th T IS FOR: Thimphu, Bhutan. Taken on timer, almost two years ago when we returned to Bhutan to attend the graduation ceremony of one of the students from my first ever Bhutanese home class - IXC. It was a real joy to reconnect with so many of them and other dear friends and to don our traditional Bhutanese clothes again. Hard to believe I once dressed like this every day for work
MARCH 21st U IS FOR: Ürumüqi, in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region China. These were local garlic sellers in the market. Given the current persecution and re-education of the Uyghur people, I fear that this scene has now been completely destroyed and only in photos like this one, I took over 30 years ago can you see them as they once were
MARCH 22nd V IS FOR: Vicky. That’s me! The fact that V fell on my birthday was what convinced me to try this challenge of people and places this month. So, this is me in my favourite hotel in Phnom Penh, where we had booked to be as a birthday celebration. The current COVID situation made us cancel, so it’s a shot from our last visit in January and the photo credit goes to Ian. He took it to mark the occasion of successfully negotiating the 3 flights of stairs after my knee injury
MARCH 23rd W IS FOR: Wangdue Phodrang Bhutan. At Tshechu time when the monks become dancers, telling religious tales and morality stories over an incredible three-day spectacle and everyone is dressed in the finest traditional clothes, that’s when Wandue is at its best. I simply never tire of these masked dances and have been to every Tshechu I had the opportunity to attend. No trip to Bhutan is complete without at least one day at Tshechu
MARCH 24th X IS FOR: Xiang Xia. My dearest, Chinese friend who inspired me to believe that with determination and perseverance, you can make your dreams come true. She is an innovator, an entrepreneur, a visionary, and a legendary success story with charm, glamour and wisdom. I hope our paths cross again at some point in the future
MARCH 25th Y IS FOR: Yangnyer, Bhutan. This is a very good friend, Lobzang who is a Tibetan horse trader, transport driver, guide and deeply religious community leader. He has negotiated the treacherous passes and dangerous mountain roads to drive us on the two-day journey to across the country on several occasions and I have never once seen him lose his cool. He is a role model to many and a father to three very lucky boys. I’m sure we will have another opportunity to be his passengers and return to our very first home in the kingdom with him at some point in the future
MARCH 26th Z IS FOR: Zhongdian, China. It borders Tibet and was once before the redrawing of boundaries a part of that territory. A Tibetan enclave where we had our first ever experience of flying prayer flags at a Chorten/ Stupa/ Chedi. It is one of many places referred to a Shangrila. This is a selfie taken with a camera held as far away as possible hence we are somewhat blurry while the background is in focus
MARCH 27th FAVE WORD: My choice is coddiwomple, meaning to travel purposefully towards an as-yet-unknown destination. These two novice nuns in Mandalay, Myanmar were on their break between classes and while everyone else was sitting quietly in the shade they were coddiwompling around the grounds hand in hand
MARCH 28th MY AGE: I was stumped on how to incorporate my age into a portrait travel shot until I did a little research. So, there it is me in Phnom Penh with the angel wings because 64 is the angel number.
“The angel number 64 is a reminder from the angels to maintain an optimistic attitude, especially regarding your financial issues. The angels want you to know that you will be provided for by the Universe.”
MARCH 29th MY FAVE SPOT: I don’t really have just one favourite spot but in this month of travel portraits I think a market would have to be right up there at the top of the list, along with a classroom. I have never visited a country without going to at least one market and I love them. Since Vietnam hasn’t yet featured in this month I selected a friendly food stall vender on the outer perimeter of one of the smaller fruit and vegetables markets in the Chinatown district of Ho Chi Min (Saigon) city
MARCH 30th MY FAVE BOOK: As an avid reader I simply don’t have one favourite book but this one is a biography of the brother of the HH Dalai Lama. I absolutely loved reading it and learned so much history from it. Biographies and especially autobiographies are definitely my favourite genre. It fits my portraits of people and places theme as it has a photograph of Gyalo Thondrup on the cover and I bought this copy in Bhutan, and had the absolute privilege of visiting Tibet in the early 1980’s when the Chinese certainly had a presence but hadn’t yet built the massive square next to the Potala Palace and the Tibetan population still outnumbered the Han Chinese one
MARCH 31st I’M PROUD OF: My final portrait for my theme of people and places is Hugo: the Physio and yoga instructor with magical hands. It was taken minutes ago during my appointment and I’m proud of the progress he has helped me make with my range of motion, strength, balance and mobility since fracturing my patella just over four months ago. I can now walk, swim and ride my bike and hope that soon I will be back to the same strength and endurance as before my accident
