Travels Past

Weird sights on hikes

- In the first picture, six Richard Turners have seen something photo-worthy in the distance. This is the road south of Lake Mono, California, Summer 1999. In the second picture, my father and I have stumbled across a giant inflatable Claude. Aberdeenshire, Spring 2000. These and all pictures are of dimensions appropriate for desktop wallpaper.

One of these Tufa is not like the others

Lake Mono

- an beautiful lake east of Yosemite National Park, California. Calcium-rich water bubbles up from under the lake floor. It reacts with the carbonates in the lake-water to form tufa towers - pillars of limestone. The water has receeded, leaving these tufa stranded. The second picture shows the edge of Yosemite National Park.

Cambridge in the seasons

- Orange berries grow on a wall in Queens' College in the middle of winter. Iron bars to Midsummer Common, frosted. A tree with snow, but I can't figure out which way round this photo should go. Also see these seasons' trees in Midsummer Common.

Netherlands

- A display of gross squashes in an Amsterdam shop window, August 1999. Lucian in a circle at a lovely park in Eindhoven.

Stockholm archipelago

- around twenty-four thousand islands, skerries and rocks to the east of Stockholm. There are frequent boats, and it seems as though every island has some sort of house on it. (Also see the official tourism website). The second picture illustrates the difficulties in travelling on one's own, and using an auto-timer to take photos.

Stockholm

- On one of the islands that make up Stockholm there is a museum of architecture. Its park, nearby, is populated with giant and grotesque creatures. This yellow and red thing is one of them. The same island is home to the AF Chapman, a ship that doubles as a youth hostel. Here I am trying to become one with the rigging.

Camels in Thar Desert

- On the border between India and Pakistan is a large desert. Drug smugglers get their camels addicted to marijuhana so that the camels will want to make their own way to the destination, without the need for a human rider. That way no one gets caught by the police. A friend and I went on a three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The ugly camel was rebellious and would spew forth green bile.

Lucian and Devon in the Great Thar Desert

Thar Desert

- In the first photo, Devon and I ran at top speed to reach the next dune in the twelve seconds allowed by the camera auto-timer. The dunes were very photogenic!

Jaisalmir and Udaipur

- The Walled City of Jaisalmir lies at the heart of the Great Thar Desert. It was from here that I set off on my three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The middle picture shows a school just outside the city walls. The Lake Palace Hotel was where the Bond film Octopussy was filmed. Unfortunately there were no scantily-clad ninja assasins when we visited at Christmas!

City and Country Children

- We stayed in a hostel by the side of Udaipur Lake, Christmas 1992. During the day this young boy waited at the hostel's cafe and cleaned the toilet. At night, he slept in the toilet. The second picture is from a hike through the foothills of the Himalayas. The drop behind the tree is a good thousand feet.

Woodstock School

- Balanced on the edge of the Himalayas is the hill-town of Mussorie, and in it Woodstock School. I taught here for nine months. Pictured here are the mists and clouds of the monsoon season, July 1992. The rice paddies in the surrounding countryside are stepped because of the steepness of the hills.

Rice Paddies

- Earth, Sky and Water.

Devil Worshippers

- One day I joined a school christian hike prostheletyzing in the remote villages. "Beware" we were warned by the leader of the hike. "We are entering into the heart of devil-worshipping country. Be strong in your hearts and pray constantly in your mind." As we approached the heavy, slow drum beat got louder and more ominous...

Gangotri

- This mountain formation looks so striking, I want to found a computer science monastery at its summit. It is on a walk near Gangotri, six thousand meters high in the himalayas, where people like me suffer from altitude sickness. The Indian porters had no such trouble.

Dheli and Agra

- "Hello friend, you want hashish?" This young boy was the youngest drug-pusher I met in India. The second picture shows a bearer-ji carrying bus engine parts on his head. This was how most loads were carried. Pictures taken in Dheli and Agra, India, 1992.

Goa

- The first photo shows the Basilica of St Francis Xavier in the distance, with the ruins of a church to St Augustine in the foreground. This is in Goa, India, early 1993. The fish are left out to dry in the sun.

Kerala and Andamans

- South of Goa is the water-filled state of Kerala, full of fishermen. Where the river is narrower than here, children run along the banks of the river hoping the tourists in the boats will throw them pens. Early 1993. The Andamans are three days cruise from the souther tip of India. It is a protected zone because of the primitive natives, and world heritage site, and maps are hard to come by.

Saddle Castle

- On the west coast of Scotland, on the Mull of Kintyre, is Saddle Castle. We stayed at the castle for two holidays. Paul McCartney filmed one of his videos on the castle's beach. At the far end of the beach is a two-storey stone picnic house, where my father burnt this sausage. The castle grounds are large and full of ferns, streams and deer.

Saddle Fauna

- Here are two pictures of light and leaves in the grounds of Saddle Castle.

Saddle Swans

- A swan on the beach, created by my friend Gilli. The waves came and washed it away.

Indian Embassy Instructions in Kathmandu

Indian Embassy, Kathmandu

- India is the worlds biggest beurocracy. If somehow you manage to fulfil these instructions they reward you with a visa. November 1992. The second picture is from somewhere in India. Does anyone have any idea what they're doing?

Boston and Prague

- Oded, a school friend, lugs a tyre across a disused Boston railway line. Julien, whom I met in Prague, explains something expansive.

Family at Ampleforth

- Four fifths of my family on a jetty in Ampleforth Lake, where my younger brother went to school. The second picture shows a woodcut from Poland. I like to think of it as depicting a victim of a nuclear holocaust.

	Travels Past
	Weird sights on hikes - In the first picture, six Richard Turners have seen something photo-worthy in the distance. This is the road south of Lake Mono, California, Summer 1999. In the second picture, my father and I have stumbled across a giant inflatable Claude. Aberdeenshire, Spring 2000. These and all pictures are of dimensions appropriate for desktop wallpaper.
	Lake Mono - an beautiful lake east of Yosemite National Park, California. Calcium-rich water bubbles up from under the lake floor. It reacts with the carbonates in the lake-water to form tufa towers - pillars of limestone. The water has receeded, leaving these tufa stranded. The second picture shows the edge of Yosemite National Park.
	Cambridge in the seasons - Orange berries grow on a wall in Queens' College in the middle of winter. Iron bars to Midsummer Common, frosted. A tree with snow, but I can't figure out which way round this photo should go. Also see these seasons' trees in Midsummer Common.
	Netherlands - A display of gross squashes in an Amsterdam shop window, August 1999. Lucian in a circle at a lovely park in Eindhoven.
	Stockholm archipelago - around twenty-four thousand islands, skerries and rocks to the east of Stockholm. There are frequent boats, and it seems as though every island has some sort of house on it. (Also see the official tourism website). The second picture illustrates the difficulties in travelling on one's own, and using an auto-timer to take photos.
	Stockholm - On one of the islands that make up Stockholm there is a museum of architecture. Its park, nearby, is populated with giant and grotesque creatures. This yellow and red thing is one of them. The same island is home to the AF Chapman, a ship that doubles as a youth hostel. Here I am trying to become one with the rigging.
	Camels in Thar Desert - On the border between India and Pakistan is a large desert. Drug smugglers get their camels addicted to marijuhana so that the camels will want to make their own way to the destination, without the need for a human rider. That way no one gets caught by the police. A friend and I went on a three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The ugly camel was rebellious and would spew forth green bile.
	Thar Desert - In the first photo, Devon and I ran at top speed to reach the next dune in the twelve seconds allowed by the camera auto-timer. The dunes were very photogenic!
	Jaisalmir and Udaipur - The Walled City of Jaisalmir lies at the heart of the Great Thar Desert. It was from here that I set off on my three-day camel trek at the start of 1993. The middle picture shows a school just outside the city walls. The Lake Palace Hotel was where the Bond film Octopussy was filmed. Unfortunately there were no scantily-clad ninja assasins when we visited at Christmas!
	City and Country Children - We stayed in a hostel by the side of Udaipur Lake, Christmas 1992. During the day this young boy waited at the hostel's cafe and cleaned the toilet. At night, he slept in the toilet. The second picture is from a hike through the foothills of the Himalayas. The drop behind the tree is a good thousand feet.
	Woodstock School - Balanced on the edge of the Himalayas is the hill-town of Mussorie, and in it Woodstock School. I taught here for nine months. Pictured here are the mists and clouds of the monsoon season, July 1992. The rice paddies in the surrounding countryside are stepped because of the steepness of the hills.
	Rice Paddies - Earth, Sky and Water.
	Devil Worshippers - One day I joined a school christian hike prostheletyzing in the remote villages. "Beware" we were warned by the leader of the hike. "We are entering into the heart of devil-worshipping country. Be strong in your hearts and pray constantly in your mind." As we approached the heavy, slow drum beat got louder and more ominous...
	Gangotri - This mountain formation looks so striking, I want to found a computer science monastery at its summit. It is on a walk near Gangotri, six thousand meters high in the himalayas, where people like me suffer from altitude sickness. The Indian porters had no such trouble.
	Dheli and Agra - "Hello friend, you want hashish?" This young boy was the youngest drug-pusher I met in India. The second picture shows a bearer-ji carrying bus engine parts on his head. This was how most loads were carried. Pictures taken in Dheli and Agra, India, 1992.
	Goa - The first photo shows the Basilica of St Francis Xavier in the distance, with the ruins of a church to St Augustine in the foreground. This is in Goa, India, early 1993. The fish are left out to dry in the sun.
	Kerala and Andamans - South of Goa is the water-filled state of Kerala, full of fishermen. Where the river is narrower than here, children run along the banks of the river hoping the tourists in the boats will throw them pens. Early 1993. The Andamans are three days cruise from the souther tip of India. It is a protected zone because of the primitive natives, and world heritage site, and maps are hard to come by.
	Saddle Castle - On the west coast of Scotland, on the Mull of Kintyre, is Saddle Castle. We stayed at the castle for two holidays. Paul McCartney filmed one of his videos on the castle's beach. At the far end of the beach is a two-storey stone picnic house, where my father burnt this sausage. The castle grounds are large and full of ferns, streams and deer.
	Saddle Fauna - Here are two pictures of light and leaves in the grounds of Saddle Castle.
	Saddle Swans - A swan on the beach, created by my friend Gilli. The waves came and washed it away.
	Indian Embassy, Kathmandu - India is the worlds biggest beurocracy. If somehow you manage to fulfil these instructions they reward you with a visa. November 1992. The second picture is from somewhere in India. Does anyone have any idea what they're doing?
	Boston and Prague - Oded, a school friend, lugs a tyre across a disused Boston railway line. Julien, whom I met in Prague, explains something expansive.
	Family at Ampleforth - Four fifths of my family on a jetty in Ampleforth Lake, where my younger brother went to school. The second picture shows a woodcut from Poland. I like to think of it as depicting a victim of a nuclear holocaust.