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Ramblings

Ramblings

Photos, travel stories, reportage and random stuff from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf

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Asia

Asia Photos 

Cambodia in pictures

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Battambang, Bokor National Park, Cambodia, Choeung Ek, Khmer Rouge, Killing Fields, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Ta Prohm

More than 900 years after it was built Angkor Wat is still the world’s biggest religious monument — but this resilient, vibrant country offers much more than temples.

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Asia Photos 

Laos in pictures

September 27, 2020April 11, 2021 pdg 2 Comments Attapeu, Laos, Luang Prabang, Mekong River, Plain of Jars, Si Phan Don, Vang Vieng, Vientiane

Laos doesn’t have the big tourism drawcards of its better-known neighbours — but that’s all the more reason to visit this slow-paced, smile-filled land.

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Asia New Zealand 

Against the odds: Surviving the Burma railroad

May 16, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Burma railroad, Dutch East Indies, Northland, World War II

Seventy-five years after being conscripted into the Dutch East Army during World War II, a Northland man’s service – and his ordeal on the notorious Burma railroad – has finally been recognised.

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Asia New Zealand 

Peace at last for shipwreck’s ‘hungry ghosts’

May 15, 2018April 11, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Chinese, Hokianga, Maori, Northland, shipwreck, Te Rarawa, Te Roroa, Ventnor

A Northland woman’s quest to discover the truth behind a century-year-old maritime tragedy has brought two peoples together – and brought peace to hundreds of “hungry ghosts”.

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Asia 

Hong Kong in 48 hours

May 11, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Hong Kong, Lantau Island, Victoria Peak

Exploring Hong Kong’s hectic blend of east and west during an all too short stopover.

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Asia 

Riding the bamboo train

May 7, 2018October 5, 2021 pdg 0 Comments bamboo train, Battambang, Cambodia, railway journeys

One of the world’s great railway journeys can be found in the rice fields outside the city of Battambang, Cambodia.

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About Ramblings

Kia ora and welcome to Ramblings, a fairly random collection of travel stories, photos and reportage from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf. I’m a reporter and occasional travel writer based in Kerikeri, a small town in New Zealand’s Far North. Read more...

LATEST

Auckland’s island escape: Great Barrier’s Aotea Track
New Zealand 

Auckland’s island escape: Great Barrier’s Aotea Track

June 5, 2022June 5, 2022 pdg 0

The island boasts spectacular beaches, hot springs, raucous birdlife and lush forest — and it’s just half an hour from Auckland by plane.

Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time
New Zealand 

Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time

April 6, 2022April 7, 2022 pdg 0
The Hunger Diary: My father and the Dutch famine
Europe 

The Hunger Diary: My father and the Dutch famine

March 26, 2022March 28, 2022 pdg 2
Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Europe Photos 

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 pdg 0

WEIRD TRAVEL

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?
Europe Weird Travel 

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?

November 18, 2021November 19, 2021 pdg 0

The monks of Sedlec Abbey, in what is now the Czech Republic, turned a problem into a morbid masterpiece.

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?
Europe Featured Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?

July 22, 2020July 4, 2021 pdg 3
The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief
Europe Top stories Weird Travel 

The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief

August 24, 2019December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Is this the world’s strangest parade?
Europe Photos Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s strangest parade?

August 11, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0

PHOTOS

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Europe Photos 

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 pdg 0

Towering monuments, vibrant cities, and a national identity which has somehow survived Soviet oppression and a turbulent history — those are a few of my memories from a trip to Ukraine long before the Russian invasion.

Egypt in pictures
Africa Photos 

Egypt in pictures

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 pdg 0
Cambodia in pictures
Asia Photos 

Cambodia in pictures

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0
Albania in pictures
Europe Photos Top stories 

Albania in pictures

September 13, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0
Czechostalgia: A photographic ramble through 1990s Bohemia
Europe Photos 

Czechostalgia: A photographic ramble through 1990s Bohemia

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 pdg 0
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