Category: Travel

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1990s Blogging Computers Geography Internet Music Radio Television Travel

Perth Australia

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This month I’m virtually visiting 5 continents in 5 weeks. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Luxembourg in Europe. Last week it was Yunnan China in Asia. This week it’s down under to Perth Australia.

I’m a big fan of Australia and New Zealand from afar. I’ve never been to either. (I’ve never been south of the Equator.) During my upcoming retirement chapter of my life – I definitely wish to somehow someway visit either or both nations for an organized 2-to-3-week tour. I actually want to see and experience Australia and New Zealand over any other destination in the world.

Every time “House Hunters International” (on HGTV) does an episode from either nation I’m glued intently to it – especially the scenery in the background. I get ecstatic when the house hunters are in Perth Australia.

About 25 years ago when I was discovering the Wild Wild World Wide Web (after I weaned myself off of AOL) I used RealAudio (remember that ?) to listen to pop music radio stations from around the world. I ran a pop music web site at the time that was gaining in popularity in Europe (particularly Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) and Australia and New Zealand. I couldn’t believe that I was creating an electronic product, placing it on the Internet at my very own web site with its own domain name, and people from thousands of miles away and on the other side of the world were interested in it.

One of the many radio stations that I used to listen to from Australia was 96fm out of Perth. It was fun to hear tomorrow’s zany morning show at night here on the U.S. East Coast. Back then (in the late-1990s) pop music in Australia was like a hybrid of both U.S. and U.K. pop music. I remember hearing Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” for many months, and thinking to myself that it should be played on the radio here stateside. Eventually it made it here, and it was a MASSIVESMASH. (That’s an ode to my old web site.)

I learned a lot about Perth listening to the radio, and I even catered my website somewhat to Perth and other cities in Australia and New Zealand, since my fanbase there outnumbered most everywhere else in the world.

Perth is located on the southwest coast of Australia near the 32ND parallel south. Summers are mostly sunny, warm, and dry. Winters are mostly cloudy, cool, and wet. Spring is on its way Perth, and so are many sunny days !

Perth’s skyline from the sea is beautiful. Its metro area is vast along the coast. Over 2 million residents call Perth home. It’s one of the most isolated major cities in the world !

#VisitPerth

From Australia to South America. Next #TravelThursday I’m visiting Santiago Chile. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Geography Military Travel

Yunnan China

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This month I’m virtually visiting 5 continents in 5 weeks. Last week I wrote about Luxembourg in Europe. This week it’s eastward to Asia.

Asia is a vast continent that spans over 17.2 million square miles (over 44.5 million square kilometers). That’s almost 9% of the total surface area of the world, and about 30% of the total land area. About 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia.

I’ve only set foot in one small part of Asia, and I actually lived there for a couple of months – in Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. On the eastern end of the continent my Mom was born in the Philippines in the mid-1940s.

When trying to figure out where I wanted to write about for this edition of #TravelThursday I chose a unique physical location rather than somewhere I’ve been, or somewhere I’d like to visit someday (such as Tokyo, Seoul, or Singapore).

I took my current latitude (roughly 25.5° north), and I extended it to the longitude that is 180° from my current longitude (roughly 80.5° west). That places “the other side of the world” – at 25.5° north latitude and 99.5° east longitude – or in far-southwestern China very near the border with Myanmar. It’s near the village of Maliaotian (or Ma Liao Tian) in the county of Yongping in the autonomous prefecture of Dali Bai in the province of Yunnan.

Yunnan has a population of over 48 million, and the land is mostly mountainous and rural. The capital and largest city of Yunnan is Kunming – also known as Yunnan-Fu – with over 8 million residents. Its new and modern International Airport is actually one of the busiest in the world – serving millions of tourists – particularly from nearby India. It’s known as “The City Of Eternal Spring” and “The Flower City”. It stays mostly cool year-round despite its latitude near the Tropic Of Cancer, as it’s a high mountain valley city (over 6,200 feet above sea level).

Kunming Yunnan China

From Asia to Australia. Next #TravelThursday I’m visiting my favorite city in Australia that I have a unique 25-year connection to – Perth. I’ve never been there, but I feel like I know the city. I’ll explain next week. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Career Military Music Radio Travel

Luxembourg

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s the start of a brand-new month – September. With this new month it’s all about the continents. I’ll be writing about a place in a different continent each #TravelThursday this month. That’s 5 continents in 5 weeks – starting with – Europe !

Today I’m visiting the curious small country of Luxembourg. Interesting story: Back in the mid-1980s when I was living in Gloucestershire England serving for the USAF and living in the dorm on-base my weekly hobby of writing down my favorite songs of the week was in full force. At one point it was up to a Top 50 chart. I also tracked the BBC-Gallup U.K. Top 40 and the Billboard Magazine American Top 40 amongst other pop music charts and weekly music-based shows on the telly. (This is starting to sound like an edition of #RetroFriday.)

Let’s get back on-track with #TravelThursday. One day I was scanning the AM (“medium-wave”) radio dial. That was by far the dominant radio band (over FM) back then in the U.K. and Europe. I discovered what is known in the radio frequency business as a “blowtorch” – a powerful station from afar with crystal clear reception. They played really good pop music, so I stayed tuned. It was Radio Luxembourg !

It was broadcasting at 1440 AM (208 MW), and it was known at the time as “Planet Earth’s Biggest Commercial Radio Station”.

So what’s a “Luxembourg” ? I had never heard of it at the time. I had to do some research – 1986-style (no smart phone, no Internet).

Luxembourg is a small country located in northern Europe surrounded by Belgium, Germany, and France. It’s just shy of 1,000 square miles in area. That makes it over 200 square miles smaller than Rhode Island here in the U.S. It’s 1 of the 30 smallest countries in the world. Its population is just under 650,000, and the south of the country – known as the “Gutland” (or “Good Land”) – is more densely populated than the north. Per capita it’s 1 of the 3 richest countries in the world.

Luxembourg City is the capital and largest city with about 20% of the nation’s population.

I’ve never been to Luxembourg – the country or the city. The closest I’ve come is about 2½-hours away by road (140 miles / 224 kilometers) in Brussels Belgium to the northwest. If I ever get the chance to tour Europe during my upcoming retirement then Luxembourg needs to be part of that itinerary. It’s the country that I discovered simply by turning the radio dial some 36 years ago.

VISIT LUXEMBOURG

From Europe to Asia. Next #TravelThursday I’m visiting a province in the south of China. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Career Military Travel Weather

Phoenix Arizona

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Yesterday was the 30TH anniversary of Hurricane Andrew’s destruction of Homestead Florida – my home of almost 5 years at the time. After 19 months of living in Maryland, Virginia, and Central Florida (Melbourne and Tampa) – I returned to Homestead in March 1994, and I’ve been here since. That’s almost 35 years (minus 19 months). When I first arrived here in Homestead – I was 20½-years-young. Now I’m 55.

I don’t think I’ve told anyone this before – other than my coworkers at the time in Gloucestershire England – but in July 1987 I actually received vague military orders for my next assignment / duty station to Phoenix Arizona. (Those orders were inexplicably replaced 3 months later with orders to Homestead Florida.)

I’ve never been to Phoenix – “The Valley Of The Sun”. Someday I’ll probably visit. I wonder how much different my life and career would’ve turned out had I gone to Phoenix instead of Miami / Homestead. There would’ve been no hurricane to drastically change my life 7 years into my military career. Maybe I would’ve stayed 20+ years on Active Duty. Maybe I would’ve fallen in love with Arizona – much like I’ve fallen in love with Florida. Maybe I would’ve never gone on a Caribbean cruise.

I know that I would’ve thoroughly explored much of what there is to see and do in Phoenix and beyond. I’ve only stepped foot on a small part of Arizona – the northern part from Hoover Dam to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. That was part of a family excursion out of Las Vegas in January 2002.

I grew up with hot and humid summers up in the Washington D.C. area, so South Florida’s weather wasn’t such a shock when I first arrived here. It just lasts much longer here than there. British weather was similar to Maryland and Virginia weather in the wintertime. Of course winter weather lasted much longer in the U.K. I generally don’t do good with dry desert weather – whether it’s sizzling hot in the summertime or freezing cold in the wintertime. I guess if I made that move to Arizona I would’ve gotten used to it after a short little while.

As a creature of humidity – even North Texas (where much of my family lives) – is too dry for me. My nose and skin don’t like arid-extra-dry. South Florida air always feels refreshing after returning home from a week or two in Texas.

Next #TravelThursday let’s visit Luxembourg. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp