A significant death and a dark anniversary

– plus a new Blog post and travel outlook

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine. But as I had already marked the first anniversary last year with this special post, I didn’t want to repeat that, even if in a different version.

And on Friday the 16th there was the death of Alexei Navalny, apparently another casualty of Putin’s total stamping out of any traces of an opposition in his increasingly Stalinist reign. I could have marked this by a DT Blog post too, but abstained – partly because I couldn’t have worded it so elegantly and personally as this fellow blogger did with this recommended post (external link).

Instead I wrote and uploaded a new Blog post about something completely different. I wanted a contrast to the gravitas of the previous Blog post about Auschwitz, and so selected a topic that instead picked up one lighter element from the Blog post before that about Taiwan and expanded on it as much as possible: urbexing in Wanli. So yet more photos (15) of and links relating to those fantastically dilapidated Futuro and Venturo Houses in this abandoned beach resort park. In addition I included more photos (eight) from the adjacent, also abandoned large hotel. Please do go and take a look. I think there are some pretty cool images in the photo essay that this new Blog post essentially is. The image above is featured in the post and shows the interior of one of the abandoned Futuro Houses at Wanli that I was able to sneak into.

And as for future travels, vaguely hinted at in the previous Newsletter, I can now reveal what the plans for this summer are. And they are indeed big: Australia – plus two add-on trips of four days each, first one to Rabaul in Papua New Guinea (not yet covered on my main website) and then Nauru. Both require a lot of bureaucracy for getting visas (especially Nauru!), so it’s not quite definite yet. But I do hope it’ll all work out. I have the support of a specialist in those exotic places and that has already paid off greatly.

For Australia I’m organizing everything myself and that has eaten up a good chunk of my time over the past couple of weeks and there’s still a long way to go. But I now have a three-quarters-finished draft itinerary. It’s such a vast country that I had to prioritize geographically and so I’ll be concentrating on the south and south-east (including a couple of days in Tasmania).

Australia is one of the most under-represented countries on my main website, so there are lots of gaps to fill. So far I have some sixteen dark sites on my list, and more may be added as I find them. If any of you have specific tips, let me know. But remember on this trip I won’t be able to cover anything that’s in Western Australia or in the north.

I also hope to be able to resume writing for my main website again soon, especially about Taiwan and Auschwitz, but at the moment that’s having to take a back seat.
  

So much for this time.

Have a good week (despite these troubled times).

Best,

Peter