"Travel is a few steps out of the front door" kenHuocj's Profile

the Iris that greets you when you visit us now

My MMXIII updates

MMXIII-6-03

6-03 Spring means less time on VT

recipe for a stuffed Duck without Bones

Ottawa 2013 Winterlude come and gone

Year of Snake arrived 2013-02-10

my MMXII updates
12.27 Frosty the Snowman arrives in Orleans, ON and a few memories of Christmas lights in the s-\uburbs

12.13 ~ War Horse Puppet is my newest addition

12.1 ~Last weekend the offspring took us out to a Malaysian eatery and today, when the three were all at work away from the nest, the remaining immediate family were out enjoying a tasty Korean lunch, then she said they had a birthday cake, she of course wanted to help the old man huff and puff the candles that she helped put in..( each represents a decade, and a few had already been puffed away. Strange as it may sound, i don't feel my age - yet ;-)))

~Three years ago i returned home to the Autumn hues with photos and personal images of the previous 2 months,
This year has been good to me and family with gatherings in Vancouver, BC; California roadtrip and meets in Sacramento and Saratoga: then Plymouth Meeting PA for wedding and a USA/Philadelphia 101.
Not exotic but good for VT, i am able to enjoy what other members are doing or sharing.
Just Read about the CouchSurfing Indonesia Festival will be fun to have something similar here, imagine 50 or 150, even 250 VT members here in the Nation's Capital Region - maybe if other Ottawa members read this, shall we begin the planning?
Partner with the NCC during Fall Rhapsody?

Join up with the Ottawa Voyageurs Walking Club? or contact me, i'm always game for a walk in the NCR

It has come and gone ~ Winterlude 2013

Bundled up and keep the UV out of my eyes

We had our arm twisted to enjoy the -20C windchill, all for the sake of keeping little ones happy and a few pics for great grand parents.
I even Missed the Beer Chill on Sparks St ;-(

Food and Wines ~ Glutzing or Passion

Bitter Melon (苦瓜) from my Veggie Patch

Being a Pre Baby Boomer, i am still more partial to home cooked meals, despite the fact that i do enjoy eating out, if and preferably the eating establishment refrains from using processed ingredients e'g. Knorr, Maggi and many other industrial kitchen convenience products with flavour enhancers, i am certain many of you who read will know what additive* i am referring to.
Food and wines is of course very much an integral part of Travel and the inter/intra-cultural experience. has a more links, pics and recipes of my love for food and under Pretoria i have Sosatie & Biltong recipe
With another Social networking group, we are Pot lucking our way every month from A-Z ( countries), with surprising flavours and dishes we are able to savour, but sometimes " vreet tot dik en propvol "

Bitter melon (苦瓜), Silky melon (絲瓜) and Winter/fuzzy melon (冬瓜) are three ethnic veggies that i grew up with, fresh from the Garden, exception was a year of drought, pity though is that with the short growing season we have here, i have to be content with mass produced products, occasionally, we get a few that one can taste, comes from a small farmer.
In my Home city pages, i shall add recipe and photos of how i used the Bitter Melon a month ago. Bon Appetit.

Harmony, Cooperation, Development, Innovation & ..

Late Grandfather Elder William Commanda

these are topics that i follow in E-media, printed materials and attend talk &/or discussions whenever possible.

the few write ups i had, have been mover to %L[http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/c2b46/ ] Peace, Innovations and Co-existence%L* , they're on Aung San Suu Kyi, the late Grandfather William Comanda,

Cape Wines of South Africa

Table Mt from Durbanville Hills -de Grendel Winery

Organised a Wines Tasting recently, 8 wines tasted were all under $20, double the SA price, but the Rupert Rotschild Classique matched well with a Cape Malay Lamb Curry. Even the Cathedral Cellar Pinotage was well accepted without the "Tar" For more Wine info online, E-wines is the one to click on

" Abelia Lawrence, is the director of Blouvlei and a trustee of the Blouvlei Workers Trust. She has become the public face of Blouvlei, after having worked on the Mont du Toit farm for a number of years and undergoing training at the Cape Wine Academy, the University of Cape Town and taking other courses in marketing. She also now spearheads the group's marketing efforts locally. "
" The group currently produces between 4,000 and 6,000 cases of wine, but this is set to increase steadily over the next few years. Production is split between four wines-a Shiraz; a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend; the Klassique-a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz blend; and a Sauvignon Blanc." quoted from Wellington-based BEE wine producer Blouvlei gathers steam

To be able to taste the Blouvlei range of screw cap wines under introductory remarks by Stephan du Toit, this was highlighted by master sommelier Junel who took us there with interesting tasting comments.
this was followed by another round of tasting the Mont Du Toit range.

Photo of the Hills not to good, so here is another of Table Mountain from de Grendel Winery tasting room patio, not far away is the huge Durbanville Hills Ultra Modern Winery

Tao 道-The Way ~ also the Camino St James

a stretch of the Camino France, Spain

The flight had been booked ,, way back in March 2009. the train to St Jean Pied de Port in France and Auberge Orisson had been reserved, thus the commitment.
SJPP in part of the Camino France beginning in Le Puy, a journey followed by many over the centuries, since getting the EU and Unesco rating as a cultural route, the various routes have had an increase in numbers of walkers
video intro of the Camino
Quite a few library books devoured, you tube videos, websites et al,
getting the backpack and cuttings down the weight,

In hindsight, as 2 years ago, . . . . . .( more to come soon )
Beginning with the first 8kms uphill to Orisson before the next over the Pyrenees to Ronscevalles in Spain, then day after day between 20 to 30 + kms daily, the recurring questions, will the body and mind synchronize ?
my own feet get me to Santiago de Compostela and even further to Lands end - Fisterre and further north, Muxia ?

Alas, after 38 days on the pathways, with a few days rest and recreation,
i did get to see St James in the Santiago Cathedral, with the Botafumeiro swinging over the heads of the many Peregrinos / Pilgrims sharing its incense with all willing to accept it's symbolism.
All who have walked along the Camino appreciates the many facets of the journey, which is very personal so i shall not repeat what is known, bar to say that i've been graciously blessed, to be able to complete the journey with so many others, and new friends.

the 道 Tao is towards Aum . . . i am still trying . . . Meegwtech

Nature seeks the narrow middle path
so that - all it's inhabitants may share equally
only what it needs for survival
yin - yang does strive for balance of co-existence

is that not the central point of "Deep Ecology" ?

Santiago de Compostela from St Jean Pied du Port

Dinner with Eberhart @Albergue Perdeborn,Pamplona

wednesday Oct 14th, 2009
after leaving St Jean Pied de Port in France on Sept 10th
Finally arrived in Santiago de Compostella about 9.45am from Monte Gozo 6.5 Km from the Cathedral. almost day after day, depsite the weather, it was step by step , , , i will leave for fisterre tomorrow morning, (headed for Muxia,the back to S de C. . . ) was delayed today , waiting for western Union. . . .
after i get home Photos, photos and photos, and a MAP

Others have made it to the great peaks, my meagre effort was fun too, made it to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town
whilst the Goal of seeing the Wolfsberg Arch of the Cedeberg mountain never materialised, I waited patiently at the bottom of th Crack.
This spurred me to take on the Camino de Santiago, staring at St James Pied de Port in France, via Pamplona Leon, Burgos etc till Santiago de Compostela and finally Fisterre on the Eastern shores of the Atlantic I have the odd tidbits in my a long stroll to Santiago de Compostela & beyond Album

Africa beckons visitors with it's drumbeats; sadly other forms of BEATINGS tarnish the many goodness it has, TYRANTS, DO NOT desreve to cling onto power

"Meagan McGrath, 29, was scaling down the world's highest mountain on May 21 when she came across Nepalese climber Usha Bista."
on my Canada Page
she is so humble about her caring that she does not even mention it in her travelblog
McGrath, who now lives in Ottawa, had been preparing for her Everest climb for years in an effort to become the first member of the Canadian Forces to climb the highest summits on each of the seven continents.
Andrew Barsh was 200 metres from Mt Everst summit, but he stopped to save another Australian mountaineer in distress

Duties of being a member of the Huo 霍 Clan

The Huo Family after a dinner at my Cousin 2010

The family tree, the traditions of of the Lunar New Year Celebrations,
Village life, the effects of industrialisation of a country that was rated one of the poorest of the world in 1948, dominated during the previous century by domination of war lords, civil war, foreign interventions in many forms.

there will be many photos of my trip plus , hopefully, insightful comments under Foshan;
my personal interactions, softened by family who took me around,
being able to speak Cantonese helped, a slattering of Putonghua / standard Chinese will have been useful, alas ~ an experience of a lifetime
Photo of clansmen who have the same great grand father as me, living in Shunde region under Foshan City administration, in Guangdong Province of People's Reublic of China

Intro Updated Jun 3, 2013
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Personal Pages (10)

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Comments (333)

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angiebabe Jun 1, 2013 at 11:13 AM

That looks delicious!
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  kenHuocj Jun 3, 2013 at 5:56 AM
  
  it was, maybe l'Orange next time, with Cointreau too ;-)))
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  angiebabe Jun 3, 2013 at 6:39 AM
  
  yes I love making mine with orange sauce with a dash of strawberry or raspberry jam for sweeting - but Cointreau sounds good - and actually when I cleared out my huge amount of storage in Sydney languishing for 12 years while ive been in London I rescued a huge unopened bottle of Cointreau that I have brought back with me lol!
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balhannah May 20, 2013 at 1:39 PM

hi Ken, Hope you have a great time in Adelaide with your friend. Hope my page was of some help to you.
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  kenHuocj May 20, 2013 at 7:38 PM
  
  easy does it Dee, I have to win the Lotto before i can fly into Oz, and it's on the otherside the globe from where i am ;-)))
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janetanne May 11, 2013 at 1:05 AM

Sunny Saturday Greetings from Greece! It is nice that we have connected as friends on VT. Our VT community is truly a World Forum for Peace and Understanding! I hope you can come to Greece one day and I will show you some of our great historical places and some delicious food! Here is a link to a fb page I make for food: facebook.com/pages/Moskokari...
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  kenHuocj May 14, 2013 at 5:11 AM
  
  geting my appetite ready before i visit ;-p
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AusPinay Apr 10, 2013 at 5:56 AM

G'day dear..love your food photos especially ..we both love home cooked meals too..keep in touch, thanks for sharing your great travel & food experiences, cheers!
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  AusPinay Apr 13, 2013 at 10:04 PM
  
  sounds really delectable..I am salivating! Maybe one day I'll be able to taste your cooking..cheers mate!
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  kenHuocj Apr 18, 2013 at 10:01 AM
  
  life has strange plans for all of us ;-)))
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Geoff_Wright Apr 8, 2013 at 12:36 PM

Hi Ken, Thanks for your comment. Yes, she was a forceful Lady. She had her faults, but I always thought a great deal of her, and am saddened at her passing. Geoff
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  Geoff_Wright Apr 8, 2013 at 12:51 PM
  
  Hi Ken, The B1 is still ' a work in progress', but the L1 is all together and awaiting a steam test (90 lbs square inch). I am also part way through another loco, but since my recent vertigo attack I am not doing much these days. Also it's too cold to be out in the garage cutting metal! Geoff
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  kenHuocj Apr 18, 2013 at 10:00 AM
  
  judging by the rising mercury here, spring has finally arrived and you'll be back in front of your lathes - enjoy ;-)))
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- Tram and bus map<\/a>\'. I appreciate your advice." data-reportAbuseItemOnPageDetails="Comment #6, ID=10049657" data-anchorFragment="?showComment=10049657#comments" data-reportURL="http://members.virtualtourist.com/members/reportAbuse/" data-contentTitle="Thanks for your answer to \'Tram and bus map<\/a>\'. I appreciate your advice." data-photoURL="" data-commentAuthor="Linse http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/26622/" data-authorName="Linse" data-authorProfileURL="http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/26622/">Report abuse
Linse Apr 7, 2013 at 11:38 PM

Thanks for your answer to 'Tram and bus map'. I appreciate your advice.
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iandsmith Apr 2, 2013 at 11:42 PM

Thanks for the visits, happy travels. Cheers, Ian
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Qahlua Apr 2, 2013 at 2:05 AM

Thank you Ken
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  kenHuocj Apr 2, 2013 at 4:21 AM
  
  you'll be seeing more of me - VirTually of course ;-)))
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IreneMcKay Mar 24, 2013 at 7:36 AM

TThank you for visiting my Japan pages. Love the snowman. Irene
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  kenHuocj Mar 25, 2013 at 1:38 PM
  
  spring is around the corner we'll have to wait another 11-12 months to see him again ;-)))
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alza Mar 20, 2013 at 9:04 AM

Hi Ken, Today is my mother's birthday but I went to celebrate with her last week, since a friend is coming from La Malbaie this weekend and I must clean up the hair left on everything by Paolina! It's no use, a thankless, unending task, but I just gotta do it! Hope you had a great trip to Vancouver. Guess they're not buried in snow there... :) Let's make sure we meet soon, I'll keep in touch.