Nara Japan and the Sights of Australia

When I lived in Japan I went to one sight more than any other because I couldn’t wait to introduce friends and family to the Giant Buddha of Nara known as the Daibutsen. I probably went about a dozen times in three years and on each occasion it was cinematic in the very best way.

You approach the monument on a wide path and the first thing you see is a massive shrine entrance. Once you get through that you can see the biggest wooden building in the world and I think it’s really that that takes your breath away. It’s a widescreen moment that the top picture doesn’t do proper justice to. Once you get in, though, you have a proper ‘Wow’ moment when you see this massive statue towering over you with an expression of calm that is just outside of all proportion to the rest of the world. Again, the small picture definitely doesn’t do it justice. Believe me when I say, that if you were to decide on a new list of wonders of the world, it would be a huge omission if it was not to include the Giant Buddha of Nara.

Above are five photos from a two week visit to Australia. The top two pictures are Palm Beach, better known as Summer Bay from Home and Away, the only soap I still watch. The surf lifesaving boat was great but the view from the lighthouse, Stewart’s Point in the show was epic in a widescreen view. Then we have the world famous Bondi Beach which we have now visited three times, but which we visited on Boxing Day to fulfil a true tourist tradition. Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas, the town where most tourists sail out to the Barrier Reef from, is simply stunning and nowhere near as crowded as the Sydney beaches. Finally I have a picture from the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Sydney. On our last trip, to celebrate my cousin Stuart’s 80th birthday we treated him to New Year’s Eve fireworks from a boat in the middle of the harbour with fireworks going off all around us. Now there’s a moment when life really did seem like a film!!

If I have inspired you to go to any of those places I have done my job! 🌞🎆🐠