Spellmann på dromen, by Mary Barthelemy Yes, I had finally reached this book, after reading through the ones that were stacked on top of it. I had really been looking forward to reading this book ever since I came home again from the sea. And what a book it is! Curiosity about one of my ancestors was of course the main reason. But also because … Continue reading Spellmann på dromen.
It starts around 06–07:00 every single day, seven days a week. Furniture (chairs and tables) are dragged and pushed back and forth across the floor, with that insanely loud, piercing scraping noise that goes through everything. There’s nothing to discuss — neighbors all around get an obligatory wake‑up call! You just have to get up, even if you had a late evening shift or a … Continue reading The Neighbor from Hell.
The Flight from Hell: As a former seaman, I have been on hundreds of flights. Most of them are forgotten after a day, and some are remembered for a long time. The last “long flight” will be remembered for a long time, but for negative reasons. The first thing one notices when we were more or less ready for departure was that the crew seemed … Continue reading The flight from Hell.
Remember approaching Hong Kong Harbour during a foggy morning, looking at all the new high-risers that they were constructing. Several were already occupied. The top part of the buildings was almost covered in this haze. I was thinking, when this happens, one must feel like living up in the sky. I wonder how that feeling is. The foggy environmental (pollution) issues did not stop in … Continue reading Living in the sky.
Again, while transiting the river to Saigon (Ho Ci Minh City), there are always lots of interesting things to watch. And the local boats are always so colorful. Here we have a couple of boats tied up to each other. This is often done while they stop for the night. The boats swing upstream or downstream, depending of the tide. Yes, it is a tidal … Continue reading Rendezvous in the river…..
This picture was taken while we transited up the Saigon river towards Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it is the official name. While looking at the riverbanks, I notice this church. I knew from before there are a lot of Christians in Vietnam, due to their history of being a French colony. Suddenly became aware of the church spires, and the symbol on … Continue reading A first time see…
Today’s picture is from Halong Bay again. Not always shining sun when we enter early in the morning. This time we were greeted by a more “spooky” setting. Still gorgeous. A Norwegian (my native tongue) word for this scenery is Trolsk. What I liked about this scenery early in the morning was how we could see the rock formations in the distance slowly become visible. … Continue reading Morning haze…
Today’s picture was taken in the port of Da Nang , in Vietnam. If you have traveled some in this region, and especially in this country, you will see that any maritime business in small scale will always include several family members. This is not some 7-8 hours workday, with the weekend off. These people work hard! Nothing less than admirable to observe their work. … Continue reading Work work work…
Today’s picture was taken in Halong Bay , up in northern Vietnam. When traveling in this region, you will notice most smaller cargo ships, boats, and fishing vessels, have been painted in very beautiful color schemes. You will also notice these vessels function as both a workplace as well as their home. And home away from home (traveling home). Rgds, Sailor Continue reading Home sweet home.
Down the Memory Line….. Entering Halong Bay in Northen Vietnam back in the mid 90s. Sunrise as we sail in to the bay. Quite a spectacular sight. An amazing sight is opening up in front of us as we sail further in, to anchor off the town of Hon Gai, for an overnight stay. At anchor for the night, with Hon Gai town in … Continue reading Entering Halong Bay, Vietnam.
Remember when we sailed up this river, using 3-4 hours. Starting around 5 AM. All the twist and turns as the river snakes and bends? Then it turns out it is still another hour before we are there. Again, because of the river is not straight up and down.😁 rgds Sailor Kai Ståle Ødegård Continue reading Up Saigon river….
There are posted a lot of information about the Travelers (Taters/Rom) on internet, these days. Information about their previous and present problems and issues in general. In particular the many facebook groups have a lot to offer, as well as the various organizations with their own facebook pages, or booklets/leaflets they send to their members. And for many, as for myself when I started to … Continue reading Sad, Disappointed, Reconciliation?
As I have mentioned earlier, when I started to figure out my own background and my ancestors, I discovered it used to be several organizations or smaller groups which represented The Travelers (Romani people). I also noticed very soon that a couple of the organizations hardly communicated with each other, or had any sensible dialogue at all in regards to how to tackle the past … Continue reading Umbrella organization? Why not?
Today’s picture is just a bragging picture. It always looks so glamorous to work on a cruise ship and walk around in the fancy uniform when one is a Senior Officer on a cruise ship. The fact is, the fun working on the cruise industry disappeared a long time ago. Sure it is still interesting and one can see the world if working on the … Continue reading At work on a Cruise ship.
A newly created online news paper which is about to be published, has created havoc among the Norwegian Romani (Traveler) people. The online news paper will mainly publish articles related to the minority which is called Romani people. Some of them also refer to themselves as Travelers or Tater. Although the last name is not liked among several members within these groups. They feel the … Continue reading A newly published online magazine causes havoc.
I have always known that my ancestors belong to the Travelers. Or, Romani people as they are called in the more official therm. But it was not before in my 50s I really started to look into my heritage, and to start with tracing ancestors and living relatives, or genealogy as it is called. This can be a very exciting hobby, and very rewarding as … Continue reading The more the merrier.
Nå har Romanifolkets kulturforening fått seg en wikipedia side. Romanifolkets Kulturforening (RKF) er en norsk ideell organisasjon som ble grunnlagt den 26 Juli 2021. RKF sitt hovedsete befinner seg i Bergen og foreningen har derfor Vestlandet som sin landsregion. RKF har medlemmer over hele Skandinavia, men majoriteten av medlemmene bor i Norge (2023). Formål RKF har til formål å drive med formidling av romanifolket sin … Continue reading Romanifolkets kulturforening.
Today’s picture is taken in the city of Khon Kaen, in north eastern Thailand. In the region called Isaan, or Isan. Wonder how the society would have reacted in the western hemisphere if such assigned parking spots had been created. Rgds, Sailor Continue reading Women parking.
Today`s picture is a shot of my dear mother in law. Yes I say dear, and I consider myself lucky to have such a fine lady in my family. She is a tough, hardworking and caring woman. A wonderful person. rgds, Sailor Continue reading Mother in law.
