Vizcacha says...

The 4WD trip I did in Bolivia was perhaps the highlight of my time in South America. The scenery over four days changed from rolling velvety hills, to jagged mountains, to flamingo-filled lagoons, to beautiful snow-capped mountains.

It was at an altitude just past 4,690m that I saw this guy. We'd been exploring in the ruins of an old church just before the snow line started. A flurry of movement caught our eye, and I was amazed at this creation. Known as a Vizcacha, they are a rodent most closely related to the chinchilla. With a tail like a fluffy beaver's, and long whiskers, this vizcacha looked like a drawing of Confucius. And even though he looked like a wise old man, he sure could move quickly!

Cat nap

If I believed in reincarnation I'd want to come back as a domestic cat. I can't imagine a more blissful life than napping 6 times a day, getting back rubs when I wanted them, scratches under the chin and on the side of the face. Yep, life would be pretty sweet.

And that's how it seemed for this cat in the Philippines. I spotted him just minutes before I came across gigantor-pig. He seemed very happy to be stretched out on the side of the sink, not caring if he left orange hairs all over the clean dishes, and staying cool in the shade. While I was still feeling the high of such gorgeous surroundings, I couldn't help but wish we could trade places, just for forty winks or so.

Scooting Scooby

I've seen some interesting things on scooters and motorbikes in different parts of the world, usually it's a surprising number of family members and perhaps a couple of chickens all squished on together, or a suckling pig ready for roasting. A few months ago I was in southern Lebanon for a weekend away with a visiting friend, and we took a walk down to the water to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean (which is still a novelty for me). As the brilliant orange sun put itself to bed in the distance, I heard the buzzing of a scooter approaching.

At first I didn't notice anything unusual, but when the scooter came to a stop for the driver to light a cigarette, but then I saw the head of a dog stick out and then he jumped off the scooter and went for a little sniff around the rocks. A quick whistle was all it took for the dog to come running back and settle back onto his perch. The man caught my astonished look and gave me a big smile, before happily setting off with his dog in place.

Monster pig

One of the most remote places I visited for work in the Philippines was a place called Kalamansig, which was a four hour drive from the office, then an hour on a boat, and then a short trip on the back of a motorbike. Following a very smoothly run food distribution, I ventured off to find a bathroom, which is when I stumbled upon the giant above.

I remember writing a blog post about this pig, which went along the lines of "I saw a tail swishing from around the corner. It was too high to be a dog, but too low to be a cow. I walked around the corner and was greeted by the sight of the most ginormous testicles," which I then compared in size to the bull statue on Wall St in New York (it's a big statue).

This pig was a monster; it was about the size of a large Shetland pony, or a baby hippo with an overactive thyroid gland. I wish there had been something around to provide a better sense of how big it really was. This photo was taken around the time that there was a lot of talk about H1N1, the swine flu, and I imagined that if this guy was a carrier, that the whole island of Mindanao (the 19th largest in the world incidentally) would be infected by him, single hoofedly.

Camel caravan

When I was young, my Mum had an old spelling book that we'd use to improve our spelling. I remember one of the hardest words in the book was "Egypt", and I credit that, along with my uncle telling us stories about Egypt, with a long fascination with the country and its history. I finally realised my dream of seeing the pyramids just over a month ago, and like the other wonders of the world I've seen, I was not disappointed.

Of course, the hawkers are out in force, and if you even look at a camel or a horse for too long, the handlers will approach you for money. But this caravan of camels were off in the distance, and the barren landscape, coupled with the mist and mountains in the background, really made me feel like I had reached the mythical Egypt of my dreams.

He's with the band

Here is another great dog I came across in Kathmandu. While wandering through narrow streets, winding towards Durbar Square, a flash of red caught my eye. I noticed the red jackets, then the euphoniums, the blue door, and the broken pink chair.

And then I noticed this dog, curled up in the doorway. I wondered if he was the mascot for the marching band, but he didn't really strike me as the energetic type.