I had to rely on my GPS for navigation since I do not speak French. Asking for directions in English languiage in France might not be a very good idea. You can end up in Holland! A thick rubber band was used to strap the GPS to my Dahon. I promised myself that I will buy a proper GPS holder in future.
If the GPS fails then I will use the road signs which is ok.
After cycling about 6 km from Rognac I came across an open air market. I was told sinec it is near Christmas there are quite a lot of these pasar malams all over.
These guys werte selling some Spanish made electric bikes at the market. I had a chat with them and they were very interested in my machine. The electric bikes are quite expensive..around 1500 Euro for a basic model.
The view along the way is fantastic. Only a person on a bicycle will be able to enjoy such views. There is a small river that flows parallel to the road. 
There were also farms not too far from the main road but of course the growing will have to wait for better weather.
Then from a distance I could see the majestic structure of this ancient aquaduct. By then I had cycled for over an hour. Although it was 3 C, I did not feel cold while cycling but when I stopped I found that I was sweating a little.
It is amazingly beautiful. I just cannot imagine the number of (probably slave labour) that was required to build it. And they can think of the arches to support the column.
I saw a trek by the side of the aquaduct and wanted to climb up to the top. Being unable to understand French, I had entered a private property and by the time I was 100 meters on the trek, some fierce looking dog that looked like it had not been fed for a week came after after me. Then the owner , a fat lady appeared. I told her using sign language that I wanted to go to the top of the aquaduct but she shoke her head and said "Neil" . I think that was simple enough to understand and I went off.
I took off on my bicycle again along the D20 route, hoping to get to a store where I can get some sandwiches for lunch. There was a restaurant along the way but it was a high class one so I skipped that.
By now, I had guessed the meaning of "la propriété privée" but I could not resist venturing into this arae to enjoy the nice river. Besides i did not see or smell any dogs.
There were no sandwich stores for the next 10 km so when I saw a fruit store I stopped and bought myself a bunch of bananas for a healthy lunch. these few bananas cost me 2.5 euros which is about RM12.00 so it is not cheap.
Turning back towards home, I decided to climb up Ventabren which is about 1200 ft high. A pleasant climb with a lot of cold sweat.
At the top after a few kilos of steep climbing.
Nice view from the top and I was suprised to find a museum and other tourist attractions around. It is now time to go home as it gets dark by just after 5 Pm. so it was another hour of cycling.
This si the railway station at Rognac which is located in the village centre. It has been a great day and I had enjoyed cycling in the cold 3C weather.
Upon arrival at Geneva I have about 6 hours to loiter around before taking a train to KB's village. The airport offers a free bus trip down to town but it is valid for only 80 min. So I took along my bike to Geneva town for some sight seeing.
Geneva is a nice clean city. Everything seems so organised and neat here! But it is cold.
By evening I took a train to Yerdon Les Bains where KB Tan will come and pick me up at 5 pm. From there it is another 15 min drive to KB's house which is in a village. Sorry ..no photos of his house as it was dark by the time we arrived and the next whole day we were out. BUT believe me, it is a very nice old farm house and KB Tan has done a good job renovating it.
Next morning by 6 am were were already on the train to Zermatt a popular skiing resort at the base of the famous Matterrhorns.
KB is a veteran traveller..always well prepared. He even stocks up sandwiches and drinks for the trip. 
As this is the winter sports season, there are a lot of tourist in the area. we went away from the crowd as soon as we could.
This area is like KB's backyard and he knows the area well . After putting on the snow rackets we started trekking on the snow. For a beginner like me it is very tiring trekking on the snow.
Except for a shepherd there was nobody on the trail. One gets a wonderful feeling of loneliness here.
The temperature is minus 17 degrees for that day and we decided to head for a church where we can get some shelther so thatwe can have a hot drink.
After our tea time we spent another hour coming down. It was an interesting trip for me.
It is now time to catch a train to Berne , the capital of Switzerland.
It started snowing by the time we arrrive Berne. 
This is the famous clock tower in Berne.
Even the cheese from this outdoor market is frozen.
This man was selling puppets and at the same time giving a puppet show. I enjoyed the show but did not buy any puppets. I have a short video and will upload it later.
The spacings for the bulkheads are marked as per the plans. Wooden blocks are placed at the correct stations . Bulheads 4 and 5 were the first to be installed. The bulkheads are built from BS 1088 export quality Meranti marine plywood. A sprit level gauge is used to ensure that the bulkheads are perpendicular.
A thread through a hole at the half width waterline of all the bulkheads are used to judge the levels/bulkhead heights. All the figures are given in the plan.I only have to use my physical strength to position the bulkheads. 2 by 1 woods are used to raise the bulkheads. 
Chipboard backbones are then made to provide some temporary structural strength and later to ensure the hull bottom is flat when it is offered to the hulls.These chipboards are removed when the hull is ready. A lot of "heavy" physical work is involved at thsi stage so I got hold of a local fisherman Yee to assist when he is not at sea.
The backbone goes all the way to the transom.
The first composite flat panel is then brought in. It need 3 person to put it in position. This is not so much of a weight problem but more of a size proble. Wooden stilts from 2 by 1 wood are used to support the panels. The panel is clammed onto the wood. Final position adjustments of the panel are made.
The panel is then secured to the bulheads by screwing the panel into temporary wooden blocks.
The second panel is then brought in and the same process is then repeated.
The initial use of F clamps make the job of fine adjustment of the panel position easier.
The bow of the hull is then "forced" together using long clamps and twisting wires. At this stage the shape of the hull is formed. I cannot stop admiring the beautiful shape!
The bow is glassed in stages so thet the wires can be removed one at a time.
Next the bottom panel is positioned at the top of this inverted hull. Heavy objects like bricks and stones are used to ensure a flat bottom and not an "S" shaped bottom!
The most difficult part is building the bow and getting the correct shape. A sort of stich and glue method is used. Next will be the fairing and painting of the hull before turning over '
After the fireworks we adjourn to the 
There are three compulsory exercises to be done in the pool. The exercises are( a)...to escape through a hatch nearest to where you are seated,( b)..Escape through only one available hatch assuming the other exits are blocked and damaged and the most interesting exercise (c) ... is to escape with the helicopter rolled upside down.
Exiting is one thing but to exit applying the CORRECT technique is another thing. You will be 
This year's weather has not been normal....a lot of rain even during this "dry" period so I had to extend my tent workshop and buy extra canvas so that if it rains after I had laid a 
These 16 mm thick melamine boards are the mould for the production of the composite panels. It had to 
After the shapes and flanges are ready, a layer of 
When the layer of 
These are the PVC Foams that I bought from 
The foams had to be bonded onto the layer of glass using a special paste 
I did a trial with a few pieces of foam on a small part of the panel and waited for it to cure to see if the method works.
There is only so much of mixing and working that one person can do so in the later panels i had engaged the services of my friend 
