1st November 2003 London meeting
On November 1st, we had two very different talks this
month. The first was by Amar Grover, entitled “The Hindustan Tibet
road”, an old trading route used by pilgrims on their way to Mt Kailash.
The area is very mountainous and picturesque, Amar showed us villages and 800
year old temples perched high on cliff tops, some only reachable by use of
“Flying fox” pulley systems across the valleys, not for use by
those with a nervous disposition. In this Buddhist region we saw monks who
perform dances depicting parts of the Buddha’s life. We also saw how hard
daily life is with yaks being used for farming. But it was the stunning
scenery, which stole the show.
Our second speaker was the ever-popular Tom Freemantle, who delighted
us with his talk “Mexico to Manhattan with a mule”. Tom was
following once again in the footsteps of a relation who did this journey during
the American civil war. Tom met “Brownie” the mule at the Mexican
border and after a few tips from the owner set off in temperatures of 100
degrees. Tom’s epic journey of 2700 miles took seven months, Brownie
going through seven sets of shoes. Along the way Tom showed us some of
the great sights including the Alamo. But it was the hospitality of the
American people that shone through. During Tom’s trip September
11th had happened and it was fitting that the last shots we saw were
Tom’s photos of “Ground Zero”.
Next month, on Saturday 6th December, Paul Goldstein will
talk about Africa: An Adventurous Wilderness/The Hunters and the Hunted.
Paul has travelled to sub-Saharan Africa over fifty-five times guiding safaris
and tours, and photographing. He has climbed Africa’s highest
peaks, rafted the wildest rivers and stood toe-to-toe with charging
rhino. His passion, for “conservation” for the people and
wild-life, is supported by award-winning photography in both BBC and Royal
Geographic Photographic competitions.
After the break, John Pilkington will give a talk entitled: Up the
Mekong to Tibet about a journey up one of Asia’s longest rivers from the
South China Sea to Tibet and beyond. Starting from the rice paddies of
Vietnam, John follows its course through the gorges of China’s Yunnan
province to where it rises at over 16,000 feet, meeting river people of six
nationalities along the way.
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court,
behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm
the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting
in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can
contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the
website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
