Globetrotters meeting 6^th September 2003 by Padmassana

We had a very special guest join us at the September Globetrotters meeting, despite not being announced, we were honoured that Mary-Jane Sweet from the Texas Globetrotter branch popped in to say hello (and enjoyed a pint or two at our local pub!) on her way back from a solo trip to Prague. Great to see you Mary-Jane, and thanks for coming to say hello!

If you are coming to London and have time on the first Saturday of every month, contact the Beetle, and she will arrange to meet you and bring you to a London Globetrotters meeting.

John Gimlette was our first speaker who introduced us to the South American country of Paraguay. He told us that 60% of cars in the country are actually stolen, usually from Argentina and Brazil and that many of the people live by selling goods on the streets, anything from oranges to goldfish in plastic bags. John showed us a photo of the Legislate building in Ascunsion that has a hole in its façade, this is due to a tank that was supposed to be starting a coup, however nobody else turned up and the tank ran out of petrol! John’s slides showed us other aspects of Paraguay including a British built railway that was closed in 2000 after a girl was killed and the Mennonites of German descent that live alongside the native Paraguayans but still speak a 16^th Century Germanic dialect. We also saw the two Italian built gunboats of the Paraguayan navy dating from 1928, not to mention the fact that Paraguay is a landlocked country! To read more about Johns adventures in Paraguay read his book entitled “At the tomb of the inflatable pig”.

Our second speaker was ex Globetrotters President Richard Snailham who last spoke to Globetrotters 33 years ago. (Padmassana was 6 at the time and needless to say was not present!) Along with intrepid explorer John Blashford Snell, Richard took part in an expedition using read boats on the rivers of Bolivia and Paraguay. Like John before him, Richard gave us a few facts about Bolivia, such as the country is named after Simon Bolivar and that the Bolivians have a poor record of going to war which currently leaves them at 0-7. Like Paraguay, Bolivia has a navy despite being landlocked, he showed us pictures of two warships that were originally British. The expedition aimed to follow the rivers using a traditionally built reed boat and with the help of the Bolivian navy’s low loader they got to their starting point. However not without having to chop bits off the boat to get it under road bridges and giving La Paz a power cut when trying to get under electric cables. John showed us photos of the boats progress down river which was slow, mainly due to the low water level, which meant they had to portage the boats on lorries to find water deep enough and at one point having to push the reed boat with a dinghy with an outboard motor in order to not be pushed back from where they had come! Part of the expedition was medical, this included two dentists who removed over 1000 teeth during the trip! Eventually they ran out of navigable river so one boat was given to the Bolivian navy, one to a children’s park and the third, they burned! To read more about Richards’s journey pick up a copy of his book “Kota Mama”.

Coming up on Saturday ^th October, Roger Widdecombe will talk about: “It ain’t a Holiday,” his experiences on taking part in Raleigh International expeditions Ghana W Africa. Roger took part in three Raleigh International expeditions to Ghana from September 2001 to September 2002. Acting as a volunteer member of staff, he undertook the roles of expedition photographer and fundraiser and also staged the first sponsored Abseil Challenge event to be held in that country.

Following Roger, Juliet Coombe will be telling us all about Great Festivals around the World. This is Juliet's latest publication – how to party your way around the World while discovering the origins of each fiesta.

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 (exept for bank holiday weekends). 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

U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

In Japan, often near railroad stations, they have what they call Capsule Hotels. They are like train berths one on top of the other or some refer to them as coffins. Businessmen after a night at the bars and who miss their trains home often stay in them. They even have a very small TV set in the bunk with you and a telephone. If you can’t find a place elsewhere then you look for a capsule hotel. I stayed in several. One had a sign at the entrance. No elevator. No Cooking. No tattoos (they associate tattoos with criminals and Cher.) No dead drunks. One time the bunk over me was not occupied and for some strange reason I left my money on the bunk overhead like it was a shelf. When I returned that night the manager handed me the money. I guess he knew only a foolish foreigner would do that. One time I went into a coffee shop near train station in Ueno section of Tokyo and when I left I left my backpack at the stool. I went to downtown Tokyo before discovering my backpack was missing. I thought maybe it got pulled off in the crowded subway. There are thousands of coffee shops in Ueno and I did not know if I could remember which one I was in. I went into one and the manager held up my backpack as if he had been holding it all day waiting for my return. The Japanese are just incredibly honest. More about capsule hotels later.

One way to cut down on expenses in Japan is to use the many vending machines found on streets everywhere. Food etc is cheaper there. Coffee in YMCA was $4 a cup. In the machines, $1.10. In McDonalds $1.80 a cup. Beer can cost you $6.00 in a bar but in vending machines outside $2.90 or less. They even sell whisky in vending machines on the street. I don’t know how they keep children from buying whisky from the vending machines. Japan has clear plastic umbrellas you can see thorough so you won’t run into people and spike them. Stores have stands outside to place your wet umbrella and not take into store.

A Japanese man that looked older than me stopped me on the street in Tokyo one time evidently to try out his English and said to me. “My, you look old. Are you tired? It turned out he was older than me and had been a Japanese fighter pilot in WWII with he said 303 missions. (I suspect I heard wrong.) His English was not too good. For some reason he told me he did not like Italians. He sang a bit of song Coming thru the Rye and asked me if I knew the name of that song. He laughed when he heard my military background and saluted me and then scooted away. I would have liked to have found out more about him like did he bomb Pearl Harbour. It was a most strange encounter. About as strange as these notes.

The honour of inventing the useful rickshaw falls to an American missionary in Japan who designed one for his invalid wife. The Japanese appropriated the idea and then the Chinese.

I one time was on a train in Japan and some Indian congressmen asked me if I would have lunch with them in a week as they were invited to the States. Before I met with them, I read up books about our Congress, how many how chosen etc so I would not look like a dummy. The first question they asked me is: “What is pie a la mode?” (It is pie with ice cream on top if asked.) They then asked about tipping which they were not used to in Japan. I did not tell them I went to places where tipping is not required Ha! I have met particularly Australians that have worked while travelling. I met an Irishman that got a job as extra in Japanese movies where they needed a Caucasian face in background checking into hotel, airport etc. He talked me into taking such a job. Military Intelligence found out about it and suggested I not do this as the studio Nichikecki (or something), sometimes slanted their picture anti American and I might not know from scene I was in. There went my movie career. I could have been a star. I met an Australian temporarily tending bar in US Military Sanno Hotel. Some try jobs that do not take away jobs from locals. Like big firms hiring foreigners for practice in conversational English. I met some Japanese that had had British teachers. I had to smile when I heard them talking with a Japanese accent. I don’t know if your Embassies would know of trade shows or possibilities for temporary work that did not take away jobs from others or not. They hired a Japanese to teach my Irish friend some Japanese He got more pay if he spoke a few words. We think of Japan as having high class films but they also make a lot of cheap films. One day my friend was playing the part of a reporter in front of Judge’s stand. The Japanese actor Judge did not show up the next day so my Irish friend was promoted to Judge in same movie.

Next month, Mac discusses India.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

Stop press, the NY October meeting has been cancelled.

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street(btw Greenwich Stand Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.