Category Archives: archive

New York:

Hello Globies!

June 1st is our next meeting. A timely and interesting topic; Afghanistan. We will NOT have a July meeting due to all of our summer travel plans and the July 4th holiday. Hope to see you June 1st.

See below for a glimpse into Jason's adventure in Afghanistan.

Travels in Afghanistan August 2000 and August 2001 by Jason Florio When I journeyed to the Taliban controlled region of Afghanistan in August 2000 it was by default. I was on my way to Kashmir when I got a call to join a journalist colleague who said, “This [Afghanistan] is where it is happening”. In August 2001 my Afghan journey to the North eastern region was fuelled by a need to complete a picture of a divided country. The North eastern area of the country under the control of the Northern Alliance (who opposed the Taliban,) was a Shangri-la compared to the Taliban held region where I constantly felt a great sense of general and personal paranoia (I was arrested by the Taliban Vice and Virtue police for taking pictures of a football match, and then being accused of spying by their military). I wanted to experience Afghan life without the confines of the extreme Deoband form of Islam practiced by the Taliban.

My first attempt to cross into the Northern Alliance region (2001) from Pakistan by horseback, disguised as an Afghan woman in a head to toe burqa failed. After subsequent weeks of waiting. I finally made it in after landing a flight on an Russian made Northern Alliance helicopter crossing from Tajikistan into the Panjshir valley, the lair of the legendary “Lion of the Panjshir”, Commander Massoud. This idyllic valley is the gateway to the north, and who ever controls it controls the region. Being allowed to roam freely and shoot photographs without the constant monitoring of the Taliban was liberating. Working closely with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign affairs, I was granted permission to photograph on the front line at Bagram as well as deep in the Panjshir valley where multi-national Taliban POW's were held. In addition, I also photographed girls' schools (non-existent in Taliban territory) and fighters en route to the front line.

While waiting for the Massoud interview I was promised by the Ministry upon my arrival, I headed deep into the mountains with five Kalashnikov carrying mujahideen fighters to find the Kuchi nomads. After twenty-two years of fighting in the country, their life style had changed very little. They were still camel-riding transients who showed they were virtually immune to the effects of the war by crossing through the frontline without hindrance from either side. The Kuchi we encountered greeted us with open arms, until one of them thought I was trying to photograph his wife. We were then asked politely to leave in the form of a group of young nomads palming rocks at us. Before heading to the sandy wastelands of the northwest and eventually onto our UN flight back to Islamabad, we finally were granted audience with Massoud, “The Lion of the Panjshir” met us in his fortified bunker office and gave us forty -five minutes to interview and photograph him.

Within a week of returning to NYC on Sept the 5th, commander Massound would be assassinated by Al Qaeda operatives posing as journalist, and the attacks in the US would indelibly link the US and Afghanistan, finally giving the Afghan “Silent Majority” a world voice.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month. Meetings start promptly at 4:00pm and end at 5:30pm. $10.00 for non-members, $8.00 for members.

Weekend away: Marseilles

Where is it? South of France, on the Med

Why would I know it? The French Connection? The Count of Monte Cristo? Beautiful people in the south of France?

How do I get there? It is possible to fly direct, alternatively, get into Paris, by plane or train (Eurostar from the UK) and take the train a grand vitesse (TGV) to cover the 700km from Paris to Marseilles. It only takes 3 hours!

What’s it like? Old, the Phoenicians landed in the natural harbour around 600BC, had a bad rep with drugs and immigrants from French immigrants. Nice harbour with cafes, a castle and a large cathedral on the hill.

Is it safe? Well, it’s a lot different from the image projected by the French Connection! No, seriously, like all big cities, you stick to the good areas at night – there’s been a lot of money pumped into the city to do it up and make it a really attractive place these days!

What’s there to do? These days, it’s got good shopping, vibrant nightlife, try out the bouillabaisse (fish stew), get a tan, mix with the “beautiful people”, eat well, try out good bars, visit the ballet or the opera, buy some soap (seriously, a Marseille speciality!)

Take the ferry to the Château d’If, (famous from the Count of Monte Cristo) from the quai des Belges, otherwise, wander around the Vieux Port, shop, eat, drink….

Would my mother approve? Um, take her shopping, then for a good bouillabaisse, keep her away from the railway station, then, yes!

OK, when should I go? It’s a bit windy with the Mistral during February and March and also October and November. Otherwise, any time, but maybe avoid August – it’s almost national holiday time.

Bangladesh Ferry

Ferry accidents are very common in Bangladesh, a country criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers. Two large rivers dissect Bangladesh in two, east and west, the River Meghna and the River Padma and there are hundreds of off shoots. In a country where travel by boat is a daily part of life, and the main means of getting about, another tragedy occurred on May 4th, when a passenger ferry travelling in stormy weather collided with another boat and capsized near the south eastern port of Chandpur. Officials say that the number of people on the ferry amounted to about 150, but survivors say that this was more like 300-400. No number has been placed on the number of fatalities, but it is thought to be in the 100s.

Apart from restricting the numbers of passengers, the tragedy could have been avoided if the nearest rescue boat had proper equipment. Most Bangladeshi ferries travelling on local routes do not keep passenger lists or issue tickets. Most accidents are blamed on overloading or on unskilled skippers, correspondents say. Nearly 200 people were killed when a ferry sank in the Meghna river early last year, and there have been many more smaller ferry disasters.

Ontario:

The last Ontario/Toronto GT meeting was held on Friday, May 24th; members Ray & Inge Bates spoke on “Six Months in Asia Following 911” and Dan Ramrose spoke about “Five Months' South American Adventure” and Paul Webb gave a talk on “Eight Weeks in Ghana”.

We are planning our annual GT picnic this summer. Proposed dates include one weekend in July or the beginning of August. The location could be at Meaford (on Georgian Bay,) at Vera Blowers' place or Toronto Island. To be advised when arranged, so stay tuned – we just hope the weather improves a little bit.

Bruce Weber has just left for a month-long trip to Vietnam and the Philippines and he is planning to tell us all about it in September.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek:

shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

William Speirs Bruce, Scottish Antartica Explorer

Who, you might ask? William Speirs Bruce, let’s call him Bruce, may not be as famous as other Antarctic explorers, such as Scott and Shackleton, but he certainly did his bit for Antarctic exploration!

Bruce was from Scotland and headed up the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition 100 years ago. Bruce wanted a place on Britain's “Discovery” expedition – which was ultimately to be led by Scott, with Shackleton among the crew, but he was snubbed by the organisers, who took so long to make a decision on whether to include him or not, that Bruce made his own expedition. Bruce was actually an experienced whaler, and he had already been to Antartica and had spent almost a year at the meteorological station at the top of Ben Nevis, (cold, brrrr!) training himself in the methodology of recording weather and climate. So, really, Bruce was the best qualified person to be on any Antartica expedition with all his polar experience.

But by launching an alternative expedition to the one he’d been waiting to go on for so long, he annoyed the wealthy and powerful Sir Clements Markham, of the Royal Geographical Society. So Bruce raised funds from the wealthy Coats family of Paisley, near Glasgow, and set off on the voyage he dubbed the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. He took a converted Norwegian whaling ship, which he named the Scotia. Unlike Scott, he had no interest in a race to the South Pole – his priority was to do original scientific research. The aim had been to establish a scientific research station on the continent, but bad weather prevented that.

Instead, they set it up on a sub-Antarctic Island, called Laurie Island, where scientists are still working today.

David Munro, president of the Scottish Royal Geographical Society, in Glasgow, said: “Bruce began to believe that polar exploration was becoming more of an adventure than a science and it was only the science he was interested in.

“From that point of view the expedition was a huge success – they discovered several hundred miles of previously unknown Antarctic continent, collected a wealth of geological and biological specimens and when they came back, published six volumes of scientific reports on their results.” Bruce even took a photo of a Scottish piper dressed in a kilt serenading a penguin on the ice! Apparently, the idea was that they were going to play it jigs, strathspeys, reels, slow marches, etc, and see if the penguin had any reaction.

Some people say that it is because Bruce’s expedition was so well run, that this is why so few people today have heard of him!

Globetrotter Travel Award

Under 24? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Texas:

The next Texas meeting will be completely open: please come and talk about your favourite place, travels, anecdote or listen to others!

Congratulations to Christina, Chair of the Texas branch of Globetrotters on her new job on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Because of this, please note that Texas meetings will start one hour earlier, at 2pm and not 3pm.

Meetings are held at 2pm at the New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E. Common Street in New Braunfels, Texas. The meeting ends at 5 p.m. If you would like to continue travel talk on a more informal basis, we plan to adjourn to the Hoity-Toit, a local New Braunfels establishment. If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk

Readers comments: best airport nominations

Koh Samui Airport, Thailand is good. No doors here! This has to be one of the prettiest airports around. Liz, England

Koh Samui, The most tropical airport ever! The most beautifully in all Thailand:

Sukhothai…I could live there 🙂 Greetzzz Erik Jan, The Netherlands

A site recommended by Erik in the Netherlands, identifies good and bad airports around the world to sleep over night. Canadian Donna McSherry has put together a brill web site called http://www.sleepinginairports.net that allows people to make comments on which airports are good (and bad) for sleeping in. Donna has allowed us to show which airport web contributors feels is the best airport to sleep in:

Best Airport – Hands down, the Best Airport Award goes to Singapore's Changi airport.Unless the Singapore airport were to burn down, it is and will remain the reining mother of all airports that airport sleepers simply MUST visit on their sleeping travels. Airport sleepers worldwide will be brought to tears of joy when they find out all the wonderful amenities available. Several contributors have raved about this airport and I am almost inclined to travel to Singapore, just to camp out in the airport. Best of all, it is comfortable, safe, quiet (so quiet in fact that students study there during exams) and there's even a karaoke bar. One other fun fact about this little piece of heaven is the signs all over the airport that read ” no pets, no skateboarding, no smoking and no studying”. Check out the Singapore Changi web site before you go.

More from Donna next month with the runners up!

Write in and tell us your best airport nominations! the Beetle!

Fave Websites of the Month

This web site provides links to a very wide range of information – everything you might need to plan a trip: links to the latest travel warnings for British, American, Australian and Canadian citizens, lists of travel agents in each of these countries and Pacific Asia, info on cruise lines around the world, national parks, internet cafes, embassies around the world, world time zones, restaurants, exchange rates – you name it!

London:

6th April Kevin Morgan kicked off with a wonderful slide show of dolphins, whales and other marine and bird life ranging from Antarctica to the Bahamas! We all left feeling wiser and almost confident of being able to distinguish bottle nosed dolphins from spinners! His slides finished with an evocative tape of the sounds made by whales.

After the break, Cass Gilbert showed us some fabulous pictures of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan (and other places ending in “stan” that the beetle cannot spell!) Amazingly, he completed this incredible journey by tandem, through parts of the old Silk Route, past ancient cities, churches, mosques, and markets, occasionally, with his female tandem partner cycling in veil and long trousers, much to the bemusement of many locals.

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, except that due to public holidays, May’s meeting will be on Saturday 11th May at 2.30pm. June’s meeting will be held at 2.30pm on June 8th.

For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: http://www.globetrotters.co.uk

Diving in Oman

Oman is a fascinating country. For anyone who has been to Zanzibar, there are striking architectural similarities, but it is not all about modern or ancient towns, there’s desert, mountains and, of course, the Arabian Sea! Most of the dive operators are attached to hotels. There is one dive operation, called Dive Oman which is about 45 minutes drive south from the airport at Muscat Dive Oman is run by Bernard and Stephanie, a lovely couple, (French and Dutch) and is part owned by the poshest hotel, which is close by, called the Al Bustan. Bernard can be contacted on: diveoman@omantel.net.om

Here, you can stay right on the beach in a range of accommodation, from air con rooms to a shared dorm. The bay from here is superb, not much to see snorkelling, but it is very pretty, and a short boat trip away, you will be able to see dolphins.

The diving is very good for the novice and intermediate diver: there are no currents to speak of, you’ll find it difficult to get deeper than 20m and the visibility is generally 15m +. The corals are not as colourful as say the Red Sea, but this is more than made up for by fantastic amounts of fish! Great for macro photographers too! You get loads of them and they are so unafraid! The Beetle did not see anything particularly large, but there were lots of turtles, and the occasional docile reef shark, and in the right season, there are whale sharks. Visibility ranges from 15m+ and the water temperature is around 25 degrees C.

Dive Oman is a very safe dive operation, not run by cowboys, good air – reasonable equipment although the Beetle has her own. A proper briefing preceded each dive and although few dives were guided, it was very safe and almost impossible to get lost!

If you stay at Dive Oman, they are stuck out in the middle of nowhere and only have food at weekends i.e. Thursday and Friday, so you'll have to hire a care and go off and find something yourself the rest of the time.

If you are British, you can buy a visa at the airport, around £16 or $23. If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, forget it, you’ll have a hard time getting in. Also, the Omanis are the worst drivers the Beetle has ever seen, even worse than the Egyptians! And that takes some doing! So driving can be fraught! The Beetle drove as a female over there, which is possible but a major novelty, so she had cars overtake and then sit on the other side of the road just staring in as she drove! The dress code is long and baggy: don't wear shorts outside the dive centre and females should wear long baggy trousers and long sleeved shirts or long short sleeved T shorts.

Other dive operators include Blue Zone and Ecodivers bluzone@gto.net.om

Dive Oman have a web site: http://www.diveoman.com.om/

Next month: more on the sites of Oman

Hydro Plans in India

Arundhati Roy, the prize-winning Indian novelist, was jailed Wednesday (March 6, 2002) after the Supreme Court in India convicted her of criminal contempt for suggesting it was trying to “silence criticism” of its approval of a hydroelectric project. As about 250 supporters stood outside with banners reading “Free speech is not contempt,” the court sentenced Roy to one day in prison and a $42 fine. If she does not pay, she will spend three months in prison, the court said. The court said that in sentencing her to one day, it was “showing magnanimity of law by keeping in mind that the respondent is a woman.” Roy won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel “The God of Small Things.” She has written articles criticizing India's nuclear program and is a prominent campaigner against the Narmada Dam, the nation's biggest hydroelectric project.

Source: by Nirmala George / Associated Press (via Common Dreams News Center) If you want to take action, visit Amnesty International’s web site.

New York:

On May 4th Mike Luongo will be giving a slide show and lecture about Lake Titicaca and the Border Regions of Peru and Bolivia. As well as touching on Venezuela. It's a story of lots of water, Incan heritage and South American politics. Learn about mysterious islands made only of woven grass that ancient people made to escape war. You'll see images of the highest navigable lake in the world, of colourful Carnival in Puno, Peru and of deadly natural disaster in La Paz, Bolivia, a city that thrives on laundered money. Michael is a New York based freelance writer and has travelled to more than 45 countries, and written on more than 30 of them. Latin America, with its mix of native and conquering cultures is among his favourite regions of the world. Best known for his work on gay travel destinations, he has been in Our World, Out & About and numerous regional publications and websites. He is also a co-editor of Continuum Press's Gay Tourism: Culture, Identity and Sex, the first academic book on the gay travel industry.

Note: some folk have mentioned wanting to get together for drinks etc. after the meeting. I will bring this to everyone's attention, and we'll see how it goes.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm. $8.00 for members, $10.00 for non-members.

Readers comments: best airport nominations – from Stuart, London

Skagway, Alaska is quite impressive – one shack and a runway!

Pyongyang, North Korea – loads of staff servicing very few flights!

Canaima, Venezuela, says the Beetle, is quite funny, a tiny strip cut out form the surrounding jungle with a wooden café close by with tens of stalls operated by companies all offering trips to the Angel Falls.

Write in and tell us your best airport nominations! the Beetle

Have you got a tale to tell??

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Ontario:

The last meeting was on March 15: Bruce Weber talked about Yucatan.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek:

shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

Music and Travel By Padmassana

Music and travel have been synonymous since the hippies took their music along with them in the sixties. Certain pieces of music have the ability to remind of places we have been and the experiences we enjoyed there. Here are my top 5 that evoke cherished memories of my travels.

Istanbul – “Mea Culpa” by Enigma, it was the first time I had heard this piece, as it woke us from our sleep as well pulled into Istanbul in a January snowstorm. It was a wonderful way to arrive in a place I had long wished to visit.

Iran – “Silk Road, God is Good” from Lonely Planet. This haunting piece will remind anyone who has travelled in the Middle East, but for me particularly of Iran, of the early morning call to prayer resonating from the towers of the ornate mosques.

Yangshuo – “Linger” by The Cranberries. One of my abiding memories of this lovely Chinese town is this song wafting out of virtually every Restaurant and backpacker hotel in the place. Whenever I hear this song on the radio at home it always evokes memories of China.

Australia – “Highway” by Gond Wana Land from the album, “Let the dog out”. Our bus driver played this super album as we crossed Australia’s Red Centre, the didgeridoos providing a fitting accompaniment to the landscape that passed outside the window.

France – “Anni Rose” by Tulka from the Buddha bar album by Claude Challe. This piece will always be a reminder of happy days and warm evenings in the south of France, while doing an Astanga course.

Write in and tell us your musical memories and associations! the Beetle

Texas:

The May 11 meeting will meet at the library at 3 p.m., if you were not able to make the April picnic. The picnic went swimmingly – great weather, great company, good food – thanks to Christina for organising it!

Meetings are held at 3pm at the New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E. Common Street in New Braunfels, Texas. The meeting ends at 5 p.m. If you would like to continue travel talk on a more informal basis, we plan to adjourn to the Hoity-Toit, a local New Braunfels establishment.

If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk

Buddha’s Hair

Back in March last year, archaeologists say that they found a miniature gold box believed to contain the hair of the Buddha. The box, thought to have been buried for more than a thousand years, was dug up during the excavations of a famous ruined pagoda in the eastern city of Hangzhou. The case was found in a cellar under the ruins of the famous Leifeng Pagoda, which was built in 976 AD but collapsed after repeated attacks by relic thieves in 1924. Reports said this is thought to be the second piece of the Buddha's hair found in China – a similar relic was discovered in the north of the country in the 1970s. The Beetle is unable to fund anything more about the hair such as where it might be on display.

London Markets: Leadenhall Market

In the 15th Century, Dick Whittington, who was the Lord Mayor of London at the time, designated this site as an official food market and it has been serving the people of London ever since. Archaeologists say that the site is on what was once a Roman Forum.

It even gets a mention in Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, as a place to buy new laid eggs.

The market's name was taken from a fourteenth century mansion with a lead roof. Traders from outside London were first allowed to sell their poultry here, then in 1377 cheese and butter. The City Corporation bought the house and estate in 1411, and in 1445 the newly built granary became a general market for poultry, victuals, grain, eggs, butter, cheese etc. The market and the mansion were both burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666 and the market was rebuilt round three large courtyards. The first yard was mainly a beef market, but it also sold leather, wool and raw hides on certain days. The second yard sold veal, mutton and lamb; but fishmongers, poulterers and cheesemongers had stalls here too. The third yard was a herb market selling fruit and vegetables.

Today, with its iron and glass architecture, an excellent example of Victoriana, Leadenhall has been the location for many a film, much to the bemusement of many a city slicker as this market is in Gracechurch St, close to Lloyds of London, in the heart of the City, London’s financial district. Today's market has high quality butchers and fishmongers, greengrocers, chocolate shops and bars, with high prices perhaps to reflect its location.

The market is open Monday-Friday daytime, some shops and bars remain open into the evening. The nearest tube is probably Bank, but others close by include Liverpool St, Aldgate and Tower Hill.

Next month: Petticoat Lane