Previously my predecessor The Beetle requested readers help with naming her cheese, as produced on her farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Here are a couple of replies that might help other suggestions along and any marketing campaigns J
Audrey from Florida says “I vote for Dales Select. Anywhere I can buy it here ?”
Mac, our regular contributor writes that “Ribblesdale Goat is a modern vegetarian (I had never heard the vegetarian angle) hard cheese created in 1982 by Iain and Christine Hill. Ribblesdale goat is highly valued for its fresh simple flavor with its suggestion of chicory, almonds, and wild herbs from the misty Yorkshire hills. Ribblesdale Goat won a Bronze Award in the 1996 British Cheese Awards. Although normally a goats cheese it is also available from ewes milk and a smoked cheese . Ribblesdale cheese can be served as a table cheese or for grated toppings. All Ribblesdale Cheeses supplied are handmade and waxed coated giving the cheese a long shelf time of approximately 80 days. Sadly Iain Hill passed away in November 2006 but is succeeded by his niece Iona Hill who maintains the family tradition. Suitable for vegetarians, suitable for freezing…”
Mac also jokes “Groups of Americans were traveling by tour bus through Holland .. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat’s milk was used. She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing. ‘These’ she explained, ‘Are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.’ She then asked, ‘What do you do in America with your old goats?’ A spry old gentleman answered, ‘They send us on bus tours’
Mac writes even more – “George stopped me in the hallway all excited and said Hey Mac I tasted your friends Ribblesdale cheese in Meknes Morocco in about 2003 or 2004. He said he was on a tour bus and an English lady invited him to join him for a spot of tea on the beach. He said the lady had a little wicker basket and in it some Ribblesdale Cheese.
He said he remembered it first because of its unique name, then its unique flavor and that it was made from goats milk. He liked it. Maybe you should keep the name Ripplesdale since it made such an impression on him. I do think adding Yorkshire to word Dale would add more sophistication and not have some of us ignorant Americans think it is referring to a man’s name.
He thought the cheese was in a green wrapper. Maybe the English woman just put it in a green wrapper.”
George is quoted as saying “I Summit Your Friend New International Cheese Name Is : ” World Famous Yorkshire Dales Ribblesdale Cheese ” And Below A Picture Of A Bearded Goat, And In Smaller Lettering ” The Ribblesdale Goats Do It “
“Also Had Visions Of This Cheese In Eye Catching, Wrapped Green, With White Circle, With The Black Lettering Divided By A Golden Bearded Goat Head Figure.
There will be an exhibition in the Grosvenor Museum at beginning of next year and the organisers would like you travellers to be involved, so have a read and send your entries to: lucy.ashdown@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
According to Lucy what would look good in the exhibition would be a selection of photos from Chester Globetrotters showing different vehicles (defined here as transport with wheels or runners) they’ve come across or used in different countries, accompanied by a short piece of text.
Lucy is not sure how much space there will be available in the gallery, but she’ll try & fit in at least one photo from everyone who submits something.
For the text, she’d like to know where each photo was taken & when and also why/how the vehicle was important to each person’s experience of that particular country.
Globetrotters can email photos & text directly to Lucy by the end of September preferably.
BP oil spill – the reality. TravelMole US Editor David Wilkening explains how misconceptions are causing further damage to tourism in the Gulf Coast.
“Damage forecasts soon after the BP Gulf oil spill were bad. But then they got worse. Dead birds. Soiled beaches.
The reality, however, is that the spill led to the deaths of less than one percent of the number of birds killed in the Valdez spill.
The spill was enough oil to fill about one- sixth of the Louisiana Superdome.
“That’s not exactly a drop in the proverbial bucket, but it’s a strikingly different image from one emblazoned in people’s mind by the early reaction,” writes USA Today in an editorial.
Could there be unknown seabed damage? “So far, it seems the wildest predictions were just that — wild,” said the newspaper.
The publication suggested the news media did a poor job of providing accurate information about the event. There were many exaggerations.
Gulf coast tourism officials say the real problem with the spill has been perception.
Read more at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1143673.php
European travellers to the US will have to pay an extra $14 from next month for electronic visas.
The visas, known as an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta), have been compulsory for UK tourists and other European visitors since January 2009.
At present, they are free, but from September 8, the US will start charging $14, or around £9 based on the current exchange rates.
The move has been criticised by the European Union, which said it could deter or complicate travel.
Consumer groups are advising people planning a trip to the US to apply now, before the new charge comes into force.
Read more at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1143622.php
If you enjoy writing & travelling, why not write for the free Globetrotters eNewsletter ! The Ant would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 14,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter eNewsletter.
Email The Ant at theant@globetrotters.co.uk with your travel experiences / hints & tips / questions. Your article should be approximately 1000 words, feature up to 3 or 4 jpeg photos and introduce yourself with a couple of sentences and a contact e-mail address.
Member and Globetrotters Club travel award winner in 2009, Doreen Tayler recounts the second half of her journey of a lifetime…to follow in the footsteps of Kim, Rudyard Kipling’s most famous character. Enjoy her very readable writing and be inspired to submit your own proposal for the 2010 award The Ant
To recap: Kim set off from Lahore to look for his heritage, while acting as a disciple (chela) to a lama who is searching for Buddha’s River of the Arrow. I picked up Kim’s trail at Amritsar station, en route to Ambala (then Umballa), which was his first stop.
During the British Raj, Umballa was an important garrison town. It was the permanent headquarters of the British military in India and of strategic importance being on the Grand Trunk Road, which stretches from the Khyber Pass to Calcutta. It is still a military cantonment, but of little significance, – a bustling, extremely dusty town and I soon had to ditch my contact lenses and resort to glasses. There is little of interest for foreigners here, and I met none, but there was an excellent English Book Shop with everything from John Grisham to Freud. Browsing for hours one afternoon, the manager to my delight asked me, ‘Would ma’am care for tiffin?’
‘Jains’ Sodawater Factory. Estd. 1940’ was a real find. Located on the main street, a bouncer guarded the entrance – that was weird! Why? Frequented mainly by parents and their offspring, I had visions of children rioting if they ran out of Hot Chocolate Fudges or Munchurian Pizza. Just inside the door and above the cashier’s head, smiling benignly down at the customers, are the Jain family portraits: the founder grandfather, his son, and grandson, the current owner, who graciously advised me on the dishes. Tough call, but I would recommend ‘Jain’s special Thali’ and ‘Jain’s Special Dream Boat’ – after having tried to munch my way through the American style menu.
Kim’s (and now my) mission in Ambala was to locate a certain Colonel Creighton’s bungalow. Here Kim delivered an encoded (espionage) letter, en route to Varanasi (then Benares). I managed to locate a bungalow of the right age and description, but who knows? In the same vicinity near the station, is the bomb-damaged remains of the church of St. Paul’s which was built in 1857 – a victim, and a memorial of the Pakistan- India war of 1965-6 (now standing in the grounds of a posh private school). It was built in 1857, and although photographs were not allowed, I managed to take some by saying my father married there in 1930. I doubt Kim paid much attention to St Paul’s as British churches were commonplace. He did though, inadvertently stumble on his father’s old regiment, and as a result lost his freedom and was sent off to be schooled at St Xavier’s (in reality La Martiniere) in Lucknow, temporarily parting company with his lama.
So next stop was Lucknow, and as with Ambala, I was a viewed as a curiosity, and instantly helped when I was lost or looked anxious. I hired a cycle rickshaw to take in the town’s many ancient sites, before exploring La Martiniere. The building was originally a Gothic chateau with four enormous octagonal towers and was built by a French soldier of fortune in 1793. He left instructions that he wanted it was converted after his death into a school for the rich and well connected. During my visit, a Bollywood version of St Trinians was being filmed and they were shooting a scene with nubile youngsters dressed in school uniform, who sang, and danced, with the girls provocatively sashaying through the many quads. Kim missed out there.
Not far away is The Residency, where the Indian Mutiny began resulting in a five month bloody siege in1857, which cost the lives of two thousand British and saw much hardship as well as acts of great sacrifice and bravery. The museum and cemetery are haunting and well kept. However, the complex is preserved to celebrate the verve and expertise of the rebelling Indians who overcame the cornered British residents. Nevertheless, within seven months the British had resumed power. Many boys from nearby La Martiniere (which closed temporarily) helped run dangerous missions for the besieged Brits – events not much before Kipling’s time. Kim did not though spend his school holidays in Lucknow, he roamed the country, and frequently was sent to Simla for extra-curricular schooling in the art of espionage.
Shimla is a real joy. I took the sleeper train back to Ambala for the journey to Shimla. Then at nearby Kalka I changed trains and took the little toy town train that climbs the sixty-five miles up to the hill station – and takes six hours! Honeymooners thronged my train, the giveaway being the brides’ hands decorated with henna. Shimla is where the British Raj spent seven months of the year escaping the heat of the plains. No traffic is permitted in the Mall, nor is spitting or littering. Bliss. Peeing wherever though still proliferates.
I loved Shimla: it was cool, fresh and compact and despite the profusion of concrete, still retains its colonial aura. The stately English Renaissance Vice regal Lodge atop Observatory Hill, shows how our viceroys lived in splendour. The ghostly reminiscence of Victorian grandeur seeped out of the town’s ‘Ridge’ area, wandering round the British built library and the Gaiety theatre at Scandal Point (named after the reputed abduction of a British lady by a Maharaja in the nineteenth century), I envisaged the thrill of amateur dramatics and state balls with the ladies being ferried from their bungalows by manual rickshaws, wearing all their finery and bedecked in jewels. Kim spent much time here at Lurgan Sahib’s (really A M Jacob’s) antique shop, learning camouflage and observation techniques, and although I could not find the shop, I found Belvedere where Jacob lived, by asking a lady in the street if she knew its location. ‘You mean Jacob the magician’s house?’ she responded, ‘Belvedere is just further on from the library and is now a girls’ school. I’m the headmistress!’ Maybe he was working his magic again, for most characters in Kipling’s book were based on real characters.
It was with reluctance I dragged myself away from Shimla, which is surrounded by hills and houses precariously atop houses, is running alive with mischievous monkeys. Kim too enjoyed its refreshing atmosphere, and every autumn returned reluctantly to school. When Colonel Creighton deemed him ready to leave and join the Great Game – (spying), he rushed off to meet up with the lama in nearby Benares, (now Varanasi), and so that was where I now headed.
‘Varanasi is fruitcake’ said an American tourist I met in Delhi, and he wasn’t far wrong. I did not get to the hostel I intended, I was back in the tourist nightmare of being a walking wallet, but no matter, my rickshaw driver’s choice was just fine – the food was watered down and de-spiced somewhat but that is apparently to suit foreigners’ taste. Western bakeries abounded and most people who approached me were trying to lead me to silk shops, assuring me they gave any commission they made to charities! I had not even put my bag down before I was booked into a river trip to see the burning gnats and the nightly river ‘show’ following on from my hostel’s ‘temple tour’. At less than £5, excellent value I figured.
Eyes followed wallets and rickshaw drivers followed tourists, with holy bolies everywhere. The craziness of Varanasi has to be experienced to be believed. Kim does not mention much about the oldest city in the world but met up with his lama at a Jain temple. However, it was not clear if it was the one in Varanasi or Sarnath so I visited both. Sarnath is greener and less manic than Varanasi but full of coaches waiting for Indian tourists to return after visiting the many temples and interesting museums in this holy old enclave where Buddha was purported to preach under a tree.
My trip ended with Kim and his lama at Saharanpore after travelling up to the hill station of Missorie via Dehradun. Saharanpore is an industrial town surrounded by fruit farms. I stayed just one night. On walkabout, it seemed full of drunks and rough sleepers. I had been warned several times by well-wishers not to stop there, but I felt totally unthreatened and again spent much time in an English bookshop. The short train ride to Dehradun, famous for its public schools (Gandhi went to one), is where I caught the bus up to Missoorie, which is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Missorie does not ban but does limit traffic driving through its centre. It is a magical place surrounded by woods and snow-capped mountains. You only have to walk some half hour out of the small town and you are in a trekkers’ delight. This area again attracts honeymooners and weekenders from the plains. Unlike Shimla though, there is no civil service industry. The shops just sell souvenirs, most from Tibet and Kashmir. The British presence can still be felt: there are Christian churches, polo schools and private schools. Kim went further into the mountains in search of foreign spies, nowadays if he did the same, he would meet mainly Tibetan refugees and the occasional foreigner who attends one of the several language schools at nearby Landes. Next to the clock tower (the British built many, as the locals did not own watches) is the fabulous Clock-house Cafe which caters mainly to the language students. It is not quite up to Jain’s Sodawater Factory, but their homemade cheesecake, brownies and apple pie take some beating. Kim missed out there as he loved his ‘sweetmeats’, but he thwarted the foreign spies; his lama found the River of the Arrow back at Saharunapore and we leave Kim poised on the cusp of being a latter day 007, albeit alone.
And being alone on my travels was not a problem, more a boon, and no doubt because I appeared approachable. It was flattering at one hotel where a wedding reception was taking place, to be asked my room number by several lascivious middle-aged male guests. My age, however, was a constant source of interest and when I was asked it, I always quoted Oscar Wilde, “Any woman who tells you her age will tell you anything!” This was greeted with hoots of laughter and seemed to suffice, people always wanted to chat and to ask me if I liked India. Finding a room – rarely more than £10 – was never a problem. So to those of you who have not been to India, I would merely say, ‘Just go!’ It is safe, it is cheap, it is fascinating, and the people are curious, helpful and enchanting. It has the lot. Oh yes, and the food is good too!
Last December, the Beetle visited Indonesia. Apart from diving I
took a trip to Java from Sulawesi and saw the Borobodur Temple
(amongst other things). I stayed a few days in Yogyakarta, a name I
shall forever have problems pronouncing and hired a car and driver
for US 30 for the day which seemed a pretty efficient way of
getting around. Much to the initial annoyance of my driver, we gave
lifts to anyone (especially older people) carrying huge bundles and
had the freedom to stop wherever I fancied and see out of the way
things, and some really were out of the way! Mr Azim, my very
patient driver looked after me well, as well as driving like he was
trying to break the world land speed record and he made Yogyakarta
to the Borobodur in just 40 minutes! Using public transport, it is
possible to go by bus or minibus from Yogyakarta to the town of
Muntilan, change at the terminal here to another bus for Borobudur.
Note that the bus station at Borobudur is 1km away from the temple
though it is possible to walk. Alternatively, you can go on one of many
guided tours on mini buses to Yogyakarta.
It seemed to be the time of year when schools make their annual
school trip outings. There must have been several hundred school
children, lounging around, larking about, and taking lots and lots
of photos! I found out, by talking with many of the groups that
they came mainly from Sumatra and other parts of Java and they were
absolutely delightful, as curious about me as I was about them. I
got many tips on places to go on my travels and invites to family
homes, which was very kind.
This was just one day after the horrific tsunami and there was a
muted respect and appreciation for the events that were just
starting to unfold, but at the same time, it was a holiday and the
school children were having a whale of a time.
The Beetle was pretty much the only non Indonesian visitor on that
day and the school children's main task seem to be to detract
me from seeing the Borobodur at all, but I didn't mind. It was
a lot of fun lining up, arms round the girls' shoulders,
smiling broadly for the multitude of cameras that were bought out,
just one more, just one more they'd say. And the boys, shyly
jostling to see who could stand closest and arms held just above my
shoulders, thinking I would not see them or feel them as long as
they were not resting on me. They were funny adolescent youngsters.
And then there was the name and signature signing in their little
notebooks. I thought the whole thing was most odd, but a wonderful
way to meet Indonesian people and my entire 4 hours spent there
consisted of photo posing, though I got my own back and asked other
people to pose for me, notebook signing and having simple English
conversations. It was a lot of fun, though I kind of wished I'd
had a little more of a chance to see a bit more of the Borobodur!
Ok, about the Borobodur: It is thought to have been built between
the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth century A.D. For
about a century and a half it was the spiritual centre of Buddhism
in Java and then it was lost until its rediscovery in the
eighteenth century. The temples are set in beautifully manicured
gardens and are said to be composed of 55,000 square meters of
lava-rock is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of
six rectangular storeys, three circular terraces and a central
stupa forming the summit. The whole structure is in the form of a
lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha. For each direction there are
ninety-two Dhyani Buddha statues and 1,460 relief scenes. The
lowest level has 160 reliefs depicting cause and effect; the middle
level contains various stories of the Buddha's life from the
Jataka Tales; the highest level has no reliefs or decorations
whatsoever but has a balcony, square in shape with round walls: a
circle without beginning or end. Here is the place of the
ninety-two Vajrasattvas or Dhyani Buddhas tucked into small stupas.
Each of these statues has a mudra (hand gesture) indicating one of
the five directions: east, with the mudra of calling the earth to
witness; south, with the hand position of blessing; west, with the
gesture of meditation; north, the mudra of fearlessness; and the
centre with the gesture of teaching.
You are supposed to wander around the galleries and terraces always
turning to the left and keeping the main structure to the right but
I noticed that none of the school children observed this tradition.
In total, Borobodur represents the ten levels of a
Bodhisattva's life which he or she must develop to become a
Buddha or an awakened one.
Early morning is the best time to visit Javanese temples, Borobudur
included. The gate opens at 6 am, around sunrise. The view of the
surrounding volcanoes and the Bukit Menoreh range to the south is
clearest at dawn, although morning mists sometimes obscure the view
until 8 am. Visitors must walk 500 meters to the base of the hill
then climb a series of steps to reach the temple foot. To see all
the reliefs one must walk more than 2 km (1.25 mile) around the four
galleries and climb several flights of steps. The minimum amount of
time needed at the Site is 1.5 hours.
All in all, it was a highly enjoyable day out and I thoroughly
recommend it.
A review in the medical Lancet found the commonest
diseases linked to air travel have been spread via
contaminated food rather than from the cabin’s recycled
air. The US researchers found a total of 41 in-flight
outbreaks of food poisoning resulting in 11 deaths had been
documented between 1947 and 1999. Salmonella was the most
commonly reported infection spread by a commercial airline,
with 15 recorded outbreaks between 1947 and 1999, affecting
nearly 4,000 passengers and killing seven. The US authors
stressed that no food- or water-borne outbreaks had been
reported in the past five years probably because of greater
use of pre-packaged frozen meals, and improved food
handling and inspection.
Travel Writing – How to do it and how not to with Dea
Birkett, the Guardian’s Travelling with Kids columnist and
author of Serpent in Paradise and Off the Beaten Track
Fact, Fiction and Creating a Traveller’s Tale with Rory
Maclean, author of Falling for Icarus and Stalin’s Nose
The workshops are followed by practical writing
sessions. Participants should bring pen and paper – they
will be expected to write! The emphasis is – whether you
are a beginner or already have some writing experience – on
developing skills which can be applied to both articles and
books. Our aim is that, by the end of the day, each of you
will have the tools to produce a publishable piece of
travel writing.
Scientists believe that Maldive Islands were first settled by Aryan
immigrants who are thought to have colonised Sri Lanka at the same
time, (around 500 BC). Further migration from South India, as well
as Sri Lanka, occurred. The latest archaeological findings suggest
the islands were inhabited as early as 1500 BC. Around 947 AD,
recorded contact with the outside world began with the first Arab
travellers. As the population increased, the Maldivian people with
their mixed features formed tight-knit island communities.
Historical remains dating back to 400 BC show strong evidence that
Buddhism was widely practised among the people. Islam came to the
Maldives with the Persian and Arab travellers and in 1153 AD
Arabian traveller Abul Barakhat Al-Bar Bari is said to have been
responsible for the conversion to Islam. In
1558, the Portuguese invaded and captured the Maldives. They ruled
the country for 15 years, until Boduthakurufaanu, the national hero
recaptured the Maldives from the Portuguese. He ruled the country
as Sultan Mohamed Thakurufaanu from 1573 – 1583.
The Maldives became a British Protectorate and a dependency of
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1887 and remained so until 26 July 1965 when
they gained full independence. The independent Maldives reverted
from a Sultanate to a Republic on 11th November 1968 and since then
the country has remained a fully independent republic.
The first resort, Kurumba Village was developed in 1972, on an
uninhabited island near the capital, Malé. The resort,
had accommodation for about 60 guests. The second resort was
Bandos, with about 280 beds. The services in the two resorts were
quite basic compared to that of others in the region. The food was
mainly local and the transportation quite slow. It was also a time
when air travel to the Maldives was only available on
Air Ceylon which operated a small
Avero aircraft. This plane carried only 48 passengers and took
two hours to reach Malé from Colombo. Despite
this, over a thousand tourists came to the Maldives in 1972. In
2003 the Maldives consists of more than 80 resorts, and over
500,000 visitors from all over the world. Italian visitors account
for approximately 25% of all visitors, followed by the UK at 17%,
Germany at 14% and Japan at 9% and the average stay is 8.5 nights.
The Maldives hold the record for being the flattest country in the
world, with a maximum altitude of only 2.3 metres. Although there
have been reports of rising sea levels threatening the islands, the
sea level has actually lowered in recent decades. There are said to
be 199 inhabited islands and 993 uninhabited islands.
The December tsunami reached the Maldives at approximately 9.20am
on 26 December 2004, sending waves up to five metres high over the
1192 islands. The disaster is believed to have caused damage to 69
of the 199 inhabited islands and 14 islands are said to be
completely devastated and had to be evacuated. In total, some
20,500 islanders were displaced from their homes and 83 people were
killed, including three tourists. A further 25 people are still
missing and presumed lost in the disaster.
Even before the disaster, environmentalists were concerned about
the risk to the islands from rising sea levels. The most serious
damage was to the islands along the east coast of the group,
particularly in North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll, but the
capital, Malé, and the international airport on Hulhule island
experienced only minor flooding. The tsunami also caused
significant damage in the far south of the Maldives, particularly
to Vilufushi in the Thaa Atoll and Kolhufushi in the Meemu Atoll.
In the north, Kandholhudhoo island in the Raa Atoll was completely
destroyed, displacing 3,000 islanders from their homes. The island
has since been abandoned. Cartographers
are planning to redraw the maps of the islands due to alterations
by the tsunami.
Despite the massive damage to homes, schools, harbour facilities,
telephone and electricity suppliers and general infrastructure, the
loss of life was thankfully comparatively small, especially when
compared with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Still,
estimates suggest that around 7% of the population has been left
homeless by the disaster and the overall cost of damage is
estimated at US$470 million, or 62% of the islands' GDP. The
government has reported that the impact of the tsunami will set
back development in the Maldives by two decades.
Despite this, the emergency relief effort has been extremely
successful, though some would say that it has been challenged to
the areas most frequented by tourists. As of March, 71 of the 87
resorts in the Maldives were open as normal and tourists could
visit Malé and other areas that escaped major damage without
problems. However, 16 resorts remain closed as a result of the
disaster – for an update on the 16 hotels that are closed, see:
www.visitmaldives.com.mv
No prior visa arrangements are required, but some requirements must
be fulfilled to obtain a 30 days tourist visa on arrival: a visitor
must have a valid travel documents and properly completed
embarkation/disembarkation cards which usually provided at during
the inward flight. In addition, visitors must also have a return
air ticket or at least US$ 50.00 per intended day of stay in
Maldives. Any amount of Foreign currency can be brought in without
declaring and can be taken out without any restriction. Some items
are forbidden to be imported to the country, including firearms and
explosives, pornography of any kind, including what would be
considered “acceptable erotica” in all western (and most
eastern) societies, pork and all products containing pork, narcotic
drugs, poisons and hazardous, irritable or industrial chemicals and
alcohol. Alcoholic items purchased on the trip will be held in
Customs bond for collection upon departure.
The Health Protection Agency say that tourists need more
advice about how to protect their health while they are
away. They say, while many companies do tell travellers to
get health advice about their destination, others do not.
But a spokesman for the Association of British Travel
Agents (ABTA) said members did offer advice if people were
travelling to more exotic destinations. Up to 2,000 Britons
die abroad each year, most of them from natural causes,
according to figures from the HPA.
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
Scattered across the equator across the Indian Ocean, the pearl like
islands of the Maldives depicts the rare vision of a tropical
paradise. Palm fringed islands with sparkling white beaches.
Turquoise lagoons, clear warm waters and corals reefs teeming with
abundant varieties of marine fauna and flora, continue to fascinate
visitors as it has fascinated other in past, for thousand of years.
Marco Polo referred to the Maldives as the flower of the
Indies and Ibn Batuta referred to the Maldives as one of the
wonders of the world.
Truly a natural wonder, the height of the islands rarely reach
above two metres. The 1,192 islands consist of 27 atoll formations,
spread over 90,000 square kilometres. The Maldive atolls are a
classic discovery in their own right: the word atoll is derived
from Dhivehi, the Maldivian language, from the word atholhu.
The islands are surrounded by shallow crystal clear lagoon enclosed
by coral reefs. The unique islands provide visitors with one of the
most breath taking views of underwater life in the world. Formed
above peaks emerging from the depths of the ocean, upon layers of
both living and dead coral, and remnant of other marine life, the
islands are generally covered with dense tropical vegetation.
Coconut palms towering above dense shrubs and hardly plants
protecting the shores from erosion are natural features in most
islands. These islands together embody living entities in various
stage of formation. As interdependent elements in ecology, in a
food chain where birds, fish and other marine life co-exist, with
humans at its apex as caretakers for centuries.
Measuring 820 kilometres north to south and 120 kilometres east to
west at its greatest width, the closest neighbours are India and
Sri Lanka. With a population 270,110 ( 2000 official estimate),
only 199 islands are inhabited 87 islands are set aside exclusively
for tourist resort development.
There are plenty of things to do in the Maldives. You can take a
diving safari where you can visit inhabited islands (fishing
villages), resorts and uninhabited islands. Even if you are not a
diver, or a honeymooner, there are cultural shows, excursions to
Malé, night fishing, barbecues (subject to weather and length of
stay) to keep you entertained. It is possible to visit a local
inhabited island and see their simple life style in harmony with
nature also you will get the opportunity to see some of the typical
daily chores carried by the simple island forks while other maybe
involved in building a wooden local dhoni boat or weaving rope etc.
Sultan Mosque
A typical resort, this one is the Laguna Beach Resort
Some people like the big game fishing and night fishing where you
can usually go to an uninhabited island to have a barbecue after
the fishing.
If you are interested in visiting the Maldives, Mr Muaz Adnan would
be only too happy to advise you and make any travel arrangements
and bookings for you. He can be contacted by e-mail on: muazadnan2002@yahoo.com
Google, the search engine can help you access satellite
photos of North America’s most significant landmarks and
locations, including the Grand Canyon, Alcatraz and Mount
Rushmore. You need to enter in a zip code and a photo from
space of that location – if available – is then shown. At
the moment Google only offers satellite images of locations
in the US and Canada but Keyhole Corporation, which Google
bought last year has data for the whole globe so the
service could be rolled out for other countries. The detail
in some of the Google photos is impressive – putting zoom
at the highest level lets you pick out individual houses
and even cars. The catch? There’s a fee to use the service
though a free 7 day trial is available. See:
The Beetle has bad memories about sharing a room with
what seemed like a thousand cockroaches in Gilgit in
Pakistan a few years ago and was afraid that they would fly
on to her bed. (Before you ask, no, Beetles are not friends
with cockroaches, they are sworn enemies, but we try and
live and let live.)
Did you know that most cockroaches have wings, but they
can only fly when temperatures are quite high. And what’s
more, cockroaches are omnivorous, i.e. they will eat
anything, including each other if there is nothing else
available.
One internet source, maybe urban myth, states that a
cockroach can live up to nine days without its head before
it starves to death. They have amazing scuttling abilities:
one US study showed that cockroaches are capable of running
at 50 body lengths per second on a treadmill – the
equivalent of Carl Lewis doing the 100-meter in 1.09
seconds!
Unesco has warned Peru that the Inca citadel of Machu
Picchu might lose its world heritage status if they do not
act to protect it. Every year, hundreds of thousands of
people visit Machu Picchu. Experts say unrestricted tourism
and landslides have damaged the 15th Century citadel and
the nearby Inca trail that leads to it. In response, the
Peruvian authorities have submitted a 400-page report $130m
plan to the UN’s cultural arm which is believed to include
satellite monitoring to measure earth movements and a daily
limit of 2,500 tourists, to preserve the site.
Whilst we are talking about insects: spotted by
webmaster Paul, US Entomologists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly
B. Miller recently had the task of naming 65 newly
discovered species of slime-mold beetles and named three
species after the US president George W Bush, vice
president Dick Cheney and defence secretary Donald H
Rumsfeld. The newly found beetles are respectively called:
Agathidium bushi Miller and Wheeler, Agathidium cheneyi
Miller and Wheeler, and Agathidium rumsfeldi Miller and
Wheeler. Naming the beetles after Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld
was intended to pay homage to them, said Wheeler, who
taught at Cornell University for 24 years and now is with
the Natural History Museum in London.
When Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror took over Istanbul in 1453, he
first ordered the construction of a new palace for this new Ottoman
capital, on a site in the district of Beyazit where Istanbul
University stands today. Then he changed his mind and had a number
of buildings constructed on the headland which was an olive grove
to the southeast. It is these buildings that became the Topkapi
Palace. The Topkapi Palace was the home to all the Ottoman sultans
until the reign of Abdulmecid I (1839-1860), a period of nearly
four centuries. The final form of the first palace covered an area
700m², and was enclosed with fortified walls 1400 meters in length.
The walls had a number of gates, namely the Otluk gate, the Demir
gate and the Imperial Gate and a number of minor angled gates
between them. After the reign of Mehmet, the palace grew steadily
to form a city like complex of buildings and annexes, including a
shore palace known as the Topkapi shore palace, as it was situated
near the cannon gate -Topkapi- of the ancient walls of Istanbul.
When the shore palace was burned down in 1863, it lent its name to
the great complex we now know as Topkapi Palace.
The Topkapi Palace continued to be the principal residence for four
centuries until in 1853, Sultan Abdul Mecid I moved into the new
palace of Dolmabahce on the Bosphorus. The old palace was used as
house for the women of the departed sultans and their servants
until the Harem was officially disbanded in 1909. In 1924, Topkapi
Palace was converted to a museum on instructions of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk. The final step was the opening of the Harem to the public
in 1960.
Because Topkapi is the first attraction to tick off on
everyone's list get there when it opens, so get there early.
The Topkapi Palace Museum is open between 9:00 am-5:00 pm everyday
except for Tuesdays. Tickets can be purchased in the gateway to the
Second Court. The tickets cost 12.000.000 TL. (equivalent to about
8 USD or 7 EUR) per person. The treasury section needs a separate
admission fee and costs 10.000.000 TL. There is a discounted fee
for the students. The Harem Section can be visited with a separate
ticket in the ticket office near the Harem entrance. The tours to
Harem are operated every half hour from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. The
tickets cost 15.000.000 TL(11 USD or 9 EUR).
Go straight to the Harem, which can only be seen by guided tour, as
the tours fill up early. After the Harem tour you can stroll around
the palace's grounds and the four courtyards at your leisure.
Also, don't miss the Treasury in the 3rd courtyard which houses
gold, and works of art.
Straight after the Topkapi Palace, head for the Aya Sofia and the
Blue Mosque which are virtually next door.
Mac, our regular contributor writes that “Ribblesdale Goat is a modern vegetarian (I had never heard the vegetarian angle) hard cheese created in 1982 by Iain and Christine Hill. Ribblesdale goat is highly valued for its fresh simple flavor with its suggestion of chicory, almonds, and wild herbs from the misty Yorkshire hills. Ribblesdale Goat won a Bronze Award in the 1996 British Cheese Awards. Although normally a goats cheese it is also available from ewes milk and a smoked cheese . Ribblesdale cheese can be served as a table cheese or for grated toppings. All Ribblesdale Cheeses supplied are handmade and waxed coated giving the cheese a long shelf time of approximately 80 days. Sadly Iain Hill passed away in November 2006 but is succeeded by his niece Iona Hill who maintains the family tradition. Suitable for vegetarians, suitable for freezing…”
Early morning is the best time to visit Javanese temples, Borobudur
included. The gate opens at 6 am, around sunrise. The view of the
surrounding volcanoes and the Bukit Menoreh range to the south is
clearest at dawn, although morning mists sometimes obscure the view
until 8 am. Visitors must walk 500 meters to the base of the hill
then climb a series of steps to reach the temple foot. To see all
the reliefs one must walk more than 2 km (1.25 mile) around the four
galleries and climb several flights of steps. The minimum amount of
time needed at the Site is 1.5 hours.
