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.
Background – A member of Globetrotters Club and interested in winning a £1,000 travel award ? Know someone who fits these criteria ? We have up to two £1,000 awards to give out this year for the best independent travel plan, as judged by the club’s Committee.
Next award – Are you inspired with all this talk of travel ? Are you ready for you own adventure ? The deadline to receive applications for the next award is 30 October 2010.
See the recently revamped legacy page on the club’s web site, where you can review previous winners’ trips and/or apply with your plans for a totally independent, travel trip.
If your idea catches our eye we’ll take a closer look at what you’re proposing !!
For the latest updates in the travellers’ world of guides, blogs, articles & chat and a refresh of their web site see & enjoy http://www.travellerspoint.com/
Wanderlust have revamped their web site & their community forum that was gowander … have a look at http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/
In this summer edition I’ve got quite a few things for you to mull over whilst you enjoy Europe and North America’s holiday season…
What has been happening lately across the club & the wider world ?
Ed Stafford & Cho his guide have completed their epic walk along the length of the Amazon river – see http://www.edstafford.org/ for more up to date details
A report on July’s meeting at the London branch
A report on July’s meeting at the Chester branch
What is coming up soon for the club & friends ?
Hot off the press : the London branch meeting programme from September onward is starting to be booked up by the Committee and this is what we have for you thus far:-
September 4th 2010
Julia Massey-Stewart — Photography and travelling
Philip Koniotes — Cycling along the Danube from Germany to Hungary
October 2nd 2010
The club’s AGM at 1.30 then at 2.30
Paul Watkins — Welcome to Arcadia: Travels in good company
Marion Bull — In search of the ‘Dunedin Star’ – Namibian Skeleton Coast wreck
And the September Chester branch meeting programme from September onward is also starting to come together with two lectures in place:-
The Emperor’s River by Liam D’Arcy-Brown who traces the Grand Canal of China – the world’s longest and oldest manmade waterway – from Hangzhou to Beijing
A sailing journey through Europe from Scillies-Scotland-S.Coast-Netherlands&Scandinavia-French Canals-Mallorca by Brian Burnett
Mark Annis, son of long term London member Tony is exhibiting his latest work at the Rubens Gallery, Rosebury Road, London in September…more details can requested for at
London’s last festival of the season, the Thames Festival, will be entertaining many of us along the south side of the river on the 11 & 12 September and as these details show it promises to be as enjoyable as previous years – http://www.thamesfestival.org/
And finally…
We’ve got an article from new author Jeff Houle about an historic indigenous people of Bolivia he recently visited
An update about the club’s travel award and the web site’s legacy page as well – hopefully helping to inspire more applicants !
That’s all for now and keep enjoying the summer & your trips…and then tell us about them J
The end of season meeting for London means its members slide time – this year we enjoyed nine good speakers who took us to a variety of destinations around the world and for a whole host of reasons !
Zara Taylor : The face of Bangladesh. Zara headed out to Bangladesh over Christmas 2009 and was immediately struck how unlike India the country is, despite being nearly landlocked by its larger neighbour. Her tour took her to the national park near Mongia NOT to see any Bengal Tigers, to the alleged longest beach in the world at Cox’s Bazaar and into contact with the hill tribes near Chittagong. Summing up, Zara noted that the rivers of Bangladesh are its commercial lifeblood, its roads, its way of life…
Andrew Redwood : North Korea. Andrew started off talking about his twin drivers in going to North Korea – dread & curiosity ! To the chagrin of independent travellers like Andres, there is no solo travels – all tourism & visits are through strictly licensed companies and guides. As you might expect the country is virulent in its anti US propaganda and the masses & the army are always drilling in preparation… However there are brighter sights – particular aboard the train from Beijing, whereas the constant vigilance eases & time to view is more free flowing.
David Shamesh :Mediterranean cruise. David whistled us around some of the Mediterranean’s more renowned ports of call…Cadiz, Gibraltar, Sardina & Rome being his photographic highlights.
John & Roz Williams : Iceland. Entertaining duo John & Roz showed us some good photos of Iceland in June. Their itinerary treated us to the highlights of Husavik for whale watching, numerous waterfalls, Fumaroles near Myvatn bubbling sulphur laden warm waters and then across to the Western Fjords. You could almost smell the distaste as John described the locally delicacy of fermented shark ! All in all a top talk and where next for John & Roz I wonder…
Sue Baker : Hunting for Erica ! Two years ago in Capetown Sue shared time with her son & a travelling friend enjoying the landscapes & diversity of South Africa – Robben Island, mountain walking, wine tours in the Stellenbosch locality before searching for Erica… Only up in the Cederberg Mountains did the audience understand who/what Erica was…after we’d been spoilt by the Maltese Cross & ancient cave paintings along Sue’s journey.
Picture courtesy of PlantzAfrica.com : Erica plukenetii
Phil Ferguson : Assam & Nagaland. Phil’s travels were again well highlighted – this time he was off in the less well exposed north east Indian states of Assam & Nagaland…
Dan Bachmann : Albania & Kosovo. Dan continues on one of his quests – to visit every country in Europe ! This time it was Albania & Kosovo, as he sought beaches & whether there was any truth in the perception that he was supposedly heading into a land of thieves & murderers. Dan found a more relaxed nation, working through to a modern world of Italian tourists & businessmen, what to do with Enver Hoxha’s bunkers and taking excellent evening sunshine photos.
Liz Cooper :The Galungan Festival in Bali. Knowledgeable travellers Liz headed off to the Galungan Festival, where the many Indonesian peoples thank god for his creations on earth and all its content. As you might expect it was a presentation of colour, noise and fascinating people…
Jacqui Trotter : New York. Our very hardworking committee member Jacqui zipped off to NYC to help celebrate a friend’s birthday and relaxed by spending a whole day walking around Central Park and getting lost, whilst wandering around one of the busiest cities on the planet !!
Details of the London branch’s forthcoming meetings will soon be detailed at https://globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/lon10it.html
The London branch 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, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend. There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh in September. For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 7193 2586, or visit the web site: www.globetrotters.co.uk.
After the break for something completely different, Holidays at Home, Wales and Cumbria by Travel writer David Atkinson. This was a practical advice driven talk, highlighting some insider tips for visiting Wales and Cumbria. David Atkinson was talking about his Guidebook about Cumbria, especially to include children and introduce them to the pleasure of travel.
We all had a good time in the break as well, meeting others again, some had really good tips to go by, e.g. visit Poland for £2 with Easy Jet. We finished the biscuits again and by about 4.30pm we started for home again, a great day !
The next meeting is on the Saturday 18 September at the Grosvenor Museum at the usual time of 1.0pm meeting for a 1.30pm start.
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.
The Ontario branch 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.
For a moment I understood why some would think that aliens had constructed these commanding ancient walls. Not even my site brochure would fit into the mortarless joints that separated the monstrous monoliths, whose journey to their resting place is not easily explained.
I was in Tiwanaku in western Bolivia, 44 kilometers west of La Paz and close to the border with Peru. The city was occupied between 500 and 950 AD before a drought pushed the population out of the region[1]. The residents of what would have been then an imposing city left no written record of their story, leaving the majority of their history to the conjecture of modern archaeologists and science fiction enthusiasts.
The site sits 13,000 feet above sea level in the dry, flesh-colored Andes Mountains[2]. It is believed by archaeologists that Tiwanaku was originally inhabited by up to 30,000 people at its peak, and was sprawled out over 2.6 square kilometers[3]. Although there are other Tiwanaku sites in the area, such as Lukurmata, a ceremonial center, Tiwanaku itself was the most important, serving as a religious and administrative capital of a vast empire that pre-dated the famed Incas[4].
All that now remains for tourists to visit are the walls and foundations of a few buildings, as well as a few standing gateways, on a patch of land that occupies only a small fraction of the original expanse. The most important of these is arguably the cracked Gateway of the Sun, which has become something of an icon in Bolivia. It symbolizes the importance of the culture through images of “Staffed Gods,” anthropomorphic figures bearing staffs that were most likely ritual practitioners, according to archaeologists[5].
Although much of the city has not stood strong against the test of time, what still exists and what is known of what existed is more than enough to stir up questions about the mystery of the place.
Staring up at the walls that dwarf my 5’ 10’’ frame, my first question is: How did the enormous stones get to Tiwanaku? Great feats of strength must explain how the red sandstone blocks, which can weigh up to 130 tons each and were used for the buildings and walls, traveled 10 kilometers from the nearest quarry[6]. It is also difficult to explain how a culture without 18-wheelers could manage the transport of andesite, green stones that were used for the intricate decorative carvings. Each weighed up to 40 tons and was brought to Tiwanaku from the other side of Lake Titicaca, a distance of 90 kilometers over water and another ten over land[7].
Pointing to the remains of what appeared to be ancient canals, my Bolivian tour guide explains the popular theory, which says the blocks were transported by reed rafts on rivers and canals to Tiwanaku after being hauled on logs from their original sites. Small pools of water rest in these canals now, showing that they were once capable of holding liquid, but imagining them as them as the great tools of movement that they once were requires a stretch of my imagination.
Assuming that my tour guide is correct, and that the transportation was indeed possible, the mysteries of Tiwanaku are still far from solved. Once the giant stones arrived, how did the buildings’ architects find a way to stack these blocks with perfect precision? No mortar was used, and nor was it needed, because alone the joints seem perfectly crafted, even to a modern eye.
A creative few have clung to an imaginative theory that claims such achievements could have only been accomplished by technical advancements not known to mankind at the time. These theorists say the precision of the joints and the magnitude of the structure must have been the result of aliens and their extraterrestrial techniques.
One such theorist, Erich von Daniken, included Tiwanaku in his book, “Chariots of the Gods,” which he published in 1968. In it, he claims that many of the famous ancient structures that have fascinated the world for centuries were only possible through the technology given to these cultures by visitors from other planets who were seen as gods[8]. My guide mentioned an angular rock structure on the site, which adherents of the alien theory claim was a launching pad for spacecraft.
Von Daniken also includes the nearby Nazca lines in his theory, as well as Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids[9]. The aliens, he believes, were globally influential.
Another theory came from an early 20th century Austrian astronomer, H.S. Bellamy, who didn’t believe that advanced civilizations could exist at such altitude and posited that the city was a result of the collision of the Earth with one of its former moons[10].
Even the Incas, who discovered Tiwanaku hundreds of years after it had been abandoned, had their own theories to relieve their discomfort with the idea that an advanced culture could have existed before their own. They claimed that the first Incas were created with clay from area by the deity Viracocha, and that the monoliths stand as a solemn reminder of the act[11].
I remain skeptical of the more extreme theories, though I can admit it is easier to explain the mysteries with tales of visitors from space than to imagine all of the blood, sweat, tears and probably lives that went into the construction of this amazing city.
Places like Tiwanaku remind travelers what incredible work mankind is capable of. This is one of the reasons people travel, after all; to see up close what remains of this world’s history so that we might know how we got to where we are and provide insights to where we are going.
I leave Tiwanaku still pondering my questions, but also feeling uniquely privileged to experience such a remarkable, and little understood, period of human history.
*****
Interested in making the trip yourself?
I traveled in November of 2009 and used a local guide named Rene Jaldin Andrade, who was based out of La Paz. If you decide to hire a local guide on your own rather than through a travel agency, it’s always good to make sure he or she is certified by ASOGUIATUR, the local association of tour guides.
How to get there:
Most visitors come for the day from La Paz. For the cheapest travel option, catch a bus outside of the main cemetery (“cementerio” in Spanish). The trip takes between one and one and a half hours and costs less than $2. You can also ride on a tour bus service for about $1.50. Try Transportes Tiwanaku (Tel. 7191-4889). Another option is to hire a taxi from La Paz to take you for a round trip journey. Including wait time, this will cost around $30 – $40, and most hotels can help you find a safe driver. The last option, and perhaps the most popular, is to arrange a tour with a bilingual guide from a travel agency in La Paz. Most travel agencies will offer half day or full day tours. Try Transporte Turistico Bolivia (Tel.
231-6971, http://www.transporteturisticobolivia.com/).
Getting in:
The main site costs $10 and is open from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The onsite museum, Museo Litico Monumental, also costs $10 and is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Where to stay:
Most travelers choose to visit Tiwanaku on a day trip from La Paz, but if you would like to stay the night, there is a small village next to the site. Try the Gran Hotel Tiwanaku (Tel. 289-8548, Bolivar 903), the nicest hotel in town, and at $30 – $40 a night per person, also a good deal. They also have a restaurant.
Footnotes:
[1]“Tiwanaku.” (Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, University of Arkansas and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2007). http://cast.uark.edu/projects/tiwanaku/about.html.
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!
Back in September last year, you may recall us reporting that
Ryanair were proposing to make in-flight entertainment available on
its flights. Passengers were to be charged £5 ($9.48) to access
films, cartoons and tv shows on portable lap top type units.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary who said in September
the units would become “as common as the in-flight
magazine”. These have been on trial since November and are
about to be abandoned. “It was lack of demand. They decided
not to follow it any further,” a Ryanair spokeswoman said.
Ryanair said it had not lost any money on the system, which was on
trial in only five planes before making a significant investment.
The latest money making wheeze is to have in-flight gambling. Watch
this space!
News comes of Ryanair selling
a brand of water called Blue Rock water, which costs £1.85 for a
500 ml. Reports state that this special Ryanair water isn't
from a pure mountain stream or highland spring – it is just
carbonated tap water. To purchase the same water from Thames Water
i.e. turn on the tap costs 0.06p per litre. The only difference
between turning on the tap in any London home and Ryanair's
Blue Rock is that the sparkling version has been carbonated at a
water treatment works in Beckton, East London, before being bottled
and labelled. While the label does not claim to be genuine spring
water, neither does it make it clear that it is tap water. Britvic,
which 'makes' Blue Rock, made exclusively for Ryanair,
claimed the brand was about to be replaced by a new product called
Pennine Spring, sourced from a natural spring in Huddersfield.
Did you know that there are estimated to be around
300 snail farms in former war torn Bosnia? One kilogram of
snails is sold for four around euros (£2.70). France is the
number one export destination, followed by Italy. The aim
is for a snail farmer to produce around 3,000kg of snails
in a year. That means an annual income of around 12,000
euros (£8,100) – around four times the national average
wage. The British chief international envoy to Bosnia, Lord
Ashdown, has made a priority of trying to encourage small
businesses. He set up a so-called “Bulldozer” committee to
smash through the red tape and old-style communist
legislation that hindered the setting up of new companies.
“Small and medium-size firms, like snail farms, represent
the future of this country rather than the old pre-war
industries, which are not coming back,” says Vedran Persic
from Lord Ashdown’s office.
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.
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.
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.