Category Archives: archive

Beasts, Beans and Bolsheviks by David Fuller

Under a bridge in a vast city dominated by a powerful empire, lives a giant troll. A short walk from the beast's dark hiding spot stands a statue of a faraway leader where the locals drink a potent brew for stamina. This is not a hobbit town in Middle Earth. This is Fremont, a suburb of Seattle, the self-declared Centre of the Universe.

Since the Centre of the Universe was 'discovered' in 1991, Fremont has become known for a growing collection of public art that all manages to live up to the official motto, De Libertas Quirkas, or Freedom to be Peculiar.

On a cold, grey day in April, a six block walking tour is a great way to exercise the body and mind.  I walked east from the colourful signpost that points to the major attractions, 'LENIN 2 BLKS' in ochre and 'ATLANTIS 663 FATHOMS' in aquamarine.  A block from the sign is a cold-war missile that once adorned the side of a surplus store in nearby Belltown. Now painted with the crest of the Fremont republic, the 'Rocket' is lucky to be there at all. The first attempt to erect the rocket in 1993 failed, allowing the locals to make a joke about the committee not 'being able to get it up'. The rocket was finally installed in time for the 1994 summer solstice and the liberation of Fremont.  

A short walk north from the Rocket, amongst the pink blossoms, next to the 'Taco Del Mar' sign, is a 16 foot bronze sculpture of Vladimir Lenin. Weighing 7 tons, the statue is the only known representation of the Russian leader that shows him surrounded by guns and flames instead of holding a book or waving his hat. Lewis Carpenter, an American working in Slovakia, found the statue lying face down after it was toppled in the revolution of 1989 and mortgaged his house to pay for the shipping back to the US. Carpenter planned to sell the sculpture as the world's most unique garden gnome. The statue is still for sale for $US 150,000.

I was not wearing a long thick coat designed for Russian winter, so I moved on to boost my energy the way the locals do. In 'Still Life', a bohemian coffee shop, artists, writers and students buzzed. The drug of choice for these urban rebels was the same as the Microsoft campus dwellers, caffeine. I was still getting used to the super-brew and even with an asparagus and red pepper omelette on thick brown toast I could feel my eyes jolt open and my pulse speed up.

With the java beans aid I walked up the hill and under the north end of the Aurora Bridge I found the Fremont Troll.  Sculptured in 1990 by four local artists – Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter and Ross Whitehead – who won a Fremont Arts Council competition, the 18ft concrete beast munches on a full size Volkswagen Beetle and leers at visitors with a shiny metal eye. As with much of the community's installations, the Troll is a living exhibit that reflects local feeling. In 1998, when a man shot a bus driver causing the bus to crash off the bridge into the apartment building next to the Troll, a glistening tear appeared under his eye. The creature is also the guest of honour at “Trollaween” every October.

The wind rushed up under the concrete pillars of the bridge and bit deeper and colder than the cement Troll's teeth ever could. The weather also drained the colour of the faces of the five passengers 'Waiting for the Interurban'. The cold aluminium statues looked resigned to their fate, wrapped in the sporting colours of a local winning team. I paid special attention to the face of the dog with a man's face, brought about by a dispute between sculptor Richard Beyer and aluminium recycler Armen Stepanian, the one-time honorary mayor of Fremont.

Trying to rid my bloodstream of caffeine, I walked away from the centre, along the cycle path lining the edge of Lake Union, past the houseboats made famous in Sleepless in Seattle to the decaying metal structures of Gasworks Park. In the shadow of the rusted boilers covered in bright swirls of graffiti I looked back at the Seattle skyline as the Fremont drawbridge tooted, cutting the republic off completely from the city, just the way the locals liked it.

David is trying to combine careers in internet, marketing and travel. Travel Writing and Photography is one of several projects he is currently working on.  Information about other projects can be found at www.dmfreedom.com.  David can be contacted by email at dave@dmfreedom.com

Itchy Feet Events presents African Adventure

Venue: Slug & Lettuce, Fulham Broadway

Date: Wednesday 7th August, 7pm

Price: £4 on the door £2 if pre-booked

Special Guest – Paul Goldstein

Tales from the Bush: An African Journey.  Come and join Paul Goldstein as he recounts tales from the dark continent. After countless visits across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia he has a wealth of knowledge on the area.  As a prize winning photographer (2nd Royal geographical Photographer of the Year 2001/2002) and guide his presentations are illustrated with dazzling images and outrageous and hilarious anecdotes.  He is not a fan of mainstream travel, especially hordes of safari-suited package holidaymakers in zebra striped minivans, nor does he care much for luxury hotels. He gauges countries on their people and wilderness areas, not by the amount of food guzzled at lunch buffets with 'untraditional' local dancing.  Don't say you weren't warned….!

Also representatives from EXODUS, SNOW & ROCK, and other Africa experts.

To book or for more information see www.itchyfeet-uk.com or email info@itchyfeet-uk.com or call Dave on 07900 975 413

A Quiet Corner of Cambodia Uncovered – Kompong Chhnang by Andy Brouwer

Kompong Chhnang isn't a provincial town that has obvious attractions for the tourist hordes visiting Cambodia these days. For most, they catch a glimpse of it as they whiz by on the speedboat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap or for a handful, it's a brief stop on Highway 5 as they take the bumpy route between the capital and Battambang. For me, it was an opportunity to while away some time in a sleepy riverside town and to seek out some ancient temples I'd heard about in the area.

It was standing room only for late arrivals as the Ho Wah Genting air-con bus left the southwest side of Phnom Penh's central market on the dot at 8am. Earlier, I'd eaten breakfast at the Dara Reang Sey hotel and got a moto to the bus stop, paid 4,500 riel for my ticket and luckily grabbed the last empty seat. Highway 5, running alongside the Tonle Sap river, was badly rutted and in poor condition and it took ninety minutes to reach the Prek Kdam ferry where a long line of trucks waited their turn to cross.

Once we'd passed the border marker into Kompong Chhnang province the flooded lowlands disappeared and were replaced by bright green rice fields. An hour away from our destination and we came to a grinding halt. The Khmer woman next to me, on holiday from her home in New York, translated the driver's instruction for everyone to get off the bus as the bridge ahead was broken. A short walk through the throng milling around the scene and across the rickety bridge and we were soon on our way aboard the replacement bus, reaching the centre of Kompong Chhnang, half an hour before mid-day.

I'd been warned that accommodation in town was fairly limited, so I established my bearings and headed for the Victory Monument where I knew that Sokha's guesthouse was close by. Located in a quiet, leafy lane, Sokha was on hand to welcome me, his first tourist for a week and in broken English recalled that he'd heard of some old 'prasats' over the river. My second floor room was a comfortable double with fan, TV and bathroom for $8. I headed back out for a look around and was immediately swamped by children from two nearby schools, who enthusiastically shouted their hello's, a feature which became commonplace throughout my short stay in town.

The heat was already unbearable and dust clouds had left a thick coat of brownish-red on everything in sight. Near the central market I collared a group of card-playing moto drivers but none spoke English, although undeterred, I hired the friendliest to drive me around town. Very quickly I realised Kompong Chhnang was well spread out from one end to the other. A two kilometre causeway joins the larger part of town that straddles the Highway with the bustling waterfront area. In between is shanty stilt housing, a distinctive water-tower and a colourful wat, while the boat dock area was a mess, smelly and busy with food traders and rows upon rows of those clay pots that you see everywhere in town. A few run-down French colonial buildings, including a tired-looking hotel, face out onto the Tonle Sap river.

Exploring both halves of town, we stopped at a couple of wats, one by the river and another, Wat Talmiat, both of which had the usual indoor paintings lining the walls, although a couple of friendly monks at the latter pagoda were determined not to let me go until I'd answered every conceivable question they could make up. I saw the gates of the dormant runway, the largest in the country, which has been earmarked for development but the heat was overwhelming so I took a drinks break at the Mekong restaurant, with its English menu, and watched a kick-boxing match on tv with a small posse of policeman. They told me that a bar run by an expat called the Halfway Pub had closed a few months earlier, but only after I returned to the cafe after a fruitless search!

As I walked back to Sokha's through the tree-lined side streets and past numerous colonial buildings in the administrative quarter of town, I got into a conversation with an off-duty policeman outside the local prison. Chhoun Chom-Roune spoke a smattering of English and jumped at the chance to help me find the Angkorean-era temples over the river the next day, as they were located in his home district and it would enable him to visit his family at the same time. After my initial concerns that finding the temples may prove tricky, a plan was forming and we agreed to meet at 6am the following morning.

After a shower and a snooze, I walked into the pitch-black streets to find a place to eat but the lively Samaki restaurant was housing a private party and everywhere else appeared closed. Traffic was light, shadowy figures passed close by and I struck up a conversation with a male student after he opened up with the popular icebreaker, 'hello, what is your name'. He explained that nothing much happened on Friday nights or any night for that matter and I resigned myself to returning to the Mekong restaurant for supper. The tv was switched on as I arrived and the service was lightning quick for their only customer. Unfortunately, the fried chicken and fries were awful.

I searched for a tikalok stand but without success, although a full moon brightened up the walk back to Sokha's and I was back in my room by 8.30pm. In the morning, Chhoun was half an hour late but it didn't matter as we took a moto to the dock and negotiated with the young boatwomen for one of their craft to ferry us across to the other side of the wide river. At $4 it was an expensive ride but turned out to be a pleasant and enjoyable twenty-five minute voyage across a placid and windless Tonle Sap river and past a handful of floating houses and the regular passenger ferry. Waiting for us at the small dock at Kompong Leaeng was one of Chhoun's brothers, Ne, and before we began our exploration, we stopped for a beef and noodle breakfast at a market stall. Around the corner we paused at Chhoun's family home to meet his parents and get another moto, with Nat, another brother, as driver.

Ne, my driver and the youngest of seven brothers, held up three fingers when I asked him how many ancient temples he knew of in the vicinity. His moto was well-padded with good suspension and despite the sandy track, waterlogged in places, was the most comfortable moto I'd ever ridden. We stopped at the hamlet of Phnom Dar where most of the villagers gathered round to see the foreigner playing football with the youngsters and ninety minutes after arriving on the far bank, we saw our first temple, an eighth century structure.

Prasat Srei is a substantial single brick tower with flying palaces (or representations of the temple in miniature) on the sides, three false doors and damaged lintels. It was located in the grounds of a small school and we shared tea with two young monks and two older laymen before moving on. An hour later, we left our moto in Chunok village and walked along the tops of a series of dykes and open fields, past bemused workers, to another brick temple, in the shade of a large tree. This was Prasat Koh Kralor and whilst less imposing than the first temple, it too had flying palaces, denoting the same period of construction, a broken linga inside and part of a lintel on the ground.

The walk back to the village took about ten minutes, so we rested in the shade of one of the houses where girls were pounding and cooking the poorly graded rice. It tasted pretty foul as did their rice wine but they seemed to find my attempt at pounding the rice amusing enough. A few kilometres along the track, Chhoun acknowledged a shout from a police hut at the entrance to a small village and we pulled over to say hello to one of his police colleagues. Word quickly spread and more of his chums arrived, so we took seats inside the hut and enjoyed a half-hour break from the sun, while Chhoun, his brothers and friends enjoyed more rice wine and a plate of dried fish. If this is an example of the life of a village policeman then where do I apply!

An hour later we searched for our final temple after turning back towards our starting point. We were still fifteen kilometres away from Chhoun's family home when we were directed to a temple a little way across the dry fields. It turned out to be a ten minute walk, along a single sandy path, where we saw some local women and children washing in a muddy pool. They showed us how they dug a hole and waited for it to fill with clear water despite the ground being bone dry on the surface. The two brick towers themselves were in a ruined state and devoid of decoration, with the bricks of a middle third tower scattered at our feet. Two young girls who'd followed us across the fields called the temple Prasat Leaq Pdey. Back on the road, we dissected a wedding party which was taking place under an awning stretched across the sandy track before reaching Chhoun's family home just before 1pm.

Our temple-hunting adventures had lasted more than five hours so I was more than happy to accept Chhoun's invitation to eat lunch with his family and to rest before returning across the river. Their large home on stilts had a wide open veranda where all of us sat in shade, Chhoun and myself, his father Sarun and his mother, seven brothers, two sisters and their children, as well as two friends of his father who were a little disappointed that I spoke no French. A tasty meal of chicken and fish, washed down with rice wine and bottled water and followed by a siesta was just what I needed after the morning's exertions. I was keen to return to Phnom Penh for a birthday party later that evening, so at 3pm Chhoun and I said our goodbyes, I paid his two brothers for their services and we chartered a larger boat to return us to the opposite boat dock, across the river which was as still as a millpond.

As we passed the bus stop near the Victory Monument, I asked the bus driver to wait for five minutes while I collected my bag from Sokha's, which he did. I thanked Chhoun for his help and friendship and gave him a small gift before ending my brief stay in Kompong Chhnang. With the bridge still down, we changed buses again and finally rolled into Phnom Penh's central market at 7pm. The ride was terribly bumpy and that induced one youngster near me to suffer acute travel sickness for the whole trip.

After a quick shower at my hotel, I joined the party at the Wang Dome restaurant in 240 Street celebrating the birthday of a friend, Kulikar, the partner of Nick, Lonely Planet's Cambodia author. The buffet was delicious and far removed from my meal at the Mekong restaurant in Kompong Chhnang the night before and amongst the guests I met a VSO worker from my hometown – a small world indeed. Srun and Reangsey picked me up and delivered me back to my hotel a little before midnight to round off a contrasting but thoroughly enjoyable two days.

For more information on Andy's travels, visit his website which has lots of travelogue stories with pictures. http://www.btinternet.com/~andy.brouwer/index.htm

St Helena – tourism coming!

St Helena is a British Dependent Territory; a tiny island in the Atlantic, midway between Africa and South America.  Around 5,000 people live there, bolstered by 36 births last year.  Some 40% of the population work in the UK, the Falklands or Ascension Island.  About 800 tourists visit the island each year, and the occupancy of the hotels and B&Bs averages around 15%.  At present, the only way to reach St Helena is by the Royal Mail Ship St Helena, and this only arrives six to eight times a year. 

Does all this give you the idea that not a lot happens on St Helena?  Well, you could be right, that is, until recently.  Plans are afoot for a £102 million ($163m) 10 year construction project to build an airport, runway, a five star hotel, golf course, and luxury villas.  St Helena Chief Secretary John Styles is reported to have said: “Access is crucial……St Helena will be an absolutely niche market.  We will attract the wealthy tourist who wants to stay in a superb gold estate on a far flung island, or tourists interested in the environment and history, including the legacy of Napoleon, who spent his last years here.”

How to Learn Another Language Quickly! by Eric Dondero R.

Learning another language is not an easy task. However, there are shortcuts and even a few tricks that can be employed to make the job a little easier. Over the years I have learned over 20 languages. I have also learned survival skills for another 20 or so. I learned my first – second language, the hard way. I have learned all the others using accelerated learning methods, many developed by others, and some by myself.

My own language learning journey started with Spanish. I picked up some survival skills in the language as a sailor in the Navy after port calls in Spain, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Afterwards, when I attended college I took some Spanish courses as electives. This brought me to a basic level. But I desperately wanted to go all the way.

What followed were several years of difficult yet self-determined study. This included: studying the same textbooks over and over, memorizing textbook glossaries, countless hours listening to language tapes in the car, lots of Salsa, Tejano, and Latin Pop music, Mexican radio and television, and most importantly, frequent trips to the border.

Even after 6 to 8 years of study, I had only reached the advanced level. Finally, I headed to Mexico for 3 months to teach English at a well-known college in Tampico. This extended period of total immersion in a Spanish-speaking environment pushed me over the top to full fluency. Reaching the top and becoming totally fluent was a tremendous achievement. It felt truly wonderful. I would encourage anyone to follow the same path. But the amount of effort and time I invested for fluency in Spanish was enormous.

I did not learn my other languages in the same manner. Before I ventured into learning other languages I invested some time reading books on language learning methods, accelerated learning, advanced study techniques, and brain development. For my next language – Italian – I cut the language learning time in half. For French and Portuguese I cut the time it took me to learn Italian by half. Since then, I've been able to learn other major world languages to a medium level of fluency in about a year.

So, what are the tricks?

Build Your Vocabulary – There is a core group of about 50 to 100 essential words in any language that should be mastered right away. These words include prepositions, question words, a few adjectives, and some selected nouns. Learn these words and many other words can be understood eventually through context.

Memorize Vocabulary Words – Word lists should be memorized and then reviewed many times over. Saying the new words out loud, rather than just reading them silently, helps greatly. Word association, imagining an equivalent word in your native language, can also be helpful. Flash cards might seem a little low tech but they are quite effective tools for this. Even Post-it Notes placed on household items with the vocabulary word listed can help. To gain maximum retention the vocabulary list should be reviewed daily for a week or two and then again weekly for at least 4 to 5 weeks.

Always Read Aloud! – Don't just read new phrases and vocabulary silently to yourself. Read aloud. Studies show that this helps you retain new vocabulary at a much faster rate, plus it helps with pronunciation.

Don't get Bogged Down by Grammar – Let's be honest. Grammar is a dry subject. It can be an absolute incentive killer. So, just start out with a brief overview of prepositions, definite and indefinite articles, singulars and plurals, adjectives, and most importantly, pronouns. Put off learning conjugation for verb tenses for later on. Just learn enough grammar at the start to get you by. If you make mistakes no big deal. Native speakers can understand what you are saying 90% of the time through context.

Study Phrase Books – Always carry a phrase book with you for the targeted language you are learning. Study it at every opportunity including standing in line at a grocery store, waiting on a train or bus, over your morning cup of coffee, or while relaxing in the yard.

Immersion – Look for every opportunity imaginable to use your languages skills. The best way of course, is to physically go to the actual country where your target language is spoken. I cannot stress enough how critical an element this is. Even if it's for a very short time. Look for any excuse to travel to the country where your targeted language is spoken. The next best thing is to visit an area in your city or town where the language is spoken. Hang out at cafes, libraries, malls, bars, and other locations and engage foreign language speakers with simple conversation. Make friends with native speakers. Invite them over for dinner or a few drinks. Tell them that you want them to speak to you only in their native language. Date a native speaker. The absolute best way to immerse yourself quickly is to find a boyfriend or girlfriend who speaks the native language you are trying to learn.

Watch Television and Movies for Your Targeted Language – These days television stations are available in a whole range of languages over satellite and on cable. Watch them for an hour or two every day and try to pick out familiar words and phrases. Additionally, try to mimic the tone and accent of the speakers. Go to the local video store and rent movies for your targeted language. Have a 2-hour review session of vocabulary before you watch the movie. It's even better to watch them more than once.

Listen to Music for Your Targeted Language – Give your native music a rest for a short while and experiment with some music from the country of your targeted language. Many of the national bookstore and CD chains now have excellent World Music sections. Listen to stations and programs on radio for your targeted language. You can tune in to some of these stations on-line.

Listen to Language Tapes! – Purchase some language learning tapes and listen to them as often as possible. First read the accompanying booklet to get a feel for the vocabulary and grammar. Then, listen to the tapes while relaxing at home, while driving to work, on a Walkman when jogging or while working out, and even while in the shower. Be a maniac with the tapes. Don't just listen to the tapes in your easy chair or in your car once a day. Listen to them around the clock. You need to listen to the tapes about 15 or 20 times before they really start to sink in.

Take Computer Language Courses – Whether on-line or a software program, computer language courses provide good visualization for learning vocabulary words.

Immerse yourself in the language learning experience and you will learn much more quickly.

Eric Dondero is a Certified Language Instructor and Interpreter in Houston, Texas. He speaks over 20 languages. He is the author of “Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book.” Further language learning tips, a Free Quick Spanish Lesson and a Crash Course in Chinese are available at his web site at www.portsidelanguages

Travel Tips

If you have a mobile phone that works overseas, it's not a bad idea to take it, even if you have no intention of using it for phone calls. In case of emergencies, you can use it to send SMS text messages.

Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them to: the Beetle

Volunteer Work in Africa

The International HUMANA People to People movement is currently running over 150 humanitarian projects in Africa, Asia & Central America, working in fields such as: basic health care, pre-school and primary school education, child care, vocational training, teacher training, environment and community development, AIDS, etc. So far, more than 6000 Development Instructors (our word for volunteer) have participated in starting up and running these projects.

For the successful continuation of our work we are always looking for people, who would like to participate in the program.

The program is open to everybody, regardless of educational background, experiences and nationality. Minimum age is 18 years. It consists of 3 periods – training & preparation period in one of our Travelling Folk High Schools, the working period in a Humana project, a follow up period (evaluation & information work in Europe / USA). Through out the whole program, the Development Instructors are part of an international team.

TCE (Total Control of the Epidemic) is a Humana People to People award winning program to fight AIDS in Southern Africa. In its conception it is based on the experiences of more than 20 years of development work in and with the communities of the region.

HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa is out of control. 26 million people in this area are HIV positive, 10 million children have already lost one or both parents to AIDS. A situation that can only be managed in a great act of international solidarity. In Botswana between 35 and 40 percent of people in the sexually active age group are infected, the highest rate in the world today. TCE (TCM) has been adopted by the government of the country to fight against the epidemic. The results so far are promising, and more and more countries in the region have become interested.

On the subject of costs, we rely on contributions from the volunteers – for food, accommodation, etc. during the preparation period. Visas, flights and vaccinations are paid half by Humana, half by the participants. Scholarship programs are available. Whilst in Africa, Humana pays food, accommodation and pocket money.

We need volunteers, people with good will, hearts, souls and a lot of energy to take part in the fight against AIDS in Africa. If you think you can help, please contact Henner Rödiger on henner@volunteerwork.org or call on 0045 24 42 41 32.

Hotmail to charge!

As all travellers know, accessing home e-mails from a free service such as Yahoo or Hotmail is fantastically useful, especially for those long trips away.

From 16 July, Hotmail will end the free service that makes it possible to check e-mail accounts held with net service providers via its website. There are apparently around 110 million Hotmail users who before now have managed all their e-mail accounts via the site. Earlier this year, Hotmail rivals Yahoo and Lycos introduced charges for similar services. Anyone wanting to check other accounts, so called POP mail, will have to sign up for the MSN Extra Storage service which, in the UK, costs £19.95 per year. In addition to getting access to the POP mail service, those signing up for Extra Storage get 10 megabytes of space that lets them get and send larger attachments and ensures that their account stays live even if they stop using it for 30 days. Many net experts see the charging of fees for once free services as an inevitable part of the web's development.

Many companies with websites are looking for new ways to offset the cost of running their net business now that revenue from advertising is harder to come by and investor funds are scarce.

Anyone wanting to still use a free POP mail service can find a comprehensive list at emailaddresses.com.

Aung San Suu Kyi freed

Burma's military government has released the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in Rangoon for the past 20 months. A government spokesman told the Reuters news agency she was “at liberty to carry out all activities, including her party's” from Monday 6th May.

Aung San Suu Kyi has not had an easy time in her native country, Burma. She is the daughter of assassinated independence hero Aung San, and was held under house arrest from 1989 to 1995. She was placed back under house arrest in 2000 when she tried to travel by train to Mandalay in defiance of restrictions put on her. As a result of this, and Burma's human rights record, Burma has faced international isolation and economic sanctions. Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma to nurse her dying mother in 1988 and in 1990 her party was elected to power, but this was ignored by the ruling army. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. She was not allowed to return to Oxford, England, where her husband, an Oxford don was dying of prostrate cancer as she knew that she would not be allowed to re-enter the country.

If anyone would like to read more about Burma and what has been happening, the Beetle recommends reading a fantastic book by a Burmese writer called Pascal Khoo Thwe, From the Land of Green Ghosts – A Burmese Odyssey, published by Harper Collins. It is an amazing read – see www.fireandwater.com for details.

London Pass

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Angkor Afloat By David Fuller

Sunrise. A paw-paw coloured ball makes the sky smoky mauve and the tiny clouds burnt pink. The land and sea are the same temperature. There is no wind. The water is still. This is a place of two skies, the modest orange sun and its paint box sky reflected in the floodwaters of Tonle Sap Lake. The birds are hardly awake, but at the water's edge there is a frenzy.

Most of the tourists here at this time have only one motive, to run the gauntlet of locals selling everything from egg baguettes to anti land mine t-shirts and climb onto the roof of a floating aeroplane fuselage without wings that will blast them across the lake and down the river to Phnom Penh. As they are shepherded past the merchants in their chequered krama they might get the idea that this part of Siem Reap is different from the Angkor temples they have clambered over for the last few days. As the boat engines roar to leave the floating village in its wake, a few photos of an upturned boat in a bamboo dry dock or a saffron robed monk under a black umbrella in a canoe are rattled off.

Thirty minutes south of Siem Reap and Angkor is Tonle Sap Lake. The lake provides not only an antidote to temple fatigue; it also gives extra insight for travellers into the strength and tradition of the Khmer empire. The Tonle Sap monsoon cycles had particular significance within the religion of the ancient Khmer. New Year is celebrated in the spring equinox. In March when the sun rises over Angkor's central tower, the flows begin to fill the Tonle Sap, bringing rich fishing harvests that supported the Khmer. The ancient Bayon and Angkor temples depict in exquisite bas-relief how the life along the lake affected all walks of life.

To ensure access to the lake no matter where the shoreline is, the houses of the fishermen, who depend on the waters for their livelihood, are designed to float on the lake's surface. Chong Khneas provides an excellent opportunity to experience the way these lakeside dwellers live. The village is home to 200 Khmer families, 250 Vietnamese families and another 200 who are Muslim. In the still morning, the call to prayer sounds over loudspeakers scattering dozing cormorants.

Everything floats. Students tie their canoes to the rail alongside the floating school. The campaign headquarters for the local politicians, the barber's shop, the gambling dens and boat builders float. The floating barge markets sell local delicacies like Elephant fish, which has developed the ability to last for several hours out of water, in case the fast receding waters leave it stranded in the mud. The boats hang a sample of their wares on a pole to indicate what they are selling.

For US$ 10 you can get on a boat to putter through the impromptu gaps between houses. The boat moves slowly, a bit too fast to take decent photos, but it feels right to see a floating village this way. You can make up your own mind about getting off the boat at the tourist fish farm to see specially bred catfish, as well as a collared gibbon a caged porcupine and a python around a smiling girl's neck. A few sick looking pelicans are chained in the sun for visitors to photograph here too.

Some of the village can be explored on foot via thin roads that are inches above the waterline so ask your motorbike or car driver to give you some time to walk around. While you are strolling, drop in at the Gecko Environment Centre for further information about the environment, people and culture of the Tonle Sap.

In the wet season the village lies at the base of the only hill for miles, Phenom Krom. Shooting across Tonle Sap on an express boat, the hill is the only landmark above the water level as far as the eye can see, so a climb provides great views back towards Siem Reap and Angkor and over the vast lake. Three weathered ninth century towers dedicated to the Hindu deities, Shiva Vishnu and Shiva await you at the top of your 140-metre climb. From here, as the practicing monks chant their prayers, you understand the ancient relationship between the stone towers of Angkor to the north and the life giving Tonle Sap.

David is trying to combine careers in internet, marketing and travel. Travel Writing and Photography is one of several projects he is currently working on. Information about other projects can be found at www.dmfreedom.com . David can be contacted by email at dave@dmfreedom.com

Contemplating The Eternal Flames On Mount Olympus

by Anja Heij / AeonGlobe.com

Twenty mountains on planet Earth bear the name Olympus, being the dwelling of the gods. On Mount Olympus burns the eternal fire of creation and this sign of a bond between the gods and the humans is kept alive and still spread around as the flame on the Olympic Games. In the region Lycia in Turkey we find a remarkable natural phenomenon: a high mountain from which small fires spring to 1 to 3 feet high. This phenomenon has been recorded for at least 4000 years. One can extinguish the small fires, but the natural gas inside the mountain will light them again in minutes. Although the mountain now goes by the Turkish name Tahtali Dag, in older days it formed part of the Greek civilization, was non-surprisingly called Mount Olympus, and in the neighbourhood one can visit the ruins of the ancient city of Olympus (founded around 300 BC). I believe this is the real Mount Olympus the chronicles speak of.

Final Reflections on Mikindani, Tanzania by Ian Smith

Ian, a former teacher, has worked on the Mikindani project, in Tanzania, for nearly two years and was responsible for the transformation of the Education section of Trade Aid. The legacy he leaves behind is one of sound training and education structures as well as a vision for the future conservation of the Mikindani area and its natural resources. Ian was responsible for creating the enormously successful Mikindani Tree Nursery, which, in conjunction with the local primary schools, is helping to halt the massive soil erosion problems in the area, through education and replanting. The Beetle met Ian and shared a few beers when she was last in Mikindani and can vouch for the terrific job that he and the other volunteers are doing in Mikindani.

Well about a year after I intended to leave, I'm finally going to escape the grip of Mikindani. What a place and what a project. The one thing I've found here is that you exist on two levels, high as a kite, exhilarated by the place and some small achievement that has been made or deflated and worn down by the frustrations of living and working here. There is rarely a happy medium, which is annoying as that is the state that the majority of the people in Mikindani seem to be able to achieve. I have stayed this long for a number of reasons. The people at the Boma and in Mikindani are almost to a man and woman friendly and welcoming, though I would not pretend to be closely integrated into the village even after 20 months. Language aside, the cultural and economic gap is massive and I would suggest insurmountable. Mikindani has a lovely ambience and is visually quite stunning. However to the casual observer it may appear more like a malarial infested swamp, its people living in mud huts, dressed in rags with cholera a recurring problem. You have to look beyond that though.

The project and the work have been a constant source of frustration though I think many worthwhile projects have been initiated and are now producing results. The renovation of the Boma is an awesome achievement and we must continue to spread the word of its existence to a wider audience both in Tanzania and beyond. The new volunteers have been fantastic company, have managed to keep themselves more or less healthy and achieved a great deal for Trade Aid and the Boma. Our returned volunteers Len and Alex continue to provide a vital input both on the ground in Mikindani and in the UK. It's proof of the fact that this place and project does change lives. We now have a rolling three-year plan that provides some direction for Trade Aid and should keep the volunteers gainfully employed. A couple of pet projects of mine have taken off. I'm proud of the Information Room and delighted that the tree nursery will continue to run next year and hopefully for years to come. In addition, many of the staff have developed beyond all recognition learning new skills in computers, English or other vocational activities. Developments on the hotel management side also bode well for the future.

I have also had the opportunity to travel in one of my favourite parts of the world, spending plenty of time bird watching, game viewing (which on a good day surpasses anything else the World has to offer) and generally being a natural history anorak. I've met so many great people, friendly, interesting and good company. Even the less savoury characters that occasionally pass through here have on reflection provided me with an endless source of amusement.

And finally I have had the company of the canine duo, Chagga and Diablo. Everyone says they're mad, but what I've come to realise is that you have to be mad to live here for an extended period. It's Catch 22; they are in fact superbly adapted to have a long and happy life in Mikindani. I'm sure some time in the future, I'll come back and share a small piece of that life with them.

Thanks to Sherie at Trade Aid. For more information on the work carried out by Trade Aid in Tanzania, see their website www.mikindani.com

Mutual Aid

Mike is still looking for his missing friend. My missing friend is called Bob Arthrell and he is sailing a 40 ft. yacht named Tasneem. Four months ago he was at Nuku Hiva island in the Marquesas, and looking for crew to help him sail to Fanning (Tabuaeran) island which is a tiny part of the republic of Kiribati in the pacific ocean. If you can help Mike, please contact him by email.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Travel in Southern Africa

If you are thinking about travelling to Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola or remote parts in South Africa and Mozambique, it may be worth looking at your itinerary and possibly re-routing. The World Food Programme (WFP) recently warned at a Johannesburg conference that 12.8 million people are on the brink of starvation in southern Africa and urgently need food aid.

Crops have failed across the region due to drought, floods and political breakdown. Hundreds have already died in Malawi but Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho are also badly hit. The whole Southern African region needs 1.2 million tonnes in emergency aid and about 4 million tonnes to make it through the year, according to the WFP and the UN's food agency.

More Funny Signs

Hotel brochure, Italy:

THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE.

Hotel lobby, Bucharest:

THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT TIME WE REGRET THAT YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE.

Hotel elevator, Paris:

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK.

Hotel, Yugoslavia:

THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan:

YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to the Beetle! E-mail the Beetle.

New Incan Site Found

A team of explorers acting on a tip from a mule-handler have discovered the ruins of a lost city, Cota Coca, some 50 kilometres southwest of Machu Picchu in the Andes. Cota Coca is likely one of the places to which fleeing Incas retreated from the Spanish in 1532, before their total defeat about 40 years later. The team believe that the site has remained untouched for more than 500 years. British writer and explorer Hugh Thomson said the site, more of a settlement than what we would understand as a city, was in a “remarkable state of preservation”.

Mr Thomson, a co-leader of the expedition, said: “You're only going to find a new Inca site once in your life.”

Britain's Royal Geographical Society says Cota Coca's “constructed area” is more than twice as large as any found at the other Incan ruin whose discovery was announced just a few months ago. “This is an important discovery, because it is a sizeable centre of good — quality late — Inca masonry,” said John Hemming, a well — known Inca expert and former director of the Royal Geographical Society.

Use Euros in Cuba!

Over half of Cuba's 2 million visitors come from Europe, so it perhaps makes sense that tourists visiting Cuba's biggest tourist beach resort, Varadero, some 3 hours east of Havana can now use the European currency, the euro. Of course, you are still welcome to pay for good and services in US $ or Cuban pesos. News reports say that even small Cuban children have started to ask for euros!

MEETING NEWS

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Buddha's Teeth

You may have read recently about one of Buddha's fingers being brought from Thailand to Taipei in Taiwan. This got the Beetle wondering about other parts of Buddha and where you can see them. It is possible to see the casket containing the left incisor of the Buddha in the sacred temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The Beetle queued up for some time to walk past this sacred relic — it was certainly an experience! It seems that there are three of Buddha's teeth in existence: one in Sri Lanka, one in China and one in Thailand.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka celebrate “Buddha Tooth Festival” which begins on 1st of August every year and lasts for twelve days. Every night during the festival, grand parades can be seen starting from 8:00pm until 11:00pm. The Chinese tooth was found by a monk in 475AD and hidden in what is today Nanking, in China. In times of war, it was taken to Beijing and placed in a stupa. In 1900 when Beijing was invaded, the stupa was destroyed, and monks found the tooth in the rubble. In 1964, the stupa was rebuilt and the tooth placed in the pagoda of Beijing. The third tooth is alleged to have passed into Tibet and transferred to India during the Cultural Revolution before its final resting place in Thailand.