For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.
We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of Mac reminiscences about some of his travels in 1992. Here we have thoughts and experiences on Malaysia, India, Komodo Dragons and Singapore.
Kula Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysian children are singing in the church across the street from my four star, oops, excuse me, I mean four dollar hotel. It is sweltering hot and they are singing: “Dashing through the snow in a one horse open shay.”
When I stepped outside my Hotel Shelly in Bombay one night (it is along the water front) I heard on a microphone “Humpty Dumpty. Number eight.” They were playing Bingo and calling number in English manner, I guess, outside the pier of a membership recreation club. An Indian gentleman came up to me in a chilled beer bar and complained to me that his son worked for American Express and they were taking advantage of him and having him work more than eight hours a day. I told him I would speak to them about that. Ha! I later saw Indians picketing American Express for unfair labour practices. The other side of the coin is, according to the Americans that the Indians do not work as hard as the Americans and that they are used to goofing off in Indian firms and expect to do the same in American firms. I am trying to stay neutral. I can’t solve all the worlds problems!
25 Nov 1991, Singapore: a cable car with wonderful views of Singapore takes you to Sentosa Island. The wax museum (I like wax museums, I learn my history there) shows the founding of Singapore and about the War years and is well worth the $1.80 US it costs. It is called Pioneers of Singapore/Surrender Chambers. It always intrigues me, the foreigners living in Singapore were dancing the night away in formal clothes at the Raffles Hotel and then in a few hours, they were prisoners of the Japanese. They had not expected the Japanese to attack down the Malaysian peninsula but rather from the sea and certainly not that fast if they did.
I just found out that if in Malaysia I had told them I was a Senior citizen I could have travelled at half price on the train. The Singapore Senior Citizen rate at their zoo, however, is for Singaporeans only. I tried to look Singaporean, but strangely, it didn’t work. They charge $7 U.S. I am used to zoos being free but it is a good zoo.
Komodo dragons: the largest is about the size of a crocodile and can eat a horse. They thought they were extinct and then they found some on an Indonesian island, Komodo, hence their name. Left over from past ages. I also saw Meerkats which are like mongooses and they all got to see me.
Sign in subway in Singapore: No Durians allowed. Durian is a fruit that is delicious tasting but has a terrible smell to it. Many hotels and places will not allow you to bring in Durian (they smell like farts) or as a British Colonial descried Durian “Like eating a garlic custard while standing over a London sewer.” I gave some stuff to Catholic Church in Kula Lumpur and the priest and his students took me out to eat Durian. One girl said her grandmother was addicted to it. Announcements on subway in Singapore (and they have a beautiful one) were in four different languages (all saying No Durian I guess).
An Iranian seaman sat next to me on bus from Singapore to Kula Lumpur, Malaysia. He was eating almonds he had brought from Iran. He said he had been in twenty countries, but not the United States, as they would not let him in. He said that the Revolution was bad, everyone is unemployed. There had been so many Iranians at Ueno train station in Tokyo, Japan, each morning when I was there. They would congregate there hoping to get a day job from Japanese looking for cheap labour for the day. It was odd. I am American and they were Iranians, but they approached me to go site seeing with as if we were old friends. He was a marine engineer (the guy on the bus). Oddly enough, I met a marine engineer (three different ones) on three different tour buses in different places. You think of seamen spending their time in bars but all three I met were avid sightseers.
While waiting for a bus in Singapore, I met an American school teacher that joined an International Pen Pal Club just to have contacts while travelling. He was amazed to find the pen pal he had in Indonesia lived in a beautiful eight room house that had a waterfall in the house. At pen pal places he says he usually pays a nominal amount as he stays for long periods. He paid $85 a month at one place on East Coast of Malaysia. It was a place he had fallen in love with. Name is something like Khoutan. One of the pen pals he visited was in Brunei. He had never heard of it before (not all school teachers are smart!) It is oil rich. He says that some wealthy Brunei will charter a whole public bus just for himself and the people that were going to take that public bus are just out of luck with no advance notice. Today I guess it would be internet pals.
If you would like to contact Mac, he is happy to answer e-mails: macsan400@yahoo.com
Country Statistics
| Rank | Country Name |
Internet Users as % of Total Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 53.23% |
| 2 | Norway | 52.40% |
| 3 | Iceland | 51.82% |
| 4 | Sweden | 50.70% |
| 5 | Finland | 43.86% |
| 6 | Denmark | 42.97% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 42.55% |
| 8 | Canada | 42.03% |
| 9 | Singapore | 40.46% |
| 10 | Australia | 40.14% |
Source:
On Saturday May 9th Wayne Stevenson Thomas from the International Cooperative Exchange Network, SERVAS gave a talk at the Texas branch of the Globetrotters Club. SERVAS was established in 1948 and is an international network of hosts and travellers building peace by providing opportunities for personal contact between people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Through mutually arranged individual visits, hosts and travellers share their lives, interests and concerns about social issues. These encounters help form the building blocks of peace in the spirit of mutual service and respect.
See their website:http://www.usservas.org/
Dates of future meetings:
For more information about the Texas Branch: please contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates at our website (click here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482
If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
Director of Ryanair.com Conal Henry announced proudly: ‘Ryanair is the ONLY airline that provides access to all European Grand Prix destinations – all other airlines are the pits!!’ According to them, the best access to Hungarian GP near Budapest on August 15th is via… Graz, Austria, the distance to Hungary JUST 364 km.
What is going on! The passenger traffic statistics for March 2004 confirm Ryanair has carried 204,187 more passengers in UK/Europe than British Airways.
Ryanair on 7 April 2004 released its customer service statistics for March 2004. Ryanair is committed to publishing customer service statistics each month and these confirm that Ryanair is also No.1 for Customer Service.
Just in case you a regular visitor to Brest, in France, Ryanair has decided to discontinue the Brest-London (Stansted) route.
I have been living in Thailand since 1989. I have travelled extensively throughout the Kingdom and wanted to share my wonderful experiences of Thailand with others. I talked with many travellers here in Thailand and saw a need to take visitors away from the normal tourist areas filled with large tour buses and groups. The biggest complaint I heard from visitors is “there is no real Thai culture… it’s staged for the tourists”. This is because they keep following each other around using their guidebooks and never see the real Thailand.
In the course of setting up a travel agency here in Thailand, it took about 2 years of research to find the areas that were safe and could handle visitors. I spoke with village headmen, temple Monks, Hill Tribe villagers, National Park officials and local bird experts. I then had to train staff that would take care of our clients with excellent service and provide correct information about Thai and hill tribe culture, Thai food, Buddhism, birds of Thailand, etc.
I lived in a remote area of north Thailand at Wat Thaton temple in the town of Thaton on the Burmese border for more than 3 years. I taught English to Monks, novices, high school students, the Thai Army, local and tourist police. I also did hill tribe programs by taking a small number of tourists to hill tribe villages to spend the evening. All the money for the trek went to the villagers. I bought clothes for the children, medicines and blankets for the families. I paid the villagers to build a bamboo schoolhouse and paid a teacher to teach Thai at the school who could speak their language. I taught them how to dispose of waste properly, keep the children and village clean and to use spoons instead of their fingers when eating which was a big source of their health problems. I provided vegetable seeds and logan and lychee fruit trees for planting.
This was fine until I left the temple then the school stopped and the health problems returned. I talked with the Abbot of the temple and he now has a school for the children at the temple. He has a nurse looking after the children and takes those to the clinics that have problems.
While I was there I help start a guest home where travellers could stay in a Lisu hill tribe village and go trekking in the jungle and visit primitive hill tribe villages in the area. This was not easy, as the villages we visited didn't want visitors as they wanted to maintain their lifestyle and culture. They have seen other villages that accepted tourists turned into a village without harmony and their culture was gone forever. These villagers were farmers and didn't want to look at tourism as a source of income.
I understood the problem as I have seen what a tour operator can do to a village. To most tour operators in Thailand money is first and they don't care about the hill tribe people or their way of life.
I stayed in these villages and met with the village headmen many times. I learned about their culture, way of life, religion, and do's and don'ts. We then came up with a plan that worked out well for the villagers and our clients.
For the Jungle portion of the trek I had to teach the guides to use different trails so it could grow back. They make a hut out of bamboo and banana leaves for sleeping and I taught them not to clear-cut and not to return to an area for at least two months. No more hunting of birds or wild animals.
Without the local culture we would not be able to give our clients the experience they are looking for. We also encourage our clients in helping the local people we visit.
Next month, Randy talks about the difference between tourism and eco-tourism, and provides us with some guidelines about the kind of questions we should be asking ourselves when visiting Thailand or going on any kind of eco-trip.
Randy who was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1948 has lived in Texas for more than 20 years and in Thailand since 1989 can be contacted by e-mail on: allthai@all-thailand-exp.com. For more information on trips to Thailand, see: http://www.all-thailand-exp.com
Answers to the Flags Quiz
 Burma |
 Canada |
 Denmark |
 Gibraltar |
 Japan |
What is it:Schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia (bill-HAR-zi-a), is a disease caused by parasitic worms. They currently infect over 200m people each year, and the number of people infected increases.
Where am I most likely to catch Bilharzia? Africa: Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Lake Malawi, the Nile River valley in Egypt, Latin America: Brazil, Suriname, Venezuela, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Caribbean: Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia (risk is low), Middle East: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, Southern China, Southeast Asia: Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, central Indonesia, and the Mekong delta.
How do I get it: by paddling, swimming, washing or drinking fresh water. Fresh water becomes contaminated by Schistosoma eggs when infected people urinate or defecate in the water. The eggs hatch, and if certain types of snails are present in the water, the parasites grow and develop inside the snails. The parasite leaves the snail and enters the water where it can survive for about 48 hours. The schistosoma parasites can penetrate the skin of persons who have contact with the water.
What happens next: within several weeks, worms grow inside the blood vessels of the body and produce eggs. Some of these eggs travel to the bladder or intestines and are passed into the urine or stool.
What are the symptoms: symptoms of schistosomiasis are caused by the body’s reaction to the eggs produced by worms, not by the worms themselves. Within days after becoming infected, you may develop a rash or itchy skin. Fever, chills, cough, and muscle aches can begin within 1-2 months of infection. Most people have no symptoms at this early phase of infection.
How do I cure it: your doctor will ask you to provide stool or urine samples to see if you have the parasite. A blood test has been developed and is available but for accurate results, you must wait 6-8 weeks after your last exposure to contaminated water before the blood sample is taken. Safe and effective drugs are available for the treatment of schistosomiasis. You will be given pills to take for 1-2 days.
How can I prevent getting Bilharzia:
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Meeting news from our branches around the world.
A recent New Zealand study of almost 900 passengers has shown that up to one in 100 long-haul fliers could develop blood clots, and wearing compression stockings, taking aspirin and travelling business class may not help.
The press release says: “New Zealand researchers tested almost 900 passengers who took long-haul flights over a six-week period. The subjects travelled for at least 10 hours and each flew an average of 39 hours. They discovered nine cases, four of pulmonary embolism and five of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which involves the formation of blood clots which can cause death if they invade the lungs or brain.
Seventeen percent of the passengers in the study by the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand wore compression stockings to aid circulation. Thirty-one percent took aspirin to thin the blood and reduce the risk of thrombosis”. The conclusion is that all air travellers are at risk and not just those in economy class. The team carrying out the research even suggested renaming ‘economy class syndrome’ to ‘traveller’s thrombosis.’
During recent court action, victims have blamed cramped aircraft cabins for their blood clots and argued that airlines have known of the risks for years but failed to warn people. A British court recently agreed with the airlines, which claimed that DVT was not an accident under the 1929 Warsaw Convention that governs international air travel.
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Meeting News from London
This month our first speaker was Anthony Lambert, who talked to us about “Railways on the wild side”. Anthony took us on journey around the globe starting in Patagonia. In Peru we saw trains that travel at altitudes where oxygen is carried on board for the passengers. The train across South Africa’s Garden route may not be that wild, but is certainly beautiful, Padmassana was there at Christmas. The Hejaz railway in the Middle East is certainly wild and until a few years ago a bit lawless. Anthony showed us trains of India serving remote tea plantations and probably the wildest of them all in Pakistan up the Khyber Pass.
Our second speaker was Globetrotters own resident Aussie, Jacqui Trotter. This was part two of Jacqui’s year long trip around South America, where she travelled for the most part with a group by overland truck. This time she showed us Argentina, firstly in Buenos Aires, where she visited Eva Peron’s tomb and explored the colourful Boca area, famous as Maradona’s birthplace. She was lucky enough to visit the fabulous Iguaçu Falls from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides, before visiting a very non descript Brasilia. Jacqui showed us Rio de Janeiro, the Sugar Loaf mountain, Christ statue and the Rio carnival where she partied until 3am with the locals. Her journey continued through Brazil and finally into Venezuela from where she flew back to reality and the Globetrotters committee!
Next month, on Saturday 3rd April, John Douglas will be talking on Norway’s Arctic Highway, followed by Karen Neale after the break talking about an artist’s journey through World Heritage cities and a 5 month Churchill scholarship on drawing and painting.
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
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I decided to go on a safari in Africa – not so unusual. However, all of the travel information I was able to dig up in preparation for this life experience talked about the game drives during the day and the typical you’ll see this many giraffes, this many zebra, this many lion, etc. I was not able to find information on what it was like being out there in your tent in the middle of the night. But I went anyway – not knowing. As it turns out that was my favourite part of the trip.
It’s October, we arrive in Tanzania and eventually make it to our camp deep in the Serengeti – Kusini Camp run by Fred and Carol, who are two of the coolest people my husband and I have ever met. We go out for some game viewing which is great fun, as expected. Evening starts to roll around, we have a great dinner, and then relax by the fire. As we are sitting around the fire listening to Fred’s crazy hunting stories we hear a slight noise to our right. As we look over, the Masai tribesman, who is monitoring the perimeter of the camp for wild animals shines a light on the stone bird bath not but 10 feet away. There is an enormous Cape Buffalo drinking from the birdbath. A magnificent sight up so close. This is when I knew that night time was going to be the best.
Shortly after, the Masai tribesman with rifle in hand, escorts my husband and I back to our tent – fully equipped with a small walkie talkie in case of an emergency. As we settle down for sleep we notice the unbelievably unique quiet surrounding us. It’s deafening quiet, however amongst the quiet you can hear the sounds of Africa. I can’t stand it anymore. I jump up, grab the spotlight provided, and start to survey the land around us through the thin mesh windows of the tent that separate us from them. Under the magnificent light of the stars in the black sky I am able to see an elephant slowly moving toward our tent. He arrives in only a minute or two to graze on the grass surrounding our temporary canvas residence. He is loud when he eats and a bit clumsy fooling around in the bush. But graceful and so close I could smell his dank leathery breath. I know he could charge at any minute if I went out and got in his way, but I feel safe inside and am able to watch him from only a few small feet away.
Later, I wake up to what I consider a roar, and it wasn’t my husband! This immediately provokes me to get out the spotlight again. This time I cannot see anything, not even a set of yellow eyes, but I can hear the roar from time to time. You just know he’s there. I set up shop by the opening to my tent waiting for him to emerge. I slept right there on the wooden floor but never saw him. In any case, this was surreal enough.
The next night I could barely wait to head back to the tents. This time I was ready and wanted the entire wild kingdom at my doorstep. While I lay there I could hear a lion again. I think he came back – maybe he liked it there as much as I did. I kept listening until I finally fell asleep. Fred was able to confirm my suspicions in the morning – there were lions in our camp.
We headed on the 4th day to a different camp in the Western part of the Serengeti – Kira Wira camp on the Grumeti River. During the night at Kira Wira I was also able to feel the excitement of being out in the wilderness. Again I awaken halfway into the night. This time to watch a hippo casually stroll by our tent and then head over to my Aunt’s tent nearby. The big fellow sauntered through the bush. I couldn’t believe it – up until this point I had only seen their heads in the water.
In the morning our Kira Wira friend came to wake us up with our usual coffee and tea just at sunrise. As he began to leave our porch he was confronted by a small herd of about 10 Cape Buffalo that came to graze by our tent or try to stay safe from the lion and lioness that may start to get hungry again. We were able to watch these buffalo in the faint morning light. They were only a few feet away looking falsely harmless and eating their breakfast.
Our last night we began our tent ritual by sitting on the bed with all of the tent windows zipped open looking out at the darkness. A large bat landed on the meshy “front door”. As it hung out there we watched its quick tiny movements. All of a sudden a long very furry blob leapt up on the door and grabbed the bat, whisking it away into the night. It all happened so fast we are still not sure what kind of 3 foot Civet or Janet it was that had been lurking nearby but it was an amazing close to our last eerie evening.
While the game drives were awe-inspiring across Tanzania, as I am sure they are all over Africa, I have to say that by far the most exciting part of the trip was not knowing what kind of visitor I would have each night and how close they would venture to mingle with this crazy New Yorker.
Kusini Camp info:
P.O. Box 427, Arusha, Tanzania
tel: +255 27 2502143
fax: +255 27 2508273
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The March meeting has been cancelled as Laurie, the New York Chair will be away on business in LA. If anyone would like to help Laurie or stand in as Deputy, please e-mail her on: newyork@globetrotters.co.uk
For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.
New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm .
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Having been nothing but impressed with the way the Mikindani Sports Club or ‘Klabu ya Uboreshaji’ (the club’s Swahili name which means improving oneself through sports) was been run, I wanted to reward the club’s members along with others in the village with a day of competitions. Thanks to the efforts of those volunteers with me and several willing helpers on the day, the 26th December brought memories to a vast number of people, both spectators and competitors alike. We held a sports day which included a Bao competition and a football six-a-side taking place on the football ground on Mikindani’s biggest football team.
Bao is a traditional Swahili board game played on a board on which seeds are moved around a series of carved out dishes, the object of the game being to take your opponents seeds achieved by finishing moves adjacent to an opponents seed. Without explaining the ins and outs of the game a skilful play is made through experience, strategic play and being able to think moves ahead of the game which may be compared to chess or draughts. In Mikindani the older generation of males are the most respected group of players so we invited three players from each of the village wards to join up for a knock-out style competition. Proceedings took place under a mango tree and organisation took care of itself as there was a competitive but friendly atmosphere and players were self-affiliating and all joined together, rather enjoying playing along side the best players in the village. As the rounds went by, large crowds were drawn in and the final was quite a spectacle with two players surrounded by a sea of onlookers, both competing for the prize money placed underneath the playing board. The champion was delighted with his title but all players were very humble and delighted with how the competition took place.
While the Bao players ate complementary lunch, final preparations were being made to the football pitches which were small with full sized goals promising lots of scoring and the eight teams (made up from two sides from each of Mikindani’s four football teams) were warming up and stretching off. Matches commenced and those who were not players gathered on the sidelines with large numbers of spectators to watch who was on form and for any nominations for the man of the tournament who would receive some golden football boots! Games were fast and furious as any decent six-a-side should be but again collectiveness and good spirit between teams was evident throughout.
The crowds cheered as we were treated to some dazzling touches and outstanding play from all teams but the final was eventually contended (after both semi-finals going to penalties, the hero goalkeepers held above heads by the rest of the team and a few passionate supporters!) between Cigara F.C and Beach Boys who we were told were the equivalent to ‘Arsenal and Manchester United’; long standing rivals keen to get one up on the other. In a closely fought final Beach Boys won by a single goal and their followers ran on the pitch to congratulate their team just as though they were professional sports men. A presentation ended the day’s proceedings and a team photo of the 2003 winners.
Later that day and the next, several comments from teams and supporters gave their thanks for the day. I was told by some it was ‘the best public holiday ever’, ‘never to be beaten’ and ‘the village was awoken with delight and happiness’. These are exactly the feelings I hoped to bring about and numerous groups in Mikindani were fulfilled, old men, young footballers and families of supporters all had a brilliant day.
For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and their work, please visit their website: www.mikindani.com
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For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.
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U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.
I admire those that speak many languages. I don’t. This reminds me of the guy that spread out the blanket for his girl friend and noticing the wet grass said: “some dew”. She replied “I don’t”.
The Japanese are very polite. You can be murdering their language and they will say: “You speak very good Japanese”. You then know you don’t. The French sneer at me if I don’t get the pronunciation right. I would try out a few words of French and would get the sneer.
In India and the Philippines because there are so many languages their leaders sometimes give their speeches in English. This surprised me but I was told they reach more people that way. In Mexico, I don’t speak much Spanish, but I am a very good guesser. I have a booklet that has pictures in it of different objects and no matter what country I am in when I want something I point to the picture. I am a good pointer.
I envy those that speak French as it sounds so sophisticated to me. My French is limited to: “Come and tie my shoe”, “Mow de lawn”, “Chevrolet coupe”. I was asked to leave France. I met some French people individually on a one to one basis having been introduced by someone and even was invited to a French couples’ home (both were school teachers.) They had a copy of newspaper printed the day after D Day when the Germans were printing the paper and gave me a copy, interpreting it for me. It said such things as The Terrorists (allies) have arrived but they will be pushed back. I had copies made and gave one copy to French embassy here.
While we Americans don’t speak very many languages, at the same time I think American are a friendly lot and are apt to invite foreigners into their homes or help foreigners on the street. I also lived in a French couple’s home right after the War. It is a long story but they were very hospitable to me. This was in Biarritz, France and the townspeople did not like us. We thought Hitler was going to go down to Spain to meet Franco and go thorough a train station in Biarritz. Our airplanes were meant to hit the train station but travelling so fast they bombed a path from the ocean right though the town.
On the other hand when the Germans occupied Biarritz they had the elite of their troops there and the French told us so they were so neat when they went to the beach lining their equipment up nice etc.
Next month, Mac discusses his 1990’s travel trip to Malaysia, Singapore, India, and on komodo dragons .
If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com
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The Texas branch has both good news and bad news. The bad news is the cancellation of the April meeting on the 10th. The good news is the speaker for the May 8 meeting has been confirmed.
The Texas branch meets at the New Braunfels Public Library every second Saturday of the month at 2 p.m. There is no charge for the wonderful meeting room and all a/v equipment is provided. The location is convenient for Globetrotters Club members and all travellers in south central Texas. The room is being used by AARP to help folks do their taxes on April 10. So, no meeting.
We have our room back on May 8, with an exciting presentation: we will be hearing about Servas, a wonderful program for travellers who care about World Peace. If you like to travel and care about World Peace, this is a must attend event. Wayne Thomas will be the speaker. I guarantee you life will be enhanced after meeting him.
So, no meeting in April and an exciting one in May. See you then.
For more information about the Texas Branch: please contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates at our website (click here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482
If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
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Ryanair has carried out its threat to scrap services between London and Brussels’ Charleroi airport, in an escalation of its battle with the European commission over illegal state aid from the Belgian authorities. In its summer schedule, it was revealed that its eight daily flights between the two cities would end on April 29. Ryanair blamed the EC’s ruling this month that the airline’s landing deal at Charleroi was illegal. Rivals say that the route may have been hit by competition from rival airlines and Eurostar.
Ryanair has banned eight passengers for life for compromising passenger and crew safety by smoking on board. The eight people were on different flights, and all cases have been referred to police.
Never let it be said that we are always horrible about Ryanair. Here’s a website where you can see some positive comments about our friend: http://www.ciao.co.uk/ryanair_com__77254 This website allows you to enter your views, pros and cons about using Ryanair. All three of the pros that the Beetle saw when she looked at it were to do with price – it’s cheap, the cons say impractical deals, no meals on board and a slow website.
For the sake of balance, here’s another website where you can record your own Ryanair misery story: Stories include luggage not being on the same flight as the passenger and all the hassle involved in getting some sort of recompense from Ryanair, money taken without confirmation and comments about the way Ryanair operate – little things, like using premium rate telephone numbers if you want to contact them and lack of e-mail address. It’s sober reading.
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If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle 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 8,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotters e-news.
To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with a couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
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Ask me which Pacific island has the most to offer hikers and I’ll probably answer Easter Island. Here on an island 11 km wide and 23 km long you’ll find nearly a thousand ancient Polynesian statues strewn along a powerfully beautiful coastline or littering the slopes of an extinct volcano. Getting there is easy as Easter Island can be included in Oneworld’s round-the-world Explorer airpass, and a fine selection of inexpensive places to stay and eat awaits you.
The legends of Easter Island have been recounted many times. What’s less known is that the island’s assorted wonders are easily accessible on foot from the comfort of the only settlement, Hanga Roa. Before setting out see the sights, however, visit the excellent archaeological museum next to Ahu Tahai on the north side of town (the term “ahu” refers to an ancient stone platform). Aside from the exhibits, the museum has maps which can help you plan your trip.
The first morning after arrival, I suggest
you climb Easter Island’s most spectacular volcano, Rano
Kau, where Orongo, a major archaeological site, sits on the
crater’s rim. But rather than marching straight up the main
road to the crater, look for the unmarked shortcut trail
off a driveway to the right just past the forestry station
south of town. It takes under two hours to cover the six km
from Hanga Roa to Orongo, but bring along a picnic lunch
and make a day of it. (If climbing a 316-meter hill sounds
daunting, you can take a taxi to the summit for around US$6
and easily walk back later in the day.) Once on top, you’ll
find hiking down into the colourful crater presents no
difficulty. It may also look easy to go right around the
crater rim, but only do so if you’re a very experienced
hiker and have a companion along as shear 250-meter cliffs
drop into the sea from the ridge.
Another day, rise early and take a taxi to lovely
Anakena Beach at the end of the paved road on the north
side of the island (you should pay under US$10 for the 20
km). A few of the famous Easter Island statues have been
restored at Anakena and you could go for a swim, although
the main reason you’ve come is the chance to trek back to
Hanga Roa around the road-free northwest corner of the
island. You’ll pass numerous abandoned statues lying
facedown where they fell, and the only living creatures
you’re unlikely to encounter are the small brown hawks
which will watch you intently from perches on nearby rocks.
If you keep moving, you’ll arrive back in town in five or
six hours (but take adequate food, water, and sunscreen).
This is probably the finest coastal walk in the South
Pacific.
Almost as good is the hike along the south coast, although you’re bound to run into other tourists here as a paved highway follows the shore. Begin early and catch a taxi to Rano Raraku, the stone quarry where all of the island’s statues were born. This is easily the island’s most spectacular sight with 397 statues in various stages of completion lying scattered around the crater. And each day large tour groups come to Rano Raraku to sightsee and have lunch. However, if you arrive before 9 am, you’ll have the site to yourself for a few hours. When you see the first tour buses headed your way, hike down to Ahu Tongariki on the coast, where 15 massive statues were re-erected in 1994. From here, just start walking back toward Hanga Roa (20 km) along the south coast. You’ll pass many fallen statues and enjoy some superb scenery. Whenever you get tired, simply go up onto the highway and stick out your thumb and you’ll be back in town in a jiffy.
An outstanding 13-km walk begins at the museum and follows the west coast five km north to Ahu Tepeu. As elsewhere, keep your eyes pealed for banana trees growing out of the barren rocks as these often indicate caves you can explore. Inland from Ahu Tepeu is one of the island’s most photographed sites, Ahu Akivi, with seven statues restored in 1960. From here an interior farm road runs straight back to town (study the maps at the museum carefully, as you’ll go far out of your way if you choose the wrong road here).
A shorter hike takes you up Puna Pau, a smaller crater which provided stone for the red topknots that originally crowned the island’s statues. There’s a great view of Hanga Roa from the three crosses on an adjacent hill and you can easily do it all in half a day. A different walk takes you right around the 3,353- meter airport runway, which crosses the island just south of town. Near the east end of the runway is Ahu Vinapu with perfectly fitted monolithic stonework bearing an uncanny resemblance to similar constructions in Peru.
Easter Island’s moderate climate and scant
vegetation make for easy cross country hiking, and you
won’t find yourself blocked by fences and private property
signs very often. You could also tour the island by
mountain bike, available from several locations at US$10 a
day. If you surf or scuba dive, there are many
opportunities here. A minimum of five days are needed to
see the main sights of Easter Island, and two weeks would
be far better. The variety of things to see and do will
surprise you, and you’ll be blessed with some unforgettable
memories.
David Stanley is the author of Moon Handbooks Tahiti: Including the Cook Islands http://www.southpacific.org/tahiti.html which also contains a full chapter on Easter Island. His online guide to Easter Island may be perused at http://www.southpacific.org/text/finding_easter.html
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The town of Knysna in the western Cape of South Africa lies a scenic 500km east of Cape Town along the Garden Route. There is the option to drive all the way into town, but a far more interesting way is to take the Outeniqua choo-Tjoe train that departs from George. If you are lucky your train will be pulled by a steam engine. Once you have left George’s shanty towns behind the scenery is wonderful, sweeping curves where if you peer out of the window you can see the engine going round the bend ahead. At Sedgefield the line passes over a scenic bridge, under which flows an inlet from the Indian Ocean on your right. The train takes a couple of hours and costs approximately 120 rand.
Knysna itself has much to offer including trips into the surrounding countryside where you can hike, abseil and go mountain biking amongst others. At the waterfront area there are lots of touristy shops and restaurants to while away some time. From a jetty at the waterfront it is well worth taking a trip out to the Knysna Heads. Knysna itself is in a lagoon protected from the ocean by a narrow inlet where the surrounding hills almost meet. The trip out is on one of the worlds most advanced ferries, even though it does have the appearance of a bathtub!
The boat actually has three legs that can be put down on the sea floor so that it is lifted up like an oil platform. This can be used in rescues and also to drop passengers off at places where there is no jetty. The “Heads” are a raging torrent even on a semi calm day, they have claimed hundreds of ships and thousands of lives over the centuries, so much so that if you intend to take a vessel through them you have to inform the shipping insurers Lloyds of London. The boat staff keep up an interesting flow of information as you cruise, not only about their very interesting boat, but also about the nearby nature reserve and about what you are seeing.
After all this activity it is hard to beat a meal at “Bosuns” a pub come restaurant, which does excellent bar and sit down food for around 80 Rand, including a drink.
East of Knysna is the Tsitsikama National Park, which is located right next to the ocean. From the beach you can follow a lovely boardwalk through the forest called the “Mouth Trail”, which eventually comes out at the spectacular Hangbrug suspension bridge, from where you can gaze onto the crashing Indian Ocean waves. On the way back to town you can take in the adrenaline junkies Mecca of the Bloukrans bungy jump, this is currently the world’s highest bungy with a drop of 216 metres, reputed to be the longest seven seconds of your life as you free fall, are there any Globies out there who can confirm this, as this one has no intention of finding out!
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