Hello all. This month’s eNewsletter is a little later than normal, as I’m just back from a couple of shortish trips – one to the USA and the other to the Republic of Ireland. It was good to away from my regular habits of working & socialising and remind myself why I enjoy travelling. Trouble is my enthusiasm is fired up again and I’ve now committed myself to another pair of longer adventures, one with Tony Annis to Brazil in July and potentially another to Antarctica. As I know nothing about the latter, any tips or ideas you can send me will be gratefully received and help out my planning !

Anyway on with the eNewsletter – this month we have another varied range of articles sent in from readers, with some of the authors again being first timers. Enjoy reading those… you’ll be inspired to try your own hand to describe a recent journey or to recall a destination or journey that you particulary enjoyed. Feel free to send them to me at theant@globetrotters.co.uk. I do have to apologise to a number of regular writers for not being able to fit their latest articles in… run out of space already for March… Tony, Carole, Mary and Benjamin I will focus on April’s edition for you.

Enjoy your eNewsletter and make the most of the Easter break…

The Ant

Kevin Brackley – Laos – A journey from Luang Nam Tha to Vietianne

The first speaker of February’s meeting was the Globetrotters membership secretary Kevin. Kevin talked about the pilot trip he did last year for the travel company ‘Gecko Travel’. Accompanied by just one other guest and the guide, Kevin described their adventures to some less travelled parts of Laos. Laos’ lack of infrastructure and the fact that it has no beaches means that it is less popular than its neighbours, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Consequently it is less touristy and has the advantage of being cheaper. On arrival Kevin instantly became a millionaire receiving more than 20,000 Laos Kip to his sterling pound ! The group’s entry point into Laos was via the Northern Thailand’s ‘golden triangle’. They flew to Chang Mai and continued to the border at Chiang Khong. Here they waited for visas to cross the Mekong River by boat to Huay Xai. Although Laos is poor, with notably tractor engine vehicles replacing the cars, tuk tuks and motorbikes of Thailand, many of the ideas are progressive. Kevin described their eco lodge accommodation ‘The Boat Landing’ in Luang Nam Tha, with his picture-postcard country cottages located in the peaceful old town.

From here the party trekked in the park, designated a protected area in 2005, to spot the tigers, leopards and elephants that live there. Kevin also described the fascinating chattering noises as the locals call to one another across the valleys. The main crop of the area is rice, which is stored in huts on stilts to prevent the rats getting to the food. Each village has one hut per family and one extra hut that everyone contributes to that is held in reserve in case one family is hit with difficulty. Kevin’s trip then took him south along the pot-holed road to Nong Khiaw. The local Hmong here earn an inventive living by charging vehicles to drive over the holes that they have filled in on the road! By contrast to the bumpy road it was the gentle Ou River that took the three travellers the 70 miles to Luang Prabang. Forty minutes north of Luang Prabang, where the Ou and Mekong Rivers meet are the Pak Ou caves. These caves are on two levels and are full of thousands of Buddha figures. From here Kevin travelled to Wat Xieng Thong where local saffron-robed monks invited him to the sunset half hour chanting. Here the trio left by plane to Vientianne. At the airport Kevin was amused to see the chalked-up departures board and even more amused when each passenger was weighed before departure along with their luggage !

Kevin’s Laos trip ended in Vientanne, the French inspired city that is home to Phat That Luang (Golden Lotus bud) – the national monument to Buddhism that dates from the 16^th century. The monument was destroyed in the 19^th century, by Thai invaders and rebuilt by the French.

Kevin’s final words to us were “go to Laos now and see the happy faces before anything changes”. He also negotiated a 5% discount on any Gecko holiday for fully paid up Globetrotters.

Jonathan Kaplan “Surgeon under Siege” Kuito in Angola’s central highlands

Our second speaker in February was Jonathan, who on many occasions has volunteered to travel to war-torn destinations, working without pay, in trauma medical wards. The trip Jonathan shared with us was in 2001 to Kuito in Angola’s central highlands. This part of the country had seen 27 years of war. Its once elegant Portuguese buildings (the Portuguese left in 1946) shot to pieces and many now just piles of rubble. Kuito and the surrounding area at that time survived on food aid bought in on eight planes a day. Even with this support most of the population were undernourished which Jonathan explains makes healing much slower. And yet Jonathan explains that his work in places such as Kuito has only increased his humility and respect for others who provide vaccination programmes or water sanitisation. The war, that started in 1975, was fuelled by the US supply of arms to Jonas Savimbi. Having failed in the country’s elections twice (1991 and 1998) the war persisted until Jona was killed in 2002.

Jonathan arrived in Kuito by plane that, in order to avoid the ground to air missile, rolled into a nose-dive above the runway, pulling up just before hitting the tarmac. Jonathan noted that other pilots had not been as skilful as he counted the plane wrecks that were scattered around. In Kuito, Jonathan worked for ‘Medicine San Frontiers’, a French organisation, and was there to cover for the incumbent surgeon while he took a holiday. This left Jonathan as the only surgeon for 160 thousand people, many of them wounded by war. However, he was supported by Angolan medical team and ‘Technos Medicin’, Portuguese medical staff, essential to the hospital. Jonathan explained that surrounding the hospital were critical feeding tents where children swollen by water retention caused by lack of protein were treated. Children were also treated in the trauma wards mostly from landmine injuries. He described how children were targeted with shiny objects or sweet placed on top of the landmines. This resulted in fewer soldiers on the battlefields as parents looked after their wounded children. It is estimated that it will take 100 years to clear Angola of these mines. If you would like to learn more about the places Jonathan has worked he has two books published – Contact Wounds and The Dressing Station, both published by Picador.

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 start afresh 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.

For details of the forth coming meetings of the London branch, April to July 2008 – http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/lon08it2.html.

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.

Ontario 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.

Ilulissat…Ilulissat…how could I know what to expect? A warm welcome or a cold, unwelcoming environment? Will I go back to the raw, lush land that held so many surprises?

Ilulissat, town of the Icebergs in Greenlandic. I had never visited Greenland before and all maps had seemed to have “no data” or described it as “unexplored”. I could tell you about my flight up the Kanger fjord, the most productive ice fjord in Greenland, with a loop around what the pilots call “The Matterhorn” and our surprising collection of blueberries from the tundra. And about my perilous climb down the ladder from the moraine and my scramble up onto the icecap, my hair-raising attempt to get a picture of a melt hole where, at only a hundred yards in, the icecap was already 90 feet deep. I’ve searched for musk oxen and consumed reindeer steak (to be a vegetarian is difficult in Greenland). Or the icebergs which reminded me of my own culture – Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, the Sydney Opera House, and Henry Moore’s sculptures).

Picture (Katharine Owen) : Boat on Kanger Fjord	Picture (Katharine Owen) : Sign Post to the World

I could contrast the security of London’s City Airport with the provincial railway station atmosphere of Kangerlussuaq, the airport everyone flies into before taking local planes or helicopters; towns and villages are not linked by road. Everyone knows everyone else, appears to have the same racial heritage – olive skin, black hair, small in stature by northern European standards. Even I quickly made the acquaintance of the map maker for Greenland; it is a huge land mass with a small community. Look at the Dali-esque red and green telephone cabins installed by the Americans in the 1940s and the huge signpost detailing the distance and direction to the North Pole, London, Tokyo and New York. I could describe all these things – but so could anyone else who had been to this part of the world.

Instead, I am going to take you into the home of my newfound friend, a Greenlandic lady, Johanne, I met on the local plane from Kangerlussuaq to Ilulissat. As I boarded, all eyes were on me – I was a foreigner, one who wanted to experience everything this new, desolate yet beautiful landscape had to offer. I asked one of the passengers on which side of the plane I should sit to get the best view of Ilulissat as I approached. Her English was broken but immensely better than my Danish let alone Greenlandic and her face kind, open and smiling. She found my enthusiasm coupled with fear of the unknown amusing. And as the approach was made to her home town, the most beautiful meringue icebergs came into view, floating effortlessly in a deep turquoise, supportive sea. And then Ilulissat came into view – a tiny township – each tiny house brightly painted, perhaps, to make a stance against the stark white and grey landscape.

Johanne asked where I was staying and, embarrassedly, I told her the Hotel Arctic (the poshest hotel in Greenland, owned by Air Greenland and my safety net). Johanne invited me to have tea with her and so, the next day, we sat down to fresh apple pie and cream, only three hours from the North Pole, in her cosy, brightly painted corrugated iron home, which reminded me of my grandfather’s home in North Wales, and exchanged cultures. The language barrier was overcome with her “word book”, Johanne translating into Danish then back into English. She was keen to tell me about the traditional Greenlandic culture, the hunting tradition which she and her husband relied on. He would go far to hunt for seal, every part of which was used for their everyday needs including the feeding of their huskies – nothing is wasted. She showed me proudly her traditional costume which she wears at Christmas, made of sealskin and extensive beadwork, all made by her, as is the intricate lacework in their home. She had mounted an exquisite – but sad to me – sealskin on the lounge wall; unlike the seal who looked up at our helicopter as we flew up the Kanger fjord, this had no eyes.

Picture (Katharine Owen): Inside Greenlandic home; Johanne in traditional dress	Picture (Katharine Owen: Greenlandic homes ; the sled and Huskies have right of way !	Picture (Katharine Owen): One of the many working huskies

Afternoon tea turned into dinner as Johanne’s husband was due to return from his hunting. I was invited to stay for the fish starter (she ate the eyes of the fish – they contain the most protein) and seal wrapped in bacon. My heart beat fast with trepidation as we prepared the seal, which actually has exactly the same taste and texture as liver and bacon. But I am from a different culture, I hardly eat meat, I am brought up to believe that we should protect seals. And yet if I had been brought up in Greenland, would I eat the same diet in order to stay warm? Johanne’s husband told hunting stories over dinner; I enjoyed hearing the unusual “clicks” of the Greenlandic language. Around the dining room was an impressive display of all the cups her husband had won in husky sled races. The hospitality I encountered was second to none. Not only had I been invited into this lady’s home, but I had also been given a tour of the town, shown her many huskies which are working dogs and not to be stroked; taken to meet her daughter-in-law, her nephews and nieces, all of whom offered the same welcome.

Before returning home, we sat together in the afternoon sun, outside the wooden church, overlooking Disko Bugt (Disko Bay) beyond which is Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, watching the icebergs drift by. So long as one is not too close to the sea (a tipping iceberg can cause a tsunami), I can think of nothing closer to heaven. And so I shall be going back to visit my friend, and to join her and the rest of the town in the church service I missed. This experience, combined with the rest of my visit to Greenland, proved to me that friendship can stretch beyond the boundaries of beliefs and traditions.

“We’ve all seen the one cent ultra-cheap fares that Ryanair, Easyjet and and other low cost carriers (LCCs) frequently offer from European hubs. It’s a great way to skip around the EU if you’re flexible and haven’t got a lot of cash; it thus has recently become pretty popular with students and vacationers on a limited budget.”. Full article at http://www.gadling.com/2008/02/26/cage-match-eurostar-versus-easyjet/

British Airways has called for a “root and branch” review of UK airport regulations after charges were allowed to be hiked significantly. The Civil Aviation Authority today published its decisions for price controls for Heathrow and Gatwick for the five years from April 1.

The maximum charges at Heathrow are £12.80 per passenger in 2008/09, an increase of £2.44 on a like-for-like basis, representing a 23.5% rise in real terms from the current (2007/08) price cap, with allowed charges subsequently increasing in each of the following four years by no more than retail price index (RPI) inflation plus 7.5% each year. Full article at… http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1127108.php?mpnlog=1&m_id=_rnT_s~~Av

The first meeting of 2008 was our usual 4 talks given by Members. Neil Harris took us to Bhutan, the land where GNH (Gross National Happiness) is valued higher than GDP. Though at a minimum of US$200 per day Bhutan is not a cheap place to visit. Drak Air is the only way in, so no cheap flights either. Neil showed us Bhutan’s national sport of archery and the spectacular Tiger’s Nest monastery. The Bhutanese wear their national dress because they want to, though Government employees have to. The Bhutanese seem to have a good standard of living compared to other Asian countries, though much of the work is done by Indian labour.

Tony Annis took us to Brazil, where he accompanied Ms Mitterand for part of his journey as she visited the indigenous people including the Ashanika tribe. Tony showed us the Indian villages, which are days away from civilization. Some villages do have a satellite telephone, so that the villagers can report logging raids from over the border, though they have to pay for any other calls. Despite the heat the, Tony’s helper still wore his national costume, which actually weighed over 7kg!

Janice Meek took us back to Asia where her son married his Indian bride in Hyderabad. Before the weeding Janice explored finding sights such as the “Black death Tower” a monument to the plague, though apparently you are not allowed to the top because Janice explained, people use the tower to commit suicide. The wedding itself took place over a number of days, with different ceremonies. This allowed time for Janice to be fitted with her own Sari and to choose appropriate jewellery. The wedding culminating in the happy couple picking a star, which will hopefully help to guide them through their married life.

Our last speaker was Dan Bachmann, who took us Goreme in Turkey’s Cappadoccia region. This fascinating area with its weird chimney shaped rock formations, out of which cave dwellings have been cut. Most have been abandoned, some are collapsing, but Dan was still able to show us the insides of many including caves made into Churches, another hill revealed a complete ghost town. Dan was surprised to find many Korean tourists visiting the area.

As is the custom the January meeting did not end with the last talk, instead Globies enjoyed their New Year’s party, many thanks to those who brought along food and drink and particularly to Jacqui Trotter for spending much of the afternoon in the kitchen.

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

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.

Ontario 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.

After January’s reading January’s edition of the eNewsletter, Eleanor wrote in asking a whole host of travel questions. Can you help with advice, tips and thoughts ?

ï¿Â½ With the dollar being so devalued what suggestions do you [the eNewsletter readers] have to travel to London, Scotland and Ireland ?

ï¿Â½ Where can I find places to stay in these countries that would not break my bank account? Are there home exchanges available and a list of Bed & Breakfast lodgings that are affordable ?

ï¿Â½ Do you have any suggestions on how to get to Altumura, Italy to work at the La Sabranenque Restoration site, which is south of Bari ?

ï¿Â½ Has anyone been to the Amazon ? How did you arrange the trip? By yourself or through a travel agency?

To quote Eleanor “As you can see, I am new to this world of travel, but really want to get started before time runs out !”

Send your information and replies to ehborkowski@adelphia.net

If you enjoy writing, enjoy 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.

To see your story in cyber print, email The Ant, theant@globetrotters.co.uk, with your travel experiences / hints & tips / questions. Your article should be up to 750 words, feature up to 3 or 4 jpeg photos and introduce yourself with a couple of sentences and a contact e-mail address.

“I’m going travelling whether you come with me or not!” Without this ultimatum from my partner I may never have stepped off the career ladder to circumnavigate the globe. In April 2006 my girlfriend and now wife took the plunge and left our comfortable jobs to travel the world for a year. It was the best decision we have probably made in our lives, so good in fact that we came back married.

I had never really written any poetry prior to my travelling but decided it would be a great way to document our trip, so I started writing poems in the first week from our hostel in the heart of Mexico City and I carried on until the last leg of our journey on the Trans-Siberian Express across China and Mongolia to Russia. Any way, we returned to the UK in March 07 and I eventually took the advice of my many travel companions and compiled my book which I self published through a online company (author house)

345 days, 16 countries, 4 continents, 3 hospitals, 2 wedding rings, 1 police station and a day lost forever. From burping Mexicans to BBQ rat in Laos, a leap of faith in Vietnam and an irate nun in Russia, my poems follow the ups and the downs of life of two novice travellers on the backpacker trail. I hope they make you laugh ? Make you ponder ? Make you cringe ? Or make you wonder… anyone would quit a comfortable job to circumnavigate the globe.

Let me take you on a taster trip around the world with some of my observations, the serious and the funny that will inspire you to either book the next flight to somewhere new or convince you to never go on holiday again. So whether you are a globetrotter or a ‘rather-not-er’, read poetry everyday or would rather play on the motorway, just sit back, fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the experience. Will these poems give you rhyming reasons to travel the globe…or not ?

If you like Graham’s poems and what to read more, his recently self published book ‘Around the World in 80 Poems: Rhyming Reasons to Travel the Globe… Not!’ is available from most online book stores or directly from his publishers www.authorhouse.co.uk.

You can find out more about the book by following the link http://www.authorhouse.co.uk

10% of any profits Graham makes will be donated to environmental charities.

Graham can be contacted about his book or any travel related matter at garelton@googlemail.com

“I have just got back from nearly 8 months travelling, having visited Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. I’ve written a little anecdote about the slow boats you take from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang in Laos…

Travelling on a local bus full of chickens in Thailand, journeying the length of Vietnam by train without another Westerner in sight, clinging on to the back of a moto-taxi in Cambodia – all great experiences to be had travelling around South East Asia. However, there is one journey to beat them all hands down – a 2-day slow boat journey in Laos! It’s an epic journey well-discussed by many a backpacker, including myself, who brave the slow boat as a means of getting from North-East Thailand (Chiang Khong) into Laos, and on to its charming former capital of Luang Prabang.

This mother of all journeys begins with an early start to beat the crowds at immigration. After a quick pay-and-stamp at Thai Immigration, everyone jumps onto long-tail boats that race you across the river to Huay Xai, Laos. After 3 attempts at a highly uncomplicated immigration form everyone is herded along to the ‘boarding platform’ (a mud-bank with wooden planks reminiscent of something out of Pirates of the Caribbean).

Now let the games begin. The boat itself is an old wooden number, apparently with a capacity of 75 people. I’m not too sure what Health & Safety would say about the boat ending up with about 110 people on it, but I guess that just makes the trip all the more ‘interesting’. As rumours swirl around about the length of the boat trip, the general consensus was about 7 hours on Day 1; the big question being whether the 2 hour loading process (yes 2 hours!) was part of those 7 hours. It wasn’t. Any images of nice, comfy seats should now be dispelled; the people last onto the boat make do with the floor whilst the early-birds have the perceived luxury of park benches big enough for half a cheek. Over the two days I had the ominous pleasure of both options, and in fact I recommend the floor!

After 7 hours meandering down the mystical Mekong taking in the beautiful scenery, muddy waters, jutting rocks and watching the people of Laos going about their daily business, you arrive in Pak Beng. What can be said about this mid-way stopover? Well I guess it can be summed up by the fact that every guesthouse owner warns you of the local thieves, then they themselves act as unorthodox chemists that offer herbal remedies not available being the counter in a town near you!

Day 2 is much the same as Day 1, with beautiful scenery becoming repetitive, jutting rocks becoming the speed-bumps of the river, and the constant drone of the engine becoming as painful as listening to a McFly record. Another 7 hours of this and the final destination is reached, albeit with a rather numb derriere.

This does indeed sound like the journey from hell, but it’s actually a rather enjoyable experience in a twisted way. The painful journey alongside random people makes conversation a must, and friendships inevitable. Also, there is definitely something about the Mekong, a vital artery that runs the length of SE Asia. Maybe it’s watching all those Vietnamese War films or something, but does have a certain charm. And then there are the blagging rights amongst travellers. Have you survived the Mekong slow boat? No? Well I have…

See Chris’s travel blog at www.travelpod.com/members/c-hampden