This is just a mid-festive season update to let you know I'm well and that nothing of note has really changed since the last one. In other words it's a waste of your time and mine, but then probably only one of us could be on the beach right now, so stop complaining.
We were out again last night, Manly again, which I can't help thinking reminds me of Llandudno.
It is scorching outside, probably the hottest day since I arrived. I've still not gone surfing, which is embarrassing to admit, but the sea is good to swim in and the beach is phenomenal. I think I could be in the throws of mid-conversion to beach bum.
The place is very British, with the typical British 18 - 22 stupidity, which can be both entertaining and a little embarrassing. Someone actually tried to boil an electric kettle by putting it on the hob on Christmas Day, setting the thing on fire. Some people have moved out because the place gets so riotous, but if you book into a Sydney hostel at this time of year you've got to expect that sort of thing.
I'll be at the Harbour on New Year's Eve, watching the fireworks drinking Goon, the local delicacy, a white wine made with fish and eggs (I kid you not, it says so on the bottle). And have a date with a very nice Dutch girl on New Year's Day. Hope you all have a great New Years.
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
The festive season in Collaroy Beach
Life is pretty chilled out right now, even if the weather is pretty warm most of the time (looking out the window, it's overcast right now). The hostel is good, I seem to have made a pretty decent group of friends, and everything seems very easy. My birthday was spent on the beach, playing poker in the evening, before returning to the beach for some late night revellery and surprisingly some rugby. Last night we were out in Manly - the nearest town. We struggled to get everyone into a decent bar as all places asked for ID and a few members of our crowd didn't have any. Sydney is a great city, really stylish and of course with the harbour bridge and opera house as its landmarks. Sorry it's a bit quiet right now, hopefully new chaos will reign soon. Thanks to everyone who has left messages on this blog and to all of you who have continued to read it. Happy Christmas everyone.
Friday, 19 December 2008
G'day Sydney
Have arrived safely in Sydney. Staying near Colleroy Beach, which is a little way outside the city. Have shelled out 170 of your English pounds for a working visa while I'm here so have to make the most of it. It starts tomorrow with labouring for some bloke! Labouring?! Usually the worst physical strain I get from work is from holding the phone between head and shoulder, while typing at the same time. Anyway, how hard can life on an Aussie building site really be? Oh dear.
The hostel is great, really lively, although everyone here seems to be British, which I've nothing against, but a bit of multiculturalism never goes amiss. Anyway will be here for a fortnight at least, taking me past Christmas and New Year (and a certain birthday we'll try to forget about as the average age here seems to be between 18 and 22), to January 2. Then I've got to decide what to do. I think I'll take a three day outward bound type thing - advertised here - before moving to central Sydney and doing some more working before, hopefully, a few days blagging in Queensland and the supposedly lovely Frazer Island.
The hostel is great, really lively, although everyone here seems to be British, which I've nothing against, but a bit of multiculturalism never goes amiss. Anyway will be here for a fortnight at least, taking me past Christmas and New Year (and a certain birthday we'll try to forget about as the average age here seems to be between 18 and 22), to January 2. Then I've got to decide what to do. I think I'll take a three day outward bound type thing - advertised here - before moving to central Sydney and doing some more working before, hopefully, a few days blagging in Queensland and the supposedly lovely Frazer Island.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Leaving Japan, leaving Asia
I'm about to leave Japan, tomorrow morning I'll be in Sydney. It's only just hit me what a culture change this is going to be.
I'm sad to leave Japan, I absoutely love it and could see myself returning. It's a crazy place, in some ways its the most different to the UK, when you'd expect it to be the most western. Looking back, it's been a very diverse few weeks. I've gone from Bladerunner inner city, urban sprawls in Tokyo and Osaka to the peace and beauty of Kyoto and Hiroshima. I've been ambushed by deer in Miyajima and when walking in the mountains near Kobe came face to face with a wild boar, which was unnerving, I scarpered before it had the chance to gore.
The Japanese are so funny, relentlessly polite and helpful. If you are lost they insist on walking to where you're trying to get, rather than just pointing in the general direction, and if they don't know they ask someone else who also walks with you. At one point, in Osaka, there was four of us wondering around trying to find a bus stop. The Manga comic book culture is also strange. They're not just for kids, everyone reads them, to be honest I think they are more prevalent than normal books. Anyway, I've got to leave in about 40 minutes so next time we speak I'll be in the Southern Hemisphere!
I'm sad to leave Japan, I absoutely love it and could see myself returning. It's a crazy place, in some ways its the most different to the UK, when you'd expect it to be the most western. Looking back, it's been a very diverse few weeks. I've gone from Bladerunner inner city, urban sprawls in Tokyo and Osaka to the peace and beauty of Kyoto and Hiroshima. I've been ambushed by deer in Miyajima and when walking in the mountains near Kobe came face to face with a wild boar, which was unnerving, I scarpered before it had the chance to gore.
The Japanese are so funny, relentlessly polite and helpful. If you are lost they insist on walking to where you're trying to get, rather than just pointing in the general direction, and if they don't know they ask someone else who also walks with you. At one point, in Osaka, there was four of us wondering around trying to find a bus stop. The Manga comic book culture is also strange. They're not just for kids, everyone reads them, to be honest I think they are more prevalent than normal books. Anyway, I've got to leave in about 40 minutes so next time we speak I'll be in the Southern Hemisphere!
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Back in Tokyo after four glorious days in Hiroshima - one of which was spent on the nearby island of Miyajima.
Hiroshima is, of course, the site of the world's first atomic bomb, which killed about 140,000 by the end of 1945 - that figure has risen to more than 200,000 due to radiation-related diseases. More than a thousand people continue to die every year.
Hiroshima, remarkably, soon rose from the ashes to become one of Japan's most attractive and tranquil cities. It has also positioned itself at the forefront of the campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons, writing letters of opposition to every country that tests warheads.
The main tourist attraction is a museum dedicated to the dropping of the bomb and the death and devastation it caused. It very successfully enables you to picture what it would have been like to have been in the city, going about your business, that morning. One exhibit was a young child's tricycle and helmet, the metal of both scorched, melted and disfigured. A lot of people I spoke to said they were in tears leaving. It is certainly a depressing experience. If you are interested, according to the museum, the US and Russia still have far and away the most nuclear warheads - just over 5000 each, with Russia about 40 ahead of the US. The UK has about 130, the same as China, while surprisingly the French have more than twice as much. It puts fears that Iran might soon have one, into some kind of perspective.
There is also a memorial hall with the testimonies of survivors. Apparently, immediately after the bomb had gone off, thousands of victims were lying almost dead on the streets begging for drinking water. The people who gave testimonies said they refused them because they had been told they would die if they drank water. However, these bomb victims were so badly injured they were dead by morning anyway, and it was a huge regret for many people that they chose not to ease the suffering of their final hours. Because of this many of the countless statues and memorials in Hiroshima Peace Park are water features.
On a brighter note, Miyajima is stunning. It is a mountainous island, full of temples and deer, with an iconic floating shrine just of the coast. Deer are sacred animals in Japan, and Nara and Miyajima is full of them. However, they are generally bigger and more aggressive in Miyajima than Nara, and I saw several people being aggressively pursued and occassionally chased down the street. I was almost ambushed by the critters at one point, but managed to sidestep the trap and lived to tell the tale. The hostel I stayed at in Hiroshima was also one of the best of the trip, with lots of really fun people from all over the world.
Hiroshima is, of course, the site of the world's first atomic bomb, which killed about 140,000 by the end of 1945 - that figure has risen to more than 200,000 due to radiation-related diseases. More than a thousand people continue to die every year.
Hiroshima, remarkably, soon rose from the ashes to become one of Japan's most attractive and tranquil cities. It has also positioned itself at the forefront of the campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons, writing letters of opposition to every country that tests warheads.
The main tourist attraction is a museum dedicated to the dropping of the bomb and the death and devastation it caused. It very successfully enables you to picture what it would have been like to have been in the city, going about your business, that morning. One exhibit was a young child's tricycle and helmet, the metal of both scorched, melted and disfigured. A lot of people I spoke to said they were in tears leaving. It is certainly a depressing experience. If you are interested, according to the museum, the US and Russia still have far and away the most nuclear warheads - just over 5000 each, with Russia about 40 ahead of the US. The UK has about 130, the same as China, while surprisingly the French have more than twice as much. It puts fears that Iran might soon have one, into some kind of perspective.
There is also a memorial hall with the testimonies of survivors. Apparently, immediately after the bomb had gone off, thousands of victims were lying almost dead on the streets begging for drinking water. The people who gave testimonies said they refused them because they had been told they would die if they drank water. However, these bomb victims were so badly injured they were dead by morning anyway, and it was a huge regret for many people that they chose not to ease the suffering of their final hours. Because of this many of the countless statues and memorials in Hiroshima Peace Park are water features.
On a brighter note, Miyajima is stunning. It is a mountainous island, full of temples and deer, with an iconic floating shrine just of the coast. Deer are sacred animals in Japan, and Nara and Miyajima is full of them. However, they are generally bigger and more aggressive in Miyajima than Nara, and I saw several people being aggressively pursued and occassionally chased down the street. I was almost ambushed by the critters at one point, but managed to sidestep the trap and lived to tell the tale. The hostel I stayed at in Hiroshima was also one of the best of the trip, with lots of really fun people from all over the world.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
It's OK, I'm back
I'm not dead - although I appreciate your concern - I'm just in Kobe. It's similar, but not quite the same. This is my fourth leg of a tour of the Kyoto region of Japan, which started, oddly enough, with Kyoto. Kyoto is a wicked city. It gets a bit of stick in the Lonely Planet but it's got a decent urban sprawl. However, the reason people go is the temples. If you wonder a little bit to the east it's really old style Japan, with shrines, temples, pagodas, little wooden teahouses and cobbled streets. It gets a bit Temple Disney at times with hoardes of Japanese tourists, but generally its peaceful and beautiful. It also has the Shoegun's old gaf, which is really interesting as the former corridors of power in Japan. The floorboards were intentionally creaky so they could hear would-be assassins creeping in.
Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto, for a century around the 700s, but is not as good. It also has more temples than you can shake a stick at but the only real one of note is a beautiful old wooden building. It is the largest wooden building in the world and wouldn't last five minutes in the UK, scallywags would be queuing up to the torch the thing. Thankfully it's in Japan.
Osaka is like a girl (or guy, sorry, don't mean to be sexist) who knows she's not that good looking but also knows how to have a good time. I was out all night last night with a friend I met in China then got the train to Kobe this morning. Not slept yet so off for some kip. Really sorry about the pics situation, they're all on my camera, wish I could load them.
Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto, for a century around the 700s, but is not as good. It also has more temples than you can shake a stick at but the only real one of note is a beautiful old wooden building. It is the largest wooden building in the world and wouldn't last five minutes in the UK, scallywags would be queuing up to the torch the thing. Thankfully it's in Japan.
Osaka is like a girl (or guy, sorry, don't mean to be sexist) who knows she's not that good looking but also knows how to have a good time. I was out all night last night with a friend I met in China then got the train to Kobe this morning. Not slept yet so off for some kip. Really sorry about the pics situation, they're all on my camera, wish I could load them.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Feeling rough, Kyoto tomorrow
Oh my days, I am not in a good state. Grant, if you're wondering, no we are not feeling clever. Was in Roppongi last night, which is basically where muppets who don't really know Tokyo go for a night out to get ripped off. We started by drinking a half bottle of vodka with coke - it was like being school kids again - under a giant spider statue because we could not afford bar prices all night. But this only increased later drunkeness and I spent loads anyway. It's all a bit of a blur but I got in at 9am, was woke up at noon - one hour after I was meant to check out - and generally haven't been the same since.
I am aware the blogs have been a bit rubbish of late, I've been a bit more ponderess in general - exacerbated right now by a monster hangover - and maybe have a touch of travel fatigue. This is odd in itself as, although I miss friends and family, I don't want to go home. Have been starting to snap out of it, but like I say, hangover, etc.
Anyway, thoughts on Tokyo... This is a great city where I definitely would like to live although it's expensive and you appear to have to live in a shoebox-sized flat or the sticks outside.
The people are really cute, unbelieveably fashion-conscious and stylish, and forever falling asleep on the underground, seemingly because they work excessively long hours, but my mate reckons also because they like to go for a few cheeky drinks after work.
Roppongi is the late-night disco area, Shibuya is one of the built up shopping centres (where they filmed famous scenes from Lost in Translation, and Shijuku is, well, another.
I don't really know what else to say, I'll collect my thoughts and get back to you with something altogether a little more coherent.
I am aware the blogs have been a bit rubbish of late, I've been a bit more ponderess in general - exacerbated right now by a monster hangover - and maybe have a touch of travel fatigue. This is odd in itself as, although I miss friends and family, I don't want to go home. Have been starting to snap out of it, but like I say, hangover, etc.
Anyway, thoughts on Tokyo... This is a great city where I definitely would like to live although it's expensive and you appear to have to live in a shoebox-sized flat or the sticks outside.
The people are really cute, unbelieveably fashion-conscious and stylish, and forever falling asleep on the underground, seemingly because they work excessively long hours, but my mate reckons also because they like to go for a few cheeky drinks after work.
Roppongi is the late-night disco area, Shibuya is one of the built up shopping centres (where they filmed famous scenes from Lost in Translation, and Shijuku is, well, another.
I don't really know what else to say, I'll collect my thoughts and get back to you with something altogether a little more coherent.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Tokyo
Tokyo is great, but expensive. My budget plans have taken a battering in recent weeks and Japan has really been the final nail in the coffin. The weak pound has also done for me - not that long ago you would get 250 yen to the pound, now it's down to 144.
I'm spending six days in Asakusa - Tokyo is hugely spread out and appears to be broken down into little communities. Asakusa is quite a family-orientated place, with lots of great temples (after three months in Asia I know a good temple when I see it) and less of the business and shopping craziness of areas like Shibuya. I then plan to take a bus to Kyoto, before going to Osaka, Kobe and maybe Hiroshima, then back up here.
I really like Tokyo and would definitely consider living here but it is pretty clear you need money to do so. I went to see a friend from university last night, he is teaching English to university students. His area of the city is also great and lively, but his entire flat would fit in my livingroom in Edinburgh with space to spare, and yet his rent is the same as my mortgage. But still, it's something to think about (and he gets six months off a year!) I've actually no idea what I'll do when I finish travelling, almost every place I visit I wonder whether I would like to live there, but I'm no closer to an answer.
The hostel is cool, but I'm having to change to another nearby tomorrow as they're booked up. It goes to show how many backpackers there are about, but Tokyo doesn't feel like a backpacker haunt, even less so than Beijing.
I'm sorry about the lack of pictures of late, they're on my camera but I've not been able to download them onto a computer, which may mean my disc has problems. Hopefully I'll be able to sort it soon.
I'm spending six days in Asakusa - Tokyo is hugely spread out and appears to be broken down into little communities. Asakusa is quite a family-orientated place, with lots of great temples (after three months in Asia I know a good temple when I see it) and less of the business and shopping craziness of areas like Shibuya. I then plan to take a bus to Kyoto, before going to Osaka, Kobe and maybe Hiroshima, then back up here.
I really like Tokyo and would definitely consider living here but it is pretty clear you need money to do so. I went to see a friend from university last night, he is teaching English to university students. His area of the city is also great and lively, but his entire flat would fit in my livingroom in Edinburgh with space to spare, and yet his rent is the same as my mortgage. But still, it's something to think about (and he gets six months off a year!) I've actually no idea what I'll do when I finish travelling, almost every place I visit I wonder whether I would like to live there, but I'm no closer to an answer.
The hostel is cool, but I'm having to change to another nearby tomorrow as they're booked up. It goes to show how many backpackers there are about, but Tokyo doesn't feel like a backpacker haunt, even less so than Beijing.
I'm sorry about the lack of pictures of late, they're on my camera but I've not been able to download them onto a computer, which may mean my disc has problems. Hopefully I'll be able to sort it soon.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Beijing at 1am
Strange day today, by travelling standards, arrived in Beijing about 8am and after pansying about was bunkered in hostel by 10ish. Brought very little warm weather gear as my only period of coldness is now and Japan - and doing laundy has meant freezing my **** off in shorts and T-shirt for most of the day. Met great people though, and loads to hook up with in Japan, not to mention tips on South America. I wish I could have spent more time in China, I don't feel like I've got to know it at all. I hope I get chance to do it properly - maybe a month wondering through, then take up an offer to stay in Mongolia, then journey through Russia. Anyway, I'll be in Japan in 18 hours, sake and sushi here we come...
Saturday, 15 November 2008
A boy named Qin and the pottery boys
Well the Terracotta Army was far better than expected, with terrific level of detail on the soldiers. A lot of travellers talk it down, but for me this was a real high point. It's amazing, that some nut-job emporer persuaded people to build 8000 6ft-plus toy soldiers then bury them underground so they would help him rule from behind the grave (he wasn't that nice to them living by all accounts). Qin was quite the boy. He built (not personally obviously) the first Great Wall and, while I can't confirm this and it's a bit of a guess, I think the country is named after him as Qi sounds Chi when spoken by Chinese. He also unified the country if you're interested, which you're probably not, but then why are you still reading? You must be used to this drivel.
The other main attraction about Xi'an, China's former capital and third city, is the Muslim quarter, a great little maze of market stalls and real atmosphere.
This may be my last post from China, so I guess I should make some kind of judgement. One thing that has struck me is how - when travelling by train from city to city - you pass what in the UK would be a hamlet, a small community in the wilderness, but here it is a clutch of high rise flats, a pointer maybe to the massive population.
And I was walking down a Xi'an street today when a few traders started to panic and tried to flee. Suddenly this guy - who looked more of an Army general than police - strode across and started kicking their tables and stock about. If they were doing something illegal, no-one got arrested. It looked like weight being thrown around. I don't know if China already is or will be the new super-power, but I'm not at all convinced they are ready or will be as good as the US, even with all its faults.
The other main attraction about Xi'an, China's former capital and third city, is the Muslim quarter, a great little maze of market stalls and real atmosphere.
This may be my last post from China, so I guess I should make some kind of judgement. One thing that has struck me is how - when travelling by train from city to city - you pass what in the UK would be a hamlet, a small community in the wilderness, but here it is a clutch of high rise flats, a pointer maybe to the massive population.
And I was walking down a Xi'an street today when a few traders started to panic and tried to flee. Suddenly this guy - who looked more of an Army general than police - strode across and started kicking their tables and stock about. If they were doing something illegal, no-one got arrested. It looked like weight being thrown around. I don't know if China already is or will be the new super-power, but I'm not at all convinced they are ready or will be as good as the US, even with all its faults.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
A city, a teashop, a wall and Beijing duck
Woke up today to glorious sunshine, the last two days in Beijing were bitterly cold, so it was a pleasant surprise. I started my time here with a visit to the Forbidden City, a sprawling campus of palaces that was home to the emporers for about 500 years and is so-called because ordinary people were forbidden from entering. The emporer lived there with his emporess and concubines. According to the audio guide it was a hot-pot of scheming, murder, abuse and general high drama. On leaving I met two Chinese girls who blindsided me with Oriental beauty and - like the gullible idiot I am - led me to a Chinese teahouse where I was ripped off, though not too badly. Yesterday was the Great Wall - a stretch north of Beijing called Mutianyu, or something like that. It was great to see, although it's one of these things which is so well filmed and photographed that it holds no surprises. It was a freezing day and misty so the pics, which I promise to add soon, could have been better, but as it's autumn here, the leaves were golden brown and falling so it was particularly scenic. And there was a tobogan ride down, which was a laugh. In the evening I went for Beijing Duck with a friend of a friend who lives out here, and her friends. (Jane you were right) it was brilliant to meet someone local. We drank this horrifically potent clear spirit and by the end of the night I was nicely hammered. Xi'an on an overnight train in a few hours, Terracotta Army, etc. China is harder to navigate than south-east Asia, very few people seem to speak English (except when they want money) and that's in Beijing, but like India it is probably more rewarding for that.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Japanese oddities
I love Japan, apart from the cold and the cost, which is prohibitive, but what I love most is the craziness, such as the Manga comic book culture, that even grown ups read, and the all night internet cafes where you can sleep over. If you get lost and ask someone for directions, rather than point they will insist on walking you to where you are trying to get to, and if they don't know themselves they will ask someone else who will then also walk with you. There was four of us trapsing around trying to find a bus pick up point the other day. Anyway here's some mad stuff...
Geishas. One of my friends back home said she wants to be a Geisha, but to be honest they freak me out. They're like female clowns with the white faces and shoes that they can't wear properly reducing them to walking with a waddle. There were loads of them in Kyoto - and Meikas, Geishas in training - wondering around, surrounded by photographers, staring misty-eyed into the distance as if they were stoned.
They're not as freaky as Nampas though. Young guys who look like boyband rejects, and hang around Osaka city centre, trying to tempt girls into bars where they're on commission. We stood on the bridge, drinking lager and taking the piss out of them. Every other country I've been it's the other way round with bargirls trying to tempt male punters, so I guess this is one for women's equality, though judging by the reactions of the girls on the bridge not one they particularly want.
I almost got into a bit of trouble in Kobe. It's a nice place but I ended up spending four days there which was too long as it's quite quiet. Anyway, one day I went for a walk up the mountains, turned a corner, only to be confronted by a warthog. I've never trusted pigs since reading Animal Farm and Hannibal, and promptly legged it. When I got back and was chatting to the hostel owner he told me they're actually very dangerous, with a tendency to gore, and the city has to employ rangers to keep them under control!
Geishas. One of my friends back home said she wants to be a Geisha, but to be honest they freak me out. They're like female clowns with the white faces and shoes that they can't wear properly reducing them to walking with a waddle. There were loads of them in Kyoto - and Meikas, Geishas in training - wondering around, surrounded by photographers, staring misty-eyed into the distance as if they were stoned.
They're not as freaky as Nampas though. Young guys who look like boyband rejects, and hang around Osaka city centre, trying to tempt girls into bars where they're on commission. We stood on the bridge, drinking lager and taking the piss out of them. Every other country I've been it's the other way round with bargirls trying to tempt male punters, so I guess this is one for women's equality, though judging by the reactions of the girls on the bridge not one they particularly want.
I almost got into a bit of trouble in Kobe. It's a nice place but I ended up spending four days there which was too long as it's quite quiet. Anyway, one day I went for a walk up the mountains, turned a corner, only to be confronted by a warthog. I've never trusted pigs since reading Animal Farm and Hannibal, and promptly legged it. When I got back and was chatting to the hostel owner he told me they're actually very dangerous, with a tendency to gore, and the city has to employ rangers to keep them under control!
Beijing baby
Great journey up to Beijing, never has 24 hours stuck in a train been so much fun. Started with a cat-fight between two mother and daughter combos over a seating mix up. The funny thing was they spoke Mandarin until it got really heated between the daughters then they slipped into English - "F*** your mother, a******!" to be precise. Nice to know we've given this country something. This was followed by chats with an American student, a Hong Kong-Australian family, and a former Mongolian soldier. With beer and food plentiful a good time was had by all.
When I first arrived in Beijing I was a little stuck. My own fault, I had not written down an address and phone no for the hotel, and no-one seemed to know it. Very few people speak English, particularly taxi drivers, but I managed to find an internet cafe, worked out a route and found it myself.
I've stayed in some great hotels, supposedly among the finest in Asia, but this is something else. The Opposite House has just opened. It is 6-star, of Japanese design, and ultra modern. Plus the mini-bar is free, wahey! Sadly the Chinese authorities had the last laugh and when my visa came back, with no warning, they had limited my stay to just eight days. Hopefully my travel agents can bring my flight to Japan forward, and I will spend longer there. But it's a shame, cause I think I really like China. My plan is to cram in the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Xian and its Terracotta Army. I'll miss Shanghai though. And I will add pics soon promise, sorry.
When I first arrived in Beijing I was a little stuck. My own fault, I had not written down an address and phone no for the hotel, and no-one seemed to know it. Very few people speak English, particularly taxi drivers, but I managed to find an internet cafe, worked out a route and found it myself.
I've stayed in some great hotels, supposedly among the finest in Asia, but this is something else. The Opposite House has just opened. It is 6-star, of Japanese design, and ultra modern. Plus the mini-bar is free, wahey! Sadly the Chinese authorities had the last laugh and when my visa came back, with no warning, they had limited my stay to just eight days. Hopefully my travel agents can bring my flight to Japan forward, and I will spend longer there. But it's a shame, cause I think I really like China. My plan is to cram in the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Xian and its Terracotta Army. I'll miss Shanghai though. And I will add pics soon promise, sorry.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Hong Kong
I leave Hong Kong tomorrow. Have had a great time here. I stayed in Kowloon for a few nights and am now in Hong Kong itself. The city is very cool if a little souless, its basically all skyscrapers and shopping. Most of my time has been booked up with travel journalism trips, although a couple of the tours failed to pick me up, but this at least gave me time to explore the city properly. One of the trips was a champagne night cruise of the harbour, which was a press launch, and was funny because everyone on it were just like Hong Kong versions of us lot back home whenever we went on a similar press freebie. They all seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Hong Kong - it's exciting and very happening, but it can also be quite claustraphobic.
The one tour out of Hong Kong really illustrated how the city is expanding. We saw a floating village used by the families of fishermen, who would have been there for generations, but will soon be forced to leave as a gaudy estate of multi-million pound homes - called The Beverly Hills - is being erected nearby and they want somewgere for the people to store their yaughts. All really sad.
Anyway China tomorrow and after one free stay in Beijing it will be a return to good old fashioned backpacking. Looking forward to China. I don't really know what to expect, which is what it's all about. Hopefully I'll still be able to blog as they do have some internet restrictions.
The one tour out of Hong Kong really illustrated how the city is expanding. We saw a floating village used by the families of fishermen, who would have been there for generations, but will soon be forced to leave as a gaudy estate of multi-million pound homes - called The Beverly Hills - is being erected nearby and they want somewgere for the people to store their yaughts. All really sad.
Anyway China tomorrow and after one free stay in Beijing it will be a return to good old fashioned backpacking. Looking forward to China. I don't really know what to expect, which is what it's all about. Hopefully I'll still be able to blog as they do have some internet restrictions.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Halong Bay to Hong Kong
Forrest Gump: "One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath."
Hanoi's just had the worst rain for 35 years, and I copped it. Last time it was that bad was probably when Forrest himself was there. It stayed relatively dry for the trip to Halong Bay though - about three hours from Hanoi - more than a thousand large rocks jutting out the ocean, some with stunning caves inside. Legend has it they were created by a swish of a dragon's tale, which may or may not be true. It was too good to be crap, but the tour company did their best. The guide, rather than knowing the first thing about the islands, caves and their history, spent the whole time pointing out rocks which looked like things (or often didn't). 'Over here is big lion, and there see, little lion.' When he pointed to a rock which he thought looked like a phallic penis - which he called 'manpower' - most of the group disbanded leaving the sleazy little idiot giggling away at his own joke.
My first attempt to get to Hong Kong was a fiasco. Acting on advice from the Chinese Embassy in London and the travel agent in Hanoi I got a bus without a Chinese visa and was promptly sent back from the border by polite but unbudging - even in the face of bribes - Chinese officials. I went back to Hanoi, gave the travel agent merry hell, and got a discounted flight.
As I've said in previous posts, I've got a couple of free hotel stays in Hong Kong. I'm currently in a flash suite with a harbour view. I've had a free massage and they're taking me on champagne cruise along the river, but I'll need to remortgage the flat before I so much as breathe on the minibar. I am to travel writing what Lovejoy was to antiques, a ludicrous chancer with bad hair and worse jokes who spends most his time getting in and out of scrapes. Anyway, I'll add photos next chance I get.
Hanoi's just had the worst rain for 35 years, and I copped it. Last time it was that bad was probably when Forrest himself was there. It stayed relatively dry for the trip to Halong Bay though - about three hours from Hanoi - more than a thousand large rocks jutting out the ocean, some with stunning caves inside. Legend has it they were created by a swish of a dragon's tale, which may or may not be true. It was too good to be crap, but the tour company did their best. The guide, rather than knowing the first thing about the islands, caves and their history, spent the whole time pointing out rocks which looked like things (or often didn't). 'Over here is big lion, and there see, little lion.' When he pointed to a rock which he thought looked like a phallic penis - which he called 'manpower' - most of the group disbanded leaving the sleazy little idiot giggling away at his own joke.
My first attempt to get to Hong Kong was a fiasco. Acting on advice from the Chinese Embassy in London and the travel agent in Hanoi I got a bus without a Chinese visa and was promptly sent back from the border by polite but unbudging - even in the face of bribes - Chinese officials. I went back to Hanoi, gave the travel agent merry hell, and got a discounted flight.
As I've said in previous posts, I've got a couple of free hotel stays in Hong Kong. I'm currently in a flash suite with a harbour view. I've had a free massage and they're taking me on champagne cruise along the river, but I'll need to remortgage the flat before I so much as breathe on the minibar. I am to travel writing what Lovejoy was to antiques, a ludicrous chancer with bad hair and worse jokes who spends most his time getting in and out of scrapes. Anyway, I'll add photos next chance I get.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Hanoi frenzy
I have never known a city like Hanoi. It is not as big as Bangkok or even Saigon, and with an old quarter, a couple of inner-city lakes and Lenin Park, it is quite quaint. But the pace of life is faster than I've ever seen. If you stand still you'll get run over. The city is 90 per cent motorbikes and there are no road rules, they just go whether they see a space, including the pavement. I feel like an old man gone to pick up his grandson from nursery and there are a thousand toddlers running around playing tag - only on motorbikes.
I do like Vietnam but it is possibly my least favourite of the three south-east Asian countries, although I've not had enough time to do it properly. The majority of the people are wonderful but some are slightly harder and more arrogant than in Thailand and Cambodia, sometimes I feel more meal ticket than guest. A girl I met on the way up here from Hoi An said she felt less safe here than in Cambodia.
It would be ridiculously presumptious to guess a reason for this after just a few days, so here I go. I think all three countries have been shaped by recent conflicts, or in Thailand's case the lack of one. Cambodians are more wary and Vietnamese are very confident, with a real style and swagger about them. They believe, rightly or wrongly, that they fought off the US during the war, winning against the world's greatest superpower. I think to a certain extent the war has made them hard and winning has made them very self-possessed, which is generally a good thing, but can be negative. Anyway, I've had to cut my trip to Halong Bay down to one day, the Chinese visa is still up in the air, the embassy in London has been supremely useless, apparently losing the countless documents I've sent them. I think it should be OK, but it has been an incredible pain in the...
Monday, 27 October 2008
Chasing buses, indecent proposals and the rain
I'm now in Hoi An, half way up the Vietnamese coast, and it is pouring down. I got here early after an overnight bus ride and managed to sort a few things out early doors before the rain came. For the last couple of hours I've been stuck in my room watching Die Hard 2! Anyway, Hoi An is a very cute little town. It has more of a Chinese influence than French, in the old town all the buildings are faded yellow, many with lanterns hanging up outside. The Vietnamese, it seems, love to shop and there's no end of stores here - fashion, furnishings, gifts, etc - but I'm trying to save cash.
In Siagon I did the tourist thing - bit of a mission - in one day I went to the market, the fine art gallery, Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum.
The bus journey was almost 24 hours in total - two buses with an hour change in Nha Trang, where I probably would have spent some time if I had more of it before I am due in Hong Kong.
I almost didn't make it that far. South-East Asians love to eat and every bus journey is peppered with seemingly needless lunch, brunch, dinner, afternoon tea, midnight supper, etc, breaks. We stopped for a lunch in a two horse town and the bus took off while I was in the toilet! I came out to see it rounding a corner out of view and had to chase after it (and both my bags) on the back of some guy's bike.
While in the Nha Trang tourist office waiting for the second bus I shared around some biscuits. Most people politely declined but one Vietnamese woman took a handful then told me I could take her to Nha Trang for $10. In truth it wouldn't have been tempting even if she was free and I suggested she pay me $10 and I'd think about it. We all laughed though I'm not sure she understood.
Hopefully the rain will stop as I've got a two day trip to Halong Bay, which looks absolutely stunning, the day after next. Then it's the pretty crucial moment of truth regarding a Chinese visa. Hopefully I'll get to go as my blagging for Hong Kong has gone into overdrive and I have five free nights in top hotels and three tours all booked up. I can go to Hong Kong without a visa but would need to get a flight rather than go by land, which would cost much more, then I would have to sort out another additional flight to Tokyo, eek. I can't load photos at the moment as the CD with the hardware doesn't seem to be working, but as soon as I sort it I'll update the posts.
In Siagon I did the tourist thing - bit of a mission - in one day I went to the market, the fine art gallery, Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum.
The bus journey was almost 24 hours in total - two buses with an hour change in Nha Trang, where I probably would have spent some time if I had more of it before I am due in Hong Kong.
I almost didn't make it that far. South-East Asians love to eat and every bus journey is peppered with seemingly needless lunch, brunch, dinner, afternoon tea, midnight supper, etc, breaks. We stopped for a lunch in a two horse town and the bus took off while I was in the toilet! I came out to see it rounding a corner out of view and had to chase after it (and both my bags) on the back of some guy's bike.
While in the Nha Trang tourist office waiting for the second bus I shared around some biscuits. Most people politely declined but one Vietnamese woman took a handful then told me I could take her to Nha Trang for $10. In truth it wouldn't have been tempting even if she was free and I suggested she pay me $10 and I'd think about it. We all laughed though I'm not sure she understood.
Hopefully the rain will stop as I've got a two day trip to Halong Bay, which looks absolutely stunning, the day after next. Then it's the pretty crucial moment of truth regarding a Chinese visa. Hopefully I'll get to go as my blagging for Hong Kong has gone into overdrive and I have five free nights in top hotels and three tours all booked up. I can go to Hong Kong without a visa but would need to get a flight rather than go by land, which would cost much more, then I would have to sort out another additional flight to Tokyo, eek. I can't load photos at the moment as the CD with the hardware doesn't seem to be working, but as soon as I sort it I'll update the posts.
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Angkor Wat, Cambodia and arriving in Vietnam
Feeling a little under the weather, think it may have something to do with being out every night for a month, so have decided to try and chill this evening. This has coincided with it being a Saturday, but in the life of the hobo weekends are meaningless.
Anyway, here's an update. Angkor Wat was magnificent. I spent a great day meandering around temples, although towards the end it was tiring, there's just so many of the blighters. Angkor Wat itself and the towers of Bayon with the faces of Hindu Gods on them are particularly brilliant. If the killing fields are the part of Cambodia's history it cannot escape, Angkor Wat is the part it can never live up to, but that's a bit churlish. They are justifiably very proud and the name appears on everything from hotels and shops to the national beer. In Thailand everyone warned me about Cambodia, but I found it really nice and while the people are not as outwardly friendly as Thais, they are once you get to know them. The only exception to this (in both countries) are the flaming tuk-tuk drivers who endlessly offer lifts, guns (only Cambodia), marijuana and girls. I just tell them I'll take two of each.
Oh, I met the crazy croupier lady in Siem Reap again. She was much saner this time, apart from when she had a happy pizza, but I managed to persuade her that she should see the Killing Fields rather than come straight to Vietnam with me. It's a pretty low act to use the massacre of two million people to my own advantage, I just don't know what to tell you.
Siem Reap is already very nice if also very touristy. Phnom Penh initially appears to be a bit of a dump, but it has a kind of faded beauty. I don't want to go all Location, Location, Location on you, but the French architecture is really nice, it's scruffy but not at all built up like Bangkok and Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), and just needs a bit of a paint job. With a couple of decades of peace, if it avoids being turned into a concrete jungle it could be stunning. Oddly in both Cambodia and Vietnam women wander around in pyjamas, whatever the time of day. I'll try to stick photos up soon, although I have a nasty suspicion my camera has deleted my Angkor Wat photos, which would be a blow.
Anyway, here's an update. Angkor Wat was magnificent. I spent a great day meandering around temples, although towards the end it was tiring, there's just so many of the blighters. Angkor Wat itself and the towers of Bayon with the faces of Hindu Gods on them are particularly brilliant. If the killing fields are the part of Cambodia's history it cannot escape, Angkor Wat is the part it can never live up to, but that's a bit churlish. They are justifiably very proud and the name appears on everything from hotels and shops to the national beer. In Thailand everyone warned me about Cambodia, but I found it really nice and while the people are not as outwardly friendly as Thais, they are once you get to know them. The only exception to this (in both countries) are the flaming tuk-tuk drivers who endlessly offer lifts, guns (only Cambodia), marijuana and girls. I just tell them I'll take two of each.
Oh, I met the crazy croupier lady in Siem Reap again. She was much saner this time, apart from when she had a happy pizza, but I managed to persuade her that she should see the Killing Fields rather than come straight to Vietnam with me. It's a pretty low act to use the massacre of two million people to my own advantage, I just don't know what to tell you.
Siem Reap is already very nice if also very touristy. Phnom Penh initially appears to be a bit of a dump, but it has a kind of faded beauty. I don't want to go all Location, Location, Location on you, but the French architecture is really nice, it's scruffy but not at all built up like Bangkok and Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), and just needs a bit of a paint job. With a couple of decades of peace, if it avoids being turned into a concrete jungle it could be stunning. Oddly in both Cambodia and Vietnam women wander around in pyjamas, whatever the time of day. I'll try to stick photos up soon, although I have a nasty suspicion my camera has deleted my Angkor Wat photos, which would be a blow.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The Killing Fields
In Cambodia now, and today I visited the Killing Fields of Cheung Ek and Tuol Sleng museum, which was a school that the Khmer Rouge converted into a prison. Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge ruled for almost four years at the end of the 1970s after winning a civil war. The movement was communist despite initially being backed by King Sihanouk, and very Orwellian seeking to ban possessions, education and all kinds of individualism. The killing fields are just outside Phnom Penh. The only way for me to get there was to get a lift by taxi or motorbike and inevitably the person who takes you would have lost friends and relatives during that time. About 2 million people are believed to have died - a quarter of Cambodia's population at the time - although some historians put much of that down to US bombing during the Vietnam war. Either way the killing fields are chilling. There is a large monument in the centre filled with 20 shelves full of human skulls, about 80,000 in all. They are grouped by age and sex. Dotted around the outskirts are hut structures surrounding pits filled with weeds and muddy rainwater, where mass graves had been dug up.
Much of Tuol Sleng is given up to mug shot photos of Khmer Rouge victims, staring back at their captors; emaciated, defiant and terrified. There are also stories from those who survived and relatives of those who didn't. There is a floor of brick cells and a floor of wooden ones, none were big enough for a person to lie flat. Aside from that there are more skulls and the instruments of torture used by the Khmer Rouge.
Generally, I'm in favour of this kind of morbid tourism, such as Ground Zero and the River Kwae Bridge, as they stop people forgetting things that shouldn't be forgotten and honour the dead or people who made huge sacrifices. But I feel sorry for Cambodians and people living in Phnom Penh because they are so reliant on tourism and the tourism is reliant on the killing fields. They are trapped by their own horrific recent history.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Oh my Buddha
Thais have great phrases, both in their language and ours. 'Jop shalop salai' (how it is pronounced, I don't know how it's spelt) means I'll give you a little slap! It's more cheeky than aggressive. They have the famous and nonsensical 'Same, same, but different', which is so popular is appears on T-shirts, and my favourite 'Oh my Buddha', which is great for moments of comic exasperation which, in the nearly 12 hour journey from Koh Phangan to Phuket there were plenty.
On my last full day in Koh Phangan I rented a motorbike and rode around the island. I've never driven a bike before and although it was fairly straightforward I was predictably incompetent, I'd like to think I resembled Steve McQueen in The Great Escape but it was more like Mr Bean Rides Again! We then all went to the full moon party. Yesterday my mind and body were ravaged by this hedonism,but I am now starting to recover. I spent most of the evening with a Fife girl (thousands of miles around the world and I end up with someone from Glenrothes!) she had a boyfriend back home and nothing happened, we just drank and danced and laughed on the beach until about 8am. To be honest it was a good excuse to escape the Cockney croupier couple (previous post) as, after a few drinks, the girl tended to become a couple of chips short of a casino.
I'm now back in the lap of luxury after blagging a couple of nights stay in a posh resort by a glorious beach in Phuket. Unfortunately the prices are so high round here I can't afford to go diving. Still, you win some, you lose some. More pics will follow soon, I promise.
On my last full day in Koh Phangan I rented a motorbike and rode around the island. I've never driven a bike before and although it was fairly straightforward I was predictably incompetent, I'd like to think I resembled Steve McQueen in The Great Escape but it was more like Mr Bean Rides Again! We then all went to the full moon party. Yesterday my mind and body were ravaged by this hedonism,but I am now starting to recover. I spent most of the evening with a Fife girl (thousands of miles around the world and I end up with someone from Glenrothes!) she had a boyfriend back home and nothing happened, we just drank and danced and laughed on the beach until about 8am. To be honest it was a good excuse to escape the Cockney croupier couple (previous post) as, after a few drinks, the girl tended to become a couple of chips short of a casino.
I'm now back in the lap of luxury after blagging a couple of nights stay in a posh resort by a glorious beach in Phuket. Unfortunately the prices are so high round here I can't afford to go diving. Still, you win some, you lose some. More pics will follow soon, I promise.
Monday, 13 October 2008
Koh Phangan and stereotypes
I am now in Koh Phangan, awaiting the full moon party tomorrow night. I have a little hut by the beach and am surrounded by palm trees, it's all pretty idyllic although I'm not naturally a beach person. The journey here was long and arduous. It was 24 hours between leaving Kanchanburi and arriving at the hotel, and that trip included two buses, two taxis, then another bus and finally another taxi. However it was all worth it. Half way down I met a couple of Londoners. former casino workers and an ex-couple who still manage to argue like a couple! He is a bit of a cockney wide boy while she is like a Catherine Tate caricature (she even said 'what a liberty' at one point.) But they are a good laugh and I find one of the things about travelling is its best to take everyone at face value, if you have a certain type of person in mind to hang out with you'll only really meet that kind of person. It's been a period of stereotypes in that regard. In Kanchanaburi I met a classic northerner from Buxton ('Where't water comes from'), and a career traveller in his 50s who had packed in his job a decade ago, he was both very interesting and quite pretentious. I have managed to blag a couple of free nights in Phuket (disappointingly pronounced poo-get) so will head there for diving before going back to Bangkok for a flight to Cambodia. I will update the photos on the blog when I find an internet cafe that can do it.
Friday, 10 October 2008
A bridge over troubled water
Yesterday, a brief stop en route in Bangkok, was a nightmare. After a sleepless night on a bus down from Chiang Mai - the guy next to me had no concept of space boundries - I spent the entire day trudging round in search of the Cambodia Embassy, which had been thoughtlessly moved from a convenient city centre position to miles out. It has been baking hot the last two days, but I now have Cambodia and Vietnam visas sorted and it is full steam ahead.
I am currently in Kanchanaburi, home to the Bridge over the River Kwai (or Kwae according to the Thais, who told them they could name their own rivers, haven't they seen the film). One of my grandfathers was a WW2 POW (not here though) and, without wishing to sound too corny, the whole thing has been very moving. After all I could not do what I am doing were it not for their unbelieveable suffering. As well as the bridge, there is a very informative museum and a very well-preserved cemetery.
In the interests of honesty two things stuck in the craw. Firstly there is a Japanese memorial next to the bridge for Allied troops and everyone else who lost their lives. It was war, but even so one group was largely responsible for the deaths of the others, and many of those deaths could have been avoided though greater humanity. The second is how few Americans died here compared to Brits, Dutch, Australians and other Asians.
Still it's a long time ago and the only time my Taid (Welsh for grandad) spoke to me about his experiences in the war, he was not bitter towards anyone, including the Germans who held him captive. He actually spoke without any pride, sentimentality or bias whatsoever, which was the mark of the man.
I am currently in Kanchanaburi, home to the Bridge over the River Kwai (or Kwae according to the Thais, who told them they could name their own rivers, haven't they seen the film). One of my grandfathers was a WW2 POW (not here though) and, without wishing to sound too corny, the whole thing has been very moving. After all I could not do what I am doing were it not for their unbelieveable suffering. As well as the bridge, there is a very informative museum and a very well-preserved cemetery.
In the interests of honesty two things stuck in the craw. Firstly there is a Japanese memorial next to the bridge for Allied troops and everyone else who lost their lives. It was war, but even so one group was largely responsible for the deaths of the others, and many of those deaths could have been avoided though greater humanity. The second is how few Americans died here compared to Brits, Dutch, Australians and other Asians.
Still it's a long time ago and the only time my Taid (Welsh for grandad) spoke to me about his experiences in the war, he was not bitter towards anyone, including the Germans who held him captive. He actually spoke without any pride, sentimentality or bias whatsoever, which was the mark of the man.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Trekking
I've spent the last three days trekking in rain forest north of Chiang Mai. Most of the time it rained heavily and we got absolutely soaked. The trip started with a visit to a long-necked Karen tribe. There are three types of Karen tribes - red, white and long-necked. The women from the red and white tribes only wear red or white, depending on which tribe they belong to, until they are married. The women in the long-neck Karen tribe wear those fairly iconic rings all the way up their necks, they look pretty heavy but a woman I spoke to said they are not. We then had an elephant ride. This was better than the elephant ride I had in India as we went through rain forest and my elephant a five-year-old mare called Sitri was pretty unruly and refused to do anything her mahut, who looked like a Thai version of Blakey from 'On the buses' - "I'll get you for this Sitri (comic fist shaking)".
We then had a massive climb to about 3000ft, arriving sweaty and exhausted, and stayed the night with a Lahu tribe in a very nice wooden shack. The next day was all trekking and we were hit by the monsoon. The ground below became extremely muddy and at times resembled a dirty waterfall. I didn't have hiking boots as I couldn't justify shelling out for a few days and then carrying them the rest of the trip, and have the natural balancing skills on Bambi on ice at the best of times. For a while I found that light quick steps were the safest way to go, even if I did look like a drunken fairy, but as the rain got harder even this couldn't save me and my backside and the forest floor became close friends. Yesterday, the trek ended with rapids rafting and a ride on a bamboo raft. The group was all Dutch and German, apart from me, and we all got on very well (which I have to say as they may end up reading this, but it is also true).
Just a quick word about an elephant park which I went to immediately before the trek. They basically have performing elephants playing the harmonica, playing football, dancing throwing darts, spinning a hulahoop around their trunks and even painting. It may seem in bad taste, and I know it's impossible to tell for sure, but the elephants seem to enjoy it (there was a lot of showboating going on). Years ago elephants would be used in Thailand for logging and other agricultural work, but not anymore. Without the performances and the rides they may have no use and a sanctuary has already had to be opened for abandoned elephants. They are expensive to keep and the tourist stuff brings in much needed money to poor communities. So, on balance, I think it's a good thing.
Tonight I hope to get a bus to Bangkok to collect a Vietnam visa and then a Cambodia one, then head to Kantanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai, before heading to the islands
We then had a massive climb to about 3000ft, arriving sweaty and exhausted, and stayed the night with a Lahu tribe in a very nice wooden shack. The next day was all trekking and we were hit by the monsoon. The ground below became extremely muddy and at times resembled a dirty waterfall. I didn't have hiking boots as I couldn't justify shelling out for a few days and then carrying them the rest of the trip, and have the natural balancing skills on Bambi on ice at the best of times. For a while I found that light quick steps were the safest way to go, even if I did look like a drunken fairy, but as the rain got harder even this couldn't save me and my backside and the forest floor became close friends. Yesterday, the trek ended with rapids rafting and a ride on a bamboo raft. The group was all Dutch and German, apart from me, and we all got on very well (which I have to say as they may end up reading this, but it is also true).
Just a quick word about an elephant park which I went to immediately before the trek. They basically have performing elephants playing the harmonica, playing football, dancing throwing darts, spinning a hulahoop around their trunks and even painting. It may seem in bad taste, and I know it's impossible to tell for sure, but the elephants seem to enjoy it (there was a lot of showboating going on). Years ago elephants would be used in Thailand for logging and other agricultural work, but not anymore. Without the performances and the rides they may have no use and a sanctuary has already had to be opened for abandoned elephants. They are expensive to keep and the tourist stuff brings in much needed money to poor communities. So, on balance, I think it's a good thing.
Tonight I hope to get a bus to Bangkok to collect a Vietnam visa and then a Cambodia one, then head to Kantanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai, before heading to the islands
Friday, 3 October 2008
Thaksin, the king and royal internet porn
I'm emotionally drained from my life improvement programme (and drinking until 3am with a friend from back home). Funny how its takes going into therapy to make you realise how screwed up you are!
Anyway Chiang Mai is very nice - a bit like Edinburgh to Bangkok's London - and the press trip people have been spoiling me (inbetween ravaging my soul and playing chess with my innermost demons). I've had a tour of their other three partner hotels, a hot oil massage from a very small but freakishly strong and somewhat sadistic woman, and high tea!
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Man City owner, is from Chiang Mai and is still quite popular here. He is generally seen as a bit of a scoundral but reveered as a great intellect. A lot of the Thais up here would like him back as prime minister. However, he is nowhere near as popular as the king. People wear 'I love the king' wrist bands, there are picture of him on every corner. Mention his name to a Thai guy and he suddenly appears like a love-sick teenager... 'We have such a wonnderful king,' he'll say, smiling away to himself. Did you know he invented a kind of fake rain that single-handedly saved Thailand's rice farms. I'm a little sketchy on the details but you understand he is a modern day Da Vinci and apparently a hell of a trumpet player to boot. There are rumours that Thaksin, the old devil, was trying to dilute the king's powers when he was in charge and this - as opposed to the corruption - is pretty much seen as his only fault in Chiang Mai (not in Bangkok, there they hate him). The dark cloud on the horizon is that the prince and rightful heir to the throne is not as popular to say the least, the Thais say he is cruel, a womaniser, and has several illegitimate children in the US and UK. Now I've been told this in confidence so don't tell anyone else but apparently there's naked photos of the prince's latest wife on the internet. Fortunately we don't think the king knows about them, but it's a worry.
Anyway Chiang Mai is very nice - a bit like Edinburgh to Bangkok's London - and the press trip people have been spoiling me (inbetween ravaging my soul and playing chess with my innermost demons). I've had a tour of their other three partner hotels, a hot oil massage from a very small but freakishly strong and somewhat sadistic woman, and high tea!
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Man City owner, is from Chiang Mai and is still quite popular here. He is generally seen as a bit of a scoundral but reveered as a great intellect. A lot of the Thais up here would like him back as prime minister. However, he is nowhere near as popular as the king. People wear 'I love the king' wrist bands, there are picture of him on every corner. Mention his name to a Thai guy and he suddenly appears like a love-sick teenager... 'We have such a wonnderful king,' he'll say, smiling away to himself. Did you know he invented a kind of fake rain that single-handedly saved Thailand's rice farms. I'm a little sketchy on the details but you understand he is a modern day Da Vinci and apparently a hell of a trumpet player to boot. There are rumours that Thaksin, the old devil, was trying to dilute the king's powers when he was in charge and this - as opposed to the corruption - is pretty much seen as his only fault in Chiang Mai (not in Bangkok, there they hate him). The dark cloud on the horizon is that the prince and rightful heir to the throne is not as popular to say the least, the Thais say he is cruel, a womaniser, and has several illegitimate children in the US and UK. Now I've been told this in confidence so don't tell anyone else but apparently there's naked photos of the prince's latest wife on the internet. Fortunately we don't think the king knows about them, but it's a worry.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Ayuthaya and Chiang Mai
Left Bangkok early yesterday and took the train to Ayuthaya, the former capital. It was deserted several centuries ago when the Thais were under constant attacks from those pesky Burmese. A fair-sized modern city has now sprung up supported by the tourists who come to see the array of chedis and wats ruins. From what I can gather chedis are where the ashes of kings and Buddhas are stored and wats are like little temples. Ayuthaya also has one bloody big Buddha, in bronze no less - I'll load some pics soon.
Didn't stay overnight, instead got a night train to Chiang Mai and my four-day 'life improvement' course. So far I have just had to fill in a survey of more than 100 questions ranging from how stressful my work is (not very anymore) to whether I have ever felt like ending it all. Tomorrow the talking therapies begin. I don't mind at all - they don't want much of my time - and I am holed up for four nights in this great complex. I've stayed in very grand hotels in India (only when it's free of course) and although this is not as opulent, its probably nicer - rows of little white villas, a swimming pool, and all my food and booze seemingly on the house. Right now I am in the library, using the free internet, drinking complimentary cognac - it's a hard life.
After four days of ravaging my innermost demons I am going on a three-day trek elephant riding, rafting and meeting the hill tribes of northern Thailand. I had hoped to go with some Danish friends I met in Bangkok, but it would be unfair to ask them to hang around for four days while this crowd crack my soul open like an egg on the frying pan of life.
Finally, just a word on Thais, who I think are phenomenal. But there's a contradiction in that although they are naturally very friendly and hospitable and even when they are trying to scam you they are so good-natured they more resemble a kid stealing your car keys than a serious con-artist, however, 'face' is unbelieveably important to them and they can actually be quite dangerous. I've heard horror stories of extreme violence from Thais if they think they are losing face. It's obviously important to be polite as we're guests in this country, but it can also be very important for your health.
Didn't stay overnight, instead got a night train to Chiang Mai and my four-day 'life improvement' course. So far I have just had to fill in a survey of more than 100 questions ranging from how stressful my work is (not very anymore) to whether I have ever felt like ending it all. Tomorrow the talking therapies begin. I don't mind at all - they don't want much of my time - and I am holed up for four nights in this great complex. I've stayed in very grand hotels in India (only when it's free of course) and although this is not as opulent, its probably nicer - rows of little white villas, a swimming pool, and all my food and booze seemingly on the house. Right now I am in the library, using the free internet, drinking complimentary cognac - it's a hard life.
After four days of ravaging my innermost demons I am going on a three-day trek elephant riding, rafting and meeting the hill tribes of northern Thailand. I had hoped to go with some Danish friends I met in Bangkok, but it would be unfair to ask them to hang around for four days while this crowd crack my soul open like an egg on the frying pan of life.
Finally, just a word on Thais, who I think are phenomenal. But there's a contradiction in that although they are naturally very friendly and hospitable and even when they are trying to scam you they are so good-natured they more resemble a kid stealing your car keys than a serious con-artist, however, 'face' is unbelieveably important to them and they can actually be quite dangerous. I've heard horror stories of extreme violence from Thais if they think they are losing face. It's obviously important to be polite as we're guests in this country, but it can also be very important for your health.
Saturday, 27 September 2008
update
Had a more chilled 12 hours after a crazy 24 hours - lot of food for thought, which I'm going to share with you as blogs are supposed to be warts and all. Publish and be damned, etc.
First of all the wonderful Thai/Chinese girl either stood me up or there was a miscommunication, for vanity's sake I'm going for the latter (it's possible her English was poor, my Thai obviously non-existant, and she volunteered her no rather than being asked for it), but truthfully I think it's the other.
So last night went drinking with a sound guy from Bristol. He's been here a while and was far more adept at spotting ladyboys than me - until now I've only really spotted the bad drag queens the truth, as he explained, is they are more prevalent and often better disguised.. the truth is fightening. He also thinks, and I have no reason to doubt him, that about 80% of girls in Khao Sarn Road are prostitutes. We then both met girls and I was paranoid - how do you ask 'By the way, are you on the game?'. Anyway - I wish I could put restrictions on who reads this - she wasn't, neither was she or ever had been part-Norris, part-Doris - however, she was crazy, and I don't have her number nor would I want it. It also occurs to me that even Thai girls who are not prostitutes might latch onto Western guys as a means to a better life, and you can be in danger of being no better than the old Western men who wonder around with Thai women half their age, it's not something I really want to dwell on as I think it's a grey area with no easy answers, but as I say, it has occured to me.
Also, the US, tattoo'd, tut-tut scam afficionado (previous post), now thinks we're best friends and is leaching on, trying to get me to buy, or help scam, him drinks... so I'm hiding from a Yank guy and a crazy Thai girl and trying to get some normality back into my life.
Which brings us to today. In the hope of avoiding said fiends, I walked all the way to the nearest train station to book my ticket for Chang Mai - apparently it's a monestry haven, could be just the ticket - it was a several hour walk and gave me a chance to wonder through genuine Thai streets. There are several things to love about real Thailand - great food, from noodles and stir-fried meat and veg to fresh fruit, stored in ice, sold everywhere, to little market stores, and the people themselves who are unbelieveably friendly when not affected by tourism. So it was good.
Incidentally, as I've mentioned in previous posts, in Chang Mai I have a rather strange 'Life Improvement' press trip, acquired in my role as part time travel writer, full time blagger. I received an email yesterday from the organiser saying that part of the programme is a kind of counselling session where I am supposed to talk about 'personal issues'! Oh my days...
First of all the wonderful Thai/Chinese girl either stood me up or there was a miscommunication, for vanity's sake I'm going for the latter (it's possible her English was poor, my Thai obviously non-existant, and she volunteered her no rather than being asked for it), but truthfully I think it's the other.
So last night went drinking with a sound guy from Bristol. He's been here a while and was far more adept at spotting ladyboys than me - until now I've only really spotted the bad drag queens the truth, as he explained, is they are more prevalent and often better disguised.. the truth is fightening. He also thinks, and I have no reason to doubt him, that about 80% of girls in Khao Sarn Road are prostitutes. We then both met girls and I was paranoid - how do you ask 'By the way, are you on the game?'. Anyway - I wish I could put restrictions on who reads this - she wasn't, neither was she or ever had been part-Norris, part-Doris - however, she was crazy, and I don't have her number nor would I want it. It also occurs to me that even Thai girls who are not prostitutes might latch onto Western guys as a means to a better life, and you can be in danger of being no better than the old Western men who wonder around with Thai women half their age, it's not something I really want to dwell on as I think it's a grey area with no easy answers, but as I say, it has occured to me.
Also, the US, tattoo'd, tut-tut scam afficionado (previous post), now thinks we're best friends and is leaching on, trying to get me to buy, or help scam, him drinks... so I'm hiding from a Yank guy and a crazy Thai girl and trying to get some normality back into my life.
Which brings us to today. In the hope of avoiding said fiends, I walked all the way to the nearest train station to book my ticket for Chang Mai - apparently it's a monestry haven, could be just the ticket - it was a several hour walk and gave me a chance to wonder through genuine Thai streets. There are several things to love about real Thailand - great food, from noodles and stir-fried meat and veg to fresh fruit, stored in ice, sold everywhere, to little market stores, and the people themselves who are unbelieveably friendly when not affected by tourism. So it was good.
Incidentally, as I've mentioned in previous posts, in Chang Mai I have a rather strange 'Life Improvement' press trip, acquired in my role as part time travel writer, full time blagger. I received an email yesterday from the organiser saying that part of the programme is a kind of counselling session where I am supposed to talk about 'personal issues'! Oh my days...
Friday, 26 September 2008
Thai boxing, Thai girls, Thai scams
Despite allegations to the contrary - who the hell is propertyscot? - I did go to watch Thai Boxing last night. Bangkok has two main boxing stadiums, the one I went to is cylindrical and a little bit like the fighting cage in one of the Mad Max films. Some of the fights were a little cagey , but at least two were phenomenal with the guys going hell for leather. You could hear the impact of the kicks from my cheap seat at the back. Where I was people were more interested in gambling than boxing, with a neverending chorus of shouts and confusing hand signals. Outside the police lined up their riot gear on the pavement - shields, rams, helmets, etc - I guess as a show of strength as there wasn't a hint of trouble.
Bizarrely I met some Bostonians at the fight and then when I got back to Khao Sarn Road much about 11ish I found myself drinking with a guy from the same city. We hooked up with two Thai girls - and when I mean girls, for all you wise guys, I mean the authentic kind - and I ended up drinking and chatting with one until 6am before walking her home. She was a mix of Chinese and Thai and I can't begin to describe how lovely. I got her phone no so have changed plans to stay in Bangkok for a few more days, no doubt I'll find a way to mess it up!
Today I'd barely left the hotel when I'd bumped into an American guy, head to foot in tattoos, and we ended up getting a tut-tut from shop to shop, pretending to be interested in buying but not - the tut-tut driver got commission from the shops and bought us beers. Madness. I didn't really want to get involved in such underhand shenaninghans but was somewhat railroaded.
The photos include Thai boxing and the royal palace.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Life in the decompression chamber
Life is pretty mad right now, I'm stagnating in a Chang-induced stupour - it's not a bad thing. They serve alcohol in buckets here, last night I was drinking with a mix of Thais, French and Norwegians, it was legendary but I couldn't keep up. I think Indian tee-totalism has turned me into a lightweight (or even more of one depending on your viewpoint). As a result my days are spent wondering around the sights or shops in a hangover haze. Like I say it's a lot of fun, but probably something I should leave sooner rather than later for the sake of my sanity.
First impressions of Thailand are that the people must be among the friendliest and most committed to fun on Earth. Indians are very abrupt and altho they're not rude it can come across that way. Thais are the opposite, always smiling and joking. I think I'm going to watch some Thai Boxing tonight - when in Rome and all that - and then maybe head for some water market type wilderness tomorrow.
First impressions of Thailand are that the people must be among the friendliest and most committed to fun on Earth. Indians are very abrupt and altho they're not rude it can come across that way. Thais are the opposite, always smiling and joking. I think I'm going to watch some Thai Boxing tonight - when in Rome and all that - and then maybe head for some water market type wilderness tomorrow.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Bangkok
Have arrived in Thailand, currently in Bangkok, in the Khao Sarn area, which is where everyone goes. It's a little bit unreal, a little bit 18-30 and basically very touristy. I generally prefer smaller places as funnily enough it's easier to meet people, but here is a lot of fun and it's good to have a drink again. Thailand is more expensive than India, but I hope that is more Bangkok than southeast Asia as a whole. I think table tennis must be the national sport because I keep getting asked to go watch ping pong shows.
Plan is to stay here a few days, hopefully meet up with a friend from Edinburgh who should be here soon, then try and get a day or two in Damnoen Saduak, before heading north to Chaing Mai. I'll then travel back down the country gradually in time for the full moon beach party on October 14 before heading to Cambodia and Vietnam.
Plan is to stay here a few days, hopefully meet up with a friend from Edinburgh who should be here soon, then try and get a day or two in Damnoen Saduak, before heading north to Chaing Mai. I'll then travel back down the country gradually in time for the full moon beach party on October 14 before heading to Cambodia and Vietnam.
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Chandi-oh-my-garrrh
Have a little time stuck in Chandgarh so thought I'd update the blog, though not a lot to say (now there's a killer intro).
The monsoon appears to have taken a break to catch it's breath after almost three days non-stop rain. Despite the wet, Manali was very cool. I was forced to spend much of my time in an open air cafe called Dylan (after Bob, with the strapline 'Roasted and Toasted', also very cool), chatting to Israelis who dominated the tourist population, which as I've said before was mostly stoned. Everyone knows one person in Uni who is a legendary stoner and spends their entire time in a cannabis smoke haze. For me that person was Pete, and Manali was like Pete's room in halls expanded and stuck halfway up the Himilayas. I swear to God they even had shops selling jumpers Pete used to wear, it was uncanny.
It occured to me just before I got my bus that getting up to Manali in dry daylight had seemed precarious so getting a nightbus down in the pouring rain could have been a bad idea. The driver did manage to smash a window by driving too close to a cliff face (who was to know that rock smashes glass?!), broke down for about an hour, had to change route because of various landslides (can't really blame him for that), and eventually turfed us out after getting a puncture. We got another bus the rest of the way. However, we didn't go off the side so for me, even with the added seven hours, it was a success.
Now in Chandigarh which is one of India's newest cities and pretty prosperous, but if you've ever thought that pretty much every English large town looks depressingly alike, you'll have a good picture of Chandigarh.
This is the 11th place in India I have spent time in, so have covered quite a lot of ground - would have liked to have seen the south though, next time.
Must admit am ready for some beach partying Thailand style, chatting to some people in Jodhpur gave me a taste for it, flight's in less than 36 hours, come on!
The monsoon appears to have taken a break to catch it's breath after almost three days non-stop rain. Despite the wet, Manali was very cool. I was forced to spend much of my time in an open air cafe called Dylan (after Bob, with the strapline 'Roasted and Toasted', also very cool), chatting to Israelis who dominated the tourist population, which as I've said before was mostly stoned. Everyone knows one person in Uni who is a legendary stoner and spends their entire time in a cannabis smoke haze. For me that person was Pete, and Manali was like Pete's room in halls expanded and stuck halfway up the Himilayas. I swear to God they even had shops selling jumpers Pete used to wear, it was uncanny.
It occured to me just before I got my bus that getting up to Manali in dry daylight had seemed precarious so getting a nightbus down in the pouring rain could have been a bad idea. The driver did manage to smash a window by driving too close to a cliff face (who was to know that rock smashes glass?!), broke down for about an hour, had to change route because of various landslides (can't really blame him for that), and eventually turfed us out after getting a puncture. We got another bus the rest of the way. However, we didn't go off the side so for me, even with the added seven hours, it was a success.
Now in Chandigarh which is one of India's newest cities and pretty prosperous, but if you've ever thought that pretty much every English large town looks depressingly alike, you'll have a good picture of Chandigarh.
This is the 11th place in India I have spent time in, so have covered quite a lot of ground - would have liked to have seen the south though, next time.
Must admit am ready for some beach partying Thailand style, chatting to some people in Jodhpur gave me a taste for it, flight's in less than 36 hours, come on!
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Rishikesh and Manali
Spent Monday and Tuesday in Rishikesh, a paradise several hour east of Delhi where the Himalayan mountain range meets the Ganges river. We went rafting, hiking and swimming in the river. Incidently three Hindu Gods live in that river, although a little down stream from where we were, but they have about 15 million so I guess they have to live somewhere.
In many ways Indians have had a hard time of it, the people who had their capital in Delhi lost nine successive battles from the 1600s (that's relegation form), then got bossed about by the British for a century and dragged into a world war in which the Nazis had nicked one of their favourite squiggles. They don't get to eat beef because someone decided cows, of all creatures, are sacred and barely drink, that's not to mention the grinding poverty. However, they've done allright with Rishikesh. The hills are dotted with waterfalls and te river is lined with white sand, it must be one of the most naturally beautiful places around.
Manali - further north, still in Himilayas - is also brilliant, but right now its raining and I'm only here for a short while. Everyone is stoned here, cannabis practically grows by the side of the road like, well like grass.
The Delhi bomb casualties grew to about 30 the next day, don't know what it is now. I did speak to some people but didn't get a story together.
In many ways Indians have had a hard time of it, the people who had their capital in Delhi lost nine successive battles from the 1600s (that's relegation form), then got bossed about by the British for a century and dragged into a world war in which the Nazis had nicked one of their favourite squiggles. They don't get to eat beef because someone decided cows, of all creatures, are sacred and barely drink, that's not to mention the grinding poverty. However, they've done allright with Rishikesh. The hills are dotted with waterfalls and te river is lined with white sand, it must be one of the most naturally beautiful places around.
Manali - further north, still in Himilayas - is also brilliant, but right now its raining and I'm only here for a short while. Everyone is stoned here, cannabis practically grows by the side of the road like, well like grass.
The Delhi bomb casualties grew to about 30 the next day, don't know what it is now. I did speak to some people but didn't get a story together.
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Delhi bombing
Five bombs have just gone off here in Delhi, apparently killing 18 people and injuring 80. I actually arrived back in Delhi today. I am currently holed up in my hotel room - not because of the bombs, I've only just heard about them - but because there's been football on and it's the first I've seen since arriving in India. Two that failed to go off were apparently in Connaught Place, a shopping area not 200 yards from where I'm staying - I've walked through there earlier today. I guess I'll go out tomorrow and try and get reaction, maybe try and sell a story to newspapers back home, can't help thinking I've missed the boat. I did pop out briefly and headed towards Connaught Place to get some dinner, must have been about an hour after it all happened. Nothing seemed out of place, people were milling about chatting, I guess it would have been hard for me to pick up on because of the language barrier, but there was no great excitement or police activity where I was. Sorry, not very informative.
On an overnight train last night I was talking to this Indian who asked me about the outside world's view of his country. We talked about a lot of stuff and he brought terrorism up, I said that it was hardly associated with India compared to Pakistan for example, but he said it was definitely there under the surface. He also pointed out (I didn't realise) that India has the world's largest Muslim population, greater than Pakistan. The Indian government seems to be blaming Muslim extremists.
I think Indians are very pragmatic, very conscious about how they are viewed by the outside world. It is also very parochial so its rows are often between different areas or one area and the government. There are, I think, 22 recognised languages, so people from the north can't understand those from the south, east can't understand west, etc. Ironically, the one language most speak except for the poorer classes is English, which is apparently pretty much their national language. I think all these things have prevented it from developing major terror issues - although according to the Beeb there have been 400 deaths from bombings since October 2005 - on the other hand I've only been here three weeks and could well be talking out of my ...
On an overnight train last night I was talking to this Indian who asked me about the outside world's view of his country. We talked about a lot of stuff and he brought terrorism up, I said that it was hardly associated with India compared to Pakistan for example, but he said it was definitely there under the surface. He also pointed out (I didn't realise) that India has the world's largest Muslim population, greater than Pakistan. The Indian government seems to be blaming Muslim extremists.
I think Indians are very pragmatic, very conscious about how they are viewed by the outside world. It is also very parochial so its rows are often between different areas or one area and the government. There are, I think, 22 recognised languages, so people from the north can't understand those from the south, east can't understand west, etc. Ironically, the one language most speak except for the poorer classes is English, which is apparently pretty much their national language. I think all these things have prevented it from developing major terror issues - although according to the Beeb there have been 400 deaths from bombings since October 2005 - on the other hand I've only been here three weeks and could well be talking out of my ...
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Mumbai to Jodhpur
I'm glad to be back in Rajaistan - Jodhpur this time, in the west - after a pretty dreary few days in Mumbai and some massive train journeys. It rained constantly in Mumbai and I don't know if that's why, but the place was nowhere near as interesting as other parts of India. Having said that I didn't take the boat ride to the Elephant Caves or take the role of an extra in a Bollywood movie (I kid you not, but I would have missed my train!), so maybe I didn't make the most of it.
I did work out the scam with the girl and the milk powder (previous post) - she was in league with the shop. I think you can get worn down by the begging, you get these little urchins following you around with one arm outsretched and their hand cupped, and the other hand miming eating. It's like being stalked by a Save the Children ad, so in the end you are quite ready to believe even if its likely to be a con.
Jodhpur appears to be the friendliest place on Earth. Everyone wants to say hello and talk and it can be hard just to walk down the street without being stopped every two minutes, which is no bad thing. Within an hour of arriving last night I was fed and watered and losing at chess to a Japanese fisherman called Yama on our hostel's rooftop restaurant. Think I'll spend a few days here before heading back to Delhi for some rafting, then maybe I'll head briefly north towards the Himalayas before heading to Bangkok. I've managed to wrangle six nights accommodation as part of a press trip in Bangkok, which should save me a few pennies.
I did work out the scam with the girl and the milk powder (previous post) - she was in league with the shop. I think you can get worn down by the begging, you get these little urchins following you around with one arm outsretched and their hand cupped, and the other hand miming eating. It's like being stalked by a Save the Children ad, so in the end you are quite ready to believe even if its likely to be a con.
Jodhpur appears to be the friendliest place on Earth. Everyone wants to say hello and talk and it can be hard just to walk down the street without being stopped every two minutes, which is no bad thing. Within an hour of arriving last night I was fed and watered and losing at chess to a Japanese fisherman called Yama on our hostel's rooftop restaurant. Think I'll spend a few days here before heading back to Delhi for some rafting, then maybe I'll head briefly north towards the Himalayas before heading to Bangkok. I've managed to wrangle six nights accommodation as part of a press trip in Bangkok, which should save me a few pennies.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Drizzle in Mumbai
In Mumbai. Took 18 tortuous hours to get here by two trains and it's only flaming raining. It's not even a monsoon, it's unmistakeably drizzle. How dull. Not sure whether its the weather or the lack of sleep, but so far Mumbai is probably the most disappointing place I've seen. Hotel is phenomenal, but the city is a little drab - neither the eastern charisma of most places in India nor the kind of buzzing metropolis you'd imagine Tokyo or Hong Kong (or top western cities) to be.
Anyway shouldn't complain. Will head north piecemeal probably through Ahmadabad and Jaisalmer back to Delhi. Got some rafting and camping organised in a fortnight. Then a few days later will head to Bangkok. No FO warning against yet, just some southern states, and should at least keep it interesting.
I appear to have blagged my way onto a six-day press trip in Thailand, which will save on accommodation. It sounds either a bit girly or new age to be honest, all spa treatments and self improvement, how can you improve on... no I won't even try that one!
Oh last word on Udaipur, my last day coincided with Ganesha's birthday celebrations, a kind of Ganesh Fest if you will, whole town all done up, very cool.
Oh and my resolve against beggars finally gave up in the face of this young woman who wanted me to buy powder milk for her baby sister. I don't see how that can be a scam. Unless it was really cocaine. Sorry, no pics until I either get attachment for phone or more likely a digital camera, which would probably be best idea.
Anyway shouldn't complain. Will head north piecemeal probably through Ahmadabad and Jaisalmer back to Delhi. Got some rafting and camping organised in a fortnight. Then a few days later will head to Bangkok. No FO warning against yet, just some southern states, and should at least keep it interesting.
I appear to have blagged my way onto a six-day press trip in Thailand, which will save on accommodation. It sounds either a bit girly or new age to be honest, all spa treatments and self improvement, how can you improve on... no I won't even try that one!
Oh last word on Udaipur, my last day coincided with Ganesha's birthday celebrations, a kind of Ganesh Fest if you will, whole town all done up, very cool.
Oh and my resolve against beggars finally gave up in the face of this young woman who wanted me to buy powder milk for her baby sister. I don't see how that can be a scam. Unless it was really cocaine. Sorry, no pics until I either get attachment for phone or more likely a digital camera, which would probably be best idea.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
More on Udaipur
Some things what I have noticed..
Udaipur is like India Light, it's more aesthetically pleasing, there's less poverty, less begging, it's slightly cooler and the buildings are buildings in the conventional sense with walls and a roof etc.
Dogs go mad here after 11pm - in the day it's too hot and they just flop about, early evening they stir but are still harmless, last night I was wondering around Udiapur, got lost - I have an unwarranted faith in my own sense of direction - and suddenly got surrounded by rabid dogs all barking and going nuts. It was quite unnerving. I was lost and there wasn't an autorickshaw to be found. At first I just clapped and yelled, but the dogs were only fooled by this for so long and started to circle. In the end I had to hitch a ride back to the hotel with these Indian guys on the back of a motorbike. Phew!
This is a little controversial so I'll try to be sensitive, don't mean to be rude. Obviously gay men are frowned upon here, as in many countries in this part of the world. Conversely Indian women don't go out as much as Indian men, particularly in the evenings, and couples don't generally hang out together much - again open shows of affection not the done thing. This leads to a lot of men hanging around with men. Often this just takes the form of mates hanging out normally, but it can also look very camp - they hold hands, drap arms around shoulders - I wonder if this is suppressed homosexuality that goes unnoticed or if it is just their way.
Udaipur is like India Light, it's more aesthetically pleasing, there's less poverty, less begging, it's slightly cooler and the buildings are buildings in the conventional sense with walls and a roof etc.
Dogs go mad here after 11pm - in the day it's too hot and they just flop about, early evening they stir but are still harmless, last night I was wondering around Udiapur, got lost - I have an unwarranted faith in my own sense of direction - and suddenly got surrounded by rabid dogs all barking and going nuts. It was quite unnerving. I was lost and there wasn't an autorickshaw to be found. At first I just clapped and yelled, but the dogs were only fooled by this for so long and started to circle. In the end I had to hitch a ride back to the hotel with these Indian guys on the back of a motorbike. Phew!
This is a little controversial so I'll try to be sensitive, don't mean to be rude. Obviously gay men are frowned upon here, as in many countries in this part of the world. Conversely Indian women don't go out as much as Indian men, particularly in the evenings, and couples don't generally hang out together much - again open shows of affection not the done thing. This leads to a lot of men hanging around with men. Often this just takes the form of mates hanging out normally, but it can also look very camp - they hold hands, drap arms around shoulders - I wonder if this is suppressed homosexuality that goes unnoticed or if it is just their way.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Due South
I am assured people are still reading these so I'll carry on writing them. It's best to get some shade between noon and three so internet cafes are good options. Anyway since we last spoke (Oh my days, my blog has become my imaginary friend) I've travelled through Jaipur, Chittaurgarh and am now in Udiapur.
Jaipur seems to get a bad rap, but is actually really nice. The pink city is exactly what you'd imagine an Indian shopping bazaar to be like, with tightly fitted shops all bustling with life. There are con-artists but they are easy enough to spot, and at least they put some thought and effort into their con, unlike the traders who just follow you around (if I say no six times, why do you think the seventh will be the charm?) The pink walls are very odd looking, like painted cardboard boxes or papier mache, unfortunately I've lost the attachment to load pics so you'll have to wait for the time being.
Had an elephant ride up to Amber Fort. My elephant was called Brasilie, I preferred him to the guide who was pretty dull. Chittaurgarh also has a fort ... but little else. The fort is cool, but there's only so many old palaces and religious buildings you can see before becoming blaze. Got a couple of days in Udaipur now, it is very nice, on a lake, which is green so not really for swimming, so off to chill out a bit. If you are still reading this I hope you are all well.
Friday, 29 August 2008
Floods
It's strange how there's so little mention of the floods here. No-one in Agra really talked about them, despite it actually being pretty close. I mentioned in an earlier post, that I'd been told they were in the south. I did not know the full extent until reading about them online today, God knows where they could put so many evacuees - spare homes is one thing India certainly does not have, they seem invariably half-built or falling down.
Fatepur Sikri
Forgot to mention that between Agra and Jaipur I visited the abadoned city of Fatepur Sikri (sadly not so abandoned that there aren't still millions of street traders trying to flog their cra ... be polite ... wares, I got a candle holder, I don't know how I ever got by without it).
It wasn't the depth of the water that worried me!
The place has got a fascinating history. Towards the end of the 16th Century this Mughal Emperor called Akbar decided to move the capital from Agra to Fatepur Sikri, which is only an hour down the road. They spent about 15 years building it and then only about 15 years living there. The official reason is there was problems with the water supply (the guys in the hostel said this was true) even though there is a nearby lake. Another suggestion is it was for military reasons.
One wierd moment in the abandoned city's courtyard - which is surrounded by ceremonial and religious buildings, including a Mosque (in Fatepur Sikri, Hindu and Muslim buildings and architecture were fused, rather than competing as elsewhere in India) - went into small, seemingly religious building, followed by this guy who urges me to touch this bed in the centre of the room, which I do, but he says I got to touch it with my forehead (stop your dirty minds now). So I bend down and lay my forehead against the sheets - he starts whipping my back and legs with this brush. I'm not joking! I'm stunned. Then he asks for 200 rupees! I'm sure there are some places where people can charge high sums for those kinds of services, I just didn't think religious buildings were among them. I gave him 10 rupees, he wasn't impressed!
Anyway, typical example of the Indian paradox - they have this glorious, well-preserved basis for a village on their doorstep, but live in shanty towns on the outskirts. Granted, it would need additional development, and is probably too valuable now as a tourist attraction, but it does make you want to tear your hair out. Anyway, rather than describe it inadequately, I'll just publish pics, which still won't do it justice, it is magnificent, probably my favourite corner of India so far.
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