The Globetrotters Club - eNewsletter.
March 2008

Welcome to the March 2008 eNewsletter !!

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

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

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

The Ant

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Meeting news London by Andrea Orban

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk.

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

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Meeting news from Ontario

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Ontario meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

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Write in (1)… – Town of Icebergs by Katharine Owen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 News from the travel industry

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

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

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

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Join the Globetrotters Club

If you have enjoyed reading this eNewsletter, why not visit the Globetrotter website, http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/ and have a look at a copy of Globe, the bi-monthly printed newsletter sent to members only.

We also send members only a listing of all members, their contact details and countries visited and any help they can offer. Globetrotter members network by using this listing to contact each other in over 27 countries around the world to ask for travel advice, and possibly even meeting. As a member, you will receive a reduction on any Globetrotter meetings in your area, and will entitle you to have free Globetrotter calling cards to give your details to other travellers you meet while travelling.

Just £15.00 buys you membership for one year, if you live in the UK (overseas = £18.00 for one year). Contact membership@globetrotters.co.uk for more information.

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Write in (2) Zhouzhuang and Its Map: Ways to Explore a Chinese Tourist Trap by Hal Swindall

In September of last year, Globetrotters’ regular China correspondent had the opportunity to go to Zhouzhuang, an ancient canal town west of Shanghai.  It is not an extra fantastic place, and I would recommend anyone planning a day trip there to BYO food and beverages, but it succeeds as a stimulating historical site, albeit in the Chinese manner.  I had the luck to receive an invitation thence from a Chinese journalist who offered transport and paid expenses, so this article may still be sweeter than reality. 

According to its hundred-kwai entrance ticket, Zhouzhuang was founded in 1086, and “is just like a shining pearl among Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou”, the latter two cities being famous aqua-cultural destinations; Suzhou, in fact, is vaunted as China's answer to Venice.  Indeed, Zhouzhuang could be classed as part of Zhejiang Province's Suzhou-Hangzhou-Lake Tai triangle, which is celebrated for its H2O-enriched landscapes.  After more of the usual Chinese touristic tirades, the ticket boasts that “Zhouzhuang is on the Reserve List for the World Cultural Heritage,” and has received some other official recognition from the UN. 

The amusingly inadequate tourist map indicates all the major sights and bridges in the town, although it gives no indication of the many intriguing hutong, or small lanes and alleys, which could make the place an agreeable day trip.  Zhouzhuang's “commercial zones” (shangyechu) are thoughtfully marked in orange, with the idea of attracting (Chinese) visitors, but since the entire town is a canal-laced tourist trap, such indications are unnecessary.  As for its picturesque waterways, Zhouzhuang was, judging from the map, first built between South Lake (nanhu) and the Baixian River just north of it, after which its canals were dug in a grid down its main streets.  Though hardly Venetian, the canals are pretty, especially with Chinese gondolas floating along under the arched bridges that span them.  The stone pavements beside the canals are lined with booth after booth of vendors selling beads and T-shirts, graced by the occasional art gallery or ceramics shop to give some colour to the monotonous array of dreck.  There are also many little restaurants and tea houses, but the prices are a little hefty for what you get. 

Even if you decide not to visit Zhouzhuang, or even fly all the way to China (which can be a good idea), the description of the town's sights on the back of the tourist map is a must-see.  The introduction, which has no spaces after punctuation marks, tells us that historic Zhouzhuang was the home of the famous Chinese Writer [sic].  And the ancient cultural town in Soun [sic] China....The town is surrounded by water with many branching steams [sic].  Visitors from all over the world are intoxicated by its unique scenery, which is formed by lanes, alleys, meandering steams [sic], stone bridges and old residence [sic] with black tiles and while [sic] wells [sic?]. 

The back of the map continues by telling the anglophone visitor about such delights as “The Double Bridge”, “The Hall of Shen's Residence” and the museum.  The most priceless description of a historical site, however, is that of the “Mi Building”, where, in the early 1920's, liu [sic] Yazi and Chen Qubing, Sponsors [sic] of Nanshe Community [no definite article or comma] had orgies here for 4 times, singing merrily and improvising poems in joyful mood [sic, sic, sic].  Also worthy of mention is the account of “Shen wansan's Residences [sic]”, which merits being quoted in full:

It is located in the Dongduo (name of the place) by the South Lake, where Shen Wansan's father and he inhabited in Zhouzhuang [sic] from the  South Xun and gained fame and fortune rapidly [sic].  According to the record <Su tan> (talking about Suzhou) [sic] by Yang Xunming in Ming Dynasty: “Shen Wansan's residence was in Zhuang Zhou [sic], only broken house and the big pines existing here [sic].” The elegance group rebuilt it in the former address according to its original style and features.

To photographically record your treasured memories of these storied sites, Zhouzhuang's branch of Kodak Express has its advert in the back of the map's lower right corner.  At three kwai, both sides of the map are worth more than a physical trip to the place they illustrate, and can tell you more about the “real China” than a heap of tomes by economists, anthropologists, educationists and their ilk.  Globies wishing to adore the place for more than a few hours can put up at the hotels in the northern half of the town, all faithfully marked on said map.

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The Globetrotters Club Officers

• President: Janet Street-Porter
• Vice President: Norman D Ford, Louis Prechner, John Ainsworth, Rene Richards, Mabel Garside, Vera Blowers, Carol Simonson, John Batchelor, Richard Snailham, Tanis Jordan, Martin Jordan, Malcolm Keir, Jean Clough, Hilary Bradt, Sue Learoyd, Arthur Frommer, Gill Ward, Matt Doughty
• Treasurer: Paul Woodward
• Membership Secretary: Kevin Brackley
• Editor of Globe Newsletter: Dan James
• Editor of Globe eNews: The Ant
• Legacy: Jeanie Copland
• Publicity and PR: Francesca Jaggs
• London Meetings Organiser: Dick Curtis
• Webmaster/Technical Co-ordinator: Paul Roberts
• UK committee members: Kevin Brackley, Jeanie Copland, Paul Roberts, Jacqui Trotter, Francesca Jaggs, Paul Woodward, Andrea Orban, Tracey Murray
• Ontario contact: Svatka Hermaneck

Want to join the London Committee? Already a member of the Globetrotters Club? We don't say no to people who have some time to commit and can offer some help! Please contact the Beetle