The Globetrotters eNewsletter
eNewsletter Archive

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

1^st November 2003 London meeting

On November 1^st, we had two very different talks this
month. The first was by Amar Grover, entitled “The Hindustan Tibet
road”, an old trading route used by pilgrims on their way to Mt Kailash.
The area is very mountainous and picturesque, Amar showed us villages and 800
year old temples perched high on cliff tops, some only reachable by use of
“Flying fox” pulley systems across the valleys, not for use by
those with a nervous disposition. In this Buddhist region we saw monks who
perform dances depicting parts of the Buddha’s life. We also saw how hard
daily life is with yaks being used for farming. But it was the stunning
scenery, which stole the show.

Our second speaker was the ever-popular Tom Freemantle, who delighted
us with his talk “Mexico to Manhattan with a mule”. Tom was
following once again in the footsteps of a relation who did this journey during
the American civil war. Tom met “Brownie” the mule at the Mexican
border and after a few tips from the owner set off in temperatures of 100
degrees. Tom’s epic journey of 2700 miles took seven months, Brownie
going through seven sets of shoes. Along the way Tom showed us some of
the great sights including the Alamo. But it was the hospitality of the
American people that shone through. During Tom’s trip September
11^th had happened and it was fitting that the last shots we saw were
Tom’s photos of “Ground Zero”.

Next month, on Saturday 6^th December, Paul Goldstein will
talk about Africa: An Adventurous Wilderness/The Hunters and the Hunted.
Paul has travelled to sub-Saharan Africa over fifty-five times guiding safaris
and tours, and photographing. He has climbed Africa’s highest
peaks, rafted the wildest rivers and stood toe-to-toe with charging
rhino. His passion, for “conservation” for the people and
wild-life, is supported by award-winning photography in both BBC and Royal
Geographic Photographic competitions.

After the break, John Pilkington will give a talk entitled: Up the
Mekong to Tibet about a journey up one of Asia’s longest rivers from the
South China Sea to Tibet and beyond. Starting from the rice paddies of
Vietnam, John follows its course through the gorges of China’s Yunnan
province to where it rises at over 16,000 feet, meeting river people of six
nationalities along the way.

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

For details of forthcoming meetings email "mailto:newyork@globetrotters.co.uk">newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or
register for email updates, "http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/Ny-Update.html">click here at our
website.

Hi Globies - hope you all had a good Happy Thanksgiving! We have
another great slide shows coming up for January 10^th!

Michael Luongo will be talking about Rebuilding the Ruins of
Afghanistan - from women who work at re-opened museums to hunky gym rats who
worship Arnold Schwarzenegger. Afghanistan has changed in the 2 years
since the ousting of the Taliban. A lot more work needs to be done, but new
buildings rise from the rubble to punctuate the Kabul skyline, archeological
initiatives are helping tourism, and wheelchair programs are giving mine
victims a new chance in life. See the Afghanistan you never read about in
the papers. We'll look at what there is to see as a tourist in Kabul
and we'll also touch on travel to other Islamic hotspots like Jordan,
Turkey and Morocco

Venue: as always 4:00-5:30 The Wings Theater 154 Christopher Street.
$10.00 for non-members and $8.00 for members.

The NY Globetrotters website: "http://www.globetrottersnyc.com/">www.globetrottersnyc.com

New York meetings are held at The Wings
Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St
and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the
Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

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

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

The Texas Branch of the Globetrotters will hold its next meeting January
10^th at the New Braunfels library, 600 Common St New Braunfels
Texas.

Christina (with Wiggling Wanda – the club’s travelling mascot!)
is out of the country on a “Santa Mission Trip” in Tokyo and
Bangkok, and will have a lot to share about this heartfelt adventure.

If you like independent, adventuresome, fun, daring, exciting, “off
the beaten path” travel, this club is for you. Our meeting begins at 2
P.M. Come early so you won't be late! Enjoy handouts, travel talk time, and
door prizes!

For more information about the Texas Branch: please contact "mailto:texas@globetrotters.co.uk">texas@globetrotters.co.uk or register
for email updates at our website ( "http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/tx-update.html">click here) or
call Christina at 830-620-5482

If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please
contact her on: "mailto:texas@globetrotters.co.uk">texas@globetrotters.co.uk

If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly
Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle would love to hear from you: your travel
stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or
somewhere of special interest to you. Over 8,000 people currently subscribe to
the Globetrotters e-news.

To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel
experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with a
couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to "mailto:Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk">Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

The pilot’s safety briefing was interrupted by a loud squeal.
“Was that a pig? If it makes a mess you’ll have to clear it up when
we reach Hagen” he said indignantly to the woman with a large bulge under
her coat. The pig squealed repeatedly as we took off but was quiet for the rest
of the 45 minute flight – another small incident in travel around Papua
New Guinea, the land of the unexpected. The previous flight to Tari had been
over 4 hours late: “As the weather was unusually fine, we took the
opportunity of using the aircraft to visit poorly-served airstrips before
sending it back towards Hagen” the fat controller eventually explained.
At Tari we watched the Spirit Dancers, Huli wigmen dressed up in all their
finery with head-dresses of Birds-of-paradise feathers and cloaks of Cuscus
skins, performing their dance to help overcome problems such as serious
illness. Higher up, in the moss-covered forest, a King-of-Saxony
Bird-of-paradise performed a similar dance, bouncing up and down on a thin
branch, swaying his bizarre elongated head feathers and singing just as
tunelessly as the Hulis.

The Central Highlands Highway was now open to regular traffic, thanks to
recent patrolling by police vehicles. It had effectively been closed for years
by the presence of “rascals” who stopped and robbed any who dared
to use it. Now it was possible to drive from Tari to Hagen in 8 hours instead
of at least 20 on the safe route. We took part of this when we travelled from
Hagen to Lake Kutubu, mainly in the back of a lorry masquerading as a Public
Motor Vehicle. The “5 hour” journey took 8 hours and included
another pig on board, very well behaved this time. We climbed up and down
mountains, mainly through a semi-cultivated landscape, dotted with patches of
forest, before dropping down through hills covered with young forest. My
backside felt thoroughly tenderised after bouncing up and down on the wooden
plank cum seat as we hit numerous potholes. We got off at dusk and had to wait
for a boat to take us to Tubo Lodge on an island in the picturesque lake. The
jovial local headmaster explained the meaning of time: “I know that if
you say you will meet me at 7.00, you will be there at 7.00, not 6.59 or 7.01,
but if a Papuan says 7, he will arrive at 9.”

We took a birding trip to the mainland with bare-footed Robert as guide. We
had a good time until it started raining in earnest, so we returned to where
the canoe had been left. “The others have taken it to the village, we
will walk there.” “How long will that take?” “It
depends how fast we walk” – we had heard this before. It took an
hour, without stopping, as we slithered along the muddy path which looked as
though it had not been used for weeks - a wrong assumption as we met four
children who were walking to a village some 10 km away where the school was.
They would live there during the week and walk home for the weekend. I was
happy to accept Robert’s helping hand, such as when we crossed streams on
slippery rocks, but my companion stubbornly refused all offers. He fell into
one stream, soaking both feet – no, I didn’t say that. In the
village, the men played touch-rugby and the children touch-basket ball. The men
all lived in a single longhouse, each with their own fire next to their bed,
and the women and children in their own family houses.

After returning to the lodge, we proceeded to the other side of the lake to
see the bleached skulls and bones of the locals’ ancestors, laid out on a
ledge beside a chalk cliff. Their glory had been to be killed by the Japanese
in World War II. Later, we ate delicious small crayfish, speared by boys
standing precariously at the front of a small wooden canoe. One of the local
women had a fever, probably malaria; we gave her some pills to help – the
nearest pharmacy was at least 6 hours away. In the early hours I spent a long
time in the rain trying to see a very rare bird, Wallace’s
Owlet-Nightjar, which called only once or twice every 10 or 15 minutes. He won,
I had to leave at 05.30, to go home. The first step was to get the guys out of
bed to take me by canoe to the other end of the lake, an hour’s journey
in the rain. There was no sign of the vehicle to the airport: “The man
allotted to arrange this forgot to do it”, said Penny in a matter of fact
way. We walked it in 45 minutes, in time for the 30 minute flight to Hagen,
followed by an hour in a jet to Port Moresby, 6 hours to Singapore and 12 hours
to Heathrow, where my bag failed to appear, one hour to St Pancras, 3 hours to
Sheffield and bus home, only to find there was no-one in and my key was in my
bag still in Singapore…

Alhabib is from the Tuareg people in Libya and sent us this fascinating
insight into the Islamic festival of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is during this
month that Muslims fast and when Muslims concentrate on their faith. It
is a time of worship and contemplation. There are fairly strict rules
about how one can live during the month of Ramadan: during the Fast of Ramadan,
Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink during daylight hours and smoking and
sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of each
day, the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the
evening following the iftar, it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting
family and friends and the fast is resumed the next morning

As the holy time of Ramadan approaches, everyone is very happy and starts to
prepare for it. The women in the home usually prepare special meals for
the month of Ramadan. Everyone is happy and anticipating the coming of
this holy month. Ramadan begins after watching the crescent shaped moon
at midnight or even later. During this period, Muslims start their day
before early dawn and eat a meal, called the Sahour. This is sufficient
for fasting for the day. After that, they begin the worship and call to
God for forgiveness. All Muslims must fast between the hours of
dawn and dusk.

Before sunset the women prepare delicious savoury food. At sunset ,
when the call to prayer to Al Magreb is made, all the family gather round the
feast to eat. They begin with some dates and some milk (this is the sunna
of the prophet Mohamed ) and then begin the Magreb prayer. After praying
they return to eat and drink. There is lots of visiting going on and much
time is spent with friends and all houses are open to receive any guest from
anywhere.

After eating the Iftar (breakfast), much worship and prayers take place
during the month, and at night, when the call to prayer for the evening Aisha
begins, people go to the mosques to pray evening prayers. They pray the
Al Traweh prayer and this continues every night. On the 27^th
night, the Greater Night (Alila Alkabira ) which is called (Night of Al Gadr),
the holy Koran begins to descend from heaven to prophet Mohamed. On this
night people recite the Koran all the night until dawn so as to be close to
God.

After the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the holy Bairam comes. In
the Morning of the first day of the lesser Bairam, the people get out to the
Plazas to pray the Feast prayer. It is two bows: after praying, each
person begins to greet each other (Alsalam) happily and to wish him a merry
feast. After the Feast after the holy month, the lesser Bairam continues
for three days, all of it to visit friends and family and everyone is
happy.

If you would like to contact Alhabib about Ramaddan or Libya, he can be
reached by e-mail on: "mailto:tenerecotour@yahoo.com">tenerecotour@yahoo.com

Spotted by our webmaster, Paul. If you are planning to travel in
Europe by train, then the links below will take you to the English language
versions of local rail journey planners. The majority of these provide
timetable, ticket and booking facilities.

Former Globetrotters Committee member Stuart was recently based in Cambodia
whilst working for Voluntary Services Overseas. In this article, he gives
us the benefit of his experience and tells us his top tips.

Transport

Tuk tuk (seats 2) - $8 a day (sunrise to sunset) for the central temples
(Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm), $15 to go to Banteay Srei, they may want
and extra $1 to go to Neak Pean but this is a bit cheeky.

I recommend Kinal as a driver – very gentle person, speaks a bit of
English, drives slowly and carefully, has a nice new tuk-tuk. Tel: 012 909
730.

Alternative is to go by moto for about $5-8.

There are 2 boat options – new Japanese boat or old boat. The new one
has just started and they had a promo deal on for July and Aug of $30 o/w but
the normal price is $55, which is comparable to flying. It’s about the
same time as the old boat. Guesthouses in Siem Reap can arrange tickets. It has
an air-con downstairs with nice seats, free meal and drinks, normal volume
films and a covered deck with chairs. They also pick you up and take you
to/from the boat at both ends. Additional perks include life jackets and
lifeboats, which are not to be found on the old boats.

The old boats are normally $25 o/w but they dropped their prices to $10-15
in the face of competition from the new one but they may well go back up again
once the promo period is over. Old boats all seem to be quite similar –
“bullet boats” or “express boats” or “rambo
boats”. Basically a metal cylinder with cramped air-conned interior and
VERY loud videos (Khmer comedy or kung fu – bring ear plugs). Trick is to
get a seat away from a speaker and not too close to the back (engine noise and
industrial strength aircon). Probably not for claustrophobics as the only 2
doors are small and what would happen in the event of an accident doesn’t
bear thinking about.

Alternatively, sit on the roof – take plenty of sun cream, water and a
scarf (2-3000 riel for a kroma – checked Khmer scarf, from any market) to
cover body parts that will get roasted/soaked regardless. Once the thing gets
going it is very fast and exposed. There is no barrier at the outside edge of
the boat, only a ledge to walk along and a rail at shoulder height to hold
onto, so if you need to go to the loo (inside) during the 5-6 hour trip (cf.
drinking lots of water tip above) then don’t fall in on the way as they
probably won’t stop to pick you up. Put valuables in plastic bags to
avoid them being drenched.

However, if you want to take photos then the roof is the place to be. There
is a Vietnamese floating village just at the Siem Reap boat boarding place
which is very photogenic. Once in the lake itself the scenery is not great as
the banks are far away. The stretch from Kompong Chhnang to PP is scenic as the
banks are close and there are lots of other boats fishing etc.

Food & Accom

I haven’t tried too many places but can recommend Soup Dragon (run by
an ex-VSO) and Blue Pumpkin (also does good bakery things). Watch the
restaurants near the temples – they’re much more expensive than
elsewhere (as are the drinks stands – buy in Siem Reap and leave them in
the tuk-tuk). I’m not sure but I think some places have 2 menus
– one for foreigners and the other for locals. The alternative is
to stock up on picnic things in Siem Reap.

Top tip: you can swim in the very nice pool at the Angkor Village Hotel for
free – just be discrete about it.

There are loads of places to stay in all price ranges. We stayed at the
Green Garden Home guest house, which is a little out of the centre i.e. a 5-10
min walk to the market. Quiet garden setting with rooms from $10-25.

Shopping

Don’t bother buying souvenirs here as they’re much cheaper and
better quality/selection in Phnom Penh. One thing you might want to get
is the Angkor guide book by Dawn Rooney which gives you the detailed low down
on each temple. $2-5 for a photocopied version, available everywhere.
There are also 2 little visitors’ guides available in guesthouses which
have up-to-date maps and listings.

Temples

This year the Government has introduced photo passes – you get taken
into a little room and have your picture taken (free – or you can take a
photo along if you prefer/have one to hand) for putting on your pass. $20 for 1
day; $40 for 2-3; $60 for 4-7. 3 days is nice and not rushed at all, you
probably need 2 minimum if you want to get to Banteay Srei/not hang around; it
probably is possible to cover most of the main sights in a day if you happen to
be Japanese. Reserve one of your days for a sunrise/set visit –
recommended.

There are loads of temples to see and they’re spread over a huge area
but recommendations are:

• Angkor Wat – can’t come to Cambodia and not see this. There are
  2 pools inside the grounds ideally situated for sunrise/set shots. Make sure
  you’ve got a guidebook that can explain the bas reliefs – the
  churning of the sea makes more sense once it’s been explained. Stairs to
  the top are precarious.
• Angkor Thom/Bayon – doesn’t look much from afar but once inside
  those faces really get to you – a marvel. Don’t forget to check out
  the bas reliefs here too – lots of apsaras in good condition.
• Ta Promh – overgrown with trees, looking a bit like it’s just
  been discovered. Atmospheric but difficult to photograph in the rain as it is
  quite dark.
• Banteay Srei – a trek from Siem Reap but well worth it. Very
  different from the main temples – it’s made from red stone and the
  carving is very intricate. It is surprisingly small.
• Pre Rup – on the way to B. Srei and it just seems to appear from
  nowhere. I particularly enjoyed trying to explain elementary arithmetic to the
  girl on the top – she wanted to sell 10 bangles for 4000 riel but refused
  to sell 5 for 2000!
• Preah Neak Pean – because it’s so different – it comes as
  a bit of a shock after all those crumbling temples. This one is a complex of 5
  pools. Very little to it but a change is as good as a rest.
• Others:
• Banteay Kdei – quite similar to the others. Maybe I was getting
  watted out by this point.
• Srah Srang – the king’s bath but really just a set of stairs
  and a field!
• Preah Khan – has “enchanting walks”. Shaped liked a huge
  cross with many of the designs similar to other temples.

We didn’t make it to the Roulos group (the earliest temples), Phnom
Kulen, the river of 1000 lingkas (apparently very good once there’s been
enough rain to cover the carvings) or any of the other minor places.

Film

Film is available cheaply in Siem Reap. Not so sure about quality of
processing but can recommend a place in PP which is cheap, quick and good.

If you go for a sunrise/set visit to the temples and you’ve got an SLR
then underexpose to get nice silhouette shots.

Take at least 400ASA film for the temples as some of them can be
surprisingly dark, especially if it is raining/cloudy – you may find
yourself needing a flash at times.

For more information, visit Stuart’s website: "http://uk.geocities.com/stuartincambodia">http://uk.geocities.com/stuartincambodia