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The Globetrotters Club wishes all readers a happy and safe 2007

December 2006 London Meeting

The last meeting of 2006 was kicked off by Helena Drysdale, whose talk was called Strangerland - a family at war. It was really a snapshot of Helena’s own family history, the tale of her great great grandfather’s governorship of 19th century New Zealand. He was a governor in India before being posted to New Zealand. His time there included the turmoil of the wars between the local Maoris and the European settlers. Helena’s research into her family included hours studying records and documents, eventually she even found a record of the ship that delivered her great great grandmother to new Zealand. Helena’s book Strangerland - a family at war is published by Picador.

After the break it was off to the Sahara desert with John Pilkington. John’s journey began on the river Niger in Mali to the fabled city of Timbuktu. John’s aim was to head into the desert following the camel caravan route to the salt mines of Tal Deni. First he had to find himself some camels and a guide. The camel market provided both and after a couple of days of buying essentials, tea, sugar, rice it was off into the desert for the 450 mile trip. The salt mines are open pits, the purest salt is well below the surface. John showed us the giant blocks which are marked with the individual miners name before being loaded onto camels for the return trip. The blocks are all sold, except one block which is delivered to the miners’ family for them to sell.

By Padmassana

Coming Next:

Saturday 6 January 2007

4 Mini Talks and our New Year Party – Our January meeting gives four speakers to present 20 minute talks, an opportunity to introduce subjects within a tighter format. We hope that talks may include topics that couldn’t be sustained over a normal 40 minute talk or offer a launch for new speakers. By tradition we follow this meeting with a New Year Party post-meeting - everyone is invited to bring food and drink and participate !

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. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

We used to have meetings in New York City and New Braunfels, Texas. Regrettably, after having done a superb job, neither organisers are able to give their time to Globetrotter meetings. If you are based in New York or New Braunfels and have the time to commit to pick up where our previous organisers left off, we’d love to hear from you – please see our FAQ or contact our the Branch Liaison Officer via our Website at Meeting FAQ. If you are based elsewhere and are interested in starting a branch of the Globetrotters, please feel free to contact us.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermane@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 Old York Tower, 85 Esplanade (It is at the south-east corner of Church & Esplanade - 2 blocks east from the Hummingbird Centre at 8.00 p.m. 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.

Backpacker - The Ultimate Travel Game is a card game in which you experience all the fun and unpredictability of travelling the world as you try to outwit your opponents to be the player who has returned home with the most photos. In Backpacker you visit different countries and continents, enjoy beaches, trekking, wildlife and culture, meet other travellers and get good and bad advice, whilst trying to avoid getting sick or missing your plane. You may even have to change your plans or seek assistance to cope with problems and delays, some of which may be caused by your fellow players. You need planning, good timing, patience and a bit of luck to win and with so many scenarios, no two games are ever the same. Just like travelling, it’s fun, exciting, fast-changing and very addictive.

Play at home, on your next holiday and beyond. This game is essential for anyone who loves foreign travel.

We have a number of card games to give away, just email us at quiz@globetrotters.co.ukto enter our prize draw with the name or location of the iconic bridge which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007. We will contact the lucky winners for postal addresses etc.

In the shops “Backpacker - The Ultimate Travel Game” costs £9.99 You can find further details on the web at http://www.backpackercardgame.com or e-mail: info@backpackercardgame.com<

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In an exclusive interview with the stars of Brazil’s most celebrated samba school, The Globetrotters Club E-News gets the naked truth (well, nearly) on the life of a Carnival Queen.

If there was a sport played by stunning looking women… wearing jewelled bikinis… and they invited you to join their squad for the Cup Final - would you say ‘yes’?

Of course you would. You’d scream it, shout it, holler the word ‘yes’ from the rooftops.

Well, now that we’ve established you’re interested - here’s the good bit:

you’re not dreaming… the offer’s there… and you’ve been picked.

The sport’s called Carnival, the team’s the Vila Isabel, and you’re invited to join the squad.

Touching down

Forehead covered in sweat, cheeks ballooned around a referee’s whistle, the diretor de harmonia (musical director) is having a spot of bother.

It’s a Saturday night at the Vila Isabel samba school and the percussion section are rehearsing the school’s theme tune for the 2003 carnival. Trouble is, they won’t listen to the boss.

Less than five minutes into a 45 minute routine, the conductor is busting a lung trying to get the drummers to stop. But it’s like trying to trip up a runaway train. Over 200-strong, the bateria (drum section) are belting out a noise so loud it makes your fillings shake. And everything in those big grins and wide eyes says these guys are off on their own journey.

The atmosphere’s electric. And we haven’t even glimpsed the girls yet.

It takes an army

Tucked away in a side-street of Rio’s business district there’s a walled plot of tarmac the size of bus station. Come here from April to August and you’ll find the place chained shut. Come here any Saturday night from September to March and you’ll find one of Rio’s most prestigious samba schools training for their moment of glory at the Carnival.

It’s a warm-up unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

First shock is the sheer number of people in the joint. While the hardcore of year-round employees numbers only a dozen, the weekly rehearsals regularly attract a crowd of thousands. Looking at the spectrum of kids and grand parents, rich and poor, you realise that an entire community has poured itself in here - all rooting for Vila Isabel.

And weirder still, these hoards of ala, (supporters or ‘wings’) will take part in the Carnival - all 4,000 of them. Like every samba school, Vila Isabel is a fan club, business, gym and community centre rolled into one. For about R1,000 (£200) you or anyone else can rent this year’s costume and join the alas for the procession itself. It’s like buying a handful of tickets for Arsenal - and finding yourself trotting down the tunnel next to Viera and Henri to play in the Cup Final.

Only difference, of course, is that no one at Highbury has legs like the ones you’ve just spotted.

No room for Ice Queens

They’re gorgeous. Strutting into the rehearsal ground in their provocative Carnival stilettos and head-dresses, Carla, Kelly, Claudia and Dyana are the peacocks from Planet Sex. And as four of the school’s 20 female passistas (samba stars) they’re the glamorous icing on Vila Isabel’s cake.

Does all that attention turn their heads?

Not for a second, insists Kelly.

“If you were arrogant,” says the statuesque 23 year-old, “you just wouldn’t fit in here. Being a great passista has nothing to do with being cool… it’s all about warmth, passion, and soul.”

The other girls nod in agreement. “We need to be open and welcoming,” adds Carla, “to make the alas feel relaxed. There’s no them and us. To be a passista you need a humble heart… and the samba in your feet.

The politics of dancing

It’s a heart-warming picture - but it wouldn’t quite be human if there wasn’t a bit of bitching somewhere inside the squad itself. Dig a little - and you find plenty.

The simple fact is that - inside the elite of 20 passistas - competition is cut-throat. Training from the age of four or five it’s a very long wait for any future passista before the retirement of one of the older girls gives them a chance to impress the jury. And even once they’ve made the team (usually aged 15) staying in is tricky.

“This place is full of jealousies and rivalries,” admits blonde bombshell Dyana. “If you’ve ever put on weight, or you’re looking tired, then someone will be sure to be kind enough to tell you.” On top of the psychological warfare, girls routinely trip and box each other in at rehearsals to help nudge them from the squad. And then, of course, there’s the competition for men. “Lots of the girls have boyfriends in the alas,” continues 19 year-old Dyana, “and if they see their man looking at another passista then the rehearsal’s going to end in a cat fight.”

Hot stuff. Stir in a bit of financial mischief (the 20 passistas sometimes compete for a dozen places on a cruise ship or foreign tour) and you have a recipe for mayhem.

“The ultimate insult,” reveals 27 year-old Carla, “is to damage a passista’s outfit just before an audition or steal part of it. If you’re trying to get to a girl who doesn’t like going topless you hide her carnival top. If you’re feeling really vicious, you steal her thong.”

As we promised - the naked truth.

One big day

So why do they do it? Why put up with the years of training, the months of rehearsals, the hours of bitching?

The answer’s simple. Alongside a massive sense of loyalty to their school, the thing that keeps these girls hooked is the sheer adrenaline high of the Carnaval itself.

Competing as one the 14 ‘Premiership’ samba schools in Rio, Vila Isabel gets its ‘hour in the sun’ as it parades in front of the tens of thousands of fans and benches of hand-picked judges in the madness of the Sambadromo. Built specifically to house the processions (and empty 360 days a year) the kilometre-long ’sambadrome’ is the city’s Olympic Stadium of Partying - and instant fame and hard cash wait for the winners. There’s a huge amount at stake.

“On the day of Carnival,” says 31 year-old Claudia, “the pressure practically makes me sick. I can’t eat, I can’t drink.” As porta-bandera (flag carrier) to the school she’s got a key role in the procession - and on the morning of the procession, as Claudia so neatly puts it, she gets “pampered like a racehorse.”

Standing in front of the gates to the sambadrome, the 4,000-strong troupe wait for the firework that announces their show. “You get goose pimples,” says Dyana. “You feel cold in the stomach - a feeling that starts in your belly and goes all the way up to the roots of your hair.”

The second the gate opens, the judging starts. “Passion takes over,” bubbles Kelly, “your nerves vanish, you do your thing. If the crowd starts singing your samba tune then you know they’re on your side and that the judge’s are giving you points. It’s the best feeling on earth.”

For the next 60 minutes, the passistas are queens of the universe.

And by the time they reach the end of the sambadrome, they’ll have danced their way down the sexiest, noisiest kilometre in creation.

Back to reality

Pausing after the adrenaline rush of the procession, you’d imagine that the girls might relax - take a breather. You’d be wrong. Carnaval, after all, is business and these girls are pro’s. “Sure, we’re exhausted,” coos Dyana, “but the first thing we do after the procession is run to find a TV and watch the next school. Are they any good? Where do they do better than us? We tape every procession and watch them over and over.”

It sounds tough - but more or less the second the procession is over, the life of a samba queen swings back to the grind of day-to-day reality.

“In the end,” says Dyana, “being a passista is all about creating an illusion. We love carnival - but once it’s over we go back to our ordinary lives. For the crowds, it’s a lovely fantasy to think every passista lives a pampered life - always in our costumes, with head-dresses and painted nails. But we’re normal people, we work, we bring up families.”

“You join a samba school out of love,” agrees Claudia, “and Vila Isabel is the most important family I’ve got.”

Story Adam Baines, pictures Tony Annis. About the author by Tony Annis: Adam Baines and I first met in the GT Club, he had just cycled round Vietnam and I had not long been back from doing the same round NZ. We went to the Amazon to visit the Yawanawa tribe, as reported in the e-news. He called me and took me as his photographer for a magazine shoot about Rio de Janeiro. Our friendship has survived not only the adventure trip in the Brazilian jungle but also the difficulties of the urban jungle.

Finally back in Tokyo. Flights all on time, landed early at 7.30am on a Friday; only problem was that Customs decided to search everything, don’t know why this knackered looking tourist got pulled. Mind you, he was a very nice Customs official and carefully repacked my rucksack. They could teach Saudi Customs a thing or two, you have to chase your underwear up the moving carousel as they chuck it on!

Eventually got the train into Tokyo, though I fell asleep at some point and only woke up when it was just departing for its return trip to the airport! Using my faithful GPS, more of this later, I soon found my Ryokan, a very nice place, complete with tatami mat with nice futon and kettle with tea just 15 mins walk away from Ueno Station. I dumped my bag and followed the sound of drums to the Nezu temple, just in time for Taiko drumming and a big parade - well that kept me awake and the jet-lag at bay!

Had a wander in the park and found a supermarket so I won’t starve. It’s over 80 degrees and sunny now, early May. I met up with my Japanese friend Hanae one evening, and we had a wander round Ueno market. She showed me stuff I wouldn’t have had a clue about, such as whole legs of octopus for example. We went to a local coffee shop for a long chat and catch up. My friend’s husband is a travel writer, and was not able to join us because he was in PNG!

Then I took the train to Kamakura, a very nice place, though by 2pm, jet-lag was catching up on me. Kamakura is on a peninsula south of Tokyo and Yokohama.

In Kamakura, I visited the Bamboo temple that my Tokyo friend told me about, set in a grove of bamboo, with monks chanting and green tea served in the garden. After this, I visited the giant Buddha, which used to be in a building until a tsunami removed them.

From Kamakura, I went to Enoshima island which is near Kamakura. It takes about an hour on the train from Tokyo. Enoshima was fun and tried to do a geocache, but there were too many people about and too much rubbish around as well, so went back to Tokyo.

For my next trip, I took the train from Tokyo to Yamagata which takes about 3 hours including train hopping at Fukushima. To do this, I took the Shinkansen (Bullet train), super quick up to Fukushima where the train split in half. Needless to say, I was in the wrong half that was heading for Sendai so I had to get off and leg it onto the half continuing on to Yamadera, phew!!!

Yamadera is a lovely place, very friendly and the ryokan was only 4400 yen/night (about £20.). Went for wander to the castle and had a picnic in the park, found some of my favourite “Pea crips” in Daiei (Giant department store with good food place underneath) yum. I love looking round the “100 Yen shop”, they have all kinds of stuff in them. I went round a supermarket and saw “Wanko noodles” – I gave them a miss.

Another trip I made was taking the bus to Mt Zao, which despite being only 10 miles away took 90 mins to get to, thanks to the winding mountain roads and switchback hairpins. It was worth the ride to see Okama, a massive volcanic lake, fantastic place, you get to it via a chair lift. Loads of snow still, which you have to slip and slide through. Then walked up to Mt Kattadate over 5,000ft, spectacular views. Bought a mini bell for my rucksack. The Japanese all have them, they are to scare off bears!

Then went to Yamadera to visit Basho, a place with little temples up a hill, it looks lovely in the guidebook. Yamadera is very touristy and should be known as Basho theme park. There are lovely temples up a mountain, over 1000 steps to the top, but what a view. Went to the Basho museum which has some of his calligraphy, quite interesting, but little in English.

Went to Tendo, a place is famous for making Shogi pieces for Japanese chess, quite an interesting museum and they gave me a nice book with it all in English.

Then visited Sendai primarily to visit Matsushima. Matsushima itself far too expensive to stay in, but with my rail pass an easy hit for daytrips from Sendai, also hope to do geocache in Sendai. I booked all of my accommodation on my trip on the internet as I went along.

Arrived in Sendai with a stinking cold and started looking for Ryokan Iwai, but got a bit lost in the vicinity when a little old lady asked me what I was looking for, luckily she used to work there and literally lead me by the hand and pointed it out across the street and insisted I wait for the green man at the crossing!

Went out to explore Sendai, a very big busy place that has a kfc! Tried to do a geocache in the suburbs, found a huge black snake on the path, but thanks to my Bear scaring bell it went away.

I had a major experience at the Sumitomo bank to change some Yen travellers cheques, what a palaver. The teller eventually gave me a form in Japanese for me to fill in, um yeah, right! So she then pointed at each square and wrote on a bit of paper what I had to write in each box! Why she couldn’t just fill it in and get me to sign it?

Eventually got the train to Hon Shiogama, this was in order to take the scenic boat trip to Matsushima (1400Yen). Nice 50 min ride through all the little islands, though absolutely freezing there and very windy.

Eventually got to Matsushima and explored the big temple, but not fun in the driving rain. Then decided to head north to Morioka after talking to a Kiwi couple. Sado-ga Island would have been nice to visit, but with only local trains crossing Honshu this would mean 2 days of travelling, I get better value for my rail pass to go to Morioka, and from there I can go to Miyako on the coast and Kakunodate Samurai houses from there.

Most of my Ryokan arrivals have both been done via my knowledge of numbers 1 to 5 in Japanese and sleep mime signs! They bring out calculator and show me the price. Apart from a Kiwi couple, I have not seen a non Japanese person, unlike Tokyo, where there are lots of foreigners. That said, everyone without exception is helpful and friendly, things may take time like the bank, but I get there in the end.

This trip I have tried to move less, i.e. pick places where I can stay but can get to other places, such as Yamagata which was great for Zao and Yamadera as well as Yamagata itself. Sendai was perfect for Matsushima and from Morioka I can hit Miyako, Kokonodate, Mt Iwata and then back to Tokyo. I really want to see Mt Fuji this time, just got to pray for a clear day.

The sun shone the day I made it to Morioka from Sendai to Morioka on the bullet train. They go so fast you can’t read station names of places you pass and it’s too fast for GPS as well, I tried it! They are very quiet though.

I love travelling alone, you get to talk to more people even if it is through sign language. However just had a nice chat in English with Tourist office, think the girl enjoyed using her English. She told me to visit Miyako on the coast and Hirazumi for its temples. However Mt Iwata volcano still has 5 metres of snow so that one is out, she reckons the walking paths up there will not be open until end June or July.

When I left my Morioka Ryokan, all the people came to say goodbye and bowed as I left (I’m not worthy!) and gave me a little towel as a present for staying. Those are the things I like about Japan its efficiency and its friendliness.

Japanese geocaches either have proper Japanese translation underneath or the Japanese written in English letters. When you look at the logs for the caches some are in Japanese and some in English.

Northern Thailand is home to many interesting and colourful ethnic minorities, collectively referred to as the hill tribes. Most of the hill tribes have migrated into the region during the past 100 years from Burma and whilst some try to preserve their traditional ways and can do so with little outside interference, others have become a tourist freak show. Wherever you visit in Thailand’s north, whether trekking or on day trips out of Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai to some of the small villages you may find yourself visiting some of the hill tribes.

Ethnologists state that there are six broad hill tribe groupings: Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha and Mien. Within these categories, there are sub-categories and clans that further divide the groups. Each hill tribe has its own customs, language, dress and spiritual beliefs and this is sometimes true even of the numerous sub-categories within one hill tribe. For example, the Green Hmong and White Hmong are said to speak in different and distinct dialects and dress differently.

Today the majority of the hill tribes living in the remote upland areas practice subsistence farming. Formerly, opium cultivation was a major source of income for many of the hill tribes and the government worked encouraged the eradication of opium production by substituting it with other cash crops, such as cabbages and fruits. The hill tribes lived in relative isolation until the 1950s, when, as a result of the increase in their numbers, extreme poverty and statelessness, the Thai government established the National Committee for the Hill Tribes.

Today there are still concerns with regard to issues with citizenship, conforming to mainstream Thai society and the loss of indigenous customs and languages.

Many Padaung escaped from the Kaya State in Burma to Thailand in the mid to late 1900’s and are refugees from Burma. They belong to the Karenni sub-group of the Karen People, who are still fighting for their independence in Burma. The Karen-Padaung occupied central Burma before the Burmese arrived from the North and they, together with the ancient Mon, farmed the Irrawaddy and Salween Valleys. There are pockets of Paduang around Mae Hong Son in Thailand.

The main reason tourists come to visit the Paduang is because of the long-necked women. When the Beetle was in Thailand, she was told that the women in this tribe wore huge coils of metal around their necks to protect them from tigers. She asked if this tradition still held true and was assured that it did. What a load of nonsense! The women who wear these huge coils around their neck do so as a means of income generation from fees from tourists taking their photos and buying handicrafts presented at their stores. It came across, sadly, as something of a human freak show.

It might seem that the neck is elongated, but in actuality, the collarbone is displaced rather than the stretching and weakening of the neck leading to a decompression of the spine and fused vertebrae and discs. This neck ring adornment is started when the girls are 5 or 6 years old. Some women and children also wear rings on the arms and the legs which are not quite as prominent as those on the neck because the neck rings are so pronounced. The rings on the arms are worn on the forearm from the wrist to the elbow. Those on the legs are worn from the ankles to the knees, and cloth coverings are kept over most of these rings, from the shins down to the ankles.

Here is a question: if the so called long necked women were cultivating opium, which they do not, then the Thai government would be amongst the first if they could get there before the NGOs and denounce this as a terrible practice. Is there a huge difference between growing opium and following an inhumane practice for money? So why not follow what has gone before and show people how to make a living in another way that does not involve this practice? Money: the long neck hill tribe women will continue to do this and inflict the practice on their female children as long as tourists go and visit and pay money to see them. This seems a difficult situation to know what is ‘right or wrong’. One wonders how many of the long neck villages in Thailand are managed by the Padaung people themselves and would they choose to do this themselves – or is the best form of income they can generate? How do the women feel about being photographed and gawped at whilst presumably being in pain through wearing the weight of the rings? Is it right to initiate or perpetuate the practice through the young girl children? How much of the entrance fee actually goes to the women in these villages? If these tourist shows are managed by someone else, and it seems likely that this is the case, are the women treated fairly?

What do you think? E-mail the Beetle and we will incorporate your comments in the next edition of the e-newsletter.