tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48150541643118303672024-03-04T22:43:15.451-08:00PositivaGlobal travels in sustainabilityRob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-75729209165089287562013-01-03T04:21:00.000-08:002013-01-08T20:10:44.637-08:00Lanta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">B</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">efore leaving Pakse
we’d stopped in one more time at the Bolaven Café to transfer the photos I’d
taken to Dave the General Manager. While
we were doing this we struck up conversation with Dave’s neighbour, Mark, an
American English teacher, who happened to be in the café at the time. On
learning we were headed across the border the next morning to Ubon Ratchathani
in Thailand, Mark strongly advised us to check out Peppers, which was on the way.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">The next morning as we
crossed over from Laos into Thailand I was acutely aware of the differences
between the two countries. Peering out
the bus window the scenery is pretty similar either side of the border, jungle
interspersed with the odd village. Study
a bit harder however and you notice that the road quality significantly
improves, there are more concrete than wood dwellings and the choice of shops
and eateries in the towns has significantly multiplied<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq32NWoVyzx-mmOV6SQDPXDUycyWVRtBF2nkTY66h7GM5OqT2HhjPX5_qVtVTHy4xu9D_W8q39GRlLyuUVROS7SbW1YywMRmV_hyphenhyphen7S3ZW8yRWtSdcX-2b-wjyhyZ0ixUuD50T-HbcJ6HSd/s1600/P1070814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq32NWoVyzx-mmOV6SQDPXDUycyWVRtBF2nkTY66h7GM5OqT2HhjPX5_qVtVTHy4xu9D_W8q39GRlLyuUVROS7SbW1YywMRmV_hyphenhyphen7S3ZW8yRWtSdcX-2b-wjyhyZ0ixUuD50T-HbcJ6HSd/s320/P1070814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Ride to the airport</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">The recommended Peppers
is a good example of this, run by an Australian just over a kilometre outside
of Ubon Ratchathani Airport, it serves a range of Australian café favourites,
including meat pies, something I hadn’t eaten for a long time, and with ever
sought after free wifi, a great place to while a few hours waiting for a
flight.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">We left Peppers in
late afternoon light, intending to walk into the airport. As I was just commenting it’d be the first
airport I’d ever walked into a group of middle-aged Dutch guys pulled over in a
4WD with a tray back and asked us if we needed a lift. Throwing our bags and us into the tray Susi
and I soon found ourselves braced against the wind and passing through the
airport entrance.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">For our final
destination we’d originally planned to head to the Philippines on the basis
that it’s a country I’d never been to. After
a weary day of searching the Net and triangulating flights from Laos and then
back to Australia via Singapore it became all too hard and we went back to
first principles, considering what we actually wanted out of our final
destination.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After all we’d seen we
were effectively seeking a holiday from our travels, a time to spend simply
near the beach enjoying the tropical weather.
Fortunately the answer was in front of our faces, or all around us in the
form of Thailand, and more specifically Koh Lanta. This choice proved to be more fortuitous when
we learnt of </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/04/philippine-typhoon-bopha-kills-five" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc;">typhoon <span style="font-size: small;">Bhopa</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> that hit the Philippines around the
time we would have been arriving.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I hadn’t previously
considered Thailand as a destination, in my mind it’s a destination synonymous
with pissed up lager louts and kiddie fiddlers, but in Koh Lanta we discovered
another side to the country, one strangely enough with a distinctively Swedish
flavour, to the extent that I feel the Swedish map of Thailand solely consists
of the island of Koh Lanta.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdS61XJ4cUkvPklL30a_Ut_M2MosijbGeSymaWnrFYL69fHj9KYdhkzI6il7KJ9rmrgUAyAzuC7WopQLH0azxbX5ErZmXlUA4Cooyi5DfRh4QIJ-5nNteJI312lZjfHJtHdg2bmQ8eBATg/s1600/IMG_7492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdS61XJ4cUkvPklL30a_Ut_M2MosijbGeSymaWnrFYL69fHj9KYdhkzI6il7KJ9rmrgUAyAzuC7WopQLH0azxbX5ErZmXlUA4Cooyi5DfRh4QIJ-5nNteJI312lZjfHJtHdg2bmQ8eBATg/s320/IMG_7492.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Klong Dao Beach</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">We’d pencilled in 11
days for our stay on Koh Lanta and split our time between accommodation on
Klong Dao (the Swedish family beach) and the next beach south, P<span style="font-size: small;">hr</span>ae A<span style="font-size: small;">e</span> (Long Beach). The west coast of Koh Lanta consists a series
of stunning beaches, split by peninsulas of shoreline jungle vegetation. Each beach differs and the further south you
tuk tuk the more isolated and bohemian the accommodation, bars and dining
options become and the greater the feeling of an isolated tropical paradise.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Our accommodation,
Golden Bay Cottages on Klong Dao, was a peach, an air-conditioned little
bungalow with a decent sized pool right outside the front door and the beach
another 25m or so further on, allowing me to roll out of bed, head for an early
morning jog along the beach before cooling in the ocean and then washing the
salt off with the pool shower before heading to breakfast.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN-LEa3YHK11_7PvCJ2G0cPOSkrKAfIoW8rUFjQx2AfYyKySflctrccbctHPjDcEFYJgEhhsWUOH9NGYUWvaR6rcGH30FPA0GOaFVQYeP9cJm-X5sBVfGtlaT8ZDqgRvSMNPmMRhS4FqP/s1600/P1070952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN-LEa3YHK11_7PvCJ2G0cPOSkrKAfIoW8rUFjQx2AfYyKySflctrccbctHPjDcEFYJgEhhsWUOH9NGYUWvaR6rcGH30FPA0GOaFVQYeP9cJm-X5sBVfGtlaT8ZDqgRvSMNPmMRhS4FqP/s200/P1070952.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Beach fire twirling</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Given the time we had
on Koh Lanta Susi decided she was keen to obtain her open water dive licence as
I had done several months earlier in Honduras.
I hadn’t used my licence since obtaining it, but given Susi would be out
each day doing her course, thought it was a good opportunity to complete my
advanced diving licence. Making our way
round to a diving school to enquire about the availability of courses we promptly
found ourselves back reclining in our accommodation pouring over our course
material in preparation for the next day of diving.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">While the focus of the
open water course is on how to handle emergency situations, the advanced is significantly
more interesting, consisting a series of modules, such as refining your
buoyancy, searching for objects, diving deeper to 30m and having more of a clue
as to what that rainbow coloured fish actually is<span style="font-size: small;">.</span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRHCGsXo6KjO6aUNLgSnSGMRz4htLz9MV9vq71q_x-m04F724zkcRUgaTubRyQssfB1NiD7Qoh2a1fIMr_dFIC8o7O3WDadY2A1hSpjR4jdidmtZe9CV6ayuLbE4l1tOKuqzd-l7bANPn/s1600/P1070885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRHCGsXo6KjO6aUNLgSnSGMRz4htLz9MV9vq71q_x-m04F724zkcRUgaTubRyQssfB1NiD7Qoh2a1fIMr_dFIC8o7O3WDadY2A1hSpjR4jdidmtZe9CV6ayuLbE4l1tOKuqzd-l7bANPn/s200/P1070885.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr7jIHaN725kcNQ4Cz3l13e_IgnngAW892T8sxrdv_um7qqHdNGvWy_vRrnOmAvSQhBZhgK7vBKavfIz6xYgxmMMuHTQOJlX2JUaqfg-ijnIF5bagfmkLGd72_eCL5lKMI6t5l5K4xEcO/s1600/P1070865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr7jIHaN725kcNQ4Cz3l13e_IgnngAW892T8sxrdv_um7qqHdNGvWy_vRrnOmAvSQhBZhgK7vBKavfIz6xYgxmMMuHTQOJlX2JUaqfg-ijnIF5bagfmkLGd72_eCL5lKMI6t5l5K4xEcO/s200/P1070865.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">We chose a boutique’esque
diving school, the aptly named </span><a href="http://www.diveandrelax.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">Dive and Relax</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> which uses a speedboat to access the offshore dive sites at the base
of rocky outcrops in the midst of the ocean. As the only one doing the advanced
course at the time I had the luxury of my own instructor and with the speedboat
we wasted no time each morning bombing across the top of the sea to the variety
of dive sites. The dive sites were stunning; with a greater variety and clarity
than those I’d seen in Honduras and with a water temperature of 31 degrees,
even at depth, it was boardshort diving conditions. The highlight of the diving being the 20 or
so Black Tipped Reef Sharks my instructor and I spotted off</span><b style="color: #4c1130;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Phi Phi L</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;">e<span style="font-size: small;">y</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> island</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;">.</span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsVb_DJgAG_GnCzDHtWmMuiBCL6kqHkAbHg15Tt7HaDoCtlSOqNHyDsfnBQlbYj2hw42kIzxfGug1lNtQAsvgqrnBTMBbibYCrg4Q4n9Qfh9jDVBgqjqJCkyPtEZIe-K96VsDtdU9pS6/s1600/P1070879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsVb_DJgAG_GnCzDHtWmMuiBCL6kqHkAbHg15Tt7HaDoCtlSOqNHyDsfnBQlbYj2hw42kIzxfGug1lNtQAsvgqrnBTMBbibYCrg4Q4n9Qfh9jDVBgqjqJCkyPtEZIe-K96VsDtdU9pS6/s640/P1070879.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Phi Phi Le<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTytHObpMCQWhQuW2o2cBxqY3FuMUjSwieocFVtOvTFIndFBODAr4kMZcMcNgPun9WE0CAX7CRJRmhB2OBMCns3Isn-GrSb3BFnfFRNY_l58V78wnWQ0A_VtGTp3ro-RzWiWTaymwRs2NQ/s1600/P1070889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTytHObpMCQWhQuW2o2cBxqY3FuMUjSwieocFVtOvTFIndFBODAr4kMZcMcNgPun9WE0CAX7CRJRmhB2OBMCns3Isn-GrSb3BFnfFRNY_l58V78wnWQ0A_VtGTp3ro-RzWiWTaymwRs2NQ/s200/P1070889.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Back from diving, Long Beach</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">After three highly enjoyable
and exhausting days we were accredited with our respective qualifications and
could resume our daily focus of relaxing in our resort and watching the Swedes
(the most chilled group of people I’ve come across after Canadians) wander back
and forth.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">For the final few days
we shifted south to the Papillon Bungalows, a series of bungalows run by a
Swedish couple encased within a jungle setting.
After a day of adjustment we came to love the jungle setting, and even
more the quality of food available, including the traditional Thai dish of
Swedish meatballs<span style="font-size: small;">.</span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">
</span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZTwKhZ5pWuRzYvTiBTdGtH9Bg5L7l9iM-v1cvhZLQdhJjfdMkA_sbl_dQUq9L9KCaal9Yde67PKJsKoNpUZk629X6geGDTNUuu7K8WpWidHmN9JgPGGuANfHXXc_RJW84dzQOcsjrJLs/s1600/P1080034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZTwKhZ5pWuRzYvTiBTdGtH9Bg5L7l9iM-v1cvhZLQdhJjfdMkA_sbl_dQUq9L9KCaal9Yde67PKJsKoNpUZk629X6geGDTNUuu7K8WpWidHmN9JgPGGuANfHXXc_RJW84dzQOcsjrJLs/s320/P1080034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Klong Khong Beach</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">We filled our time
with a day of fun diving, this time together, both undertaking our first cave
dive, emerging in a pocket of air underneath an oceanic island and heading down
to the next beach along, the beautiful, Klong Kong, sitting under an umbrella
admiring the severity of burns on our fellow tourists amongst dips in the water.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Reluctantly we packed
our bags at the end of our memorable time on Koh Lanta for our final two days
in Singapore and Christmas shopping before heading to Perth and Australia, the
end point of eight months of global travels.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRa1UtYrXHQka8lvyOS0rmloZtjsQDX1HFM_MUFmrdapvjB67LJs6jF2BQOf0xtBL79gCQlBAjVZvFsMFfDwGL12S4UdK9Lq2BcupEbiqezPUTZQIqcXc2WtdlLgXGTbZ282qjmB-dn4q/s1600/IMG_7517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRa1UtYrXHQka8lvyOS0rmloZtjsQDX1HFM_MUFmrdapvjB67LJs6jF2BQOf0xtBL79gCQlBAjVZvFsMFfDwGL12S4UdK9Lq2BcupEbiqezPUTZQIqcXc2WtdlLgXGTbZ282qjmB-dn4q/s640/IMG_7517.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-88856022148838933312012-12-19T02:25:00.000-08:002012-12-19T02:38:30.399-08:00Having a Bolaven?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">When I’m not spending my days traveling
I’ll often be found at work, and when I’m at work it’s more likely than not
I’ll be mainlining coffee from one of the multitude of cafes within the
Melbourne CBD.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Since I’ve been traveling my relationship
with coffee has changed. Partly this is because if I feel tired, I rest, I
close my eyes, lie down or nap, and partly this stems from the quality of the
coffee, as I’ve discovered a large proportion of the world is drinking the
devil’s brew in the form of Nescafe 3 (powdered coffee, sugar and milk) in 1. As
such I no longer crave coffee, but when I do encounter a good cuppa it’s an
unexpected pleasure. Like bumping into a close friend I quickly appreciate the
qualities that formed our initial relationship. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwNtNxsjbs7I_I0bJvhHMyUjdZ6Jdewxne4PQjooIARSVlhsim8bJ3jBhYwSve0XvYQ09RlUjvB-wQBiH_GFErdU0oWbovNATQmUmp65Orp5kUpoSb52nbHyCCU_GNqnOW9qcYAAbE9cH/s1600/IMG_7152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwNtNxsjbs7I_I0bJvhHMyUjdZ6Jdewxne4PQjooIARSVlhsim8bJ3jBhYwSve0XvYQ09RlUjvB-wQBiH_GFErdU0oWbovNATQmUmp65Orp5kUpoSb52nbHyCCU_GNqnOW9qcYAAbE9cH/s640/IMG_7152.JPG" width="640" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">So it was that prior to venturing down the
Mekong I was reunited with my close compadre as we stopped in for lunch and a
coffee in the Bolaven Café in Pakse. While enjoying a delicious coffee we had
time to read the history of the café through a reproduction of an article concerning
its owner, Sam Say.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">From the article we learned that the café
was but one small part of the </span><a href="http://www.bolavenfarms.com/farms.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">Bolaven Farms</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> operation. </span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Sam was
formerly a Laos refuge from the secret war waged by the Americans during the
Vietnam War, who, via Canada, the US and Hong Kong became a successful steel
trader.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Having retired as a
trader, but still based in Hong Kong, he seeks ways in which he can use his
wealth to assist Laos’s impoverished communities, as this excellent </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/14638618" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">‘Earth Report’</span></a><b style="color: #660000;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">documentary highlights. </span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">He established Bolaven Farms in 2007 as
a vehicle to realize this aim.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLmh2PPzsGSotbxs-w_qhfvAiwmBf6botR_L_1T9JJdBgep8tlwR_GlhCUqHCDPWcDtBnKvU6vuykj2tvofkw8VEa3mmhu9c_8TzZwVeMb-0qayf-l1g2jyIYv8-8bnhR-EFmehRUcmy3/s1600/IMG_7447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLmh2PPzsGSotbxs-w_qhfvAiwmBf6botR_L_1T9JJdBgep8tlwR_GlhCUqHCDPWcDtBnKvU6vuykj2tvofkw8VEa3mmhu9c_8TzZwVeMb-0qayf-l1g2jyIYv8-8bnhR-EFmehRUcmy3/s320/IMG_7447.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">General Manager, Dave Hanna</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After reading the article we noticed a
little note stating that if you are interested in volunteering on the farm to
contact the General Manager, Dave Hanna.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the volume of coffee I consume in
a year I thought I owed it to myself to increase my knowledge of the coffee
production process and the issues surrounding it. I also felt from what I’d
read that the farm operations would form an excellent piece. Following an
exchange of emails and a chat with Dave it was arranged for Susi and I to spend
a couple of days assisting on the farm on our return from the lower Mekong.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">It’s fair to say we were both apprehensive
about volunteering, as I for one have zero to no experience in a farm
environment, and despite my own personal view of myself as a cross between the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T3RS78Tp58" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">Solo Man</span></a><b style="color: #660000;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">and Chuck Norris, I
unfortunately find that reality often indicates otherwise. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Gathering early one morning at the Bolaven
Café in Pakse we were whisked away in the company 4WD, an unprecedented luxury given
our usual modes of transport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out
past Paksong on the Bolaven Plateau the road became a bumpy mélange of dust,
detours and potholes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turning off
we entered the farm and met the Operations Manager, Roy and his wife, Anita,
who looks after Community Development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZ9dd5CI9NKY91TqtcZBgOaIPann5kgogo9CiOtDyP-73NUgr0O9N5uU-9jOq3dh2Z1Rx4YIgjKDfzIu_FiW8TrQyfZCz-Gq23PJ9ik1-D443icY4ygbJSZRgeMuzBdUJpCNkDQU9O31P/s1600/IMG_7143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZ9dd5CI9NKY91TqtcZBgOaIPann5kgogo9CiOtDyP-73NUgr0O9N5uU-9jOq3dh2Z1Rx4YIgjKDfzIu_FiW8TrQyfZCz-Gq23PJ9ik1-D443icY4ygbJSZRgeMuzBdUJpCNkDQU9O31P/s200/IMG_7143.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After introductions we were shown to our
living quarters, a rammed earthen building, inside of which was set up a three
man tent with mattresses and blankets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a cute arrangement that we were grateful for come nightfall as
our tent fortress was ringed by an array of insects great and small.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We then expected to set to work, out in the
fields tilling the soil, or some such coffee farming related task. Unfortunately
(or maybe fortunately), this wasn’t to be and Anita indicated we were free to roam
as we pleased. Following a brief wander we decided to stroll up the road to a
village we had driven by on the way in. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DghWtJi0nu3xdpLrKSfGVo6jSwdF8gwVQ9mvkYLP8uT3yoLCniPWgKtLMWccPFXxO9E1fsH-UqXV16Q1cZX_puSYTGUD2veAZdqyEJh2tYjDEkDyLWf22VwzmtPq8gbNamZJVVda0w2D/s1600/IMG_7306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DghWtJi0nu3xdpLrKSfGVo6jSwdF8gwVQ9mvkYLP8uT3yoLCniPWgKtLMWccPFXxO9E1fsH-UqXV16Q1cZX_puSYTGUD2veAZdqyEJh2tYjDEkDyLWf22VwzmtPq8gbNamZJVVda0w2D/s400/IMG_7306.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Walking up the road we passed homes of all
descriptions interspersed between the coffee plantations and bamboo mats laden
with drying coffee beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each Lao
person we encountered shouting hello to us and waving enthusiastically as we
walked by. Returning to the farm Roy and Anita took time out to provide us with
a tour of operations as we stood on the back of the farm’s small truck.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Through the tour we learnt that it takes
three years after planting for a coffee tree to start producing beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the farm was only established in
2007 it’s only been generating a revenue stream since 2010. More importantly
the farm is certified organic and, as much as possible, independent of external
suppliers. The organic certification enables the farm to generate a much
greater return on the harvested coffee and the independence ensures the farm is
not beholden to price fluctuations of suppliers, with much of the focus in
maintaining its independence on ensuring on site production of the coffee plant
fertilizer.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiQXU4UxfpOLw4boP9mVD2VwchRvQwymocUn2iUyzeJberNOguda8AiR0HPJIU9c3x3TPiKQOzZf46Kiia5_tfI6X8iEaUBsSsjPkMsht_QxeIYqj1gH__Gxc-YGslseqhfJAPvLU_gqj/s1600/P1070735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiQXU4UxfpOLw4boP9mVD2VwchRvQwymocUn2iUyzeJberNOguda8AiR0HPJIU9c3x3TPiKQOzZf46Kiia5_tfI6X8iEaUBsSsjPkMsht_QxeIYqj1gH__Gxc-YGslseqhfJAPvLU_gqj/s200/P1070735.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As we gazed at 77 snorting pigs that form
the backbone of the fertilizer production process Roy told us an amusing
anecdote of their previous attempts to generate fertilizer. Pointing to a
disused shed he indicated this is where the goats were once housed, however
they had to be sold as they would escape their barn and eat the newly planted
coffee trees they were meant to fertilise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They then turned to cows as manure generators, but soon had
problems with cows trampling the coffee trees, before employing the current
approach based on pigs.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwPjLpsJB4NidYpkZ2Ri-1uQnV9FWxCQX-SBpBh8jl6_cAVsWsmA0xF-TKJV3fNx7aRxPZq7kc0KdB_oOwO5AvdEtlDNyJOD6JsBibFnHalgS5O7X8CNG6qYHLdWHipEJy4M4l5ywjma9/s1600/IMG_7305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwPjLpsJB4NidYpkZ2Ri-1uQnV9FWxCQX-SBpBh8jl6_cAVsWsmA0xF-TKJV3fNx7aRxPZq7kc0KdB_oOwO5AvdEtlDNyJOD6JsBibFnHalgS5O7X8CNG6qYHLdWHipEJy4M4l5ywjma9/s320/IMG_7305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Anita, Tonguon and I</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The next morning I’d arranged to interview
Anita and the Farm Manager, Tonguon who hails from the Luang Prabang region way
to the north of the Bolaven Plateau.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A fundamental part of the farm’s operation is a three year coffee farmer
training program offered to unemployed ethnic minority Laos from the north of
the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Anita and Tonguon explained,
through the training program farmers are not only provided with employment, but
taught the necessary skills to save their income to enable them at the end of
the three years to establish their own farm based on the organic farming
principles instilled through their training. To date approximately 30 farmers
have graduated from the farm and established their own organic coffee farms in
the surrounding area that Bolaven Farms guarantee to purchase as part of a
collective approach.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxLi-r3jNTbMLRz-rRnAjstqbp-Vdz_1rAlULnEybHACHZB2DAQCBRzDMKB-NnjK6oRw_OvDoQUfnAoHO5fKH4ag7A_xb8BX3Uiq3R4xdBknWfwB6fBD3oWAoTmHuMyfb8R1gT4g-HLf8/s1600/IMG_7334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxLi-r3jNTbMLRz-rRnAjstqbp-Vdz_1rAlULnEybHACHZB2DAQCBRzDMKB-NnjK6oRw_OvDoQUfnAoHO5fKH4ag7A_xb8BX3Uiq3R4xdBknWfwB6fBD3oWAoTmHuMyfb8R1gT4g-HLf8/s320/IMG_7334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Following the interview it was time for
Susi and I to actually do some work, as by this stage we were keen to get our
hands dirty. Tonguon led us to a part of the farm where the sought after red
coffee beans had already been removed from the trees, but the residual beans
used for instant coffee remained. Demonstrating how to strip the beans and
place them in a hessian bag we then set to work. Tonguon must have chosen the
most ant infested tree to commence with as it took a degree of dexterity to
pluck each bean before a large marauding red ant would charge towards your
fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After 45 minutes of moving from tree to
tree Tonguon asked us to stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
never understood why and that was the extent of our work for the rest of our
time on the farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suspect we
were too good and showing the rest of the farmers up, or maybe not.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAzKLVJAbPGiEPRg436EUx0qCoquoLYlQMPn12Jg0cFd8-A3vr-RJ2jq96-snY1j8if-qcujXubHhlFPHhKbUJj4NlNuMSLvdTP-WKAuA8-vcF0n11SqE9jbmOVA5hzsl-yescaQaM78B/s1600/IMG_7205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAzKLVJAbPGiEPRg436EUx0qCoquoLYlQMPn12Jg0cFd8-A3vr-RJ2jq96-snY1j8if-qcujXubHhlFPHhKbUJj4NlNuMSLvdTP-WKAuA8-vcF0n11SqE9jbmOVA5hzsl-yescaQaM78B/s400/IMG_7205.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">It’s obvious that there are numerous social
and environmental positives associated with the Bolaven Farms approach to
coffee, and in particular their teaching of farmers has the potential to create
a legacy for generations. Stepping back from the farm operations I find it
interesting that this approach has been enabled however through the funds (an
estimated $4 million to date) generated by Sam Say in a different guise as a
steel trader. It seems in a country like Laos these funds provide a degree of
independence from reliance on others that is crucial to enabling such a project
to succeed.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ2ruNsQaY20Pt3zJZzKsf6qfEs0m1owWy0oBXOBpfprq0pmWJb0W3b7n3CxDKmFgz2rg2_WdRXyJr58HSL07AiJG5JCtZibQB69Lt8Ofe7YDpfBY7UWAOFEAq-J4vN3dSfy_55_gW89p/s1600/IMG_7482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ2ruNsQaY20Pt3zJZzKsf6qfEs0m1owWy0oBXOBpfprq0pmWJb0W3b7n3CxDKmFgz2rg2_WdRXyJr58HSL07AiJG5JCtZibQB69Lt8Ofe7YDpfBY7UWAOFEAq-J4vN3dSfy_55_gW89p/s320/IMG_7482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The next morning we left the farm and the
Bolaven Plateau for Pakse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
final evening in Laos before heading to Thailand was spent gazing on the
setting sun over the Mekong on the rooftop of the Pakse Hotel, the bright
lights, humidity and fading heat enough to entice young Tony out of hiding
sporting his finest attire.</span></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-80551350682977695122012-12-15T05:21:00.006-08:002012-12-15T08:48:45.641-08:00Islands in the stream<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">In 1982 Kenny and Dolly </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixDK_tMEhE" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">sang a song</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> written by the Bee Gees
about islands in a stream, a metaphor for the strength of a relationship
between two people. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islands_In_The_Stream" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">Apparently</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> the
lyrics are drawn from an Ernest Hemingway novel, but I have my doubts.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">A more likely scenario is that the Gibb
brothers were inspired by a little reported week-long jaunt they took in the early
80’s down the meandering Mekong in southern Laos, visiting the idyllic islands
along the way. Sure there is minimal to potentially no reference to Laos or the
Mekong in the song, but this is part of their insights as songwriters, realising
the need to bring in the relationship angle to channel their Mekong driven
inspiration.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Their groundbreaking approach
providing the template for such luminaries as </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCca5mPMp9A" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">Toto</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> and </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru2tsT32pHA" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">Bernie Higgins</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> to
follow.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x9PSKCL-W0sOVI7oqt4pbWgN3wc-m8EG8bjTkk1W1pXgUvq6gEa3_BtajV_RmqXflF8ye9IIq3b739n6WJ7GaeQqFA-Wb90m_GerdTxn3GndYHV92IShO0IMtN7-P2PYXoGo0cwLbSNy/s1600/IMG_6975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x9PSKCL-W0sOVI7oqt4pbWgN3wc-m8EG8bjTkk1W1pXgUvq6gEa3_BtajV_RmqXflF8ye9IIq3b739n6WJ7GaeQqFA-Wb90m_GerdTxn3GndYHV92IShO0IMtN7-P2PYXoGo0cwLbSNy/s320/IMG_6975.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">So it was as we set off from Pakse down the
Mekong in a long tail boat towards Champasak that Susi and I were actually
following in the tracks of the Gibb brothers from some 30 odd years prior. Champasak
used to be the provincial capital of the region, but these days it’s a sleepy
community on the banks of the Mekong. So sleepy is the town that at the height
of the midday sun you could surely play a decent game of road cricket and
probably have to halt play for slow moving buffalo more often than any vehicle
traffic. We ‘d journeyed to Champasak as it provides a base for visiting Wat
Phu, an ancient Khmer temple and the Laos version of Angkor Wat, although on a
decidedly smaller and less grand scale, in a way symbolic of Laos in
general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb17-X6r78j9h0IeNdInzTtyjrESBlU9aa3Rq0HxJiO1rzfahWx2R1p4tkBz1gE9W25nRLHxf2yw5YjuTUk9QRb3hKZfxdzO6kKRA_m-lAOS7hbtKVyYVyXu47G5TgL66mwjS6I6xn7db/s1600/IMG_7035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb17-X6r78j9h0IeNdInzTtyjrESBlU9aa3Rq0HxJiO1rzfahWx2R1p4tkBz1gE9W25nRLHxf2yw5YjuTUk9QRb3hKZfxdzO6kKRA_m-lAOS7hbtKVyYVyXu47G5TgL66mwjS6I6xn7db/s200/IMG_7035.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Prior to visiting however we had an
afternoon to spare and hiring two bikes and a small wooden twin hulled raft (plus
boatman) ventured across to Don Daeng, an island about 4km in length resting
quietly mid stream in the Mekong.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoUHG5tBkEZylPEMsZlda0XXIEMkviK8MWpejCCd_jieXHlIei6UMeAEXx28xmart_JWUh4OPUmeT-tZsMPPwlvc_YvijHpKTXC-satK2icaMJFunJT7wE_e8xEPzvTlzIdpVbqIoguH6/s1600/P1070373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoUHG5tBkEZylPEMsZlda0XXIEMkviK8MWpejCCd_jieXHlIei6UMeAEXx28xmart_JWUh4OPUmeT-tZsMPPwlvc_YvijHpKTXC-satK2icaMJFunJT7wE_e8xEPzvTlzIdpVbqIoguH6/s320/P1070373.JPG" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Reaching Don Daeng the boatman pulled up
alongside the tiniest of wooden jetties and tying up his boat walked to his
motorbike and then disappeared along the wooden planks that lead up in an ant
line from the jetty, up the beach and into the jungle. Left to our own devices
we duly followed, popping out into the first of many villages dotted around the
island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent the next few
hours pedaling around the leafy island that was, with the exception of two people
we met on arrival, completely devoid of other tourists. The island felt like it
hadn’t changed in decades, with the soundtrack to our ride a mix of farmyard
animal noises, the rhythmic drumming of monks in the afternoon sun and ‘Sabaidee!’
from children and adults alike as we rode along. Returning to our landing just
before sunset our boatman magically appeared on the beach with his motorbike,
parking it on the sand and then puttering us back to Champasak.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbCZNui3Ar0qfJpK0qAGXxXDC_p7Qhn3sKZ00_Ihldmxu8pVJVsyrS4oIaEcMbFWJYd305azr-ck0OtplSa2bhQXGcH2WSuFWwmjjrMC053yG7e2e2L73tQ7j6FTaslGJrWZkSXPJ6N0B/s1600/P1070430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbCZNui3Ar0qfJpK0qAGXxXDC_p7Qhn3sKZ00_Ihldmxu8pVJVsyrS4oIaEcMbFWJYd305azr-ck0OtplSa2bhQXGcH2WSuFWwmjjrMC053yG7e2e2L73tQ7j6FTaslGJrWZkSXPJ6N0B/s640/P1070430.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Having learnt from our trip to the Bolaven
Plateau, the following morning we hired a motorbike each and steadily made our
way to Wat Phu. While Wat Phu is interesting I actually enjoyed even more the freedom of having our own
transport for a day and the ability to ride around, visiting sites, venturing
along dirt tracks and stopping at our leisure.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Leaving Champasak behind we bussed it for a
few hours south before changing to a small boat for the short journey across to
Don Khon, an island in the Mekong that’s part of the area known as the Four
Thousand Islands.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Don Khon and the adjoining island of Don
Det are the main hubs for travelers to enjoy the Four Thousand Islands, with
both islands containing numerous riverside bungalows overhung by palm trees.
Our intention was to stay on Don Khon, the more upmarket of the two and then
move over to Don Det after a few days. Clambering up the muddy slope where our
boat dropped us off we by chance happened on a huge and vacant guesthouse with
all the essentials, hot water, mosquito net and wifi, at a very reasonable
rate. Each day we’d discuss moving, but were on such a good wicket that we couldn’t
see the point.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2reMUwkWXPwBLLbSe0Y2EmfeJr29eqFa0Lz2bSEPF8ReJD1cmFifaRpF9jhiZlQWzaVjDbuS2M4mBGLKs97KIRGOHHUxKb7UOmRsbjj5wgKLbIJodpTelc2gZH8wGFPZZLOvFXDfBrkv8/s1600/IMG_7120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2reMUwkWXPwBLLbSe0Y2EmfeJr29eqFa0Lz2bSEPF8ReJD1cmFifaRpF9jhiZlQWzaVjDbuS2M4mBGLKs97KIRGOHHUxKb7UOmRsbjj5wgKLbIJodpTelc2gZH8wGFPZZLOvFXDfBrkv8/s640/IMG_7120.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Don Khon</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Compounding this it was also apparent after
a day or so that all the ‘sites’ were located on Don Khon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a problem travelling between
the two islands via the historical French built bridge, however the Laos
government has placed a daily levy on tourists visiting Don Khon and somewhat
like the troll in Three Billy Goats Gruff a bored Laos chap sits patiently in a
little hut nabbing tourists who cycle or wander past to pay the levy.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3mkMKUnE8d9C7XQ3BU2fqZTbKWNnLy7XyW7arTQtucTXcqXCHEjFzikD8ns8GyShnlbyKBnqlR6ZCXc_pWRW3EXMPzcr2oCdZ8mzy3f0bSI8EQe_KC9RNEIG_kXtykh5Yw46GKszHjOg/s1600/IMG_7127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3mkMKUnE8d9C7XQ3BU2fqZTbKWNnLy7XyW7arTQtucTXcqXCHEjFzikD8ns8GyShnlbyKBnqlR6ZCXc_pWRW3EXMPzcr2oCdZ8mzy3f0bSI8EQe_KC9RNEIG_kXtykh5Yw46GKszHjOg/s320/IMG_7127.JPG" width="213" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">We also found out he’ll try and levy it on
those staying on Don Khon who try to walk past him. In a concerted effort to
avoid paying this and with time on our hands, each day we devised a route that
wound overland between ant ridden bushes and through dried out rice paddies
that allowed us to circumnavigate our toll man.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Life on the islands is slow and it’s the
reason they attract so many travelers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our days were generally spent rising late and then slowing riding our
bikes to another waterfall or beach on the banks of the Mekong before heading
home for a late afternoon beer with the setting sun.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While many a traveler continue the short
distance across the border into Cambodia, we, like the Bee Gees before us, had been
inspired by our time on the islands and headed back to our southern Laos base
of Pakse.</span></span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-6847337331619180102012-12-10T04:42:00.001-08:002012-12-10T04:58:18.191-08:00Back in the LPDR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lG7E5N3PTUMFfYVOp_wj84cB2ZKFi9iXP0cyCzjUbNXRDI3Pc0YVKw8DXqqcGwhXJhGIvqVCjXRk65_mRhTf2CI3oizdm4L1L4vRd11ak2iR4LN4mt2kaOBiFDcBAIgvVHwi4eKbx8Wm/s1600/IMG_7452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lG7E5N3PTUMFfYVOp_wj84cB2ZKFi9iXP0cyCzjUbNXRDI3Pc0YVKw8DXqqcGwhXJhGIvqVCjXRk65_mRhTf2CI3oizdm4L1L4vRd11ak2iR4LN4mt2kaOBiFDcBAIgvVHwi4eKbx8Wm/s200/IMG_7452.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Three years ago we
travelled to Laos for the first time, bobbing around the north for two weeks,
by the end of which we’d fallen in love with the country. When thinking about a
destination in SE Asia for a few weeks it immediately sprung to mind as a
potential destination, but I’m always wary about the curse of the second visit
never living up to the initial impression and spoiling both memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">As our bus slowly
rolled over the border from Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand on route to Pakse in
southern Laos, that trepidation rapidly dissipated as time visibly slowed to
Laos time. Maybe it’s the baking heat, maybe the air has a greater density, but
the whole of Laos, with the exception of the odd crazed minivan driver,
operates as if time is very much a secondary concern, an attractive prospect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoLqshYGLvUJvz4zKxuwR1Eo_sUTsi6C1vZt47G5_eKNJhft989QiDeX0scn6I37J0NQDJPsgUz7T9fOq8UpePbvhEjJs-sczKpzYa8y9W4J_CgXaA_Z_9_iyf4-5mTkxTG929iuAxjqc/s1600/P1060944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoLqshYGLvUJvz4zKxuwR1Eo_sUTsi6C1vZt47G5_eKNJhft989QiDeX0scn6I37J0NQDJPsgUz7T9fOq8UpePbvhEjJs-sczKpzYa8y9W4J_CgXaA_Z_9_iyf4-5mTkxTG929iuAxjqc/s200/P1060944.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Pakse is a moderately
sized town on the banks of the Mekong that, while not having many sites, has
its own certain charm and as all roads lead to Pakse, acted as an unofficial
base for our forays to the surrounding countryside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few days in Pakse I’d already developed a two shower
a day strategy as by days end my skin had accumulated, to varying degrees of
thickness, layers of suncream, sweat, general dirt and grit and finally insect
repellent, an attractive combination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Relief was at hand however as we were headed to the cooler mountainous climes
of the Bolaven Plateau, famed for its coffee plantations and waterfalls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Heading to Pakse’s southern
bus station we found a public bus leaving in a few hours that would drop us off
near the small town of Tad Lo. Having caught public buses before in Laos I know
to expect that the bus can and will generally be filled with as much livestock
and people as possible and that this overriding desire to fill the bus far
outweighs any consideration of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Within this context we had a relatively easy time of it as we only had
to clamber over large sacks of rice loaded into the aisle and into our
seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the bus slowly wound
its way up onto the lower levels of the Bolaven Plateau and a few hours later we
were dropped about 2km from Tad Lo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMB3lWKMzigBOb3brmm_wfV0OsX0D4zE573OhTGjVRtuhIZXIW_EJALp8qyxlRw-U0i80Ts11AqMK6XIoNzHmtV2bZLvnxqshjkVf_0gBgjFcT0tOnqGw7DcQBkJLXH85v1VKSqmMvUoR/s1600/P1060968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMB3lWKMzigBOb3brmm_wfV0OsX0D4zE573OhTGjVRtuhIZXIW_EJALp8qyxlRw-U0i80Ts11AqMK6XIoNzHmtV2bZLvnxqshjkVf_0gBgjFcT0tOnqGw7DcQBkJLXH85v1VKSqmMvUoR/s200/P1060968.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Tad Lo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Walking through the
midday sun we reached the edge of Tad Lo feeling like two scrunched up balls of
sweat, but I couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity of village life as we
passed a veritable menagerie of farm yard animals, from enormous lumbering water
buffalo and snorting pigs, to befuddled ducks and chickens, goats and dogs. The gringo part of town consists of one very
sleepy street on the banks of a lake at the base of the impressive Tad Lo
waterfall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture created by
the still waters of the lake, flanked by green grass and farmyard animals, was
strangely reminiscent of an English village in spring. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For lodgings we’d splashed out and
secured a cabin in a prime location overlooking the waterfall.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5e8UTS_aV7yF0pBHDXyZ3RiILOT0eCQu-IJF45QiCnbJI3rZSidldjx2yWCYntZ0997PiZszigT3ZjErdhUgyltHedNkxeDY1wLW7L5qmRU5DtskeO6JNDWdz5GwG9z3eSKQ2VXat_Gkf/s1600/IMG_6847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5e8UTS_aV7yF0pBHDXyZ3RiILOT0eCQu-IJF45QiCnbJI3rZSidldjx2yWCYntZ0997PiZszigT3ZjErdhUgyltHedNkxeDY1wLW7L5qmRU5DtskeO6JNDWdz5GwG9z3eSKQ2VXat_Gkf/s640/IMG_6847.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Tad Lo Waterfall</span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">At this stage we’d
booked no departure date from Laos so were free to spend as many nights in Tad
Lo as felt right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ended up
spending three nights and indulged in amongst other activities, a highly
enjoyable ride around the nearby villages and through the river feeding the
waterfall aboard a friendly, but hungry elephant with a penchant for bamboo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianLXZM54G3NDgv3oOrgUzzz7eb9FE3ytu-pTRNPBeFaKMoEeP0tkDAuWAHPwoKl48qzOCgjtA_ZVfGuvgYwiBxywzkOQkxMWIxWp_s1xiRNizYrTGztgEKvr2-B4CTxNkcDlLJZWiexL9/s1600/IMG_6903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianLXZM54G3NDgv3oOrgUzzz7eb9FE3ytu-pTRNPBeFaKMoEeP0tkDAuWAHPwoKl48qzOCgjtA_ZVfGuvgYwiBxywzkOQkxMWIxWp_s1xiRNizYrTGztgEKvr2-B4CTxNkcDlLJZWiexL9/s320/IMG_6903.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">During our time in Tad
Lo we also had a long conversation and coffee with an Austrian, Manfred, whose
current residence was a tent under a wooden shelter at the entrance to the
town. I’d say Manfred was in his mid 40’s but had a physique that made</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="http://rebelrebelantistyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/iggy-pop-lust-for-life.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">Iggy Pop</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> look portly and like Iggy I
wasn’t convinced our Austrian Freund was the full quid. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">He had however a
comprehensive knowledge of Laos, built up through 11 years of visits and living
here permanently for the past 4, working as an adviser on the quality of the
coffee beans from the surrounding farms. He who advised I never entirely worked
out, but I’m sure someone was interested.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Through our
conversation</span><b style="color: #4c1130;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Manfred highlighted the
rapid changes taking place in Laos at the moment as the Government is currently
involved in a fire sale of the country’s wilderness resources and minerals and
has embarked on a wide spread campaign of constructing dams along the length of
the Mekong, something which has attracted the attention of </span><a href="http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/laos/newsrom/?206630/Laos-pushes-ahead-with-Mekong-dam-and-risks-destroying-the-regions-lifeblood" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">WWF</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Being surrounded
by the economies of China, Vietnam and Thailand, the Laos Government can see
the opportunity through the hydro schemes of being the low carbon power cell of
this part of the world. There’s a certain logic to this, but there are also
significant concerns about the potential impact on the livelihoods of those
villagers who depend on the Mekong and species, such as the rare and endangered
Irrawaddy Dolphin.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">It’s also
highly questionable where the average </span><span style="color: #4c1130;">Lao</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">
will see the benefits flow to them from the revenue generated by these schemes.
The debate to a degree eerily mirrors that encountered during the first week of
my travels on the other side of the world in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://robturk.blogspot.com/2012/05/fog-central-han-solo.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">San Francisco</span></a>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While in Tad Lo we
found it odd that despite being the only foreigners on the bus there were quite
a few in the town itself. It became apparent that most people had hired
motorbikes from Pakse and driven themselves up to the town, the benefit of
which was highlighted on our journey to Paksong, the central town on the Bolaven
and a good base for visiting the Tad Fan waterfall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB4KaCaij6eHQbcYZiVYqVS6OKqv581szNs_5krkWX-RUZkK8FtfGtyfjQYkdkH0i05Q9jzys5UBrEd96hVGblPoe3CU0C2xC6LO5EtS8EFSvcKPth53Hq1wYO9Z62OL2U2WiHaQK2DbZ/s1600/P1070170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB4KaCaij6eHQbcYZiVYqVS6OKqv581szNs_5krkWX-RUZkK8FtfGtyfjQYkdkH0i05Q9jzys5UBrEd96hVGblPoe3CU0C2xC6LO5EtS8EFSvcKPth53Hq1wYO9Z62OL2U2WiHaQK2DbZ/s400/P1070170.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Our ride to Ban Tateng</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">To travel to Paksong
required us to make our way to Ban Beng, catch a bus to Ban Tateng and then
catch another bus to Paksong. Managing to negotiate a ride on the back of a
pick up to Ban Beng, we arrived in time to meet the scheduled 8am bus service. </span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br /><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Sitting under a shady tree we noticed another backpack resting on its side with
no site of its owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little
while later, Min from Beijing ambled into view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the next three hours or so we sat there chatting and
taking walks up to the junction keeping a lookout for the missing bus. Into the
fourth hour Min took matters into her own hand and spying a liquid chemical
truck slowly rounding the corner leapt in front causing the driver to
break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After wildly waving her
hands she convinced the driver to give her a lift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opening the door she then waved us in and up we clambered
into the trucker’s cabin where his startled little boy had started to wail
having been rudely awoken by our presence.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br /><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5VP7FnPayyyw81gG0HTI5LLqADL4qfwGGJQK2-N6TocIo0eO7fG5G2W1oyOPsZf6ab5KOYktkNMvtfCk5H3HSkH6pfS1UNtUp6PQl_eP4SUzoTngsdNYkCCVkAxMWTv5orAGy8QpfMlj/s1600/IMG_6922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5VP7FnPayyyw81gG0HTI5LLqADL4qfwGGJQK2-N6TocIo0eO7fG5G2W1oyOPsZf6ab5KOYktkNMvtfCk5H3HSkH6pfS1UNtUp6PQl_eP4SUzoTngsdNYkCCVkAxMWTv5orAGy8QpfMlj/s200/IMG_6922.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I’m no truck driver,
but I’m not sure our man was either. I’m also sure the Mandarin on the side of
his truck read something along the lines of ‘can’t find it grind it’ as we were
either </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/55251065" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">crawling on the brink of stalling</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">,
or bunny hopping with the engine at the top of its rev range, either way
averaging about 10km/hr.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Still we
were very grateful for both Min’s forwardness and the generosity of our driver.
We bade farewell to Min at Ban Tateng and stood again by the side of the road,
but this time for not very long before a </span><i style="color: #4c1130;">sawngthaew</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">
(a flat bed truck with a roof on the back and bench seats) picked us up on its
way to Paksong</span><i style="color: #4c1130;">.</i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0o8rs6nFbFwpYIn97fNyF43C6MZu0MmTds0hB_931x8dkMpuLCQeCxPH8LL6lTWFdcbu1GtHMhqBf0T-VE-mIwntAxMo_S5zBwtILOovnftR_78dOAGUfuXgBXtI7x_p4SSpQK8qGV5N/s1600/IMG_6927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0o8rs6nFbFwpYIn97fNyF43C6MZu0MmTds0hB_931x8dkMpuLCQeCxPH8LL6lTWFdcbu1GtHMhqBf0T-VE-mIwntAxMo_S5zBwtILOovnftR_78dOAGUfuXgBXtI7x_p4SSpQK8qGV5N/s320/IMG_6927.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Tad Fan</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioVXiHmiSi8FxlMMSc-efHb3i-LBhUC3gJrskv8Lk6Zz51yIw4W6Yv499Mzrj68pJx_ucTkH0DFuWNYIwFIUlSOdGbXhPkrqtnHZ7nzHQePW15T3eIR6YLLxLADM2AKth1RP_Ab3eT6AJ/s1600/P1070181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioVXiHmiSi8FxlMMSc-efHb3i-LBhUC3gJrskv8Lk6Zz51yIw4W6Yv499Mzrj68pJx_ucTkH0DFuWNYIwFIUlSOdGbXhPkrqtnHZ7nzHQePW15T3eIR6YLLxLADM2AKth1RP_Ab3eT6AJ/s200/P1070181.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">View from the sawngthaew</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">That afternoon we made
our way to the magnificent Tad Fan waterfall before checking into a $6 a night
guesthouse in Paksong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it
was very affordable it was possibly the most disgusting rooms I’ve stayed in
and I was very grateful for my sleeping sheet as I wasn’t too keen to touch
anything in the room, least of all the mosquito splattered walls. </span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br /><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Our journey
to the Bolaven Plateau over and feeling like we were truly back in the
backpacker mode we jumped on another bus the next morning to catch the ride
back to Pakse and plan our journey south along the Mekong to the Cambodian
border.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-68213356896065085452012-12-07T00:20:00.000-08:002012-12-07T00:20:24.587-08:00Transition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As I understand modern
football coaching philosophy players are taught that in any one game of
football there are effectively three possible phases; you control the ball,
they control the ball or, no one really controls the ball and the game is in a
state of transition with players madly running around trying to regain control.
So it was as we departed Turkey we were entering a period of transition as we
scrambled our way through five locations in just over a week; from Turkey to
Dubai, onto Singapore then Thailand and eventually southern Laos. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Our time in Turkey
will always be fondly remembered for the host of amazing experiences we had and
friendliness of the people we encountered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Checking in at Istanbul gave one last opportunity for the counter
staff to marvel at my surname before giggling when I checked in the now globe
trotting market trolley. Ingeniously I’d purchased a small roll of office sticky
tape while rolling to the airport in the hope of securing the trolley for its
maiden flight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After a brief stopover
in Dubai we landed in Singapore and with the exception of a previous 15 hour or
so layover several years ago, it was a place I’d never been to before except in
transit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily for us a
colleague of mine, Rob Hobson, is now living in Singapore and we were able to
avail ourselves of his lovely old colonial townhouse in central Singapore for
our time there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1KyivI22EpO6aLLJF_CSPvV47dDswj9uDxnFcy4FDTbsqRl5FxcegPyTU8LiIdDZHtJn3aw0M36jxdaCCEnvZ891ME__uAnb4dH85jPJYfRkgwFq7rnWSjAPicXyCkYxqktMzIr1GGoU/s1600/IMG_6834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1KyivI22EpO6aLLJF_CSPvV47dDswj9uDxnFcy4FDTbsqRl5FxcegPyTU8LiIdDZHtJn3aw0M36jxdaCCEnvZ891ME__uAnb4dH85jPJYfRkgwFq7rnWSjAPicXyCkYxqktMzIr1GGoU/s640/IMG_6834.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As Rob explained and I
was vaguely aware, Singapore if often referred to as ‘Asia 101’, meaning it’s
in Asia but it’s clean and efficient and doesn’t provide the gritty no holds
bar experience that its surrounding neighbours can offer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such it’s often perceived as being a
tad dull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure the Singapore
Government has realised this as over the past few years the city has gradually
transformed itself with world class developments such as the impressive Marina
Bay Sands. It also feels very much like a city in transition having benefited,
like Australia, from proximity and relations with China.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As a backpacker on a
reasonably tight budget such developments don’t hold a huge amount of interest,
and with beer starting at $12 a pint I have the impression that future
development is not seeking to court such a crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These developments have however seen the proliferation of
rooftop bars across the city and on a typical balmy Friday evening Rob kindly
took us on a tour of them, enabling us to nurse a very expensive beverage at
each location.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvELRwF0k5pZCpXbOixQffC3t1u2QmfmqPrJNm6ly8QBW3a_5oYSKsRFgToxh7H6e2OXU8mSTPhTe65wvgCXON4ICHzIL3WSXJCUc6zXvWU3wqq8wHeX9qSsU03oq77wGKJMh1xPtMmN9y/s1600/IMG_6809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvELRwF0k5pZCpXbOixQffC3t1u2QmfmqPrJNm6ly8QBW3a_5oYSKsRFgToxh7H6e2OXU8mSTPhTe65wvgCXON4ICHzIL3WSXJCUc6zXvWU3wqq8wHeX9qSsU03oq77wGKJMh1xPtMmN9y/s200/IMG_6809.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">While the majority of
our time in Singapore was spent enjoying the simple joys access to a home
provides, like the ability to wash our own clothes and a bowl of cereal, we did
manage a visit to the latest Singapore development, and World Architect
Festival, </span><a href="http://www.worldbuildingsdirectory.com/project.cfm?id=4410" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">World Building of the Year,</span> </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Gardens by the Bay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The concept behind </span><a href="https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-the-gardens.html#!/sustainability-efforts" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">Gardens by the Bay</span></a><b style="color: #660000;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">is the inverse of a
greenhouse.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Given Singapore
already has a climate roughly equivalent to that found within a greenhouse,
Gardens by the Bay seeks, through two artificial domed structures to create
cool and humid (Cloud Forest) and cool and dry climates (Flower Dome).</span><b style="color: #660000;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqq6_3Gmp_0baK8_4oKT7Y-g7x65TSaCVPKVcGHH-W6YhXE6Hz905HBHq8n31xMaAgHxchd8L50IUQENZmAxDhpFoV220Na3M0RxfwjrbHYPoAz7JikwcF06U6Dzc6dhAiVhsZfilf-MwR/s1600/P1060837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqq6_3Gmp_0baK8_4oKT7Y-g7x65TSaCVPKVcGHH-W6YhXE6Hz905HBHq8n31xMaAgHxchd8L50IUQENZmAxDhpFoV220Na3M0RxfwjrbHYPoAz7JikwcF06U6Dzc6dhAiVhsZfilf-MwR/s200/P1060837.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Ski Dubai</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">On the surface the
first question that struck me is why? I can understand that it’s obviously been
developed as a tourist attraction, but to artificially cool the climate in such
a large volume of air and significantly reduce the humidity at the same time
undoubtedly requires a significant amount of energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following this line of thinking, prior to visiting I’d pitched
the development in the same ballpark as the artificial skifield within a Dubai
shopping mall. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oOW2_Cq8RXgMgKBjbFCs6PeJ3LtNc6bMUO59nBQjrIMw8EPmEoY01_HKg-dLrgOUZjnRZUg0CHn4mWeeY-BKQSAgfeucjEc428I-0ba48m6U7oHCVjcxG8DpyEgM-rRNuajhTjRKoBcO/s1600/P1060934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oOW2_Cq8RXgMgKBjbFCs6PeJ3LtNc6bMUO59nBQjrIMw8EPmEoY01_HKg-dLrgOUZjnRZUg0CHn4mWeeY-BKQSAgfeucjEc428I-0ba48m6U7oHCVjcxG8DpyEgM-rRNuajhTjRKoBcO/s320/P1060934.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Supertrees</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">My opinion changed however after our visit to Gardens by the Bay with
Rob and Susi on a typically humid Saturday afternoon, interspersed with the
occasional tropical downpour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Approaching the sprawling complex through a rambling tropical garden I
could see numerous flanged cylinders protruding into the sky. I was to learn in
the later part of our visit that as well as a providing an interesting
sculptural park and future vertical garden, these structures, referred to as ‘Supertrees’,
are at the heart of a site wide and leading edge approach to energy, water and
waste management.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The structures
not only act as funnels to collect water at the site, but are lined with solar
panels for the generation of electricity, and finally enable the venting of
fumes from the biomass co-generator buried beneath the site.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUfrM7j-LOnlqEqZPD5rW_gfB8FRRtu68eQjp8TspXSKOcpLw2gvPThJaMOR5ulMQzF7H-bBaFUmLtWVw7w5fp0cLLxJ03-ahnOD7AwTDJmYlhTM26reLelkVj16mhShjhRz-MVztTgAU/s1600/IMG_6780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUfrM7j-LOnlqEqZPD5rW_gfB8FRRtu68eQjp8TspXSKOcpLw2gvPThJaMOR5ulMQzF7H-bBaFUmLtWVw7w5fp0cLLxJ03-ahnOD7AwTDJmYlhTM26reLelkVj16mhShjhRz-MVztTgAU/s320/IMG_6780.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Cloud Forest</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Dashing to the complex through the tail end of another downpour we entered
the first of the domes, Cloud Forest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To be honest I was a little underwhelmed by the actual experience itself
which consists of an artificial hill with various levels that can be accessed
and provide information on the type of vegetation typically found at each
level. It’s interesting, but I think once the vegetation has grown a bit more
might be more impressive. There is a sombre part of me that wonders if we’ve
lost so many areas of natural biodiversity that we’re now having to create our
own biospheres as examples for future generations, much the same as zoos have
done with endangered species.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">For some reason I preferred the Flower Dome, sure not very manly of me, but maybe because its cool and
dry climate included a collection of plants I instantly recognised in the Australian-a section, including
the ubiquitous Grass Tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Hbvf78qlnUDGzHc7T1PeIp3J4Pusln6WQb5qF7ek4WYNMrRfAEw0jmStUyCPuVJzO0omtK2AvKCI8FIzSnI5zUTjoVt3u7ay-lDySNblss-THRdTh4_JODAK0KpQ_4VZ5l3wN6tHBNV5/s1600/IMG_6805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Hbvf78qlnUDGzHc7T1PeIp3J4Pusln6WQb5qF7ek4WYNMrRfAEw0jmStUyCPuVJzO0omtK2AvKCI8FIzSnI5zUTjoVt3u7ay-lDySNblss-THRdTh4_JODAK0KpQ_4VZ5l3wN6tHBNV5/s320/IMG_6805.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I think
however what I really enjoyed, and what turned my thoughts on the development
were the educational displays on the lower levels. As well as a funky 3D model illustrating,
through different combinations of lights, the integrated approach to energy,
water and waste management across the site, the area also included an excellent
video on the projected changes to the Earth under different global warming
scenarios, up to a +5<sup>o</sup>C change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking around it was evident that the video captured the
attention of the gathered throng, and given it’s on constant repeat is surely
an effective communication strategy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I walked out of Gardens by the Bay having reversed my former judgement
and was impressed by not only the holistic approach to providing optimal
energy, water and waste solutions, but also the significant educational
component.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVt3CM8Cogm0blZE3hl3TNSIilsm0xIz6c0kuEE0xBOzzkxCsAvjIkJ2tFU6XbG_K-rr930cP9QqjZ7dfR842KTarEFcdf9RXBHRnaZ6GKhIeSv8ndeBhJKEeDjp2lCQ5x_Z55blh4M7eb/s1600/IMG_6803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVt3CM8Cogm0blZE3hl3TNSIilsm0xIz6c0kuEE0xBOzzkxCsAvjIkJ2tFU6XbG_K-rr930cP9QqjZ7dfR842KTarEFcdf9RXBHRnaZ6GKhIeSv8ndeBhJKEeDjp2lCQ5x_Z55blh4M7eb/s640/IMG_6803.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Leaving Singapore behind we hurriedly made our way to the airport
seeking to regain control and looking forward to Laos.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-15167284512683484402012-11-30T03:46:00.000-08:002012-11-30T03:57:41.017-08:00On reflection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">It’s hard to imagine a child making their
was through the Australian school system who isn’t au fait with the ANZAC story
and my schooling experience was no exception, learning about Simpson and his
donkey, the ineptness of the command, the bravery of the Australian and New
Zealand diggers and the futility of the campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQLz-4cc9N10jkADMJFSWpXQjyAP6qs_2Oi-8HxkbM-ADQxg4jc6aGWW8Tqon8ODnHYfMvvqzyDGYWA22dGMbtvhMBhM58zB0-coWWr6N_Sd7V83xriv7yomcDgj8ocEYi4jVw9FcglV0/s1600/IMG_6660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQLz-4cc9N10jkADMJFSWpXQjyAP6qs_2Oi-8HxkbM-ADQxg4jc6aGWW8Tqon8ODnHYfMvvqzyDGYWA22dGMbtvhMBhM58zB0-coWWr6N_Sd7V83xriv7yomcDgj8ocEYi4jVw9FcglV0/s400/IMG_6660.JPG" width="400" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">In doing so you build your own mental
picture of what it would have been like at ANZAC Cove as the troops came ashore
on 25 April 1915.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">In later years I
always thought the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqSg7WO4tT4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">harrowing start</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">
of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ must be something akin to the chaos described of the
initial landing. It was interesting then on our visit to the Gallipoli
Peninsula to come face to face with the subconscious mental picture and context
I’d built up overtime around the ANZAC story.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">During our time at the Turkish Military
History Museum we’d been fortunate to happen upon the room dedicated to the
battle for control of the Dardanelles and the ensuing Gallipoli Peninsula
conflict at the same time as a group of big wigs from the American services
were being shown a short film on the campaign by their Turkish hosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we silently made our way amongst
them it was evident that the piece wasn’t on the land battle of Australian
focus, but rather the successful naval campaign of 18 March 1915 against the
English and French for control of the Dardanelles that preceded the Gallipoli
landing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha6dYwjD_iQWL3LzavvLlqrqnGtOY6P1ggGO1iS-GcE1oBCo5atwiLddPdU8aS7b4KGyYpXMhnPMQzR9z0B4kRz_nrdrUNywTf6LzDIH54cLciKKM2Ln-p52jVyeu83lniKkmX0YOAhwv/s1600/IMG_6693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha6dYwjD_iQWL3LzavvLlqrqnGtOY6P1ggGO1iS-GcE1oBCo5atwiLddPdU8aS7b4KGyYpXMhnPMQzR9z0B4kRz_nrdrUNywTf6LzDIH54cLciKKM2Ln-p52jVyeu83lniKkmX0YOAhwv/s320/IMG_6693.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">The Dardanelles from the Gallipoli Peninsula</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">More than this however, and something I
hadn’t really thought too much about, is that in the context of their history the
successful defense of the Dardanelles was at the time a tremendous victory for
the Turks over the powers of England and France and one which they are
justifiably proud. Like the continued beating suffered by the Australian
cricket team of the mid eighties, prior to this Ottoman Turks had been on quite
a losing streak. Instead of the four years the Australian cricket team endured
however, theirs had stretched over 100 years as the might of their former
empire slowly crumbled.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">With these insights we set off on our
penultimate bus journey from Istanbul to the town of Canakkale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canakkale is a quaint student town on
the southern shores of the Dardanelles and provides an ideal base for the
pilgrimage to the Gallipoli Peninsula on the opposite shore. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">There are a host of tour companies that
operate tours to Gallipoli from Canakkale and given it’s a place I’ll only come
to once or maybe twice in my life I wanted to make sure of a decent
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tourist
information bureau handed over a host of flyers for various companies that all
appeared to visit the same sites, including one for ‘RSL Tours’, obviously
trying to use the ‘Returned Service League’ (RSL) moniker to hook people in. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDftVZ_oCl80epHbMgB9AQWBAkN_M5JajAorcX3ky2d059OmrRH33oxRPJjroC0ZBCr0y-XI8-4RkSzZGDSiyCH1aPJRUHA6nafMTbZUH-CHZ_cn9Fpzkxp4rMT_uXcMwP4r4mKTgPC1SO/s1600/IMG_6714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDftVZ_oCl80epHbMgB9AQWBAkN_M5JajAorcX3ky2d059OmrRH33oxRPJjroC0ZBCr0y-XI8-4RkSzZGDSiyCH1aPJRUHA6nafMTbZUH-CHZ_cn9Fpzkxp4rMT_uXcMwP4r4mKTgPC1SO/s640/IMG_6714.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">The Dardanelles from Canakkale</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">On visiting the RSL office to enquire about
prices it was obvious there was no relation with the organization in Australia.
As we climbed the stairs we were confronted by a smoke filled room with three
middle age Turks in leather jackets in deep discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking affronted at our entrance I
brandished the RSL flyer in their general direction, which they grudgingly
admitted was theirs, before simply stating ‘closed for the season’ and turning
back to their discussions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slightly
bewildered we retreated back down the stairs out into the street.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While they were closed a few more were open
and I booked us onto TJ Tours which a Kiwi had recommended to us way back
during our tour of Ephesus. I’d expected in wandering around Canakkale to find
pockets of continued Australian and New Zealand presence roaming across the
town. This was not to be however as it was evidently low season and with a
maximum day temperature around 12 degrees it’s easy to understand why we
appeared to be the only Gallipoli tourists in town. </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">That evening I did some further research and came across this
</span><a href="http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/2visiting/walk_intro.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">excellent site</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> prepared by the
Australian Government on each of the key sites on the Peninsula.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">The following morning on a crisp but clear
day we caught the ferry across the Dardanelles to the town of Eceabat to meet
up with our tour group who, except for us, were on a one-day round tour from
Istanbul. On arrival the other participants to the tour were already absorbed
in the Four Corners documentary on the conflict from 1988 </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/08/08/3288497.htm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">‘Gallipoli: The Fatal Shore’</span></a><b style="color: #4c1130;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">that provides an engrossing lead in to
the tour.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW4KGW1fbJPecSmAVfzexDoSuHrAk2HO3xQI8rS98VKQ6FMv6o_Fd2rK7dkKohDiJhy_nunI8rVWs3HU8gVexvBv13NiPbEizu9ksQwO5IMmo44CabMPfh6ilEuVMlYz2BvgDMVuqXHg_/s1600/IMG_6593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW4KGW1fbJPecSmAVfzexDoSuHrAk2HO3xQI8rS98VKQ6FMv6o_Fd2rK7dkKohDiJhy_nunI8rVWs3HU8gVexvBv13NiPbEizu9ksQwO5IMmo44CabMPfh6ilEuVMlYz2BvgDMVuqXHg_/s320/IMG_6593.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Brighton Beach looking north to ANZAC Cove</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">With this context we boarded our little bus
for the short journey to Brighton Beach, the commencement of the tour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the journey our guide, TJ regaled
us, maybe a tad too much, as to his credentials on leading such tours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">On our first stop, and subsequent others
after, what struck me most was what an unexpectedly picturesque location the
English had chosen for the ANZACs to come ashore that fateful morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d never really associated Gallipoli
with the same Aegean Sea that contains the many beautiful Greek Islands just
off the coast, with its crystal clear waters and coastal heath vegetation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0wtFa0F4ET0B7ZTkBkT02HbiwLQ5yU2deeUf17_d2QcICygZr4HSUzL3XaLszLeQ_snRkB-wxnpOm1illgbbjWoex757DGMNA0AUvtCAZtvKbz9UJDbk6flxx-6DSVTirn0vLNtrp72h/s1600/IMG_6670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0wtFa0F4ET0B7ZTkBkT02HbiwLQ5yU2deeUf17_d2QcICygZr4HSUzL3XaLszLeQ_snRkB-wxnpOm1illgbbjWoex757DGMNA0AUvtCAZtvKbz9UJDbk6flxx-6DSVTirn0vLNtrp72h/s400/IMG_6670.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Lone Pine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Over the course of the next three hours or
so we visited a range of key sites such as ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine and various
Australian and New Zealand cemeteries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cemeteries in particular felt very peaceful and slowly reading the
inscriptions it’s apparent many of those killed were from country Australia. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking down from the Australian
memorial at Lone Pine back to the sea it’s also starkly apparent what a pitifully
small piece of land the Australians and New Zealanders occupied over the nine
months of the campaign.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tJFDeYOfqjgmPLGh85z-LRzOifDjQNvZVRkIutzkT8nzEtOBBqpIS0mNfjCLtN0M6f-wwMaibIjjJso_GDNZfKaN-6K0s6FZ40sUYXebyzsD3kijFsn_OuB_NMfIHv-D7qyDpwR50Lb4/s1600/IMG_6701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tJFDeYOfqjgmPLGh85z-LRzOifDjQNvZVRkIutzkT8nzEtOBBqpIS0mNfjCLtN0M6f-wwMaibIjjJso_GDNZfKaN-6K0s6FZ40sUYXebyzsD3kijFsn_OuB_NMfIHv-D7qyDpwR50Lb4/s320/IMG_6701.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Ataturk</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Another prominent aspect of the tour that
came through was the key role Ataturk played in firstly rallying the Turkish
troops to hold the Australian and New Zealand advance on the first day, that
they only briefly surpassed once again over the whole campaign, and through the
campaign, in leading his troops from the front. There is a great story of how
during the August Allied offensive and Turkish counter offensive his life was
saved from shrapnel by his pocket watch. It’s fair to say the history of the
Turks over the past century would have been significantly different had he been
killed that day.</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Nineteen years after the Gallipoli campaign
Ataturk </span><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/File:Attaturkswords5.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">gave a moving tribute</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> to
those from both sides of the conflict that lost their lives. </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While the ANZAC campaign is long regarded
as significantly contributing to the national identities of Australia and New
Zealand it also significantly shaped and contributed to that of modern Turkey
through the emergence of Ataturk as its leader.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-67723223610269516152012-11-25T02:37:00.000-08:002012-11-26T04:28:34.737-08:00What's in a name<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">At each new town we’ve
reached a familiar pattern has developed as we check into our latest accommodation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arriving at the counter I’ll introduce
myself in the customary fashion by stating my name and that I’ve a reservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNew2ThY3KxGHLN2PKMPUMxHz-VnsmHFn4s0KTrdjDwAGjCbVWEuHKsbNFu-8JoMa7ONrFeiNiFufXx0JTa1y68C-3TrPZalX45T9QQhujCwrnNAJ9wfSuz3cKtK2neI59JN_jJiK8pXj7/s1600/P1060637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNew2ThY3KxGHLN2PKMPUMxHz-VnsmHFn4s0KTrdjDwAGjCbVWEuHKsbNFu-8JoMa7ONrFeiNiFufXx0JTa1y68C-3TrPZalX45T9QQhujCwrnNAJ9wfSuz3cKtK2neI59JN_jJiK8pXj7/s320/P1060637.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Embracing my inner Turk, Grand Bazaar</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">At this point the eyes
of the attendant generally light up and they’ll repeat back to me, ‘robert….TURK?’
and then search my face expectantly for some sign as to what mischief this is
that someone should be named so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll then confirm this is indeed my name, eliciting almost the exact
same response each time of, a question of genuine interest, ‘why are you called
Turk, are you Turkish?’ </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Having responded to
this question a number of times and aware now that the surname Turk is very
uncommon in Turkey, I usually tackle the easiest part of the question first,
clearing up that despite my pale freckly complexion I’m unfortunately (bearing
in mind the other conversant) not Turkish.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Responding to the why
is a tad trickier and I’ve tried a few differing approaches, …the literal – ‘well,
my Father’s called Turk, and his Father…and I’m guessing his Father’s
Father…etc’…knowing full well that’s not what they’re really asking…the urban
myth with potential for truth response – ‘the name dates back to a period<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>when<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>my English ancestors would fight the Ottoman Turks and being handy
in a fight return to England known as ‘Barry the Turk Fighter / Slayer /
Bludgeoner’, that over time was shortened to Barry the
Turk and eventually Barry Turk’…and finally the most disappointing of all
responses…honesty – ‘I don’t really know’. To combat my absence of knowledge
and the general disappointment my responses have bought I spent some time
searching the Net and from this have concluded that despite a number of
theories no else seem to know either. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKpk0BePqi6VQRfb4SZdoB6lAtq-xaZeg_UK5YAGA32FPnHtK8ZGRoqd5qorBrxd9sIuxQVQ-62CjWh7RLIMm7AlxdFqkokXiJYigZf7RtaijYnSyFBXgfaZbXqwjlsIovqLod9clLbzz/s1600/IMG_6529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKpk0BePqi6VQRfb4SZdoB6lAtq-xaZeg_UK5YAGA32FPnHtK8ZGRoqd5qorBrxd9sIuxQVQ-62CjWh7RLIMm7AlxdFqkokXiJYigZf7RtaijYnSyFBXgfaZbXqwjlsIovqLod9clLbzz/s400/IMG_6529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Blue Mosque</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">So it was as I checked
us into the Med Cezir Hotel in Istanbul I was faced with familiar questions,
this time I elected the urban myth response, which prompted a mostly jokingly and
slightly uncomfortable enquiry as to how many Turks Mr Barry must have smote in
the past to be given such a name.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We were in Istanbul
for 6 days, but with a population approaching 13 million we’re only really
playing at the edges in terms of experiencing what the city has to offer. There
was a strong feeling throughput our time there that the city is undergoing
something of a renaissance in terms of its appeal as a global destination to
both the western and Islamic worlds, and the continued increase in tourist
numbers testify to this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4jGPuEiEssnEYGwQu0kq1M_oruWfdhVlCXj9H5yWlWgivGvDA5-EPqgKt4d2vuRTX3BKUxKvvmn21BUcZvaQSlhjmLNCiKrHP_KjvamYM9qFhhPgYlzFaM_pkRPfyX2kI8Mp3I_E38rR/s1600/IMG_6171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4jGPuEiEssnEYGwQu0kq1M_oruWfdhVlCXj9H5yWlWgivGvDA5-EPqgKt4d2vuRTX3BKUxKvvmn21BUcZvaQSlhjmLNCiKrHP_KjvamYM9qFhhPgYlzFaM_pkRPfyX2kI8Mp3I_E38rR/s200/IMG_6171.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Door latch, Topkapi Palace</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi0Rt0slfy4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">They Might Be Giants</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> sagely note however ‘Istanbul’ is only a relatively recent tag and represents its third
title over a long and fascinating history. As the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and
Ottoman Empires have rolled over this city at the confluence of Europe and Asia
so they have all left their mark and influenced its current form.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">There are effectively three must see sights in Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque
and Topkapi Palace and our little hotel in Sultanahmet (pronounced ‘Sultan-Ahmet’, as opposed to, ‘sultana-met’…which
may or may not be how we pronounced it for several days) was literally 500m or
so from all of them, an amazing location, although with the first Call to
Prayer of the day at 5am it did feel on occasion like we were in the midst of a
Blue Mosque slumber party. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA6qzOysQ5w-loefWIXYDaUdHnLnIH-G8h2p2Iik2R6Fx0OpFaJFNv-O18wqtBPSeCC-vDw-Asva93zy4EpMl337RCjvODMxYQHyiCUmaHHi6Q5UwVEYk3cVx-mmIWTHaZJn3fTH9IiZJ/s1600/IMG_6305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA6qzOysQ5w-loefWIXYDaUdHnLnIH-G8h2p2Iik2R6Fx0OpFaJFNv-O18wqtBPSeCC-vDw-Asva93zy4EpMl337RCjvODMxYQHyiCUmaHHi6Q5UwVEYk3cVx-mmIWTHaZJn3fTH9IiZJ/s640/IMG_6305.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Hagia Sophia</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">All these are
impressive monuments but what I liked most about the Hagia Sophia, constructed
during the Byzantine period and at the time the greatest church in the world,
is how the Islamic Ottomans on coming to power quickly converted the church
through the addition of minarets and by altering the majority, but not all, of
the internal facades for Muslim prayer, making them quite possibly some of the
earliest adopters of green building philosophy. This conversion by the Ottomans
of churches throughout Turkey contrasts sharply with the Spanish approach in
Central and South America of seeking to destroy any edifices associated with
the native religion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Monday night, Tarlabasi Bvd</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">During the evenings we
would escape the tourist fare and dinner touts in Sultanahmet and make our way
across the Golden Horn to Beyoğlu,
described as the bohemian area of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an interesting area, where formally derelict buildings
are being converted into chic restaurants, cafes and bars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is however far from undiscovered and
I can’t think of a street in another city like Tarlabasi Boulevard that forms the
spine of the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether on the
weekend or during the week it’s heaving with people strolling back and forth
till all hours of the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walk
two streets away however and it’s easy to find yourself, like we did, on
completely deserted back streets and winding alleys.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcQlYvG-gDljHp9aKDzuthyphenhyphenjFe50FJr6EjONOpoSznMIKJXAxA7hXmcJa9ucm_vGM4Koh7awdweDrf3gnPFq_uWRKE6hfyUj2e7P2OGLc-qP_0GW4r2G1_1Cz39lPZZWK_3VyuLI5DmQt/s1600/IMG_6572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcQlYvG-gDljHp9aKDzuthyphenhyphenjFe50FJr6EjONOpoSznMIKJXAxA7hXmcJa9ucm_vGM4Koh7awdweDrf3gnPFq_uWRKE6hfyUj2e7P2OGLc-qP_0GW4r2G1_1Cz39lPZZWK_3VyuLI5DmQt/s320/IMG_6572.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">But is it art? Istanbul Modern</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">While there are many
existing attractions it’s also evident that Istanbul is in desperate need of a
more uniform approach to public transport and inspiration in terms of urban
design. The public transport system is a hodge podge of poorly connected single
line heavy and light rail and metro, thrown together with the odd funicular that
seems woefully underdone for the size of the city.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">All that’s required now is a </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZjzsnPhnw" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">monorail</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> to complete the pick n mix of approaches.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The Government is seeking to address
this through the </span><a href="http://marmaray.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">Marmara<b>y</b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> project,
but a visit to the Istanbul Modern, revealed that there is controversy surrounding
this project in the process of acquiring land in slum areas where communities
have developed but have no property rights. Our journey to Istanbul Modern, a
great modern art museum on the banks of the majestic </span><span style="color: #660000;">Bosphorus</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> also highlighted the urban design challenges as once off
the tram there’s no clear path to the museum and you wander aimlessly through
rows of shisha bars until you reach a lovely
bitumen car park and holding yard that marks its entrance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As preparation for our
next destination of Canakkale and the Gallipoli Peninsula on our last day I
dragged Susi out to the Turkish Military History Museum for several hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Museum is very affordable and in
addition to the extensive collection of Ottoman period memorabilia there is a
very detailed set of a diorama’s and displays on Attila the Hun. I’d never
associated the antics of Attila with Turkey but it’s evident that the modern
day Turk can trace their origins back to the horsemen riding out of the steppes
of Central Eastern Asia and Attila was the first Turk who did so intent on
giving the world a damn good thrashing.</span></span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-84217232832338752242012-11-18T01:04:00.002-08:002012-11-19T03:34:33.941-08:00Buses from heaven<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Like a small meteoroid orbiting the Earth
we were being inexorably drawn towards the behemoth of a metropolis that is
modern day Istanbul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the
meteoroid however our main mode of travel through Turkey has been the intercity
bus. If heaven had an intercity bus service, and I’m sure being a fairly well
populated place, it does, then I’d put a fair wedge of money on it being
operated by the Turks.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Having had a variety of bus experiences
over my travels there’s always a degree of trepidation when first encountering
a country’s bus service, but from our first journey and each after we’ve been
pleasantly surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only are
all the buses large intercity cruisers, but each seat has it’s own airplane
style entertainment screen, it’s all in Turkish, but with most action movies
it’s pretty easy to work out what’s going on, and most importantly, the good
guys and the bad guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some
countries these features may be standard, but what sets the Turkish buses apart
is the chap, normally resplendently dressed with sharp shirt and bow tie who
provides complimentary cay, coffee, softies, water and cakes during the journey.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuszovXjT8Gc4fmmyRqKZK0FrTyVgfwjVATC2WBu3eKaSJ6cTgt44mbwLNNdTicRYk8IxSPF6GuiC01qebP6DhuQPN4AYEuqVIw-VXNYKCqTPaXayAvMnTJDNenNCAl3Jtng2GKfuBZ97X/s1600/IMG_6136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuszovXjT8Gc4fmmyRqKZK0FrTyVgfwjVATC2WBu3eKaSJ6cTgt44mbwLNNdTicRYk8IxSPF6GuiC01qebP6DhuQPN4AYEuqVIw-VXNYKCqTPaXayAvMnTJDNenNCAl3Jtng2GKfuBZ97X/s640/IMG_6136.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Safranbolu at dusk</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">It was on such a bus we left Goreme and
Cappadocia behind, headed in the direction of Istanbul, but diverted from the direct
route for three nights to the historical town of Safranbolu, near the Black
Sea Coast.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Jhhv3Q2vkUP9jQEX-UZiAjZobu2NqBn_kZ9FJJfYf74RBDAmNfezY0XQ92eDjzGM2-CoSdFK48SMKPSZH6FmWd-kdUbqGnh4Y3SmdoJ2xdF96-7baiJXP6-D9nfht8WNTs2UmokPQkJ6/s1600/IMG_6089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Jhhv3Q2vkUP9jQEX-UZiAjZobu2NqBn_kZ9FJJfYf74RBDAmNfezY0XQ92eDjzGM2-CoSdFK48SMKPSZH6FmWd-kdUbqGnh4Y3SmdoJ2xdF96-7baiJXP6-D9nfht8WNTs2UmokPQkJ6/s200/IMG_6089.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Safranbolu (or ‘The Bowlo’ as I liked to
refer to it, much to the amusement of only myself) is famed for its Ottoman era
housing and back in the day, at the height of the Ottoman Empire, was reknowned
for the quality of its craftsman and the herb it’s named after, saffron.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These days following the intervention
of UNESCO the Ottoman era housing within the old city is slowly being restored
and like most foreigners this is where we stayed.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJwg5s5r_iFIlY2dYBr6aWvzgTnM-j-KEaLydtjE1DWMUUIGbFcp2_2g48HAxZE2jV03uOG-KFB7n7mXaGX_j1GoUnTQYizJUn43kxLu275W2gNMNZ9K6eT0MXRRDiMy-fRJPNS_0KWzc/s1600/IMG_6076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJwg5s5r_iFIlY2dYBr6aWvzgTnM-j-KEaLydtjE1DWMUUIGbFcp2_2g48HAxZE2jV03uOG-KFB7n7mXaGX_j1GoUnTQYizJUn43kxLu275W2gNMNZ9K6eT0MXRRDiMy-fRJPNS_0KWzc/s200/IMG_6076.JPG" width="133" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Checking into our accommodation we were
recommended a homely place to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was aware that we were now entering the low season, but walking around
the old town at night there was barely another soul on the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The restaurant was easy to find as it
was the one place where there were fellow humans. The restaurant itself was
actually a converted house with two Turkish Mutti’s waiting in the kitchen for
the husband to call through the order of one of the five items on the menu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The food was delicious and it was great
to have that home cooked taste to the meal.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y1ucpTWlCnfXOzaehAJ6mOdlDeOKFdp3f-tcjuHgXzMB_IlRoWfXH1tVLFe0JG2Akcq6wrjNRQMtzEPSzLqj4g-3mc1VBf7memjl8XAwE0z1ld75osJ32SeXPRkKGJXRRc6nSYYHc3aZ/s1600/IMG_6101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y1ucpTWlCnfXOzaehAJ6mOdlDeOKFdp3f-tcjuHgXzMB_IlRoWfXH1tVLFe0JG2Akcq6wrjNRQMtzEPSzLqj4g-3mc1VBf7memjl8XAwE0z1ld75osJ32SeXPRkKGJXRRc6nSYYHc3aZ/s320/IMG_6101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Outside of the attractiveness of the old
city there’s not a huge list of must see sights on offer.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I’d read through this </span><a href="http://sarahakaisercross.blogspot.sg/2012/04/hiking-in-safranbolu.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc;">blog</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> that it was possible however to
hike from the old city 7 km along a gorge to the Incekaya Aqueduct an ancient piece
of Byzantine civil engineering, an irresistible combination. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Scouting
the net there wasn’t much on offer in terms of directions, and asking at the
hostel only gave me the route for driving, the owner unable to understand
why anyone would hike it.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Trying Tourist Information the chap
confidently pointed at the first bridge out of town over the gorge, indicated
finding our way down into it and then, voila, simply hiking up it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjObHLKAXSl50ueLGPpZtweb4pDSgeM2q7HOVRDQFAp9tJmZkw4l_zGNygt9Fm9LFj6niNTGKZuE6kCgSW5i3sovM8oSF1FOecY0QV14sFwkNLxtpW7C5KgKLQ-7PRcVN_YVfCzQmLzvii/s1600/P1060309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjObHLKAXSl50ueLGPpZtweb4pDSgeM2q7HOVRDQFAp9tJmZkw4l_zGNygt9Fm9LFj6niNTGKZuE6kCgSW5i3sovM8oSF1FOecY0QV14sFwkNLxtpW7C5KgKLQ-7PRcVN_YVfCzQmLzvii/s320/P1060309.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Setting off we soon encountered the bridge
spanning the gorge below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a bit of
searching we found a way down to the dry creek bed within the gorge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I’ve previously noted rubbish collection
isn’t a Turkish strong suit and a gorge represents God’s gift of a ready made
landfill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we hiked amongst all
sorts of debris including children's plastic toys the route just didn’t feel
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rounding a bend our way was
completely blocked as the concrete bridge over the gorge had cracked and fallen into the
gorge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Backtracking and scrambling
up we found ourselves not too far advanced and in the rear of a person’s
property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">At this point we decided the Tourist
Information guy had no idea and proceeded along the parallel road for a couple
of kilometers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From what we’d read
we were seeking wooden stairs down into the gorge that would take us to the
ancient Aqueduct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crossing back
over the gorge, now filled with a flowing creek, we continued merrily along,
constantly wondering where these wooden stairs were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually the road petered out and we came across a group
of guys with a car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asking for
directions they also couldn’t understand why you would hike and indicated it
was still quite some way to the concrete water bridge.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYk1HDpQDAMWkm8JoNNKCs_DBfV4aSlfVuaZr7q3JscoTzm6eRQ7dWkidUSOusm6JuMy5OmLwolXUryN57CjWXLvZFDNWMIiLb4jLwb-9Fuywmia1TtpNEpDKF2A2qe9SA8H6C-5dBL5V9/s1600/P1060299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYk1HDpQDAMWkm8JoNNKCs_DBfV4aSlfVuaZr7q3JscoTzm6eRQ7dWkidUSOusm6JuMy5OmLwolXUryN57CjWXLvZFDNWMIiLb4jLwb-9Fuywmia1TtpNEpDKF2A2qe9SA8H6C-5dBL5V9/s640/P1060299.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Incekaya Aqueduct</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Obviously it was a busy day for them as we all then piled into their little van, two of us and four of them as they drove us to the Incekaya Aqueduct. It turns out they were a group of civil engineers designing a new road and we were very grateful for their assistance.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeAjHKJ6UANUjS_QvSXCvd8z_KV4Sq7ufmL5x4hIx2mvjxzf0TLrAW_KiQio1Yc2SjQQl9boJnbreHjArsMyJLwX8JaIrV8Q3gr9kos_ccz1E7IAMzMxzbjCnZUbUYOYahq-cyGRZvpHTN/s1600/IMG_6048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeAjHKJ6UANUjS_QvSXCvd8z_KV4Sq7ufmL5x4hIx2mvjxzf0TLrAW_KiQio1Yc2SjQQl9boJnbreHjArsMyJLwX8JaIrV8Q3gr9kos_ccz1E7IAMzMxzbjCnZUbUYOYahq-cyGRZvpHTN/s320/IMG_6048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Our Turkish guides</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After revealing in the Incekaya Aqueduct and walking back and forth we decided to determine where we missed the decent into the gorge by following it back from the Aqueduct. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Walking along we were soon joined by another group of Turks, three University friends and their Mother. In exchange for them being able to practice their English they offered to show us the way, so guided by our new found friends we hiked our way back in the fading autumn light, reflecting on the generosity and friendliness of our chance encounters with locals on our hike.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-76799101349239417452012-11-10T09:50:00.003-08:002012-11-10T13:41:46.304-08:00Cappadocia dreamin'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Something that’s become quite evident during our travels in Turkey has been the level of pride the Turks have in their country. This pride is most overtly recognisable through the multitude of Turkish flags waving proudly in all manner of locations across the country, although surprisingly they’re yet to embrace the superman cape look for some reason.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">More subtly this pride is demonstrated through popular culture.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">While enjoying a cup of cay (the ever present black Turkish tea) in a Pamukkale café the Turkey current top 20 were playing on a nearby TV.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As we watched it became apparent that all the songs were by Turkish artists, which generally involved the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy8mCKQnzWU" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">warbling of a swarthy chap</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> and there wasn’t the slightest hint of western infiltration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcVjpCUriErhqAuWzbr1nU4MStQqG_BxLu9TThmjqIRrg42WDS3hTCsWvuw48R4k_5a0WusYX9hIM4yIMmVgbluGKCc8TBxPCRmDJxQFwyj5EXXDTRutLdxTSi-8amR9uD_duYb4wEkNY/s1600/IMG_5750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcVjpCUriErhqAuWzbr1nU4MStQqG_BxLu9TThmjqIRrg42WDS3hTCsWvuw48R4k_5a0WusYX9hIM4yIMmVgbluGKCc8TBxPCRmDJxQFwyj5EXXDTRutLdxTSi-8amR9uD_duYb4wEkNY/s400/IMG_5750.JPG" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Within this context we’ve been constantly amused by how</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82LCKBdjywQ&feature=watch-vrec" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">this song</span></a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">has infiltrated Turkey and the unusual places it’s cropped up, such as watching the sunset at an outdoors bar in Antalya, only for the background hum of the city to be broken by a group of guys walking by with a small radio blasting it out, or more recently as we biked along a narrow track through the Rose Valley on the outskirts of Goreme in Cappadocia, only to have to take evasive action and move smartly off the path as an ancient white Renault packed with barely teenage boys came racing along and, like an agitated octopus, their arms pumped the air to the tune out of the car windows as they passed by in a cloud of dust.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz_S3B7x_p2eYW6L5Mf3VfBYLOcXZOY_gqSGQcapOdhueYjODGOYFDWlcPCPAZtiWVbtsUdwuvKdAgZJ8rZhNm_O9kJCi5V3Vcrq-JsfVyGXUToPTbhcGv0swFieSggtwDIc_3Z9Ed9NS/s1600/IMG_5901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz_S3B7x_p2eYW6L5Mf3VfBYLOcXZOY_gqSGQcapOdhueYjODGOYFDWlcPCPAZtiWVbtsUdwuvKdAgZJ8rZhNm_O9kJCi5V3Vcrq-JsfVyGXUToPTbhcGv0swFieSggtwDIc_3Z9Ed9NS/s320/IMG_5901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">
Goreme and the wider Cappadocia area perhaps goes someway to explaining the source of the Turkish pride. As with Pamukkale it’s unique, being famous for the alien landscape of pendulous outcrops and wavy ice-cream shaped rocks cascading down hillsides into valley floors. The formations are a result of hardened volcanic flows that have remained as the surrounding earth has eroded overtime to reveal the rock underneath. During the Byzantine period the local communities started to construct dwellings, stores and churches in the rocks and below ground to protect against marauding raids from the Persians. These days the main use of the houses in the rocky outcrops (beside hotels) is as pigeon coups, that we were informed assists in providing much need soil fertiliser for the surrounding farms.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We’d somewhat upgraded our accommodation in Goreme following Kizkalesi and opted to stay in the Kelebek ‘special’ (special in that all the hotels have the word cave in them so there’s a need to differentiate) cave hotel. It was a lovely place to stay nestled into a rocky outcrop overlooking the town of Goreme. Each morning from our cave room you could hear the faint sound of the firing of the balloons outside the window and peering out the window watch them slowly rise to join with the 70 or so other balloon rides that occur each morning.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB6do2ybKsTjeoIeO1M4AeabkZZZpsyptCxbvvahBzHkUb5b_Qv0NfZ5NU2JSMsIv9VY8o5vhgxoDvKaFVbKB8nTiPWJJgFeE8Xm0B1Dz5tqu-iycLjpBb6KmcEYHx8T8s-WhUrV_S0hj/s1600/IMG_5805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB6do2ybKsTjeoIeO1M4AeabkZZZpsyptCxbvvahBzHkUb5b_Qv0NfZ5NU2JSMsIv9VY8o5vhgxoDvKaFVbKB8nTiPWJJgFeE8Xm0B1Dz5tqu-iycLjpBb6KmcEYHx8T8s-WhUrV_S0hj/s640/IMG_5805.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Morning over Goreme</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCJB-F_zb-xkqjWE1DVan9HR3rg9m2iS3Foct03rKJ4LY6FAGQ6P9QLijPz-MXmAGhKG31KWgJ95RA9uuR1tI3viy0MY15iQhuOkCQoq9tgh7wVic1BfBCVo5_QNLGCpupuC2uZB77MiH/s1600/IMG_5840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCJB-F_zb-xkqjWE1DVan9HR3rg9m2iS3Foct03rKJ4LY6FAGQ6P9QLijPz-MXmAGhKG31KWgJ95RA9uuR1tI3viy0MY15iQhuOkCQoq9tgh7wVic1BfBCVo5_QNLGCpupuC2uZB77MiH/s320/IMG_5840.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">'Love' Valley</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">On checking in we’d been given a sketchy map of the surrounding valleys, outline of the walks and approximate time to spend in each one, including the modestly named ‘Love Valley’ (30 minutes apparently)….and Rose and Red Valleys. After a day spent walking around the valleys we decided it’d be easier the next day to head back with bikes. Many people drive quads around the valleys, but from what I observed it becomes more about racing over sand dunes than taking the fascinating homes amongst the landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo-5z82JsUkiAj6cxzmSi3Skwt8XCeKL8QasXYa3EMrXvotQLSTCCkQ8jlOy9Tgvc5eniodKZcpqS3c9c_P7bwC_t-1ruh0dCItW9UgW4lL7rMDKrqPt90jFlu8fSQpI8oTUkrZv2PDaz/s1600/IMG_5919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo-5z82JsUkiAj6cxzmSi3Skwt8XCeKL8QasXYa3EMrXvotQLSTCCkQ8jlOy9Tgvc5eniodKZcpqS3c9c_P7bwC_t-1ruh0dCItW9UgW4lL7rMDKrqPt90jFlu8fSQpI8oTUkrZv2PDaz/s200/IMG_5919.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The sketchy maps provided by the hotel seemed to be the same available throughout the town and we set off on our bikes to the Rose and Red Valleys trying to relate the squiggles on the paper to our surrounds. To confuse matters there regularly appeared red spray painted arrows to the valleys that work for a while, but then start to contradict each other.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZu1dnsKYB2VfhwJzFm-mzFOpK01JWYrkkOkFhXWwS4Oltu-XDKDPWY8NJ763_TkmOIvFBJbWah-UZgv9yqfZVlr5ONEvVfcihd-Klpo2rllHQjpJvq1ZHptg8fYW6J9T5eQEsUaap-e9/s1600/P1060089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZu1dnsKYB2VfhwJzFm-mzFOpK01JWYrkkOkFhXWwS4Oltu-XDKDPWY8NJ763_TkmOIvFBJbWah-UZgv9yqfZVlr5ONEvVfcihd-Klpo2rllHQjpJvq1ZHptg8fYW6J9T5eQEsUaap-e9/s320/P1060089.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The tops of the valleys are sparsely vegetated, but lower down the vegetation increases and winds with the valley floor. Being late autumn the leaves had turned a golden yellow and in the weak sunshine it was great fun to ride along the path. At some stage however we must have missed that the path turned off the trail we were on as I never actually imagined that the trail came out of the valley floor we were in and went over the top of the valley as I learned later on. Consequently we blindly rode on as our path became increasingly narrow and came across the first location where we had to pick the bikes up and haul them over rocks. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjJ4XVzdj1rgfHFcBFUae8HCjTgWm61-_Z5JAPRC3Rk4FSm1ZtuhXAOtAFPZX9MKAe4ay4j_RljB8NAmbxo18pBCyVX-8wXUktlbDw_CnfnAki9f1iekwmbD4GpSmiwAQNEJwwfPEG4kS/s1600/P1060096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjJ4XVzdj1rgfHFcBFUae8HCjTgWm61-_Z5JAPRC3Rk4FSm1ZtuhXAOtAFPZX9MKAe4ay4j_RljB8NAmbxo18pBCyVX-8wXUktlbDw_CnfnAki9f1iekwmbD4GpSmiwAQNEJwwfPEG4kS/s200/P1060096.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As we continued on this became a common occurrence, with the path only wide enough for the bike handles and the walls of the valley looming over us. Eventually we reached a point where the path split in two, one way the path disappeared completely and the other the path was blocked by a boulder larger than I. At this point we came to the startling conclusion that we’d somehow taken a wrong turn and retreated back the way we’d come. We spent the rest of the day riding around other valleys, stopping to dismount and climb up to explore the insides of the long abandoned houses before pedalling our exhausted bodies back before the setting sun.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We end up staying in Goreme for five nights, doing a day tour of surrounding ruins and an underground city that spread to a depth of eight floors beneath the ground, but felt that we’d only just scratched the surface in terms of exploring the unique Cappadocia region.</span></div>
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-54561858018904115122012-11-01T13:17:00.002-07:002012-11-01T14:17:31.548-07:00The Turkish Mole<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Since our arrival in
Turkey we’d had something of a purple patch in terms of our time in the
country; Ephesus, the Travertines and our cruise from Fethiye to Olympos, were
all memorable experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Lance
Armstrong can attest however it’s naturally hard to keep a run like this going
and the week following our cruise was to demonstrate this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">On reflection I think
the downward slide can be attributed to a Mole in our ranks and its cunning
leverage of the Turkish four day Islamic, Kurban Bayrami (the merrily named
‘Festival of Sacrifice’) holiday period. This year it also coincided with
Turkish Republic Day and so represented a fair chunk of holiday time for the
Turks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqstN5Bfi6_spNfgan7-osFLEAu47ryECIu_u3iRWoVgUb3jjQ8gC6INnbeVi2SuNuUfq0QmEQh6kehyphenhyphenpRYo-60gQy6r1Ew2DoOT7kqohUVfMqGwgN-0LAm4Vh3C7bUkRpvfsTWaY2vvnT/s1600/IMG_5274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqstN5Bfi6_spNfgan7-osFLEAu47ryECIu_u3iRWoVgUb3jjQ8gC6INnbeVi2SuNuUfq0QmEQh6kehyphenhyphenpRYo-60gQy6r1Ew2DoOT7kqohUVfMqGwgN-0LAm4Vh3C7bUkRpvfsTWaY2vvnT/s400/IMG_5274.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Worried of Turkey</span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">A key aspect of the Festival
is the slaughtering of a halal animal (cow, goat, sheep or even a camel) by
each family and the distribution of the body parts in equal portions to close
family, friends and those less fortunate. From our observations the goat seemed
to be the slaughteree of choice on the western Mediterranean and with
approximately 77 million Turks, over 96% of who are Muslim this equates to a
lot of worried goats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Like any good shyster
the Mole gained our confidence over a long period and did so again through its
whisperings and pointed insights about not staying in Olympos, the default post
cruise location, but rather Cirali, a mere 3km further along the beach front. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MqUqGCNkTqiCO4cU0PFcmDBfrGwDmWQ75Sb-Fi40IOrvxCpGdu0gogzO_QtkW9ENONaSErI0_GmUeAxHslrPPireWXFD0iKtHfGoJG2ClLXHX3vc8yQyg47DXtyRmDCE2lniukFr-qg9/s1600/IMG_5559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MqUqGCNkTqiCO4cU0PFcmDBfrGwDmWQ75Sb-Fi40IOrvxCpGdu0gogzO_QtkW9ENONaSErI0_GmUeAxHslrPPireWXFD0iKtHfGoJG2ClLXHX3vc8yQyg47DXtyRmDCE2lniukFr-qg9/s400/IMG_5559.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Chimera</span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Whereas Olympos is
effectively a series of backpacker hostels coming off a dirt track, Cirali is its
own town set in a forested coastal strip ringed with small rural holdings and
overlooked by the surrounding mountains. With free bikes available from our
hotel we spent an enjoyable afternoon pedalling around before pulling over and
enjoying the local speciality of pomegranate and orange juice in one of the
many vegetated grotto like eateries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Cirali is also closer
to the primary attraction in the region, the ‘chimera’, a naturally occurring phenomenon
whereby volcanic gases exude from the rocks on the side of a mountain and are
ignited through contact with the atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Setting off at dusk we hiked through the town and
surrounding countryside to watch the sunset as the flames flickered from the
rocks all around us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTASe0YxAVL4Q-5vamO25UGN7uPgacIvYmUqbaTnZwEpoDVNhlUDv_8ejROnqxJa-c6fgPPR148xCyF5LSdyvvqxhz7lc6v0960QZtFOoMTRocxFHwXGKTVS7vROuDaGQPE3Z3U3t-PaK/s1600/IMG_5645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTASe0YxAVL4Q-5vamO25UGN7uPgacIvYmUqbaTnZwEpoDVNhlUDv_8ejROnqxJa-c6fgPPR148xCyF5LSdyvvqxhz7lc6v0960QZtFOoMTRocxFHwXGKTVS7vROuDaGQPE3Z3U3t-PaK/s400/IMG_5645.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Kaleici, Antalya</span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Our plans from Cirali had
been informed by prior research that pointed to accommodation and spots on any
bus being hard to come by prior to, during and after the Bayram holiday
period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To manage this, and on
advice from the Mole, we’d chosen to spend four nights in Kizkalesi on the
eastern Mediterranean as we tried to wring the last vestiges of heat out of the
remnants of the Turkish summer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Our journey to
Kizkalesi took us through the historic city of Antalya for an evening, which
should have provided us with our first warning signs about the Mole as the
directions provided were all over the place for moving in and out of the city
from the bus station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had
however no reason to question its advice and once we’d made it to Kaleici, the
historic Roman centre of Antalya and despite the turning of the weather, could
have easily spent more than an evening, but the scarcity of buses meant we were
on the move again the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIj5XnxgsszvbpJaYTtg9wolrwRBd0wHYhARGEu049k40J8fgKNGwcmMHWmiQfxlb17wYF7uT_EHYaE1vC5yRWxhb2faQUwH5t29IccfFKmhLPm-LiZKWfRU_0Dv5PscgxfZS9QsMCQ9Y/s1600/IMG_5666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIj5XnxgsszvbpJaYTtg9wolrwRBd0wHYhARGEu049k40J8fgKNGwcmMHWmiQfxlb17wYF7uT_EHYaE1vC5yRWxhb2faQUwH5t29IccfFKmhLPm-LiZKWfRU_0Dv5PscgxfZS9QsMCQ9Y/s320/IMG_5666.JPG" width="209" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">It wasn’t until our
bus rolled into Kizkalesi that the extent of the betrayal the Mole had wrought upon
us was apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first day
or so neither of us could bring ourselves to openly discuss this betrayal as we
found it hard to believe that it’s vivid description and promotion of the town as
‘wonderful’ could be so far from the truth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">The Kizkalesi the Mole,
or as it is otherwise known, Lonely Planet, had described was a far cry from
the mosquito infested, litter strewn concrete jungle by the sea we
encountered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With its intermittent
electricity supply and roaming packs of wild dogs and mangy cats we would
normally have moved onto the next location, however with accommodation and bus
spots at a premium due to the Bayram holiday we were locked in for four nights.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">During this time I
came across an earlier description of the town stating it was in danger of
losing it’s character due to the mushrooming of B and C grade concrete block
hotels. Well it has lost that battle and also the one to control its approach
to waste disposal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixA8lBlyLTkeA57qKza-xP4sW9Qo6bb3Gx_BT5yAC-ujz_qvYlElLKRz9n5-SsiFKAbA1j62y1Pbxy_oYIqmsPDeBZ9OG34AAoKhfEujzmqyyXhrQMQLy0MmNeLu9yXStJ1kEfZWJUx3M-/s1600/IMG_5664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixA8lBlyLTkeA57qKza-xP4sW9Qo6bb3Gx_BT5yAC-ujz_qvYlElLKRz9n5-SsiFKAbA1j62y1Pbxy_oYIqmsPDeBZ9OG34AAoKhfEujzmqyyXhrQMQLy0MmNeLu9yXStJ1kEfZWJUx3M-/s640/IMG_5664.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">More broadly this
appears to be a particular problem in Turkey and even on our cruise we’d be
fishing out large plastic water containers as we swam around.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Within this context I couldn’t help but
think on hearing the news over the past few weeks that </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20053089" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Afghanistan has declared its first national park</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, with a view to attracting tourism in the future, that
I hope they consider and provide the infrastructure to handle the unintended environmental
impacts that rapid tourist development can bring, lest such development destroy the values that attract tourists in the first place.</span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-53462017564154611532012-10-25T08:36:00.001-07:002012-10-25T12:02:34.228-07:00Crystal clear<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I think you’d be hard pressed to find
another country that has such genuine love and appreciation of another human
than the Turks do for Mustafa Kemel, or </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atat%C3%BCrk" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Ataturk</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">
(meaning Father Turk) as he is more commonly known. Reading through the history
of his life and role in shaping modern Turkey it’s easy to understand the
source of this admiration. For the Turks there’s no question as to who is the
Daddy and the only other country I can think that has a similar relationship is
the Vietnamese reverence for Ho Chi Minh.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Today the physical actualization of this
admiration is borne out through, at minimum; an Ataturk statue in every town,
his name adorning every imaginable piece of infrastructure and his benevolent
gaze staring down from behind the counter of any commercial enterprise you may
come across.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRUQIyEm9YEcFtjXWemIOiiy0faG4i27ulquPen7kAz4nozFmaWvcOso_pA471kdK0teYzO_8AwWxXMMzSF5xDF_h4k7B1yDvrfeAw4UbEf403jSc5IYFw2j19aVSAqLP3vrP3HFtzCh3/s1600/IMG_5258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRUQIyEm9YEcFtjXWemIOiiy0faG4i27ulquPen7kAz4nozFmaWvcOso_pA471kdK0teYzO_8AwWxXMMzSF5xDF_h4k7B1yDvrfeAw4UbEf403jSc5IYFw2j19aVSAqLP3vrP3HFtzCh3/s320/IMG_5258.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Kayakoy</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">While we were on the coast in Fethiye to commence
our four day gulet cruise to Olympos we had enough time to visit the eerily deserted
ghost town of Kayakoy, a consequence of an Ataturk policy in the 1920s to avoid
future sectarian conflicts and ensure a Turkish republic solely for Turks
through population exchanges.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio97qaAAfKBb4rFoFY4Q6nuPW1lZtXgf8AVz4GkhNX0cu2AKA6OEmEQHwhb6v-9WQP8wXE8jEU0xQYlDUFQWhBxGtEzAnybSUUbCD68TSdr5tyc9teFOKvtU1fcLCw4YQwZTgfM7i2gm7T/s1600/IMG_5280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio97qaAAfKBb4rFoFY4Q6nuPW1lZtXgf8AVz4GkhNX0cu2AKA6OEmEQHwhb6v-9WQP8wXE8jEU0xQYlDUFQWhBxGtEzAnybSUUbCD68TSdr5tyc9teFOKvtU1fcLCw4YQwZTgfM7i2gm7T/s200/IMG_5280.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">It’s a short minibus ride from Fethiye to
Kayakoy, but for the unsuspecting, such as us, the ride passes through the
ultimate </span><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chav" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">chav</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> dream resort of
Oludeniz, where a full English roast is available everyday of the year and neon
lit establishments, such as the bemusingly named 'Grand Boozey', do a thriving
trade. </span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Like most Turkish sites once
you’ve paid a nominal entrance fee you’re free to climb on, over, up and down unhindered
and so we spent an enjoyable afternoon clambering over the former Greek speaking town whose population was forced to depart for Greece under the population exchange program. </span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCkRg0EIcfZf_lXl_ht0xkzVTZ4erbMJrSP8twupVQ4DeH-TxHUnwhxjl8c-tL7BodGsW7Ll4NnNK-Ntu4S4jCTkYjkvyNdDME-3L-mNtjlC5bj1JhSP0EggWpshr-_e6nu3dRPzwFSz3/s1600/IMG_5423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCkRg0EIcfZf_lXl_ht0xkzVTZ4erbMJrSP8twupVQ4DeH-TxHUnwhxjl8c-tL7BodGsW7Ll4NnNK-Ntu4S4jCTkYjkvyNdDME-3L-mNtjlC5bj1JhSP0EggWpshr-_e6nu3dRPzwFSz3/s400/IMG_5423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Scouring the list of available tourist
activities in Turkey I’d quickly singled out the desire to spend several days
puttering along the Turkish coast line in a hand made traditional wooden
Turkish ‘gulet’ vessel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a
popular activity with numerous operators and having singled it out I was also
responsible for choosing one. Fortunately I was saved this task through the
fruits of my side project of chatting with elderly American men in unusual
locations around the globe. A conversation with a retired professor from the
University of Nebraska following a swim in the hotel pool in Selcuk revealed
he’d done his research and chosen V-Go. On this basis we found ourselves with
thirteen others assembled outside the V-Go office in Fethiye ready to board our
cruise one warm clear morning.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTwViwpyGke9I84kRzPg_ZWShcof2GvMO62B0eBsCXvSJsZkKgKag7rT-ZWQivT5if4X2RNWPZtHhM2H6Ii0RysDym2cex-Drxib-FmSjlZK2Rj6PNJN-okeoXaOYeDoRh7mQjubrPh_-/s1600/P1050640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTwViwpyGke9I84kRzPg_ZWShcof2GvMO62B0eBsCXvSJsZkKgKag7rT-ZWQivT5if4X2RNWPZtHhM2H6Ii0RysDym2cex-Drxib-FmSjlZK2Rj6PNJN-okeoXaOYeDoRh7mQjubrPh_-/s320/P1050640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">The mighty Mavi Boncuk</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Any group activity with a bunch of
strangers, and especially one in an effectively confined space for four days,
there’s concern you’ll be stuck for days on end with a bunch of nuff nuffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we motored out of Fethiye aboard the
‘Mavi Boncuk’, (replete with suitably benevolent Ataturk portrait) to our first
stop, the stunning beach at Butterfly Valley wedged between two mountains,
these fears were quickly allayed and over the course of the next four days I
was constantly surprised how well our group, consisting of mainly Americans and
Australians, gelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-pX501_NmLnQtft2jMpLUdBl7lvcJUiOZlLYXvEbvtArLezUFsc6Vg5mdepOi62cjYy12-CCewmYiQEiP4szhji3PcoTeGQ1wKjaYDI_IbaCcA4Gkzts69aPPLYVYcE5B85-2ouUFJcK/s1600/IMG_5496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-pX501_NmLnQtft2jMpLUdBl7lvcJUiOZlLYXvEbvtArLezUFsc6Vg5mdepOi62cjYy12-CCewmYiQEiP4szhji3PcoTeGQ1wKjaYDI_IbaCcA4Gkzts69aPPLYVYcE5B85-2ouUFJcK/s200/IMG_5496.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Part of this could have also been down to
the clear crystal waters, the feeling timeless sunny hot days brings and a sea so
calm that most of the time it resembled a deep blue liquid chrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combined with the realisation that
there was nowt to do except swim, converse, laze on the deck, wonder if it was
too early for a beer and enjoy the next sumptuous meal prepared by the crew,
it’d take a miserable soul indeed not to gell with your fellow travellers. Even Tony managed a smile, well, more a grimace, but it's a start.</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJBjZk7Fj8mmPTwO3mnp1t37SbLtJtR5FAlPbnIL6j_NTnaEhaAmqNgUzGjdrosBB6WemKR9W_AQ_AQ2xfQgRiSK-QT63Jv6BWqX1KFHKhD3wLMgt6pGb62tZwjTJBnRC3F4SMeq1jxXB/s1600/IMG_5437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJBjZk7Fj8mmPTwO3mnp1t37SbLtJtR5FAlPbnIL6j_NTnaEhaAmqNgUzGjdrosBB6WemKR9W_AQ_AQ2xfQgRiSK-QT63Jv6BWqX1KFHKhD3wLMgt6pGb62tZwjTJBnRC3F4SMeq1jxXB/s200/IMG_5437.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The following morning our gulet slowly made
its way along the coast towards the Kekova region where we’d spend the next few
days, overnighting initially at the beautiful secluded town of Kas, set in a
bay at the base of a coastal mountain range, and the next at another still
calm bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the day we’d drop
anchor and snorkel, or, as in case of the small community of Simena, part of a
historical city sunken into the sea by an earthquake, be offered the chance to
go ashore.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXgzTNX4hQIe4fkUrjOY0plmeRZVmkvyFmJj4NTUTRt8-L1hPEWAXnoBRtTv9BOB6dH78991lupkbtu5jNrd_9hkIomEpqUd183nfjxMpHDDjrGE2KspefvNN3ubXKhGA5VBtQSmO2OcY/s1600/IMG_5351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXgzTNX4hQIe4fkUrjOY0plmeRZVmkvyFmJj4NTUTRt8-L1hPEWAXnoBRtTv9BOB6dH78991lupkbtu5jNrd_9hkIomEpqUd183nfjxMpHDDjrGE2KspefvNN3ubXKhGA5VBtQSmO2OcY/s640/IMG_5351.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Butterfly Valley</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The water clarity visibly highlighted however
the extent of overfishing along the course of our voyage. While in 2006 WWF
convinced the local authorities to declare most of our route a </span><a href="http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/turkey/index.cfm?uProjectID=TR0038" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">marine park</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">, the
sea felt largely bereft of marine life, with all but the tiddliest of tiddlers absent
at depths up to 10m. It was startling and made me question a number of times
the source of the fish in the numerous seafood restaurants dotted along the
coast.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPAn-iDk2uh0rn2ti0vQTPHwIThc1oFee5s0eDmEeC3ae-NNEBfLkUhP4qOx4hQH6kusROAc1yxA3LnJXB-wi_6baP_Haq8FKGLexZyOOIJQrUbR9EkiRrtvXo8f-YJ-6HSgZruFpOclc/s1600/IMG_5452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPAn-iDk2uh0rn2ti0vQTPHwIThc1oFee5s0eDmEeC3ae-NNEBfLkUhP4qOx4hQH6kusROAc1yxA3LnJXB-wi_6baP_Haq8FKGLexZyOOIJQrUbR9EkiRrtvXo8f-YJ-6HSgZruFpOclc/s640/IMG_5452.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">With my initial reservations completely
unfounded it was in the end all too soon that we were saying goodbyes at the
port of Demre and back into the swing of bus travel for our next destinations,
and like most we were headed for the Olympos region. </span></span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-31751576100201401432012-10-20T06:42:00.003-07:002012-10-20T06:46:39.245-07:00Round Turkey with a market trolley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">During our time in Kos it became apparent
that since the start of my travels several months ago I’d had my backpack set
up was all wrong. The length was way too short, so that instead of resting on my
hips I had all the weight on the top of my back. A schoolboy error I know, and one
that eventuated during our time in Greece to a constant pain in my back between
my shoulder blades, making carrying any weight an uncomfortable experience.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgCiIl7HYv6kzpLFk3K8HdPM6JdadKscJhLbS6sO6VJWhaVglM30HvYaoH9EOHA4qIwZRBih_inlqet8yFg4wb-3DFuEtgYBeiCaQI9bzsF90cx08fCRHGn6eDWVMlqBfgdK-0m6q7-jG/s1600/P1050196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgCiIl7HYv6kzpLFk3K8HdPM6JdadKscJhLbS6sO6VJWhaVglM30HvYaoH9EOHA4qIwZRBih_inlqet8yFg4wb-3DFuEtgYBeiCaQI9bzsF90cx08fCRHGn6eDWVMlqBfgdK-0m6q7-jG/s200/P1050196.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Departing Kos for Bodrum in Turkey, a short
hydrofoil across the deep blue seas, it was apparent that if we were to backpack
around Turkey, with its extensive intercity bus network, and bus stations, I’d
need to find a solution for hauling my luggage that didn’t involve my
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After contemplating purchasing
suitcase with wheels Susi came up with the idea of modifying an older ladies
market day trolley.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ7Izi21QPER31fySdIoiIbgxPx8abmUB0hIgbn_nqlu-L5F2IgGUrd0aXeQGznARgleWmBfd6bjPHU4CBI_sH4NpElNatoHOMIvR6lWY62uxd7XGb-fGmK7lN3F4zIps8ODBmBdEBrep/s1600/P1050226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ7Izi21QPER31fySdIoiIbgxPx8abmUB0hIgbn_nqlu-L5F2IgGUrd0aXeQGznARgleWmBfd6bjPHU4CBI_sH4NpElNatoHOMIvR6lWY62uxd7XGb-fGmK7lN3F4zIps8ODBmBdEBrep/s320/P1050226.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Bodrum</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Picturesque Bodrum fancies itself as the St
Tropez of Turkey, with a host of high-end stores and flash restaurants, over
looked by the imposing Castle of St Peter, the stronghold of the Knights of St
John in the 1400s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perversely it
also promotes itself as a Centre of Excellence in imitation clothing to the
hoards of Kos daytrippers that peaks with the weekly Tuesday textile market. We
headed in that direction in search of a suitable market trolley and quickly
spied one outside a hardware store across from the market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After insulting the proprietor with my
haphazard bartering I became the proud owner of a market day trolley and three
occie straps for securing the backpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg447Y3Q4eyRFu7yf53MotStaG7r2PwHEGLKJ6LLgH6cKQQXA998y2RBc4Jdw8ovIhhbtxOwGIgNdasjNxdtT6qaEymojJG7zg7tZdt8zg0UmmRfQuzFdmxizRI7sTgfvgam-gddT0x8A-E/s1600/P1050430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg447Y3Q4eyRFu7yf53MotStaG7r2PwHEGLKJ6LLgH6cKQQXA998y2RBc4Jdw8ovIhhbtxOwGIgNdasjNxdtT6qaEymojJG7zg7tZdt8zg0UmmRfQuzFdmxizRI7sTgfvgam-gddT0x8A-E/s400/P1050430.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While Greece and Turkey aren’t on the best
of terms (although Turkey has a solid track record with this on a few fronts…Syria,
Armenia, Iraq, Iran…), there are similarities, such as large groups of men sat
around doing not very much. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">In Turkey these groups seem to be focused on
perfecting their backgammon game and contemplating the strength of the latest
round of tea, while presumably their female relations, wife, mother, daughters,
are at home hard at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In such
a culture the sight of a man pushing a market day trolley is a source of high
merriment amongst the local male population as I found alighting from the plush
bus from Bodrum to Selcuk. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Selcuk is the closest town to the ruins of
Ephesus, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire after it split into west and
east, and despite the masses of annual visitors retains its authentic Turkish
flavour, in part due to a vast majority of Ephesus visitors bussing in on a day
trip from the cruise town of Kusadasi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ephesus is one of the best preserved Greco-Roman cities and while, like
Tikal in Guatemala, only 20% of the site has been uncovered, is a fascinating
site to visit.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvgAZTcDsPqYkglfX-Yj3mRigQ7ROYn7bk0QFQ5zATryeWvjeWLkAof1sYm1ffJUeI0auIt9XtA8y-xIhzAR3ybS64eSDibsNVeSoXWMkpcUGFpi_yXfcJAA2EqHCLvJaojUmrN2bGxXO/s1600/IMG_5012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvgAZTcDsPqYkglfX-Yj3mRigQ7ROYn7bk0QFQ5zATryeWvjeWLkAof1sYm1ffJUeI0auIt9XtA8y-xIhzAR3ybS64eSDibsNVeSoXWMkpcUGFpi_yXfcJAA2EqHCLvJaojUmrN2bGxXO/s640/IMG_5012.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Ephesus</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After several days in Selcuk including a
highly informative guided tour of Ephesus, punctuated with obligatory stops at
a traditional pottery and carpet store to be charmed by smooth talking Turkish
salesmen we were back on the bus to Pamukkale, who’s correct pronunciation is a
constant mystery to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37vsTlz6UA3GeLiqK8h_Yha6yTl8oqeI0Xp9xUWOk5EpzsQeEpW6Gmjq05t2bW3-yDVpBcRNJsv5JwSkh8i3IwFa6d96gvm5wVBJNAFfcWm_YwaI7JQnSVsZ-EWACGlFsGl4P2TOzfnKa/s1600/IMG_5082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37vsTlz6UA3GeLiqK8h_Yha6yTl8oqeI0Xp9xUWOk5EpzsQeEpW6Gmjq05t2bW3-yDVpBcRNJsv5JwSkh8i3IwFa6d96gvm5wVBJNAFfcWm_YwaI7JQnSVsZ-EWACGlFsGl4P2TOzfnKa/s200/IMG_5082.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Where Selcuk has retained its own sense of
being outside of the tourist drawcard Pamukkale has rolled over, put its feet
in the air and accepted its fate as service town to the Travertines (or Cotton
Castle as the Turks refer to it), the amazing white calcified pools that have
formed on the side of a mountain at the base of the ancient city of Hierapolis.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLgsNCL94pUjhvl6YXrCi3JTIXgFK-LY3jxrYaYq7aZlv4xBOWxls_txDL8Z4mIFHBAXruT2h7HPCRbh85ac4fRQrlXLXQy52yJ7xhlEVznfHfEp2DsieqC0btV1fQFqkaGHD-SzeIJ0y/s1600/IMG_5128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLgsNCL94pUjhvl6YXrCi3JTIXgFK-LY3jxrYaYq7aZlv4xBOWxls_txDL8Z4mIFHBAXruT2h7HPCRbh85ac4fRQrlXLXQy52yJ7xhlEVznfHfEp2DsieqC0btV1fQFqkaGHD-SzeIJ0y/s320/IMG_5128.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Waiting till later in the afternoon to
visit I was pretty stunned by how much I enjoyed our time clambering over the
calcified mountain and wading into the naturally warm turquoise pools. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I think my enjoyment sprung from the
uniqueness of the Travertines, never having experienced anything like it before
we were both donning wide smiles as we slowly ventured up the mountain,
stopping numerous times to wade into the warm water pools as they appeared on
the side of the path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While visually you feel as if you’re in the
midst of a snow field, you’re conflicted by other senses which feel the Turkish
heat and glare and the ribbed white surface beneath your feet that is like
you’re walking on the surface of giant cats tongue, albeit one that's been licking a bowl of bleach. Following a fleeting visit to Hierapolis we returned once again to the Travertine’s
to enjoy the descent at dusk and early evening.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlYfHd2OgpgComrWQ8LsL_Bje6A90rUOt3PnHavhZ2Pi4o1cayI94Gvk78qKVi0fAB9B-NyYFra-adl61Do_QEnl1qRH45837qAgNaAHE5MqD5BWUkEv6fYmmOhE3hz69_nsuHzoNeILd/s1600/IMG_5169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlYfHd2OgpgComrWQ8LsL_Bje6A90rUOt3PnHavhZ2Pi4o1cayI94Gvk78qKVi0fAB9B-NyYFra-adl61Do_QEnl1qRH45837qAgNaAHE5MqD5BWUkEv6fYmmOhE3hz69_nsuHzoNeILd/s640/IMG_5169.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">The Turkey Lonely Planet rates the
Travertine’s as the 17<sup>th</sup> top experience in Turkey, with eating a kebab coming in at 5<sup>th</sup>…I think it would need to the crème del la crème
of kebabs, maybe prepared by Ataturk himself to top this experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrsqlruapj4HHWoRjvi9Qb-ZngQasLPD47rdidO5gyjioTKGUuJS0AXhaiaejVlKVnJCywDf1zyfiNsnLAv-5mtLQ6q_FcNQNUylM7I4O66I_s2G4_wjikwjtFt92RDUottDD96P_BPaP/s1600/IMG_5206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrsqlruapj4HHWoRjvi9Qb-ZngQasLPD47rdidO5gyjioTKGUuJS0AXhaiaejVlKVnJCywDf1zyfiNsnLAv-5mtLQ6q_FcNQNUylM7I4O66I_s2G4_wjikwjtFt92RDUottDD96P_BPaP/s640/IMG_5206.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">The next morning I prepared the market
trolley once more and trundled to the bus station for our next destination and experience,
Fethiye and a Gulet cruise.</span></span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-8595576887926934412012-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:002012-10-12T09:58:17.560-07:00Chasing the sun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">As the nights close in on northern Europe and the
weather turns so my chosen path is taking me increasingly south in search of
warmer climes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">My plan was always to spend time in Spain and then
several weeks in Turkey, how we moved between the two countries though was up in
the air. After exploring the options of going overland, flying into via
Macedonia or Bulgaria and entering Turkey from the north, we settled on the more
relaxed approach of a boat across from the Greek Islands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEToC4KTzuGHDHESyOTKOT25FWxAUJGTUHzH3kgmZaSWD_ayUmGieYmOjchIBeAfCTUhlv2ziZRA_VBHDW4ShDAgD9HAMu95eupNho5_HLI5D51cjv24ye9Ekj5mplMojW1mUHNvM56u2I/s1600/P1050121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEToC4KTzuGHDHESyOTKOT25FWxAUJGTUHzH3kgmZaSWD_ayUmGieYmOjchIBeAfCTUhlv2ziZRA_VBHDW4ShDAgD9HAMu95eupNho5_HLI5D51cjv24ye9Ekj5mplMojW1mUHNvM56u2I/s320/P1050121.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">Leaving Barcelona to unseasonal rain and flooding
we arrived in Athens just as I remembered it from previous visits, brown, hot
and without a cloud in the blue blue sky, reminiscent of landing into Perth for
my annual Christmas sojourn. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">We only stayed in Athens for two days, enough time to
spend a pleasant day sight seeing at the Acropolis. Having been in Athens a few
times before I was, in a way, more intrigued to see if I could perceive changes
from my previous visits given the current economic situation that Greece has </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">unfortunately </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">of
late become infamous for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">On the basis of a friends recommendation, which
included the promise of a much vaunted 2 Euro gyros directly across from the
hotel, we by chance found ourselves staying in the area of </span><a href="http://www.athensguide.com/exarchia/index.htm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Exarchia</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">, the bohemia centre of Athens and an area the </span><a href="http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1127.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">US State Department</span></a><b style="color: #660000;"> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">has advised against
visiting given its association with rioters and civic disturbance. Potentially
an issue given the rioting that had occurred in central Athens the week prior.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XQ8AyzhC1pdMVFkOm4kIjQg60hdrEpPPzBWyHejOk5rgsui0L1FMvMefY8ryjJqaAeHyRZSTF6JVftkxICoieKAOB7AU3VNMFIIiHDKvl8V_QQUWn1nB9uf2WNdlhkZ1VvnESLvICV3B/s1600/P1050085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XQ8AyzhC1pdMVFkOm4kIjQg60hdrEpPPzBWyHejOk5rgsui0L1FMvMefY8ryjJqaAeHyRZSTF6JVftkxICoieKAOB7AU3VNMFIIiHDKvl8V_QQUWn1nB9uf2WNdlhkZ1VvnESLvICV3B/s200/P1050085.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Gyros</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">Of course I had no idea about this at the time and
was more focused on trying to locate the promised gyros land. Strolling around Exarchia
it reminded me of many other inner city areas I’ve seen, with street art, bars
and clubs and a whole range of eating options, from the aforementioned gyros to
fine dining. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">Where Exarchia differed that first evening however were the riot
policeman posted on each corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
assured Susi this was normal, although when we passed a van full of them I
wasn’t so sure and then questioned why I thought it was normal in the first
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saying this we had no
problems during our time in Exarchia, had some great meals (including the
gyros) and evenings out, that were much more preferable to the tourist fare on
offer in the vicinity of the Acropolis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1m2d06yCPvakJvshj7j-fMe9ugLNY0YgMGDD8f6Fq1wvWEbuYKWQSDZFijwrMVXbIIF5tC0Q7fbpt5PLG6p6P3MjHP7HhiGzCoad0rpciwzSnVAKmggadDRObE6xKJgrgqSYQBxYjjTce/s1600/IMG_4898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1m2d06yCPvakJvshj7j-fMe9ugLNY0YgMGDD8f6Fq1wvWEbuYKWQSDZFijwrMVXbIIF5tC0Q7fbpt5PLG6p6P3MjHP7HhiGzCoad0rpciwzSnVAKmggadDRObE6xKJgrgqSYQBxYjjTce/s400/IMG_4898.JPG" width="265" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">In terms of changes it was hard to gauge in such a
short period, but the general mood of Athens feels somber to say the least and
I’d say they’re grateful for steady stream of tourists the Acropolis and
associated Parthenon provide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">Leaving Athens the hotelier enquired where we were
going next, my response of the Greek Island of Kos elicited, ‘why do you go to
Kos?’, to this I had no real response except it’s close to Turkey and the
flights were cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This reply,
especially the mention of the Turks resulted in a stony silence and we shuffled
out the door in search of our airport bus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">As I’ve travelled from place to place there’s
usually a predominant type of tourist, from those doing a few weeks in the
States, to those on longer timeframes in Central and South America, or in
Iceland, the weekend break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
date though I hadn’t really come across the package sun worshipping northern
European tourist until Kos. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">After a bit of research we’d chosen to stay in a
small town called Tigaki on the basis that it had a very long stretch of sandy
beach affronting the crystal clear waters of the Aegean and our accommodation,
‘Jonathans’ appeared pleasant enough when booking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The accommodation turned out to be the finest and some of
the cheapest to date and our initial booking of three nights quickly turned
into five.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbKY-IJWO6tn3l7uHqN31ozU_Mk1FkwHMYxc3zCNcFxkVUOEdLKFqsKTOb226VFV_QqiQRm7DhKjHlUuNnYFNrjf3qt_Agui5DFR3Mwx_D7a29nH5Egh6kYp3cYPCieUPXfnS_FPP4Ua4/s1600/IMG_4942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbKY-IJWO6tn3l7uHqN31ozU_Mk1FkwHMYxc3zCNcFxkVUOEdLKFqsKTOb226VFV_QqiQRm7DhKjHlUuNnYFNrjf3qt_Agui5DFR3Mwx_D7a29nH5Egh6kYp3cYPCieUPXfnS_FPP4Ua4/s640/IMG_4942.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">I’d read that Tigaki was famed for its windsurfing
and I was keen to give learning another go. So late on the first afternoon, in fading
sunlight, as I strode out along the shore searching for signs of windsurfers I
was bewildered by the sparsely laid out pack of elephant seals basking in the
sun, barely moving a muscle, that were my fellow beach goers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fNfo1qrDXmBhbGcJCOYnP1thuKenVeGCbysu3VAROvsaFSkhf5syDfqAzCSo3eUVeP1VGw7bfl5jkIooSmS2ZA8g_4Bq0v4QWSHHahT6uGZSDq41Z1OlL_7rCQbbWfGdMqzOsZpfWH3k/s1600/IMG_4920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fNfo1qrDXmBhbGcJCOYnP1thuKenVeGCbysu3VAROvsaFSkhf5syDfqAzCSo3eUVeP1VGw7bfl5jkIooSmS2ZA8g_4Bq0v4QWSHHahT6uGZSDq41Z1OlL_7rCQbbWfGdMqzOsZpfWH3k/s320/IMG_4920.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It took until the next morning before we too
succumbed to the pace of the Tigaki lifestyle of waking late, heading to the
beach, lunch, swim in the pool, beer and then meal. This we varied with the odd trip to a surrounding town,
which confirmed how much we enjoyed Tigaki, and then we’d slowly make our way
back. I’m not endorsing the package holiday, but for five days it felt very
strangely like its own highly enjoyable separate vacation within my travels.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-56269757960203344402012-10-05T09:50:00.002-07:002012-10-05T10:04:04.716-07:00Unfinished business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">My 30<sup>th</sup>
Birthday occurred while I was living in London and for the occasion I arranged
for eight of my nearest to travel to northern Spain for a surfing holiday, in
the process checking out Bilbao and San Sebastian.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">All was set, but unfortunately
two days before we were due to fly I tore the ligaments in my ankle playing
soccer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Determined to go and with
crutches in hand I spent the next week or so contributing to the global pool of
black comedy gold as I attempted sand dunes, pension stairs and bridge
crossings during a week of celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The black comedy pinnacle being when my housemate at the time unbeknown
to me removed the pins from my crutches while at the beach and in attempting to
stand the crutches concertinaed on themselves and I fell face forward into the
sand, hilarious.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Like most I’m a simple
person and always felt a little cheated by my northern Spain experience and
vowed one day to return sans crutches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Flying into Bilbao we were primarily here, as are most, to check out
the Guggenheim Musuem, a defining piece of architecture and the home to one of
my favourite pieces of art, Puppy by Jeff Koons, that stands on permanent
display at the entrance to the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m a big fan of Bilbao and its unpretentious nature that gives it the
feeling of the real Spain, away from the tourist traps and hoards associated
with other Spanish cities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8YI0Jj8ZS6H0syJI9uM2582gXPvW74G49zTcKIQw6eV4iBWBWfvS6w8j3_htMHMn3vULQqCRHT8k3r2Uc1cojIWEKC0hb4SBTmYS06V_j4O90VFk3DmgRvPxxS4DXr443CHVw3DvVK1u/s1600/IMG_4636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8YI0Jj8ZS6H0syJI9uM2582gXPvW74G49zTcKIQw6eV4iBWBWfvS6w8j3_htMHMn3vULQqCRHT8k3r2Uc1cojIWEKC0hb4SBTmYS06V_j4O90VFk3DmgRvPxxS4DXr443CHVw3DvVK1u/s640/IMG_4636.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Puppy</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">During my travels I’ve
been asked a few times what was my favourite place, this is a tricky question
as I often find myself subconsciously tailoring my response to my perception of
what the asker would like if they were on holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can confidently say however that San Sebastian is and
continues to be one of my favourite destinations and I could happily return again and again.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MauxLhjj9Wn08PCom9ybipPZJoqvH23TScyox-nR6ujhHYSmEWj06dabDZ2pmcKPtS6ckdKYI-9UypbEOnKFi-kiK1ghHgUiHLZOA8ehAkZO5mIV-x9f4vqM9idN5lipKaOtVaJ7qXwu/s1600/P1040942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MauxLhjj9Wn08PCom9ybipPZJoqvH23TScyox-nR6ujhHYSmEWj06dabDZ2pmcKPtS6ckdKYI-9UypbEOnKFi-kiK1ghHgUiHLZOA8ehAkZO5mIV-x9f4vqM9idN5lipKaOtVaJ7qXwu/s200/P1040942.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmz8rC3lFkYjfE2lWNudSxMKrXso08ztjmc0xPTrCo1nmn_I7ZIS2gHX3ze8vcMeI7P5wYIem7RVQgZCRvcuNYdzrwdPdlsxQ4GFC-RxcOPYw7MHN1-_iQ9LS6yQ8trAVi9jVBEb5UZsa/s1600/IMG_4678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmz8rC3lFkYjfE2lWNudSxMKrXso08ztjmc0xPTrCo1nmn_I7ZIS2gHX3ze8vcMeI7P5wYIem7RVQgZCRvcuNYdzrwdPdlsxQ4GFC-RxcOPYw7MHN1-_iQ9LS6yQ8trAVi9jVBEb5UZsa/s200/IMG_4678.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After staying in a
pension in Bilbao, we had booked a hostel in San Sebastian. Sure, it’s less
private, but within the first five minutes of arriving we’d already met a talkative New Yorker, Tom and agreed to catch up later for dinner and drinks. Tom
had befriended the, ever present in any location in the world, group of
Australians, and we all ended up doing a pintxos bar crawl through the old town
of San Sebastian that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pintxos are inexpensive but delicious small servings that adorn bars
throughout the Basque region, with the idea being that you roll from bar to
bar, quaffing dirt cheap rioja or local cider while sampling the particular
wares of each bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it was our
first, it was Tom’s last night and he took us on a crawl of his most delectable
bars chosen through long nights of punishing research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each night after we thought about a standard sit down meal we’d end up
lent against a pintxos bar, drinking and sampling the fine food on offer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">But it’s not just the
food that makes San Sebastian such a winner, it’s a beautiful historic town
with winding laneways and during the day there’s a choice within easy walking
of a bay based beach and a surf beach where the number of learner surfers in
the water at any one time is inversely proportional to the quality of the waves.
Fortunately it required numerous hours sat on the beach studying and sampling
the water to determine this relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8Q7SDjdGwocXWspmYiiypJzNus-XJ4dNhz8y_sBvUfU4-GlNtQNIhbtMC7dwciIwnKkRUk0WjncOgGDmcxJ-0jdn5XLay4bJeTh1QNFnUFWiQ-yIOjSzK9qLfRmvElvQh6K3fo0vjGtG/s1600/P1040866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8Q7SDjdGwocXWspmYiiypJzNus-XJ4dNhz8y_sBvUfU4-GlNtQNIhbtMC7dwciIwnKkRUk0WjncOgGDmcxJ-0jdn5XLay4bJeTh1QNFnUFWiQ-yIOjSzK9qLfRmvElvQh6K3fo0vjGtG/s320/P1040866.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">We also happened on
San Sebastian during its 60<sup>th</sup> International Film Festival and were
asked numerous times if we were in town for the Festival, something we were
completely ignorant of prior to arrival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">People have different
versions of their own personal hell, but one of mine would be waiting with the
hoards behind a temporary barrier for a celebrity to walk down a red carpet.
Given the proximity however of our hostel to the Film Festival we would on many
occasion come across such hoards lined up waiting for a celeb sighting. </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdkq00U1W066SBQVykXPPRqS9sSzay3vNUzQ7xyfQopQK-fyvUvCngANSlzf6D0JIOvLs_5tkX6mZyhz3oNxQGfkV0ttRB6bDLZ8hFhQEdrjecIttGmU_wj-T5mBK77riaGic0UzkJccS/s1600/P1040934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdkq00U1W066SBQVykXPPRqS9sSzay3vNUzQ7xyfQopQK-fyvUvCngANSlzf6D0JIOvLs_5tkX6mZyhz3oNxQGfkV0ttRB6bDLZ8hFhQEdrjecIttGmU_wj-T5mBK77riaGic0UzkJccS/s200/P1040934.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Strolling past the assembled throng one
evening there was a palpable increase in the frothing frenzy amongst the
gathered masses and so I found myself embracing my own personal hell and
standing amongst them waiting for a car to arrive in the hope it was someone I
vaguely knew. After the first car passed we were treated to John Travolta and
Benicio del Toro striding from their limo to walk the carpet for the premier of
Savages. Being disdainful about the red carpet experience, as a fan of Pulp
Fiction, Traffic and of course Saturday Night Fever, I couldn’t help but be a wee bit
excited by the experience, although having recently read a review entitled </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/sep/20/savages-review" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">‘it’s a toss up who gives the worst performance in this flatulent bore of a film’</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> of Savages I was wondering if
John and Benicio were feeling a little bit chagrined about the adulation they
were receiving.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0TF0pgdElekcsoklpCcoupmPoKSA-hc4z0Tkm5-r2HiApmKruMRIJ4Q0nQdocAc0O4iepAsuZNfBsn6ZacopkkvArCU9GxoJWQXLv8frybtaQK_HekzY_s6F7DYViXTVPUXEzDZOoKXV/s1600/IMG_4759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0TF0pgdElekcsoklpCcoupmPoKSA-hc4z0Tkm5-r2HiApmKruMRIJ4Q0nQdocAc0O4iepAsuZNfBsn6ZacopkkvArCU9GxoJWQXLv8frybtaQK_HekzY_s6F7DYViXTVPUXEzDZOoKXV/s320/IMG_4759.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Zarautz</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">From San Sebastian
it’s a pleasant 30 minute scenic train ride to the chilled coastal town of Zarautz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the main disappointments from my
previous time on crutches had been the inability to surf on one leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To redress this I’d booked in time
in Zarautz, with its 3km of sandy beach front and multiple breaks, for bobbing
round the ocean. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWdury_Iradxw7WzlefrNPof1Vg7RjHAqBx8SbTHI0fflczzorFfkC7-594_KNIEuCTmoAB-3BuLbzfTVMICnyCCYDD545a3IZ_s3awSAebBU_bWd2lhUssPRVrQzg06Jz39Wfdi5OeD2/s1600/P1050006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWdury_Iradxw7WzlefrNPof1Vg7RjHAqBx8SbTHI0fflczzorFfkC7-594_KNIEuCTmoAB-3BuLbzfTVMICnyCCYDD545a3IZ_s3awSAebBU_bWd2lhUssPRVrQzg06Jz39Wfdi5OeD2/s200/P1050006.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">While we were here to
surf it was hard not to follow what was a turbulent week in Spain with riots in
Madrid while we were in the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Basque region has been pushing for autonomy for decades and with the
current economic turmoil and austerity measures there seems to be an increased
passion for breaking away from Spain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a means of protest the whole Basque region went on strike on the day
we were due to leave Zarautz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d
seen the posters around and the square we over looked was set to be the scene
of demonstrations and marching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After the riots in Madrid we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We
hadn’t counted on the nature of the locals however and the small gathering came
and shuffled off and with everything shut and the sun shining they went back to
their prime pastimes of the sitting on the beach and promenading along the
foreshore. My type of revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Given the difficulty
of travelling and obtaining any services we ended up staying for another two very
relaxing days in Zarautz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
pension was almost full for these two days and we were moved to the Harry
Potter room, though instead of being under the stairs it was under the roofline
and consequently I was able to fully stand in about a third of the room to peer
at the sky from skylight in the roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5ky4NYvRpZgNGFxH8WZScC5I426pS_Gvi1M0-_qxHLGQXA54s8RX7Y-TsYzLU4IuXtWTjcyAr3uoPT0AtFWuZPrBJ1HDiBw_OJTkK0witn4vGq2ohDsGhDKWgPxHa437RDIaU2f3_GVb/s1600/P1050035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5ky4NYvRpZgNGFxH8WZScC5I426pS_Gvi1M0-_qxHLGQXA54s8RX7Y-TsYzLU4IuXtWTjcyAr3uoPT0AtFWuZPrBJ1HDiBw_OJTkK0witn4vGq2ohDsGhDKWgPxHa437RDIaU2f3_GVb/s640/P1050035.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">From Zarautz we headed
back to Bilbao and onto Barcelona. I’ve been to Barcelona a number of times
before and thoroughly enjoyed it, but our accommodation was in the midst of
tourist central, surrounded by Irish bars and weekender stag and hens dos. After
the previous week or so it was all a bit much and highlighted how much I’d
enjoyed the return to northern Spain.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-58239020199852946462012-09-25T14:35:00.001-07:002012-09-25T15:07:25.098-07:00Deutschlandia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">So I was going to call
this missive ‘Deutschland uber alles’, in doing so combining the title of the seminal Dead
Kennedys song,</span> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIqESwzCGg4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">‘California uber alles’</span></a><b style="color: #660000;">,</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">
with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">my location.</span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">My partner Susi, who is German and travelling with me for the rest of the
journey, learnedly pointed out that maybe the Kennedys weren’t the first to use such a
phrase and, given it was the anthem of a group of chaps responsible for a few
global fracas’s last century, it may not be appropriate as a title.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A fair point, but my
time here highlighted how much of a leader Germany is in terms of
sustainability, and in an unofficial theme that’s organically developed through my travels, a night, or
several, on the town. It’s also hard to escape the leadership role of
Germany in holding the European Union together, with The Guardian coining the
phrase ‘The Accidental Empire’ in recognition of this</span>.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsMuZAlALK4Sd7OGAnb-oaNgSlMBQGHpz_Tzb8BwcHTt26VdQNaQMZSrVjSyK-7WSqVZooqgCveHLWc-cCc3B_YC-qGJ1jzA2fsn7wDrH5UMDd-9Yf44LX_T5YuPwHMgi_jrn7t1Lq7rs/s1600/IMG_4482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsMuZAlALK4Sd7OGAnb-oaNgSlMBQGHpz_Tzb8BwcHTt26VdQNaQMZSrVjSyK-7WSqVZooqgCveHLWc-cCc3B_YC-qGJ1jzA2fsn7wDrH5UMDd-9Yf44LX_T5YuPwHMgi_jrn7t1Lq7rs/s640/IMG_4482.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Tharandter Wald</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I spent most of my
time in Germany staying with Susi’s sister in Tharandt, a small town of about 5,500 souls
near Dresden, before catching up with friends in Berlin for the weekend.
It’s fair to say you don’t come to Tharandt for the nightlife, it’s quiet
nature is why people reside here and Susi’s sister lives in the penultimate
house on the edge of town, surrounded by the Forest Botanical Garden of
Tharandt that leads onto the magnificent Tharandter Wald, the oldest forest in
Saxony. Sitting around an open fire one evening with the stars in the sky the silence
of the surrounds was at times quite stunning, only broken by the crackling of
the fire.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTvgneuXxDnfNr97PSnJf6zb9yMnzga7mM6ryr_FFSpdiBEpWty7AcpW7qYfG575jtdLGNGuGcN9BbivSjHsPXU5TqQ05KDrikstz2LcLrA2HKx60iEI_aTWqpp7mLoKC70EiMrJf6_4M/s1600/IMG_4602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTvgneuXxDnfNr97PSnJf6zb9yMnzga7mM6ryr_FFSpdiBEpWty7AcpW7qYfG575jtdLGNGuGcN9BbivSjHsPXU5TqQ05KDrikstz2LcLrA2HKx60iEI_aTWqpp7mLoKC70EiMrJf6_4M/s320/IMG_4602.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Ralph</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Tharandt isn’t a place
I’d have expected to come across interesting sustainability examples but
walking home from the station one day we came upon Dresden local Ralph, recharging
the bemusingly named </span><a href="http://www.renault-ze.com/en-gb/z.e.-range/kangoo-z.e./kangoo-van-z.e.-1939.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Kangoo</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> (a cross between a kangaroo and an Obama speech)
electric vehicle he had on trial. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Ralph is definitely on the leading edge of the
uptake curve and was prepared to overlook the current six charging stations in
the Dresden region, a range of 180km and a recharge time of 6 hours for the
free electricity he’d receive if he purchased the vehicle from the sponsored charging station. In
conversation it’s apparent that Ralph is both interested in sustainability issues and looking to the future when charging times are predicted to come down to 30 minutes next year. This improvement is part of an overall German government strategy that seeks to have a million electric vehicle users on the road by 2020.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYc_1bjV9UWClEe2XTGKf61WoXKNySG3AwnP2vK17Oc7fYbd890kVwPoQITq3ka5nKhyphenhyphenlwx_ptKZ8_jseT2F_3yfxhhyEt5WWEUThoelA87fEodFTQn9QtN9bSX5aJLA0GU5OI6YTIUud/s1600/IMG_4604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYc_1bjV9UWClEe2XTGKf61WoXKNySG3AwnP2vK17Oc7fYbd890kVwPoQITq3ka5nKhyphenhyphenlwx_ptKZ8_jseT2F_3yfxhhyEt5WWEUThoelA87fEodFTQn9QtN9bSX5aJLA0GU5OI6YTIUud/s320/IMG_4604.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">A walk through the
afore mentioned Forest Botanical Garden of Tharandt also surprisingly revealed
a highly professional information trail focused on sustainability in general
(including a peculiar table contrasting the number of Google hits associated with
‘sustainability’ and its German counterpart 'Nachhaltigkeit' ), and the interaction of climate
change on the forests of Germany, and the ability of various species to adapt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">With all these
positives you’d not quite expect games of </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtdcxlCSaTU" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">nude twister</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> to be spontaneously breaking
out on the streets, but if my journeys between Dresden and Berlin were any indication a
simple smile, impulsive ‘hallo’ or even simple nod in your general direction wouldn’t
go astray. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Having been travelling for a while I booked a seat from a car
sharing website to save money, and potentially meet a few locals for the ride
from Dresden to Berlin. I unfortunately missed a seat in a one Marvin Sontag’s
Golf 6, and instead found myself on a Friday afternoon stood in a McDonalds car park by the side of the motorway outside of Dresden waiting for Michael and his 2 door
Saxo. Michael arrived dead on time and I soon met the other passenger for the
journey.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Crammed into the back
seat I played the role of the overtly friendly Aussie for the first 10 minutes,
asking questions about the trip and the lives of my companions before giving up on
the strained responses and travelling the rest of the trip with my headphones
in. Booking into a cabin on the way back to Dresden a few days later I had a
similar joyful experience with the other two travellers who were fiercely competing with each other for the world title of longest time spent mimicking a face like a bucket of bolts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBW1mpcdp0-WOl4X9LDYiuTI4bejTgM059qTaqOEKCGiR5qJRtwQEmnubRaOTxUptp2FpfB9RQO-uA0-NHWX_i4JH1TRd1GopKDHPLe-jnSCYCEGeKMbUUJ7tLdTe9JtxyEVCn77B4WnX/s1600/IMG_4545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBW1mpcdp0-WOl4X9LDYiuTI4bejTgM059qTaqOEKCGiR5qJRtwQEmnubRaOTxUptp2FpfB9RQO-uA0-NHWX_i4JH1TRd1GopKDHPLe-jnSCYCEGeKMbUUJ7tLdTe9JtxyEVCn77B4WnX/s320/IMG_4545.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">In terms of my time in
Berlin I spent many long hours with an old friend, and one met travelling in
Belize testing the theory as to whether the city has the best nightlife in
Europe, and potentially the world at the moment. As it was the start of Berlin Art week we interspersed our nocturnal activities visiting the highly engaging </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://www.artberlincontemporary.com/en/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Art Berlin Contemporary</span></a> </span><span style="color: #660000;">Exhibition.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I stayed in Friedrichshain, an area, like many in the
former eastern part of Berlin that, due to the readily available cheap housing
post the fall of the Berlin wall, saw an influx of artists and creative types. Now
it’s a hub of the Berlin nightlife and I was amazed how much English I heard as we moved from bar to bar. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7-kQKBkcXrgL5UXATXyON5QzOXNJNsFJI9lWARBNEkrW9FV5PLE7CNACeg_RbA748HeNAwRRvcVMDsU2-IdAcrnma1zMUKIUQDiB3my5LILNwuF8WxTLm6QaB7cGnXotMDDza186elYp/s1600/IMG_4591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7-kQKBkcXrgL5UXATXyON5QzOXNJNsFJI9lWARBNEkrW9FV5PLE7CNACeg_RbA748HeNAwRRvcVMDsU2-IdAcrnma1zMUKIUQDiB3my5LILNwuF8WxTLm6QaB7cGnXotMDDza186elYp/s320/IMG_4591.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I’m not the only one who has noticed and this
</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/18/berlin-backlash-against-hipster-tourists" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">article</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> sums up the backlash against tourists from the rest of Europe that have
been flocking to the area. Fortunately for the Berlin locals I know of just the
person who will gladly bring the edge back into their neighbourhood, if politely requested.</span></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-64890063413723118072012-09-17T13:35:00.003-07:002012-09-18T10:13:25.904-07:00An estranged homecoming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US">For four years I called London home, but
that was eight years ago, and while I won’t go all Gotye, each time I visit we’ve grown a little further apart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our estrangement was highlighted when a
friend quipped, ‘welcome home’ on meeting for a drink in a London pub the Sunday
afternoon after arriving and it struck me how little London feels like home, in stark contrast
to when I lived there and Australia felt like a distinctly foreign land.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">As with many Australians my time in London
was marked by a decidedly indifferent start, where I shared a cramped ex Council
flat in a dodgy neighbourhood with a group of South Africans, lived on 8p tins
of ALDI mushy peas (mmm, mushy peas) and forsook any alcoholic beverage for
several months. </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After a while however
I found my feet, was able to trade in my South African housemates and enjoy the
vibrant lifestyle London offers, such as I experienced during this visit when belting
a little bit of</span> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaCCN95S7A8" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">LMFAO</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> and other such classics with good friends till the wee
hours of a Monday night in a Soho karaoke bar.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U8JFDO9dLvRFklKa4aMYXpxk11MxYoh_AupMYxHbM1X05tnMVjexmpvjAzsdyZmrW1Qlum_zZ8rHZnbofYwPJHcmGZeqHyQ23YM1UlRiRrEHeBcEwqutFmAyyoa6rh4k86AK0Y5ho8UY/s1600/IMG00152-20120908-1420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U8JFDO9dLvRFklKa4aMYXpxk11MxYoh_AupMYxHbM1X05tnMVjexmpvjAzsdyZmrW1Qlum_zZ8rHZnbofYwPJHcmGZeqHyQ23YM1UlRiRrEHeBcEwqutFmAyyoa6rh4k86AK0Y5ho8UY/s400/IMG00152-20120908-1420.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Our changed relationship was also
highlighted during my visit by the time, or rather lack of it, I spent in
London, for the vast majority of those I knew when living in London have either
moved overseas or retreated to the countryside with their new borns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So over the course of a week I became a doyen of British Rail and in lovely
late summer sunshine (apparently I was very fortunate) took in relatives and two 2<sup> </sup>year old birthdays through Bristol, Malvern and a classic
English weekender in Brighton, where in addition to children’s birthdays and
early morning swims in the sea, I was able to unsuccessfully stalk, from a
respectable distance, Nick Cave’s balcony in the hope of a sighting in the unofficial
Australian celeb quarter of Sussex Sq.</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTQhrzq6ooNjil_mVeVLo994DuKWUQqHnXtaiB2jUJZAzt-NSFELIML36PR7FNtHdkjhP_JGBZ3BF8kPscujFtr95ywVl18n_DvFhtswnPd9egq08Nm1T1Sb3_WjGryrYT8C5hRn0nWoG/s1600/IMG00160-20120909-1453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTQhrzq6ooNjil_mVeVLo994DuKWUQqHnXtaiB2jUJZAzt-NSFELIML36PR7FNtHdkjhP_JGBZ3BF8kPscujFtr95ywVl18n_DvFhtswnPd9egq08Nm1T1Sb3_WjGryrYT8C5hRn0nWoG/s200/IMG00160-20120909-1453.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">On my way back from Brighton I changed
trains and had the pleasure of a truly English experience as I heard drunken
soccer chanting coming from a platform of a recently arrived train, which struck
me as odd considering there were no games that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the crowd came into view and moved past me I realized
from their emblazoned attire it was a very drunk group of David Weir
supporters, the multi gold winning English Paralympic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being in London during the Paralympics
I couldn’t help but be impressed with the level of support and genuine
excitement from the English for the sold out event and their ingenuity in
finding a reason to get tanked.</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #4c1130; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3rOirWJIbJWMU_KVn5iPPy1ovPNU_wQ6Z18QhyvkBELQm7qelcJG-c54ecDgtD_0uMMosKHeSnn_fXq43Jk9OFcidBgJcDk8C1UF2PE9D1DdXvy96JL_aA_hLPkekQ1buivTqwcnEQyZ/s1600/IMG_4472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3rOirWJIbJWMU_KVn5iPPy1ovPNU_wQ6Z18QhyvkBELQm7qelcJG-c54ecDgtD_0uMMosKHeSnn_fXq43Jk9OFcidBgJcDk8C1UF2PE9D1DdXvy96JL_aA_hLPkekQ1buivTqwcnEQyZ/s320/IMG_4472.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Emma, Susannah and I</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4c1130;">From a sustainability perspective I was
fortunate to spend my final day in the UK at the Olympic site in Stratford with
a former colleague, Emma, who is manager of the </span><a href="http://www.cslondon.org/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Commission for a Sustainable London 2012</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, an independent body established
to monitor the sustainability performance of the various Olympic and Paralymp</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4c1130;">ic bodies and Susannah, a sustainability adviser with the London </span><span style="color: #4c1130;">Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and
Paralympic Games (LOCOG).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jQlEMkrsJ0tQJBLGvurj7d44rSHs1XY50-GjcalsA2AbfOE8b61DLk5ywLb0MNK9XNN4Ak_utHlG6TBmjWbVN7crdLZ9GeKGzxOS_1o-89YPupVU8n_xKpnRvlfnt-PDUP0m7mCkwfCY/s1600/2012-09-10+15.58.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jQlEMkrsJ0tQJBLGvurj7d44rSHs1XY50-GjcalsA2AbfOE8b61DLk5ywLb0MNK9XNN4Ak_utHlG6TBmjWbVN7crdLZ9GeKGzxOS_1o-89YPupVU8n_xKpnRvlfnt-PDUP0m7mCkwfCY/s320/2012-09-10+15.58.13.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Not sure either</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">There’s a </span><span id="goog_1685059887"></span><a href="http://www.london2012.com/videos/video=the-olympic-park-with-kevin-mccloud.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">pleasant video</span></a> <span id="goog_1685059888" style="color: #4c1130;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">of Olympic and Paralympic sustainability examples by the thinking woman’s
bit of crumpet, Kevin McCloud, on the LOCOG website, but from the interviews with
Emma and Susannah the key insights I gained were the success of the Commission
as an independent body proactively influencing and ensuring the sustainability
targets were taken seriously, the commitment and resources available to LOCOG
to address the targets, the no-white elephant approach to stadia and venues and
the tension between corporate sponsorship and the sustainability vision for an
event such as the Olympics.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">The corporate
sponsorship issue is of particular interest as invariably events such as the
Olympics and the World Cup require large multinationals to provide sponsorship
to cover costs and supply products on the necessary scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the discussions these
organisations are often more than willing to consider alternative approaches
for their activities at the events themselves, but how far the event is able,
or should then influence how the company performs in the lead up to, or during,
or after an event is a different conversation. As Emma and I discussed, even
loved companies such as Apple have been enveloped in media storms around their
international operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYHHrSZlOFUv1yWwTFxhBj4VPiI6um3r_zbOB475DwsSkpSXvW6sY9i-lYjmIFevy_zB1bc6jfwKKZ9a9nnUWjcivStFHeHwcYj3WuyKpkrnHXN03c5e7dl3qhadXNzhHHJNdnbj6Wg72/s1600/IMG_4451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYHHrSZlOFUv1yWwTFxhBj4VPiI6um3r_zbOB475DwsSkpSXvW6sY9i-lYjmIFevy_zB1bc6jfwKKZ9a9nnUWjcivStFHeHwcYj3WuyKpkrnHXN03c5e7dl3qhadXNzhHHJNdnbj6Wg72/s640/IMG_4451.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Leaving London two
words, newly learnt during my time there, stuck in my mind, ‘strim’ (the Olympic wrapping surrounding everything in sight to signify you're at the Olympics), because it
is quite clearly a made up and ridiculous word, and more seriously, ‘incession’
– an incessant recession, a challenge the London and the UK will need to address
in the post Olympics come down.</span></div>
</span></div>
</div>
Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-18155090733679834252012-09-10T06:45:00.000-07:002012-09-14T02:52:30.176-07:00Ice landing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I was enjoying an
afternoon coffee and reading a local paper in Reykajvik when I came across a
remarkable stat that on average there are 2 murders a year in Iceland.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">This seems a remarkably small number in
the context of where I’d been recently, Guatemala for example averages 70 per
week, with just over 40 a week in Guatemala City alone, while Honduras, with the current highest murder rate in the world averages</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17870673" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">a violent crime every 74 minutes</span></a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I was also thinking at
the time that I had more chance of being murdered that gloomy afternoon as I
did of seeing the sun, or it stopping raining in Reykajvik during my short 36
hour stop over from New York to London. Luckily however I drew on my savy travelling experience and
contrived an elaborate approach to ensuring that I did see glimpses of sunshine
during my time in Iceland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8ALVp0_pN1tG5AVy2twLjgBWn-FPt6liOcDcDG28bVsHbBydV67G8xYRlslFMCnRrY9joHj_tykt86buGgoRmIoUBkSR5oB1T1O8XJhi3Ts1yXcWZKJXBxJFzs6Tb0FxDn4LHsiOItFC/s1600/IMG_4380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8ALVp0_pN1tG5AVy2twLjgBWn-FPt6liOcDcDG28bVsHbBydV67G8xYRlslFMCnRrY9joHj_tykt86buGgoRmIoUBkSR5oB1T1O8XJhi3Ts1yXcWZKJXBxJFzs6Tb0FxDn4LHsiOItFC/s400/IMG_4380.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Sun?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After an afternoon
trudging around the city in the cold wind and rain and discovering that the
sole of left foot is no longer water proof I made my way back to the hostel. As
the bus for my flight to London was due to pick me up at 4:30am I was keen to
wring enjoyment out of Iceland and sample the famed nightlife of Reykjavik
before departing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The beauty of the
hostel is that invariably you will find accomplices for such endeavours and so
with a fellow Australian, a French and a German we had a few beers at the
hostel bar before heading into town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Around 2am I made the enlightened decision that by now there was no
point in trying grab an hours sleep and that’d push through to when the bus
arrived. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the obligatory late
night feed I made my way back to the hostel around 4:15am, allowing myself
enough time to grab my gear and meet the bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Checking my pockets
however I found I somehow lost the key to my locker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No problem I’ll just grab the spare….unfortunately however
the night clerk didn’t have one and suggested I look harder for my key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought about where I may have lost
it and through the haze remembered spilling money on the ground when counting
change for the food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Giving up on catching
the bus and resigning myself to an expensive taxi fare to the airport I
retraced my steps on the post rain slick and shiny streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I searched in vain but found no trace
of my locker key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning to the
hostel the night clerk then decided the best course of action was to break open
the locker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So at 5am, with me
holding his phone for light we tried with a set of plyers and a file to jimmy
the lock open….which only succeeded in him breaking the file off in the
lock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately I was in a 6
bed dorm and all around formless shapes were rising and peering with squinting
eyes at the light and the banging and screeching noises coming from my locker
in the centre of the room. After the clerk and I had both had a crack at the non-budging
lock we retired to the hallway to converse on our next move, which was to admit
defeat and waiting until 9am when the day manager arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately my flight was at 7:40am
and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I had to kiss goodbye my ticket.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Struggling to sleep due to annoyance at myself I wandered out to reception where the newly arrived manager calmly followed me back to my room and unlocked the stubborn locker door to reveal my belongings.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">By this stage I was well and truly over </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Reykajvik and spent a small fortune on a new flight leaving that afternoon. As luck would have it I was able to glimpse the sun a few times on the 50km or so bus ride out to the airport. I eventually lobbed into London around 10pm, having had minimal sleep over the past 48hours during a rather expensive time in Iceland.</span></div>
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-20243763468781156622012-09-01T04:36:00.002-07:002012-09-02T03:55:55.153-07:00Gentrification<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Arriving into New York has been a bit of, not
really a shock, more a jolt back into the familiarity of the western world.
No longer do I have to look round for the bin to dispose of the toilet
paper, or lie there in morning with a parched mouth wishing I'd remembered to
buy water on the late night wander back to the hostel. For the first few
days I probably also held the unofficial title of the Slowest Man in New York
as I put into practice my well developed Caribbean lollop.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">High Line</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">New York has seen a significant upgrade in
accommodation as for the first time since I started my trip I’m staying with
friends in an apartment on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in
Brookyln, effectively wedged between hipster central and Poland, an interesting
combination, walk one way and it’s kielbasa and borscht city, cross the street
and it’s hidden bars, obscure providores, startling beards and cute little
restaurants where you find yourself sat across from the dorky guy from Friends.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Being here I’ve
refocused on seeking out interesting sustainability examples. One of the most
well known on the west side of Manhattan, is the </span><a href="http://www.thehighline.org/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">High Line</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, a former freight
rail line that’s been converted to a 16 block stretch of urban parkway floating
above the streets below, combining numerous plantings within the in situ rail,
green spaces, public art and viewing platforms. </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">It is wildly popular as I evidenced visiting one sunny afternoon
and then a second time much later in the evening following a show. To me it’s a
great example of reuse of an underutilized existing asset for wider community
benefit. The success of the High Line has lead to the development of the</span><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid" target="_blank"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Low Line</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> concept, using an abandoned underground rail terminal as the proposed location for a new park.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">High Line</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Another evident trend is urban farming and one sunny afternoon I paid a visit to </span><a href="http://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Brooklyn Grange</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, a significant urban farm
based on the roof of a factory in Queens that grows a diverse range of
produce.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">When I visited there was
everything from tomatoes to lettuces and eggplants.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> The Queens based farm is one of many planned and is</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> part of a broader movement that’s prevalent in many
cities around urban farming. This has been taken a step further in New York
through the handy development of the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"> <a href="http://596acres.org/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">596 acres</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> website that identifies….596
acres of disused public land available for farming purposes.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLQ-eyb2JBc5Q03bBCyWVlxzQrPwSvb7hOlvRmBkg91lhyphenhyphenguzmZ302V_DJLr4T6bY3WLURE8qi0UJaatb1zxlOPNkTPizOcqHmiOUdl6WC2-rMKHsYrWrv7L92bQ2VBq7WIRuSuAIe9BQ/s1600/IMG_4364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLQ-eyb2JBc5Q03bBCyWVlxzQrPwSvb7hOlvRmBkg91lhyphenhyphenguzmZ302V_DJLr4T6bY3WLURE8qi0UJaatb1zxlOPNkTPizOcqHmiOUdl6WC2-rMKHsYrWrv7L92bQ2VBq7WIRuSuAIe9BQ/s640/IMG_4364.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Brooklyn Grange</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I also was able to have lunch with one of the chief drivers behind the ‘</span><a href="http://www.pluspool.org/pool/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">+ Pool</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">’ concept. The idea behind this innovative project is to have
a plus shaped pool that utilizes the river water floating off the banks of the
Hudson River, with just south of the Brooklyn Bridge as the preferred location.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Like the High Line the project is being
driven by those with the creative idea and as appears to be common in America,
private, as opposed to public financing is sought to further develop the concept.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Williamsburg</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">To me these are all practical examples of the integration
of sustainability thinking, however it is apparent this view is not shared
by all, as per this </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/in-the-shadows-of-the-high-line.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">article</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> last week on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">High Line </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">and a recently released
book on the </span><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/162424-the-last-bohemia-scenes-from-the-life-of-williamsburg-brooklyn/" style="color: #20124d;" target="_blank">death of bohemia in Brooklyn</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, and in particular around the Williamsburg area.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Put plainly the authors see the insidious tendrils
of gentrification changing their city from how they like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made me think that many of the
aspects looked for in a successful sustainability project, i.e. bike lanes,
mixed use development, urban agriculture, integrated transport, densification
etc, are often also hallmarks of gentrification and can be indicators of what locals feel they've lost. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">5Pointz</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To a degree I can understand this perspective and a visit to 5Pointz
in Long Island City, a freight forwarding factory adjoining rail yards that’s
become a hub for street artists for several decades highlights these concerns. 5Pointz appears to be something of an institution for street artists both in New York and internationally, however with the continued expansion of apartment living into Queens it's now slated for residential development. Obviously once it's developed a significant proportion of what's makes the current site will be lost. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I feel however there is a danger in criticising gentrification of overly romanticising how these areas were, and feel the trick, if possible, is to try and integrate the former features, or feeling into the area, as per the redevelopment of 5Pointz which is seeking to incorporate existing and provide spaces for new street art.</span></span></div>
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-75065276962531118772012-08-21T20:07:00.002-07:002012-08-21T20:12:43.044-07:00Adios mis amigos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Following the trials and tribulations of my journey through Guatemala, the leg to Belize City was a doddle. With one eye on the clock and given my desire to extend the great time I'd been having in Central America, once in Belize City I caught the ferry across to the extremely laid back Caribbean Island of Caye Caulker. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Accommodation Caye Caulker style</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU_ieUhiQfC0EBXfHg-LrMPFKHgdMxANyXuaSfgbE1Z5w51ixiVgXX_8ZIDEfP3jRQsg2sTEoCyfqzyHDXM8Ip7meO8JfBrAFP5PJ9XTlQ72TW2eeo0zWFRWLTXM7cqW7GIyBMkk_EEBW/s1600/IMG_4021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU_ieUhiQfC0EBXfHg-LrMPFKHgdMxANyXuaSfgbE1Z5w51ixiVgXX_8ZIDEfP3jRQsg2sTEoCyfqzyHDXM8Ip7meO8JfBrAFP5PJ9XTlQ72TW2eeo0zWFRWLTXM7cqW7GIyBMkk_EEBW/s200/IMG_4021.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Caye Caulker made Utila feel like a bustling metropolis, with life on the island consisting of a significant amount of sitting around waiting for the next boat to come in, making half hearted efforts at selling a ride or tour and then going back to sitting and waiting until it's time to have a drink and give up on the attempt at working for the day. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfDeQwyEgdEfzsTu92j3Ojg8_v56LklkU3hayPCGP8stA80pMBWzcZlwHlRt4-8JrSkm-zfGVhO2JL8H5yJHhH_6rBJARerXyByGCr0ilm_QfhEhUJV7JZTPnJATSwvwAFN9g9M2CUR6S/s1600/IMG_4014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfDeQwyEgdEfzsTu92j3Ojg8_v56LklkU3hayPCGP8stA80pMBWzcZlwHlRt4-8JrSkm-zfGVhO2JL8H5yJHhH_6rBJARerXyByGCr0ilm_QfhEhUJV7JZTPnJATSwvwAFN9g9M2CUR6S/s200/IMG_4014.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Even road transport is by boat</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">As a traveler it's an idyllic island and if one has the will can be circumnavigated in two hours or so. It also marked a point where I'd been travelling in the region for long enough that there was constant stream of familiar faces to spend time with. I did the obligatory snorkelling trip with the sting rays and nurse sharks, but it did feel like a bit of a treadmill experience of shuffling the tourists out each day to see the same, ahh, 'wildlife'.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">To a degree however I was putting off the inevitable journey north to Cancun. Several months ago during my aborted </span><a href="http://robturk.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/24-hours.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">attempt to drive to San Diego</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> I'd pulled off the highway somewhere in Southern California needing a break from driving, and spying a market gardener had pulled in to buy some apples. As I approached a short portly American in denim overalls with a USS [insert suitable word 'Destroyer', 'Freedom', 'Touch of Paradise'] appeared chomping on a fat cigar. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">After he convinced me to buy some strange apple pear fruit blend he asked where I was from. It was obvious he didn't have a </span><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Scooby-gang-1969.jpg/250px-Scooby-gang-1969.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo&h=150&w=200&sz=8&tbnid=oq48zOlGss3E6M&tbnh=0&tbnw=0&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dscooby%2Bdoo%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=scooby+doo&usg=__J3ti3ukzKnGOxDTj1iQlECmVIaE=&docid=wp3vTuHQpCNpIM&sa=X&ei=dj80UJW5K6qp0AGesoGgCw&ved=0CJYBENUX" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Scooby Doo</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">about Australia, but he did have a rather strong opinion about Mexico, 'worst damn country in the whole world' he repeated a number of times as he gestured in a vaguely southerly direction over the field...and even more profoundly and insightfully once he'd tired with this statement, he gravely announced that 'they were his neighbours'...not literally given we were about 200 mile from the border, but I understood from his bulging eyes and gesticulating that geographically, yes, they were the next country along the highway. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Having now been to Cancun I have a feeling there maybe a Mexican market gardener making similar comments about what happened to their country in Cancun once American tourists decided this was the place for them. It is a strange place, 'muy plastico' I profoundly announced to a cab driver when there, but saying that I had one really fun night out there despite having my tshirt stolen at a pool party (the first theft in my travels, kind of ironic considering where I've been), and then probably stayed one night too many. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZYXOpE1HGzyJMuGUFc-8OQODsKMIN9dXKgO5RxKOOhooiY-9_vibzNv65R6VwNdhWILR_excYmX35yn506Fq2xioOQij815BeteeqYqJqIbf6xbIH57OvVBZWngY_4JO1RK8ZzDsf-Vt/s1600/IMG_4030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZYXOpE1HGzyJMuGUFc-8OQODsKMIN9dXKgO5RxKOOhooiY-9_vibzNv65R6VwNdhWILR_excYmX35yn506Fq2xioOQij815BeteeqYqJqIbf6xbIH57OvVBZWngY_4JO1RK8ZzDsf-Vt/s400/IMG_4030.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="263" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">My departing flight to New York and the next stage of my trip bought to an end my time in South and Central America. I had no idea when I started the amazing adventures I'd find myself involved in and could not have asked for more in terms of an experience. I'd often catch myself inadvertently smiling as I travelled along.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">In travelling these countries you often meet people who are seeking answers for the next directions in their life. I wasn't seeking this, but I did learn, or have reinforced a few simple insights. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Probably the most poignant for me is how simply one can live and have an incredible time, I already knew this, but it's comforting to have it reinforced. The other, as someone who is habitually late, is that there are times in life when it pays to be early, as often it allows you that extra inch of leg room slightly closer to the only form of ventilation in the portable sweat box you find yourself locked in for the next few hours as you stare mindlessly for miles at the passing scenery.</span><br />
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-60204832284521634102012-08-15T17:10:00.001-07:002012-08-16T04:47:25.557-07:00A place for old men<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Along my travels, and especially in Central
America, I’ve found myself in a number of long conversations with retired
American men. A straw poll of other travelers indicated this doesn’t appear to
be a common occurrence, and these conversations occur in the most unlikely of
circumstances, although I have noticed that breakfast seems to be the conversation time of preference for the American retiree.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSsP0JIKL-dCd3QC4fs94W3ejKzGULAsf1Zhgxl3XkiEnZIZ6d2v0ATbZx8cmvbE5IsZrtKApCR5tM6Vs3Chk-kVGhSJJO8p2fNCutI4slwX2TsfYAkRamUmYrtFVGn5_Rt5aotW-sBUO/s1600/IMG_3949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSsP0JIKL-dCd3QC4fs94W3ejKzGULAsf1Zhgxl3XkiEnZIZ6d2v0ATbZx8cmvbE5IsZrtKApCR5tM6Vs3Chk-kVGhSJJO8p2fNCutI4slwX2TsfYAkRamUmYrtFVGn5_Rt5aotW-sBUO/s400/IMG_3949.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">So it was I found myself sat on a wooden
bench underneath a rusted bit of corrugated iron in the early morning sun chatting
with my latest retiree, who for want of knowing his name I called, ‘Chet’, about
the performance of various construction materials on Utila under the constant
battering dealt out by the sun, wind and salty sea air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">With the coming of Hurricane Ernesto I’d
spent longer in Utila than planned and decided to gain time by flying a few legs
to my next destination of Rio Dulce and then Flores to see Tikal back in Guatemala.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the flight had been
overbooked and Chet and I had an hour or so wait for the flight to return to pick us up on the bench that served as the waiting room at Utila Airport for the plane to return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most of retirees Chet was seeking
an escape from elements of his life in the US and with a relatively small
amount of money by western standards this part of the world offers plenty of
opportunities to escape.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZXr8BNl4i9kkIQTW_gHQwjf-ERbiYJRg7WDSn_t9YQF9IzO-S31P9oVBPWC-pkAmvs2b6avi97434c8OOPfatHy2YLIQr_UcUSoDHtSELLK1-ehw6N1lu5tPBZTCY2PYug9IcLk1M3RI/s1600/IMG_3956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZXr8BNl4i9kkIQTW_gHQwjf-ERbiYJRg7WDSn_t9YQF9IzO-S31P9oVBPWC-pkAmvs2b6avi97434c8OOPfatHy2YLIQr_UcUSoDHtSELLK1-ehw6N1lu5tPBZTCY2PYug9IcLk1M3RI/s400/IMG_3956.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Eventually Chet and I made it onto our
flight to La Ceiba, which marked the first leg of a crazy, hot and long day of
travel.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Following La Ceiba I had
another flight to San Pedro Sula, but was bumped again as I had no need to make
a connection as I’d be bussing it from then on.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The silver lining being the next plane was a 6 seater and my
seat the co-pilots, a novel experience, particularly as the captain let me film
the take off and landing, no need to worry about electronic devices on these
planes.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As we flew along I kept thinking of the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbj9uvYL8I" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">co-pilot scene</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> from Flying High and wondering how I’d cope if the pilot had a sudden heart attack and I’d have to
take over as the co-pilot.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Reaching San Pedro Sula at about
the same time as if I’d caught the boat and bus connection, I caught another
bus to Peurto Cortes and then walked around the block to catch a chicken bus to
Corinto and the Honduran border.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jumping off the bus and changing money I was the only person around by
the time I walked through immigration and the border.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">By this time it was baking hot and steamy
and I amused two bored Hondurian officials who debated whether I was James Bond
or not before flicking my passport back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I then piled into a beat up minivan and waited in the sun till it was
packed with locals crossing the border and transported the 15km of no mans land
to Guatemalan immigration.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Our van had picked up a group of Caribbean
guys that the Guatemalan police took great interest in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was too much for our minivan
driver who after 10 minutes of waiting ordered all those near into the van
inside and put his foot down as we sped away and left the Caribbean guys
stranded at the border.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then
changed minivans two more times, waiting at the roadside for another to come
along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The minivans are packed so
tight I was standing inside in a half crouch so not hit my head on the roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still I was doing better than the local
guys standing on the vans running board and holding on with one hand as we sped
along at 120km.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHo-XAtF1OGMMXcAUbHuVtmFkBur-O56jT-snv6nQj9GLRvKLIKHnm8dF55YVuKaiTyp-XH3fNVwD39CF-DURP1uDaKEnrlubtaVyz-MMV6zfZHxq4-bygptUI6NTLQMseSYFj5ryeE2bo/s1600/IMG_3969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHo-XAtF1OGMMXcAUbHuVtmFkBur-O56jT-snv6nQj9GLRvKLIKHnm8dF55YVuKaiTyp-XH3fNVwD39CF-DURP1uDaKEnrlubtaVyz-MMV6zfZHxq4-bygptUI6NTLQMseSYFj5ryeE2bo/s320/IMG_3969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Rio Dulce</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">About 20mins outside my destination of Rio
Dulce the heavens opened, and my backpack, which was on the roof, was soaked
through as it’d been tied on with the rain cover facing down. In the driving
rain I walked with my sodden backpack to the first accommodation I could find,
right on the river and weirdly enough a haven for retired American sailors who
bring their boats down the river from the Caribbean Sea for protection during
hurricane season. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a testing
day, but in a way exciting as during the time I left San Pedro Sula to Rio
Dulce I only saw locals.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The following morning I completed my journey to Flores and the following day visited the daddy of Mayan Ruins, Tikal. There were similarities with the ruins I’d seen in Copan but while those in Copan are more intricate, Tikal is of a much grander scale…and also differs in that it’s set in dense jungle, giving a true feeling of a lost city…..which is further emphasized when you realize only 20% of the ruins have been uncovered, the rest appear as giant hummocks with hints of the limestone ruins inside.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIzVqJ_X_3KAk0BQ5ICtX5SGSD-YqaJQpxJa0e0VhkCkapHmQhgJqSHayKwZQT5-n1XO8KgwHj0vhgPXJukLvOaNwthjF2ENbBwfYTrWfmCZReJoSo-mg2LiUx1DiEGSJ7_DbLu1UrWMi/s1600/IMG_4000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIzVqJ_X_3KAk0BQ5ICtX5SGSD-YqaJQpxJa0e0VhkCkapHmQhgJqSHayKwZQT5-n1XO8KgwHj0vhgPXJukLvOaNwthjF2ENbBwfYTrWfmCZReJoSo-mg2LiUx1DiEGSJ7_DbLu1UrWMi/s640/IMG_4000.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Tikal</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span lang="EN-US">On the return from my day trip I learnt I’d
had a lucky day as we unexpectedly stopped for an hour at the police
station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learnt that most of the
other passengers who’d been on the earlier morning tour bus prior had all their
possessions stolen by a gang who boarded the bus with machine guns and
machetes, a harrowing experience from all accounts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-21181073437119421192012-08-09T22:18:00.001-07:002012-08-10T07:21:57.085-07:00Duckin' n diving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">During my brief time
in El Tunco I’d had a few beers with an English surfer, Sam Wildgoose (yes I’ve
complimented him on the fineness of his surname) who mentioned that he was
going to head to the Bay Islands in the Caribbean off Honduras to obtain his
PADI open water scuba licence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
own vague plans had been to slowly make my way north through Guatemala and
Mexico on route to Cancun, but I’ve always wanted to scuba dive but always
thought the time investment when on holiday for a shorter period was too
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reasoning that if I can’t
find the time in 7 months of travel I don’t really want to do it I changed my
plans and rendezvoused with Sam again in Copan Ruinas on the Honduran side of
the Guatemalan border.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWV1paBkoaSoie_nnkTOXODJPs57RBkY9FKH_yxYzveRfOR9ePjDL-y2i358Ok2P9lHvXOldgbfzxR81w54GNUNthyKZwt5qVHCcM8KK_aZXw9hzLvmgnlxyc8r_ucbd-gji5X1EkoLZj/s1600/IMG_3832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWV1paBkoaSoie_nnkTOXODJPs57RBkY9FKH_yxYzveRfOR9ePjDL-y2i358Ok2P9lHvXOldgbfzxR81w54GNUNthyKZwt5qVHCcM8KK_aZXw9hzLvmgnlxyc8r_ucbd-gji5X1EkoLZj/s640/IMG_3832.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Copan Ruinas is one of
the more impressive Mayan sites in Central America, an enormous sprawling
complex of a once great city that was at the height of its powers from 400 to 900
AD. Arriving on a sultry afternoon I was the only one wishing a guided tour at the
time, so with my own personal guide we sweated our way around as she babbled in
my ear about each of the temples. </span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeixGH0hHM6ep3qUTh-5-n7x2Kle5PBw8QVdEGvxvNYpUKw1tWLpuXykfLcZ1jFvOO7clx_A7y119kpNy3IxS7SY_COBvgEHLQ7m2BRSCgZjMzuTzKhgBeU_5sjUq-xdQOp7K6k-2fK-bG/s1600/IMG_3874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeixGH0hHM6ep3qUTh-5-n7x2Kle5PBw8QVdEGvxvNYpUKw1tWLpuXykfLcZ1jFvOO7clx_A7y119kpNy3IxS7SY_COBvgEHLQ7m2BRSCgZjMzuTzKhgBeU_5sjUq-xdQOp7K6k-2fK-bG/s320/IMG_3874.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">The floor of the main temple area used to be covered
in white staccato tiles which would have been amazing and blindingly
bright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today it’s been covered by
grass and kudos to the groundskeeper as I’ve only seen a better outfield on the
first day of a Boxing Day test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also learnt the Mayans played a game that’s an early version of soccer, kicking
a ball back and forth at concrete macaw heads, with the loser being sacrificed
to the Gods.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mMBa58mweQDJtFXW-c0UfjVg0iqU-I7SJZ1XkUBGIJWKvUjV7wBKA4rRiTq3nL-5t_MeUvKz4T75uJEgg0YuGSUf73VR5QAnQkaYsnuptlQug7c7ij6aABN_GZbSFmShrj_oSG0cZkr5/s1600/IMG_3894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mMBa58mweQDJtFXW-c0UfjVg0iqU-I7SJZ1XkUBGIJWKvUjV7wBKA4rRiTq3nL-5t_MeUvKz4T75uJEgg0YuGSUf73VR5QAnQkaYsnuptlQug7c7ij6aABN_GZbSFmShrj_oSG0cZkr5/s200/IMG_3894.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">As you may expect I’m a sucker for a
nature walk and after the ruins took myself on the adjoining walk and
interpretive trail, which I really enjoyed, with colourful macaws in the trees,
lizards and other creatures moving through the jungle. At one stage I thought
it had started raining only to look down and see the whole forest floor was a
sea of moving ants criss-crossing my flip-flops. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">After numerous hours
of bussing followed by an hour ferry journey on the ‘vomit comet’, a small
catamaran that makes the bumpy journey across the sea I arrived on the
beautiful Caribbean island of Utila. Sam and I checked into our dive school, Alton’s,
a series of weather worn wooden accommodation structures that connect to its
own dock (and dive boats), bar, seaside hammocks and loungers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a sweet set up, although the
accommodation is some of the ropiest to date, the shower is a bit of pipe
sticking out of the wall and the cold water is intermittent, which can be
frustrating if you wish to wash….or flush the toilet.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iJ1NedjuWaOuhOZf-TuCeQNRIuGgWgvwoPqPkGaJNumgRJ8SBzrsXrE36IcBxuq07BUd6B_s3bwad8Woe6eqJiZfbtYLTeDegQjIDllNPUQEvuVjOe6Jx31lZBOFLsoBNzwTIRLdBhyZ/s1600/IMG_3905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iJ1NedjuWaOuhOZf-TuCeQNRIuGgWgvwoPqPkGaJNumgRJ8SBzrsXrE36IcBxuq07BUd6B_s3bwad8Woe6eqJiZfbtYLTeDegQjIDllNPUQEvuVjOe6Jx31lZBOFLsoBNzwTIRLdBhyZ/s640/IMG_3905.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">The Alton's Dock</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I loved doing the dive course and our instructor, a German woman who must be slowly going insane with the complete lack of punctuality of anyone on the island, was really good, direct and no nonsense.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I was with a great group of people and over the four days of the course, as you’d expect, got to know each other pretty well.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">By coincidence I was also here during the annual one day music festival, </span><a href="http://sunjamutila.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Sunjam</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, that is held on a very small tropical island off the coast of Utila.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Almost all travellers go along and consequently the dive schools are closed the day following to enable people to recover.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvByWZYcFLezSE3JidsVXGlo9UVcwO9VE3rXBRSKBjsAjILRQm9MYMdn2uZhMNG8N2IgZCHQosFkKBO76et0HHG33mVzxZGLp4q4KrzfQF8VdYrLsa7XKmrrFLAcPSBcgO7ldR9IYZLKHa/s1600/IMG_3906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvByWZYcFLezSE3JidsVXGlo9UVcwO9VE3rXBRSKBjsAjILRQm9MYMdn2uZhMNG8N2IgZCHQosFkKBO76et0HHG33mVzxZGLp4q4KrzfQF8VdYrLsa7XKmrrFLAcPSBcgO7ldR9IYZLKHa/s320/IMG_3906.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">I had a great time at
the festival, but it also precipitated one of the scariest moments of my
trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The festival started at
midday and we’d been advised to get there before night as the seas were rough
due to a strong onshore wind that had blown all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately we’d been diving, returned late in the
afternoon and all fancied a meal before heading off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made it back to the dive school only to see the last boat
depart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking the short distance
into the centre of town we were ushered into the back seats of a small speedboat
waiting to depart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">It was only when we
left the dock I realised the boat was severely overloaded as it tipped
precariously back and forth in relatively calm water. It was now night and it
was soon apparent the guy driving was drunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we powered into the larger seas the boat lurched to one side and then swung alarmingly back the other. Lisa from my
dive school who was sat next to me alternated between closing her eyes and
putting her head down to hysterical screaming when she felt the boat tilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By this time the driver had slowed down
and we appeared to trying to surf the face of the waves up and down, which
worked until a large wave loomed out of the dark and the whole boat tipped to
such an extent that the back section of the boat we were in dipped below the
waterline and we started taking water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">By now I thought there
was a fair chance we were going under. Apparently I appeared very calm but I was
focused on trying to work out when it was appropriate to jump into the sea and
swim to the nearest piece of land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A large part of me was wondering how I’d ended up in this situation,
while a small part was intrigued to see what would happen if we did sink as I’ve
never been in a boat that has sunk before and I was pretty sure I could make
the swim to land, although it would put a dampener on the evening. Fortunately
our little boat managed the waves and 45minutes later a very relieved group kissed
the sand of the festival island. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The festival itself was very good and the return journey
better in that the boat had a normal load and the sea a tad calmer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPcw2BFwRP9qz8m97nEG8vigId0_0zb1djCAK8JIRwST4t3-LWhj21Q7XdzJBY95EGxc29De2nfGb5rUF7yNKmV50B6M9_3q38QFkU0YXFxlIUI-nrLUc6NpHmd9fuz_KhvmmNBy6ySiP/s1600/IMG_3912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPcw2BFwRP9qz8m97nEG8vigId0_0zb1djCAK8JIRwST4t3-LWhj21Q7XdzJBY95EGxc29De2nfGb5rUF7yNKmV50B6M9_3q38QFkU0YXFxlIUI-nrLUc6NpHmd9fuz_KhvmmNBy6ySiP/s400/IMG_3912.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Follow the day off I
resumed and completed my PADI course, so am now an open water diver which should
come in handy later in my journey. I spent the lay day checking out, according
to the Lonely Planet, the fourth best bar on the planet, TreeTanic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an amazing place and the work of
several years of its owner, a cross between Gaudi and Alice in Wonderland and
has probably the most artistic use of recycled materials, and glass bottles in
particular, I’ve seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As someone
quipped when we visited however, bars one, two and three on the LP ranking must
have earnt that place as you can get a drink there...as there was no barman and
no one vaguely interested in serving. It does feel more like a tourist
attraction than a bar, but even so it’s an amazing piece of art. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">My next move is up the
coast on route to Cancun however I’m currently stuck as Hurricane Ernesto is
moving through the region, which isn’t too bad as Utila is great place to be
marooned.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-21571929002092012412012-07-31T20:48:00.000-07:002012-07-31T20:48:22.707-07:00Surfing El Salvador<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">As you may suspect there
doesn’t appear to be many areas where Guatemala leads the world, however one
unexpected area is healthcare. The country has done away with the
tiresome process of going to the doctor to obtain the prescriptions for the
meds you already know you need.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QpBr4W9OuLoFzyMFlg7Qj7WlMmX3kimKcq6jhstUSXheZVPWCUngB8Ty7x61moLpdisAov5fDxW7RKx4nvWz6cJIRZ0aXVG-YxOltZUHIhZ64uMVzesdHdu5izgjwGMqWg8p45HOuXjH/s1600/IMG_3682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QpBr4W9OuLoFzyMFlg7Qj7WlMmX3kimKcq6jhstUSXheZVPWCUngB8Ty7x61moLpdisAov5fDxW7RKx4nvWz6cJIRZ0aXVG-YxOltZUHIhZ64uMVzesdHdu5izgjwGMqWg8p45HOuXjH/s400/IMG_3682.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">El Tunco Point Break</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I was lucky enough to
experience this first hand, heading to the pharmacy seeking a few Strepsils and
headache tablets for my flu, the pharmacist promptly produced a packet of chunky white pills (one every 24 hours) and another of large brown horse tranquiliser sized pills (2
every 8 hours). At the pharmacists
insistence I downed 1 white and 2 brown on the spot, washing it down with cough
mixture. After feeling very odd and having lie down for a few hours I soon felt
immeasurably better, well enough to have a beer or two that evening with a guy from my work,
Nathan Stevens, who has also time off and is travelling the world in the other
direction, with Antigua being our crossing over point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MDSeG0CK-1uO6oeg8qZXlAfhwoR520qpL6KBr6uaOxn6sOOfcOgfxsiTOFBJ4PyW-4wkVmBXjLdelIamMdu6E-DfYFO_BcnDwXMUp6jpAUQ1ZsSahqEy_cWDQECx5Up6xFQWQl-hLTvl/s1600/IMG_3702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MDSeG0CK-1uO6oeg8qZXlAfhwoR520qpL6KBr6uaOxn6sOOfcOgfxsiTOFBJ4PyW-4wkVmBXjLdelIamMdu6E-DfYFO_BcnDwXMUp6jpAUQ1ZsSahqEy_cWDQECx5Up6xFQWQl-hLTvl/s320/IMG_3702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I was even more
grateful for the Guatemalan approach to healthcare when I reached El Tunco in
El Salvador. On the bus to El
Salvador I was thinking it was a pretty obscure destination, however this
preconception was clearly wrong when checking into the hostel I heard the instantly
recognisable sounds of ‘naah’, 'yeah’ and ‘naaah’, and the largest contingent of countrymen in my travels to date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">El Tunco and the
surrounding beaches are a surfing mecca and it appears I was not alone in my
thoughts of heading to the El Salvadorian coast for a few days of surfing. Saying that the
quality, consistency and number of breaks in the vicinity meant that mid week
they were rarely crowded.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge7AKASGGIWW9z5oeeEHt9YuBUhx-rOH2kHsOx4D6WqIHJ3peMkjLFZDtGe2qod5tU2qlVR4Ihe9e90hyJ1L78Alw0Pe2XEPxGty2cJPAtAFJe4DEkIAcJsaP84qB374D4iJDzE45juQw/s1600/IMG_3660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge7AKASGGIWW9z5oeeEHt9YuBUhx-rOH2kHsOx4D6WqIHJ3peMkjLFZDtGe2qod5tU2qlVR4Ihe9e90hyJ1L78Alw0Pe2XEPxGty2cJPAtAFJe4DEkIAcJsaP84qB374D4iJDzE45juQw/s320/IMG_3660.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Surfing isn’t the only pastime available however,
between surfs it’s also possible to sit in a hammock, sit in a pool, or drink, with the order dependent on the quality of the surf that morning. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Actually if you weren’t there to surf I’m not sure what you’d do, the sand is
volcanic black which makes it scorching hot underfoot and the tide covers the
beach completely each morning.
It’s also hot all the time, to the extent that a pair of boardies
suffices for every occasion. I
loved my time there, surfing the main right hand point break, a long 150m
crumbling wave with a languid takeoff, which given my paddling fitness was non existent was a perfect wave. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I was however headed back to where I'd come from, back into Guatemala and Antigua for the last time, not the most efficient way to travel but the ever reliable Katie has insisted I stay a night in the </span><a href="http://www.earthlodgeguatemala.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Earth Lodge</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">, 20 minutes outside of Antigua overlooking the city and the surrounding volcanoes, and more specifically spend a night in the Lodges' Treehhouse.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdHiFN8w90pmoWA3FXbnQIRGDm_3ed3iyF_wMcvVQsv7HFMTDiy0OpMgGl9IEMGDNuWivQT8zXQjXEA8BBTVrcDiUPAfz82MvlXM19Ls2zFvHUzXo8NFngcoQaghyphenhyphenOdEertVx5TScENwF/s1600/IMG_3743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdHiFN8w90pmoWA3FXbnQIRGDm_3ed3iyF_wMcvVQsv7HFMTDiy0OpMgGl9IEMGDNuWivQT8zXQjXEA8BBTVrcDiUPAfz82MvlXM19Ls2zFvHUzXo8NFngcoQaghyphenhyphenOdEertVx5TScENwF/s640/IMG_3743.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">The Earth Lodge Treehouse</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpdd9KevxxjAIGmezMQzpyZrzadyrxESH_9m2vTSlva0j-TrB1q0p2N5csRjNChssEem8Cay5PNASUew7qgHOcjZoNjZ7UDV0qgr91Td_hyphenhyphenYt6M8T8kyeK35ReGqglMtQne_OZyffOyxi/s1600/IMG_3755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpdd9KevxxjAIGmezMQzpyZrzadyrxESH_9m2vTSlva0j-TrB1q0p2N5csRjNChssEem8Cay5PNASUew7qgHOcjZoNjZ7UDV0qgr91Td_hyphenhyphenYt6M8T8kyeK35ReGqglMtQne_OZyffOyxi/s200/IMG_3755.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The Earth Lodge was
started by a Canadian over 9 years ago on a barren piece of land on the
outskirts of Antigua. The property
specialises in the production of a fruit that’s become one of my favorites on
this trip given its prevalence, avocados.
There are 400 advocado trees, which are surprisingly large, spread
throughout the property, as well as a number of other accommodation options
other than the Treehouse. The
Treehouse itself is constructed around an Oak Tree and has a double bed with a
frontage that takes in Antigua and the numerous volcanoes that surround the
town. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqf_R9WXbAm920HxPm3eBd8lMTWcdg34G4mPelKC2X2TpzlsSCNw3neuPdQpDRnWqWzTrzRCq5ubeCReKu8wo19djmRNaXrR8_hra0OQ_U-0dNEuqutM32E9FWM0_PmsXXqfWU4SHn7Sg/s1600/IMG_3767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqf_R9WXbAm920HxPm3eBd8lMTWcdg34G4mPelKC2X2TpzlsSCNw3neuPdQpDRnWqWzTrzRCq5ubeCReKu8wo19djmRNaXrR8_hra0OQ_U-0dNEuqutM32E9FWM0_PmsXXqfWU4SHn7Sg/s200/IMG_3767.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I retired early that night to enjoy the view and the lighting over the
city that evening. It was quite stunning to wake the next morning to the view
from the glass windows. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">In addition to the double room on the boughs of the
tree has a ground level bathroom with a glass wall that affords those within a
stunning view of Antigua while going through the mornings motions. I finished
my time at the Earth Lodge with an hour and half yoga class on the lawn
overlooking the town, having had some of the best experiences of my travels to
date.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">View from the Treehouse</span></td></tr>
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</div>Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-26229862684828413062012-07-24T17:59:00.001-07:002012-07-24T18:12:25.177-07:00The quiet Australian<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK073lPeXMr_lYkyjkjpjI4XMHh7K1dBoVCBuWItjEpLvcSHsubwyhf46CrvSJp0NRrqlYolCowIcNiKBA89W7eYEq0Iu5UjWnLA4-sVVba4cTKEoOYZ0PduBWnuws_TDevjeayb9yC8Fd/s1600/IMG_3513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK073lPeXMr_lYkyjkjpjI4XMHh7K1dBoVCBuWItjEpLvcSHsubwyhf46CrvSJp0NRrqlYolCowIcNiKBA89W7eYEq0Iu5UjWnLA4-sVVba4cTKEoOYZ0PduBWnuws_TDevjeayb9yC8Fd/s400/IMG_3513.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Life's tough in Xela</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">For a while I’ve had an unnerving feeling that my abject knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese has seen
me unwittingly channelling this </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAohlB_E6IU" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">man</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">
in my travels through South and Central America.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">People have asked me how I’d managed to travel with so
little language ability, but when you’re scraping the barrel any fellow traveller with a base knowledge is able to provide great assistance and for a while there I was describing myself as a language </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succubus" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">succubus</span></a>,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> until its correct meaning was pointed out to me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">I can thankfully say
after 25 hours of intensive lessons at Celes Maya in Xela I can speak Spanish with the panache of your friends not very sharp, but you're too polite to say, 3 year old. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I really enjoyed the week of Spanish lessons and was fortunate to have as a teacher Carlos,
who has a shared passion for football and history. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pLVVI75AAuoSYyxl3XvNURYV7XBnt-wxDcQcm0HivYvn1xd8y4iyj_b2fx-GVtDIQqGTUBl5wzNNPyG5V08ZXruXNlXtTsReCDvUfso9Pa6XXfuhr0oCxt085h3qClFA46AiqCNi_Ksy/s1600/IMG_3515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pLVVI75AAuoSYyxl3XvNURYV7XBnt-wxDcQcm0HivYvn1xd8y4iyj_b2fx-GVtDIQqGTUBl5wzNNPyG5V08ZXruXNlXtTsReCDvUfso9Pa6XXfuhr0oCxt085h3qClFA46AiqCNi_Ksy/s320/IMG_3515.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Through our discussions I
learned that Guatemala, and Xela specifically, had the only railway in the countries history that took the Germans 10 years to build, but only operated for 2
years from 1930 to 1932 before a new Guatemalan Dictator on advice from the US expelled the Germans and ripped up the railway. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Carlos and I also discussed in depth the recent European Cup, the gradual slide of the Australian team, the lead up to the 2014 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Brazil </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">World Cup and of course the local favourites and reigning Guatemalan champions, Xelaju MC, the MC standing for their most talented player Mario Camposeco who in the 50's turned down offers to play overseas only to die in a plane crash at 25, and has been immortalised in abbreviated suffix ever since.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmnA6NjKooqV6iYrlqbFeZpgCV97yTPX_cZEfN8J8sD9dSn2ZUuA21dSF5omxPiSWWcRrOj40p3pecqq8dFo6Tl5tTlrSKZsuNNq7dXaof6r7btXtg0QwHklr-0ijzCNWAqT1UDFUUPy7q/s1600/IMG00104-20120719-2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmnA6NjKooqV6iYrlqbFeZpgCV97yTPX_cZEfN8J8sD9dSn2ZUuA21dSF5omxPiSWWcRrOj40p3pecqq8dFo6Tl5tTlrSKZsuNNq7dXaof6r7btXtg0QwHklr-0ijzCNWAqT1UDFUUPy7q/s200/IMG00104-20120719-2011.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xS_IzEQjrzUOu1y_KIGOvrgDI4XAjHNioxU8E-vSZ4X2VczGoagNpxu4B4e6QD0YK4HXrnicQ7xWOZcKStQJt1Zsbo70VO6kW5XCuHI_xKVVaIV7AQV3t-8yQpBKgJ7A798FELIhEAbB/s1600/IMG00106-20120719-2033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xS_IzEQjrzUOu1y_KIGOvrgDI4XAjHNioxU8E-vSZ4X2VczGoagNpxu4B4e6QD0YK4HXrnicQ7xWOZcKStQJt1Zsbo70VO6kW5XCuHI_xKVVaIV7AQV3t-8yQpBKgJ7A798FELIhEAbB/s200/IMG00106-20120719-2033.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">As fortune would have it Xelaju MC were playing midweek in El Classico, the local derby with San Marco. From Carlos' description I imagined a heaving, packed stadium constantly on the brink of chaos. The reality was a bit different, more suburban Australian stadium with vendors selling hot water for the local tea. Still the standard was surprisingly high (maybe I've watched too much A-League) and Xelaju MC came back from a goal down to win 2-1.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Departing Xela with my new found infant language skills I headed to the beautiful Lake Atitlan and specifically San Pedro La Laguna that Wikipedia calls the 'naughty village' due to its renowned nightlife. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVI9u3yf-YBHZyx5Lua1zH47qi0jiHUBfzCh93dLgWJTFQ0lkdmAAuS-6LvEdxXSJpxH0crPB-4XaholkOv1uEb_Rmmmm74xe8a-Ou-ryTfIfJrT8HQoZh8AntkZ7hS0PLowRkdwlwAFIC/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVI9u3yf-YBHZyx5Lua1zH47qi0jiHUBfzCh93dLgWJTFQ0lkdmAAuS-6LvEdxXSJpxH0crPB-4XaholkOv1uEb_Rmmmm74xe8a-Ou-ryTfIfJrT8HQoZh8AntkZ7hS0PLowRkdwlwAFIC/s640/IMG_3541.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Lake Atitlan</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVRiP0EN5er-gsAI76T-H8EdNpkwX0pJX1ZEbi-KyDb8xYENj-kt1xCM6B_eMnms8sE80Fni2p4B9jCTaRx37C09h-iD9mVyoDoGZt9BjIHcxNCZKaKysCvFkW7NVWlcIG5r64xLjIVBs/s1600/IMG_3578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVRiP0EN5er-gsAI76T-H8EdNpkwX0pJX1ZEbi-KyDb8xYENj-kt1xCM6B_eMnms8sE80Fni2p4B9jCTaRx37C09h-iD9mVyoDoGZt9BjIHcxNCZKaKysCvFkW7NVWlcIG5r64xLjIVBs/s400/IMG_3578.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">The bustling San Pedro docks</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I'd like to say I rocked it till dawn every night, or at least the Government regulated closing time of 1am, with 61 of my closest Israeli friends, but since I've been here I've been wiped out with a flu I'd been fighting since my last day of lessons in Xela. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">I'd tried to ignore it and on Sunday night headed to the local British pub for a traditional Guatemalan feast of roast, gravy and beer, which I then followed with a 4am hike up a hill referred to as the Indian's nose to watch dawn rise with a French couple and our guide over Lake Atitlan. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">San Marcos</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Oddly enough I deteriorated after this and have spent most of the time struggling around San Pedro, a town that in the morning when the sun is shining, the Lake is glassy and the humming birds are flitting about between the trees borders on paradise. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Even though it's the most happening of the numerous towns that surround the Lake the pace is pretty slow. Taking a boat across the Lake to San Marcos la Laguna, I found a place where time has almost stopped. Not surprisingly it's a haven for hippies and alternative therapies, there's more foreign run massage, yoga and meditation places then a person could want for. I couldn't help but wonder what the locals make of all this when an hour massage costs $US40, which is just under the average weekly wage of a Guatemalan.</span></div>
</div>Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-66338606560237284192012-07-18T13:06:00.003-07:002012-07-19T12:18:37.518-07:00Quetzaltenango calling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAH8YY403il8EK_v63pezZ7R5f5psNUDQ61DBT5Ey9G6kgdP6lUcJ5r2aNm7lZzQADzA3JKUAeq8ffdGdw2n_pEucnnioKSUOn09jirrv8z1iI34LVr_D6vJ38WQGUH02ZYhrZiWFRxAl/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAH8YY403il8EK_v63pezZ7R5f5psNUDQ61DBT5Ey9G6kgdP6lUcJ5r2aNm7lZzQADzA3JKUAeq8ffdGdw2n_pEucnnioKSUOn09jirrv8z1iI34LVr_D6vJ38WQGUH02ZYhrZiWFRxAl/s200/IMG_3294.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">I’ve noticed that when I arrive in a new
country I spend the first afternoon or so skulking around the new destination
in not the best of moods. I think
it reflects that I just get comfortable with a country and / or a city, and then,
as for the past few weeks, off I go again. So it was when I arrived in Antigua, Guatemala via Guatemala
City from Colombia, as I wandered around town thinking that Cartagena and Cusco
were far superior Spanish colonial towns.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">As I adjusted my new surroundings I wasn’t
sure they were, but obviously it’s subjective and depends on what you apply as the international metric of latin American Spanish colonial town superiority. If that measure
was proportion of US exchange students in town to learn Spanish, vis-à-vis the
percentage of locals, then Antigua would dominate the field.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Katie con chicken buses</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">After a few days in Antigua, taking in a
volcano, I caught a bus to the western highlands of the country
and the Melbourne of Guatemala, Quetzaltenango. Here I rendezvoused with a
colleagues mentors daughter, otherwise known as Katie and her partner Nick. Katie’s been travelling Central America
for about 18 months and learning of my desire to document positive
sustainability stories, suggested a nature reserve 20 minutes outside of Reu on
the Pacific Coast,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"> <a href="http://patrocinioreserve.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Patricinio Nature Reserve.</span></a></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">With Katie’s guidance I caught my first
chicken bus to Reu. Chicken buses
are the shinook salmon of the bus world, rejected US school buses past their
prime that find their way to Guatemala, are then pimped out on the outside and
the orignal engine replaced with a more powerful and dirty version. There are
no emission standards in Guatemala so it’s pretty common to be covered in a
plume of diesel fumes when walking along.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Patricinio is a world away and Katie and I
were picked up by the reserve owner Mario, a debonair Guatemalan who obviously
has a range of commercial interests.</span><span style="color: #660000;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Mario was gracious with his time and through a ranging interview
explained how he had acquired the reserve as a farm 25 years ago when it
specialized in cardamom.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Branching
into coffee and then a host of other crops over the years, avocado, mangostein,
rambutan and even Australian Macadamia’s he’s survived and prospered through
numerous years of price fluctuations. He also noted it’s bizarre role in the
</span><a href="http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/ArticGiron2.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Bay of Pigs</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> invasion in the 1960’s when the US army constructed a road across the farm as part of the preparations for a potential conflict with the USSR and Cuba.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Mmm, coffee</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The real story however is not so much this diversification, but his approach to sustainability principles, in the preservation and rehabilitation of 35% of the property as a nature reserve, his symbiotic methods of crop rotation and integration with native vegetation, and his approach to forming lasting relationships with the eight families and 28 people who live on the property. His philosophy of ensuring that both employer and employee support the common goal of operating a successful farm has enabled him to in turn provide health and education to the families.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Paulino, Katie and I (not in that order)</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Following the discussion Katie and I spent the next two days walking the
farm and nature reserve with Paulino, who’s been in the property for 15 years
and has, with the establishment of the nature reserve and associated increase
in fauna developed a keen interest in bird watching, and eating earthworms.
Having spent a significant portion of my time in cities it was a thoroughly
enjoyable experience to be in the countryside. As Paulino commented, each time he heads into Reu he
appreciates Patricinio even more.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">A recently introduced bin</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Mario’s latest mission is to introduce the
concept of the rubbish bin to the families on his estate. As the chicken bus
journey testified, Guatemala is a Gutemalan’s bin and plastic bottles and all
sorts are thrown out of the bus window as you travel along.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Arriving back in Xela I headed to my new
accommodation, a Guatemalan family for the week while I take much needed
Spanish lessons for the week. My host Sandra lead me uphill to the end of a vaguely sinister
alley where a security door opens to a rambling house.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Morning over Xela</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Sandra is housing a range of peeps,
including an American university volunteer medical student and several school age children,
hence my room is replete with Winnie the Pooh blanket and sheets. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There also seems to be no defined approach to providing hot water in Guatemala, so water is heated with electrical contraptions incorporated into the shower head, with the exposed electrical wiring running all over the place. The electrical heating device cuts in and out depending on its whim and it's always an interesting battle between I and it each morning, with my desire for hot water overriding my concern regarding electrical safety.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
I also found out the first morning that the room overlooks a turkey and chicken farm. I’ve grown quite fond of the poultry
and like to check their progress on putting on the pounds each morning as I
look over the Xela skyline and stare into the distance trying to work out how
to conjugate Spanish verbos.</div>
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<br /></div>Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815054164311830367.post-40485367207934778652012-07-10T15:34:00.005-07:002012-07-12T14:21:31.928-07:00Colombia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RM7nX074PrN3nP_uKkM06P80ZiGX5KG0WghBmIBQ-kmVUDJoHtyYBNOg30rsACbO7tGsWTVDDNMTm2kUordnyj6rUvePmaJzaJX2h3kOy3-V5uK-HNFXAEuFchyQ58J4XuKz0hqhMe0k/s1600/IMG_3145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RM7nX074PrN3nP_uKkM06P80ZiGX5KG0WghBmIBQ-kmVUDJoHtyYBNOg30rsACbO7tGsWTVDDNMTm2kUordnyj6rUvePmaJzaJX2h3kOy3-V5uK-HNFXAEuFchyQ58J4XuKz0hqhMe0k/s320/IMG_3145.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Prior to arriving I
could name three famous Colombians, two footballers, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCxe4r6SjH0" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Rene Higuita</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> and
</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giq8VLI0A-I" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Valderamma</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> and one of the most infamous drug lords of all time, Pablo
Escobar.</span><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">It’s an interesting trio and
if you had to field a World XI of Flamboyant Characters of the past few decades
you could argue a sound case for including each, their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDXdbrosAkE&feature=fvwrel" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">starting positions</span></a>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">however may take a bit longer.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">Strangely enough not
all Colombians take after these three chaps, however from my time here there is
a definite zest for life and they know how to enjoy themselves. I’d actually never intended to come to
Colombia and it was only an opportune breakfast in Melbourne with a persuasive
Bogota native prior to leaving that caused me to change my schedule and pencil
in a week in Colombia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Bogota from La Candelaria</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">As fortune would have
it of the places I’ve visited to date, Colombia, and Bogota in particular, has
been the location where I’ve spent time with people I knew, such as Javier (the other Valderamma) from our Sydney office, who just happened to be home for a visit at the same
time as I, or friends of friends. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZ0I6weHiiER0wSQrQv0ZI86w6UKEX4thF0oralRF7bRjre347G-_jCuDNlg4Hjtv6dhy_L0fqY_X0r5qkwNk-UCAhsvItDCVT5mn4ySvWBXFmFpSyNLQDB51fi3RPD7hH_SCYe3WdcW-/s1600/IMG_3256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZ0I6weHiiER0wSQrQv0ZI86w6UKEX4thF0oralRF7bRjre347G-_jCuDNlg4Hjtv6dhy_L0fqY_X0r5qkwNk-UCAhsvItDCVT5mn4ySvWBXFmFpSyNLQDB51fi3RPD7hH_SCYe3WdcW-/s320/IMG_3256.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Mini-Mal Restaurateur, Eduardo</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">One of those was Sandra Valenzuela de Narvaez who is a Progamme Director for Colombia, Ecuador and Panama for WWF. I'd been put in touch with Sandra through Darcey Hile who I'd met in Cambria, California. Sandra and I had a great evening discussing a board range of environmental topics, from Rio to the recently completed </span><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/05/20125674944552223.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">open air escalator</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> in a favella in Medellin, Colombia's second city, designed to combat the cycle of social exclusion. Sandra had also suggest I check out a restaurant of a friend of hers, </span><a href="http://www.mini-mal.org/entradas.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Mini-Mal</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> that focuses on locally sourced Colombian cuisine prepared in a modern approach that seeks to minimise impacts on the environment in the food preparation and sourcing of ingredients. So one evening I took a cab with my camera gear across town and introducing myself to Restaurateur Eduardo sat down to one of the best meals of my trip to date. Unfortunately our Spanish and English abilities didn't allow for a more in depth discussion but I understand from Sandra that Mini-Mal is significantly influencing how food is sourced in the Bogota restaurant scene.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">Bogota itself is a sprawling city of around 8 million, groaning under
the weight of the associated traffic. It is not however in the same league as Sao Paulo and
there are, and have been definite steps towards traffic management and making the city a more accessible location. Primary amongst these is the dedicated and separated bus
lane system that runs through the city, a cheaper and effective alternative to
constructing a rail network. Prior to the introduction of this network the bus
system was a multitude of smaller privately owned buses that will pick up and
set down from any location, causing congestion and general traffic chaos. These buses still exist, but by all
accounts not to the previous extent.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">As evidenced by the
well heeled and moneyed Colombians the country feels like it is rapidly climbing
out of the hole caused by the years lost fighting drug cartels and Pablo
Escobar in particular. A bemusing
legacy from this time are</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><span id="goog_1450125669"></span>Pablo’s hippos</span><span id="goog_1450125670" style="color: #4c1130;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;">, while there are countless examples of
the damage caused by introduced species, it will / would be fascinating to see
if over time the Colombian hippos evolve differently to their African brethren, potentially developing an innate ability to salsa on cue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Cartagena Old Town</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">After the cool of Cusco and similar conditions in Bogota I was hanging out for some heat and so booked myself a few days in Cartagena on the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena is hot and humid, about 33 during the day, dropping to 27 in the evening. Established in the 15th century it's historical significance stems from its ideal location for the Spanish conquistadors to ship the gold plundered from South America back to Spain without circumnavigating Panama. As such the old walled town and fortifications are full of magnificent Spanish villas and intertwined narrow streets. The culture is also a blend of African Caribbean and Latin America making for a heady mix and a lively nightlife, as experienced by the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17878067" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">US Secret Service</span></a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"> Added to this are stunning beaches and islands off the coast, that I and some other peeps from the hostel took in on a day trip. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: inherit;">The time in Cartagena effectively ended the South American leg of my trip, which has felt like a taster that leaves me wanting more and to explore in greater depth what each country has to offer.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPXcGnIxidd2xfbOuUkPvHEdGXmvnjp5KE2sUcFCCq-o9cHonjtO6vSak-2hpjCy-vbpq4Nc2OQIlFSa1TZy2UyV0fOKKlUrdvWVWZtjaieNjBsqlbJ4upcDJW6o8vqFX_Yg1S-_KJaU_/s1600/IMG_3211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPXcGnIxidd2xfbOuUkPvHEdGXmvnjp5KE2sUcFCCq-o9cHonjtO6vSak-2hpjCy-vbpq4Nc2OQIlFSa1TZy2UyV0fOKKlUrdvWVWZtjaieNjBsqlbJ4upcDJW6o8vqFX_Yg1S-_KJaU_/s640/IMG_3211.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;">Islas del Rosaris</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Rob Turkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913661666226048280noreply@blogger.com0