Our round the world trip (11): two very different flights
March 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 12 (Saturday) was a tale of two contrasting flights from the same airport, the first for Roger & Vee and the second for us all.
The first one was a helicopter trip to Uluru and the Olgas departing from a corner of the local airport. It only lasted 30 minutes and cost a stiff AU$ 275 (£186) each, but it was sensational.
The helicopter was a Robinson R44 which carries four people: Vee sat in the front port seat next to the pilot Morgan, while Roger took the back starboard seat next to a trainee pilot called Tim. We had seen Uluru at sunset, at sunrise, and at the base, but this fourth perspective from the air was just terrific and made for some fabulous photographs. We had seen the Olgas from a distance, at Walpa Gorge and at sunset and again it was simply wonderful to see the domes from the air.
Roger & Vee were back at the hotel coming down from the excitement, when we were contacted by a member of staff who had just received an anguished call from the helicopter company. The pilot had forgotten to ask us for payment and was rushing round to obtain our credit card details. Poor Morgan explained that his boss was furious with him but Roger, in his best Australian, insisted: “No worries, mate”.
All the group chilled at the hotel until we gathered for a briefing from Manuela on what to expect at Cairns (pronounced with the ‘r’ silent) and the Great Barrier Reef. After a great couple of days at Ayers Rock, we were off again so, for Roger & Vee, it was a return to the same airport.
Our flight – in mid afternoon – was the last of the day: there are in fact only four public flights a day from this airport which makes it a bit different from London Heathrow that has approximately one take off or landing every two minutes. Our aircraft was a Boeing 717-200 and the flight was 1,786 km (1,117 miles) north-east which took two and a quarter hours. Since Cairns is half an hour ahead of Ayers Rock, we landed at 6.10 pm local time.
The contrast between the Ayers Rock resort of Yulara and the city of Cairns was enormous: from a population of 2,000 to one of 148,000, from a temperature of 37C to one of 23C, from a dry heat with flies to a humid heat with no insects, from red semi-desert all the way to the horizon to green semi-tropical vegetation around the city, from no visible water to the expanses of the Coral Sea. Our accommodation was the very grand Hilton Hotel but, as soon as we all checked in, most of us went it onto the Esplanade to have dinner at a lively place called “Rattle N Hum”.
Tomorrow we have a day on the Great Barrier Reef …
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Our round the world trip (10): Ayers Rock
March 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Having seen Uluru by sunset, naturally we had to observe it by sunrise too, so Day 11 (Friday) was our earliest start so far with an alarm call at 5 am. Three quarters of an hour later, we were off – to the music of Dido – to the observation area for the sunrise and Roger & Vee walked up to the highest vantage point. The sun actually rose at 5.47 am and the change of colour shadings of the Rock was subtle but nevertheless magical.
We were back at the hotel for an hour for an invigorating cooked breakfast and then at 8.30 am we were off again, this time to “rock about the Rock” and see the Rock up close and personal. First we visited the Mutijulu Waterhole at the southern base of the Rock where Manuela explained the dreamtime story tradition of the Aborigines and the sacred nature of Uluru. Then some of us – including Roger & Vee – joined Manuela in a short walk in the area known as Kuniya Piti on the eastern corner of the Rock. The colours and formations varied considerably, depending on the work of Mother Nature and presented marvellous photo opportunities .
Ever since we reached Ayers/Uluru, we had all been bothered by flies, but walking around the base of the Rock was something else. Swarms of the blighters zoomed all around each person and squadrons of them would make formation attacks on us poor tourists. The choice was to wear a face net, which made you look utterly bizarre, or to tough it out. Roger & Vee took the latter course and, while we could keep our mouths closed, incursions on the ears, nose and even eyes could not be avoided.
Our guide Manuela had been taking regular opportunities to provide us with sensitive explanations of Aborigine culture and some of the problems of attempted integration. At Kuniya, we came across an Aboriginal guide called Vincent whose grandfather was an enlightened white man: “He didn’t come with a gun; he came with a dick”. He was giving his young visitors a very different take on the indigenous situation: “Alcohol is genocidal in my community … I live under occupation … I live under martial law … There is no equal distribution of wealth … It’s called oppression”. He was particularly outraged by a police ‘attack’ on the local Aboriginal community in 2007, but he neglected to explain that sadly this was occasioned by proven claims of extensive child abuse in the community.
Finally we called into the Cultural Centre of Uluru for an hour where we looked at displays explaining the local community traditions and had a light lunch.
The afternoon was free to relax at the hotel. It was just too hot to go touring. The access to the top of Uluru was blocked today with a sign explaining: “Climb closed due to forecast 36C or above”. In fact, Roger & Vee would not have climbed anyway because the indigenous community view Uluru as a particularly sacred place and ask that tourists do not go on the Rock (or even photograph certain especially sacred locations).
Everyone has heard of Ayers Rock or Uluru but, until this holiday, Roger & Vee had never known about the Olgas (the name comes from a Russian aristocrat) or, as they are known to the indigenous community, Kata Tjuta (Many Heads). Located to the west of Uluru, there are 36 individual domes grouped in a semi-circle around a central valley, with the tallest Mount Olga rising 546 metres (1,066 feet) which is a good deal higher than Uluru. Again the structure is hundreds of millions of years old – as Manuela put it: “In the eyes of time, we are just a blink”.
After a few hours at our hotel to escape the worst of the heat and have a little rest, at 4 pm we set off for a visit to the Olgas. Before actually reaching the domes, we halted at a look out point for photographs. The weather was exceptionally clear with not a cloud in the sky, but it was still very hot and those pesky flies were still all over us.
Our real destination was Walpa Gorge on the western end of the Kata Tjuta which offers the opportunity of a walk to the head of an opening in the rocks. We had been warned by Manuela that we needed trainers for the terrain but, although only 2 km, it was in fact a much tougher walk than any of us had appreciated. Partly this was because of the very uneven rock surface, partly it was because of the strong heat – and then there were those damned flies. In the end, only three of the 13 in the group made it to the head of the gorge: Curtis (aged 50) representing the United States, Roger (64) flying the flag for Britain, and Vic (a spritely 75) on behalf of Canada.
After that, we drove round to a viewing area to observe the the effect of the sunset on the colours of the Olgas. It was a case of more champagne and nibbles and lots more photographs and another splendid experience. On the journey back, Manuela put on CDs of the hits of the Beatles and Abba and a sing-song ensued
Back at the resort complex after a trip of around four and a half hours, we all ate together again at “Gekos” again. Before retiring, Roger & Vee took the opportunity to do a little stargazing. At home in London, there is so much light pollution that one can only see a handful of stars. Out in “the red centre” of Australia, one can observe literally hundreds. However, since we were in the Southern Hemisphere, all the constellations were unfamiliar and, even with the aid of a locally purchased star map, it was difficult to identify particular groupings except Orion and the Southern Cross, although we could see the Milky Way as a hazy cloud which was awesome.
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Our round be world trip (9): Alice to Ayers
March 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 10 (Thursday) was essentially a travelling day as we went overland from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. At first the weather was cloudy with a moderate temperature, but soon we had totally cloudless skies again and the heat rose to 34C/93F. The journey by coach took seven and a half hours, but we stopped at five points.
Before we left Alice Springs, we visited Anzac Hill, a memorial to the Australian & New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives in wars all the way from the Boer War to Afghanistan, and the local headquarters of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The RFDS has an impressive new facility for visitors which includes a cinema where a film explains the operations of this vital service. Founded in 1958, the service now has 21 bases covering 80% of the country and it has 61 aircraft (four in Alice), almost all of which are the Swiss-manufactured Pilatus PC-12.
Leaving Alice Springs, we headed almost due south on the single-lane Stuart Highway. Next halt was at Stuart Well’s Camel Farm where, as well as refreshments and toilets, short camel rides were on offer. Vee and eight-year old Mia from Texas shared a double-humped animal. Further south, we stopped for lunch at a place called Erldunda which boasted a paddock of emus. We then turned west and headed for the Rock, stopping for the last time at an isolated point where a bright red sand dune offered views in one direction of salt flats and in the other direction of the Rock itself.
Our destination was in fact the Ayers Rock Resort at Yulara which is a complex that is very well-provisioned but very expensive (it was the first time that no free WiFi was available for any length of time). There are six choices of accommodation and we were in the Desert Gardens Hotel. Other facilities include 13 eating establishments, a variety of bars, shops and galleries, petrol, police and fire stations, and a health centre.
Ayers Rock – or, as the indigenous community calls it, Uluru (Meeting Place) – is thought to be around 600 million years old and its is regarded as sacred by the local Anangu people. It is 343 metres high, 3.6 kms long, 2.4 kms wide, and 9.4 kms in circumference and more than two-thirds of it is believed to be underground.
Over the next 48 hours, we were going to see the Rock in a variety of different situations and the first viewing was at sunset. The timing for sunset was 7.04 pm but our guide Manuela and driver Maria had us in position three quarters of an hour before and helped create a party atmosphere by setting up a table with champagne & wine plus various nibbles. We had wonderful views of the Rock and, as the sun descended, the predominant colour melted from an ochre red into a russet red into a brownish red into a greyish red. We were awed by this spectacle of nature.
Back at the hotel, all the group chose the same eating location (“Gekos Cafe”) at the same time and staff pulled tables together so that we could eat as a collective – a sign of how well we British, American and Canadian travellers were getting along. Roger had kangaroo burger (which was so fresh it was hopping) and Vee chose seafood platter with pasta.
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Our round the world trip (8): Alice Springs
March 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
We left Melbourne on Wednesday (Day 9 of our holiday) as the heat wave started to break and preparations built up for Sunday’s Formula One race. We took a Qantas flight north-west 1,858 kms (1,162 miles) to Alice Springs in “the red centre” of the country. It was a flight of about two and a half hours, but Alice Springs is an hour an half behind Melbourne, so we landed at 11 am local time.
We drove the short distance into the outback town for everyone to find their choice of lunch. Alice Springs is named after Alice Todd, the wife of the British engineer Charles Todd (of which more information shortly), although she never managed to visit the place. It is located on the Todd River which is usually totally dry. Today it has a population of 28,000, including many Aborigines, and lots of local shops display Aboriginal art work. The people of Alice Springs and area are proud of the local facilities, but Roger & Vee felt a sense of isolation not experienced since our visit to the Golan Heights on a trip to Israel.
Before checking into our hotel, we spent the afternoon visiting three local locations, under a cloudless azure sky and with a temperature of up to 38C/100F.
The first stop was at the School of the Air. Founded in 1951, this was the first of what are now 16 such schools which originally provided lessons to pupils in remote locations through radio and now support classes through the the Internet and web cams operated over satellite. The Alice Springs school has three studios and 12 teachers and the 130 students are aged 4-14 and live anything up to 1500 km away.
Next stop was an outback cattle station called Bond Springs. The site was first settled by two Englishmen in 1878 and is now owned and run by the Heaslip family. Some 3,500 Hereford beef cattle are reared here, but we did not see one because they are spread over the huge station of some 1,500 sq km. Laura Heaslip showed us some of original buildings and then offered us tea and coffee in her large kitchen with its own Aga stove.
Finally we visited the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and saw it as it would have looked between 1895 and 1905. Our guide Manuela explained the story of how the British engineer Charles Todd had supervised the construction of Australia’s first telegraph line in 1871-1872 which linked Port Darwin on the north coast with Adelaide on the south coast and in turn Australia with Britain for the first time.
Late afternoon, we checked in to the Chifley Hotel where the group had dinner together. Roger chose pumpkin & lemon myrtle soup, oven baked mustard Parmesan crusted barramundi fish, and banana Mars bar with chocolate ganache & Macadamia ice cream (so sweet and so yummy).
Off next to Ayers Rock …
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Our round the world trip (7): sightseeing & friends in Melbourne
March 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The group’s second full day in Melbourne – Day 8 (Tuesday) for Roger & Vee – was a free day in the schedule and most of the group left the hotel by 7 am to go on an all-day optional tour of the Great Ocean Road. We two remained in the city where it was a blazing day of 36C (97F) – the ninth day of a record local heatwave – in order to meet some friends of Roger’s and, in between these meetings, fit in a bit more sightseeing.
So before lunch we strolled over to the Eureka Skydeck 88 building which is 984 feet (300 metres) tall and has the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere (AU$ 18 a head for us seniors). The lift takes you up to Level 88 in less than 40 seconds where there are spectacular views of Melbourne from floor to ceiling windows.
A special attraction is something called The Edge which is a glass cube that projects 3 metres out of the building . A warning sign suggests that people with various psychological fears or physical conditions should not enter The Cube, but naturally Roger & Vee were not going to pass up this opportunity even if it cost another AU$ 10 each and AU$ 15 for an official photograph (personal cameras are not permitted). When you first enter The Cube and the connecting door is locked, all the glass – sides, top and bottom – are opaque. Then, in a flash, the glass turns clear to present you with the sensation of hanging in space. Just to add to the sense of atmosphere, after a while, cracking noises are emitted to test your nerves. We loved it.
At this point, we took a taxi out to the St Kilda part of the city which is simply beautiful: blue sea, golden beach, palm trees. At a restaurant called “The Stokehouse”, we had lunch on the upper floor overlooking Port Phillip Bay. The food was really excellent: Roger had battered rock flathead fillets, while Vee ordered braised rabbit.
Our hosts were Kevin Hutchings, Managing Director, and Steve Muir, Manager Wastewater Source Control & Treatment, of South East Water which is a statutory authority providing services to 1.5 M customers in the city. Roger, who is Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at the namesake South East Water in England, had met Steve the previous summer while the Australian was on secondment to the English company. A decade of drought in Australia has made water supply a high profile issue and Kevin told us that his customers were now using 40% less water than 10 years ago through a variety of innovative water preservation measures. However, prices have doubled in the last five years and the need to fund a Government-built desalination plant will boost prices by a further 34% next year.
Returning to the city centre, we resumed our tourist mode by visiting the city’s Immigration Museum. Of course, the entire history of Australia can be told through its varying, and often controversial, immigration policies. The museum’s curators are clearly keen to address these issues frankly and in the entrance lobby is a sign acknowledging that the building is located on “the traditional lands of the First People, the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung of the greater Kulin Nation”.
Australia has had more than nine million immigrants since 1788 and some three million of them arrived in the peak period of 1945-1970 ( which included Vee’s twin sister for a time). Naturally, most of them arrived by sea and therefore the largest set of displays in the museum is set in a structure resembling a ship which is located in The Long Room (originally the main hall of the Customs House).
In the evening, we met more friends for dinner. In 1971 (an astonishing 42 years ago!), in the Department of Management Sciences at the then University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, only two students obtained First Class Honours degrees. One was Roger and the other was the really clever one, Greg Bamber who went on to become a professor of industrial relations at the local Monash University. We met Greg for a meal with his wife Dale and friends Joyce from Australia and Chris from Britain. We ate at a place called “The Deck” on the Southbank by the river, caught up on news of children and grandchildren, and had a lively conversation covering British and Australian politics.
Off now to Alice Springs …
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Our round the world trip (6): Melbourne and penguins
March 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 7 (Monday) was a public holiday in Melbourne because the state of Victoria celebrates Labour Day on the second Monday in March (each state and territory decides when to hold the holiday) and there is local festival called Moomba (the name comes from an local Aboriginal language and means something like ‘having fun’). The weather was beautiful with a temperature of 36C (97F) and Roger & Vee were interested to receive a text from a friend back home advising us that it had just snowed in London.
It was an intense day of sightseeing with two tours.
The morning tour was part of our package and it was a three-hour introduction to the city of Melbourne with our guide Manuela. The city was named after Lord Melbourne who was British Prime Minister at the time. Vee’s twin sister Mari and her brother-in-law Derek lived in Melbourne for a few months in the mid 1960s and it was fun for Vee to be in a city she never at the time imagined visiting herself.
The Economic Intelligence Unit’s worldwide cost of living index for 2013 puts Melbourne as the fifth most expensive city in the world and yet it is frequently rated as one of the best cities on the globe in which to live. It was not hard to see the appeal: it is a charming, clean, civilised place with wide roads, lovely sandstone buildings, and plentiful recreational areas.
The city tour involved three stops: St. Paul’s Cathedral, Fitzroy Gardens & Captain Cooke’s Cottage, and the Royal Botanical Gardens & the Shrine of Remembrance. Other locations pointed out to us ranged from historical sites like the execution of Ned Kelly and the first parliament building to modern sites like Federation Square and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Also there was the pub with the most unusual name: “The Elephant And Wheelbarrow”.
We had barely half an hour back at the hotel before we were off again.
The afternoon tour was one of the options on offer and cost those of us who chose it AU$ 126 (£85) each. We were away 10 hours and a guy called Carey was both our driver and our guide. Heading in a southerly direction, our first stop was at Warrook Cattle Farm for “Devonshire tea” (a large scone with jam & cream) and the chance to hand- feed small kangaroos. Then we reached our main destination of Phillips Island which is roughly 9 km by 26 km. The second stop was at the Koala Conservation Sanctuary where, in spite of the stillness and brownness of the animals which rendered them hard to spot up in the eucalyptus trees, the furry-faced fellows were a delight to observe.
After an early dinner in a place called Cowes, named after the town on the Isle of Wight in England, we drove on to Summerland Beach to observe what is called the penguin parade. We were advised that there are 17 species of penguins worldwide – all in the Southern Hemisphere – and we were going to see the only one in Australia which is also the smallest one – hence the name the Little Penguins. Having spent all day out at sea eating fish and squid, each evening they parade up the beach back to the safety of their burrows, but they only do this once the sun has set so that they are not vulnerable to predators.
We were advised to take our seats about 7.45 pm and expect the little characters to waddle across the sand around 8.15 pm, giving us an hour to observe them before the coach had to leave at 9.15 pm. Of course, animals have no regard to tourist schedules and we waited and waited and saw virtually nothing in the pale light. Vee spotted a few penguins but Roger’s eye sight is poor and he could see only the vaguest of shapes. Fortunately, having abandoned the beach and walking along the boardwalks back to our coach, we managed to see several dozen of the cute little fellows waddling to their burrows which made the visit worthwhile.
It was a two-hour journey back to Melbourne, but any chance of sleep was countered by the driver’s suggestion that we should watch a very Australian film called “Red Dog” which will never win any Academy Awards but rounded off a fun day of animal loving.
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Our round the world trip (5): wizard! – we’re in Oz
March 10th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 6 (Sunday) of our trip was effectively a travelling day. Our flight on Qantas Airways Airbus A330-200 was another ‘overnight’ journey east into the sun. The journey from Bangkok to Sydney was nine and a quarter hours, so we landed at 7 am Bangkok time but – since this part of Australia is four hours ahead of Thai time – it was 11 am in Sydney. For our onward journey to Melbourne, we had to transfer to a different terminal where, after a welcome hot drink, Vee decided to go shopping. Then the fun started …
In his befuddled, jet-lagged state, Roger had misread the arrival time in Melbourne for the departure time from Sydney, so that we had much less time than we had originally thought. When Roger realised his mistake, Vee was nowhere to be found.
He reported to the departure gate and explained the situation to the staff. A final call was put out for Vee – but nothing. After a little while, a further call was broadcast – still nothing. Roger could hear someone on the aircraft speaking by radio to the departure gate staff member announcing that the doors had to be closed. A third call was transmitted for Vee – STILL zilch. Then Roger spotted Vee on Cloud Nine, strolling casually through the terminal, utterly unaware of any calls, but delighted with her purchase of a new handbag.
The flight to Melbourne was just a hop and skip at 70 minutes, so we reached the Crowne Plaza Hotel in mid afternoon. Barely an hour later, we had a briefing from our tour guide for Australia, the very competent and informative Manuela Blankenhorn, and met the other members of the group (only 11 – nine of them North Americans). It’s going to be fun getting to know them over the next 10 days.
Australia is the smallest continent but the largest island on earth – approaching the size of Europe. It is the planet’s sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, the USA, and Brazil. The nation has a population of 24 M – only a bit more than a third of UK (63.2 M) but the size of Australia is more than 31 times that of the UK. It is an urbanised country with 90% of people living in cities and towns.
Since the nation is so huge, understandably it has a federal political system with significant powers held by the six states (and two territories). There is a short guide to the Australian political system on this web site here. Economically the country is doing well, thanks largely to the mining sector supporting the rapidly growing Chinese economy.
Melbourne, on the banks of the Yarra River, was founded in 1835 by a character called Batman who persuaded the local Aborigine community to ‘sell’ him their traditional lands – a whopping 250,000 hectares – in exchange for a crate of blankets, knives and knick-knacks. Some kind of super-hero! Today it is a city of 4M – and we are going to meet four of them who are personal friends or professional contacts of Roger.
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Our round the world trip (4): last day in Bangkok
March 9th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
After a late lunch and some chilling back at the hotel, for our last evening in Bangkok we decided to do something a little different and, following a recommendation from the hotel, had dinner at a restaurant called the “Naj Exquisite Thai Cuisine”. It was a pleasant ambience since it is located in a century-old house which once belonged to an aristocratic family.
We began with cocktails: “Bangkok sunrise” (coconut rum, lemongrass & lime juice) for Roger and “Naj mohito” (rum, soda, lime & mint leaves) for Vee. The service was slow but the food good: from a choice of main courses running to around 140, Roger had pan-fried roasted duck and minced prawn topped with plum sauce, while Vee had stir-fried crispy soft-shell crab with yellow curry powder.
We were there about two and a half hours and, in that time, on four occasions we were entertained by a young woman dressed in various traditional Thai costumes performing Thai dances which involved bending her fingers back at ridiculous angles. It was not quite the “show” we had been led to expect but a relaxed and enjoyable evening. It cost just over 2,000 Baht (about £44 – cheap by British standards).
For our last day in Bangkok – Day 6 (Saturday) of our trip – we wanted to see something other than wats and, as usual, Roger had a plan. Unlike yesterday morning when the first taxi driver was a cheat, this morning our taxi driver was just incompetent. He simply did not understand where he was taking us. First, he tried to drop us at the Royal Hotel, but we refused to leave the vehicle. Then he dropped us a what we believed was the right location until he drove away and we found that we were at the Grand Palace which we had already seen.
Our guide book warned of a trick we had come across in other Asian countries: one is advised by a local that the place one wishes to visit is closed and offered an alternative venture which is costly to the tourist and lucrative to the family or friend of the local in question. So, when we asked for directions to the National Museum, we were told that it was closed to foreigners for the morning. Before an alternative offer could be made, we stormed off with only a vague idea of how to reach our desired location.
Once away from the Grand Palace, we found that nobody spoke English or even read local place names in English script, but lots of pointing at maps and various gesticulations enabled us eventually to find the Pipitaphan or National Museum – and of course it was open to all.
It was a fascinating location and the first hall provided an interesting review of the history of Thailand from earliest times to the modern day. It seems that nobody really knows for sure where the Thais came from and an early display panel offered five possible explanations. What is clear, however, is that the current dynasty called the Chakri Kings – dating from 1782 – has had nine Rama monarchs and the current one has been on the throne since 1946, overseeing fluctuating efforts to establish a stable democracy.
The rest of the museum of around three dozen rooms contains a wide variety of Thai art and architecture, ranging from early images of Buddha to a collection of royal funeral chariots.
Another taxi ride had us at our other destination of the day which was in fact just walking distance from our hotel. It was Jim Thompson’s House which is not a single building but a cafe (where we had some lunch), a shop, delightful gardens with pools of turtles and fish, and six original teak buildings (which we toured with an English-speaking guide), all situated by a narrow but busy canal. Thompson was an amazing character: an American born in 1906 who was a practising architect before the Second World War, served with the OSS during the war, relocated to Thailand after the war, and revived the traditional industry of hand weaving of silk, before going for a walk in 1967 and disappearing for ever.
So we have now finished our time in Bangkok and we are currently waiting at the airport for our flight to Australia.
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Our round the world trip (3): what? more wats!
March 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Another day in Bangkok: Day 4 (Friday) of our trip. Another wat – or two: why not? Things did not get off to a good start though.
Our hotel called a taxi for us and explained our destination to the driver. However, no sooner were we on the move than he announced in very broken English that traffic was so bad in the city today that our journey would take two hours. Since the wat was by the river, he insisted it would be quicker by private boat and said that he would take us to the jetty. At first, this seemed a credible story and an acceptable solution – until we were sensible enough to ask how much the trip would cost. He showed us an advertisement which clarified that the river journey would actual be a five-stop tour and the cost would be 800 Baht or around three times what we expected to pay for the taxi ride.
Before the driver could turn on to the main road, we leapt out of the vehicle and walked back to the hotel. Another taxi was called: he reached our destination, not in two hours but, in just over half an hour and charged less than the expected rate. Clearly not all Bangkok taxi drivers are alike and it pays to be alert.
Wat Arun is located on the far bank of the Chao Phraya River, entrance was only 50 Baht (just over a £1), and the place was much quieter that the Royal Palace had been. This 17th century wat is also known as the Temple of the Dawn, since King Taksin chose it for his royal palace because it was the first place in the village of Tonburi, then the capital, to catch the morning light.
The dominant feature of this wat is a tall central Khmer-style tower flanked by four smaller towers, all called prangs and covered with pieces of Chinese porcelain. The main tower rises 220 feet (67 metres) and very steep and open steps lead up to two terraces. We climbed both sets of steps but it took a little courage and coming down was even tougher. The wat is clearly an active place of worship and we observed a saffron-robed monk kneeling in front of worshippers and chanting prayers which was very atmospheric.
We knew that the other wat we wished to visit was directly across the river on the opposite bank, but could we reach it without negotiating another taxi ride or taking a boat which turned out to be a river trip? In fact, we found just what we wanted: a direct ferry across the wide river, noisy with spluttering engines, whistles and calls (and a mere 3 Baht or 7 pence each).
Wat Pho charges 100 Baht (about £2) each for admission. It was originally built in the 16th century and almost completely rebuilt in 1781 by Rama I. It is Bangkok’s oldest and Thailand ‘s largest wat with endless towers and many buildings.
It is famous, however, for its 19th century Reclining Buddha which can be viewed in a covered throne when one takes off one’s shoes and, in the case of women, covers up bare legs. The golden figure is an astonishing 151 feet (46 metres) long and 49 feet (15 metres) high and represents the dying Buddha in the position he adopted to gain nirvana. The soles of his feet are decorated in mother of pearl with 108 signs of Buddha and religious visitors can acquire some sort of merit by putting a coin in each of 108 bronze bowls.
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Our round the world trip (2): Bangkok’s Grand Palace
March 7th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
This is our first visit to Thailand, although we have been to adjacent and nearby countries Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The country has the longest-reigning monarch in the world: King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) – who is now aged 85 – has been on the throne for 66 years. He rules over a nation with a very similarly-sized population to that of the UK: 66M compared to 62M.
Like some other Asian languages, Thai is a tonal language and the same syllable can be pronounced in five tones, each of which conveys a different meaning. The classic example of this is the syllable “mai” which in different tones can mean “new”, “wood”, “burned”, “not?” and “not” and the five tones said one after another can mean: “new wood doesn’t burn, does it?” (which was a phrase we found we could use in all sorts of situations – not).
Thailand’s current capital of Bangkok is only two centuries old. It was the general Thong Duang (Rama I), who sized power in 1782, who built a new capital for Thailand which he called Krung Thep (City of Angels), today known as Bangkok. This bustling metropolis is home to some 8M souls (the same as London) but there are another 6M in the wider metropolitan area.
Day 3 (Thursday) and the sightseeing begins. Our taxi ride immediately brought home how Thailand is a country of contrasts.
On the one hand, it is a modern nation connected to world and our taxi driver, once he knew we were from Britain, proudly announced his support for the Manchester United football team. On the other hand, it is still a deeply traditional nation and we saw portrait after portrait of the revered King especially in the wide streets around the Democracy Monument. The art deco monument, constructed in 1932 to commemorate the transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy, has four wings 78 feet (24 m) tall representing 24 June when the constitution was signed. The location is frequently the site of protests against the anti-democratic nature of the country.
Our destination was the Grand Palace which is not so much a building as a collection of structures set in a park – a bit like Beijing’s Forbidden City but smaller and smarter – established in 1782. Admission was 500 Baht (about £11) each.
The jewel in this complex is undoubtedly the Wat Phra Kaeo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha which is the holiest of all Thai wats. The eponymous Buddha – located in the Chapel Royal (admission to which requires removal of shoes) – is the most sacred image in Thailand, but it is merely a small (26 in or 66 cm) green jade figure set high on a golden altar (photographs are not permitted).
The whole area around the chapel is stupendous: temples, murals, gilded golden angels, gilded half-human figures, with all walls decorated with multicoloured mosaics and bits of glass reflecting the bright sunshine. Two abiding images are the giant (16 feet or 5 metres) fierce-faced figures who appear to guard the area and the repeated half man, half bird figures standing on a three-headed snake holding aloft its two bodies. It is a photographers’s dream and Roger ran around taking 35 pictures.
But, after more than three hours at the complex, poor Vee – who hardly sleeps on an aircraft and slept badly in the hotel – was wilting in the heat (33C or 91F), so we took a taxi back to the hotel. Even during the day, the traffic – cars, taxis, tuk-tuks, light motorcycles – is horrendous and we were frequently reduced to a standstill, but amazingly nobody sounds their horn.
We had a late and light lunch at the hotel before spending time back in our room sleeping and reading. For dinner, we decided to leave the hotel and take a local stroll. In the direction in which we took, we could find no decent restaurants but there were lots of pavement stalls selling hot food of indeterminate identity.
We played safe and ate at a place called “MK Restaurant” on the ground floor of a giant Tesco store. Each table had a hot plate set into it, so that one could cook food where one sat – Vee had crab and Roger had pork. On the hour, a song was broadcast (“MK Suki”) and all the staff lined up for a little dance – cheerful.
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